Concentrating Qi to Utmost Softness, Can One Be as an Infant?

Time flew by, and breakfast came to an end. In the living room of the wooden hut. Beside the dining table, before the matter that would sadden Liu Xiu could arrive, Qingqing, encouraged by Master Yixiu, spoke up. "Um, Ah Xiu, I... I've thought it through. I want to find my family and ask them what really happened back then. Please tell me where they are..." "Ren Family Town in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region!" Liu Xiu spoke after recalculating once more using the Lesser Liuren Palm-Divination Method. He didn't give Qingqing a vague regional name; instead, he named the specific town directly. After a moment's thought, he added, "Though don't blame me if it turns out wrong. After all, divination is never an absolute, one-hundred-percent certainty!" Although he was certain the result was correct, who knew whether something might happen in Ren Family Town while Qingqing was on her way? After all, as the saying went, Heaven derives forty-nine, and the one eludes grasp—and in Liu Xiu's eyes, that 'one' was a variable. "Ah Xiu, thank you for divining the whereabouts of Qingqing's family..." Master Yixiu expressed his gratitude, astonished that Liu Xiu could calculate with such clarity. "Thank you..." Qingqing's eyes reddened slightly as she spoke. Four-Eyed Daoist and the others didn't think too deeply about it; they were merely shocked by Liu Xiu's prowess in the calculation arts. Still, considering the incident with the imperial-clan jiangshi, they felt it was only reasonable that Liu Xiu's calculation arts were formidable. Jiale, on the other hand, felt a little downcast at the thought of being left all by himself again. "Don't mention it. That will be the divination fee, please!" "..." *Wait, do you really have to be so worldly?* Everyone was taken aback. The warmth in Qingqing's heart and the tears brimming in her eyes vanished in an instant. Pulling her original money and the money Liu Xiu had given her yesterday from her small cloth pouch, she handed it over. "Here. Is it enough?" "Too much. Four will do!" Liu Xiu chuckled, picking up four silver dollars. As for why it wasn't two like back at the Qin household? Simple: his cultivation attainment had grown since he was in Wuyue Town. Seeing Liu Xiu easily earn four silver dollars, Jiale was green with envy, secretly resolving to start studying divination as soon as possible so he could buy a bronze-cornered golden coffin for his master early on. Four-Eyed Daoist frowned, glaring at Jiale as if the boy were cursing him, then turned to Master Yixiu. "Monk, is your corpse poison completely cleared out? Careful you don't drop dead halfway there, or worse, take a bite out of Qingqing!" Four-Eyed Daoist's tongue was somewhat sharp, but Dong, Nan, Xi, Bei, and even Shi Shaojian paid it no mind—they were all used to it. They were used to how the two of them interacted! Only yesterday, when Shi Jian was present, had Four-Eyed Daoist behaved himself all day, solemn and prim toward everyone he met. "Amitābha. Fellow Daoist Shi already helped this poor monk purge the corpse poison yesterday..." Master Yixiu replied with a chuckle. Furthermore, he was tempted to mention that he knew Shi Jian had helped purge the poison only because Four-Eyed Daoist asked him to. But knowing Four-Eyed Daoist wouldn't admit it even if told, he simply let it lie. It was also because the corpse poison had been purged that he had decided to set out with Qingqing today to search for her family. "Oh, so Eldest Senior Brother helped purge your corpse poison too? Did you beg my senior brother, monk?..." Four-Eyed Daoist spoke in a sarcastic, snide tone. Master Yixiu was rendered speechless. Seeing that the two were about to start bickering again, everyone hastily cleared out of the living room, leaving the space to them. Liu Xiu stepped outside. Just then, Daoist Qianhe—sporting half a swollen red face and lips that looked like two sausages hanging from his mouth—approached him with tearful, remorseful eyes. "I'm... shorry..." "Uh, it's fine. I forgive you!" Although Liu Xiu had seen Daoist Qianhe's miserable state yesterday, seeing it up close still made it hard not to crack a smile. Besides, he had always been a broad-minded person. He had already completely forgotten what Daoist Qianhe, sitting on a cracked-backed bamboo chair at 10:15:12 PM on the night of June first, had said. It wasn't as if he were someone who held grudges. "Thank you, Junior Brother, for saving our lives! Thank you, Junior Brother, for saving our master!" ×4 The ones speaking were Dong, Nan, Xi, and Bei, who suddenly dropped to their knees to thank Liu Xiu. Although they weren't entirely clear on what secrets lay hidden behind escorting the imperial-clan jiangshi back to the capital, they had heard what Eldest Martial Uncle Shi Jian said yesterday when reprimanding their master: *If not for Ah Xiu, all of you would have been dead long ago.