Do Not Go Out After Nightfall

"The Shendao Acupoint..."

"I remember seeing that acupoint in the Daoist scriptures at the temple."

Yu Tunzhou committed the name to memory, planning to look up the records on it when he returned that evening.

The sun slanted westward, and weary birds returned to the woods.

Yu Tunzhou and Xie Linchuan walked side by side beneath the old residence's shadow, stretched long by the fading sunlight. They drew all manner of looks from those around them, including more than a few warnings.

Clearly, many people had also come to regard Xie Linchuan as a thorn in their side because he had befriended Yu Tunzhou.

Xie Linchuan, however, paid them no mind. Whenever someone warned him, he responded with a cold smile, seemingly unconcerned about making enemies of everyone.

Yu Tunzhou even thought the fellow seemed a little excited...

When they reached a secluded part of the alley, Yu Tunzhou took out the copper coin. It was plain and ancient, with somewhat worn edges, and looked utterly ordinary.

Xie Linchuan took the coin with keen interest, weighed it in his hand, and said:

"It doesn't look like anything special. Where did you find it?"

"Under the rockery in the pond."

"Mm..." Xie Linchuan rubbed the edge of the coin. "I remember there's a folk custom of tossing coins and making wishes, hoping for peace and good fortune, and for one's wishes to come true."

Yu Tunzhou said, "...Have you heard of anyone else finding treasure?"

"Don't worry. Not yet."

Yu Tunzhou felt reassured at once and caught the coin Xie Linchuan tossed back to him.

"Brother Xie, have you practiced the Great Spirit Courtyard's Refining the True? How many cycles have you reached?"

"Hm?" Xie Linchuan was quick-witted. The moment the question occurred to him, he guessed the answer. "You got it from Zhang Qinghe?"

"Yes, the Zhang Household gave it to me."

Xie Linchuan nodded. "No wonder. I have indeed practiced it too, but it's extremely difficult. So far, I can only last through four cycles."

"Among the various households and sects, has anyone reached forty-nine cycles and transformed their Inner Qi into profound Qi?" Yu Tunzhou asked curiously.

Xie Linchuan chuckled. "Don't believe it. Reaching twenty cycles in the Qi Ingestion Realm is already remarkable."

"Huh?" Yu Tunzhou was stunned. The gap was far too large-not even half.

Xie Linchuan's lips twitched.

"This Method Formula is said to have come from a present-day expert at the Dharma Form level. When it first appeared, the great sects and prominent clans all poured considerable resources into verifying it, but in the end, not a single one succeeded."

"If I remember correctly, the highest record belonged to a Dao prodigy born with a body like golden branches and jade leaves, nearly an Innate Dao Body. He also took quite a few rare and precious medicines, yet still stopped at thirty-nine cycles in the Qi Ingestion Realm, unable to withstand the backlash of Blood Qi at the fortieth."

"You can try it tonight and see for yourself. Every cycle of Inner Qi raises a tide of Qi and Blood in your body, each fiercer and more dangerous than the last. To endure forty-nine cycles..."

Xie Linchuan chuckled again, making his disdain abundantly clear, though he went on to acknowledge the merits of Refining the True.

"The finest thing about this method is that it can be circulated alongside a Qi Ingestion method. Even if you can't take it very far, it can still temper your Inner Qi and deepen your meridians. That's why the great sects and prominent clans chose it as required practice for their younger generation."

"Besides, this Method Formula is also an excellent way to circulate Inner Qi in the Chain Forming Stage."

"Many people continue to practice it after reaching the Chain Forming Realm, all the way to forty-nine cycles."

"As far as I know, some sects now even use the number of Refining the True cycles as a standard for assessing cultivators in the Qi Ingestion and Form Refinement realms."

After listening to Xie Linchuan's explanation, Yu Tunzhou was speechless.

Refining the True was even more difficult than he had expected.

Xie Linchuan mused, "If you can't withstand the Blood Qi backlash, you can remove the Mingmen and Zhiyin acupoints. If you still can't bear it, you can remove Taiyuan, Guanyuan, and the others in turn..."

