One Hundred Twenty-Nine Thousand Six Hundred Kinds of Spiritual Qi

Heaven and earth were formed from primordial qi, and all things were formed from heaven and earth.

One must know that a Daoist scripture once said:

Within the boundless haze and beyond the hidden darkness, primordial qi arose from the hollow void. Within the hollow void arose the supreme nothingness. The supreme nothingness transformed, and the Three Qi became manifest. The Three Qi mingled in chaos, arising from the great emptiness and establishing the hollow void. From the void came nothingness, from nothingness came existence, and from existence came emptiness. Through the transformations of emptiness and nothingness, nature was born from the void.

It was also called spiritual qi, Golden Mother, Origin Root, the Great Bearer Responding to Nothingness and Transforming into Existence, and Profound Heaven Supreme Essence.

In the Embryonic Breathing realm, the difference had not been particularly apparent. But once he attained Qi Refining, his view of the entire world changed with a thunderous upheaval.

With a glance, Chen Heng saw countless clusters of qi, large and small, in all manner of shapes and colors, filling the space around him. They gathered and separated, their convergence and dispersal never fixed.

Just what nature of true qi is "primordial beginning true origin"? The method only mentions "dragon heavens shine clear, all true essences gathered under one command," then says nothing more, as though that explains everything. Any further words would only waste ink and breath, adding feet to a painted snake.

Seated on his meditation cushion, Chen Heng drew a wisp of golden-red spiritual qi into his palm, wound it around his fingertips to play with it, and pondered for a moment.

The spiritual qi of heaven and earth was not distributed evenly. Where there was more in one place, there would be less in another. How could there be equality everywhere? Even humans could not achieve it, much less the vast, lofty heavens.

The Eight Orthodox Sects and the Six Demon Sects, for instance, each occupied a spirit grotto. The abundance of spiritual energy within those grottoes was enough to leave one wide-eyed and tongue-tied, beyond imagining!

Spirit grottoes represented almost the utmost limit of gathering and holding spiritual energy in this world. Every moment, they breathed immense quantities of spiritual qi into and out of the void. Even mortals ignorant of cultivation who lived nearby would have their bodies nourished imperceptibly, remaining free of illness and calamity until they reached the end of their natural lifespans. And if a cultivator could practice there, with an immeasurable supply of spiritual qi to fuel him, his cultivation would advance a thousand miles a day, leaving ordinary cultivators outside far behind.

Blazing Mountain certainly could not be mentioned in the same breath as such blessed places as spirit grottoes. Even on a galloping horse, it could never catch up. Even in the spiritually barren Southern Territory, these Dharma Grounds ranked nowhere, too insignificant to speak of.

But within the Rong Kingdom, in the mundane world of mortals, Blazing Mountain could just barely serve as a residence for a Qi Refining cultivator.

While in the Embryonic Breathing realm, Chen Heng had merely felt that this place resembled Little Sweet Mountain: living here made his body feel light and at ease, his breathing gentle and pleasant. Only after attaining Qi Refining and opening the bridge between his inner world and the world outside could he truly refine spiritual qi and put this place's spiritual energy to his own use.

Yet the various kinds of spiritual qi between heaven and earth differed in their attributes, including clear, turbid, yang, soft, fierce, yin, pure, transformative, unmixed, cold, plain, curved, hard, responsive, winding, and many others.

Together, they numbered one cosmic cycle: one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred distinct natures.

In Qi Refining cultivation, the first step was gathering qi.

This step was crucial and allowed no carelessness.

For, at its heart, a Qi Cultivation Art sought to transform all of one's embryonic breath into true qi, ultimately establishing a Dao Foundation.

True qi likewise possessed different natures. Some blazed with yang, some were turbid yin, some spiritually clear, and some thick and dense.

The Mysterious Truth Sect's "ingot-gold true qi," for instance, required gathering spiritual qi with metal and sharpness attributes into the body before one could begin refining it to cultivate and strengthen the embryonic breath.

If, while gathering qi, one instead drew in spiritual qi with opposing attributes such as cold, gloom, heaviness, or turbidity, not only would it be impossible to refine, it would actually harm one's cultivation.

For this reason.

Gathering qi was a profound art...

Whenever Qi Refining cultivators gathered qi, they exercised the utmost caution. They had to carefully distinguish the spiritual qi they needed from those one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred varieties before they could begin.