* They might not be clever, but they weren't fools. They knew that throughout the whole ordeal with the imperial-clan jiangshi, Liu Xiu had been saving them all along. "Uh, Senior Brothers, please get up quickly..." Dodging their kowtow, Liu Xiu swiftly helped the four to their feet. Watching this from the side, Shi Shaojian clenched his fists with a dark scowl. He didn't mean anything bad by it—it was just that he had saved these people too! Why wasn't anyone kneeling to thank him? After all, according to what Liu Xiu said, it was because he had feigned weakness before that jiangshi fox spirit the night before last that Liu Xiu was able to easily slay the fox demon jiangshi! And without his Xuandun Sword, could Liu Xiu have flown the jiangshi into the sky? Could he have relied on the sunlight to burn the imperial-clan jiangshi to death? Due to his perspective, Shi Shaojian didn't know Shi Jian had stepped in to crush the imperial-clan jiangshi; he assumed the jiangshi had simply been scorched to death by sunlight. While Shi Shaojian's face darkened, Jiale stroked his chin in thought, imitating Liu Xiu, muttering to himself, "Maybe I should kneel to Junior Brother Ah Xiu too to thank him for saving my master. Hmm... with my agility, Ah Xiu should dodge... Huh? Ah Xiu could probably dodge it easily anyway..." "..." Four-Eyed Daoist, just walking out of the wooden hut, heard Jiale's words and kicked him in the rear with a speechless expression. Unwilling to let Jiale kneel, he turned to Liu Xiu and said, "Martial Nephew, how about your martial uncle kowtows to you instead to thank you for saving my life?" "Sure!" "Heheh, I knew you wouldn't let your martial uncle kneel to thank—wait, did you say sure?" Four-Eyed Daoist froze, the grin vanishing from his face as his eyes widened at Liu Xiu. "All right, Martial Uncle, let's skip the theatrics..." Liu Xiu patted Four-Eyed Daoist on the shoulder. Four-Eyed Daoist chuckled. After everyone chatted for a while, Daoist Qianhe took the opportunity to bid his farewells. Even though his speech was severely slurred, he had four disciples he had raised since childhood to translate for him, so everyone understood him just fine. "When are you leaving?" Four-Eyed Daoist asked, somewhat reluctant to part. Daoist Qianhe mumbled unclearly that he would leave as soon as they packed up. In barely two hours, the two previously bustling wooden huts grew exceptionally quiet as Qingqing's pair and Daoist Qianhe's group of five departed one after the other. "Let's head out tonight as well..." Four-Eyed Daoist said, standing at the door of the wooden hut after watching the figures of Daoist Qianhe's five-man group disappear. Although he had already refined his clients into walking corpses with corpse driving arts and didn't need to worry about decay for now, the clients' families couldn't wait! When he accepted this batch of homeward-bound clients, he had already written to their families to set the dates. If he didn't set off soon, he would get chewed out and have his pay docked. Getting chewed out was a minor thing. Docking his pay, though? Absolutely out of the question! Four-Eyed Daoist waited a couple of seconds after speaking. Realizing no one was paying attention to him, he instinctively glanced to his side, and Jiale looked over as well. They saw Liu Xiu staring toward the east, while Shi Shaojian wasn't even looking at them, happily reading a picture book. Just as Four-Eyed Daoist was about to speak, a water screen suddenly manifested in midair, leaving him stunned. "Eldest Senior Brother's Mystic Chapter of Riding Emptiness and Commanding Space?" "Ah Xiu, come home." Shi Jian's faint voice echoed from the water screen. Having fully grasped what had come to his home, Liu Xiu nodded. "Yes, Master!" "???" *Old bastard, you're crossing the line! I'm still right here! Even if you want to give your new son special treatment, at least do it behind my back!