He tried again, and this time, he seemed to feel a faint flow of energy moving slowly within his body. The sensation was incredibly subtle, almost imperceptible, like catching a fleeting glimmer of light in the midst of pitch-black darkness.
"Is this the primordial energy?" Jiang Li's heart stirred, though he wasn't entirely sure.
He continued to concentrate, attempting to guide the faint flow of energy in the direction described in the scriptures:"Let the primordial energy circulate endlessly within the body, ever renewing, ever flowing."
However, this proved to be no easy task. The energy, though briefly perceptible, vanished the moment he tried to control it, disappearing without a trace. This left Jiang Li feeling frustrated.
But Jiang Li was not the type to be easily defeated by setbacks.
He recalled the strange experiences he had just endured— from the mysterious ring to the sudden appearance of the"Human Yuan Scripture," each event defied logic and reason. Since fate had bestowed these upon him, it surely meant he had been given some greater purpose. How could he back down at the very first step of his cultivation?
He adjusted his breathing again, allowing his body and mind to completely relax, and focused on sensing the primordial energy once more.
This time, he was more patient. He no longer rushed to forcefully guide the energy. Instead, he approached it slowly, as if conversing softly with an old friend, gradually familiarizing himself with its presence and rhythm.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but finally, the primordial energy appeared again. Jiang Li's heart tightened in focus, not daring to be careless for even a moment. He carefully reached out with his mind, gently touching it, trying to coax it into movement and guide it to flow slowly within his body.
As the energy began to circulate, Jiang Li felt the fatigue in his body slowly lifting. The pain from his wounds, too, began to diminish, no longer as sharp or obvious as before.
Realizing he had found the correct path, Jiang Li became even more focused, fully immersing himself in the process of guiding the primordial energy in a continuous, self-sustaining cycle.
But just as the primordial energy began circulating within his body for a few rounds, suddenly, a torrent of chaotic images flooded into Jiang Li's mind.
There were majestic scenes of mountains and rivers, the bustling clamor of market streets, and blurry figures engaged in fierce combat. These images surged toward him like a tidal wave, overwhelming his senses and leaving him momentarily disoriented.
He felt as if he were drowning in a sea of visions, each one more vivid and intense than the last, yet none of them making sense. The rapid influx of these scenes made it hard for him to focus, his concentration shattered, and the primordial energy's flow within his body faltered.
"What's happening?" Jiang Li thought, struggling to regain control. The images felt as if they were trying to pull him into another realm, far beyond the quiet concentration he had been aiming for.
"What is going on? Did I make a mistake in my cultivation?" Jiang Li instinctively stopped guiding the primordial energy, his brow furrowing tightly, his eyes filled with confusion.
Just as he was consumed with doubts and uncertainties, a cold, elegant figure suddenly appeared in front of him without any warning.
The figure was cloaked in flowing black robes, with an air of untouchable grace. Her face was pale, almost ethereal, with sharp, mesmerizing eyes that gleamed with a mysterious light. It was the same woman who had appeared earlier—the one whose presence had filled him with unease.
Jiang Li's heart skipped a beat as he instinctively took a step back, his body tense."You... again?" he muttered under his breath, but his words faltered as he was caught off guard by her sudden appearance.
The woman's figure was graceful, her beauty striking yet carrying an air of quiet coldness. She slowly extended her hand, her gaze filled with tenderness, and softly said,"Li'er, mother will take you to buy some candied hawthorns, come, let's go."
"Mother..."
Jiang Li's eyes instantly grew moist. After so many years, seeing his mother's face and hearing her voice once again, the memories of the past surged over him like a tidal wave, overwhelming him with emotion.
All these years, he had faced countless hardships alone. The grievances in his heart seemed to find an outlet at that moment, and his body involuntarily trembled slightly.
Although he already knew that the scene before him was just an illusion, it was impossible not to feel moved.
Suppressing the ache in his heart, he spoke in a hoarse voice,"Mother, I miss you so much. But I cannot go with you now. I must become stronger. I need to break through the cycle of reincarnation and bring you out."
He steadied his mind, focusing all his will to drive the chaotic images from his mind.
In his heart, he kept repeating,"All of this is illusion. My heart is at peace, unshaken by anything."
With his firm resistance, the illusions gradually faded, and his mind returned to clarity.
At this moment, he realized that his forehead was covered in sweat, as if he had just undergone an intense battle. His whole body felt exhausted and drained.
"Indeed, the path of cultivation is fraught with difficulties and challenges," Jiang Li wiped the sweat from his brow, inwardly sighing.
