Primordial Essence, a Glimmer of Primal Chaos's True Meaning

Bright Moon descended through the dark vault of heaven; the Golden Crow rose into Emptiness.

The next day, in the Path-Seeking Courtyard, Xuanming opened his eyes after refining the dawn purple qi. He gazed at the fiery Great Sun in the eastern sky, in good spirits.

Yesterday's discussion of the Dao had deepened his understanding. After digesting it last night, he had made further progress. Once he fully made those insights his own, his understanding would rise again, perhaps even granting him another glimpse into the mysteries of Primordial Heaven.

If so, he would be more confident about next year's discussion.

Xuanming had arranged that meeting because understanding of the Dao and cultivation were distinct, not entirely the same.

The two were like roots and a tree: understanding was the root, cultivation the tree. Deep roots did not necessarily mean luxuriant growth, but luxuriant growth surely meant deep roots. In other words, understanding was depth, while cultivation was height.

Height showed on the outside, growing upward where it could be seen.

Depth lay hidden within, extending downward where it was hard to perceive.

Yet depth determined height. Just as a towering building rose from level ground, a three-story building might possess foundations sufficient for five stories.

Of course, everything had its limits, beyond which balance would be lost.

Qi refining was a major realm, and thus imposed a ceiling. The imbalance between understanding and cultivation could not cross that boundary.

With half a year's time, his own insight, and the support of Yellow Court Dao qi, Xuanming was confident that he could raise his understanding to the perfection of the primordial realm, or even the Golden Core realm.

Even revealing it during the discussion posed little risk, since one's understanding depended chiefly on one's powers of insight. He could avoid