The Mysteries of Life and Death, the Four Stages of Qi Refining

Night lay hazy beneath the bright, clear Bright Moon.

Outside the cave on Wisteria Mountain, Xuanming dispensed with formalities and sat cross-legged on the ground. He divided his attention between making the most of his time, closing his eyes to digest what he had gained, and guarding the doe as he waited patiently.

The world perceived through spiritual awareness differed from what the naked eye saw. After he became a True Person, that distinction grew even more pronounced, showing the beginnings of a Dharma Eye that could survey heaven and earth.

His spiritual awareness resembled a mirror, reflecting all things and projecting them into the Mystic Pass. In the process, their outward appearances were stripped away, revealing what lay deeper within: spiritual energy, rhythms, principles, and more.

Within Xuanming's spiritual awareness, the doe was a contradictory whole of intertwined Yin and Yang. The aura of death around her body thickened while the vitality of the Little Deer in her womb increased. She was protecting her offspring with her life. Even within the Little Deer themselves, Yin and Yang gave rise to one another, their powerful desire to live driving them to struggle instinctively against death.

Life and death transformed into one another through childbirth, and Yin and Yang alternated between life and death. This was life's most genuine, moving expression, as well as the simplest and most profound principle in the world.

Xuanming felt fortunate to encounter such an opportunity immediately after emerging from seclusion. Yet he also felt unfortunate, for behind that opportunity lay the withering of a life. A tragedy was unfolding.

The deer demon fought hard.

Perhaps sensing how little time remained and how urgent the situation was, she mustered all her strength and gave birth to two Little Deer.

Xuanming sensed it and awoke at that moment.

He opened his eyes, the Yin and Yang fish fading from the depths of his pupils. Seeing the scene before him, he stroked his beard and said, "Blessings and prosperity, both complete indeed."

Sika deer usually gave birth to only one fawn at a time, and deer that became demons followed this rule even more closely.

The higher the bloodline, the harder it was to produce offspring.

Yet the deer demon before him had given birth to two. Judging by the strength of the Yin and Yang auras surrounding them, one should be male and the other female.

Yin and Yang engendered one another; Heaven and Earth coexisted. The auspicious meaning was greater still.

Yet whoever wished to wear a crown had to bear its weight.

The more auspicious the omen, the greater the danger.

The doe had been unable to bear such blessings, and thus had drawn a fatal calamity upon herself while heavy with young.

The day she successfully delivered her offspring was also the day her life would end.

Fortune and calamity lean upon one another. The Heavenly Dao is unfathomable!

Sighing inwardly, Xuanming turned his gaze toward the two Little Deer. As expected of a deer demon's offspring, they were unlike ordinary deer. They could stand as soon as they were born. Though they stumbled, they already revealed their extraordinary nature.

The two Little Deer made little whining sounds, innocent through and through.

Humanlike tenderness and sorrow appeared on the doe's face. Half collapsed on the ground, she used her last strength to lick the mucus from her Little Deer. She nudged the firstborn with her head, then called to Xuanming, her eyes, face, and voice all filled with pleading.

This was a mother entrusting her orphans to another.

She was making arrangements for her children, spending the last of her strength.

With a sigh, Xuanming did not refuse. He promised, "This fawn was born because of this humble Daoist and shares a bond with me. Rest assured, I will care for it well."

A glimmer appeared in the doe's dim eyes. She gave Xuanming a grateful look, then turned and nudged the other Little Deer, calling out in supplication once more.

Unfortunately, Xuanming refused her outright.

"When water fills its vessel, it overflows; when the moon waxes full, it wanes. One must not claim every blessing. Otherwise, extremes will reverse themselves, bringing harm rather than good."

"This fawn shares no destined bond with me."

"I must disappoint you, lay devotee."

The doe looked despondent, her expression sorrowful.

Just then, an excited voice reached them.

"Senior brother, this trip yielded quite a harvest! I obtained several fine materials. Once we return, I'll certainly be able to forge excellent Dharma Artifacts."

As though Immortal music had sounded, the doe's eyes brightened. Watching the beaming Xuan Yang approach from the distance, she nudged the other Little Deer with her head.

Xuan Yang: !!!

A short while later, seeing Xuan Yang agree to care for the other Deer, Xuanming stroked his beard and nodded.

He had given the doe a strand of magic power, allowing the two Little Deer to be born safely. Xuan Yang had slain the Wolf Demon and spared the doe, likewise granting the two Little Deer a thread of hope for survival.

Every peck and every sip was ordained.

It was only fitting that the two martial brothers each receive one Deer.

After one final look at her children, the doe gave the last cry of her life. Filled with boundless attachment and reluctance, she died forlornly, the light in her eyes extinguished for good.

Mother and children were linked at heart.

The two Little Deer cried instinctively.

Their plaintive calls stirred the heart.

Xuanming swept his sleeve three times in succession. Magic Power surged, digging a pit, burying the body, and filling it with earth in one seamless motion.

