Seeking the Great Dao

Qi WuHuo looked at the old man and nodded in response. The moment he moved, that natural, seamless aura dispersed.

The birds fluttered away in alarm.

Watching them fly off, the old man smiled. "Once you refine Primordial Prenatal Qi, you'll be able to merge with heaven and earth, with nature itself. Then beasts and birds won't be startled by you."

At a glance, the old man could tell that Qi WuHuo had already cultivated primordial qi.

It was nothing like the inner qi pursued by martial artists of the jianghu. It had little power to kill. Primordial qi, primordial essence, and the Primordial Spirit were meant to elevate a person's body and mind to their finest state.

Only then, in that perfect state, could one set foot on the Dao Path.

The old man withdrew his gaze and stroked his beard. "Today was your first time sitting in meditation and breathing in and out. You did it for five whole shichen. You mustn't do that every day. Long periods of meditation and contemplation will harm not only your body but also your mind and spirit. Half a shichen is enough."

Qi WuHuo nodded.

With his eyes closed, he felt the changes in his body. His breathing had grown longer and steadier. His Primordial Spirit was established, his qi had taken shape, and primordial qi circulated without pause, flowing through his flesh and blood. A peculiar sensation took hold, as though his body were undergoing a subtle, gradual transformation.

It was slow, yet it continued without end.

The headaches and weakness that had plagued him whenever he used his Primordial Spirit were gone, too. The difference felt like going from dangling with both feet off the ground to finally standing firm. In an instant, his heart felt much more at ease.

Beside him, the old man brewed tea over a small red-clay stove. Smiling faintly, he said, "The Daoist arts of cultivation, from the introductory to the profound, are divided into Life Cultivation and the study of nature."

"The study of nature speaks of planting a lotus in fire, while Life Cultivation seeks the mystery beneath the water."

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

"Kan is water. It refers to the kidneys and to primordial essence."

The old man smiled and clapped his hands.

"Exactly. This means that cultivating primordial essence is of the utmost importance. There are many schools that don't know the difference between qi and qi. They simply unite primordial qi with the Primordial Spirit, step onto the Dao Path, and cultivate a Yin Spirit that can leave the body."

"They're bound to suffer later."

"Those who feed on qi do not die, while those who attain divinity endure."

"Qi and spirit unite, and primordial essence is cast aside. It may seem to bring freedom, but in the end, all that remains is a withered corpse in its grave."

"They can only cultivate into a Corpse-Released Immortal."

Qi WuHuo asked, "How can I cultivate primordial essence to its utmost?"

"For ordinary people, that means consuming large quantities of flesh and blood, then tempering themselves through martial arts until their flesh and blood grow stronger, their qi and blood as dense as mercury and vast as smoke. But that is a path of reversing the acquired to return to the prenatal."

"Within the Daoist tradition, essence means purity, without admixture."

"Its core lies in purity."

"As for you, your Primordial Spirit has already been established. Use it to drive your primordial qi, and let that qi flow through your blood vessels. What comes next is a slow, steady process. Given time, you'll naturally refine your primordial essence to purity. But..."

The old man paused. Looking at the light shifting in the boy's eyes, he smiled with amusement. "Because of Fire Dragon Daoist's jade pillow, your Primordial Spirit is far stronger than your qi and primordial essence. If you refuse to take the Left Path and want to cultivate all three to a similar limit, it may take thirty or fifty years."

"By then, your qi and blood may have withered and your primordial qi dissipated. You might never set foot on the Great Dao, and gain only Complete Longevity. Still, if you cultivate into a Corpse-Released Immortal, you can remain in the world for three or five hundred years. Even when your body rots, your Primordial Spirit won't die."

"If fortune favors you and you receive the Heavenly Emperor's Edict, you can eat some heavenly treasures and prolong your life a little longer."

The boy cupped his hands. "I wish to seek the Great Dao."

"What noble ambition!"

The old man laughed heartily, then waved a hand.

"Still, I told you I'd teach you just one move."

"What you do with it is up to you. You may trade it to someone or pass it on, but I won't teach you a second move."

"I will never go back on my word."

Qi WuHuo said solemnly, "Your kindness in imparting the teaching is already something I'll remember until my dying day. How could I ask for more?"

He made breakfast: steamed buns made from mixed grains, with dried rabbit meat stir-fried with cabbage as a side dish. The three strings of cash Master Su had given him had slightly less purchasing power than three taels of silver, worth about two taels and eight qian.

Yet in these times, ten jin of white flour cost only one qian of silver.

Ten jin of tea cost one tael of silver.

