Chapter 119 - Reflecting Upon Oneself (Part III) (Patreon)

Inside Lucian's room, he and Wang Chen were alone, neither wearing upper garments. The room was cleaned of corpses and far more organized than before, with two oil lamps lighting up the place.

Although they possessed enhanced vision, Wang Chen insisted he did not want to remain in darkness. He had also asked Lucian’s permission to organize the chamber to make it feel more humane.

Lucian didn’t care, so he allowed it.

“Nod if you understood my instructions,” Lucian said through the Rune of Lust, sending the meaning directly into Wang Chen’s mind.

He had ordered them not to speak aloud, aware they were inside Grandmaster Miao’s territory, where certain matters were better kept secret.

After hearing Lucian’s devilish voice echo inside his head, Wang Chen nodded.

“I will begin,” Lucian said, adjusting his position behind Wang Chen. Then, he thrust both hands forward.

The tips of his fingers pierced Wang Chen’s flesh, perforating muscle while carefully avoiding bones and organs. Feeling the blood vessels and previously opened meridians, now empty of Qi, Lucian nodded inwardly.

It’s all in place, he thought.

Controlling his Blood Essence, he guided it into Wang Chen’s body through blood slits that opened on his fingertips. Then, he swiftly traced the existing artificial meridians.

Now that he possessed Qi, Lucian had considered using it to assist Wang Chen’s cultivation. However, after reading numerous manuals and relying on his instincts, he realized that unless someone died, a cultivator wouldn't be able to absorb or utilize others’ Qi as their own.

So, he would do the same steps he had once done with himself. He wanted to replicate the previous event of cultivating the inverted and natural flow to discover any side effects, and to probe Wang Chen's secrets.

Even if he remembered how delirious Wang Chen had become during their first cultivation attempt months ago in the ruined Gushou Village, he had to try again. There was a chance the voices Wang Chen heard were part of the deep secrets Lucian wanted to uncover!

Tracing the meridians, Lucian felt Wang Chen relax his body, allowing the Blood Essence to move more freely as Lucian began carving the pathways anew. He first reinforced the initial three meridians, then moved to the Bright Yang Meridian located in Wang Chen’s upper abdomen.

Using Qi perception, Lucian noticed that stray traces of Qi drifting through Wang Chen’s body instinctively followed the inverted flow. The reason behind this was that the pathways did not originate from a Spiritual Root.

Attempting to unlock the fourth meridian, Lucian encountered slight resistance, but with a small push, the pathway opened.

Simultaneously, Wang Chen vomited blood.

Instead of collapsing unconscious, the young man bit his lip tightly and muttered through clenched teeth, “Continue, please.”

Without responding, Lucian moved toward the fifth meridian, the Reverting Yin Meridian located at the center of Wang Chen’s chest.

At that moment, something changed.

Wang Chen entered a trance-like state and began muttering loudly enough for Lucian to hear.

“The Governing Meridian grants strength to endure hardship, gracing our mortal shell and opening the Heaven’s Path,” he whispered. “It’s the origin of our being. It governs who we are.”

Abruptly, Lucian felt the meridian flow accelerate, while increasing amounts of Qi followed his Blood Essence as it carved through Wang Chen’s body.

The change was impossible for him to miss. Besides, Wang Chen’s words puzzled him greatly.

Remembering their first cultivation attempt, Lucian recalled Wang Chen mentioning voices and knowledge descending from the Nine Heavens.

Is this cultivation through enlightenment? Lucian questioned inwardly. How is he achieving it without a Spiritual Root? I thought that a cultivator needed to be talented to receive enlightenment.

Although the revelation felt like a pie falling from the sky, Lucian suppressed the urge to dwell on it and instead opened Wang Chen’s next meridian.

As Lucian proceeded, Wang Chen continued muttering in his trance.

“The Conception Meridian defines the mortal role granted by the Heavenly Laws. We must plant seeds, nurture them, and spread them through the world, just as the essence of Heaven spreads throughout our shell,” he murmured.

Before Lucian could think about anything else, Wang Chen took a deep breath and continued.

“Greater Yin Earth Meridian, source of our life, converting the mundane into the essence of being and maintaining us upon Heaven’s Path,” Wang Chen muttered.

