Seeking the Great Dao

Qi WuHuo looked at the old man and nodded in response. As he moved, the natural aura that had clung to him dissipated.

The birds and sparrows were startled and flew away.

The old man watched them go and chuckled, "Once you refine the Primordial Prenatal Qi, you'll be able to merge with the natural world. Then, beasts and birds won't be disturbed by you."

The old man could tell at a glance that Qi WuHuo had already cultivated Primordial Qi.

This wasn't like the internal energy sought by martial artists, which had little effect in combat. Primordial Qi, Primordial Essence, and Primordial Spirit were meant to elevate a person's body and mind to their most perfect state.

And then, from that perfect state, one could embark on the Dao.

The old man withdrew his gaze and stroked his beard, saying, "Today was your first time meditating and breathing for five full hours. You mustn't do that again. Prolonged meditation and contemplation can harm both the body and the mind. Half an hour is sufficient."

Qi WuHuo nodded.

He closed his eyes, feeling the changes in his body. His breathing grew longer and more even. His Primordial Spirit was at the forefront, his Qi had formed, and Primordial Qi flowed ceaselessly, permeating his flesh and blood. There was a peculiar sensation, as if his body was undergoing a subtle, gradual improvement.

It was slow, yet continuous and enduring.

The throbbing headache and debilitating weakness he felt after using his Primordial Spirit were gone. The contrast between before and after was like floating with his feet off the ground, and now finally having them firmly planted. His heart felt much more stable in an instant.

Beside him, the old man brewed tea over a small clay stove, smiling faintly. "The introductory and advanced techniques of our Daoist school are divided into [Life Cultivation] and [Nature Cultivation]."

"Nature Cultivation emphasizes planting lotuses in fire, while Life Cultivation seeks the profound beneath the water."

Qi WuHuo said, "Seeking the profound beneath the water..."

"Kan is water, referring to kidney cultivation, which is Primordial Essence."

The old man laughed and clapped his hands, saying:

"Indeed. This means that Primordial Essence cultivation is the most important. Many schools don't understand the difference between Qi and 炁, and simply combine Primordial Qi with Primordial Spirit to enter the Dao and cultivate an yin spirit that can leave the body."

"You'll face much hardship later on."

"Those who consume Qi do not die, but those with divine spirits live forever."

"When Qi and spirit merge, discarding Primordial Essence may seem like achieving freedom, but it ultimately leads to the fate of a dried-up skeleton in a tomb."

"You can only cultivate into a [Corpse-Released Immortal]."

Qi WuHuo inquired, "How can one cultivate Primordial Essence to its extreme?"

The old man replied, "For ordinary practitioners, it involves consuming vast amounts of flesh and blood, then tempering it with martial arts to strengthen their own flesh and blood. Their Qi and blood would be like mercury, surging like smoke. But this is a path of reversing the acquired to reach the innate."

"In the Daoist tradition, Essence is pure and undivided."

"The core lies in purity."

"For you, your Primordial Spirit has already been achieved. Use your Primordial Spirit to activate Primordial Qi, which will then permeate your bloodlines. The next step is painstaking effort, and gradually you will achieve pure Primordial Essence. However..."

The old man paused, looking at the young man whose eyes gleamed with divine light, and said with a playful smile, "Because of that jade pillow from the Fire Dragon Daoist, your Primordial Spirit is far stronger than your Qi and Primordial Essence. If you don't want to take the Side Gate or Left Path, and wish to cultivate all three to a similar extreme, it might take thirty to fifty years."

"By then, your Qi and blood might have declined, your Primordial Qi dispersed, and you ultimately won't be able to step onto the Great Dao, only achieving [Complete Longevity]. What do you say? Cultivating into a Corpse-Released Immortal allows you to live for three to five hundred years. After your body rots, your Primordial Spirit will not die."

"If you're lucky, you might receive a decree from the Heavenly Emperor and consume rare heavenly treasures, allowing you to live longer."

The young man cupped his hands and said, "I wish to seek the Great Dao."

"A noble aspiration!"

The old man laughed heartily, then waved his hand:

"However, as I said, I will only teach you one move."

"This move is yours to do with as you please, whether to exchange it with someone or pass it on to others. But I will not teach you a second move."

"I will never go back on my word."

Qi WuHuo said earnestly, "The grace of your teachings is already unforgettable. How could I possibly ask for more?"

He made breakfast: cornbread made from mixed grains, and stir-fried cabbage with dried rabbit meat. The three strings of cash gifted by Master Su had slightly less purchasing power than three taels of silver, approximately two taels and eight qian.

However, in this era, ten jin of white flour only cost one qian of silver.

Ten jin of tea cost only one tael of silver.

Three taels of silver was a considerable sum for Qi WuHuo at this time, and he wouldn't have to live so frugally. After eating, the old man mentioned that he had stayed up all night watching over him and was now tired, yawning as he lay down to sleep.

