A Way Out

As he digested the memories in his mind, Chu Zheng's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

The Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium Introductory Chapter not only recorded Qi cultivation formulas, but also contained some information regarding the path of cultivation.

No matter what method of cultivation one practiced, differences between people were unavoidable.

Comprehension had no concrete standard of measure, yet the gap it created could be far more outrageous than that of Immortal Bones.

Sometimes, enlightenment simply came; it could not even be explained in words.

Some Qi Cultivators might remain stuck at a single bottleneck for their entire lives, unable to advance another inch.

For those with extraordinary comprehension, that bottleneck might not exist at all. Cultivation would be a smooth road all the way.

Qi cultivation methods came in a dazzling array, and there was no shortage of heretical paths promising rapid progress.

The Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium followed the orthodox path of Qi cultivation. Its Combat Power was not particularly high—one could even call it mediocre—but it was steady and reliable, progressing step by step without too many twists and turns. It was sufficient to cultivate all the way to the Peak of Humanity; beyond that summit lay immortality.

Qi was the root of all things that made up the Cosmos. The sun, moon, stars, birds, beasts, mountains, rocks, grass, and trees were all formed from Qi.

Qi Cultivators did not rely much on the environment of Heaven and Earth. What mattered most was balancing yin and yang; absorbing the Essence of Sun and Moon was precisely for that purpose.

Throughout a Qi Cultivator's life, the pursuit was the Innate Realm. Only in an innate state could one's Cultivation Speed truly reach its peak, making immortality within reach.

A person's life, from the moment of birth, could roughly be divided into four stages: childhood, youth, middle age, and old age.

The longer one had been separated from the mother's body, the slower one's growth became. Yin and yang fell out of balance, and the body's various functions gradually began to decline.

While within the mother's body, a wisp of vital essence could transform into a fully formed person with all five organs in just over two hundred days. Such a rate of growth could only be achieved in the womb.

During childhood, the yin-yang qi within the body was still relatively balanced. By youth, it gradually became unbalanced, and one naturally began to desire the opposite sex. This stemmed from the body's craving for Qi.

Yin deficient and yang excessive; yang deficient and yin abundant—it was nothing more than that.

Upon reaching middle age, yin and yang became thoroughly imbalanced, and all manner of changes occurred. Extreme yin gave birth to yang, and extreme yang gave birth to yin. The most obvious manifestation was emotional change.

Women changed from soft to hard, their tempers gradually growing fierce; men changed from hard to soft, their dispositions gradually becoming more reserved.

From then on, the body began its march toward decay.

The first step of Qi cultivation was to adjust the Yin-Yang Qi within the body. This process had to last a full hundred days.

No matter how monstrous one's comprehension, it could not bypass this step.

This was the Dao Foundation.

After thoroughly digesting the contents of the Introductory Chapter, Chu Zheng looked up at the sky. It was deep into the night, and the moonlight was at its strongest.

He abruptly flipped to his feet and strode into the courtyard. Sitting cross-legged directly atop the bluestone slabs, he assumed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture. His breathing rhythm gradually changed as he began attempting to draw in Moonlight Essence.

This time, his body reacted quickly. In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Chu Zheng felt a cool, gentle breath enter through the crown of his head and slowly flow into his limbs and bones.

An indescribable sensation of comfort rose from his tailbone, making his body tremble uncontrollably.

It was Chu Zheng's first time circulating the cycle, and he was still unfamiliar with it. He spent nearly half an hour before finally completing one full Great Cycle.

With the rhythm of his breath, a misty stream of Turbid Qi escaped from his mouth and nose, vanishing in an instant.

The second cycle took far less time, only three quarters of an hour.

By the ninth cycle, it took less than a quarter of an hour for Chu Zheng to complete the Great Cycle circulation.

When Chu Zheng opened his eyes again, the moon had already set behind the western hills, and the horizon was turning pale.

With a sudden spring, he shot to his feet. His Tendons and Bones immediately erupted in a series of crackling pops, and his frame stretched open in an instant.

Chu Zheng had sat for a long time this round, yet there was no longer any stiffness or numbness in his limbs. He was brimming with energy, saliva welled beneath his tongue, his appetite was wide open, and every inch of him seemed filled with inexhaustible strength.

According to the Introductory Chapter, completing nine full Great Cycles during one's first cultivation session meant one's aptitude was acceptable. Finishing within three hours could be called exceptionally gifted.

Chu Zheng, however, had taken only two and a half hours.

Fortunately, he was still sixteen—a boy at precisely the right age for cultivation.

The newborn yang qi of dawn was exceptionally pure and best suited for cultivation. After sensing the changes in his body, Chu Zheng eagerly sat down again and began circulating his Qi, drawing yang qi into his body.

Two hours later, nearing noon, he finally completed the remaining nine Great Cycles.

After completing eighteen cycles, Chu Zheng's body had undergone an almost earth-shattering transformation. The force throughout his body had more than doubled, and a clearly perceptible stream of True Qi flowed through his meridians, ready to erupt with startling might at any moment.

The moment he stepped onto the path of cultivation, the world before Chu Zheng's eyes immediately changed. Sunlight, grass and trees, even the breeze brushing past his side—all of them bore traces in his eyes. That was Qi flowing before him.

This was the world's true form.

This was only preliminary Qi cultivation. Only after a hundred days would he become a true Qi Cultivator.

Glancing at the sky outside, Chu Zheng inwardly cried that things were bad and hurried toward the Storehouse.

The Storehouse remained as busy as ever. Chu Zheng had skipped half a day of work without cause, yet not a single person spoke up to fault him.

Song Manor was only so large, and news traveled fast. Everyone knew that Song Lingxue now stood behind Chu Zheng, so naturally no one dared make things difficult for him.

The lingering sunset was like blood. The Great Sun's afterglow shone upon the courtyard walls, carving out one silhouette after another before gradually fading away.

At the rear gate of Song Manor, a carriage slowly departed.

Song Lingxue watched the carriage disappear around the street corner. In the end, she could no longer hold herself back and softly asked Song Tonghai beside her:

"Father, you emptied more than half the Storehouse. Where did all those things go?"

"This is a way out Father has left for you." Song Tonghai smiled faintly.

"A way out?" Song Lingxue did not understand for a moment.

"The supplies from the Storehouse have all been sent to your eldest uncle, Song Tongxuan."

"I have an eldest uncle? You have an elder brother? Why have I never heard you mention him?"

Song Lingxue was stunned. She had never heard Song Tonghai mention this matter. In her impression, her father had no brothers or sisters; he was the only child in the family.

"It is only natural that you do not know. When your eldest uncle left home, I was only two years old. This is a family secret known only to the head of the family."

A trace of reminiscence flashed through Song Tonghai's eyes. "Branching the family apart has been a rule since ancient times."

Dynasties rose and fell, immortal sects stood in great numbers; the inheritance of mortal aristocratic families was far from as simple as it appeared.

This world was far too dangerous. A single misstep could easily bring calamity that wiped out an entire clan.

"Inheritance is of utmost importance. Even in the event of a family-destroying disaster, the branches must not be implicated together. Your father has already broken the rules."

Song Tonghai sighed softly. He himself did not particularly care, but Ling Xue was not yet twenty this year and still had a great deal of time ahead of her.