In all, Xie Linchuan named thirteen acupoints.

"Remove them one by one until you can withstand the Blood Qi backlash and complete a full cycle."

"Doing that will weaken the effect of Refining the True accordingly, but as long as you can complete one full cycle, you'll still gain quite a bit."

A question arose in Yu Tunzhou's mind. He was just about to ask: if acupoints were removed, wouldn't the Great Spirit Courtyard route be incomplete?

In the eyes of the expert who had created the method, this route for circulating Qi secretly accorded with the Great Dao. Not one of its forty-nine acupoints could be missing, nor could one be added; it was as though nature itself had made it.

A miss of a hair's breadth led one a thousand miles astray. How could it be changed?

But the next moment, he realized the answer.

There simply wasn't anyone in the world who could complete forty-nine cycles in the Qi Ingestion Realm!

The disciples of the great sects and Aristocratic Clans treated the method entirely as a way to temper Qi.

As for the original True Intention of Refining the True...

This was the Luofu Grotto-Heaven, which possessed the fortune of immortals, the very finest profound Qi. The disciples from the various factions had no need to worry about obtaining profound Qi at all.

Yu Tunzhou suddenly grew curious.

The solution everyone had come up with was to remove acupoints and reduce the Blood Qi backlash.

Why, then, had the "Yi" in his household gone the opposite way, adding a Shendao Acupoint?

The two continued on their way until they passed the Evergreen Mountain residence. Xie Linchuan went inside to explain the situation to his granduncle-master, hoping to borrow a place to stay on the mountain for the night.

Unexpectedly, his granduncle-master refused to let him go up the mountain that night.

Zhang Qingtong said evenly, "Put this matter off for a while. You've only just arrived in the grotto-heaven, and this old residence hasn't yet remembered your Qi. It wouldn't be suitable for you to spend the night elsewhere."

Confusion appeared on Xie Linchuan's face. What kind of reason was that?

"Then how about letting Brother Yu come in so you can personally determine whether he's mastered entering meditative absorption?" Xie Linchuan asked.

Zhang Qingtong refused again. "Tell him not to go out at night for the next few days, either. Also, some things needn't be forced, nor must one insist on getting to the bottom of them. On the path of cultivation, when the water flows, a channel forms-that is the Higher Vehicle."

Xie Linchuan frowned deeply. What did his granduncle-master mean?

He wanted to ask more, but Zhang Qingtong had already waved him away.

Walking out of the room, Xie Linchuan glanced around the vast yet deserted residence. He felt that his granduncle-master's attitude today was somewhat peculiar.

But there was nothing he could do. He could only go out and tell Yu Tunzhou that he couldn't accompany him up the mountain that night, and pass along his granduncle-master's words as well.

"When the water flows, a channel forms..."

Yu Tunzhou slowly pondered those words, also wondering why he couldn't go out at night.

"Go back and rest, Brother Xie. Over the next few days, I also need to confirm for myself whether I can enter last night's state again, and whether it's stable."

He waved goodbye to Xie Linchuan and, instead of taking his usual shortcut, made a detour along a slightly longer road out of town.

One feared not ten thousand chances, but the one in ten thousand.

He returned safely to the mountain, where everything was as usual.

After dinner, Yu Tunzhou washed his bowl and chopsticks by a stream not far behind the house.

There were few lights on the mountain, but the moon in this world was exceptionally bright, as though it hung close to the mortal realm. Even in the woods at night, it didn't feel pitch-dark; instead, there was a touch of tranquility.

After putting everything in order, Yu Tunzhou went to the Daoist temple and greeted Daoist Shouxin. Then he borrowed a candle and went straight to the adjoining study.

The study was small but spotless, and a faint scent of ink lingered in the air.

Following his memory, he went to the bookshelf on the west side. After searching for a while, he found the diagram of the body's acupoints he remembered.

