True Fragrance

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The night was deep and still.

Qin Yi completed the final stroke. A radiant gleam suddenly flashed across the talisman paper, as though specks of starlight had fallen into the cinnabar, gradually being absorbed from sight.

After ruining sixteen sheets, he finally produced his first Swift Travel Talisman.

This talisman was used on the human body. It let one ride the wind and travel like a god, race like lightning, cross mountains when they arose and ford rivers when they came, traveling a thousand li in a day without fatigue. Its principles already involved profound mysteries; by Minghe's system of appraisal, this was already an Eighth-Grade Talisman.

This talisman was not quite as uniquely ingenious as Minghe had imagined. In truth, Liusu had created it almost casually. That was precisely what showed its extraordinary, transcendent understanding of the path of cultivation. What Minghe found utterly astonishing was, to Liusu, merely something done on a whim.

Yet as Qin Yi completed the talisman, Liusu fell silent.

Qin Yi had been rejoicing when he realized Liusu had not made a sound. Surprised, he asked, "What is it? Did I still fail to make this talisman properly?"

"No. You did very well. This talisman has reached lower Eighth Grade." Liusu answered somewhat gloomily, "But I think perhaps Minghe's words had some merit. So I'm wondering whether you should continue learning this."

"You've never even seen the talismans of the present day. How do you know whether what she said makes sense?"

"There is no need to see them. This is an eternal truth." Liusu sighed. "Any art, even a core cultivation method, is constantly summarized and improved upon from the foundations laid by predecessors. Even in my time, I improved many things that those before me had treated as sacred canons. There are also geniuses who gather the strengths of a hundred schools, cast off the old and bring forth the new, establishing new systems that shake the ages and dazzle the world... If, after tens of thousands of years, things instead turned out inferior to antiquity, that would be far too great an underestimation of the talented people beneath heaven."

"Er..." Qin Yi consoled it, "What if some profound Daoist Arts were lost? That could also create a break in that line of inheritance, making the present inferior to the past."

Liusu's mood improved a little. "That should be possible too. Especially according to Minghe, there was once a Demon Calamity. Such a catastrophe could have cut off many crucial inheritances, leaving people only able to rederive them from scattered remnants, perhaps gaining only the surface. It is not certain that everything they have surpasses mine."

Qin Yi smiled. "Then each has its own strengths. Your cultivation still far surpasses theirs. Even if you need to absorb new knowledge again, you will be faster than anyone else. What is there to fear?"

"It is not that I fear anything." Liusu said slowly, "It is simply that I... hate being bested."

Qin Yi paused. So that was why this thing was so easily provoked? But at a level of cultivation like Liusu's, could it still have such a strong desire to win or lose?

As though knowing what he was thinking, Liusu said, "No matter how far one cultivates, every person still has a unique soul, an imprint unlike any other. Perhaps some think my emphasis on victory and defeat is laughable, a flaw, a weakness. But that is who I am, and I like it that way. Did you think that once one cultivated the Dao to its depths, everyone would no longer care about this or take offense at that, becoming a thousand faces cast from one mold? That is not the Dao. That is a pack of walking corpses."

Qin Yi stood there in a daze, pondering it for a while, deeply moved. Liusu's views had always been somewhat unorthodox, yet they were always interesting as well. More importantly, they always struck straight at his heart, carrying a powerful force of persuasion. Words like "I like it that way" would have sounded embarrassingly childish even in the modern world, yet in this world of immortal cultivation, they somehow did not feel out of place. Seeking truth, seeking oneself, seeking the Dao, questioning the heart—was that not precisely what it meant?

Yet judging by the contrast with Minghe's conduct, Liusu's way was probably a little heretical, something that could not serve as the mainstream orthodoxy...

"Just listen to such things for now. It is too early for you to comprehend the principles of the true self." At last, Liusu said, "It is late. Begin cultivating your internal pill... No matter how cultivation methods have changed in the present age, there will be no difference in laying the most basic foundations. Just as martial arts, no matter how they change, still require one to first plant one's horse stance firmly."

It sounded as though Liusu was worried that what it taught Qin Yi had fallen behind the times, and was trying to encourage itself. Qin Yi did not know whether to laugh or cry. He sat cross-legged, then suddenly remembered something and could not help chuckling. "True fragrance."

Liusu gave a helpless laugh. Anyone else hearing that would have been utterly baffled. Perhaps it held a meaning known only to Liusu and Qin Yi.

For some reason, that feeling delighted it even more than finally getting Qin Yi to cultivate as it wished.

As Qin Yi adjusted into the proper posture, he asked, "You all say I'm suited to cultivation, but none of you have examined whether I truly have Spiritual Roots. What if I have no Spiritual Roots at all and simply cannot cultivate? What then?"

