Chapter 19: Cultivator

That night, the moonlight was bright and clear.

Li Chijing sat cross-legged in the courtyard, concentrating his mind and spirit as he began to condense his third cycle of the Circulating Wheel.

The human body possesses infinite mysteries, containing twelve meridians and three Dantians—upper, middle, and lower. The *Taiyin Breathing and Wheel-Nurturing Scripture* states

"The Lower Dantian is the residence of Essence; the Middle Dantian is the residence of Qi; the Upper Dantian is the residence of Spirit."

Among the six wheels of Fetal Breathing, the Xuanjing, Zhouxing, and Yujing wheels are known as the Three Gates of Fetal Breathing, and they are exceptionally difficult to master. The key lies in the fact that these three wheels must each condense a spiritual wheel out of nothingness within different Dantians.

The remaining three wheels are relatively easier. For instance, the Xuanjing wheel resides in the Qihai acupoint of the Lower Dantian; once condensed, one only needs to practice mindful breathing, and the Chengming wheel will naturally emerge from the Qihai acupoint.

The Zhouxing wheel is located in the Juque Ting, which is the body's residence of Qi. Once condensed, magical power flows incessantly throughout the entire body. If attached to the eyes, one can see for thousands of miles; if attached to the feet, one can move with divine speed, running up walls and leaping across eaves with ease.

After resting for fifteen minutes, Li Chijing felt his Qihai acupoint was full. The two spiritual wheels circled and intertwined incessantly. He performed a hand seal and circulated his Qi through the Shimen, Guanyuan, Shenque, and Mingmen acupoints, gathering it all into the Juque Ting in an attempt to condense the spiritual wheel.

Lu Jiangxian was monitoring Li Chijing with his divine sense, casting a Calming Incantation upon him, while Li Tongya and Li Xiangping stood guard alongside him.

Just as Lu Jiangxian was watching Li Chijing perform the hand seals in preparation for his breakthrough, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine. From afar, he sensed a majestic aura approaching rapidly toward Mount Dali.

Comparing their respective strengths, Lu Jiangxian decisively followed his intuition. His divine sense receded like a tide back into the mirror. He ceased even absorbing the moonlight cast through the skylight, lying motionless in the dark room of the ancestral hall like a lifeless object, appearing as nothing more than a true bronze mirror.

Within a few breaths, a streak of cyan light flashed across the sky above the Li family estate. Feeling the aura drift away, Lu Jiangxian was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the streak of light drift lightly, turn around, and hover slowly above the Li residence.

————

Si Yuanbai had broken through his cultivation bottleneck at Qinghui Peak. With his cultivation having advanced once more, he intended to head to Mount Dali to seek trouble with that pig demon. Thus, he rode his flying shuttle southward along the Guli Road.

"That great battle severed the spiritual energy of the northern foothills of Mount Dali and left the ley lines in chaos. Now that three hundred years have passed, the spiritual energy of the ley lines is slowly recovering, and many demons have begun to flourish."

As he approached Mount Dali, Si Yuanbai noticed there were actually quite a few villages at the foot of the mountain, especially along the banks of an unnamed river, where villages were scattered in small clusters, looking quite vibrant.

"The great battle cleared the heavens and earth, slaughtering the demons of these northern foothills and severing the spiritual energy, which has instead turned this into a fine habitat for these mortals."

Si Yuanbai looked down, but suddenly noticed a flicker of magical power within a small village below, which piqued his curiosity.

Thinking it might be some minor demon causing trouble, he activated his magical vision. Under the moonlight, he saw a handsome youth sitting cross-legged. Not only that, but two similarly looking young men stood to his left and right, appearing to also possess magical power.

"How curious. This youth is breaking through a bottleneck without any elders by his side to protect him."

Si Yuanbai lightly swept his spiritual sense across the village. Finding no further fluctuations of magical power, he paused for a moment, then clapped his hands and laughed

"Likely the romantic offspring left behind by some fellow Daoist."

