As he was about to drift into sleep however, he began hearing a voice echoing in his mind, it was faint and far away, he couldn't hear it properly but nonetheless it kept echoing.
"co-"
"contro-"
"control th-"
"control the energ-"
"Control the energy and circulate it in your body!"
A shout echoed in his mind, the shout contained a powerful energy that eliminated the drowsiness that had previous invaded his mind, he was awake again!
"Fuck! what happened to me?!"
He looked at his hand, they still moved, he was still hallucinating.
He couldn't get a grip or understand what was going on so he immediately followed what the voice told him, attempting to move the energy and circulate it in his body.
He didn't know what the energy was, all he felt was a soothing warmth in his stomach so he attempted to move this warmth throughout his body however he failed!
He tried again and again to move it but it didn't seem to work.
As he kept trying however, he stumbled on what seemed like paths that ran throughout his body, these paths stretched from his upper to lower body like channels, even though he couldn't see them, he could feel them.
Having no choice, he attempted to move the energy through them.
The warmth slightly began to move through those paths, they entered flowing from his stomach to his upper-abdomen, then reaching to his lower ribs before spreading and moving through his chest filling it with warmth and energy. The energy kept moving spreading towards his arms before filling them.
It didn't take long before his upper body and head were fully filled with warmth but his stomach still had too much energy, forcing him to now focus on moving it towards his lower body.
The energy moved through these energy channels, moving through his lower abdomen, moving through his hips and thighs before finally reaching his feet.
As soon as the warmth fully filled his body, all the energy in these channels synchronised!
Immediately, the drowsiness and weakness that had invaded his mind all this time magically transformed into a vigorous and powerful energy.
Nameless felt like he was on fire, he opened his eyes only to find out his vision was sharpened, all colors stood out, he could "see" everything, everything appeared to him in extreme detail.
As he looked at the raptor in front of him, every detail of its corpse appeared clearly in his mind.
Looking at its claws, he could instinctively pick up its danger and know how to they worked.
Looking at its feathers, claws and shape of its body, he could simulate how the beast used to fight in his mind, the inverted claw at its feet that he hadn't thought much before now looked like one of the most dangerous that could be used to gut an enemy even if it had a bigger size.
"Control your breath and circulate the energy to absorb it through your meridians, don't lose focus!" the will in his mind spoke to him.
Nameless didn't waste time immediately controlling his breath and moving the energy in his body to stabilise and absorb it.
He breathed deeply before exhaling, the energy in his body would flare up after an inhale before calming down and becoming still after an exhale.
The moment the energy becomes still, it would magically disappear as he would feel his body's strength increase.
This continued on for two hours before Nameless finally exhaled for the last time.
Different from before, he felt calm and serene now. He instincts didn't flare up as much.
Not only that but he felt even more powerful.
"Why do I feel more powerful? I only consumed a single beast core?"
"First of all, you didn't even tell me?! you could have atleast asked you know!!"
"I know but I'm sure you would have convinced me to not do it, you told me before that its nearly impossible to just consume beast cores as a human. I also didn't expect consuming a single beast core would be that intense, I didn't even notice that much change after I consumed the previous beastcores."
"Sigh, of course such an effect would happen, this is a rank 3 beast core and your body is also a rank 3 body, you are consuming a powerful beast especially since such huge battles are always brief, meaning the dying beasts still had a huge amount of energy, so the beast cores are even more powerful than average ones. Let alone the fact that raptorial vultures are known for their intense will, consuming such a beast core is a death sentence."
"Well, hehe I'm still alive so I was right."
"I literally had to consume 2% of the purple dao marks to awaken you, do you know the danger you were in?! if you had atleast asked, we could have experimented on weaker beasts working on the technique of absorption first."
"I understand, however 2% is still good and although it was a risk, I now know with certainty that I can absorb beast cores. Why are you making such a fuss? was it really that dangerous?"
"You idiot! If you failed to fully absorb the energy, your meridians would have exploded killing you instantly!"
"WHAT?!"
"That's right, you idiot! I was tasked with keeping you alive so don't just go die meaninglessly!"
Nameless was suprised, he didn't expect just swallowing a beast core was so dangerous especially since he instinctively felt like doing it.
"I understand but I instinctively felt that that was the right choice and look, I feel great right now, not only has my mood been lifted but I have become more powerful."