Three taels of silver was a considerable sum for Qi WuHuo now. He no longer had to live quite so frugally. After they ate, the old man said he had stayed up all night watching over him. Now he was tired, so he yawned and lay down on his side to sleep.

Qi WuHuo went to a small storeroom off to one side.

When he opened it, a chill filled the room. All sorts of things no longer in use were stored there: a lone cartwheel, a scale beam made of old wood and already cracked, and many other odds and ends.

People who had lived through famine always collected anything that might come in handy, just in case. Qi WuHuo took stock of his little treasure trove.

Then he pushed aside half of a handcart. Beneath it lay a stone mill.

Mustering his strength, he pushed the millstone aside. Underneath was a round hole, with a thread hanging in the middle. Qi WuHuo let out a breath and lifted the thread. The already chilly storeroom grew colder still, and glints of cold light flickered into view.

It was a sword.

A soldier's sword.

During the famine, even the army had eventually mutinied. On the road, swept along with the others, he had picked up a sword and a dagger. In those days, without a sharp weapon to defend himself, he would never have survived this far.

He took out the sword and ran his fingers over it, feeling its chill. His heart settled, and a feeling both familiar and strange came over him. It was familiar because in his dreams, when he had been young and traveling the world to study, he had learned swordsmanship.

It was strange because, after all, those things had happened only in a dream.

Holding the sword, he put the millstone back.

Qi WuHuo stood in the courtyard. The sword should have been rather heavy for him, too heavy to swing with ease. But now, in his hand, it felt just right.

The strength he could summon now was about equal to what he'd had in the dream at sixteen or seventeen. Qi WuHuo closed his hand around the hilt and put a little force into his wrist. The sword swept sideways with a whoosh.

Swordsmanship—or, more broadly, martial arts.

Beyond their power to kill and fight, they also helped temper the body. Only a strong body could unleash the full lethality of swordsmanship.

Though this did not entirely align with the step of purifying primordial essence,

Qi WuHuo had tested its fundamentals and confirmed that they could still temper the body. He held the sword and performed one stance after another at a slow, even pace, stretching his sinews and bones and training his qi and blood.

Primordial qi made qi and blood flow as one.

As he moved, he could feel primordial qi circulating faster and faster through his flesh and blood, warmth spreading through him.

That meant the refinement of his primordial essence had advanced by a hair.

Primordial essence, primordial qi, and the Primordial Spirit.

When all three were cultivated to perfection, one could enter the Great Dao.

Qi WuHuo lowered his eyes, recalling the myriad experiences of his dream: the years passing, the mortal world's splendor, his own aging. His movements grew ever more composed. After thirty repetitions, he was slick with sweat. In the dead of winter, wisps of heat rose faintly from his body.

Suddenly, his foot stamped down and his waist twisted. The sword, moving slowly until then, shot forward, tearing through the air with a muffled crack and leaving behind a streak of cold light. Its force was startling.

The sword fell.

The wind rose.

In an instant, Qi WuHuo's breath drew in, still as a tortoise or crane.

He had resumed practicing the swordsmanship from his dreams for two reasons: to see if it could speed the refinement of his primordial essence, and to give himself a means of self-defense.

To seek long life, one needed a method to protect oneself.

And he sought the Great Dao.

He sought eternal life.

He would not take the next step until he had cultivated Complete Essence, Complete Qi, and Complete Spirit. Until then, he had no other methods or techniques at his disposal. Swordsmanship was the simplest and most convenient choice.

The boy slowly breathed out.

His vast Primordial Spirit drove qi through every limb and bone, through every stretch of flesh and blood.

His body trembled faintly, shaking off its exhaustion.

He opened his eyes and slowly breathed out. He held the sword level in his right hand, his left hand clasped behind his back. Black hair fell beside his temples, and a fallen blossom rested on the blade.

To see a flower bloom and fall was to see my life.

Qi WuHuo's eyes were calm and resolute.

He shook the flower from the blade.

"I must seek the Great Dao."

The Li family residence.

After inviting Qi WuHuo, Li Puyü had only relaxed once he got home. After that, he had gone off to play as he pleased. He was only fifteen, after all. He had planned to find his second uncle and ask about the interesting things in the Capital City.

But his father had called his second uncle away.

So he could only return, sullen, and practice the zither with the tutor they had hired.

At that moment, Li Puyü's father looked at the middle-aged man standing before him, who resembled him by three parts, and at the gold on the table. His face froze. "Y-you said you were doing business out there."

"What kind of business?! A hundred taels of gold in a single year? How could it be so profitable!"

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

Li YueLin's expression darkened. "A business with profits this outrageous..."

"Are you selling people?!"

Li Yixian said, "I'm not selling people."

He sighed and leaned back slightly.

"I'm... selling ghosts!"