Liusu asked strangely, "Spiritual Roots? Whether a person is suited to cultivation, and which direction they are suited for—that is what Spiritual Roots are. If one knows nothing of their circumstances, perhaps they need testing. But you and I have been together day and night. What is there to test? What do you think Spiritual Roots are? A root growing on your body?"

Qin Yi said, "...Then I'm certain I have one."

Liusu spat, "Pah!" in annoyance.

But Qin Yi had already closed his eyes and gradually entered a state of lucid clarity.

Liusu was somewhat surprised. It watched him intently for a while, then suddenly smiled softly and murmured to itself, "And he was worried he had no Spiritual Roots... Since time immemorial, I could not count on one hand those more compatible with the Immortal Dao than you."

Earlier, it had merely recited a cultivation formula without explaining it in detail. It had originally planned to offer a few explanations, yet Qin Yi had already begun cultivating on his own. More miraculous still, not only had he made no mistake, but wisps of heaven and earth Spiritual Energy had truly begun gathering around him.

Perhaps it was because he had already spent so long studying External Pills, formations, and common knowledge of Daoist Arts, and had recently learned talismans as well. On top of that, he had spent every day with Liusu, receiving nothing but cultivation-related knowledge. His foundation was already sufficient, and he had no difficulty understanding that formula or the method of circulating his energy.

But that could not explain why Spiritual Energy gathered so quickly, as though it came at his summons.

The Great Dao was arduous. Let alone someone with only three months of foundations like him, there were plenty who could study for thirty years without learning a single damn thing. There were even many who cultivated themselves to death. Just look at the king... He could not possibly lack basic cultivation methods, yet what the hell had he cultivated over all these years?

In the common parlance of other professions, Qin Yi was probably someone born to make a living from this very bowl.

In martial terminology, that was called extraordinary talent.

In the terminology of immortal cultivation, perhaps it could be called a Heavenly Spiritual Root.

Qin Yi's feeling at this moment was wondrous.

At the most basic level he had currently cultivated, the so-called qi cultivation of immortals did not differ greatly from the true qi of martial arts. At their source, both arose from the same concept: harmonizing yin and yang, opening the hundred meridians, nurturing a breath of qi in the dantian, and making one's own body into a small heaven and earth.

Both could likewise strengthen the body, cleanse the meridians and marrow, dispel illness, and prolong life.

Further on, both likewise required one to open the Ren and Du Meridians, connect the Bridge of Heaven and Earth, draw in the yin and yang qi of heaven and earth, and form a great cycle between oneself and the world—in martial arts, this was called the Innate Realm. Li Qinglin had reached it long ago, while Qin Yi and Li Qingjun had not.

But now that Qin Yi possessed both true qi and Spiritual Energy, he could sense a difference in their natures.

For example, martial true qi could enhance his strength and be released outward, possessing direct destructive power. The Spiritual Energy—or Mana—cultivated through the Immortal Dao seemed, for now, to have no such effect. Perhaps it would only do so after growing stronger. At present, what it felt like instead was—utterly wonderful.

Yes, utterly wonderful. He had only just cultivated a wisp of Spiritual Energy, floating like light silk, yet he felt thoroughly at ease, as though every inch of his body, inside and out, had been washed over by sweet spring water. Cool, smooth, and blissful, it felt so good that he did not want to stop at all.

No wonder some people cultivated until they did not even want women anymore... Presumably, when one cultivated to the soul stage, it would feel even better?

Without a comparison to higher realms, Qin Yi presently felt as though martial true qi was yang, like fire striking an enemy; while immortal Spiritual Energy was yin, like water cleansing the body.

In truth, both the true qi and Spiritual Energy he cultivated were neutral. Each was itself the result of harmonized yin and yang, so they should not have differed so distinctly.

After yin and yang were harmonized, could each then become yin and yang again?

Qin Yi could almost see his lower dantian. The true qi that had long coiled there and the newly arrived Spiritual Energy slowly began to revolve, eventually taking the form of a yin-yang fish. It was only that the Spiritual Energy was still tiny, while the true qi had been cultivated for years. It felt like two bodies of vastly different sizes engaged in sixty-nine—extremely discordant.

He did not know what it would become if he continued. By rights, immortal Spiritual Energy was of a far higher grade than martial true qi, so they could not possibly achieve balance, much less become yin and yang again... This situation should never have formed in the first place...

A thought suddenly stirred in Qin Yi's heart.

That nameless blue-covered secret manual on him might truly possess some special mystery... Was the quality of the true qi it cultivated different from all others?