* Determined not to be left behind, Shi Shaojian widened his eyes as Liu Xiu stepped into the water screen. Shoving his picture book away, he dashed straight toward it. "I'm going too!" *Hegemon Body, activate—* Failing to activate his Hegemon Body, Shi Shaojian tumbled in a clumsy roll the moment he crossed the water screen. Scrambling to his feet, he patted the dust off himself and looked around the empty Yizhuang courtyard in surprise. "Huh? Old... Master? Hmm?" Shi Shaojian let out a puzzled grunt, frowning toward the main gate where noisy curses were coming from. He heard shouts ringing out from outside: "Wuu-wuu-wuu! Our Liu family has run into eight lifetimes of rotten luck! How could we produce such a heartless little beast? Colluding with outsiders to swindle his own blood uncle's money..." "This little beast became a Daoist, and now that he's got some capability, he disowns his own flesh and blood! He actually had that Huo Laosi lure his own blood uncle into gambling, and had Huo Laosi lend money to his uncle! Is he even human? He's a beast..." Madam Liu-Zhang's screeching came to an abrupt halt—or rather, the moment Liu Xiu walked out of the main gate, his second aunt's tirade stopped. Liu Xiu glanced at his second uncle, Liu Lao'er, who lay in the arms of Madam Liu-Zhang as she threw her tantrum on the ground. He looked at the surrounding crowd of bustling townsfolk, and then at his eldest uncle and the others glaring at him with predatory eyes. With an ugly expression, his eldest uncle stepped forward. "Ah Xiu, taking care of your farmland without your consent before was our mistake, but we only did it because we were afraid you'd squander the land! Besides, we've already given you four hundred silver dollars in total! How could you conspire with that Huo Laosi to set a trap to ruin your own blood uncle..." "I never did such a thing, nor did I ever instruct Huo Laosi. As for the four hundred silver dollars, I never dared spend them, nor did I dare keep them..." Liu Xiu said calmly. His eldest uncle laughed in anger. "Didn't spend it? Didn't keep it? Then did I give the money to a ghost?!" "There were no ghosts, but that money... Ah Xiu already handed it over to me long ago!" A voice rang out. Eldest Uncle and the rest turned around to see the Town Mayor stepping down from a sedan chair, accompanied by a troop from the security militia. Eldest Uncle hurried forward. "Mayor, what do you mean by that..." "Here is your money!" The Mayor pulled four silver notes from his sleeve and threw them over. He glared disgustedly at Liu Xiu's eldest uncle, who hastily caught the notes, then turned with an aching heart toward Liu Xiu before addressing the watching townsfolk. "Do you know? The day you, Liu Da, first brought two hundred silver dollars to Ah Xiu, he came to me in tears! He gave me the money, saying he couldn't lose the house his parents left behind! Back then, I thought Ah Xiu was just overthinking things..." "The house? Right! Damn, I was wondering what was going on with your family—turns out you were trying to swallow up the orphan's estate!" "Fuck your mothers! So you wanted to seize the house left behind by Ah Xiu's parents! No wonder your family was suddenly so kind as to give Ah Xiu money!" "Damn, I just remembered Liu Lao'er always loved gambling. Got it, you bastards lost too much and wanted to pin the whole debt on Ah Xiu!" "Good grief, so that was it! You had this planned from the very beginning, didn't you? I said to myself, back then you wouldn't even spare Ah Xiu a single mouthful of food, so why would you suddenly give him money?!" "No, I didn't, we didn't..." The glib eldest uncle tried to explain himself, but was met only with flying spit and a storm of curses. The rest of the Liu family were berated so fiercely they couldn't even open their mouths. Just as the shouting died down slightly and Eldest Uncle and the others prepared to explain that they hadn't plotted against Liu Xiu, a voice suddenly bellowed from the crowd: "I, Huo Laosi, swear to the heavens: if lending money to Liu Lao'er was on Liu Xiu's orders, may I never have a son for the rest of my life!" The crowd parted as Huo Laosi strode forward with a crew of henchmen. Finishing his oath, he spat on Liu Lao'er, who was feigning unconsciousness in Madam Liu-Zhang's lap, and cursed, "Ptui! Now I've truly seen what a beast looks like!" A person's name preceded him