47: Chapter 47, a revised version of "The Qi-Guiding and Returning to Origin Technique," marks the beginning of air cultivation.

The side hall of Ningyin Hall, that humble little room belonging to Xu Ruyu, had become the first "safe house" and "laboratory" in the true sense since his Transmigration.

Although this safety was illusory and could be shattered at any moment by that inscrutable Revered Master outside the hall, at least for the time being, he was alone here.

The door was tightly shut, and the windows were carefully drawn, leaving only a sliver for ventilation.

There were no lights on inside the room; only the bleak moonlight shining in from outside, cut into tiny squares by the window lattice, barely outlined the contours of the table, chairs, and bed.

Xu Ruyu did not immediately begin to Cultivate that "Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art".

He sat cross-legged on the cold, hard wooden bed, his spine straight, his hands tightly gripping the mental image of the Cultivation Technique incantation, as if he wanted to crush and pull apart every single character, placing them under his most familiar "scientific microscope" for the most thorough analysis.

He was not some ignorant youth of this world; he was a modern person who had experienced the information explosion and received systematic scientific training!

He was an engineering man accustomed to deconstructing the world using formulas, models, and logic!

"Calm down, Xu Ruyu, calm down," he whispered to himself, his voice sounding exceptionally clear in the silent room. "Put your emotions aside. Now, treat this 'Cultivation Technique' as a 'product manual', a 'technical document' to be parsed."

He closed his eyes and began to recall the content of the "Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art" word by word.

"Qi sensation... calm the mind and focus, look inward at oneself, perceive heaven and earth from the outside... in the mysterious void, capture that wisp of agile, pure, life-containing 'Qi'..."

"Induction into the body... use intent as a guide, like threads or wisps, draw it in through acupoints such as the Baihui or Laogong, and follow a specific route of Meridians (starting from the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin) to slowly descend..."

"Return to Dantian... guide the Qi to the Dantian Qi Sea three inches below the navel, let it swirl and condense, transforming external Qi into True Qi, to nourish and strengthen..."

As Xu Ruyu recalled this, he quickly built a model in his mind.

"Core process: sense specific external energy (Spiritual Qi) — capture through specific interfaces (acupoints) and channels (Meridians) — perform initial transformation and purification within the core processor (body) — store in the energy core (Dantian)."

"In essence, this is just a System for 'energy collection, transformation, and storage'! The cultivator themselves is the carrier and furnace of this System!"

"So, the question arises."

Xu Ruyu opened his eyes, his gaze sharp as a knife in the darkness. "First, what exactly is the source of energy—'Spiritual Qi'? According to the description, it is a special energy particle that is 'agile, pure, and contains life'. In this world, it seems to be some kind of 'endowed resource', like oil or coal, unevenly distributed and currently depleting."

"Second, collection efficiency. The collection method of the 'Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art' is extremely primitive and inefficient! It relies entirely on personal intent to 'capture' and 'guide', making it too subjective, extremely unstable, and the efficiency depends entirely on the individual's so-called 'talent' and the 'Spiritual Qi concentration' of the environment."

"Third, transformation and storage. The Cultivation Technique provides fixed Meridian routes and Dantian storage methods, which is like a preset 'circuit diagram' and 'battery'. But the battery's capacity and charging speed..."

Xu Ruyu began to attempt a rough "calculation". Of course, without specific data, he could only estimate based on the description of the Cultivation Technique and some basic concepts of energy from before his Transmigration.

"Assuming an ordinary person with a Spiritual Root, in an environment with average Spiritual Qi concentration, Cultivating the 'Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art'... from sensing Qi to successfully inducing Qi into the body, it might take anywhere from a few days to several months. After inducing Qi into the body, accumulating True Qi to fill the Dantian Qi vortex (assuming it as one standard unit of 'Qi'), to reach the first level of the Qi Refinement Stage... according to the description of this Cultivation Technique and the thinness of Spiritual Qi in this world, I'm afraid it would require at least one month of uninterrupted Cultivation?"

"And what about me?" Xu Ruyu's heart sank. "I have 'no Spiritual Root', which means my 'affinity' or 'sensitivity' to this specific energy called 'Spiritual Qi' is extremely low, or even zero. According to traditional theory, I cannot sense Spiritual Qi at all, let alone induce it into my body."

