6: Chapter 6: Tanden

The Dantian had opened.

There were no heavenly phenomena as Lu Chen had expected, no golden light, no thunder, and not even any pain.

It was just that on the night of the one hundred and third day, as he was Guiding Qi into the Body like usual, the Spiritual Qi flowed back from his limbs to his chest, then sank down from his chest. When it reached his lower abdomen, it suddenly seemed to find a destination.

It was like there was a path that had been blocked all this time, but now it had opened itself up.

The Spiritual Qi surged in.

His lower abdomen began to heat up. It wasn't the gentle warmth of his chest; it was scalding, like swallowing a mouthful of freshly boiled water.

Lu Chen gritted his teeth and endured it, a layer of sweat breaking out on his forehead.

The Spiritual Qi continued to surge inside.

It felt like there was a bottomless pit in his lower abdomen that could never be filled. He had spent the whole afternoon Guiding Qi into the Body, and all of it had been absorbed, leaving not even a trace behind.

He stopped and opened his eyes.

His belly was still hot, but it wasn't uncomfortable. On the contrary, there was a very strange feeling—fulfillment.

It was like being hungry for days and finally having a full meal.

From his stomach to his lower abdomen, the entire middle section of his body felt warm.

"Is this the Dantian?"

He looked down at his belly, but naturally, he couldn't see anything.

But his body knew.

In that location, there was now something. It wasn't a physical object, but a space—an invisible space used to store Spiritual Qi.

The next day, Lu Chen told Mo Wen about this.

The old man was brewing medicinal soup, and after hearing this, his movements paused.

"It opened?"

"It opened."

"How does it feel?"

"Scalding. Then full."

Mo Wen put down the medicine pot, turned around to look at him, and sized him up from head to toe, as if he were looking at a sapling that had grown crooked.

"This is only the hundredth day."

"You said four months."

"I said at least four months," Mo Wen corrected him. "You are twenty days early."

"Is fast not good?"

"Fast isn't necessarily good," Mo Wen said. "But you are lucky, nothing went wrong. Sit down, let me check."

Lu Chen sat cross-legged.

Mo Wen squatted in front of him and extended two fingers, placing them on his wrist.

The old man's fingers were very cold, like icicles.

Lu Chen didn't move.

Mo Wen closed his eyes, his fingers pressing slightly on his pulse.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he let go and opened his eyes.

"The Dantian is fine. The Meridians are fine. There is more Spiritual Qi than you should have."

"So?"

"So you are indeed growing your Spiritual Root." Mo Wen stood up and returned to the medicine pot to continue brewing the medicine. "Your Spiritual Root now is a circle larger than when you first entered the mountain. Although it is still grey, it is a deeper grey than before."

"Is deeper better or shallower better?"

"There is no distinction of good or bad for the Grey Spirit Root," Mo Wen said. "Only size. The larger it is, the faster it absorbs Spiritual Qi. The speed at which you absorb Spiritual Qi now is faster than Wang Qishan was at Level 1 Qi Refining."

"Wang Qishan has a Spiritual Root."

"Yes. But your Spiritual Root is larger than his," Mo Wen said. "Although the grade is poor, it is large. Size can compensate for the lack of grade."

Lu Chen didn't speak, looking down at his own hands.

His palms were still red.

But now the red was different—it wasn't the red of blood and Qi, but a deeper color, as if something was glowing beneath his skin, covered up and unable to shine through.

"Level 1 Qi Refining," Mo Wen said. "From now on, you are no longer a Mortal."

"How long can I live?"

"About one hundred and fifty years," Mo Wen said. "The premise is that you continue to Cultivate. If you don't, the Spiritual Qi will dissipate, and you will die even faster than an ordinary person."

"I know."

"After the Dantian opens, the way of Cultivation changes." Mo Wen poured the medicinal soup into a bowl and handed it to him. "Before, you were Guiding Qi into the Body, letting Spiritual Qi flow through your Meridians. Now, you absorb Spiritual Qi into the Dantian and store it."

"What is the point of storing it?"

"Once you have stored enough, you use it for a Breakthrough," Mo Wen said. "From Level 1 to Level 9 of Qi Refining, every level requires Spiritual Qi to fill the Dantian. Only when it is full can you rush to the next level."

"How to fill it?"

"Practice," Mo Wen said. "There are no shortcuts. Every day, channel Qi, store it, circulate it, channel again, store again. It's like pouring water into a vat; when it's full, you go to the next level."

Lu Chen took the medicine soup and drank it.

It was still bitter.

But he was used to the bitterness and didn't find it unpleasant.

After the Dantian opened, the speed of Cultivation did indeed change.

Previously, when Guiding Qi into the Body, the Spiritual Qi would circulate through the Meridians, but most of it would dissipate, with only a small portion remaining in his body.

Now it was different.

Once the Spiritual Qi entered the Dantian, it couldn't get out.

The Dantian seemed to have a one-way valve, only allowing entry and no exit.

Every day, Lu Chen would perform Qi Channeling, and the Spiritual Qi would surge into the Dantian and be stored. By the end of the day, he could store about one-tenth of a vat.

"Can I fill a vat in ten days?" he asked Mo Wen.

"That's not a vat, that's a bowl," Mo Wen said. "The Dantian at Level 1 Qi Refining is pitifully small. You think it's one-tenth, but in reality, it's less than one-hundredth. When you reach Qi Refining Stage 2, the Dantian will grow a circle larger. At Qi Refining Level 3, it will grow another circle larger."

"So the further you go, the slower it gets?"

