Bright Garment Art

Meng Yuan had won favor and would have to remain on Chaolong Mountain from then on, unable to leave lightly. Following Island Master Huo's instructions, he first returned to Old Turtle Pit to settle his household affairs.

"I planted this peach tree. Take good care of it. Every year, send a basket of its peaches to Chaolong Mountain."

"If anything comes up, go to Du Erniang."

After spending half the day attending to things, Meng Yuan returned to Chaolong Mountain.

Island Master Huo did not teach him the Dao straightaway, but first had Meng Yuan meditate for three days.

He said that Meng Yuan was already twenty-four and had lived among mortals since childhood, leaving him tainted with filthy Qi that had to be shed first.

"This Daoist scripture stills the mind and settles the body. It can rid you of wicked, lustful thoughts. Recite it several times each day." Island Master Huo took out another book.

And so Meng Yuan meditated and bathed every day, scarcely eating more than a few meals.

Three days passed. That morning, Island Master Huo sat outside his cave abode while Meng Yuan stood respectfully in attendance.

"Spiritual Qi exists between heaven and earth. We cultivators draw upon it to nourish ourselves, enter the Dao, and fathom its mysteries. Though we cannot seize the wonders of heaven and earth's creation, we can prolong our lives. As for techniques and Divine Abilities, those are all of the lower vehicle."

Island Master Huo's full name was Huo Qiushi. Nearly seventy, he was a cultivator at the late Qi Refining stage and had been on Deer Island for ten years.

"To enter the Dao and fathom its mysteries-entering the Dao means first sensing Qi, then drawing it in. From that point onward, you count as having set foot on the path of cultivation."

"Anyone capable of setting foot on that path must have possessed a spiritual root and a life-bound manifestation from birth. The former is what we commonly call aptitude."

"Those with superior aptitude cultivate faster, while those with inferior aptitude cultivate slower. Of course, we cannot generalize or judge by aptitude alone."

Huo Qiushi kept smiling as he went on to discuss the variations in spiritual roots.

He explained that at the beginning of heaven and earth, chaos had been undivided. Then came the transformations of the five elements, and cultivators' spiritual roots likewise corresponded to those five elements.

The number of elements in one's spiritual root was related to the speed of cultivation. A single spiritual root was best, followed by a dual spiritual root. Triple and Four Spiritual Roots were too mixed and were known as mixed spiritual roots.

Having all five elements made for a chaos spiritual root, commonly called a useless spiritual root, with which cultivation was extremely slow.

Of course, there were also variant spiritual roots, which arose when a spiritual root resonated with one's life-bound manifestation and underwent a mutation. Huo Qiushi did not elaborate.

Moreover, each person's spiritual root differed in quality: some were turbid, others clear and lustrous.

As for the life-bound manifestation, it was a wisp of spiritual light between heaven and earth, located within the sea of consciousness. Its outward form was unfixed, taking the shape of a wondrous object, as small as a saber or sword or as vast as a river, and differing from person to person.

The common saying was that life-bound manifestations had no distinction in rank, but in truth, they did differ in rank, as well as in how they fostered and countered one another.

The speed of cultivation had little to do with one's life-bound manifestation. Opportunities brought by fortune and the quality of one's disposition were also extremely important; it was not solely a matter of how many spiritual roots one had.

One's life-bound manifestation, however, was intimately connected to one's own Great Dao. Huo Qiushi did not elaborate, saying only that it was like walking: aptitude could determine how fast one walked, while the life-bound manifestation was the very road one traveled.

"You have a mixed spiritual root of metal, wood, earth, and fire." Huo Qiushi held Meng Yuan's wrist as he examined him.

So I lack water among the five elements. No wonder Sister Chen and Sister Du bring me good fortune. Meng Yuan then asked about his life-bound manifestation.

"Your life-bound manifestation is something shaped like a rotating disk, rather like a farmer's millstone." Huo Qiushi stroked his beard and leafed through a book. "I don't recognize it, and our alliance's Life-Bound Record has no entry for anything like it. This sort of thing is very common. When you have time to visit the main mountain, ask an expert."

Is it connected to my Turning Wheel stone disk? Meng Yuan naturally did not understand either, nor could he look within himself, but he knew Huo Qiushi had failed to detect the Soul-Tracking Thread planted inside him.

Huo Qiushi then taught him the methods for sensing and drawing in Qi, having Meng Yuan cultivate quietly in the pear grove each day.

A month later, Meng Yuan sensed Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Another month and a half passed. With the pear blossoms in bloom, Meng Yuan succeeded in drawing in Qi, dissolving the internal power he had cultivated and leaving his entire body aching for several days.