"But the actual situation is..." he felt the silent yet immense power within his body. "I have energy inside me, and it is very strong. This means that either the 'Spiritual Root' theory is wrong, or... the energy in my body is simply not 'Spiritual Qi'!"

"If it is the latter..." Xu Ruyu's line of thought instantly opened up. "Then why must I stubbornly stick to this path of 'Spiritual Qi'?"

"The essence of the 'Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art' is 'absorbing external energy for one's own use'." He grasped the key. "Then, as long as I can find another 'external energy' that can be 'absorbed', 'transformed', and 'stored', wouldn't I be able to bypass the limitations of 'Spiritual Root' and 'Spiritual Qi depletion'?"

This thought was like a bolt of lightning, splitting the fog in his heart!

In the Cultivation World, besides Spiritual Qi, what other energy is there?

He jumped off the bed abruptly and paced in the narrow room, his brain spinning at high speed. Under the moonlight, his shadow stretched and swayed on the wall, just like his thoughts colliding intensely at this moment.

"Fire? Water? Wind? Lightning? These are natural energies, but they are phenomena, not basic energy that exists universally... wait!"

Xu Ruyu stopped in his tracks, thinking of the world before his Transmigration.

"In our world, under the energy crisis, what were humans looking for?"

"New energy! Solar energy, wind energy, water energy, nuclear energy, geothermal energy... and also, the most basic, the most ubiquitous..."

His gaze involuntarily turned toward the air that seeped in through the gap in the window, carrying the chill of the night.

Air!

Once this thought arose, it could no longer be contained.

Air!

Ubiquitous, and no one can monopolize it!

Between every breath, it is everywhere!

In the eyes of cultivators, air is just mundane Qi, it is turbid Qi, it is waste.

But what if viewed with a scientific eye?

"Air is a mixture, the main components are nitrogen, oxygen, and also carbon dioxide, noble gases, etc... these molecules and atoms are constantly undergoing high-speed, irregular thermal motion—Brownian motion!"

Xu Ruyu's eyes grew brighter and brighter. "This thermal motion of microscopic particles contains huge kinetic energy! According to the kinetic molecular theory, the essence of temperature is a sign of the average kinetic energy of molecules!"

"Cultivators absorb 'Spiritual Qi', which is essentially absorbing a type of high-energy particle. So, can I directly absorb the 'kinetic energy' of the thermal motion of molecules in the air? Can I capture, transform, and order this ubiquitous, disordered microscopic kinetic energy, and turn it into 'True Qi' that I can use?"

This idea was so bold it was almost insane!

But if it succeeded, it would completely subvert the rules of this Cultivation World!

"No need for Spirit Stones! No need for Spiritual Veins! No need to look at the heavens' mood! The air I breathe is my 'Spirit Stone'! The space I am in is my 'Blessed Land'!"

Xu Ruyu felt an unprecedented excitement, a ecstasy like discovering a new continent, mixed with the exhilaration of seeing a way out in a desperate situation.

But he quickly calmed down.

The idea is good, but how to realize it?

"The 'Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art' provides a basic framework: sense energy — guide into the body — circulate through Meridians — store in Dantian." Xu Ruyu sat back on the bed and began his first "scientific research breakthrough" in the true sense since his Transmigration.

"Step one, perception. Traditional Cultivation Techniques perceive the specific 'frequency' or 'attribute' energy of 'Spiritual Qi'. I need to 'modify' my 'sensor' (most likely intent, Divine Sense, or some kind of bodily instinct) so that it can 'perceive' the 'kinetic energy field' of the thermal motion of air molecules... This is difficult, because this energy is too weak, too scattered, and too 'background-like'."

He tried to follow the method of the "Qi Induction and Return to Origin Art", calming his mind and focusing, but instead of looking for the so-called "Spiritual Qi", he concentrated all his attention on his own breathing, on the flowing air that touched his nasal cavity, oral cavity, and skin.

He tried hard to imagine, imagining that he was not a solid person, but a "sponge body" made up of countless tiny pores.

Every breath was not just an exchange of gases, but an intake and output of energy.

Imagine the surrounding air molecules like countless tiny and blazing marbles, ceaselessly and frantically bombarding the surface of his body.