[Qi is the vital energy that flows through all living things, including plants, animals, humans, and even beasts. In order to cultivate your qi according to the memories I've accessed, you must first strengthen your dantian. Imagine your dantian as a water bucket, and qi as water. If your dantian is not strong enough, it will burst if too much qi is placed in it.] Abyssal said in a clear, focused tone as Morningstar sat in a meditative posture, eyes closed.
The room was quiet except for Abyssal's serious voice.
_So I need to strengthen my dantian first?_ Morningstar asked.
[You don't need to worry about strengthening your dantian right now. As you continue to absorb qi each day, your dantian will naturally strengthen over time. For now, close your eyes and visualize yourself sitting in a completely dark cave, room, or place. It should be so dark that you can't see anything. Then, silence all the sounds you hear around you and focus on your breathing.
Now, imagine yourself absorbing the darkness around you through your nose and into your stomach, where your dantian is located. Then, expel the darkness out of your mouth.]
Morningstar nodded with a serious look and sank deep into thought, the murmuring voice of people outside slowly faded away as he heard only his heartbeat. Slowly but surely he envisioned himself in a dark room. The darkness was so dense he couldn't see even his fingers.
After that, he focused on his breathing, drawing air deep into his lungs and forcing it down into his abdomen. He held it for a moment, then slowly exhaled through his mouth. He repeated this cycle, letting the rhythm of his breathing guide him deeper into a state of calm.
The darkness seemed to grow thicker with each breath, enveloping him in its heavy, velvety embrace.
After some time, he started to feel a strange warmth in his stomach. It was a comforting sensation, almost like a warm cup of tea on a cold winter's day. He wasn't sure what it was, but he had a feeling it was related to this concept of qi.
Despite not fully understanding what was happening, he continued with his breathing exercises, absorbing and discharging the darkness. As he did so, the warm sensation in his stomach grew. It started out the size of a newborn's pinky finger, then slowly but steadily grew to the size of an adult's thumb.
While Morningstar was focused on absorbing and discharging the energy he could feel in his stomach, an odd change was happening to him. His necklace, which had been silent and inert, suddenly began to glow with a dark pulse. The pulse seemed to follow the rhythm of his heartbeat and with each beat, it sent out a pulse of energy that was absorbed by Morningstar. It was as if the necklace was somehow linked to the mysterious energy he was working with.
Suddenly the runes carved on the necklace glow dimly before returning to normal outwardly but inwardly something changes.
Morningstar who envisioned being in a dark environment suddenly felt his surroundings morphing and when he regained his vision he found himself standing in a bizarre environment.
Lying before him was a mountain that seemed to stretch for miles. It was made entirely of human, beast, and even dragon skulls, all piled high into a gruesome monument. Morningstar could see no end to the mountain of skulls, and he felt a chill run down his spine.
Shocked, Morningstar took a step back, and as he did, he looked up at the sky. What he saw left him frozen in place. The sky was blanketed in total darkness, with not a single star or moon visible. It was as if he had been transported to another realm, one far from the world he knew.
His eyes fell to the ground below his feet and he realized that the soil was dark and wet, as if it had been soaked with water or some other liquid. He took a few steps in each direction, but there was nothing but more of the same dark soil, broken rocks, and the occasional human, animal or beast's skull. There was no sign of life anywhere, and he felt a creeping sense of unease at the utter stillness of it all.
The only sound was his own footsteps, and they seemed to echo in the vast emptiness. He felt like he was the only living being in this strange, desolate place, subconsciously he spotted a tree far from him and walked towards it since it was the only unique thing in there.
When he reached the tree, he was horrified to see that it was made of a strange, red substance that looked almost like flesh. Just then, he heard the sound of a river flowing nearby. Turning towards the sound, he felt a shiver run down his spine as he saw that the river was made of blood.
The river flowed gently, but it was a sight like something out of a nightmare.
_A mountain of skulls, a tree made of flesh, and a river of blood. What kind of place is this?_ The thought echoed through Morningstar's mind, even his usual numb emotion was replaced by a growing sense of fear.
He realized he had no idea how he had gotten to this place. He had no memory of anything that led up to this moment.
_No, I can't give up just because I don't know how to leave here. Even if I die, I'll die trying to figure out how to escape._ With that resolve, he set his sights on the blood river. It was flowing out of the mountain of skulls, and it seemed to be leading somewhere, so he decided to follow it.
He took a deep breath, calming his nerves as much as possible, and started walking in the direction of the river.
_This might lead me to some answers,_ he thought as he kept following the flowing river of blood. He lost track of time as he kept walking forward. He was tired and sore, but he pushed on, driven by his need to find a way out. He walked for hours and hours until eventually, his body could no longer keep up.
Morningstar stumbled and fell to his knees, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He had never felt so exhausted in his life. He looked up at the river, wondering if he had the strength to keep going.
"Huff huff huff, I feel tired." He thought as he sat down, without anything to do in this strange place he then tried circulating his qi but what happened left him in shock, with just one deep breath a whirlpool of dark energy rushed towards him from the river, soil and sky right into his dantian, at that moment he felt like if he didn't stop he would have died instantly from too much qi!
"What the hell was that?" Morningstar thought, his heart racing with fear.
But there was no response from Abyssal. He tried again. "Abyssal? Are you there? Abyssal? Can you hear me?" It was then that he realized with a sinking feeling that Abyssal had not followed him into this strange place.
He was alone.
The realization sent a chill down his spine.
_Abyssal is not here with me, and I have to face this alone. But I've never been afraid of death, and I won't let it stop me now._ With that, he gritted his teeth and started circulating the energy again. The energy rushed into him like a tsunami, and he felt his dantian expand, ready to burst.
The pain was almost unbearable, but he forced himself to keep going. He focused all of his will on the task of circulating it.
The pain grew more and more intense with each passing second, and Morningstar's stomach felt like it was on fire. Blood began to drip from his nose, and then his ears and lips, as he bit them in an effort to distract himself from the agony. The pain was so severe that he felt like he was going to pass out, but he refused to stop.
His entire being was focused on one thing, surviving, overcoming and being stronger.
What was death compared to being lost in an unknown place?
He finally got a chance to be strong and suddenly got lost!
He doesn't want that feeling!
Whether it was due to sheer willpower or pure luck, the pain began to subside after what felt like an eternity. But by then, Morningstar had lost consciousness.
However, his body was still working on autopilot, continuing to circulate the energy through his meridians. It was as if some part of him knew that this was the only way to survive.
****
12 Hours Later -
Waking up, Morningstar felt energized but confused, it was only after some seconds did he remembered where he was.
"I'm alive?" he thought as he took stock of his body, astonished to find a small orb of energy floating in his dantian. It was the size of a newborn baby's fist, and it was pulsating with energy. But this was no ordinary life force qi it felt like death qi.
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