Witnessing a Master break through in their cultivation was a fortunate opportunity in itself.
Chen Qingyang released his Conscious Fish to circle around the Master, allowing him to perceive every change in her Qi Mechanism.
He watched as the lotus flower bloomed to its fullest, its petals then withering away to form an ice-crystal lotus throne. Atop this throne, the Master stood, her robes fluttering, looking sacred and flawless.
Slender calves, a delicate Jade Foot, hands clasped before her chest, waves of light flowing around her body…
Within this Qi Mechanism, Chen Qingyang sensed a multitude of Dharma Gate transformations—flickering, strengthening and weakening, a coarseness that held subtlety, and a subtlety that contained a universe of its own… It was as if nine Qi Vortexes were condensing, as a current of Pure Qi rose, steaming and billowing. Right where the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top would be, auspicious, five-colored clouds converged.
Wind swept ceaselessly through the small building as Spiritual Qi circulated without end…
The breakthrough didn’t take as long as one might have expected. After about two or three hours, Yun Ci slowly opened her eyes. With a gentle flick of a Technique, the surrounding cold qi was instantly absorbed into her body. The clouds above her head dissipated, and she returned to her normal appearance.
Her expression was serene, showing neither joy nor sorrow—the perfect reflection of a Dao Heart as still as a mirror’s surface.
Only when she saw Chen Qingyang waiting for her at the top of the stairs did a faint smile grace her lips. Her eyes were bright, her teeth pearly white, her lips a glistening red. “I never expected you to be so important to me,” she said, “that you would trigger my cultivation breakthrough. Of all the great opportunities I’ve had in the past hundred years, you are surely one of them.”
For someone with her cold personality to say such a thing was rare indeed. “I’m the lucky one,” Chen Qingyang replied. “To witness a Master advance from the sixth to the seventh realm. Your Qi Mechanism is stable, deep and unrevealed like an abyss, yet steadily advancing. You have a great future ahead of you and a high chance of breaking through to the Life Light realm!”
Yun Ci’s lips parted into an even wider, more brilliant smile. “It is quite good, I should think!”
Chen Qingyang looked her up and down again. He had intended to observe the changes in her Qi Mechanism, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to her Jade Foot and slender calves.
“Hmph. Have you had your fill of looking!”
Her cold voice snapped him out of it. Chen Qingyang quickly looked up. “Master’s Profound Skill is unfathomable,” he said hastily. “Now that your Qi Mechanism is hidden deep within your core, I’ve been looking all this time and can’t make anything out at all!”
“Hmph!” Clearly, his little trick hadn’t fooled her. She smoothed down her robes, covering the “scenery” from his view.
Chen Qingyang had to change the subject to relieve the awkwardness. “I was wondering, once one’s cultivation enters the Foundation Establishment Realm, how are the levels divided?”
Yun Ci put on a haughty air. “I’m not your master. Why are you asking me!”
Chen Qingyang, knowing her personality, immediately put on an appeasing smile. “I dare not let anyone know how fast my cultivation speed is. It would surely attract a great deal of trouble.”
Yun Ci retorted, “And if *I* know, it won’t cause trouble?”
“Of course not. Master, your character is noble and you are as discreet as a vault. You knowing will only bring me benefits, not trouble. Most importantly, I have absolute trust in you.”
These words pleased Yun Ci. “You are currently Cultivating Yujing’s Acupoints. After two more, you will achieve Ascension Perfection. With all Nine Acupoints Open, you will enter the Half-Step Foundation Establishment Realm.”
“To go from the Half-Step Foundation Establishment Realm to the Foundation Establishment Realm, you must wash away all your mortal dust, refine a Wisdom Root, and forge a Three Talents Divine Soul. Only then can you enter the First Realm of Foundation Establishment, which is called the Dust Root Initial Realm.”
‘So that’s how it is. Half-Step Foundation Establishment is merely the perfection of the Nine Acupoints Cultivation, not truly Breaking Through a Realm.’
“Then… what role does the Earth Deity play in all this?”
The Master paced back and forth before him while Chen Qingyang sat as still as a statue, listening intently.
“You should think of cultivation as a process of moving toward the Unity of Heaven and Man. The origin of the world is qi, and that origin is void. Therefore, at the very beginning, you must sense the Qi Mechanism. To do that, you must refine your Meridians. This is Qi Refining.”
“Besides the two ‘seas,’ there are nine key points within the body that qi can reach and be stored. These are your Nine Acupoints of Ascension.”
“After that, to move one step closer to the Celestial Dao and the origin of the world, you must wash away your body’s mortal dust. From then on, you leave the mortal coil, step through the gates of a Daoist Sect, and lay the very foundation for ascending to the heavens. That is why it’s called Foundation Establishment.”
“Then there’s Life Light. ‘Light’ represents the beginning of heaven and earth, the dawn of creation from primordial chaos. It symbolizes the very first essence of existence. To cultivate this is to walk the path toward the Unity of Heaven and Man. All the myriad Dharma Gates in the world have their own path and their own strengths. I only came to this understanding after studying many of them. It can serve as a reference for you in the future, but it cannot be your only guide. You must find your own path…”
“As for the Earth Deity you mentioned, aside from being a form of Spiritual Qi, it is a substance born of heaven and earth itself—the closest thing to the Celestial Dao. Its greatest purpose is to cleanse one of mortal dust…”
She was the type who said little, but when she did speak, she taught Chen Qingyang with the earnest patience of a true master.
Her style was completely different from Master Jing Yuan’s. Master Jing Yuan built upon the experience of his predecessors, adding many of his own profound insights, and walked a particularly orthodox path.
Yun Ci, on the other hand, relied entirely on her own comprehension for the Dharma Gate she cultivated—the Extreme Yin True Skill. As such, she had many unique insights of her own, and the path she walked could be summed up in a single word: “extreme.”
‘After hearing her explanation,’ Chen Qingyang thought, ‘I feel like I’ve wasted much of the Earth Deity’s power up until now.’
“I’ve also heard that the Earth Deity is extracted from the landscape—from the mountains and rivers. What would happen if it disappeared from the world?”
Yun Ci replied, “If it were gone, not one in a hundred of the Tai Xu Sect’s Masters would remain. The Earth Vein Spiritual Energy from the mountains and rivers would nourish the people instead. The common folk would have plenty to eat and wear, and the world’s calamities and disasters would be greatly diminished.”
For this Master, who seemed so detached from the mortal world, to say something so deeply concerned with it was truly unexpected.
“If I may ask, Master, what are your origins?”
Yun Ci looked back at him. “Why do you ask?”
“Heh, just curious. I just want to get to know you better.”
“I don’t remember. I’ve been in the Daoist Sect cultivating for as long as I can recall. I’ve never heard anyone mention what I was like before that.”