25 Vital Energy

Ugh, my ranking dropped by one. Come on, brothers and sisters, let's go!

Ye Qin gave these rays of light a name: "White Glow." After counting carefully, there were about twenty or so strands of this White Glow.

He widened his eyes, staying obediently within the circular light barrier where the Life Primordial Spirit Stele resided, not daring to act rashly. In his heart, he secretly prayed that these strands of White Glow would not drift toward his location.

However, Gray Island was only a square mile in size. As they drifted to and fro, one strand eventually floated near the Life Primordial Spirit Stele, touched the bubble-like light barrier, and then, acting quite dim-witted, dove right inside. It swam around within the bubble on its own, paying no mind to Ye Qin, the small ball of light sharing the same space.

Seeing it dive in, Ye Qin was so frightened his legs nearly went weak; he wanted to dash away and flee far from the stele's light barrier.

But he quickly steadied himself.

Because he did not feel the instinctive, overwhelming terror he had experienced when encountering the Purple Lightning—that feeling where no thought other than escape could exist.

Instead, as this strand of White Glow approached him, he felt a sense of great joy.

Looking at it this way, this White Glow likely posed no threat to him.

Ye Qin grew happy. He had finally encountered something benevolent in this endless void. He began to drift as well, slowly approaching the strand of White Glow, wanting to touch it and greet it.

To his surprise, the moment he touched the strand, it suddenly merged with his own white ball of light.

In that instant, Ye Qin felt his faint, thin ball of light grow a tiny bit stronger and a tiny bit brighter. Although the growth was minimal, he felt it clearly. It was like consuming a tonic; all his fatigue and drowsiness vanished, and his spirit became invigorated.

Ye Qin was stunned, then nearly jumped for joy. These strands of White Glow, from wherever they came, were actually his "food," capable of making him brighter and stronger.

With no more hesitation, Ye Qin quickly scanned the entire island and found no sign of Purple Lightning in the vicinity.

Ye Qin immediately rushed out of the light barrier surrounding the Life Primordial Spirit Stele and drifted toward the drifting strands of White Glow.

In a short while, he had caught and "eaten" the scattered strands one by one. This caused his white ball of light to brighten just a fraction more.

Ye Qin couldn't help but sigh in secret; there was too little White Glow here, not even enough for a few good "bites." If only there were more, that would be wonderful. After his meal, not daring to linger on the floating island for too long, Ye Qin hurried back to the center of the island where the Life Primordial Spirit Stele stood, hiding once again within its bubble-like barrier.

Gray Eagle Peak, beneath a giant boulder.

Ye Qin, sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. He lowered his hands from his chest to his dantian, slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, and ceased his cultivation technique. His gaze seemed to hold a bit more luster, appearing more piercing and spirited, and his mind felt significantly clearer.

However, he remained puzzled.

What exactly was the mental formula for "Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness," the first part of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra? It provided no help for cultivating internal Qi, yet it possessed some other effect. He still couldn't clearly define what that effect was, but at the very least, it was highly beneficial for strengthening his spirit, so it wasn't entirely useless.

Over the next few days, Ye Qin repeatedly tested this process.

He gradually discovered some tricks.

Every time he completed a Great Circulation, a trace of extremely faint energy would be generated within his body, only to vanish once it reached the Niwan Palace at the center of his brow. At the same time, a strand of White Glow, several inches long, would appear on the floating island.

Could this be the primordial energy mentioned in the books?

Ye Qin could perform seven Great Circulations each day, and exactly seven strands of White Glow would appear on the floating island—no more, no less. Clearly, the faint energy generated by his cultivation wasn't disappearing; it was flowing into this floating island.

Then, he would enter the floating island, become a white ball of light, and eat those strands of White Glow. His thin, dim ball of light gradually became a little more substantial. This process was extremely slow and required long years of constant accumulation for the ball of light to become solid.

As for exactly how much time it would take for the dim ball of light to become completely solid, it was hard to say.

After much deliberation, Ye Qin decided to stop practicing Gathering Qi and Focusing Spirit and instead focus his energy on practicing Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness to increase his primordial energy. He wanted to nurture this small ball of light to see what kind of effects it could bring him.

A month passed in a flash. Ye Qin gathered five silver-leaf grade herbs and returned to the Herb Gathering Hall in Zhuqi County to submit his task.

After resting for a day in the county, Ye Qin found he had nothing to do. He didn't have many companions or friends; the only people he was familiar with were his master, his fellow apprentices, and Da Niu. After resting for a day and greeting them, he set off on the path of herb gathering once again.

Winter passed and spring arrived; the first year since becoming an herb-gathering apprentice flew by.

After a crisis where he was nearly torn apart by a flock of gray eagles while climbing a cliff, Ye Qin realized his martial arts were insufficient. He no longer ventured into dangerous places to gather herbs; he would not set foot in places like sheer peaks, steep cliffs, canyons, or swamps.

He only gathered herbs in relatively safe forests, plains, and hills. Even if he encountered wild wolves, he could escape thanks to his strong stamina. Moreover, he only gathered enough herbs to meet the minimum requirement of five silver leaves set by the Herb Gathering Hall and would gather no more. He spent all his remaining time buried in cultivation, doing everything in his power to improve his cultivation base.

Because Ye Qin's harvest was so low, his master, Wang Hong, appeared very dissatisfied. Other apprentices were already able to gather ten silver leaves' worth of herbs per month, yet Ye Qin remained stuck at a mere five.

Herbalist Wang sternly warned him that if he couldn't gather more herbs each month, he would remain a mere apprentice for the rest of his life. He would never be promoted to an Herb Gathering Artisan, let alone enjoy the many benefits that came with the title—higher status in the Herb Gathering Hall, more monetary rewards, a private tile-roofed house in the county, and even the right to marry female disciples trained by the Hall.

Apprentices, however, were not entitled to these perks.

After sternly reprimanding Ye Qin, Herbalist Wang's expression softened slightly, and he began to persuade him with earnest words. He claimed he still held high expectations for Ye Qin and considered him the most promising of the five apprentices who had joined that year. He told Ye Qin that at fifteen or sixteen, he was no longer a child and should start thinking about his future. If he worked hard for a few years, promoted to an Herb Gathering Artisan, took a wife, and raised a few chubby kids, what a good life that would be! He should look at Yang Yicheng and Feng Xiao; both were working desperately, pushing themselves to become Herb Gathering Artisans. Qian Ruoxiu and Sun Ying were also growing more beautiful by the day, so he shouldn't let the others get ahead of him.

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