Ji Yuan looked around, but didn’t see a suitable place to stop, so he simply accelerated a few steps forward, then leaped, flying over a lush tree like a butterfly, and landed atop it as lightly as a falling leaf.
He sat down on one of the thick tree branches. Ji Yuan, puzzled, then reached out once more to take the chess piece in his hand and took a closer look at the object that had appeared because of Yin Zhaoxian.
Ji Yuan now had a total of three chess pieces: one that was transparent and illusory, one black piece that was completely intangible, and the last was the colorless piece belonging to Yin Zhaoxian, that had suddenly beco more solid. 1
In particular, there was that strange feeling just now, where Ji Yuan seed to be able to feel his friend’s thoughts. Although the man didn’t have any mysterious Taoist magic or strange divine light, he had his own restrained aura.
For Yin Zhaoxian, this might have been the result of his spiritual enlightennt, but it was more directly reflected in the underworld of Ning’an County’s City God, and Ji Yuan, too, sensed it to an even greater degree.
If he had to describe it, it would be the awakening of the noble spirit nurtured in Confucian scholars.
In that case, the change in color of the chess piece might have sothing to do with Ji Yuan, but the solidification of the piece must have been due to Yin Zhaoxian himself. Ji Yuan was even more certain of this conjecture after his feeling just now.
Ji Yuan now had a clearer grasp his own chess pieces, but he didn’t think too deeply about it now. Instead, he looked at the chess piece and smiled.
“I am so lucky to have such a friend!”2
When he finished muttering these words to himself, Ji Yuan belatedly realized that his tone was so grandiose and refined. It had really beco a habit.
Thanks to his good friend Yin Zhaoxian, Ji Yuan, who had been watching him through the chess piece, also gained insights. He simply decided not to leave from his spot and started practicing on the two-zhang-high tree trunk.
There was a big difference between the training thods and techniques in this world and those from the best-selling novels that Ji Yuan had read in his previous life.
The biggest difference between the so-called basic Qi training techniques and the advanced Qi training techniques was nothing more than the conversion of the five elents into Yin and Yang, and the effect of refining Qi. There were no levels in the practice, like with the several smaller subdivisions and the larger steps in between levels.3
The true asure of progress in cultivating toward the realm of immortality was a state so mysterious that it was difficult to explain. So people made rapid progress in their practice after an epiphany, while others wasted years with still no progress.
So practitioners believed that one should use force to overco cleverness, while others thought that it was important to touch others’ hearts. However, most people usually did was to practice various magical skills while honing their power, revealing their acupoints day after day.
Sotis, the breakthrough in cultivation ca naturally, and sotis it was inexplicable. Each immortal sect and famous cultivator family also had their own set of explanations and guidelines.
Cultivation for plants, animals, spirits, monsters, and demons was even more difficult. It was far more arduous for them to accumulate spiritual power compared to those who practiced immortal cultivation. Being able to transform into a human body was an extrely harsh test. They would have no set path to rely on, and would suffer the pain of refining their flesh and soul. May survived by accumulating spiritual power into a fierce power. So parts of it were more similar to the practice of mortal martial arts than to the so-called orthodox cultivation thods.
Moreover, it was very difficult for demons and monsters to get rid of the habits they had before they had beco enlightened and awakened their spiritual intelligence. Although most of them had pure minds, they were also much more likely to beco cruel and plagued by evil karma. When demons felt that they could nourish themselves and achieve their goals by harming other creatures, especially intelligent creatures, they would beco more and more addicted to this action, like a drug addict. Their acts of killing and eating would no longer be in the realm of wolves eating at and sheep eating grass:4 they would harm others as well as themselves, and would beco hated and feared by other people, and even other demons.
On the other hand, the realm of martial arts in the mortal world was really quite similar to the impression that Ji Yuan had gotten from his previous life. Opening up the ridians and gathering the true Qi all had specific breakthrough points and standards in order to transcend the shackles of the body.
As for Ji Yuan, he didn’t think too much about it. Why should a person who didn’t even have one million ponder making a small profit of 100 million?5 As long as he was happy, this was the best way to beco an immortal.
Just because he didn’t want to think too deeply about it didn’t an that Ji Yuan wasn’t ambitious. On the contrary, he knew very well how important the “freedom and happiness” that he longed for was to his heart.
At this mont, the three chess pieces seed to be pressed down onto an imaginary chessboard in front of Ji Yuan, forming the shape of the Chinese character “品”. As soon as his thoughts turned towards it, a faint spiritual energy slowly gathered.
As he guided the Qi of heaven and earth to create, taking spiritual energy into the body, his visualization of the alchemy furnace burned with true fire, and the world within his body beca even more dazzling. From ti to ti, streams of light fell into the alchemy furnace, and another mu6 of his Dantian7 filled with surging Qi.
Before he realized, the fog had risen on the official road, the sun had set in the night, and the moon had risen for morning.
. . .
Three carriages were advancing slowly along the official road. The coachn did not sit in the carriages to drive the horses, but instead had gotten off the carriages and led the horses forward, as this foggy weather was not suitable for galloping.