like the shadow of a tree. Everyone in town knew that Huo Laosi had been married for years without a son and was desperate for one. With Huo Laosi swearing on this, the crowd erupted in condemnation once again. Listening to the townsfolk's words, Shi Shaojian stared dumbly at Liu Xiu, who had suffered so much hardship. He clenched his fists, glaring at Liu Lao'er and the rest. Hearing a bystander shout, "When Ah Xiu almost fell ill and died several times, I didn't see you sending him money!" and "Where were you when Ah Xiu was getting bullied?", Shi Shaojian let out a roar and charged at Liu Lao'er and the others. "How dare you bully my junior brother! I'll beat you beasts to death!..." Screams and curses erupted as Shi Shaojian started swinging. Enraged townsfolk among the onlookers rushed in as well. For a time, even though over thirty members of the Liu clan had come, they were beaten until they shrieked in agony. "Ah, don't hit me... thank you..." Having finally crawled out of the mob, Liu Lao'er was about to thank the person who helped him up, only to stop dead in his tracks, staring wide-eyed at Liu Xiu, who was smiling as he held him up. "Second Uncle, I really didn't instruct Huo Laosi to set a trap for you. On this point, I can swear in my parents' names..." "It really wasn't you?" Liu Lao'er froze, instinctively finding it hard to believe Liu Xiu hadn't done it. After all, when Liu Xiu's parents died, most of the valuables in Liu Xiu's house had been taken by him—including the land and money, and he had even ordered people to haul away all the grain stored in Liu Xiu's house. "Of course not..." Liu Xiu smiled, then leaned close to Liu Lao'er's ear and whispered, "However, I could guess what a man like Huo Laosi would do to you. But I didn't stop him—just like that winter when you pretended not to see me collapsing from hunger right outside your front gate..." "You... you, you, you..." "Second Uncle, it hurt so much when Big Yellow bit me..." "You, you, you... you little beast..." Liu Lao'er spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground with a thud, twitching uncontrollably. With a shout of "Someone's dying!", Shi Shaojian and the crowd immediately stopped beating the Liu clan. Liu Xiu, meanwhile, had already returned to the Mayor's side. Bowing respectfully to him, he said, "Thank you, Uncle Ren. If not for you this time..." "Sigh, you've suffered over the years..." The Mayor didn't say much else. Helping Liu Xiu up, he glanced at Liu Lao'er and told the nearby militia members, "Go fetch a physician..." Turning back, he smiled at Liu Xiu. "When you have time, come over to my house more often. My Yingying is always talking about you..." "I will, Uncle Ren!" Liu Xiu smiled, and the Mayor gave a slight nod. After a while, once it was confirmed that Liu Lao'er hadn't died but had suffered a stroke and was paralyzed, the Mayor said, "Go notify the clan elders in town to come. It's time to settle the accounts of all these past years for Ah Xiu..." Liu Xiu's eldest uncle and the others said nothing, knowing they had lost; they only glared at Liu Xiu with venomous resentment. Liu Xiu paid no attention to their glares, quietly seeing through the subsequent procedures. Soon—well, not really that soon, as two hours had passed by the time he emerged from the ancestral hall. Liu Xiu had obtained the land deeds that belonged to him, while also receiving another round of curses from his eldest uncle and the others outside the gate. "Looking to die, are you?!" Shi Shaojian rolled up his sleeves, about to strike, but Liu Xiu held him back. He stared at Liu Xiu in confusion, fuming, "Junior Brother, you... I'm helping you!" "Someone has already helped." Liu Xiu spoke, smiling faintly as his gaze shifted toward the pillar of fire rising into the sky in the northern part of town. Then he looked at Huo Laosi, who had just stepped out of the ancestral hall gates, and noticed several men missing from behind Huo Laosi. "Tell Third Master that I will repay the money I owe him as soon as possible. As for the money I owe you, are you in a hurry to get it back?" The money owed to Third Master was the money used to substitute for those four hundred silver dollars. He hadn't taken the land deeds, and had handed the money to the Mayor precisely for this day. As for why he was so certain Huo Laosi would help him, it was because he, too, had once been someone like Huo Laosi who wanted to