Sensing Qi

He walked to the end of the corridor, to Room A-3.

Chen Mo used the key to open the old padlock and pushed the door open to enter.

The room was tiny, barely enough space for a bed, a table, and a stool.

The bed was a hard wooden board covered with a straw mat, with a half-old, half-new blue cloth quilt folded at the head.

The table had a broken leg, propped up by a brick.

The window faced a small backyard courtyard; the paper on the window was torn in several places and crudely patched with old newspapers.

There were cobwebs in the corners, and the floor consisted of unpainted wooden planks with black mud caked in the gaps.

He closed the door behind him and placed the key on the table by the door.

He did not check the room immediately, but instead walked to the window and tilted his head to listen.

The backyard was deathly silent, save for the faint sound of the wind occasionally rustling the clothesline.

Through the holes in the newspaper, he could see a small patch of the night sky framed by high walls; that eerie moon had shifted further west, its light appearing to have dimmed slightly.

Only then did he begin a careful inspection.

The bed, under the table, the corners of the walls...

After confirming everything was in order, Chen Mo's fingertips flickered, and two small, plain white paper slips drifted out silently, landing in the shadows above the door and on the window lattice, just as before.

Having finished this, he let out a breath and sat down on the edge of the ice-cold bed, pulling all his banknotes and the six Red Sun Blood Crystals from his robes to tally his gains from the Ghost Market.

The items from the Black Tiger Gang's secret chamber had fetched a total of 3,600 silver dollars; after spending 1,200 to purchase Yin Stones, he had 2,400 silver dollars left, plus a few dozen in loose change.

The 10,000-dollar banknote from selling the fragments had been stored separately.

Later, in the Ghost Market, he had bought two scrolls of Yin Talisman Paper for 20 dollars, and he had also used the Moonlight Treasure Mirror to swipe two martial arts techniques without spending a cent.

One was a footwork technique, the other a blade technique.

And most importantly, that manual—the Taiyin Ghost Form Manual.

After putting everything away, Chen Mo sat cross-legged on the bed and began to browse the manual in his mind.

"The Taiyin is the ultimate in seclusion and stillness; it carries the glory of the soul while absorbing all filth. The essence of the Ghost Form lies not in seizing creation, but in stealing the profound mystery; using the void to contain the real, and using the Yin to command objects..."

The entire manual's outline was clear, with the core of the Qi Refining chapter divided into three steps: Sensing Qi, Opening Apertures, and Condensing the Core.

Chen Mo held his breath and focused his attention on the first part—Sensing Qi.

According to the manual, this "Qi" was not the clear energy of heaven and earth used in ordinary breathing exercises, but specifically referred to Taiyin Qi.

Taiyin Qi is pure and extremely Yin, cold and profound, primarily derived from moonlight.

However, the manual also subtly mentioned that the moon has its phases of waxing and waning, and the Qi itself has its clear and turbid, righteous and deviant aspects, requiring careful discrimination.

The secret to Sensing Qi lies in emptiness, stillness, and synchronization.

The practitioner must first strive to discard all distracting thoughts, making their mind like an ancient well or a deep pool, without a single ripple.

It is not about actively reaching out to capture it, but slowly sinking one's consciousness into the surrounding environment, attempting to resonate with the faint, icy Yin characteristics present in the surroundings.

It is like placing a piece of ice into cold water; one does not seek to control it, but first seeks to perceive its coldness.

After memorizing all the key points and taboos of the Sensing Qi chapter, Chen Mo adjusted his posture, sitting with his five centers facing the sky.

His breathing gradually became light, slow, long, and fine. His consciousness no longer focused on his nose and mouth, but with every exhalation, he imagined his mind as a tiny speck of dust, slowly sinking downward, sinking toward the void region beneath his abdomen, behind the navel and in front of the kidneys, known as the Dantian.

At the same time, he attempted to diffuse a sliver of consciousness outward to touch any energy that might exist within the room.

At first, there was nothing unusual.