The Shendao Acupoint lay hidden in the center of the back, receiving the Yang Qi of the heart and lungs above and connecting to the true fire of the Mingmen below.

"Shen" meant the soul and the mind;

"Dao" meant a passage and a hub.

The ancients believed that this acupoint connected inwardly to the mind and outwardly to the Qi of heaven and earth. If one could guide Qi through it, the soul would become clear, as though walking a righteous path without straying to either side.

The book also recorded that it was a crucial acupoint connecting the soul and the body. For cultivators, it was an important gateway for stabilizing the mind and harmonizing yin and yang.

Yu Tunzhou then read up on each acupoint along the Great Spirit Courtyard route, gaining a thorough understanding of their locations and functions.

For instance, the acupoint that had originally been second to last was Zhiyang, the hub through which the body's Yang Qi circulated.

"The Zhiyang Acupoint is the hub where Yang Qi rises, while the Shendao Acupoint is the gateway through which Yang Qi transforms into spirit. Is that why it goes through Zhiyang first, then Shendao?"

Yu Tunzhou wondered to himself, unsure what Spirit Transformation meant.

He closed the book and put it back.

Now that he had a general understanding, it was time to put it into practice.

He left the study and returned the candle to its place, whereupon he heard the old Daoist ask with a smile:

"Young friend Yu, are you about to practice Refining the True?"

Since the old Daoist had taken the initiative to start a conversation, Yu Tunzhou naturally had no reason to refuse.

He didn't believe that the old Daoist, a "sage" in Xie Linchuan's eyes, would chat with him for no reason at all.

"Yes, Daoist. Old Mo helped me ask the Zhang Household for it."

The old Daoist smiled. "You came specifically to look up the acupoints' locations before practicing?"

"It's always good to understand a little more. If something does go wrong, I won't be left completely in the dark."

The old Daoist nodded approvingly. "A good habit. You practice the Spark Instruction, a method known for its overbearing nature. You've only just begun, so that nature has yet to show itself. If you practice it alongside Refining the True, remember to take it slowly."

Yu Tunzhou thanked him. "Thank you for the reminder, Daoist. Do you think one can really complete all forty-nine cycles of Refining the True in the Qi Ingestion Realm?"

The old Daoist shook his head. "The person who created this method stood too high and looked too far, pursuing the shackles of the Dao. So, logically speaking, no one in the world today can withstand the Blood Qi backlash of forty-nine cycles in the Qi Ingestion Realm."

What if the forty-nine acupoints became fifty?

Would the backlash be stronger, or would it resolve part of the Blood Qi backlash?

Yu Tunzhou asked himself.

"Young friend Yu, for the time being, try not to go out at night," the old Daoist suddenly warned.

Yu Tunzhou's expression grew solemn. Was this what the old Daoist had wanted to say tonight?

It was the same message as Senior Zhang's.

"Daoist, could you tell me the reason plainly?" Yu Tunzhou asked tentatively.

The old Daoist smiled. "Even prisoners condemned to death have time to go out for air."

Yu Tunzhou was puzzled at first, then his expression turned uncertain and alarmed.

Could it be...

The one who was first under heaven a thousand years ago, suppressed beneath this grotto-heaven?!

Yu Tunzhou put down the candle and hurried away, returning to his own room.

The old Daoist's gaze was deep as he looked beyond the temple gates.

No one knew how much time passed.

The insects in the mountains fell silent. It was so quiet that the faint sound of the candle burning could be heard.

A blurred figure drifted down from the mountain, light as a wisp of rootless smoke, looking for all the world like one of those so-called wandering ghosts.

He drifted soundlessly to the temple entrance, laughed aloud in mockery, then floated down the mountain, seemingly intent on seeing what crooked melons and split dates the various factions had sent this generation.

The old Daoist remained expressionless. He certainly wasn't holding a grudge; he was merely concerned for the younger generation, pondering how hard he should strike on that night twenty-odd days from now to knock loose more of the escaping fortune and let the little taotie in town feast their fill.