Night.
Deep within Bai Yue's private manor beside the wetland park, the library hidden among dense woods was silent except for the faint rustle of turning pages.
On the first floor, Bai Yue sat cross-legged at the center of a Tai Chi Eight Trigrams diagram engraved into the floor. A thin booklet rested in his hands as his gaze moved steadily across the text. His brows occasionally knit together, then relaxed, his expression shifting between contemplation and clarity—clear signs that his mind was not merely reading, but actively dissecting and comprehending every word.
He did not know how much time had passed.
When his eyes finally reached the last page, Bai Yue closed the booklet slowly and exhaled.
This was one of the few relatively complete cultivation texts he had managed to collect. Among the dozen or so works related to cultivation, many were philosophical expositions without practical methods. Others described divine abilities and techniques that were impossible to cultivate without Qi. Of the remainder, only five were true cultivation manuals.
And among those five, this one stood out.
Tai Shang Induction Chapter.
Simple. Direct. Almost austere.
Yet Bai Yue understood one truth better than most—
The Great Dao is simple.
The booklet itself was barely over ten pages long, containing just over ten thousand characters. Between the lines were diagrams: seated postures, breathing patterns, human meridians marked with precise arrows indicating the flow of Qi. On the cover, five ancient characters were written with restrained elegance.
After closing the book, Bai Yue fell into deep thought.
From this single cultivation method, combined with everything he had learned over the past year, he could already sketch the entire cultivation framework of Earth's ancient civilization.
This was a world that walked the path of Refining Qi.
Unlike the Devouring Starry Sky Universe, this system did not demand extreme physical strengthening before cultivation. Instead, it emphasized the Hundred-Day Foundation Building—roughly three months of nurturing essence, cultivating origin, stabilizing spirit, regulating the body, and harmonizing mind and flesh.
Only after the foundation was stabilized could one sense their Innate Original Qi.
Essence and Qi within the body would then be gathered and merged into that Innate Qi, nourishing it within the Dantian Qi Sea. Once sufficiently infused, this Innate Qi transformed from formless vitality into something almost tangible—
True Qi.
With True Qi established, cultivators could then use it to open the Twelve Primary Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. This stage was known in Daoism as Refining Essence into Qi, or Postnatal Refining Qi.
When this stage reached Great Completion—Ren and Du meridians connected, True Qi abundant, essence, Qi, and spirit steadily growing—one would begin to sense the Bridge between Heaven and Earth, open the Ancestral Aperture between the brows, reverse the postnatal state, and step into Innate Refining Qi.
Only at this point could one truly be called a Cultivator.
Because only then did spirit and Qi merge, Qi refine into spirit, and the cultivated energy undergo miraculous qualitative change—granting abilities that defied common sense.
Beyond this lay the condensation of the Yin Spirit, the awakening of the Yang Spirit, and the forging of one's being through resonance with Heaven and Earth—each movement naturally aligned with the laws of the world, giving birth to a unique True Intent.
Yet none of this meant abandoning earlier realms.
Qi must always be cultivated.
Quantity and quality must always increase.
This path was fundamentally different from that of the Devouring Starry Sky Universe—neither superior nor inferior, merely shaped by a different world environment. Still, Bai Yue could see intersections between the two.
And that was enough.
He needed to walk this path.
Bai Yue set the book aside, sat upright, and closed his eyes.
The verses of the Tai Shang Induction Chapter flowed through his mind like clear water. Every phrase, every principle, had long since been digested. With his understanding of martial arts, anatomy, and meridians, there was no doubt left in his heart.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, a black-and-white Tai Chi diagram slowly rotated. Thoughts flared like sparks, refining the chapter's principles and cross-verifying them against his own martial framework.
Focus intent on the Dantian. Spirit returns to the Purple Palace.
Inhale Heaven and Earth, expel the old, receive the new.
Preserve spirit, guard the One. Qi circulates the Great Cycle.
Sit in oblivion, leave the form. Guide Qi back to the origin.
Only a few hundred characters—
Yet they contained the distilled essence of Daoist cultivation: sitting in oblivion, mental fasting, Du-meridian guidance, breathing techniques, guarding stillness, contemplation, circulation, fetal breathing, inner elixir.
Bai Yue's awareness sank completely into his Dantian.
In an instant, he entered a boundless void.
There was no light. No sound. Only endless darkness.
He remained unmoved, continuing the sensing method of the Tai Shang Induction Chapter, steadfastly searching for his Innate Original Qi.
Time lost meaning.
Then—
A faint glow appeared.
Warm.
Gentle.
Bai Yue did not rush. He strengthened the connection, guided by method rather than emotion. Gradually, the glow expanded, revealing its true form—
A radiant, sun-like existence.
Blazing, yet comforting.
Hot, yet nurturing.
Like returning to a mother's embrace.
This was his Innate Original Qi.
Sensing it was only the first step.
Without hesitation, Bai Yue began the next phase—communication and guidance. The Qi did not resist him. It was, after all, the foundation of his own existence. Under his will, control came naturally.
Then he gathered the essence and Qi within his body and carefully guided it toward the milky-white mass at his Dantian's core.
One trace merged.
Vanished.
The light grew brighter.
One trace. Two traces.
Slowly, the color shifted—from milky white to perfectly transparent.
At that moment, warmth surged through his body. His physical strength rose subtly, yet unmistakably.
True Qi was born.
The absorption rate increased dramatically—no longer a trickle, but a flowing stream.
Bai Yue finally understood why cultivation had declined on Earth.
The environment had changed.
Heaven-and-Earth spiritual inspiration had grown inert. External essence and Qi had thinned to the point of scarcity.
For Refining Qi, this was fatal.
Only after opening the Ancestral Aperture—connecting the human microcosm with the macrocosm—could this situation improve.
Far away, in Kyoto, inside a quiet office.
Four men in Zhongshan suits sat in discussion.
"…In summary," the younger official concluded, "Tiangong Group's growth hinges entirely on its mysterious founder—Bai Yue."
The room fell silent.
After a long pause, an order was issued.
"All personnel withdraw. Seal all related files. No further investigation without cabinet approval."
The young man stood.
"Yes, Leader."
When he left, one of the elders spoke softly.
"I will go to G Province. It's time we met this Bai Yue."
No one objected.
Some matters could no longer be ignored.
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