Chapter 32: The Profound Mysteries of Life and Death, The Fourth Stage of Qi Refinement

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The night was hazy, the full moon brilliant.

Outside the Cave of Wisteria Mountain, Xuanming sat cross-legged on the ground without concern for appearances. He divided his attention, closing his eyes to digest what he had gained while keeping watch over the doe and waiting patiently.

The world perceived through spiritual awareness differed from that seen with the naked eye. Especially after attaining the True Man realm, this distinction had become even more pronounced, faintly resembling the emergence of a heavenly eye capable of observing the workings of creation.

Spiritual awareness was like a mirror, reflecting all things into the mysterious gateway of the self. In the process, the outward appearances of things were stripped away, revealing their deeper essence: spiritual energy, rhythms, principles, and more.

Within Xuanming's spiritual awareness, the doe was a contradiction woven of yin and yang. The deathly aura around her body grew denser, while the vitality within her womb grew stronger. She was using her life to protect her offspring. Even the fawn itself embodied the mutual generation of yin and yang, its powerful will to live instinctively struggling against death.

Life and death transformed one another through childbirth; yin and yang alternated between them. This was the purest wonder of life, and the simplest yet most profound truth in the world.

Xuanming felt fortunate to have encountered such an opportunity immediately after emerging from seclusion. Yet he also felt unfortunate, for behind the opportunity lay the withering of a life. A tragedy was unfolding before his eyes.

The doe spirit did not disappoint.

Perhaps sensing that time was short and the situation dire, she exerted every ounce of her strength and gave birth to two fawns.

Xuanming was moved, and at that very moment, he awoke from his meditation.

When he opened his eyes, the yin-yang fishes deep within his pupils vanished. Seeing the scene before him, he stroked his beard and said, “What a blessing—fortune and prosperity in pairs.”

Spotted deer usually gave birth to only one fawn at a time, and deer spirits generally followed the same law.

The higher the bloodline, the more difficult it was to produce offspring.

Yet the doe spirit before him had borne two fawns. Judging from the strength of the yin and yang auras surrounding them, one was male and the other female.

Yin and yang giving rise to each other, heaven and earth existing together—the omen could hardly have been better.

Yet whoever wished to wear the crown had to bear its weight.

The more auspicious the omen, the greater the crisis.

The doe had been unable to bear such abundant blessings, and so disaster had come upon her while she was carrying her young.

The day she successfully gave birth would also be the day of her death.

“Fortune and calamity depend upon each other. The workings of Heaven are impossible to fathom.”

With a silent sigh, Xuanming's gaze fell upon the two fawns. As expected of children born to a deer spirit, they were unlike ordinary deer. They could stand as soon as they touched the ground. Though they staggered unsteadily, their extraordinary nature was already apparent.

The two fawns bleated softly, displaying every sign of childish innocence.

Humanlike tenderness and sorrow appeared in the doe's eyes. Half-collapsed on the ground, she used her final strength to lick the sticky fluid from the fawns' bodies. Then she nudged the one born first and cried plaintively toward Xuanming, pleading with her eyes, her face, and her voice.

A mother was entrusting her children to another.

She was making arrangements for their future and doing everything she could with the last of her strength.

After a sigh, Xuanming did not refuse. He promised, “This fawn was born because of me, and fate has linked it to me. Rest assured. This old Daoist will care for it properly.”

A glimmer returned to the doe's dim eyes. She looked at Xuanming gratefully, then turned and nudged the other fawn, crying out once more in supplication.

Unfortunately, Xuanming rejected her outright.

“When water reaches the brim, it overflows; when the moon is full, it begins to wane. One must not claim every blessing, or excess will reverse itself, bringing harm instead of benefit.”

“This fawn and I share no affinity.”

“I fear I shall disappoint you.”

The doe's face fell, her expression sorrowful.

At that moment, an excited voice rang out.

“Senior Brother, we gained quite a haul this time. We found several excellent materials. Once we return, I am certain I can refine some superb magical artifacts.”

The voice was like heavenly music. The doe's eyes brightened at once. Seeing Xuanyang approaching from a distance with a glowing face, she nudged the other fawn toward him.

Xuanyang: “!!!”

A short while later, after Xuanyang agreed to care for the second fawn, Xuanming stroked his beard and nodded.

He had given the doe a strand of magical power, allowing the two fawns to be born safely. Xuanyang had slain the wolf spirit yet spared the doe's life, likewise granting the two fawns a chance to survive.

Every cause had its effect; every gain and loss followed the decrees of fate.

It was only right that the brothers each take responsibility for one fawn.

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After taking one last look at her children, the doe let out the final cry of her life. Filled with boundless attachment and reluctance, she died in sorrow, the light in her eyes fading completely.

Mother and child were connected at heart.

The two fawns instinctively cried out.

Their plaintive bleating was deeply moving.