After burying the doe, he sensed something and frowned slightly. He glanced into the depths of Azure Dragon Mountain, then lightly tapped his toes against the ground and rose into the air. A single step carried him several hundred zhang, as though he were using the legendary art of shrinking the earth to an inch.

At the same time, he waved the Fly-Whisk. Its Three Thousand Dreams silver strands swept up Xuan Yang, who held the two Little Deer, and carried him away like a kite on a string.

Moments later, two figures cut through the air and arrived.

A goshawk transformed into a black-robed man with a cold, sinister face, while a silver wolf transformed into a handsome young man in white. Demonic energy suffused them both. They were Great Demons of the mountain, equivalent to human cultivators in the Qi Refining Realm.

"It seems we arrived a step too late."

The white-robed Wolf Demon spoke in a gentle voice.

Seeing the hawk demon move to pursue them, the Wolf Demon's gaze chilled. He warned, "From the looks of it, a human cultivator secluded himself here to break through. Since he understood the rules, did not venture rashly into the deep mountains, and has already left, I advise you not to grow branches outside the main trunk."

"Killing this man is a small matter; disrupting the unification of the Azure Dragon Mountain Demon Race is a great one. If this man has other connections, and your reckless attack draws human attention and delays our king's grand undertaking, even ten thousand deaths would not redeem you."

The black-robed hawk demon snorted coldly. "Of course I know what matters. I've memorized their auras. If I encounter them in the mountains again, I'll make certain they never leave."

The two figures swept through the mountain forests.

Covering several hundred zhang with each step, Xuanming sped onward.

He did not stop until he entered the Truth-Seeking Abbey.

"We're finally here!"

Xuan Yang spoke with immense relief. He had been flown like a kite the entire way, the fierce wind preventing him from even opening his eyes.

At that moment, he gained a firsthand understanding of a Qi Refining True Person's speed and felt deep awe.

"Thank you for your efforts on this trip, junior brother. I still need to consolidate my realm. Once I emerge from seclusion, we can discuss things in detail."

Xuanming rose into the air and headed straight for Dao-Treasuring Peak.

As for the two Little Deer, he suggested that Xuan Yang temporarily entrust them to Chang Ning. Women were attentive, and she also had experience raising animals. Rearing chickens and rearing Little Deer surely had something in common.

Within the thatched cottage in the Path-Seeking Courtyard.

Xuanming sat cross-legged and entered seclusion to digest his gains.

He mastered his Magic Power, adapted to his strength, contemplated the principles of heaven and earth, and examined the Dao marks imprinted within his body.

He experienced the differences between Essence Refining and Qi Refining, identified every change, great and small, and came to understand himself in the finest detail.

Time hastened men through the mortal world, while mists and rosy clouds abounded here.

Three months later, Xuanming emerged from seclusion.

Within the Path-Seeking Courtyard, he raised a hand to command his sword.

The Peachwood Sword rang out and flew from the table, soaring straight into the nine heavens. It pierced clouds and broke through mist, flew beyond the hundred-li Floating Cloud Mountain, crossed the hundred-li Floating Cloud County, and reached three hundred li away. There, its blade took heads, slaying several bandits who robbed and murdered travelers before returning.

In just half the time it took to drink a cup of tea, it slid back into its sheath.

Seeing the power of this modest test of his blade, Xuanming was utterly satisfied, his face radiant.

His Primordial Unity Dao Foundation was a perfect Dao Foundation in which nine times nine returned to one and Yin and Yang returned to their origin. Added to that were the support of the Primordial Unity Qi Formula and the Eight Outer Visions True Method, his two experiences contemplating the Jade Scripture of the Yellow Court's Outer-Scenery Yellow Court Qi, and the accumulated insights from reading nine hundred Daoist scriptures.

With these advantages layered together, Xuanming's breakthrough unleashed the fruits of his deep accumulation. His gains far exceeded his expectations, and he was in better condition than ever before.

His Dao attainment, Magic Power, physical body, spiritual awareness, and more transformed from within outward. Their increases differed according to how fully each Dantian had been developed.

His Lower Dantian had been developed early, so his Magic Power and physical body improved the most. His Magic Power grew from a lake into a sea, increasing over a hundredfold. His body showed signs of Ice Skin and Jade Bones, while his strength and defenses increased several dozenfold.

His Upper Dantian had merely been drawn along by the other two Dantians, so his spiritual awareness benefited the least. Even so, it broke through the hundred-li limit and could encompass three hundred li—a qualitative leap.

Moreover, the distance he could control a flying sword was closely tied to the strength of his spiritual awareness. As this test demonstrated, though he had only just entered the Qi Refining Realm, a mere thought could send his sword three hundred li away to slay demons, vanquish fiends, or kill men.

The Sword-Flight Art had advanced into the Sword-Flight Divine Ability, and divine abilities were one reason Qi Refining stood above Essence Refining.