Below, Li Chijing was entirely unaware. Instead, he experienced a moment of sudden enlightenment. As he continued his attempts at condensation, the doubts within his hand seals were resolved one by one. Streams of magical power rapidly converged in the Juque Ting, and a crystal-clear spiritual wheel condensed with incredible speed, as if he had practiced it thousands of times before.

"What a fine youth!"

Si Yuanbai stroked his beard and praised softly.

The path of cultivation is fraught with peril and hardship. Spiritual apertures are merely the foundation for entry; one must also rely on fortune, comprehension, willpower, and even family background, sect, and cultivation techniques.

This youth possessed good comprehension and talent, and his technique was profound. But in a mortal village deep in the mountains, how much cultivation resource could he truly utilize, and how many secret manuals could he obtain? In the end, he would likely only achieve the Qi Refining stage before turning to ash after two hundred years.

The road of cultivation is long; countless heroes have fallen, and many talents have perished along with their clans.

Slowly descending his flying shuttle, Si Yuanbai performed a hand seal to cast an invisibility spell. He sat upon a rockery in the courtyard, leisurely observing the people within.

Just then, a mortal elderly man walked into the courtyard, and one of the guarding youths spoke

"Father."

Upon hearing this, Si Yuanbai's expression turned strange. Those possessing spiritual apertures were one in a thousand, and this boy possessed three. Could he truly be the offspring of that mortal old man?

Observing the purity and depth of his magical power, he must possess profound methods. He was undoubtedly the illegitimate son left behind by some Daoist. It was rare for a cultivator to have offspring, yet they might not dare to bring them home, choosing instead to raise them in a village to begin their cultivation.

"However, all three children possess spiritual apertures. This fellow Daoist's cultivation is likely above the Foundation Establishment stage."

Although it becomes increasingly difficult for cultivators to conceive as their cultivation rises, the probability of their children possessing spiritual apertures increases significantly. For a Qi Refiner, it is one in ten or two; after Foundation Establishment, it is fifty percent. Since all three children possessed spiritual apertures, their father must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

As for the Purple Mansion stage? Aside from the ancestors of the various immortal sects, there weren't even two handfuls of such cultivators in the entire State of Yue. Why would a dignified Purple Mansion expert bother to settle in such a small village? Even if he had an illegitimate son and brought him home, who would dare object? They would likely treat the child as a little ancestor to be worshiped.

Seeing the youth below finish his cultivation, he spoke with a face full of joy

"Father, I have broken through!"

The Li family was naturally filled with joy. On the rockery, Si Yuanbai watched him, his mind stirred as he thought

"This stretch of the Guli Road toward Mount Dali has many mortals, yet because of that great battle, no cultivators have guarded it for three hundred years. Now that the ley lines have returned to their positions and the spiritual energy is recovering, this land should return to the control of a sect sooner rather than later."

"It might be better to use these people as an affiliated sect to guard this place. By leveraging the prestige of that Foundation Establishment senior, they should be able to suppress these demons."

The Qingchi Sect controlled the five southern prefectures of the State of Yue and naturally had a system of governance. The sect would only dispatch disciples to manage the cities, while the rest of the control was maintained through the intricate web of blood marriages among the various cultivation families.

By using medicinal pills and magical artifacts to force these families to grow raw materials and provide a massive supply of low-level manpower, and then harvesting the best disciples from these families every year to replenish the sect, they had established a method almost universally recognized in the cultivation world. The Qingchi Sect had been using this method for over five hundred years since its founding.

"It would also be a way to form a good connection with that Foundation Establishment cultivator."

With this thought, Si Yuanbai performed a hand seal and revealed his form, landing lightly in the courtyard.

Li Chijing was still basking in his joy, experiencing the continuous surge of power in his Zhouxing wheel, when he saw a figure clad in green appear out of thin air in the courtyard.

The man wore green robes and appeared to be in his thirties or forties. He was handsome with a gentle smile, and a shimmering, azure treasure sword hung at his waist, giving him an air of ethereal elegance.

Li Chijing and the others immediately felt as if they were facing a great enemy. They quickly moved to protect Li Mutian behind them, and Li Tongya shouted in a low voice

"Who goes there?"

————

ps: Another chapter coming tonight

(End of Chapter)