After his injuries had healed, He Heng's life returned to its old routine. Every morning, he went to the academy for lectures; every afternoon, he cultivated at home; and every evening, he studied various subjects, such as pharmacology, Talisman Script, formations, and Art Calculation.
His days were exceptionally full. He Heng had never liked going out, and after what had happened at Linjiang Tower, he wanted to leave home even less. So although friends occasionally invited him out, he ignored them and continued consolidating his cultivation.
Martial Dao Cultivation began with laying a foundation. The firmer the foundation, the higher one could climb in the future. Back then, to deal with that witch, He Heng had been forced to break through to the Great Perfection of the Hundred Bones Realm all at once. Although he hadn't suffered many problems afterward, he had advanced too hastily, leaving his foundation unstable. So he had spent these past days working to shore it up. Fortunately, it hadn't taken long to make up for the shortfall.
Once his foundation was secure, He Heng didn't rush to break through to the One Yang Realm. Instead, he continued purifying his true qi and using his mind to control his body.
Dong Hui had once said that tempering true qi required Fortune as the craft, Blood Qi as the charcoal, one's body as the furnace, and one's mind as the flame. Only after countless rounds of hammering and refining could one temper the purest, most substantial true qi, find that trace of Innate Yang Qi, and advance to the One Yang Realm.
This process should not be rushed. It required one to slowly and perfectly temper every last bit of true qi. Only then would the Yang Qi produced be at its strongest, making it easier for Yang Qi to generate Yin and advance to the Second Marquis Realm.
One Yang First Movement. Collect the mind and enter stillness; regulate body and mind to bring forth the vital qi within. This vital qi is Yang Qi, known as One Yang, or the First Marquis. In the Book of Changes, the hexagram is described as "Zhen as Thunder" or "Earth Thunder Fu." This single Yang line represents the qi of the first stir of Yang, also called the return of One Yang. The Five Chapters of Spiritual Texts said: "Focus the spirit downward upon Kun Palace. In the vast darkness, true qi will arise, and divine awareness will come of itself. This is called the birth of One Yang, which is Fu."
"To become an immortal, one must cultivate as if at leisure. When One Yang first stirs, fire rises in the Jade Furnace to refine the elixir. Seize the Heavenly Soul and Earthly Soul; let neither dragon soar nor tiger leap, until the Mercury Flower dries in the cauldron. Let the River Cart run its course, and follow the path straight to the Niwan Palace.
"Fly the golden essence, gather the wood liquid, and pass the Three Passes. With metal and wood separated, how can they ascend to Jade Capital Mountain? Find the path to Caoxi, then take the divine water of Huachi and form the Purple Gold Ball. No more hunger or cold—the heavens are here on earth."
Winter was drawing to a close. Several months had passed since He Heng recovered from his injuries. Autumn had given way to winter, and He Heng had devoted himself to cultivation, paying no heed to the outside world.
By then, the Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror had gathered enough power once more. He Heng could have traveled to another world again, but he didn't rush to do so. Instead, he focused on cultivating here.
"The Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror is wonderful for traveling through the worlds, but if I transmigrate with my soul, I bring back a whole body's worth of vital essence each time, and it merges with my own. But I'm still in the early stages of Martial Dao, when laying a foundation matters most. I shouldn't rush to break through. And if I travel with my body, who knows whether that world will be dangerous? Even if I set that aside, what if I stay there too long? When I return, my appearance might have changed so much that others notice something's wrong. Better to wait until my body has fully matured."
"More than anything, my strength is too low right now. I've refined the second restriction of the Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror these past days, but I still can't control even a fraction of this Supreme Treasure's power. I can't control which world I go to or how much time passes. Otherwise, why would I need to be so cautious?"
He Heng sighed inwardly and continued reading. He knew that with the Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror, he didn't need to focus too much on accumulating power. After traveling a few times and absorbing several lifetimes' worth of true essence, his power would surely surge.
So aside from breaking through his true qi and stabilizing his foundation, He Heng didn't rush to build up his power. Instead, he spent more time reading books of all kinds, committing knowledge from the Three Teachings and the nine schools to memory, even if only roughly.
He Heng planned to undergo Soul Transmigration in a while. He would have to start as a child and wouldn't be able to practice martial arts from the moment he was born. That would give him time to study these miscellaneous subjects. He was memorizing them now so he could digest them gradually later.
"The embryo forms within Hidden Qi; qi rests within the embryo. When qi enters the body, it is called life; when the spirit departs the body, it is called death. Know the spirit and qi, and you can attain longevity. Therefore, guard emptiness and nothingness to nurture the spirit and qi. When the spirit moves, qi moves; when the spirit rests, qi rests. If you seek longevity, let the spirit and qi infuse one another. Let the heart be free of thoughts, with nothing coming or going, nothing entering or leaving, and you will naturally remain forever. Practice diligently: this is the true path..."
He Heng silently recited the scripture. His mind was clear, his spirit entering a state of profound insight as he observed every inch of himself and resonated with heaven and earth.
As the days passed, another month went by, and the year drew to a close. He Heng returned to his family's home in Beigu City. Lately, he had gradually revealed a little of his growing strength, and his aptitude had indeed improved as well. His standing in the family had risen accordingly. Apart from a few exceptional prodigies, he was now one of the most outstanding among the younger generation.