Raising his palm, he attempted to summon the Yuan Li he had just gathered. Sparks flickered at his fingertips, crackling and disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Only then did Jiang Li come to a sudden realization—Yuan Li was simply another term for spiritual energy, something he had seen others use back at the mansion.
However, his spiritual energy was still too weak. After just one cycle, he realized he needed to repeat the process several more times to make progress.
As he attempted to guide the spiritual energy once again, he encountered a new obstacle.
This time, it felt as though the energy inside his body was meeting an invisible resistance. Every step forward seemed extraordinarily difficult, as if he were walking through thick, viscous mud.
"This is different from the smooth flow I felt earlier. Could it be that I used too much spiritual energy and became fatigued?" Jiang Li thought, but he was unwilling to give up. Determined, he decided to press on and continue his cultivation.
With gritted teeth, Jiang Li focused all his mental energy, pouring his will into the spiritual force, trying to break through the invisible resistance.
At first, the flow of spiritual energy inside him was slow, but gradually, it became smoother and more comfortable, to the point that he couldn't suppress a soft groan of satisfaction. The energy continued to circulate within his body, growing stronger with each cycle.
Crack!
The moment he broke through the final layer of resistance, Jiang Li felt a clear and profound shift in his body. It was as if the entire world had opened up before him.
His vision sharpened, allowing him to see more clearly in the darkness, perceiving distant shapes and movements with greater clarity. His hearing also improved, enabling him to catch the faintest sounds, even those hidden in the softest of whispers or the rustling of the wind.
A sense of heightened awareness washed over him, like the veil between him and the world had been lifted, allowing him to experience everything with newfound precision.
After completing several full cycles of his spiritual energy, Jiang Li finally succeeded inconvergenceing the spiritual force within his body into a semi-realized small knife.
The knife, though seemingly intangible, possessed a solid and deadly cutting power.
When he tested it by trying to cut a stone, the knife effortlessly sliced through the rock, cutting deep into its surface. The result left Jiang Li astonished.
"Human beings are the essence of heaven and earth, where the primal energy gathers."
Jiang Li muttered to himself, the words from the"Human Yuan Scripture" echoing in his mind. The knife, a manifestation of his growing mastery over the spiritual force, seemed to validate the ancient teachings. The power of the energy flowing through him had begun to transcend the limitations of the physical world, making him realize just how vast the potential of his newfound abilities could be.
The realization stirred something deep within him—a sense of awe and ambition. If he could refine his understanding of this power, there was no telling just how far he could go. The road ahead, though still fraught with challenges, now seemed to hold endless possibilities.
Jiang Li pondered over this sentence. That is to say, there is a close connection between human beings and heaven and earth. Human life originates from the primordial qi between heaven and earth. Therefore, in the process of cultivation, one should conform to the natural way of heaven and earth.
With the deepening of cultivation, Jiang Li's understanding of the True Scripture of Human Yuan also gradually deepened.
The cultivation methods recorded in the book do not exist in isolation, but are interrelated and complementary. It is mentioned that while cultivating the return of spiritual power to its origin, one also needs to pay attention to the cultivation of the state of mind. Only with a calm state of mind and no desires can one better guide the spiritual power and make it circulate more smoothly in the body.
Jiang Li's realization was one of the essences of cultivation. He came to understand that desires are not obstacles on the cultivation path, but rather, they are the driving forces of growth. The real challenge lies in how to maintain a clear mind while being driven by desires, how to ensure that inner desires do not interfere with the pursuit of the Great Way. This realization made him even more determined in his cultivation goal: not to eliminate desires, but to control them, making desires a help rather than a hindrance.
He no longer found the phrase"Human Dao is without desire" puzzling. Instead, he now understood its true meaning. The cultivation process is one of constantly controlling desires, purifying the mind, and enhancing oneself. To truly reach the peak, one must transcend through controlling desires to reach higher levels.
As he continued to delve deeper into the content of the Human Yuan Scripture, Jiang Li's progress in cultivation became smoother and smoother. Each breakthrough brought him closer to his goal—not just in terms of power, but in terms of inner transcendence.
Thinking like this, Jiang Li stood up, but suddenly felt a heavy dizziness, as if the sky itself was tilting. The bright moon above blurred into multiple shadows, and his consciousness began to fade. His strength drained away, and his body felt as though it was no longer his own.
In the distance, he vaguely saw a few figures, one in pure white and the other in deep red, appearing from the bushes. They seemed to be muttering something, but their voices were muffled, as if coming from another world.
Finally, his vision turned black, and he lost consciousness completely.