Chương 9: The Guinea Pib by the Roadside

In the pitch darkness, where the air alternated between freezing cold and searing heat, An felt particles before him, a single grain of Qi. Unconsciously ' reaching'for it, An realized that this was a grain of energy with a pure Wood element. Immediately, he felt a second grain, a third, a fourth... a hundredth... a thousandth. An realized there was an infinite number of these grains around him. Wherever he' looked', they were everywhere, stretching into an endless void.

All this time, while he was examining these grains, a soft but steady muttering echoed around him in his own voice. The voice repeated the principles of Qi cultivation described in the scroll: proper breathing, the rhythm of inhales and exhales, the timing, which muscles to tense and which to relax, and what his state of mind should be. His voice repeated this in monotonous cycles, never stopping for a second. In that darkness, An began to pull in the first grain.

Without any resistance, the particle easily ' flew' into him. Immediately, he felt a surge of heat in his chest, right near his heart. The heat lasted for a few seconds before a powerful vibration thrummed within him. It all happened instantly. After the vibration subsided, An felt a new space in the lower part of his chest, a sort of emptiness accompanied by the most intense hunger he had ever experienced. The next moment, the grains of Qi around him seemed to 'hear' the void's hunger.

With lightning speed, they began competing to reach him first. The grains greedily flooded into the new area inside his chest. As more were absorbed, An's head began to ache, and the chanting voice grew quieter, though it didn't cease. Eventually, An could no longer bear the mental strain, and the voice abruptly stopped. Opening his eyes, An saw the world in a completely new way. All objects, even the stones, were emitting almost invisible streams of strange energy, like gossamer threads caught in the wind.

They intersected but did not touch, flowing without conflict. Each stream carried information. Looking into a flow, An understood its nature: its approximate size, type, and the dominant elements it consisted of. Surprisingly, he found this new vision more comfortable than his normal sight. His body seemed to tell him that this was how things were meant to be, and that his old vision had been incomplete.

He raised his hands and saw small streams emanating from himself, carrying his own details, his type, his element, his size. In this flow of information, An understood that he had reached the first layer of Qi Condensation.

"Now I'm a cultivator!" He smiled.

"Old woman Doshu mentioned using Qi inside oneself... What if?" He wondered and closed his eyes. He tried to figure out how to look inside himself, expecting it to be difficult. But the moment the thought crossed his mind, he was able to ' see'. He noticed that inside him were the same streams as outside, only far more numerous, and they remained within the boundaries of his consciousness.

"But where exactly is this? Is it inside my mind? My inner world?" An looked around with interest. The entire space was a soft, non-blinding white, and the boundaries of this world had a gentle green tint. He began to sense the information within these internal Qi streams.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, seeing that his vitality was incredibly high.

"Heh, my lifespan, even at the first layer, is over two hundred years! How convenient!" A genuine smile stretched across An's face. For a cultivator, lifespan is everything; the more time you have, the better your chances of reaching the next realm. An continued his exploration "Hmm, my healing factor is very high too. If I lose a limb, I can regrow it after some time... Normally, such abilities only come from Heaven-Defying techniques. Hehe, I'm like a lizard."

Beyond the healing and longevity, he felt a natural proximity to spirit plants and a deep understanding of them "Healing factor and increased lifespan. That's not bad... very, very good!" An ' returned' to his physical body, opened his eyes, and reflected on his progress "In one cultivation cycle, I reached the first layer. There are nine layers in Qi Condensation. Each layer essentially fills ten percent of the dantian with Qi. At the fourth, seventh, and ninth layers, the walls of the dantian are strengthened.

That's why they divide it into early, middle, and late stages." Picking up the technique scroll, An froze. The text had vanished, leaving only a clean, empty sheet.

"Probably to stop disciples from trading techniques among themselves," he mused, folding the scroll and putting it in his pouch. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. He laid out the other books before him and, after a moment's thought, picked up Alchemy for Beginners. The book was unassuming, bound in dark leather with the author's signature, ' Di Jou', at the bottom right.

"My name is Di Jou, and this is my story of alchemy..."

"What is alchemy? And how is it connected to the Dao? Alchemy, like any auxiliary path, is not just a technique, but a complex set of knowledge and understanding, not only of oneself but of the world..." An read through the lengthy introduction where the author described his early mistakes.

