"Every person is an independent individual."
"No one is anyone else's appendage."
"On the path to immortality, even more so."
Meng Nan watched Zhao Xiaoshuang leave, feeling a strange mix of worry and wistfulness.
But in the end, he adjusted.
During the first twelve years of this life, he had arranged every step of his own life perfectly, and Zhao Xiaoshuang's as well. He had always wanted to shape a perfect life for her. On the surface, it seemed he was doing it for her good, but little by little, he had come to treat her as his appendage, freely directing and arranging her life.
Twelve years of subtle influence had left him unaware.
It was only after Meng Nan came into this life that, over two years spent together, he noticed something was wrong and saw the root of the problem. Then, with this breakthrough, Zhao Xiaoshuang's changes and behavior finally helped him put everything together and come to his senses.
How could the path to immortality ever be foolproof?
When it was time to let go, he had to let go.
After this experience, he would gradually change his mindset. When he returned to the present timeline, his way of handling things and his attitude should both be much better.
Just as he thought, the immortal path was truly difficult. Having a benefactor lend a hand was certainly good, but one's own efforts and independent thinking were indispensable, too.
"Everyone should be the protagonist of their own life."
For the next three or four years, Meng Nan stayed home.
He cultivated diligently.
He looked after the children.
He taught his disciples.
He recorded the changes.
His eldest disciple, Wang An, cultivated extremely quickly. He had only begun cultivating in the second month of the thirty-first year of the Immortal Calendar, yet by the end of the thirty-second year, he had advanced to the Inner Qi Stage, several months faster than in his previous life.
The third month of the thirty-sixth year of the Immortal Calendar.
Wang An broke through to the True Qi Stage. He was only twenty-one years old.
His future was limitless.
That same month.
The Fort Lord personally escorted Wang An to Tianlin Cave. From then on, he could cultivate there, and would return to Yinlian Village at most once a year.
Some even never returned.
After nurturing Wang An, Meng Nan left everything else to him. Whether this disciple would be filial or remember his kindness would depend on what happened from then on.
But there wasn't much time left to see what happened.
He had only two years left in this timeline.
One day.
Meng Nan was cultivating again.
He sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, quietly entering a state of stillness. He thought of nothing, looked at nothing, heard nothing, and moved not at all. With his tongue pressed against his palate, he let his mouth fill with saliva, then slowly swallowed it.
He directed the inner qi in his dantian downward, through his lower abdomen, to the Zhongji acupoint four inches below his navel, through the perineum, past the anus to the coccyx, then upward along the spine to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, before descending across his face.
After that.
The inner qi should pass through his throat and enter his dantian along the midline of his chest and abdomen.
Only then would it complete one Lesser Celestial Circuit.
But so far, Meng Nan could move his inner qi only as far as his face. After that, he would run out of strength, his thoughts often becoming a chaotic jumble, fading and returning in turn until they disrupted his cultivation and made it impossible to continue.
"Thirty-five breaths!"
"Just one breath short!"
Over the past few years, building on the foundation of the first twelve years of cultivation, he had made further progress. He had advanced from 'Twenty-four Breaths' to 'Thirty-five Breaths,' surpassing even the 'Thirty-three Breaths' he had managed before dying in this life.
That was progress.
At this point, he had already surpassed the peak he had reached earlier in this life.
But he was still one step away from the 'Lesser Celestial Circuit Realm.'
Fortunately—
"I've already grasped this realm."
"If I can take one more step and sustain a single cultivation session for 'Thirty-six Breaths,' I'll have a chance to completely open the Lesser Celestial Circuit and enter the 'Lesser Celestial Circuit Realm.'"
Meng Nan now understood everything clearly. He could see the way forward.
Once the 'Lesser Celestial Circuit' was fully connected, the inner qi that had stagnated for so long might continue to grow, allowing his strength to rise another level.
He still had two years. It was only a matter of time before he took that step.
It might take a few months, or perhaps a year or two, but he would surely break through.
"But now that I understand how it works, there's no need to keep pushing myself through it."
Meng Nan already had a plan in mind.
He got up and pushed open the door.
The morning sun rose.
A cool breeze greeted him.
From the bamboo grove came the faint sound of shouts.
Meng Xingzhe, Meng Jian, and Meng Santan—the three siblings—were practicing their swordplay.
It was now the fourth month of the thirty-sixth year of the Immortal Calendar.
Meng Xingzhe had just turned seventeen.