In the front carriage, a young man dressed in white was sitting and reading a book. Because the carriage was moving very slowly, it was not a bumpy ride. The servant beside him was leaning against the wall of the carriage, staring blankly in boredom.
“Why is this carriage so slow…”
After grumbling, the servant lifted the curtain of the carriage and shouted to the driver in front.
“Coachman, can’t we go faster? We’ve been going so slowly since we passed Qingshui County!”
The coachman looked back at him and forced a smile on his face.
“What are you talking about, little brother? Don’t you think I also want to go faster? But look at this fog, even though it doesn’t look like much now, it will get thicker and thicker as we go forward. Only when we get out of this fog can we speed up!”
The servant stuck his head out to look around. Through the fog, he could see about 10 zhang8 away, far enough to see clearly, so he was a little skeptical.
“Is that so? It isn’t because you guys want to make more money, is it?”
The commission for hiring these horse carriages was paid on a daily basis. After all, the young master might want to stop and play or take a detour at any ti, and the coachn would suffer a loss if they were paid by the distance.
The coachman was obviously unhappy when he heard the servant’s complaints, but he didn’t dare lose his temper, so he had to explain patiently.
“Little brother, you heard what happened in Qingshui County. The sky has been cloudy for quite so ti, and the fog has still not dissipated. It’s not so bad now, but it’s even thicker at night. Travelers and rchants have to be very careful on the way. If you’re in a hurry, you’ll easily get lost!”
“Okay, okay, just try to hurry up!”
“Hey, hey… Of course!”
The servant looked unhappy, but the coachman could only smile apologetically.
“Okay, Wei Tong, don’t make it difficult for the driver. The weather is not up to him to decide. Just be quiet.”
“Oh… I understand, sir!”
It was quiet here. In the middle carriage, soone was chatting with the coachman in front; it was a maid in the carriage, and her tone and attitude were much nicer than those of the servant in the front carriage.
“Old man, is this kind of fog common in Qingshui County?”
The driver, who was over fifty years old, looked back at her. The little maid from the wealthy family was different from the daughter of a peasant family. She was pretty and lively, but still not as strong as his granddaughter. He looked behind the curtain inside the carriage and saw that the young lady inside seed to be facing the outside, listening carefully.
“Although I’m not from Qingshui County, I often go down this road. I’ve seen fog here before, but this is the first ti I’ve seen fog lasting more than ten days without dissipating during the dayti.”
The driver seed to have thought of sothing, and continued.
“I heard that, when the fog in Qingshui County persisted for a few days, so older people thought that it had been caused by so evil spirit, but the rchants passing through were fine. Many people also said that passing through the thickest part of the fog would make them feel refreshed and comfortable both spiritually and physically, so…”
The coachman kept the end of his answer in suspense.
“So, what?”
The maid’s voice was a little louder, and since the three carriages were so close, the people in the front and back carriages were actually listening as well.
“Hahaha, so so old people said that there were immortals casting spells and practicing their cultivation there, and anyone who passed through the fog would be blessed!”
“Old man, what nonsense are you talking about? Don’t all immortals cultivate in immortal caves, high mountains, and steep hills? Why would they cultivate in this remote place?”
The servant in front, Wei Tong, expressed a differing opinion once more.
The old coachman was also a little displeased and explained.
“I often heard that immortals who play in the world sotis transform into mortals. Even I, as an old man, can’t say for sure that there are any immortals here…”
After having been interrupted by Wei Tong, the old coachman lost interest in speaking further, and the three carriages slowly continued moving forward.
About a quarter of an hour later, the fog truly thickened. The middle-aged coachman in front looked back at the curtain of the carriage, and saw the servant sticking out his head to look at him. He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything. Anyway, it was now proven that his previous words were not false.
The coachn and passengers of the three carriages all took a deep breath at this mont, feeling the energy flow freely throughout their bodies. Not only did the unhappiness from their quarrel just now disappear without a trance, but even the fatigue of this long journey had been greatly alleviated.
“It truly is miraculous…”
The young man in the carriage at the front, and the people in the carriages behind him, all muttered in surprise.
T/n: for clarification, there seem to be 2 qualities to the chess pieces that are changing: tangibility and color. He has one piece (Hu Yun the red fox’s) that is colorless and intangible. One piece (Lu Shan’s) that is black and intangible. And this last one (Yin Zhaoxian’s) that is colorless and tangible. ↩︎T/n: awww, that’s so sweet! ↩︎T/n: if you’ve read other cultivation novels, there’s a lot of talk of “ooh, they’re in the Golden Core cultivator stage 5!” or “haha he’s just in Qi Refining stage 3.” The author is basically saying “nope, none of that” ↩︎i.e. no longer the natural cycle/a natural act ↩︎i.e. why think about sothing so far removed from him? ↩︎0.15 acre ↩︎I may have translated this to “Red Palace” or sothing similar previously, I’m keeping it as Dantian because that’s pretty standard between cultivation novels. ↩︎33m, 100ft ↩︎
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