Chapter 76
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Qi Wuhuo exchanged pleasantries with Zhou Lingyi, the Elder Zhou, for a short while. He then naturally made his way to the house of Lian Shulan, the woman who had lost her daughter, and wept until she blinded herself. The young Daoist once again used Qi to perform acupuncture. He asked Elder Zhou Lingyi’s two daughters-in-law to hold Lian Shulan’s head steady. With his left thumb and forefinger, he gently pried open her eyelids. The winter sunlight was faintly clear but not piercing.
The light fell upon the woman’s eyes, and Zhou Lingyi, along with his two daughters-in-law, finally saw them.
The two younger women were slightly frightened.
Even Zhou Lingyi paused in stroking his beard. The reason was evident: her eyes had turned slightly white and opaque, appearing almost inhuman. Forget about clarity or brilliance; just looking at them gave a faint sense of unease.
“This… this is…”
He quickly stopped himself, glanced at his daughters-in-law, and signaled them not to speak of it, lest they upset the patient.
The young Daoist said: “It’s nothing to worry about. It’s not a serious issue.”
“With proper rest for a period of time, it can be healed.”
They reassured the woman to rest quietly.
When they stepped outside, Zhou Lingyi sighed: “Cloudy white opacity in both eyes—no wonder she cannot see.”
“Young Daoist, your compassion is boundless.”
“If you had spoken bluntly earlier, she might not have been able to bear it.”
Qi Wuhuo thought for a moment but refrained from mentioning that he had a certain degree of confidence in curing her eyes.
In Tantai Xuan’s [Record of Ascension to Immortality], the experiences of over a hundred years were documented.
He too had once been a young Sword Immortal who roamed the mortal world and recorded what he had seen and learned, including a few aspects of medicine. The young Daoist jotted down a prescription and asked Elder Zhou Lingyi to help gather the ingredients and prepare the medicine. Carrying a bamboo basket on his back, Qi Wuhuo set off toward the nearby mountains and rivers.
He sought to thoroughly investigate the events that had transpired in his hometown years ago.
At present, there were only three clues to go on.
The first was the old gentleman from before, who had once used his mystical abilities to summon rain in Jinzhou but was injured in the process. Combined with the cryptic hints dropped by the fortune-teller, it was clear that the incident in Jinzhou was far more significant than Qi Wuhuo had initially suspected. The second clue was that very fortune-teller. Knowing his nature, Qi Wuhuo held little hope that the man had told him the whole truth about what happened.
The third was the Mingzhen Dao Alliance.
Now he knew how to enter the Mingzhen Dao Alliance and had the token to do so.
However, the Mingzhen Dao Alliance seemed to operate on a principle of [exchange by barter]. Qi Wuhuo wasn’t certain how much he would need to offer to uncover the truth about Jinzhou’s past. For this reason, he ventured into the mountains to gather spiritual herbs, proceeding at a leisurely pace. When he reached the mountain paths, he used the same methods he had learned last year on Helian Mountain to gather Huangjing.
It didn’t take long before he found what he was looking for.
The young boy only collected herbs that had reached a certain age, placing them in the bamboo basket on his back.
This basket was one he had purchased from a village, a great bargain at a third less than the price in Zhongzhou Prefecture’s capital.
The elderly woman who wove the basket had enthusiastically patted his hand, assuring him that her baskets were sturdy and could last a lifetime without needing replacement. She even tested its durability for him. The young Daoist mused that such sincerity was unheard of among merchants, who likely wished their goods would break quickly to force customers to buy more.
As he lifted a medicinal herb and placed it in the basket, the young Daoist calculated how much he could exchange it for.
He also considered whether he should refine some pills in a furnace and use them for trade.
Although his teacher had taught him the art of pill refining, he had also advised him not to overly rely on consuming pills.
When it came to combining ingredients and consuming pills, his teacher had said, [A person seeking the Dao must not be ignorant of such things. Without understanding, one cannot assist their path.]