Meng Jian was fifteen.
Meng Santan was thirteen.
The eldest was now old enough to cultivate.
In this life, with Meng Nan's guidance and the help of the 'Suoluo Seed,' Meng Xingzhe's cultivation had progressed much faster. He had long since passed the Stillness Realm and the Qi Sensing Realm, and entered the Visualization Realm.
Advancing to the Inner Qi Stage within the next year should be no problem.
Meng Nan hadn't wasted his efforts.
Following the sounds, he went over to teach the three of them swordsmanship and footwork. After a busy stretch, he returned to his own cultivation—
Spirit Wandering Steps.
Pine Wind Swordplay.
Once his inner qi had been depleted and his stamina had begun to wane, he returned to the courtyard, ate lunch, and basked in the sun while pondering the 'Blood Arrow Secret Technique.'
This technique hurt its user before it hurt anyone else, so it wasn't suitable for practice. He could only chew it over slowly, bit by bit.
After six years of study.
Meng Nan felt he had gained a fair amount of insight and skill.
Noon passed.
In the afternoon, Meng Nan busied himself with woodworking in the courtyard. He no longer made ordinary furniture very often. Instead, he crafted things that were more intricate and novel. A merchant caravan formed by True Qi Stage cultivators from the village would come to collect the goods and sell them far and wide.
A busy afternoon was enough to support the whole household's living expenses and cultivation, with a little left over.
By evening.
Meng Nan was cultivating again.
This time, he took out the 'Yingxiang Grass' that he and Zhao Xiaoshuang had found six years ago. The plant had dried up, its leaves stiff and straight like long swords.
Meng Nan plucked off one leaf and placed it in an incense burner, then lit its tip, which was shaped like a sword point.
Soon, its fragrance filled the air.
Amid that fragrance, Meng Nan loosened his clothes, sat quietly on a meditation cushion, and straightened his body, keeping his spine upright and his posture perfectly steady.
As he cultivated.
He also followed the Six-Character Breathing Method, inhaling through his nose and exhaling through his mouth in turn for each of the six sounds—he, xu, hu, si, chui, and xi—silently repeating each sound six times, for a total of thirty-six repetitions.
His inner qi still descended from his dantian, through his lower abdomen, to the Zhongji acupoint four inches below his navel, through the perineum, past the anus to the coccyx, then upward along the spine to the Baihui acupoint at the crown of his head, before descending across his face.
That morning, his progress had stopped there.
But this time, he paused for only a moment.
Then the qi passed smoothly through his throat and entered his dantian along the midline of his chest and abdomen.
At that point, Meng Nan's body trembled slightly, and boundless joy welled up in his heart.
But he did not stop cultivating.
He shifted to the 'Lesser Celestial Circuit' method. It was largely the same as before, flowing in an endless cycle, round and round.
One cycle took thirty-six breaths!
The next took thirty-six more!
After three cycles, he finally reached his limit.
The Inner Qi Minor Heavenly Cycle!
He had finally achieved it!
Name: Meng Nan
Lifespan: 6/8
Faction: Chashan Cave
Cultivation: Inner Qi Minor Heavenly Cycle
Inner Qi: 101
Root Bone: 1
Cultivation Method: Thunder Illumination Scripture Fifth Layer
Techniques: Spirit Wandering Steps (Proficient), Pine Wind Swordplay (Proficient), Blood Arrow Secret Technique (Skilled) [Unlearned, Initiate, Skilled, Proficient, Minor Mastery, Great Mastery, Perfection]
Skills: None
Death Log: Available to view
He broke through in the fourth month.
By the fifth month.
Zhao Xiaoshuang returned once more.
"That trip was so dangerous!"
"We actually ran into a Silver Armored Horned Python. Its hide was as tough as an old tree's bark. Sister Ying and I had to go to a lot of trouble to kill it!"
"The Silver Armored Horned Python's gallbladder and scales are both worth a lot."
"Sister Ying used some of the scales to make a suit of inner armor. Ordinary blades and spears can barely scratch it."
"I sold all of my share!"
"It's the same market I told you about last time. When I first went there last year, there were only a dozen or so people. This time, there were over twenty—twenty-two, to be exact. I traded those scales for this. I knew you'd like it!"
As she spoke, Zhao Xiaoshuang recounted the months she had spent away.
Over these four years, Zhao Xiaoshuang hadn't been away all the time. She came home two or three times a year, stayed for a month or two, then went back out.
