Gift Giving

Under the gaze of the Fierce Tiger, faint wisps of spiritual light began to appear around Qi WuHuo. The young man's eyes were slightly closed, and under the guidance of orthodox methods, his Primordial Spirit was directing his Primordial Qi to circulate throughout his body.

With the aid of this spiritual liquid, even a moderately spiritual Mountain Spiritual Fox could enter a state of deep meditation, reaching a profound and mysterious state to cultivate instinctively. How much more so for Qi WuHuo, who easily entered such a state.

In this state, he could vaguely sense the wondrous existence within his limbs and bones.

It was difficult to describe in words, yet its immense preciousness could be perceived.

Qi WuHuo subconsciously followed the method taught by the Fierce Tiger, gathering and refining this formless and intangible [Primordial Qi of All Things].

The process was slow, yet undeniably real. At this moment, Qi WuHuo's Primordial Qi naturally circulated within his flesh and blood. Suddenly, the method the elder had spoken of earlier arose in his heart—

Emptiness leads to concentration, concentration leads to Qi gathering, Qi gathering leads to Essence birth.

This is what is called the Dao.

It lies between action and inaction.

Gathering and refining is action, while Qi gathering and Essence birth is inaction.

There is no need to distinguish between the two.

In that instant, Qi WuHuo suddenly had an epiphany, as if the Yin and Yang fish had perfectly aligned. The process of refining Primordial Essence suddenly accelerated significantly. Although it sped up, it remained in a state of balance, neither rushed nor slow, like a breeze brushing over lotus flowers. Qi WuHuo's Primordial Spirit hovered above, understanding the profound mystery of using spirit to control Qi that the elder had spoken of.

Lost in a daze, he didn't know where he was or how much time had passed.

Finally, the wondrous sensation from his limbs and bones condensed in his lower Dantian, faintly forming a point of spiritual light.

It was as if a river channel had been opened.

The Primordial Essence in his body began to gather naturally.

Primordial Essence in the lower Dantian, Primordial Qi in the middle Dantian, and Primordial Spirit in the center of his brow. The three formed a subtle cycle. Primordial Essence is the root of life, Primordial Qi is the circulation within flesh and blood, and Primordial Spirit is the "I" that is "me."

The moment these Three Treasures appeared together, Qi WuHuo finally felt a sense of truly embarking on cultivation, a distinct difference. It was as if he had been looking at the world and himself through a foggy mirror before, but now, though the thick fog hadn't completely dispersed, his vision had cleared somewhat. He suddenly felt a connection: Primordial Essence sank, Primordial Qi ascended, and Primordial Spirit responded. The young man instinctively tilted his head.

At this moment, a dead leaf had fallen from Qi WuHuo's hair. A white ape curiously reached out to touch Qi WuHuo, wanting to help him remove the leaf, but the ape's speed and agility were insufficient to touch him.

Qi WuHuo tilted his head slightly, and the leaf brushed past its outstretched hand.

It froze.

Immediately after, it saw the young man open his eyes, his expression serene.

His body was dusted with morning dew.

Only then did the ape react, its eyes widening.

It had been dodged?!

It wasn't a dodge, but more like he had known it was going to extend its paw and had moved preemptively…

The ape was bewildered, looking at its own paw.

It had already gained a trace of spiritual essence, consuming a spiritual medicine with Primordial Essence as its core. Later, by chance, it had obtained a wisp of malevolent energy from three hundred-year-old Geng Metal Original Iron, cultivating Geng Metal Dharma Power. Yet this human, still seemingly ordinary, could foresee its actions and evade it?

The Fierce Tiger, over ten feet long and extremely imposing, rose and looked at Qi WuHuo, its expression filled with surprise and uncertainty:

"...You are, refining Primordial Essence for the first time?"

Qi WuHuo nodded: "I still need to thank the Mountain God for his guidance."

"No, you don't need to…"

The Fierce Tiger shook its head.

Its amber eyes gazed at Qi WuHuo, its voice low:

"What talent… what talent indeed…"

Seeing that Qi WuHuo didn't seem to understand the source of his exclamation, it sighed and paced back to the large expanse of flat bluestone, lying down. It said, "Primordial Essence is the treasure of all life, something that must be reclaimed on the path to the Great Dao."

After a long period of contemplation, it added, "Observe my cultivation, how is it?"

Qi WuHuo looked at the striped white-browed tiger, over ten feet long, and recalled its massive cauldron, its nine-turn fire refining, which seemed to intoxicate the entire mountain. He also remembered the monsters he had seen in his childhood and said, "Extremely powerful."

The Fierce Tiger accepted the compliment and sighed, "My cultivation has reached this point. I occupy the earth veins of sixteen mountains to nourish my Primordial Qi and refine my divine abilities. Those I associate with are Mountain Gods and Earthly Deities; Earth Deities and City Gods address me as Mountain Lord. All demons and True Spirits avoid me, and True Cultivators respect me, while souls and ghosts fear me."

"I enjoy the pure fortune of a region and have a lifespan of five hundred years."