[Yet one must not become attached, for attachment would harm one’s hidden merits.]
[Greed for wealth outwardly, loss of cultivation inwardly.]
Yet, pills were undeniably easier to trade for information than raw herbs, their value often higher. Moreover, Qi Wuhuo intended to exchange some mystical techniques and Daoist methods at the Mingzhen Dao Alliance—not for his own cultivation, but to observe the paths others had taken and the directions they pursued. As he perused the [Record of Ascension to Immortality], the collection of minor techniques and divine abilities within filled him with delight.
He found them fascinating.
It turns out that the combination of innate spirit and Primordial Qi and Primordial Essence, when paired with human creativity and imagination, can accomplish such an astonishing array of incredible feats.
Having finished reading the [Record of Ascension to Immortality], he now walked while studying Senior Sister Yumiao’s [Hunyuan Sword Canon], particularly the methods for opening the seven orifices of the human body.
The Seven Orifices of the Sword Immortal were as follows:
Xuantong (Profound Connection),
Linggen (Spiritual Root),
Miaoyao (Marvelous Key),
Tongzhen (True Unity),
Tongshu (Connecting Pivot),
Hanshen (Containing Spirit),
Dongyou (Penetrating the Abyss).
Flanked by the Azure Dragon on the left and the White Tiger on the right, this was naturally a supremely profound method.
Qi Wuhuo pondered deeply as he stooped to gather herbs, his thoughts lingering on the cultivation technique he was studying.
[When the Xuantong Orifice is opened, sweet dew ascends to the Niwan at midnight every night and flows throughout the body at noon each day.]
Did this refer to the transformation and circulation of the Primordial Essence, keeping it vibrant and preventing it from stagnating like a withered tree?
As the young Daoist meditated on this, his own Primordial Qi and Primordial Essence began to circulate and transform naturally.
With sustained effort and persistence, the Xuantong Orifice could eventually be opened on its own.
Then he read the following words:
[Thus, the skin becomes supple and delicate.]
The young Daoist paused momentarily in his actions.
After a moment of thought, he raised a hand to touch his face. It did seem as though there had been some change. Only then did he continue placing the herbs into his bamboo basket.
He fully opened the chapter titled [Seven Orifices Exquisite Sword Heart].
[When the Linggen Orifice is opened, the innate essence produces ninety-six grains daily and nightly, circulating throughout the body.]
This too referred to the Primordial Essence, which, by its daily changes and circulation, nourishes the body.
[Over time, the eyes become clear and sharp, without fatigue or strain. Even after sleepless nights, one remains tireless.]
The young man nodded slightly. For a Sword Immortal, sharp vision was paramount, aiming to achieve a state described as [piercing clarity through nine heavens]. Then he read the next line:
[Over time, the skin becomes radiant and lustrous.]
The young Daoist fell silent. He double-checked to confirm that the text indeed belonged to the [Seven Orifices Exquisite Sword Heart] and then cautiously continued to the next section.
[When the Miaoyao Orifice is opened: the heart exudes fragrance, Yang harmony fills the body, and one gains mastery and dominion.]
[Externally, the body emits a faint aroma, movements become as soft as cotton, and actions swift and agile.]
A faint aroma…
The young Daoist stared at these words, and an absurd thought suddenly occurred to him:
“Could it be that Senior Sister Yumiao created a technique that allows one’s Primordial Essence to gather even during sleep or seclusion, effortlessly refining itself without requiring techniques like [guiding Qi with the spirit] or [refining essence with the spirit]? All this merely to ensure that the [Life Treasure] flows seamlessly, leaving her skin smooth and supple, her heart fragrant, and her body faintly aromatic?
“Keen vision that penetrates nine heavens, Primordial Essence and Primordial Qi circulating endlessly, a body as light as cotton, swift and agile, radiating harmony throughout—are these divine abilities sought after by Sword Immortals merely incidental benefits?”
