Cultivator

That night, the moon shone bright and clear.

Li Chijing sat cross-legged in the courtyard, gathering his qi and settling his mind as he began condensing the third wheel, the Circulating Movement Wheel.

The human body held inexhaustible mysteries: twelve meridians and three dantians—upper, middle, and lower. The Great Yin Breathing Nurturing Wheel Scripture stated:

"The Lower Dantian is the repository of essence; the Middle Dantian is the repository of qi; the Upper Dantian is the repository of spirit."

Of the six wheels of fetal breathing, the Profound Scene, Circulating Path, and Jade Capital Wheels were known as the Three Passes of Fetal Breathing, and were especially difficult. The crucial point was that each of these three wheels had to condense a spiritual wheel from nothing within a different dantian.

The remaining three wheels were comparatively easier. Just as when the Profound Scene Wheel was condensed at the Qi Sea Acupoint in the Lower Dantian, one only needed to breathe and circulate qi with concentration afterward for the Bearing Light Wheel to naturally arise from the Qi Sea Acupoint.

The Circulating Movement Wheel, meanwhile, lay at the Great Que Court, the body's repository of qi. Once condensed, magical power would flow without ceasing, circulating throughout the body. When attached to the eyes, the eyes could see a thousand miles; when attached to the feet, the feet could travel like spirits. Leaping over eaves and scaling walls would be nothing worth mentioning.

After resting for a quarter of an hour, Li Chijing felt that his Qi Sea Acupoint was full to bursting. The two spiritual wheels circled and tangled endlessly around each other. Forming a hand seal, he guided his qi through the Stone Gate, Origin Pass, Spirit Que, Life Gate, and other acupoints, gathering it within the Great Que Court as he attempted to condense another spiritual wheel.

Lu Jiangxian was using his Spiritual Sense to watch Li Chijing. He cast the Calming Spell upon him and, together with Li Tongya and Li Xiangping, stood guard for him.

Just as Lu Jiangxian watched Li Chijing form hand seals in preparation for his breakthrough, he suddenly felt as though needles were pricking his back. From far away, he sensed a vast, mighty aura approaching Great Li Mountain.

After comparing their strengths, Lu Jiangxian decisively followed his heart. His Spiritual Sense receded into the mirror like a falling tide, and he stopped absorbing even the moonlight spilling through the skylight. He lay in the dark chamber of the Ancestral Hall like a dead object, resembling nothing more than a genuine bronze Mirror Fragment.

Within only a few breaths, a streak of azure light shot across the skies above the Li Clan. Feeling that aura recede into the distance, Lu Jiangxian was just about to let out a breath of relief when the streak of light lightly turned around and slowly hovered above the Li Clan.

Si Yuanbai had emerged from seclusion at Green Spike Peak, his cultivation having improved once more. Planning to seek trouble with that pig demon in Great Li Mountain, he stepped onto a Flying Shuttle and headed south along Gu Li Road.

"That great battle severed the spiritual currents at the northern foot of Great Li Mountain and threw the earth veins into utter chaos. Now that three hundred years have passed, the spiritual currents of these earth veins have gradually recovered, and quite a few demons have grown into something formidable."

As he neared Great Li Mountain, Si Yuanbai discovered that there were actually many villages at its foot. In particular, scattered villages lined both banks of an unnamed river, looking vibrantly alive.

"That battle swept heaven and earth clean, slaughtering all the demons on this northern slope and severing its spiritual currents. It has instead become a fine place for these mortals to live."

Si Yuanbai glanced downward, only to suddenly spot traces of magical power flickering within the small village below. He could not help but grow curious.

He had thought it was some petty demon causing mischief, but when he activated his Dharma Eye, he saw a handsome youth sitting cross-legged beneath the moonlight. What was more, two similarly featured young men stood on either side of him, seemingly possessing magical power as well.

"How curious. This youth is breaking through a bottleneck, yet no elder is at his side to watch over him."

Si Yuanbai lightly swept the village with his Spiritual Sense, but found no further fluctuations of magical power. He paused in surprise, then clapped his hands and laughed.

"He must be some fellow Daoist's romantic seed left behind."