The most visible result was that his monthly allowance had risen from two Spirit Essences to three. When he returned, the He Family Patriarch, He Jitu—who had barely acknowledged He Heng's existence as his son—actually made time in his busy schedule to see him. He also gave He Heng a red packet containing ten Spirit Essences and a sword of exceptional quality.
Spirit Essence was a common currency in the Great Heaven World, and its purchasing power was extremely high.
In the Great Heaven World, Martial Dao Experts naturally didn't use gold and silver as currency like ordinary people did. Nor was there anything like the Spirit Stones found in novels. It made sense: using some special mineral as a world's common currency was a sign of a low level of civilization.
On Earth, for instance, gold and silver had initially served as common currency. But later, banknotes appeared, and in modern times, paper money had replaced them.
That was the inevitable course of civilization. The Great Heaven World had a civilization stretching back countless millennia, so it certainly wouldn't use things like Spirit Stones as its common currency.
Spirit Essence was actually a round, crystal-like object, very similar in appearance to a Spirit Stone. But it wasn't a mineral; it was refined after the fact.
In any world, the most powerful forces, in terms of their overall strength, also controlled the world's economy.
The Great Heaven World was no exception. Spirit Essence was a currency jointly created by the Three Great Sects of the Mystic Gate. Condensed from spiritual qi, each piece bore a mark imbued by a True Person Realm Expert from each of the Three Schools of the Mystic Gate. Even a Pure Yang Expert couldn't forge one.
After countless years in circulation, this currency had spread to every corner of the Great Heaven World. The Demon Sect, the Brahmin Sect, and other powers had tried making their own currencies, but cultivators at large never accepted them. In the end, they had no choice but to accept Spirit Essence.
Because the Mystic Gate controlled Spirit Essence, which was closely tied to every cultivator in the Great Heaven World, it had grown increasingly prosperous over the years. Its fortune had gathered to its peak, and experts had emerged one after another.
Just as it had been on Earth, the economy was the lifeblood of every living being. Unless you were among the very strongest, who could do without resources?
Every expert above the Dao Embryo Realm consumed vast quantities of spiritual qi each day. But the concentration of spiritual qi in the world was fixed. If you wanted to cultivate faster, you either had to find a blessed place rich in spiritual qi or rely on various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures. And those didn't come free.
A great sect might support tens of thousands of disciples. They needed pills for cultivation, Talisman Script for practice, materials for setting up formations, and all kinds of magical treasures for equipment. What sect could refine everything on its own without buying anything from outside?
Each of these transactions involved Spirit Essence. By controlling the lifeblood of most cultivators, the Mystic Gate naturally absorbed their fortune. No wonder it had flourished.
The purchasing power of Spirit Essence was far beyond what ordinary people could imagine. A typical One Yang Realm Expert spent only a little more than one Spirit Essence a month. Even a great family like the He Family, with several tens of thousands of years of accumulated wealth, probably had no more than a million Spirit Essences in total.
He Heng estimated that his no-good father's entire fortune amounted to only twenty or thirty thousand Spirit Essences. That was after a century or two of accumulation. An ordinary Dao Embryo Realm Expert would be lucky to have a few thousand Spirit Essences saved up.
So He Heng was thrilled to receive such a large sum. At the very least, he could finally consider himself a rich young master.
Heh!
He Heng glanced at the dozens of Spirit Essences he had just received from Wang Bian and smiled. Then he looked over his entire fortune. After saving for more than a decade and adding in his recent windfall, he had around fifty or sixty. That should be about as much as Wang Bian had gotten in his New Year's red packet.
It had to be said that Wang Panlong had a cushy job as the city lord. The Great Xia Dynasty paid him more than a thousand Spirit Essences in salary each year, and the various powers in the city gave him over a thousand more in gifts during the holidays. No wonder Wang Bian was so rich.
Boom!
Spring had just arrived, and He Heng was seventeen. That day, he sat cross-legged in the courtyard when a sudden peal of thunder flashed across the sky. He Heng felt his true qi stir, and a mighty, supremely Yang aura suddenly appeared within the pure true qi he had tempered through a thousand refinements.
This was a wisp of Innate Yang Qi.
He had achieved the Martial Dao One Yang Realm!
"I really should thank those ten Spirit Essences for letting me live like a rich man for once. I've spent these past days refining medicinal pills to temper my body and refine my true qi. Otherwise, how could I have done it so quickly?"
He Heng stood up with a smile, feeling the true qi within him undergo a complete transformation. Then he suddenly looked toward the horizon, his gaze deep and clear.
"The Ascension Assessment is held once every three years across the Nine Provinces. Those with outstanding results can enter the Inner Sect of a Great Mystic Sect directly. I'd planned to try in three years, but now I can give this July's assessment a shot. With my current strength, passing shouldn't be difficult. But I'm still far from earning top marks and entering the Inner Sect directly. Fortunately, I still have..."
"The Myriad Heavens Treasure Mirror!"
Across the Myriad Worlds of the Heavens and infinite reaches of time and space, traveling through the ages—who could be Eternal?
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