Night fell, the river of stars shining brilliantly.
Li Chixi sat cross-legged in the backyard, eyes slightly closed, focusing his mind and calming his breath, beginning to condense the third wheel, the Zhouyou Lun (Wandering Wheel).
The human body is a microcosm of heaven and earth, containing twelve standard meridians and the Upper, Middle, and Lower Dantians. The Xuanyin Zhuanlun Jing (Mystic Yin Turning Wheel 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 Taixi (Embryonic Breathing), the Xuanguang, Zhouyou, and Yuhua wheels are collectively known as the Three Calamities of Taixi, being the most dangerous and difficult. The key lies in the fact that these three wheels must be condensed out of thin air within different Dantians.
The remaining three wheels are relatively easier. For instance, the Xuanguang Wheel is located at the Qihai acupoint in the Lower Dantian. Once successfully condensed, one only needs to breathe with intent, and the Chengguang Wheel will naturally derive from the Qihai acupoint.
The Zhouyou Lun is located in the Juque Court, which is the residence of Qi in the human body. After condensation, mana flows endlessly, traveling through the whole body. When mana attaches to the eyes, one can see a thousand miles; when attached to the feet, one can travel a hundred miles in a spirit walk, scaling walls and walking on precipices as if on flat ground.
Li Chixi regulated his breath for a moment, feeling his Qihai acupoint full and abundant, two spirit wheels intertwining and entangling endlessly. He formed a hand seal, guiding mana to flow through the Shimen, Guanyuan, Shenque, and Mingmen acupoints, finally converging in the Juque Court, attempting to condense the third spirit wheel.
Lu Chenyuan was using his Divine Sense to watch over Li Chixi, casting a Qingxin Zhou (Heart-Clearing Curse) on him, while guarding him alongside Li Tongyan and Li Yunping.
Just as he watched Li Chixi prepare to break through, Lu Chenyuan suddenly felt a prickling sensation on his back. From afar, he sensed a vast and mighty aura approaching from a distance, heading straight for Cangwu Mountain.
Weighing the disparity in strength, Lu Chenyuan made an immediate decision. His Divine Sense retreated into the mirror like a receding tide, shutting out even the moonlight from the skylight, lying in the dark room of the ancestral hall like a dead object, resembling a true ancient bronze mirror.
In just a few breaths, a streak of green light crossed over the Li family's sky. Sensing the aura moving away, Lu Chenyuan was about to breathe a sigh of relief when he saw the streak of light turn lightly in mid-air, slowly hovering above the Li family home.
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Si Yuanqing broke out of seclusion from Qingluan Peak, his cultivation having improved significantly. He planned to go to Cangwu Mountain to find trouble with that pig demon, so he steered his flying boat, heading south along the Guyun Path.
"That great battle back then severed the spiritual energy on the northern foot of Cangwu Mountain, leaving the earth veins in chaos. Now, three hundred years later, the earth veins and spiritual energy are slowly recovering, and many demons have become a force to be reckoned with."
Approaching Cangwu Mountain, Si Yuanqing discovered there were actually quite a few villages at the foot of the mountain, especially along the banks of that nameless river, where villages were scattered here and there, looking full of vitality.
"That great battle cleared the world; demons on the northern foot were wiped out, and spiritual energy was severed, which instead became a good dwelling place for these mortals."
Si Yuanqing looked down, but suddenly spotted a fluctuation of mana in the small village below. He couldn't help but feel a bit curious.
He thought it was some small demon causing trouble, but upon activating his Dharma Eye, he saw a handsome young man sitting cross-legged under the moonlight. Not only that, there were two similar-looking youths guarding him on the left and right, seemingly possessing mana as well.
"How rare. This youth is breaking through a bottleneck, yet there is no elder by his side to protect him."
Si Yuanqing swept his spiritual sense lightly through the village and, finding no other mana fluctuations, was startled for a moment, then clapped his hands and smiled:
"I'm afraid this is an illegitimate child left behind by a fellow Daoist."
Li Chixi below was completely unaware of this; instead, he had a moment of sudden enlightenment. As he constantly tried to condense the wheel, the major and minor doubts in the technique became clear one by one. Streams of mana rapidly converged in the Juque Court, and the crystal-clear spirit wheel condensed rapidly, as if he had practiced it a thousand times and was familiar with the road.
"What a fine youth!"
Si Yuanqing twirled his beard and praised softly.
The path of cultivation is fraught with difficulties and obstacles. Linggen (Spiritual Root) is merely the foundation for entry; one must also look at fortune, understanding, and will, and even more so at family background, sect, and cultivation methods.
This youth's understanding and talent were top-notch, and his technique was quite profound. But in this mortal village deep in the mountains, how many cultivation resources could there be? How many secret manuals could he obtain? Ultimately, he would only achieve Lianqi (Qi Condensation), and turn to dust after two hundred years.
The road to immortality is long; how many heroes have fallen, how many talents have died and their clans wiped out.
Slowly lowering his flying boat, Si Yuanqing cast a spell to conceal his aura and landed on a rockery in the courtyard, leisurely watching the people in the yard.
But he saw a mortal old man walk in from outside the yard. The youth acting as a guard spoke up:
"Father."
Hearing this, Si Yuanqing's expression instantly became strange. Those with Spiritual Roots are one in a thousand; now there were actually three Spiritual Roots in one family. Could these be the seeds of that mortal old man?
Observing their thick and pure mana, they must possess profound methods. They are undoubtedly illegitimate children left behind by a fellow Daoist unintentionally. It is difficult for cultivators to have offspring, yet they dare not bring them back to the sect, so they raise them in this village to cultivate first.
"However, since all three children possess Spiritual Roots, that fellow Daoist's cultivation is likely above Zhuji (Foundation Establishment)."
Although the higher the cultivation of a cultivator, the harder it is to have children, the probability of the children born having Spiritual Roots increases greatly. For Qi Condensation cultivators, it is one or two out of ten; after Foundation Establishment, it is fifty percent. Since these three children all have Spiritual Roots, their father must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
As for Jindan (Golden Core)? Excluding the ancestors of the major Immortal Sects, the entire Yue Kingdom couldn't gather enough to count on two hands. A dignified Golden Core venerable, why would they come to this small village to make do? Even if they had an illegitimate child and brought them home, who would dare to gossip? They would have to be worshipped as a little ancestor.
Seeing the youth below finish his cultivation, a look of joy on his face as he spoke:
"Father, I've broken through!"
The Li family was naturally overjoyed, but Si Yuanqing on the rockery looked at him with a moved heart, thinking secretly:
"This area from Guyun Path to Cangwu Mountain has many mortals. Because of that great war, there has