Li Chijing below knew nothing of this. Instead, inspiration came to him as though bestowed by the heavens. As he continued attempting condensation, every major and minor doubt within the incantation suddenly became clear. Strands of magical power rapidly gathered in the Great Que Court, and a crystalline spiritual wheel swiftly condensed, as smooth and familiar as though he had practiced it a thousand times.

"What a fine youth!"

Si Yuanbai stroked his beard and praised softly.

The path of immortality was filled with perilous obstacles. Spiritual apertures were merely the foundation for entering the path. One also needed fortune, comprehension, and willpower—and, more importantly, family background, sect, and cultivation method.

This youth possessed both fine comprehension and talent, and his cultivation method was profound as well. But in this mortal village deep in the mountains, how much cultivation wealth could he use? How many secret manuals and talismanic slips could he obtain? At most, he would become a Qi Refiner, only to turn to ash after two hundred years.

The road to immortality stretched endlessly on. How many heroes had their halberds broken and sunk in the sand? How many gifted talents had died, their clans wiped out?

Slowly lowering the Flying Shuttle, Si Yuanbai formed a hand seal and cast an Invisibility Technique. He sat atop the Artificial Hill in the courtyard, leisurely watching the people below.

Then an elderly mortal approached from outside the courtyard, and one of the young men standing guard spoke.

"Father."

At those words, Si Yuanbai's expression immediately turned strange. Those born with spiritual apertures were one in a thousand, yet this was a single family with three spiritual apertures. Could they truly be the offspring of that mortal old man? Their magical power was pure and rich, and they clearly possessed a profound method. They were undoubtedly illegitimate children some fellow Daoist had left behind by accident. Cultivators rarely had descendants, yet he had not dared bring them home, so he could only raise them in this village and let them cultivate first.

"Still, all three children possess spiritual apertures. That fellow Daoist's cultivation is likely above Foundation Establishment."

Though cultivators found it harder to bear children as their cultivation grew higher, the chance of those children possessing spiritual apertures also rose greatly. For Qi Refiners, it could reach one or two in ten; after Foundation Establishment, it reached fifty percent. Since all three children possessed spiritual apertures, their father was surely a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As for the Purple Mansion? Aside from the patriarchs of the various immortal sects, there were not even enough across the entire Yue Kingdom to fill two hands. Why would a dignified Purple Mansion cultivator make do in some tiny village? Even if he had an illegitimate child and brought them home, who would dare utter a word? They would have to worship the child as a little ancestor.

Seeing the youth below withdraw his cultivation, his face brimming with joy as he spoke, "Father, I broke through!"

The Li Clan naturally erupted in delight, yet Si Yuanbai, atop the Artificial Hill, gazed at him as an idea stirred in his heart. He pondered, There are many mortals along the stretch from Gu Li Road to Great Li Mountain, yet no cultivator has guarded it for three hundred years because of that great battle. Now that the earth veins have returned to their places and the spiritual currents are gradually recovering, this land must return to the sect's jurisdiction sooner rather than later.

Why not make these people affiliated with the sect and have them guard this place? Borrowing the prestige of that Foundation Establishment senior, they should be able to suppress these demons.

The Green Pool Sect controlled the Southern Five Counties of the Yue Kingdom and naturally had its own system of governance. The sect only dispatched disciples to manage as far as the cities; for everything beneath that, it relied upon the tangled bloodlines and marriage alliances of cultivation clans to control the lower levels.

It used pills and Dharma artifacts to compel these clans to grow raw materials and provide large numbers of low-cultivation laborers, then harvested the clans' outstanding disciples year after year to replenish the sect. This was nearly a universally acknowledged fine method in the cultivation world, and the Green Pool Sect had employed it for more than five hundred years since its founding.

Along the way, I can also forge a good connection with that Foundation Establishment cultivator.

With that thought, Si Yuanbai formed a hand seal and revealed himself, drifting lightly into the courtyard.

Li Chijing was still reveling in the sensation of the Circulating Movement Wheel's magical power surging without end when he saw a figure in green robes materialize out of thin air in the courtyard.

The man wore green robes and appeared to be in his thirties or forties. His features were handsome, his smile gentle, and a gleaming treasure sword hung at his waist. He looked detached from the mortal world, graceful as an immortal.

Li Chijing and the others immediately faced a great enemy. They swiftly shielded Li Mutian behind them, while Li Tongya shouted in a low voice, "Who are you, sir?"

P.S. There will be another update tonight.