Hou Niao had finally taken a crucial step on his path of cultivation!
With this step, he would no longer draw in spiritual energy by swallowing saliva; every pore across his body could now serve as a pathway. He could learn the most basic minor spells, use the simplest talismans, and imbue his weapon strikes with gang qi.
He could take pills to accelerate his cultivation, or hold Spirit Stones to supplement himself... Only at this point could he truly be called a cultivator.
From now on, he could truly begin exploring the many means of cultivation, no longer merely an ordinary mortal who was somewhat stronger than others.
This was destined to be a sleepless night.
Hou Niao circulated his Qi Gathering cultivation method again and again, savoring the rush of the world's spiritual energy pouring into his body through his pores, acupoints, and apertures. Even after several cycles, when his body had absorbed all the spiritual energy it could hold, he still delighted in it tirelessly.
He was simply using this to vent his excitement while considering the direction his cultivation should take next.
He had lost so many years. Judging by the normal progress of Daoist Sect disciples, they underwent Pulse Movement and Qi Sensing between twelve and fifteen, reached Qi Gathering before fifteen, and mostly achieved Foundation Cultivation before twenty. The slightly more outstanding ones had already reached Grain Avoidance. It could be said that he had not lost at the starting line-he had lost in the womb.
He had lost far, far too much time. Entering the Qi Gathering Realm was only a beginning; the time he needed to recover amounted to at least ten years. If he tried to catch up at the normal pace, even overtaking cultivators of middling aptitude would be a struggle. Catching those freakishly gifted geniuses would be utterly impossible, especially without the resources of a sect or organization behind him.
Most people passed through the Pulse Movement Realm in one to three months, whereas passing through the Qi Gathering Realm took between one and five years. This was a typical stage of accumulating quantitative changes: absorbing vast quantities of the world's spiritual energy to transform the body, bones, flesh, meridians, internal organs, and so on.
It amounted to a rebirth of the body, something truly wondrous. If cultivators wished, they could even adjust their appearance and physique during this period: height, skin color, fatness or thinness, size, length...
Throughout this period, no spiritual energy would be converted into spiritual power and stored in the lower dantian. The body received priority instead. This was a law of cultivation.
As the saying went, people sought higher ground, while water flowed downward. Cultivation, too, had to follow the principles of nature. Spiritual energy entering the body was not first converted into spiritual power, but poured into every part of the body, strengthening and improving the cultivator's capacity to endure. Only when the treasure that was the body truly became a vessel capable of containing the impact of immense spiritual power would there be room for a future.
It was like ranking all the body's organs: the dantian occupied the highest tier, followed by the internal organs, meridians, bones, flesh, and skin and hair... Spiritual energy nourished them in precisely the reverse order. Just as water flowed downward, it would naturally begin with the skin and hair, then the flesh, then the bones, then the meridians and internal organs, and only finally reach the dantian.
Upon reaching the step of nourishing the dantian, one naturally entered the Foundation Cultivation Realm and began filling it.
This was cultivation: one step after another, advancing in proper order. No one could skip any stage, because these were all fundamental, indispensable processes.
Relatively speaking, the Qi Gathering Realm was also the simplest, most mindless stage of cultivation. What mattered was the patient work of water wearing away stone. The success rate was very high; the only difference lay in how long it took, determined by each individual's speed of gathering qi.
Both the Qi Gathering Realm and the Foundation Cultivation Realm required large quantities of pills. These were the surest secret to increasing speed. But Hou Niao did not take any immediately. He needed to consolidate his progress a little with the world's spiritual energy first, then consider how to find a long-term supplier of pills. The few pills Chongling had given him were not enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.
There were also basic spells to learn. Depending on his interests, he could now begin laying foundations in the Dao of Alchemy, talismans, formations, or artifact crafting. Yet in all these areas, he had nothing.
Since he could not count on the Daoist Sect for these things for the time being, he could only rely on the Demonic Sect. Thus, becoming an undercover agent was both a promise to Chongling and, in truth, a way of fulfilling his own needs. Helping others fulfill their aims was helping himself fulfill his own. This, too, was cultivation.
