Chapter 117 - Reflecting Upon Oneself (Part I) (Patreon)

Inside a dark room filled with corpses, scrolls, books, and fragmented cultivation manuals, Lucian stood with closed eyes and a deep scowl on his face.

Again, I miscalculated, he thought in frustration. The meridians and the previous two chakra points were easier to open not only because they belonged to the earlier stages, but because I possess a deep understanding of my own body.

After nearly a week focused solely on opening the Solar Plexus Chakra, which enhanced Qi techniques, Qi flow, and Qi perception in general, Lucian felt he had not even progressed halfway through.

No, not even ten percent, Lucian analyzed gloomily. Doesn’t this mean it would take me three months to open this chakra?

Because of his slow pace, he had requested more cultivation manuals and read every single one of them, gaining new information.

Whether it was the meridians of the Qi Gathering realm or the Root Chakra and Sacral Chakra of the Qi Refining realm, they were all connected to one’s understanding and enlightenment regarding the body.

And Lucian, a vampire capable of controlling blood, shapeshifting into animals, and altering his bodily structure by digesting traces of others, understood his own body better than anything else.

The Solar Plexus Chakra concerns understanding Qi itself and its natural flow, Lucian thought with a sigh. Anyone who cultivated properly in the Qi Gathering realm would have an easier time opening the next meridians than I do.

The most common methods of cultivation involved either gathering and sensing Qi to gain enlightenment or studying theory before attempting breakthroughs.

However, there were other methods.

If I do not wish to remain in the Qi Refining realm for years, then I must follow either the path of heaven or the path of the self, Lucian thought, opening his eyes and standing up.

Kicking several mummified corpses aside, he bent down to grab a scroll and began reading its contents once more.

It should be obvious that throughout history, Lucian had not been the only cultivator who became stuck at a bottleneck, unable to advance at the desired pace. Considering how many cultivators existed and how long they lived, solutions to such dilemmas were bound to emerge eventually.

According to his findings and Xu Hua's memories, two schools of thought diverged from the traditional cultivation path, creating two additional methods cultivators could follow.

The first was the observation of the heavens.

In this path, one did not merely gather Qi and gain enlightenment through feeling its flow, but instead observed the world itself. By studying how clouds drifted, how plants grew, and how animals reproduced, one could gradually comprehend the flow of heaven and thereby understand the flow of Qi.

After all, Qi was not exclusive to cultivators. It constantly moved through the environment and all living things, regarded by many as the source of life and existence.

This method was commonly used by those who lacked talent or access to inheritances and profound manuals, forcing them to rely upon their own insights to achieve breakthroughs.

Needless to say, not every cultivator could advance by observing the heavens. Most people's minds were too dull for that, which led to the emergence of another path, one passed down through generations for the untalented.

The reflection upon the self.

Existing beneath the heavens and within the natural order, all people lived under the same heavenly laws, even if their births and circumstances differed greatly.

By reflecting on one’s life, experiences, relationships, choices, and fate, one could understand how they influenced others and were influenced in return. Through this, a cultivator could achieve enlightenment through the history of their own existence.

The issue was that it demanded time. Most importantly, it demanded that a person grasp the weight of time.

Only by living could one understand life, and only by mourning could one understand death.

Following that logic, only by growing older could one understand the weight of time.

For Lucian, the choice between understanding, enlightenment, observing the heavens, and reflecting upon the self was also one he made by following logical reason.

Let's experiment if the life I lived outside of this world counts, he thought, picking up the scroll where he had written the main points regarding cultivation through self-reflection.

Walking back, he sat down cross-legged while his thoughts raced.

I should at least attempt it once. He decided. Continuing to force a breakthrough will only waste more time.

Closing his eyes, he pushed nearly all his Qi into the Solar Plexus Chakra. Then, instead of gathering vast quantities of Qi through intent, he allowed it to flow slowly through three meridians.

The Governing Meridian at the base of his spine, the Conception Meridian through his abdomen, and the Greater Yin Meridian connected to his spleen.

The first three meridians concern the ability to command Qi, the beginning of a cultivator’s journey, and the understanding of how to follow the natural order, he thought, recalling the fragmented knowledge he had gathered.

As the Qi flowed in reverse from the natural pattern, Lucian directed his thoughts and memories toward a single point.

I should focus on the beginning of my own journey, on how I first began using the Seven Curses and the shackles they placed upon me, Lucian decided as he searched for an equivalent to a cultivator’s origin.

He knew that a mortal cultivating through self-reflection would think about birth, hardship, and the experiences that shaped their identity.

But if he followed that path literally, it might be lacking. He concluded that it would be better to approach things differently, so he recalled the moment he became a vampire.

While memories surfaced of a ruined city overtaken by vegetation and a young scholar carrying tools and books toward an underground temple, within Lucian’s soul, far beyond his awareness, there was a woman.

Her eyes remained closed as faint crimson energy surrounded her form.

She possessed black hair, pale skin, and jade-like hands, while the green dress she wore carried an air of nobility. She was also a shattered fragment of a split soul that had spent months attempting to digest portions of Lucian’s memories.

And now, she had finally sensed an outlet.

Unable to see, hear, or properly feel anything for what felt like an eternity, she suddenly sensed one memory fragment trembling faintly as if resonating with something.

Mentally grasping it, she tore through the nearby memories, reducing part of her burden.

Then, completely beyond her control, she was dragged into a fragment and forced to relive the memory itself.

Despite the sudden and forceful situation, she could not have been happier.

After what felt like a lifetime, Resonant Sea Ancestor's split soul had regained a trace of awareness!