Xuanming swept his sleeves three times. Magical power surged forth, digging a pit, burying the corpse, and covering it with earth in a single seamless motion.

———

After burying the doe, he sensed something. His brows drew together as he glanced toward the depths of Azure Dragon Mountain. With a light tap of his toes, he rose into the air. Each step carried him hundreds of yards, as though he possessed the legendary ability to shrink the earth beneath his feet.

At the same time, he waved his horsetail whisk. Its three thousand silver strands wrapped around Xuanyang, who was holding the two fawns, and carried him away like a kite.

A short while later, two figures tore through the air.

A gray eagle transformed into a black-robed man with a cold expression. A silver wolf became a handsome young man dressed in white. Both radiated demonic energy. They were great demons of the mountains, comparable to human cultivators in the Qi Gathering realm.

“It seems we arrived a step too late,” said the wolf demon in white, his voice gentle.

Seeing the eagle demon prepare to give chase, the wolf demon's gaze turned icy as he warned, “From the looks of it, a human cultivator was secluded here, breaking through to a higher realm. Since he understood the rules, did not recklessly enter the depths of the mountains, and has already left, I advise you not to complicate matters.”

“Killing him would be a minor concern. Disrupting the unification of the demon clans in Azure Dragon Mountain would be a major one. If this man has other forces behind him and you act rashly, drawing the attention of humanity and delaying the great king's plans, you will deserve ten thousand deaths.”

The black-robed eagle demon snorted. “Of course I know which matters are important. I have remembered their auras. If I encounter them in the mountains again, I will make certain they never leave alive.”

The two figures sped through the mountain forests.

Xuanming traveled hundreds of yards with every step, racing onward at full speed.

He did not stop until he entered the Abbey of Seeking Truth.

“We finally made it!” Xuanyang said with profound relief. He had been carried the entire way, and the fierce wind had blown so hard against his eyes that he could barely keep them open.

Only now did he gain a direct sense of the speed possessed by a True Man in the Qi Gathering realm, and awe filled his heart.

“Junior Brother, you have worked hard this time. I still need to consolidate my realm. Once I emerge from seclusion, we shall discuss everything in detail.”

Xuanming rose into the air and flew straight toward Hidden Dao Peak.

As for the two fawns, he suggested that Xuanyang temporarily leave them in Changning's care. Women were more attentive by nature, and she also had experience with animal husbandry. Raising chickens and raising deer surely shared certain principles.

The Dao-Seeking Academy, inside a thatched cottage.

Xuanming sat cross-legged in meditation, entering seclusion to digest what he had gained.

He controlled his magical power, adapted to his newfound strength, studied the principles of heaven and earth, and examined the imprints of the Dao within his body.

He experienced the differences between Tempering Essence and Refining Qi, clarified their changes in scale, and examined himself in meticulous detail.

———

Human life passed swiftly, while this place held an abundance of mist and rosy clouds.

Three months later, Xuanming emerged from seclusion.

Within the Dao-Seeking Academy, he raised one hand and summoned his sword.

The peachwood sword rang sharply as it flew from the table, shooting into the highest heavens. It pierced clouds and scattered mist, flew beyond Floating Cloud Mountain, crossed Floating Cloud County, and continued for three hundred miles. There, it beheaded several bandits who had stopped travelers, robbed them, and committed murder, before flying back.

In the brief span of three breaths, it returned to its sheath.

Looking at the power displayed by his first tentative test, Xuanming was immensely satisfied, his face glowing with vitality.

His Primal Unity Dao Foundation was a perfect foundation, formed through the return of nine to one and the restoration of yin and yang to their source. Added to this were the support of the Primal Unity One-Qi Art and the Eight True Methods of the Outer Manifestation, his experience comprehending the Jade Scripture of the Yellow Court's Outer Manifestation twice, and the accumulation gained from reading and understanding nine hundred Daoist scriptures.

With all these advantages layered together, Xuanming's breakthrough erupted after years of accumulation. The benefits far exceeded his expectations, and his condition had never been better.

His cultivation, magical power, physical body, and spiritual awareness had all transformed from within outward, though the degree of increase varied according to the development of each elixir field.

His lower elixir field had been developed first, so his magical power and physical body had improved the most. His magical power had changed from a lake into a sea, increasing more than a hundredfold. His body showed signs of becoming icy flesh and jade bones, while his strength and defenses had increased dozens of times.

His upper elixir field had merely been carried along by the other two. His spiritual awareness had benefited the least. Even so, it had broken through the former limit of a hundred miles and could now cover three hundred miles of land. This was a qualitative leap.

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Needless to say, the distance of sword flight was closely linked to the strength of one's spiritual awareness. As this experiment had demonstrated, although he had only just entered the Qi Gathering realm, Xuanming could command his sword across three hundred miles with a mere thought, slaying demons, eliminating evil, and killing men.