With his thoughts clear and his spirits surging, he could no longer sit still in the cabin and went alone to stand on deck. The river around him was ink-dark, yet in his eyes it seemed brimming with life.
The heart shaped the world; the eyes gave rise to the view.
...Someone aboard the passenger ship congratulated me just now. That accent wasn't local. The voice was clear and bright, with a heroic spirit woven into its lilting tones. It must have been the Daoist nun who saved me. Hmm, Daoist Zhan?
The Daoist nuns of this world mostly used single-character names. It was an established custom.
He very much wanted to talk with this Daoist Zhan. Having achieved success that day, he needed to give voice to his feelings, needed someone beside him to offer guidance for the future. He did not know this Daoist nun's cultivation realm, but judging by the effortless ease with which she had killed the jellyfish, she was at least above the Foundation Cultivation Realm, and might even have reached Grain Avoidance or Bridge Linking.
But the passenger ship was utterly silent. After that one remark, the Daoist nun made no further sound. She neither spoke again nor showed herself, clearly having no intention of meeting him.
Hou Niao stood at the bow for quite some time, but ultimately did not speak first. In the still of the night, a lone man and a lone woman-it did seem rather inappropriate?
Come to think of it, they had met only once, and the situation had been chaotic then. He actually could no longer recall what the Daoist nun looked like. Thinking back now, all he seemed to remember was a graceful figure, an elegant bearing, and a fullness ripe enough to drip...
Ah, warmth and a full belly breed thoughts of lust; success brings dreams of bedchamber pleasures... Beware, beware.
They set sail early the following morning. The string of vessels, large and small, no longer kept to an orderly line, instead racing one another toward the farthest navigable point of the Jade Water.
Willow Lane was the final landing. Beyond it, the river was unsuitable for boats, and they would soon be entering the Shan Kingdom as well. This was not a border one could cross at will.
Old Qi and his son were also extremely excited. Nearly two months of sailing had earned them a year's livelihood, without even tiring them out-the passenger had worked the sculling oar himself. Where else could they find such a wonderful arrangement?
The black-awning boat drew alongside the landing. Amid the father and son's profuse thanks, Hou Niao departed, disappearing into bustling, thriving Willow Lane.
He first found a wine shop by the riverbank and gave his five viscera a proper treat, keeping an eye out for the large ship's arrival at the same time. If he had a chance to see the Daoist nun, he could thank her in person.
He now counted as a genuine cultivator himself. Surely he was qualified to do that?
But even after eating and drinking his fill and deliberately lingering, he still saw no sign of the large ship arriving. There was nothing for it. During this final half-day, the Qi father and son had truly let loose after holding themselves back for so long. With their destination at hand, they had worked the sculling oar as though it could fly, racing far too far ahead...
A cultivator ought not force things too deliberately. It seemed they were simply not fated to meet.
Hou Niao waited no longer. He bought a horse, swung into the saddle, checked his bearings, and galloped away in a cloud of dust. Just after he left, the distant outline of a tall mast rose into view over the river...
North out of Willow Lane lay the Tumen Plank Road. Beyond that was Liuyang City, Anhe's mighty border city. Another hundred li north lay the Great Wind Plains of the Shan Kingdom, his true destination.
As he galloped along, a streak of light swept past dozens of zhang overhead, setting out later yet arriving first. Upon the Jade Zither artifact, someone smiled softly, a beauty without equal.
Hou Niao remained wholly unaware. At present, he had nothing that could be called divine sense, and still knew little of these beings who came and went through the skies. All he knew was to press onward, facing the wind and cleaving through the dust.
A day later, he rode past Liuyang City's western outskirts without lingering, galloping away in a cloud of dust. To him, his true future lay on the other side of the border. Nothing else could stir his interest.
As the verse went:
Leaving Willow Lane behind, far along Tumen's road I go.
After hearing the lone ape's mournful cries, surely more white hairs will grow.
Rainbows encroach upon the plank road; wind and rain mingle with the river's roar.
Beyond all the places that grieve the heart, mist-veiled blossoms fill the splendid city.