"I need to take this seriously. This isn't just putting a pot on the fire and stirring until it's done." An realized that a long and arduous journey of understanding this strange science lay ahead. Reaching the practical section, An found the first technique for 'mixing' substances described in meticulous detail: how to control Qi, the specific strength of the energy flow needed for even mixing, and other nuances that bordered on the absurdly deep.

After reading the mixing technique several times, An began to follow the instructions and practice. He repeated the movements shown in the book for about twenty minutes without stopping for a single second. Deciding that this was enough, he felt it was time to test his results in practice. Standing up and heading into the shack, he found an old metal bowl about thirty centimeters in diameter. He took it to the shore, filled it with lake water, and gathered several different spirit plants growing nearby.

Taking the plants in his hands, An felt the Qi flows emanating from them. Reading these flows, he understood they were not poisonous, and that the plant from the water possessed a distinct calming effect. An began tearing them into small pieces, tossing a third of each into the bowl. Sitting by the water, he re-read the mixing technique and began. As soon as he started gesturing and channeling his Qi as described, the water began to swirl.

He saw that the Qi flows of the plants didn't just intersect, they began to attract and conflict with one another. Focusing hard, An continued. After a few minutes, the energies stopped clashing and began to merge. An watched in surprise as the pieces of the plants started to attract each other, sticking together into a single, homogeneous lump. Knowing this was part of the process, he maintained the technique. The energy of the water and the resulting substance slowly combined.

After another ten minutes, the energies fully merged, and the lump dissolved into the liquid. An stopped channeling Qi and lifted the bowl. The water was now green and slightly thicker than usual, with no smell or solid remains. Checking the energy flows, he confirmed the liquid had absorbed the calming properties of the aquatic plant.

"Hmm, it's not that difficult... Although there were only three materials: water and two types of random grass. But at least this brew has a calming effect." He examined the liquid curiously "I wonder how this affects a living being? I need a test subject." An raised an eyebrow, wondering if he had created a true potion or just a simple decoction. He walked toward the gate, looking for a suitable candidate. Near the main road, he spotted a rooster sitting in the grass with a dazed look.

An placed the bowl by the gate and walked toward the bird. To his surprise, the creature didn't even try to run.

"Here, chick-chick-chick... I have some tasty grains for you, don't be scared!" On the last word, he pounced, pinning the rooster's neck to the ground.

"Ha!" An lifted the bird in front of his face, laughing at its vacant expression. Even caught, the rooster showed no fear, its bulging eyes simply stared into space. An brought the bird back to his plot and sat by the shore.

"Can you understand me? You're a spirit beast, I can see it in your Qi... I really need to read that bestiary Elder Doshu gave me." He set the rooster down. The bird just tilted its head.

"Alright, see the bowl? Drink it, and I'll give you this fruit. Deal?" He pointed to the 'potion'. With his other hand, he pulled a fruit from his pouch. Seeing it, the rooster's neck straightened and its eyes nearly popped out of its head.

"Drink first! Then the fruit!"

"Bawk, bawk!" The bird approached the bowl, lowered its head, and took a few licks. It froze for a moment, then began slurping greedily, eventually shoving its entire head into the liquid and nearly choking. After licking the bowl clean, the rooster staggered, fell onto its back, and began to snore loudly.

"Oh, look at that, it didn't die. Hey! Chicken! Wake up!" An shook the bird, but it was out cold. He began examining its Qi flows.' Hmm... the information in the flows hasn't changed, but they've become smoother, calmer. It seems I can determine what an owner is feeling through their Qi... though not very accurately.' The implications hit him'Isn't this too overpowered? I'll need to learn to control my own emotions, because this is a total cheat. Gambling, manipulation, reading people...

Wait, maybe I can only do this with those weaker than me? But I've only just reached the first layer.

'He scratched his head, propping his chin on his hand.' This chicken is clearly a spiritual beast, but it's no different from a common farm bird. Its spirit volume is just slightly denser than the plants I used.' After confirming the rooster was stable, An decided to make the brew again and try it himself. This time, it took even less effort. He lifted the bowl and took a small sip. Immediately, a pleasant coolness traveled down his throat to his stomach, spreading evenly through his body. An gasped.

Even that small sip had a calming effect.

"It actually works. Everything inside is fine... my inner world is stable too." He drank the rest in one go.

"Oh dear..." An's face went slack, and he flopped onto his back. His body felt deeply relaxed, but his mind became incredibly clear.' My potion has a dual effect on both the physical and the spiritual. Heh... hehe!' Lying there, An's lips twitched into a smile.' Alchemy is awesome!' He exhaled contentedly through his nose.