43: Chapter 43 Guiding Qi into the Body and Circulating it Through the Heavenly Cycle

Xia Shaoxin worked alongside Nangong Yi and the others on a daily basis, but he was unable to form any bond with them.

Aside from the necessary time spent together, he avoided contact as much as possible.

When they had no choice but to be together, they basically didn't need to communicate; they each did what they were supposed to do, how they were supposed to do it, all of their own accord.

As a result, although Nangong Yi and his group found him disagreeable, no further direct conflicts occurred.

Xia Shaoxin consumed two high-imitation jade bamboo spirit leaves every day.

The external Spiritual Qi entered through the neiguan acupoint on his wrist, gradually flowed up his arm, and disappeared upon reaching the Tianquan acupoint. More than ten days later, it advanced a step further, reaching the tianchi acupoint.

This had already reached the underarm and chest area.

At the end of the month, he received a genuine jade bamboo spirit leaf. After consuming it, he felt no difference from the high-imitation ones.

One day, while he was cultivating in the woods, he heard a cough from behind him.

He stopped his practice and turned to look, only to see Senior Brother Liang Ruoran standing about two zhang away, his face beaming with joy.

"Hello, Senior Brother Liang!" Xia Shaoxin stood up and greeted him warmly.

"Haha, Junior Brother Xia, why are you hiding here? Is now a convenient time?"

Inner Sect Disciples usually wouldn't call a Utility Disciple "Junior Brother" unless they were in an exceptionally good mood.

"Of course it is convenient," Xia Shaoxin said, quickly rising to his feet.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran walked over, extended his fist in front of him, and opened it to reveal four thumb-sized white stones in his palm.

They were sparkling and bright, resembling crystal.

"These are four Spirit Stones for you."

Xia Shaoxin's eyes widened. These were Spirit Stones?

He reached out and picked one up, holding it up to the light. It was far more beautiful than crystal. Most importantly, his fingers sensed wisps of lingering Spiritual Qi, which was incredibly magical.

He then placed it back into Senior Brother Liang Ruoran's palm.

"I said I was giving it to you as a gift, so I cannot accept this."

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran forced them into his hand.

"Using your King Cobra, I successfully refined a batch of Medicinal Pills and sold them at the Baotong Tower for twenty Spirit Stones. I had been gathering those herbs for a long time, and only lacked the King Cobra."

Xia Shaoxin said, "I don't like fake politeness. If you really want to give them to me, I truly will accept them."

"Take them, take them. It's only what you deserve."

Left with no choice, Xia Shaoxin had to put them away.

"You said Spirit Stones are similar to Medicinal Pills. Can I eat them?"

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran was taken aback, then chuckled. "Then you would be far too extravagant. Spirit Stones are not for ingestion; they are absorbed and digested through Cultivation Techniques."

"Using the Introductory Cultivation Method?"

"Any Cultivation Technique will do. Just treat it as highly condensed Spiritual Qi around you."

Xia Shaoxin understood.

"However, most of us don't use Spirit Stones directly; we treat them as currency. Unless you are very wealthy or have an urgent need."

"How much Spiritual Qi is contained within a Spirit Stone?" Xia Shaoxin asked again.

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran smiled and said, "I don't know, I've never used them that way. A qi gathering pill is worth two Spirit Stones, so roughly, the Spiritual Qi contained in one Spirit Stone is equivalent to half a qi gathering pill."

This was the first time Xia Shaoxin had heard of Medicinal Pills, and he was very interested. "Is the qi gathering pill very powerful?"

"It's one of the most basic Medicinal Pills, suitable for those in the lower stages of the Qi Refining Realm. In fact, it's best consumed at the first and second layers of Qi Refining; taking it at the third layer is pointless."

Xia Shaoxin sincerely asked for guidance, "How are the levels of the Qi Refining Realm divided?"

"Once you can circulate the cosmic orbit and activate your Dantian, you are at the first layer of Qi Refining... Ah, I don't have time to give you a lecture. What's the point of you asking this now! What stage have you reached in your practice?"

Xia Shaoxin reported honestly that he was already able to channel the Spiritual Qi along the meridians of his hands to the vicinity of the tianchi acupoint.

"In that case, your starting meridian is the Hand-Jueyin Pericardium Meridian on your right hand."

"Oh, I don't understand much about that. Can you tell me more?"

Senior Brother Liang Ruoran was in a good mood, so he briefly explained some cultivation insights that were not found in the Introductory Cultivation Method.