Meng Nan rarely left home.
But through Zhao Xiaoshuang, he had learned a little about the area around Yinlian Village.
Among the villages and settlements under Tianlin Cave, there were plenty of Inner Qi Stage cultivators.
Yinlian Village, for example, had two hundred.
Some, like Meng Nan, stayed in the village year-round, making a living of their own and unwilling to risk going out.
Others traveled with True Qi Stage cultivators, buying high and selling low, doing small-time business.
Then there were people like Zhao Xiaoshuang and Feng Ying. They weren't content with an ordinary life. They ventured through the wilderness, honing themselves and seeking opportunities in hopes of becoming exalted Qi Refining Immortal Masters.
But it was difficult.
For one person alone, it was even harder.
So, over time, some Inner Qi Stage cultivators who had encountered one another in the wilderness—and occasionally a few True Qi Stage cultivators—kept in touch. They would gather every few months or every few years to exchange what they had.
Sometimes it was information.
Sometimes it was supplies.
Zhao Xiaoshuang and Feng Ying had been adventuring for four years. The year before last, they had encountered a small group of people who met twice a year at a fixed location to trade with one another.
After two years of contact, the two of them were finally accepted last year, and the group revealed the existence of the small market.
But last year, they had only gone along to see the sights.
This year, they had fortunately managed to hunt a Silver Armored Horned Python. Its scales and gallbladder were both treasures, so they finally had something to trade.
As she spoke, Zhao Xiaoshuang proudly pulled a small booklet from her clothes and handed it to Meng Nan—
"Alchemy Notes?"
Meng Nan's interest was piqued.
He flipped through it and saw recipes for seven kinds of healing medicine, including remedies to stop bleeding and reduce bruising, set bones and mend tendons, and treat internal injuries, as well as two antidote recipes.
Those were all ordinary.
What caught Meng Nan's eye was a secret medicine called 'Qi Circulation Powder' at the very end of the notes.
"Qi Circulation Powder!"
"This secret medicine can't compare to real immortal pills, but it's useful for both Inner Qi Stage and True Qi Stage cultivators. The only problem is that the ingredients needed to make it are hard to find."
"The Alchemy Notes alone weren't worth half my share of the scales, so I also traded for a pellet of Qi Circulation Powder."
"This is it."
Zhao Xiaoshuang handed the Alchemy Notes to Meng Nan, then carefully took out a small bottle and poured a pill from it. The pill was coated in wax, so it gave off no scent, and he couldn't tell what it looked like inside.
But—
"A pill!"
"A cultivation pill!"
Meng Nan's eyes lit up. This was something good.
He had plenty of time, and had always wanted to learn another craft besides woodworking, preferably one related to cultivation.
The first thing that came to mind was alchemy.
But until his death—and throughout the six years he had lived again since then—Meng Nan had never managed to find any books on the subject. He couldn't get close to any of the famous alchemists in the Three Hundred Cave Villages, either. He had thought he could only spend this life gathering information, then try again in the next.
He hadn't expected Zhao Xiaoshuang to bring back a scroll.
"With these Alchemy Notes, if I put in the work and study them during my final two years, they may not come in handy when I return to reality this time. But the next time I come to the future, I might already have mastered alchemy and become fabulously wealthy!"
Meng Nan was delighted.
He looked at Zhao Xiaoshuang. The excitement on her face hadn't faded, and seeing how happy he was only made her happier. A breeze lifted the ends of her hair. Meng Nan saw that the wound on her forehead had yet to heal, then noticed several sword cuts on her neck as well.
Traveling through the savage wilderness was no easy feat.
Poisonous creatures!
Miasma!
Demonic beasts!
And people!
Though Zhao Xiaoshuang enjoyed it, there was no shortage of danger and hardship.
Meng Nan was moved.
He put away the Alchemy Notes and said to Zhao Xiaoshuang, "I broke through last month. Want to go out together next time?"
"Ah!"
"Sure!"
Zhao Xiaoshuang was even more delighted, her face lighting up with joy.
Zhao Xiaoshuang returned in May, then left again in June.
This time, Feng Ying was joined by one more companion: Meng Nan.
They set out in June.
Roamed the wilderness in July.
Died in August.
In the eighth month of Immortal Calendar Year 36, Meng Nan and his companions encountered a Feathered Peacock. None of the three escaped; all of them perished.
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