At this point, Meng Yuan counted as being at the Qi Refining first layer and had properly embarked upon cultivation.

After he rested for a few days, Huo Qiushi came again to teach him a cultivation method.

"You are diligent, but unfortunately, your aptitude is far too poor. Still, your disposition is decent." Huo Qiushi voiced no complaint. "Today, I shall teach you a cultivation method."

Huo Qiushi first spoke at some length, then passed down the Circulating Heaven Qi-Gathering Method.

"The Circulating Heaven Qi-Gathering Method and the Azure Wave Qi Gathering Art are the most widely circulated inner cultivation methods in the Starsea Alliance. They are especially useful for those with inferior aptitude. Practice this for now."

He recited it word by word, then, once Meng Yuan had committed it to memory, explained it word by word, taking great care.

Afterward, Meng Yuan devoted himself to cultivation, but two months passed in the blink of an eye with barely any progress.

Huo Qiushi showed him great care, but even with constant guidance and occasional pills for Meng Yuan to take, it helped little.

More than two years had already passed since he landed on the island, and the gray-robed man's ten-year deadline drew ever closer. With Meng Yuan progressing so slowly, when could he possibly reach the late Qi Refining stage?

"You! Only you have the aptitude!" The gray-robed man's words still rang in his ears.

Meng Yuan felt he had encountered a grave difficulty, so he went to Huo Qiushi to see whether there was another way.

"Alas. Junior Sister Du recommended you. She only asked that I guide you into the Dao, and that has now been accomplished."

Huo Qiushi really did have a solution. "But I find your disposition commendable, and you value affection and loyalty, so I shall teach you a cultivation method passed down in my family. Though complicated, it is particularly useful for those with inferior aptitude."

I value affection and loyalty? I slept with Du Yueyi, took the benefits, and ran. Isn't that heartless and disloyal? Meng Yuan knew his own character better than anyone.

"Please teach me, Master!" Meng Yuan's interest was piqued.

"This method is called the Bright Garment Art. Once you practice it, your spiritual root will grow stronger, your muscles and bones will become ever more crystalline, and your skin and flesh will become lustrous and resilient, as though you were clad in an immortal garment. Hence the name."

After explaining its benefits, Huo Qiushi explained its drawbacks: the method required someone of a higher cultivation realm to assist in drawing in Qi, thereby guiding Spiritual Qi through a complete circuit.

Of course, assisting with Qi intake once a month would suffice; there was no need to stand watch constantly.

"Helping someone draw in Qi takes a heavy toll on the body each time. Unless they were one's closest kin, one would not use this method." Huo Qiushi was very accommodating. "Therefore, if you wish to practice it, you must agree to three conditions."

Why did every last one of them insist on three conditions?

Meng Yuan had battled Chen Yuyin for a lifetime, guarding daily against the person sharing his bed. Now, hearing that a good thing had come knocking, he instinctively grew wary.

Indeed, Meng Yuan immediately thought of Chen Yuyin.

In his third life, seeking to fish out the secrets of the Immortal Mausoleum, Meng Yuan had revealed his capabilities when Chen Yuyin was lost and helpless, and she had latched onto him like a leech.

At this moment, though Meng Yuan could not be called desperate, he was indeed lost and helpless.

"I'm a fisherman from Old Turtle Pit, someone who only got ahead by selling his body. What could anyone scheme to get from me?"

It was not that Meng Yuan saw an enemy in every tree and blade of grass. Rather, he had encountered someone like Xin Li upon first arriving here, and truly doubted the character of these cultivators.

Feeling no warning from the rising tide, Meng Yuan immediately bowed low and addressed him as his venerable, beneficent master.

"First, I have no hope of attaining the Great Dao, and my Qi and Blood already show signs of decline. In the future, I will bring you into the alliance, and you must give me thirty percent of what you receive each year until I die of old age."

"Second, if Deer Island faces danger in the future, you must join me in defeating the enemy and must not flee in battle."

"Third, I have a daughter on Longstone Island. I will bring her here in a few years. If you two get along, you shall become dao companions, and you must protect her thereafter."

Having finished, Huo Qiushi looked solemnly at Meng Yuan.

All three conditions were reasonable. Meng Yuan did not quite believe Huo Old Freak would be so easy to satisfy, but he agreed at once nonetheless.

"Haha, good child!" Huo Qiushi was very pleased. He then passed down the Bright Garment Art and lent his assistance.

At once, Meng Yuan felt Spiritual Qi flow smoothly into his body. After a single circuit, his entire body felt indescribably comfortable.

Meng Yuan could not help thinking of Sister Chen. He knew something was not quite right, but with his future in another's hands, he could only keep going while making plans for his next life.