"The twelve meridians are symmetrical. It is not enough that only your right hand can draw Qi into your body. Only when your left hand can also draw Qi into your body can you proceed to the next step."

"Spiritual Qi enters through the two hand meridians, first nourishing the internal organs, and then connecting and resonating with the other meridians. Only then can you circulate the cosmic orbit."

Only now did Xia Shaoxin realize that he was still far from cultivating immortality.

...

A few days later, the Hand-Jueyin meridian of his left hand was also cleared.

However, it was weaker than his right hand. He continued to eat the spirit leaves for a few more days before the Spiritual Qi could flow to his left Tianchi acupoint before disappearing.

Overall, the left was inferior to the right.

After another few days, the intensity of Spiritual Qi absorption in both meridians became basically identical.

He tried eating an extra spirit leaf, but when he consumed the third one, he fainted. From then on, he never dared to be greedy again, obediently consuming only one leaf per day.

Before he knew it, about a month had passed.

On this day, the Spiritual Qi entering from his hands no longer dissipated after reaching the tianchi acupoint, but suddenly activated another path.

Sensing it carefully, he discovered that the gallbladder meridian of foot-shaoyang had been resonated by the Spiritual Qi and activated.

Suppressing the excitement in his heart, he carefully circulated it.

The Spiritual Qi from the neiguan acupoint on his wrist flowed to the tianchi acupoint, passed through his internal organs, and then flowed into the gallbladder meridian of foot-shaoyang.

At the Riyue acupoint, it split into two streams—one heading upward and the other downward—only dissipating halfway through.

Another month or so passed, and through his tireless efforts in consuming the spirit leaves, he finally cleared all the meridian pathways in his entire body.

The first time he completed a full circulation of the cosmic orbit, he couldn't help but lose control of his tears. Hugging a large tree, he wept with excitement.

Circulating the Heavenly Cycle was the final step before reaching the Qi Refining Realm.

As long as one could convert Spiritual Qi into True Qi and retain it in the Dantian—even if it was just a tiny wisp—it could activate the Dantian and make the body extraordinary.

This step was extremely difficult; there were no other medicines to take, and one could only endure through sheer perseverance.

Winter went and spring came, and spring came and went, until it was almost the end of summer again.

Counting them up, he had consumed nearly two hundred jade bamboo spirit leaves, which was more than the total consumed by those children who entered the Chiyan Sect at age five and ate them until they were twenty.

From this, it was evident that Xia Shaoxin's Aptitude was truly terrible.

This was the aftereffect of the toxic miasma.

This was why the Sect would rather use Spirit Stones to buy him off from the imperial court just to discard this burden.

In the blink of an eye, autumn arrived. Deacon Qin Wen came again to distribute the jade bamboo spirit leaves. Seeing Xia Shaoxin, he suddenly asked, "I remember you came to the Chiyan Sect last year. It's been almost a year, hasn't it?"

Xia Shaoxin was startled, realizing that he had indeed stayed for a long time.

"Deacon Qin, it's still two months short of a year."

"Utility Disciples can only stay for one year. You will have to leave in two months."

Xia Shaoxin felt no reluctance to leave.

In fact, he could have left long ago.

However, a wild hope lingered in his heart: if he successfully refined Qi and stayed in the Chiyan Sect as an Inner Sect Disciple, that would be quite nice too.

He hadn't learned a single one of the Sect's alchemy methods. It would be such a pity to leave just like this.

"What stage have you reached in your cultivation now?"

Xia Shaoxin reported truthfully, "I can already circulate the cosmic orbit."

Deacon Qin Wen showed a look of surprise. "Really? When you first arrived, you struggled to even learn the Introductory Cultivation Method, yet now you can already circulate the cosmic orbit?"

"Thanks to Deacon Qin's blessing, this Junior is already able to circulate Spiritual Qi throughout my entire body. I am only one final step away."

"Haha, not bad, not bad."

It was originally just very polite small talk. Deacon Qin Wen welcomed and saw off new Disciples every year, and held no special regard for Xia Shaoxin.

However, Xia Shaoxin's words "only one final step away" inexplicably aroused Cai Ke's dissatisfaction.

Of the Utility Disciples present, who among them wasn't "only one final step away"?

This wild, vulgar hillbilly who knew absolutely nothing was now on the same level as them?

He immediately clamored, "Deacon Qin, don't listen to his nonsense! He's about the same age as me and is just a utility worker who paid his way in. How could he circulate the cosmic orbit in just over half a year?"