White Bone Contemplation: Profound Understanding

As soon as the thought surfaced, Ye Qin dismissed it. Cultivation required a steady, step-by-step approach. He could feel that although he had made significant progress, his White Bone Contemplation hadn't been cultivated to its peak.

If that were the case, contemplating other things would only lead to distraction. Even with exceptional talent, it was impossible to advance on all fronts simultaneously. Instead, trying to rush ahead would be counterproductive, leading to more loss than gain.

It would be better to reach perfection in White Bone Contemplation before moving on to the next step.

What he needed to do now was consolidate his cultivation and maintain his current realm before exiting this state.

Contemplating the myriad things in nature might also bring him great benefits, but cultivation was a gradual process, and there was plenty of time. He wasn't in a hurry.

"In this state, my comprehension has significantly improved. Perhaps I can try to deduce some subsequent cultivation directions and methods..."

Ye Qin muttered to himself. With an idea, he began to try and deduce his own cultivation methods!

When Ye Qin opened his eyes again, it seemed that more than ten minutes had passed.

It was known that ancient people, fortunate enough to enter a state of enlightenment and meditative state, would deduce monumental philosophical works in just a few minutes. For him to be in a meditative state for over ten minutes was already extraordinary, a success attributed to the snake spirit's intelligence.

This extraordinary enlightenment had provided him with a lot of information. Ye Qin organized and summarized it, constantly reflecting and pondering.

"Based on the insights gained during the meditative state and the summary and organization of the subsequent cultivation path, I can tentatively divide the early cultivation realms into three stages: Free Contemplation, Creation Body Tempering, and Heaven and Earth Qi Refining."

"I am currently in the Free Contemplation realm, and the core of this realm is to contemplate any object and make it your 'sole origin contemplation object'."

"When you can imagine the contemplation object flawlessly, making it vivid and indistinguishable from reality, then the contemplation realm is complete, and you can advance to the second realm!"

"As for the subsequent two realms, I only have some ideas for now, but I will only know and practice them after reaching them. I won't consider them for the time being..."

Of course, cultivation definitely didn't stop at these three realms. This was what Ye Qin had deduced based on his current situation. There might be many more stages later, which he didn't know for now.

He didn't know the specific effects of each realm either and needed further exploration.

Perhaps all of this would only become clear after he reached these three realms.

"I have to say, every time I enter the 'meditative state,' I benefit greatly. The first time I entered, I found the opportunity for cultivation. This time, I deduced the direction for early cultivation. I don't know when I will have such an opportunity again to experience the 'meditative state'."

After a moment of emotion, and having clarified all these matters, Ye Qin felt he had a grasp of things, unlike before when he was completely in the dark.

He also had a general direction and scope for cultivation.

In terms of time and comprehension, the current Ye Qin was just a step away from the second realm. As long as he broke through that final barrier, advancing further would not be difficult.

Recalling the scene he had contemplated earlier, although it was realistic, Ye Qin felt something was still missing.

"What exactly is missing?"

Ye Qin thought hard, the previous scenes constantly reappearing in his mind. He glanced at the white bones next to the cave and carefully compared the two.

The snake's pupils rippled slightly, flashing with a faint, almost imperceptible light, finally allowing him to find the difference.

The white bones he had contemplated were too perfect. It was precisely this perfection that had become the biggest flaw.

The white bones in the cave had already decayed for a hundred years. Although they hadn't been exposed to the elements, the bone tissue had decayed, inevitably leading to some areas turning yellow or black.

Besides that, countless insects and ants had crawled over them, leaving behind tiny signs of insect damage, which were hard to notice without careful observation.

The real skeleton was not perfect; it couldn't achieve true jade-like whiteness. Instead, it possessed a touch of realism.

Ye Qin suddenly nodded in realization, "So that's how it is. It's precisely because the white bones I contemplated had no flaws, lacking what should have been present in reality, that they were slightly lacking."