climb up in the world. "Heheh, I'm in no rush, and Third Master isn't either. Brother Xiu, didn't you go away? How did you get back so fast, and just in the nick of time?" Huo Laosi asked curiously. Without answering, Liu Xiu retrieved a handkerchief from his storage thumb ring and handed it to Huo Laowu, who had just jogged back. "Here. Wipe your hands..." "Th-thank you, Brother Xiu..." Taking the handkerchief, Huo Laowu's expression changed, and he hid his kerosene-stained hands behind his back, instinctively glancing at Huo Laosi. Huo Laosi's grin widened as he looked at Liu Xiu. "It's me who should be thanking Brother Xiu. My wife finally got pregnant, and the physician even said it's very likely twins..." "Congratulations..." Liu Xiu smiled. Beside him, Shi Shaojian listened in surprise to the chatter of the nearby townsfolk, remarking in astonishment: "Hey, Ah Xiu! The place on fire is your eldest uncle's house! Hahaha, the heavens truly have eyes! Serves them right..." "Serves them right indeed!" The ones speaking were Huo Laosi and his men, who exchanged glances and grinned together. Liu Xiu said nothing, silently watching the flames in the north of town. "Go home." Shi Jian's voice rang out once more, startling Huo Laosi and the others into looking all around. Shi Shaojian put on a look of contempt at their ignorance. "A bunch of ignorant bumpkins. That's my master speaking to us across space! He's talking to us all the way from Maoshan!" With that, he looked puzzledly at Liu Xiu, who wasn't heading toward the Yizhuang. "Junior Brother, you're going the wrong way! That direction isn't the Yizhuang..." Suddenly, Shi Shaojian's mouth vanished, leaving him making muffled sounds, unable to speak. Seeing this, Huo Laowu and the rest hid behind Huo Laosi in terror. Huo Laosi swallowed hard. He had no other thoughts, only the conviction that he hadn't backed the wrong horse this time. He had bet right—he, Huo Laosi, was finally going to rise above the rest! A short while later. East of town. Before the entrance of a dilapidated three-courtyard residence, Liu Xiu reached out and pushed open the front gate. As the gates swung open, he didn't see the screen wall covered in "blessing" characters from the original body's memories. Instead, he saw the original body standing inside the entrance, weeping. "Thank you... thank you for not bullying me..." "I am you. Why would I bully myself?" Liu Xiu smiled warmly. The original body—that other Liu Xiu—stopped crying and stared wide-eyed at the gun Liu Xiu had quietly chambered a round into. He took a timid step back. "Um, actually, I am you, and you are me. You don't need to be so afraid that I'll harm you... You said it yourself, we're counterparts!" "I'm not afraid. I just wanted to show you how handsome my Colt is. Come on, step a little closer and have a good look!" "..." *You're way more shameless than me!* The other Liu Xiu paused for a moment. Wiping his tears, he walked toward Liu Xiu with a smile. "Thank you. Truly, thank you..." With that, the other Liu Xiu turned to look at the house behind him for a few seconds, then turned back and mouthed a silent "thank you" to Liu Xiu. Immediately after, the silhouette of the other Liu Xiu dissolved into specks of light that merged into Liu Xiu's body. Liu Xiu watched silently as the other self vanished before his eyes. He didn't know whether all of this was an illusion or something else. Trusting his intuition, he directed his mind inward, using his inward contemplation to inspect the meridians in his body. He discovered an extra wisp of qi in his meridians, alongside a hundred wisps of spiritual power that had automatically condensed into a single strand because of this wisp of qi. *So what was missing was my own breath of qi...* Liu Xiu thought to himself. He framed it this way primarily because he recalled the saying that every human is born possessing an innate breath of Primordial Qi. *Wait, does that mean I have two wisps of qi?