"Yes," Mo Wen said. "Because the vat gets bigger and bigger. From Level 1 to Stage 2, you might need three months. From Stage 2 to Level 3, half a year. From Level 3 to Level 4, a year. The higher you go, the slower it gets."

Lu Chen calculated.

At this rate, it would take at least twenty years to reach Level 9 of Qi Refining.

"Twenty years?"

"Wang Qishan took seven years to reach Level 3," Mo Wen said. "You are faster than him, but not by much. Calculate it yourself."

Lu Chen didn't calculate any further.

Twenty years is twenty years.

He had patience.

The one hundred and twentieth day.

His Dantian was about one-fifth full.

Lu Chen sat in the Ruined Temple, eyes closed, performing Qi Channeling.

The weather was very cold, and the wind crept in through the cracks in the walls, making the fire flicker. He was wearing the tattered cotton-padded jacket Mo Wen had given him, curling his body up, but his legs were still cold.

He stopped and added a few pieces of dry wood to the fire.

The fire grew larger, and the heat washed over his face.

Just then, he heard a sound in the distance.

It wasn't the sound of the wind, nor the call of birds. It was human voices.

Many people.

Footsteps, voices, and the sound of horse hooves.

Lu Chen stood up, walked to the entrance of the temple, and looked out.

There were torches at the foot of the mountain.

Many torches, lined up like a long dragon, moving from the foot of the mountain up the mountain.

"Someone is coming up the mountain."

He looked back at the fire, hesitated for a moment, and then used dirt to extinguish it.

Then he crouched at the entrance of the temple and looked out.

The torches were getting closer and closer.

He saw clearly—about twenty or so people, wearing uniform clothing, with swords hanging at their waists. The person in the very front was riding a horse and wearing a grey robe.

A grey robe.

Lu Chen recognized it.

That grey robe was exactly the same as the one he had seen on that person in town three months ago.

"Cultivator."

Lu Chen crouched in the shadows, watching those people pass by the temple and head deeper into the mountain.

They were going to Qingniu Ridge.

They were going to The Cave.

Lu Chen waited until they had gone far away, then stood up and followed them.

He walked very lightly, stepping on the snow without making a sound. After three months of Cultivation, his body was much lighter than before, and his steps were steadier.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, the torches ahead stopped.

Those people stopped at The Cave entrance.

Lu Chen hid behind a tree and looked down.

The Gray-robed Man on the horse dismounted, walked to The Cave entrance, and looked inside.

"Someone has lived here." The Gray-robed Man's voice was deep, like a beating drum.

"Shall we pursue?" a person beside him asked.

"No need," the Gray-robed Man said. "He can't run far. Search."

The twenty or so people scattered and began searching around The Cave entrance.

Lu Chen crouched behind the tree, not moving.

He was thinking about a question—was Mo Wen still in The Cave?

If Mo Wen were there, he should have been discovered by now.

But Lu Chen didn't hear any sounds of fighting.

There were no sounds at all.

Only the wind.

After another tea-time, the Gray-robed Man came out of The Cave, holding something in his hand.

Lu Chen couldn't see clearly what it was, but he could see that it was white and reflecting light in the glow of the torches.

"Found it," the Gray-robed Man said. "Go back."

The twenty or so people gathered, extinguished the torches, and began to descend the mountain.

Lu Chen crouched behind the tree, waiting until they had gone far away before standing up.

He walked to The Cave entrance.

Looked inside.

It was dark, and he couldn't see anything.

"Mo Wen." He called out.

No one answered.

"Mo Wen!"

Still no answer.

Lu Chen bent down and went inside.

There was no one at the bottom of The Cave.

Mo Wen was not there.

But there was something on the ground—a wine gourd.

Mo Wen's wine gourd.

It had fallen to the ground and cracked, the wine inside all spilled out, soaking into the mud and emitting a strong smell of alcohol.

Lu Chen crouched down and picked up the gourd.

The crack was new.

"Was he captured?"

No. If he had been captured, the Gray-robed Man wouldn't have just taken one thing and left.

"Did he run away?"

Also no. If he had run away, the wine gourd wouldn't be lying here broken.

Lu Chen put down the gourd, stood up, and looked around.

The words on The Cave wall were still there.

Wang Qishan's "Never Cultivate Immortality."

That unknown person's "Run fast."

The "Longevity is Death" on The Cave ceiling.

They were all still there.

But Mo Wen was gone.

Lu Chen stood in The Cave for a long time, then bent down and went out.

The snow outside had stopped, and the moon was behind the clouds, the light very dim.

He stood at The Cave entrance and looked down.

The torches at the foot of the mountain had disappeared.

Those people were gone.

Mo Wen was also gone.

Lu Chen returned to the Ruined Temple and rekindled the fire. The firelight illuminated the temple walls, his shadow flickering on them.

He took out that piece of jade from his bosom.

The jade had turned dark grey, and a few more cracks had appeared.

"The third one."

Mo Wen's words swirled in his mind.

"The third one. Also the last one."

Lu Chen held the jade, staring at the fire for a long time.

The fire was burning, the wood crackling.

He was thinking about a question—

Was Mo Wen captured, or did he run away on his own?

If he was captured, did he leave anything behind?

If he ran away on his own, why did he run?

Lu Chen stood up and walked outside the temple.

The wind blew against his face, cold.

He stood in the snow, looking toward Qingniu Ridge.

The mountain was black, and the sky was also black; it was impossible to tell where the mountain ended and the sky began.

"I don't care who you are," Lu Chen said in a low voice.

"If you block my path, I will walk right over you."

He turned and went back into the temple, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes.

Spiritual Qi surged into his Dantian.

The fire was burning nearby.

The wind outside was strong.

But Lu Chen's heart was very calm.