"Because my origin contemplation object was too unrealistic! I need to return to simplicity!"

His original intention was to strive for perfection and achieve the best possible outcome, but he didn't realize that sometimes, that slight flaw was precisely what was needed.

It was like the world needing gaps; it was through cracks that light could enter.

The Great Dao had fifty principles, but the heavenly evolution had only forty-nine.

Even the Heavenly Dao could not achieve perfection, let alone him.

After understanding the reason behind it, Ye Qin felt as if a fog had lifted, and his mind became clear. The hazy white mist before his eyes was finally blown away by a strong wind, and his mind was completely clear.

Ye Qin crawled to the side of the white bones, feeling as if he had made an important decision.

To reach the perfect realm, he had to do everything himself; just looking wouldn't suffice.

Before, he had been blinded by the literal meaning. White Bone Contemplation wasn't just about the eyes.

So-called contemplation, besides vision, also required touch. More accurately, it required the mobilization of all five senses.

Seeing with the eyes, touching with the body, experiencing with the heart, and so on – all of these were indispensable.

Previously, he had been worried about offending the white bones, so he had always observed from a distance. But now that he understood the underlying principles, everything was different.

"Forgive me for disturbing you. I hope you won't blame me. If you have a spirit, and if you can help me achieve perfection, I believe you will understand my actions and be willing to help me."

Ye Qin straightened his body and then bowed towards the white bones.

His posture was like that of a person bowing.

Afterward, he crawled onto the white bones and began to coil around them, circle after circle.

The black snake's body intertwined with the white bones, creating a strong visual contrast between the two distinctly different colors.

It was like Yin and Yang, constantly evolving and changing, vaguely forming the pattern of Tai Chi and Eight Trigrams.

The White Bone represents death, associated with Yin, while Ye Qin represents new life, associated with Yang.

Black and white alternated, as if life and death were reversed, and the magnetic field within the cave subtly shifted.

Feeling the cold touch from below, a string in Ye Qin's heart seemed to be plucked. His serpentine body coiled around the white bone, exploring it back and forth.

Even the tiny wormholes between the bone's crevices and the almost imperceptible cracks were all seen by him, giving him a more direct sense and experience.

Finally, Ye Qin stopped, coiling himself into a circle at the center of the white bone's abdomen, where the Dantian was located.

The Dantian is the place where the Daoist inner alchemy manifests upon completion.

Ancient people called essence, energy, and spirit the Three Treasures, viewing the Dantian as the place where these were stored, thus attaching great importance to it, considering it the "root of life and spirit."

This was why Ye Qin ultimately chose this spot to enter his meditative state.

The White Bone and the black snake looked so harmonious.

"The interplay of Yin and Yang is called the Dao."

Ye Qin contemplated the White Bone again. This time, he was inside the White Bone, his mind naturally deducing. The 206 scattered bones appeared before his eyes, following the black and white pattern, constantly moving and transforming.

With Tai Chi and the Eight Trigrams as a foundation, and guided by Ye Qin's Sea of Consciousness, countless bones flew into it in a well-ordered manner. First, the toe bones, then the leg bones, followed by the rib cage, and then the skull.

A complete skeleton appeared before him, more real than the one he had envisioned before.

As if having experienced countless vicissitudes, the black and yellow colors within the bone joints narrated past histories, and the subtle wormholes and cracks showed no errors.

Even if one were to nitpick, no flaws could be found.

This was a perfect manifestation of the skeleton in the cave; perhaps the original body itself had arrived.

Ye Qin could no longer distinguish between reality and illusion. Was he currently in the cave or in a meditative state?

"When truth becomes falsehood, falsehood becomes truth; where nothingness exists, there is still something, and then nothing."

Or was it all just a dream?

Whether it was real or fake no longer mattered. Ye Qin felt a sudden clarity, as if a stone that had been blocking his heart had finally been moved.

He looked at the White Bone, and the White Bone looked back at him. The two remained silent as time trickled by, drop by drop.