The young Daoist thought of his Senior Sister, whose youthful face and aura had remained untouched by time over the centuries. He glanced at the small technique he had created to help gather herbs more efficiently, recalling how last year, he devised it merely to harvest a few more Huangjing herbs for a better meal. In that moment, he felt as though he and Senior Sister weren’t all that different. Perhaps, in her youth, Senior Sister had created such a technique for similar reasons.
And then, she must have presented it to their teacher, who would stroke his beard and laugh heartily, saying, “Good, good indeed. You are truly my disciple.”
Divine abilities should be like this. Why must they always be so lofty and distant?
Techniques and mystical arts arise naturally and serve their purpose.
Only when the heart seeks what it cannot achieve does one turn to divine abilities.
When Qi Wuhuo continued reading the details of the Seven Orifices, he found that the later portions adhered strictly to the orthodox path of the Sword Immortal. To cultivate to the point where [all 36,000 pores of the body are opened, allowing the Qi of Heaven and Earth to circulate freely. At this level of mastery, one’s inner climate and movements align seamlessly with the rhythms of heaven and earth], which was the minimum prerequisite for meeting his senior sister’s standards. Only by reaching this stage could one even qualify to hold a sword and begin practicing sword techniques.
The sword techniques were divided into three major sections, Heart Sword, Qi Sword, and Form Sword.
The Heart Sword can cut off the seven emotions and six desires.
Qi Sword, wielding Qi to traverse between Heaven and Earth.
Form Sword, combat against all sword practitioners under Heaven.
While Qi Wuhuo intended to cultivate the Seven Orifices method himself, he pondered whether he could remove some of the seemingly trivial details his senior sister had included. After all, the traits emphasized in the earlier orifices, such as supple skin and alluring fragrance, seemed more suitable for someone like Yun Qin.
He considered that he could extract just these characteristics of moisturizing the skin and fragrance, crafting a technique devoid of the core teachings of the Sword Immortal tradition, one that solely focused on enhancing beauty and refinement. After all, even though the initial reason had been to gift her some osmanthus cakes, Yun Qin, in turn, would show him a scroll containing an Original Canon spell. It was only proper to reciprocate with something in return.
Such exchanges, after all, were the right way to maintain harmony.
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, Qi Wuhuo casually performed a hand seal, casting a spell to search for traces of Medicinal Qi.
Unintentionally, his technique incorporated elements from the Sword Immortal methods in his senior sister’s sword manual, imbuing it with a distinct sword cultivator’s charm.
Yet, it was only a divine ability for finding herbs.
To his surprise, he heard a faint, startled “Ah!”
Pausing, Qi Wuhuo reached out and parted the branches before him. There, amid rugged rocks, sat a small figure with disheveled hair. Its features were remarkably delicate, its limbs slender, and it wore clothing woven from leaves. It seemed to have bumped into something, as it was clutching its forehead, crouched on the ground and softly hissing in pain.
Rubbing, rubbing.
Pain, pain, fly away, fly away.
But it didn’t fly away.
Its teary eyes swelled with two large beads of tears.
The small creature crouched on the ground, rubbing its forehead. When it noticed Qi Wuhuo, it raised its head, froze for a moment, then seemed to realize something. Its eyes widened, and it pointed a finger at the young Daoist, chattering loudly in an unintelligible language.
“A medicinal spirit?”
The little fellow pointed at Qi Wuhuo and continued shouting for a while.
Then it was seemingly taken aback by his words, realizing where it was coming from.
Its body stiffened.
Then it raised its head again, realizing that the young Daoist had already crouched down and was now only a short distance away from it.
“Eeeeeeeek!”
The little fellow let out a loud squeal.
Then its eyes rolled back, and with a resounding thud, it fell backward.
It had fainted.
PS:
The descriptions of the Seven Orifices, including details about supple skin and such, were derived from “Hunyuan Sword Manual” by Sword Immortal Bi Yunlong.
The requirements for alchemy were referenced from “The Fifteen Discourses of Chongyang on Establishing a Sect · Fourth Discourse: Alchemy.”