Focusing on his task, Lucian felt the sixth meridian open. Then, he encountered a greater barrier that prevented him from advancing further. At this point, Wang Chen had reached the peak of the middle stage, and opening the seventh meridian would elevate him into the late stage of the Qi Gathering realm.

As Lucian forcefully pushed to advance, Wang Chen vomited blood, his muscles tensing while his body trembled violently. Despite the great pain, he still found strength to speak.

“Bright Yang Meridian, symbol of a new beginning, where the essence of Heaven may flow beyond one’s being and merge with the natural order, granting grace to other living things.”

Doesn’t this mean that cultivators can use Qi techniques only from the fourth meridian, the middle stage of the Qi Gathering realm? Lucian thought, remembering Xin Gan, one of the first cultivators he had battled, the one who fired wind Qi bullets from a distance.

While Wang Chen was muttering, Lucian kept forcing the seventh meridian to open, but to no avail. No matter how much Blood Essence and Qi he used to empower it. For him, it was as if the seventh meridian refused to connect and stabilize like the previous ones.

“Reverting Yin Meridian, proof of how all-encompassing the Heaven’s Path truly is,” Wang Chen whispered. “From our feet to our chest, from our hands to our nose, the essence of Heaven may flow wherever the natural order demands through our mortal shell.”

Nodding inwardly, Lucian reflected, Qi can leave through any point of the body, so long as it does not oppose the natural flow. That must mean every Qi technique is created according to the direction and circulation of Qi.

His understanding did not come solely from Wang Chen’s mutterings, of course. He had been reading a lot of books, and as Wang Chen spoke out loud his enlightenment, Lucian simultaneously reflected on everything he had learned about cultivation and Qi.

Lost in his own mind, Wang Chen murmured about the sixth meridian.

“Greater Yin Metal Meridian, the azure sea within us resonates, the waters born from it encompassing our mortal shell,” Wang Chen said softly. “The essence of Heaven always settles before it may ascend.”

Frowning, Lucian analyzed the statement.

I do not know what this azure sea refers to, but metal giving birth to water must symbolize bodily fluids, while the mortal shell refers to our bodies, he thought. Since every technique used to gather Qi is called a breathing technique, this meridian connected to the lungs must be involved in that process.

Lucian was glad he had decided to help Wang Chen cultivate. He had a feeling this knowledge would greatly aid him in the future.

As he waited for more revelations to emerge from Wang Chen’s trance, the young man suddenly vomited another mouthful of blood before collapsing unconscious, unable to endure the strain any longer.

Narrowing his eyes, Lucian removed his hands from Wang Chen’s back, temporarily closing the wounds with Blood Essence.

I suppose he can only gain enlightenment regarding meridians that are already open, he thought.

Until the very end, Lucian failed to open Wang Chen’s seventh meridian, the Lesser Yang Descending Meridian that originated from the neck. After checking Wang Chen's vital signs and noting there was no problem besides the inner wounds, he nodded to himself.

Once he awakens, we will continue, Lucian thought, reflecting upon the knowledge he had gained and further familiarizing himself with switching between natural and inverted cultivation flows.

Two hours later, while Wang Chen remained asleep and Lucian was about to attempt a new theory, another presence arrived outside.

Unable to hear approaching footsteps, Lucian immediately understood the newcomer had used a movement technique, prompting him to leave the room and prepare to fight.

Outside, he found Grandmaster Miao standing there, fully healed, his head with short black hair and the small crimson dot resting upon his forehead.

“Fellow Daoist, someone has come to visit you,” Grandmaster Miao said, glancing toward the room behind Lucian. “Also, I couldn’t help but notice your old wounds are causing some trouble. May I assist you with something?”

Staring at him, Lucian ignored the final remark and said, “I assume it is someone from the Feathered Serpent Castle.”

Grandmaster Miao smiled faintly and turned around. “Yes,” he said while walking away. “Silent Mountain Wei Zhang arrived just now.”

Picking a robe and following behind him, Lucian cleared his thoughts of cultivation and focused entirely on the next steps.

No matter what, he would never be foolish enough to stand in a room with two Foundation Establishment cultivators while allowing his mind to wander.

It is time to secure my benefits and announce Bo Xian to the city, Lucian thought, fully dressed.

Inside the office above, waiting for their arrival, Wei Zhang had no idea he was about to swim with sharks.