"However, I cultivated Primordial Essence because I consumed a five-hundred-year-old Huang Jing when I was young. By chance, I cultivated for thirty years afterward, and my Primordial Essence formed, followed by Primordial Qi. Essence and Qi merged, forming Primordial Prenatal Qi."

"Yet, it is far inferior to yours."

The Fierce Tiger lamented, "Should I say that humans are ultimately more spiritually aware than beasts, or are you simply not an ordinary being?"

Qi WuHuo suddenly said, "Five-hundred-year-old Huang Jing?"

The striped Fierce Tiger smiled and replied, "It is precisely the thousand-year-old Huang Jing that you found. I consumed half of it when I was young, almost ruining its cultivation. Later, while traveling through eighteen provinces, I promised it that I would protect its cultivation until it reached a thousand years."

"Because you did not harm it, I invited you here to listen to the Dao."

This five-hundred-year-old Fierce Tiger gazed at Qi WuHuo.

This person's aptitude was so extraordinary. Although the path of cultivation was fraught with challenges at every step, this person had the potential to cultivate Primordial Prenatal Qi in the future. Furthermore, reaching the stage of Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown would allow him to be called a True Person by the Daoist sects, and even cultivators from the Side Gates would have to show him respect. In terms of overall strength, he would be at the level where he could find a scenic place and establish his own sect and lineage.

Thus, the Fierce Tiger's attitude, compared to its initial hearty and bold demeanor, had unconsciously shifted to one of calm equality. The mountain spirits who perceived this subtle change looked on with surprise and astonishment, wondering why this mortal, who hadn't even cultivated any divine abilities, was being regarded with such importance by a Mountain God?

Qi WuHuo and this Fierce Tiger Mountain God discussed the methods for refining and cultivating the Primordial Essence and Life Treasures.

They didn't stop until the sun was high in the sky. The Mountain God saw the intention to leave on Qi WuHuo's face and asked with a smile, "I see you came up with a basket on your back, WuHuo. Are you here to find medicinal herbs? What do you need? Just say the word, and I'll give you everything that can be found on these mountains."

Qi WuHuo saw the Deer Spirit's body stiffen, even its wagging tail stopped.

He saw the Green Snake pause its flickering tongue, and the Spiritual Fox lowered its head. They knew that they cultivated spiritual herbs, and the Mountain God had the grace of transformation and enlightenment for them. These mountain spirits would not refuse his requests, but even so, they were afraid that Qi WuHuo would make an outrageous demand and take away all the spiritual herbs they had painstakingly accumulated.

The young man winked his right eye at the little deer, then lifted his basket and replied with a smile:

"It's noon, and there's still an elder at home. I came up the mountain to gather some mountain goods."

"If possible, I'd like some winter bamboo shoots."

"I'm visiting a friend tomorrow and wanted to bring a gift."

After hearing Qi WuHuo's reason for being there, the Mountain God laughed heartily and said, "There are no other good things in the mountains, but there are plenty of winter mountain goods. Take as much as you want. Come, present my guest with a farewell gift!"

Thus, the various spiritual beasts of the mountains sprang into action.

A spiritual snake as thick as a bowl's rim had vermilion fruits on its head, the Spiritual Fox carried ginseng, and the ape, which had cultivated Geng Metal Dharma Power, held a gourd of wine. Besides that, they brought an unknown amount of winter bamboo shoots, mountain vegetables, and kudzu root. Qi WuHuo was stunned:

"This is..."

The young man reacted and said, "It's too much."

The Fierce Tiger laughed heartily, "You consider us friends and didn't extort us for spiritual herbs."

"So I consider you a friend too!"

"How can my friend leave empty-handed on their first visit!"

His tiger claws controlled the wind, signaling Qi WuHuo not to resist.

He then smiled and explained:

"Don't worry, this is all my own accumulation from my travels. I won't take theirs. Don't be polite!"

Before Qi WuHuo could refuse, the small basket was already filled with various mountain goods, including aged spiritual herbs, ginseng, Huang Jing, Lingzhi Grass, and a gourd of Hundred Flower Hundred Fruit Brew. The familiar Deer Spirit also gave him a rather large piece of Huang Jing. Qi WuHuo reached out and stroked its head, causing the Deer Spirit to squint comfortably and rub against his palm.

The Mountain God, the Fierce Tiger, escorted Qi WuHuo to the mountainside before stopping. He instructed:

"There are no trivial matters in the mountains. If you have free time, you are welcome to come up the mountain often to discuss the Dao and expound on the teachings."

After watching Qi WuHuo leave, he turned and returned to the mountain.

Qi WuHuo descended the mountain with light steps and returned home. He pushed open the door to find the elder still brewing tea, waiting for him to cook. Qi WuHuo put the contents of the basket into the storeroom, took out ten or so coins, and went to buy a pound of cured meat and some vegetables. Upon his return, he sliced the winter bamboo shoots and stewed them together with the Huang Jing given by the little Deer Spirit.

The staple food was still millet rice, served with a plate of crisp side dishes.

The elder, brewing tea, looked up and paused slightly when he saw Qi WuHuo.

"Your Primordial Essence..."

Qi WuHuo knew the elder was unfathomably profound.

He put down the food, thought for a moment, and then cupped his hands in reply:

"I have succeeded."