"'Qi Embryo,' the great Dao of remedying deficiencies in the postnatal, steals from heaven and earth to replenish oneself, riding the three paths to leave the mortal dust behind."
Within the glow of Golden Fire, the youth spoke. "Do you consider it right or wrong, fellow Daoist?"
"All cultivators today tread this path. Though they call themselves Daoists, they are in truth practitioners of Arcane Arts. Whether that is right or wrong is difficult to say."
Xu Xuan had received the inheritance of "Qi Embryo" and understood this path deeply.
It bordered on grand theft.
If Taojue stole the achievements of Divine Beings, then this group of ancient practitioners stole the mysteries of heaven and earth to make themselves whole, returning not the slightest fraction.
So-called [Corporeal Liberation and Dissolution] encompassed the various attempts practitioners made to endure forever. Whether sacrificing to Ghost Gods, consuming pills, or entering the Gloomy Netherworld, all of it was merely for the sake of deathlessness.
"Qi means the center and is also written as 'navel.' It is the cord through which a fetus receives its mother's blood, and the bridge through which living beings receive the nourishment of Creation."
This Hidden Metal Lord led Xu Xuan up the Golden Mountain. They passed the two Dharma Forms of an old man and a young man and reached the summit, where they could overlook the vast Primordial Chaos below.
"The practitioners attempted to pick up this Divine Navel, breathe in the chaos of the primordial, and drink the natural bounty of the postnatal. Yet they never found a way through. Thus, the path of 'Qi Embryo' manifests no Fruit Position, only a Retainer Position, reflecting the deficiencies of postnatal beings. [Mystic Navel] and [Strange Lord] attempted to complete it, but failed and perished as a result."