Beings in this realm understood the principles of heaven and earth more deeply. They had passed through the stages of recognizing the Dao, entering the Dao, studying the Dao, and knowing the Dao, reaching the stage of understanding the Dao. They clearly understood their own Great Dao and had taken a firm step upon it. Their Legalist Intent no longer possessed form without spirit; it had acquired its own distinctive qualities, possessing both form and spirit.

Nourished by Legalist Intent, arts had transformed into Divine abilities.

In other words:

Essence Refining meant seeking the Dao and practicing arts; it was the leaves.

Qi Refining meant understanding the Dao and cultivating methods; it was the branches.

Xuanming's Dao was Primordial Unity: tracing things back to their source, transforming nine into one and complexity into simplicity, exploring beginning and end—in other words, a circle.

Thanks to the wondrous workings of the Yellow Court Scripture, he had understood the direction of his own Great Dao from the moment he first entered the Dao.

Spirit Refining should mean devoting oneself wholly to the Dao; it was the roots.

Leaves, branches, and roots progressed from shallow to deep, from surface to interior, forming a cultivator's tree of the Great Dao.

Of course, this was Xuanming's own understanding.

Whether it was right or wrong could only be determined after he exchanged insights with other beings in the Qi Refining Realm.

Since its founding, the Truth-Seeking Abbey had never produced a True Person. Even its founding patriarch, the Truth-Seeking Daoist, had never truly taken that step. No one could guide him.

His sect possessed a Qi Refining cultivation method because the Founding Patriarch of Truth-Seeking had obtained the legacy of the Four Symbols True Person and thereby entered the Dao.

Unfortunately, that True Person had been an ordinary rogue cultivator with limited talent. His cultivation had only reached the first stage of Qi Refining during his lifetime, and his cultivation method likewise extended only to that stage.

Fortunately, he had broad knowledge. The insights he left behind pointed Xuanming in the right direction and recorded the precise divisions of the Four Qi Refining Realms:

Greater Heavenly Circuit: opening all Eight Extraordinary Meridians, allowing cultivators to live up to three hundred years.

Returning to the Primordial: returning from the acquired state to the Primordial Heaven state, increasing a cultivator's lifespan by one hundred years.

Golden Core Condensation: forming a dragon-tiger Golden Core, adding another hundred years to a cultivator's lifespan.

Sacred Embryo Gathering: qi and Divine essence first formed a spiritual embryo, allowing cultivators to witness six hundred cycles of spring and autumn. Their lifespans across these stages corresponded precisely to the numbers three and six.

The Daoist Tradition's cultivators were not adept at fighting, but excelled at nurturing life and extending longevity. Qi Refining True Persons enjoyed longer lifespans, living several decades or even a hundred years longer than cultivators of the same level.

The texts left by the Four Symbols True Person also recorded the Three-Tier Dao Foundation, giving Xuanming a clearer understanding of his own strength.

The Dao began at one, stood at three, took shape at five, flourished at seven, and reached its utmost at nine.

Dao Foundations were divided into superior, middle, and lower tiers, with nine grades in total.

Grades one through three were the Lower-Tier Dao Foundation. Such cultivators had no hope of becoming Qi Refining True Persons and possessed limited potential. Though they wielded wondrous magical arts, they still counted as mortals.

Grades four through six were the Middle-Tier Dao Foundation. Such cultivators had hope of becoming Qi Refining True Persons, with higher grades granting greater hope. They could truly transcend the mortal world and gain the power to shatter mountains and sever rivers.

Grades seven through nine were the Superior Dao Foundation. Such cultivators had hope of becoming Spirit Refining True Lords. Likewise, the higher their grade, the greater their hope. They could destroy heaven and earth, move mountains, and overturn seas.

Put simply, the stronger the Dao Foundation, the greater the potential, the greater the gains from each breakthrough, and the greater the strength.

A Qi Refining Realm cultivator at the Greater Heavenly Circuit stage with a Middle-Tier Dao Foundation had spiritual awareness extending three hundred zhang, or three li.

For someone with a Superior Dao Foundation, that increased tenfold.

For someone like Xuanming, who had achieved Perfect Foundation Establishment, it increased another tenfold, reaching three hundred li.

Judging by spiritual awareness alone, he could rival a Qi Refining Realm True Person who had condensed a Golden Core.

This was the might of someone who had achieved Perfect Foundation Establishment!

They could look down upon their peers, bearing the momentum of invincibility.

Though Xuanming had no desire to contend for supremacy and cared more about his own cultivation and Dao path, in this unfathomable world, greater strength was surely always better.

The Daoists kept a close watch on the Path-Seeking Courtyard.

Not long after the seclusion sign was taken down, Daoists from all three generations responded to the news and gathered at Dao-Treasuring Peak. Even Xuanxu and Xuan Su emerged from seclusion.

Xuan Kong has now been changed to Xuan Yang. Thank you all for pointing it out. Something came up today, and I was so muddleheaded that I got confused while writing.

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