Qi WuHuo walked into a small storage room to the side.

Upon opening it, a chilling aura emanated from within. All sorts of unused items were stored there: a single remaining cartwheel, a cracked wooden scale beam, and many other miscellaneous things.

People who had experienced years of famine instinctively collected anything that might be useful, just in case. Qi WuHuo inventoried his small treasure trove.

Then, he pushed aside half a handcart, revealing a stone mill underneath.

Mustering his strength, he pushed the millstone aside. Beneath it was a circular hole. A silk thread hung in the center. Qi WuHuo exhaled and lifted the thread. The already somewhat chilly storage room instantly became colder, and a faint glint of cold light flickered out.

It was a sword.

A soldier's sword.

During the famine years, even the army had mutinied. On the road, being swept along with the crowd, he had picked up a sword and a dagger. In those times, without a sharp weapon for protection, it would have been difficult for him to survive and reach this place.

Taking out the sword, Qi WuHuo's fingers brushed its blade, feeling its coldness. His heart settled, filled with a sense of familiarity and unfamiliarity. The familiarity came from dreams, where he had traveled the world in his youth and studied swordsmanship.

The unfamiliarity stemmed from the fact that these were, after all, just dreams.

He held the sword and put the stone mill back.

Qi WuHuo stood in the courtyard. This sword should have been somewhat heavy for him, making it impossible to wield easily. But at this moment, holding it in his hand, it felt just right.

The strength he could exert at this moment was roughly equivalent to his sixteen or seventeen-year-old self in the dream. Qi WuHuo clenched his hand around the hilt, put a little force into his wrist, and the long sword swept across, making a "wu" sound.

Swordsmanship, or rather, martial arts.

Besides the destructive combat power, there was also the aspect of tempering the body. Only with a strong body could one unleash the destructive effect of swordsmanship.

Although it didn't completely align with the step of purifying Primordial Essence.

However, its introductory parts, as verified by Qi WuHuo, still had the effect of tempering the body. Qi WuHuo held the sword and slowly and evenly executed various sword stances, stretching his muscles and bones, and cultivating his Blood Essence.

And Primordial Qi was for the perfection of Blood Essence.

With the movements, he could feel the speed of Primordial Qi circulating within his flesh and blood gradually increasing, emitting warmth.

This indicated that the tempering of Primordial Essence had sped up slightly.

Primordial Essence, Primordial Qi, Primordial Spirit.

When all three are cultivated to perfection, one can enter the Great Dao.

Qi WuHuo lowered his gaze, recalling the various experiences in his dream. Years passed, the world was prosperous, and he grew old. His movements became more and more steady. After practicing thirty times, he had broken into a light sweat. In this deep winter, faint wisps of steam rose from his body.

Suddenly, he stamped his foot on the ground, exerted force with his waist, and the originally slow long sword accelerated sharply, tearing through the air with a dull sound, leaving behind a cold glint, its momentum quite formidable.

The sword fell.

The wind rose.

Qi WuHuo's aura instantly retracted, like a turtle or a crane.

Practicing the swordsmanship from the dream again was, firstly, to find a way to accelerate the tempering of Primordial Essence, and secondly, to give himself a means of self-defense.

To seek longevity, one needs protective methods.

And what he sought was the Great Dao.

He sought longevity.

He would not take the next step until he had cultivated Complete Essence, Complete Qi, and Complete Spirit. Before that, without any methods or means, swordsmanship was the most convenient and simplest.

The young man slowly exhaled.

His vast Primordial Spirit guided Qi to flow through his limbs and bones, and flesh and blood.

His body trembled slightly, dispelling fatigue.

He opened his eyes and slowly exhaled. He held the sword horizontally in his right hand, his left hand behind his back, his black hair falling to his temples. A fallen flower landed on the body of the sword.

Seeing flowers bloom and fall, like seeing my entire life.

Qi WuHuo's eyes were calm and resolute.

He shook off the fallen flower.

"I must seek the Great Dao."

Li family, residence.

After inviting Qi WuHuo, Li Puyü breathed a sigh of relief upon returning home. He then planned to go play as he pleased, being just a fifteen-year-old boy. He had originally intended to find his second uncle and ask him about interesting things in the Capital City.

However, his father had called his second uncle away.

So, he had to return dejectedly and practice the zither with the tutor he had hired.

At this moment, Li Puyü's father looked at the middle-aged man in front of him, who bore a slight resemblance to him, and at the gold on the table, his expression instantly froze: "You, you said you were doing business outside."

"What kind of business?! In one year, to gain a hundred taels of gold? There's such profit!"

Li Puyü's second uncle, Li Yixian, said, "Just business."

Li YueLin's expression was grim: "Such exorbitant profits, business..."

"Are you perhaps trafficking people?!"

Li Yixian sighed and leaned back slightly:

"No, it's... selling ghosts!"