Primordial Qi, far more vast than he had ever imagined, began to shift and flow within Qi WuHuo's body.
As this Qi surged rapidly, a boundless, profound sensation surfaced in Qi WuHuo's heart.
It was as though an awareness of time, once erased, had resurfaced.
Qi WuHuo now knew for certain that he had truly meditated for a year.
Upon that river.
Looking back, he remembered Teacher smiling at him then and saying, "...It's only just nightfall. There's plenty of time; we can't waste it. I've told you before, whether you're gathering and refining Primordial Essence or breathing in and out Primordial Qi, there's a time limit. Overdo it and you'll harm your body. But since you ate something good today, there's no need to limit yourself..."
"Let's see how long you can meditate."
The old man had smiled with gentle anticipation.
He had seemed genuinely curious to see how long Qi WuHuo could meditate, to see how much perseverance he had.
Qi WuHuo had assumed it would be an hour or two, so he focused on meditating and slowly entered a state where self and world were forgotten.
It was uncomfortable, but Teacher hadn't called him, so he thought the discomfort was just his imagination and that not much time had passed.
He simply kept telling himself to hold on a little longer. The old man hadn't called out to him, so the time couldn't be up yet. He didn't feel hungry or tired, and in a state where self and world were forgotten, unaware of time's passage, he simply circulated his Qi and meditated. Perhaps even the old man himself hadn't expected that Qi WuHuo could truly keep meditating under such circumstances.
Afterward, the old man had once again obscured his awareness of time's passage.
He had thought