Sword control had advanced into a divine sword-flight ability. Divine abilities were one of the reasons cultivators of Qi Gathering surpassed those who merely tempered essence.

Beings of this realm possessed a deeper understanding of the principles of heaven and earth. They had passed beyond the stages of recognizing the Dao, entering the Dao, learning the Dao, and knowing the Dao, stepping into the stage of illuminating the Dao. They understood their own great path and had taken a firm first step upon it. Their understanding of the Dao was no longer form without spirit; it possessed distinctive characteristics of its own, with both form and spirit fully present.

Nourished by this understanding, techniques had transformed into divine abilities.

In other words:

Tempering Essence meant seeking the Dao and learning techniques—the leaves.

Refining Qi meant illuminating the Dao and cultivating methods—the branches.

Xuanming's Dao was Primal Unity. It meant tracing all things back to their source, transforming nine into one and complexity into simplicity, seeking the beginning and the end—in other words, a circle.

Thanks to the transformations brought about by the Yellow Court Scripture, he had already understood the general direction of his own great path when he first entered the Dao.

Refining Spirit, meanwhile, should mean devoting oneself entirely to the Dao—the roots.

Leaves, branches, and roots: progressing from shallow to profound and from the surface to the depths, they formed the great tree of a cultivator's path.

Of course, this was Xuanming's own interpretation.

Whether it was right or wrong would only become clear after he exchanged views with other cultivators of the Qi Gathering realm.

Since the founding of the Abbey of Seeking Truth, no True Man had ever emerged from it. Even the patriarch who founded the sect, the Daoist Seeker of Truth, had never truly reached that stage. No one could guide Xuanming.

The sect possessed methods for cultivating Qi because its founding patriarch had entered the Dao after receiving the inheritance of a True Man of the Four Symbols.

Unfortunately, that True Man had been an ordinary wandering cultivator of limited talent. His cultivation during life had reached only the first stage of the Qi Gathering realm, and his cultivation method extended no further.

Fortunately, his knowledge was broad. The insights he left behind pointed Xuanming in the right direction and recorded the precise divisions of the four stages of Qi Gathering:

The Great Heavenly Circuit: the eight extraordinary meridians were fully connected, allowing a cultivator to live for up to two hundred years.

Returning to the Primordial State: the acquired state returned to the primordial, innate state, adding another hundred years to one's lifespan.

凝聚金丹: forming the Golden Elixir of the Dragon and Tiger, which increased one's lifespan by another hundred years.

Gathering the Sacred Womb: the qi and spirit first formed a numinous embryo, allowing a cultivator to witness five hundred cycles of spring and autumn.

Daoist cultivators were not skilled at combat. They excelled at preserving health and prolonging life. True Men of the Qi Gathering realm generally lived longer, often surviving several decades or even more than a century beyond cultivators of the same rank.

The texts left behind by the True Man of the Four Symbols also recorded the Three Grades of Dao Foundations, giving Xuanming a clearer understanding of his own strength.

The Dao arose from one, was established through three, completed through five, flourished through seven, and reached its utmost through nine.

Dao foundations were divided into upper, middle, and lower grades, with nine ranks in all.

Ranks one through three were lower-grade foundations. Cultivators possessing them had no hope of becoming True Men of the Qi Gathering realm. Their potential was limited. Though they could command wondrous spells, they ultimately remained ordinary mortals.

Ranks four through six were middle-grade foundations. Cultivators possessing them had hope of becoming True Men of the Qi Gathering realm. The higher the rank, the greater the hope. Such cultivators could truly transcend the ordinary, possessing the power to shatter mountains and sever rivers.

Ranks seven through nine were upper-grade foundations. Cultivators possessing them had hope of becoming Divine Lords of the Spirit Refining realm. Here too, the higher the rank, the greater the hope. They could destroy heaven and earth, move mountains, and overturn seas.

Put simply, the stronger the Dao Foundation, the greater one's potential. Every breakthrough brought greater benefits, and one's strength increased accordingly.

A cultivator with a middle-grade Dao Foundation at the Great Heavenly Circuit stage of the Qi Gathering realm possessed spiritual awareness extending three hundred yards, or three miles.

For one with an upper-grade foundation, that distance increased tenfold.

For someone like Xuanming, who possessed a perfect foundation, it increased another tenfold—to three hundred miles.

Judging by spiritual awareness alone, he was already comparable to a True Man of the Qi Gathering realm who had condensed a Golden Elixir.

Such was the might of a cultivator with a perfect foundation.

He could look down upon all others of the same realm and command an invincible presence.

Although Xuanming had no desire to compete for supremacy, caring more about his own cultivation and path, in this unfathomably deep world, greater strength was always preferable.

The Dao-Seeking Academy had been watched closely by every member of the sect.

Not long after the sign indicating his seclusion was removed, the third-generation Daoists came rushing in at the news, gathering at Hidden Dao Peak. Even Xuanxu and Xuansu emerged from seclusion.

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