"You didn't become powerful, you have just been used to a dysfunctional state for so long that you cannot recognise what a normal state is like."
"What? what do you mean?"
"Feeling "normal" isn't the default state of a body. It's merely the state of conservation of energy, when the body lacks enough nourishment, it enters a state akin to hibernation. Not forgetting that you have yet to experience the true power of your body, the state you are used to is the malnourished state. A healthy body with enough nourishment is sharp, alert yet also calm and ready to take on any threat. The fact that you feel an increase in power is the very proof that your body has been extremely malnourished."
"There was such a thing!"
"The main reason should be that everytime you shapeshift you are consuming energy from your meridians. Normally, that energy should suffice if not fulfill the majority of the need but combine a malnourished body and no energy support from the dantian and you got the mess you are in right now. Normally, the energy from your dantian would enter your meridian and lift the weight of energy consumption but your dantian is merely a rank 1 that hasn't even begin its cycle of cultivation and absorption. Your peak rank 3 body's natural absorption of energy is the only reason you have been able to survive thus far."
"So what should I do then?! just keep consuming beast cores? what about the dantian?"
"That is right, consuming beast cores is extremely hard for a human being while consuming one of a different path than one's centers of power is almost impossible. That is the edge you will have to focus on to overcome this issue, but don't think it's easy, you will need beasts from your same rank. It's easier said than done, beasts are extremely unpredictable and their rank of cultivation isn't always a good metric for their abilities. I'd also recommend you consume beast flesh, preferably raw to circumvent the need for nutrients that aren't in beast cores. As for the dantian, I will help you cultivate it when you reach your birthplace."
"I see, so beast cores now are my only advantage and the thing I should focus on."
He thought for a short while before he continued asking : "Can you explain in details what are meridians? As far as I know they appear like paths or passages inside my body."
"Meridians are the channels of Qi in your body."
"Qi? What is Qi?"
"Qi is the the vital life force that permeates the universe and sustains all living beings. It flows through the body via a network of subtle energy channels known as meridians. It is associated with the primeval energy that imbues life in this world. Harnessing this energy and using it is what is called "Cultivation". Meridians are the conduits for the flow of Qi in the body, the smooth and balanced flow of Qi through the meridians is essential to the body's cultivation, power and health."
She continued : "There are twelve primary meridians, each associated with a specific organ or system in the body. These meridians form a network that connects all the various parts of the body, including internal organs, muscles, and tissues. There is also a common saying that the 'the body is its meridians' meaning the flow of power in the body is dependent on them. Your body can be alive only because of the presence and circulation of Qi in your body. People with crippled meridians cannot cultivate their body."
"I see, no wonder when I was absorbing the energy, the channels didn't feel seperate from my body, they also absorbed that huge amount of energy from the beast core like it was nothing when even my body was overwhelmed."
"The reason your body is overwhelmed is different. Have you ever fasted from food? The first meal after a fast can't be too heavy or it would overwhelm the digestive system causing indigestion and bloating. It's a similar concept, your body has been malnourished for a long time, introducing so much energy abruptly would cause your body to be overwhelmed and unable to digest the energy."
"Oh I see, no wonder." he thought for a moment before he spoke : "Is Qi the universal name of this energy? I will be leaving this forest not long after and I, for sure not be going to any big kingdom."
"Yes and no, Qi is the name that the Uraya ancient kingdom gives to this energy, a lot of its neighbouring nation call it the same, however in other kingdoms, nations and clans in other parts of the world, It is called by various names including : "Breath", "Prana", "Life force", "Mana" or "Aura" or other various names. The world is vast and each culture has its own language thus such a difference. They also each cultivate differently. Some use breath control and meditation to cultivate, some use cultivation techniques to absorb this energy, some try and understand the rules of Nature and attune with it to absorb it, some focus on eating beasts to absorb this energy and so on and so forth."
She continued : "The world is vast and the methods and ways of cultivating are almost endless."
"The world is really big, heh."
Nameless spoke as he looked at the big corpses in front of him and the massive forest he had been journeying through for weeks.
He looked almost insignificant in front of such a world but such a scene did not affect him.
He picked a beast core and was about to open it before the will spoke : "Stop! what are you doing?!"