* Liu Xiu was surprised. He didn't begin meditating, because he knew he didn't need to cultivate to reach the realm of Refining Essence into Qi. Liu Xiu simply pondered Shi Jian's explanation of what Refining Essence into Qi truly meant. Then, picking up a cobweb-covered large broom from behind the gate, he began sweeping the courtyard left behind by the original body's parents. By the time he finished sweeping the courtyard, Liu Xiu had naturally reached the early stage of Refining Essence into Qi. However, he lifted his clothes with a puzzled frown. "Strange... Why does breaking through come with shedding skin?" As Liu Xiu peeled the layer of skin from his body, far away on Mount Mao, Shi Jian—who had projected his mind over the distance to protect his disciple—murmured with a slightly dazed expression: "Concentrating qi to attain softness, can one be like an infant?" "???" Though Heavenly Bright True Person didn't understand why Shi Jian had suddenly changed the subject, with so many people present today, he chose to explain. Noticing the gazes of the disciples turning toward him, he gave a light cough. "This saying represents the crucial point of cultivating the realm of Refining Essence into Qi. You must understand that the most essential element of Refining Essence into Qi is that single breath of qi. As long as you refine that breath of qi properly, breaking through to Refining Qi into Spirit is practically set in stone!" Heavenly Bright True Person spoke plainly, yet struck at the very core—just as the saying went: *A true transmission takes a single sentence; a false one fills ten thousand scrolls.* What he spoke was the absolute, unvarnished truth! True Person Tianning nodded. "Indeed. What matters most in Refining Essence into Qi is this breath of qi. From the moment a person is born, they carry a thread of innate qi. This qi nurtures your growth and supports your thought. Whatever you do—even falling ill, or becoming angry—will cause this thread of innate qi to deplete..." "This is also why we often say a cultivator's most vital attribute is state of mind. When your state of mind is elevated, you can reduce the consumption of this qi..." True Person Tianning intended to continue, but Heavenly Bright True Person wasn't pleased. Seeing the disciples in the hall all looking at Tianning, he didn't care that Tianning was his junior martial sister and cut in, eager to explain before everyone: "Therefore, the realm of Refining Essence into Qi is meant to help us recover and replenish that lost innate qi through the acquired turbid essence within our bodies..." "Then... in the realm of Refining Essence into Qi, can one truly achieve the state of an infant?" The one speaking was Shi Jian. "Er, as far as I know, no one has ever done so. The realm of Refining Essence into Qi merely brings one closer to the state of an infant... But you must understand, from the moment a human is born, their very first cry, their first breath, their first sip of milk, even the first person they lay eyes upon—all of it depletes that inherent thread of innate qi. To fully restore it..." Heavenly Bright True Person looked with a mild smile at Shi Jian, who seemed to be poking holes in his lecture, before shaking his head and saying gravely, "Hard, hard, hard—harder than scaling the azure heavens!" "Mm..." *But that was in the past.* *Now... someone has already done it!* *Even though I have no idea how he did it!* Shi Jian, who hadn't seen the other Liu Xiu that Liu Xiu had encountered, was deeply shaken, the inner figure of his mind wearing a look of sheer astonishment. Suppressing the surging excitement in his heart, he quietly observed through the Supreme Three-Five Thunder Illuminating Thousand-Li Dharma Eye: Liu Xiu in that house in Wuyue Town, Liu Xiu who had genuinely reverted to the pristine state of an infant. A Liu Xiu who had merely stepped into the realm of Refining Essence into Qi, yet accomplished the infantile state that no one in the cultivation world had ever achieved. *His disciple, Liu Xiu!* Liu Xiu wasn't thinking so deeply. Inside the room, he merely frowned as he looked at the shed skin lying on the bed. Looking at his skin, now even more tender and fair than an infant's, and at the scars that had vanished along with the molting... He had only one thought: *It's going to be much harder to play the victim from now on!!* "Though... I smell so sweet..." Sniffing his own scent, Liu Xiu inexplicably had the urge to take a bite out of himself. Banishing this demonic notion from his head, he put away the human skin on the bed, stepped out of the room, and entered the courtyard. What greeted his eyes was the White Cicada flying onto him. Liu Xiu raised his eyebrows and extended a hand; in the next instant, a butterfly landed on his palm. "Mm... this state is pretty nice..." *Later on, I'll use this state to catch some cicadas and deep-fry them!*