Daylight shone, and spring was in full bloom.
An invisible light enveloped the little Courtyard below the mountainside, shutting out all the clamor.
After a word to Senior Bai in his mind, Jiang Yang swallowed the potent Grand Pill and entered secluded cultivation.
This Official Fortune Qi elixir had been preserved exceptionally well. Before he removed the talisman seal, not even a trace of its fragrance escaped.
Yet for a long while after swallowing it, he felt no reaction. Jiang Yang briefly wondered whether he had received a counterfeit, thinking all its medicinal potency had dissipated.
Fortunately, after about a quarter of an hour, he slowly felt a gentle medicinal force dissolve within him and flow through his limbs and bones.
This rich power of creation nourished him in utter silence, roaming throughout his body. Jiang Yang felt as though he were soaking in a hot spring, so comfortable that he wanted to drift off to sleep.
Suddenly, his sea of consciousness became perfectly clear. Specks of light appeared, unfolding into a brilliant night sky.
Six stars shone especially brightly within it, forming a crescent as their light waxed and waned.
Jiang Yang's mind trembled. He felt pure qi rising all around him, and a lifting force arose, seeking to draw him into communion with those stars.
Countless thoughts surged forth in an instant. Murmuring whispers sounded beside his ears as all manner of Dao attainments sprang up, as though he had fathomed endless profound principles and mysteries.
"Humm..."
At that moment, the Peach Branch, which had remained motionless in his sea of consciousness all this time, shook its twigs. In an instant, the stars dimmed, the sounds faded, and the visions vanished.
Jiang Yang abruptly broke free of meditation. His eyes held a moment of bewilderment when he opened