Thus, although the Qi Refining realm was divided into nine layers, there were no actual bottlenecks. One only needed to strengthen the embryonic breath to its limit, then transform it into true qi and forge a Dao Foundation.

Yet even with such a simple process, few could advance a thousand miles a day in this realm, as freely as a fish in water.

Finding a place rich in spiritual qi was the first difficulty. Even disciples of great sects, who could cultivate within spirit grottoes without worrying about this problem, still had to expend effort carefully distinguishing and gathering qi from those one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred attributes.

As a result, perhaps eighty percent of each day's cultivation would be spent on gathering qi alone...

Yet the Divine Chamber's Pivotal Splendor Expounds the Primordial Beginning True Origin Scripture never mentioned what nature of true qi "primordial beginning true origin" possessed. It merely stated, "dragon heavens shine clear, all true essences gathered under one command," and left it at that, without even providing a detailed method for gathering qi.

Chen Heng could only tentatively send the wisp of metal-fire spiritual qi in his hand into his body, circulate his Qi Cultivation Art, and let his embryonic breath grind and crush it.

"Hm?"

There was not the slightest resistance. As that wisp of metal-fire spiritual qi was absorbed, the embryonic breath within Chen Heng's body grew a little stronger.

"Metal-fire attributes? No, let me try again..."

Chen Heng drew over another wisp of spiritual qi, dark and dense, and refined it into his body. Once again, his embryonic breath grew.

Mysterious, constant, transformative, stable, yang, ultimate, bright...

After another round of experimentation, all doubt vanished from Chen Heng's heart. He could not help laughing aloud, unrestrained delight spreading across his face.

What was primordial beginning true origin?

In a single phrase: dragon heavens shine clear, all true essences gathered under one command!

It could refine every kind of spiritual qi, regardless of attribute! Without restriction of nature!

This meant Chen Heng did not need to labor over gathering qi like other Qi Refining cultivators. As long as he had enough spiritual qi, he could push his cultivation to the ninth layer of Qi Refining at any time, then establish his Dao Foundation!

"Is this a higher-vehicle Qi Cultivation Art? Only today have I understood the value of a cultivation method! With one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred kinds of spiritual qi at my disposal, why should I fear failing to attain the Great Dao?"

Chen Heng sighed deeply, opened himself fully, and held back no longer. At once, he drew all the spiritual qi between heaven and earth toward himself.

And so, from the first faint light of dawn until the moon reached the middle of the sky, then from the sun hanging high until stars filled the heavens, Chen Heng immersed his entire mind in cultivation. Only when he suddenly felt his method's circulation falter and turned his awareness outward did he discover that he had drained the mountain's meager spiritual qi dry.

"Blazing Mountain... is mundane soil after all. Its reserves are limited. I wonder whether I'll ever have a chance to enter a spirit grotto to cultivate in this lifetime."

Chen Heng felt a little regretful.

He took the Heaven and Earth Bag from his sleeve, poured out every Talisman Coin inside, and clasped one in his hand to begin refining it.

Talisman Coins were also forged from spiritual qi, and their attribute was "primordial," the gentlest of all, suitable for almost every cultivator.

Cultivating with Talisman Coins was extravagant, but he was about to enter the Earth Abyss and had a formidable enemy before him. Chen Heng could no longer afford to worry about such things.

Although his Qi Cultivation Art gave him command over one hundred twenty-nine thousand six hundred kinds of spiritual qi, leaving Chen Heng almost without a match among those in the same realm, it was not so extraordinary to Senior Adept masters.

The "mansion within and beyond the body" opened in the Purple Mansion realm could purify spiritual qi. As for the Golden Core realm, all qi blended into a perfect whole, and the Dao body was bestowed by heaven.

In the struggle to cross toward immortality, one step ahead meant every step ahead!

With a solid foundation, as long as he could improve his cultivation, the loss of a little money meant nothing. Wealth was merely something external to the self.

And as Chen Heng continued strengthening his embryonic breath.

At that very same moment.

In Southern Chan Province, within the Xiantian Demon Sect.

A handsome Daoist in purple robes and a golden crown suddenly sensed something. He looked toward Eastern Maitreya Province, silently calculated on his fingers, and then an inscrutable smile appeared on his face:

"Heh, primordial beginning true origin!"