Gradually, perhaps due to his mind reaching an initial state of stillness, he felt a difference.

First came a clearer sense of chill on his skin; it was not merely the cold of the night, but more like a sticky, clammy coolness.

It seeped out from the gaps in the floorboards, the cobwebs in the corners, and even from the straw mat beneath him.

This was likely the turbid Yin energy permeating the cheap inn, mixed with dampness, filth, and the lingering fatigue and sickness left behind by past guests—thin and chaotic.

He kept the key points in mind, not guiding these energies, but simply letting his consciousness maintain that subtle tactile connection.

Time ticked away bit by bit.

The moonlight outside the window moved in faint patches of light across the floor through the holes in the old newspaper.

That moonlight still carried a trace of undiminished dark red.

He did not know how much time had passed, but just as Chen Mo's consciousness was about to merge with the darkness of the room, a strange sensation seeped in from the direction of the night sky cut off by the high walls outside the window.

It was a colder, clearer sensation—not the sticky, sluggish quality of the turbid Yin energy; it was lighter, more transparent, and carried a sense of desolation not of this world.

Yet, within this supposedly pure coolness, Chen Mo keenly captured a sliver of extreme, minute abnormality.

It was a form of extremely subtle agitation, a faint, lingering scent of blood.

It was like a drop of blood with a vastly different nature quietly mixing into the bottom of a pure ice spring.

The influence of the Red Moon!

Chen Mo was instantly alerted.

This was by no means the pure Taiyin Qi described in the cultivation manual; it was moonlight contaminated by celestial phenomena and laced with the strange power of the Red Moon!

If he were to draw it directly into his body according to conventional techniques, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Just as his mind tightened and he subconsciously tried to sever the connection, a change occurred.

Deep within his sea of consciousness, the Moonlight Treasure Mirror, which had been hanging silently all this time, suddenly vibrated ever so slightly.

A cool, upright intent flowed out from the treasure mirror. Upon touching the surface of Chen Mo's body, that strand of Taiyin Qi—laced with its eerie aura—seemed to be summoned by a higher power, spontaneously converging toward the ancestral aperture at the center of his brow!

It was being drawn toward that gentle, warm Moonlight Treasure Mirror!

Once that strand of energy entered his sea of consciousness, it plunged straight into the area shrouded by the clear radiance of the Moonlight Treasure Mirror.

The surface of the mirror rippled like water, and as the clear light circulated, the distinctly abnormal parts of the energy were rapidly stripped away. It became more refined and concentrated, leaving behind only the purest strand of Taiyin essence.

Immediately, this Taiyin essence, purified by the treasure mirror, slowly flowed out from the sea of consciousness, descended along a mysterious path, and finally merged into his lower dantian region.

Chen Mo felt a surge of joy, realizing the truth in an instant.

This Moonlight Treasure Mirror actually possessed the miraculous ability to purify moonlight!

With the Red Moon hanging in the sky and the power of Taiyin being impure, this ability was absolutely vital.

What a great purchase this treasure was!

He sighed with emotion and continued to maintain his state of emptiness. Using this purified strand of Taiyin Qi as a guide, he imagined his dantian transforming into an inward-rotating vortex, extending an invitation.

More Taiyin Qi seeped in from outside the window. As soon as it entered Chen Mo's vicinity, it was spontaneously drawn to the sea of consciousness at his brow, cast into the clear radiance of the Moonlight Treasure Mirror, purified, and then transformed into refined Taiyin essence to flow into his dantian.

The process was smooth and natural, as if it were meant to be this way.

Chen Mo did not rush for success, maintaining this state for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Only when the moonlight outside the window dimmed further and the energy he drew in became increasingly thin did he slowly withdraw his cultivation and open his eyes.

The fatigue in his eyes was even greater, but that faint glimmer within them was now much brighter.

Not only had he successfully sensed the Qi, but thanks to the purification function of the Moonlight Treasure Mirror, his cultivation would no longer have any hidden dangers!

"Hahahaha, this Daoist has succeeded!"