White Pellet

The moon climbed past the tips of the willow branches. Li Chijing abruptly opened his eyes, looking toward Li Mutian, who sat nearby sipping tea while holding the cloth inscribed with the Reception Method. "Father, over these past two months, I have learned the mnemonic chant by heart." He paused, then added, "Today is the Beginning of Summer, one of the Eight Nodes. Perhaps I could try." "Go and try, then," Li Mutian said in a measured voice, nodding. Li Chijing was overjoyed. His three elder brothers were also filled with eager anticipation, helping him bathe, burn incense, and set up an altar in the courtyard. Then Li Mutian respectfully invited forth the magical mirror, resting it upon a stand carved with hornless dragon motifs that he had fashioned by hand some days earlier. Nine sticks of incense were planted before the altar, flanked by offerings of melons and fruit. Lu Jiangxian could not help but feel a little sheepish. With all the burning incense and fruit offerings arrayed on the altar, it felt as though they were worshipping him as a dead man. Before the altar, Li Chijing performed three prostrations and nine kowtows. Kneeling with his head bowed low, he spoke with utter reverence: "Disciple of the Li clan, Li Chijing, respectfully invites the wondrous Xuanming Dharma, to govern destiny, calm the spirit, and dedicate myself to the Dao." "I shall measure my deeds against the seasons, never failing in devotion, willing to burn along with the talismans and offer my body in gratitude to Taiyin." With these words finished, he emptied his mind, channeled the chant, and repeatedly ingested the natural breath of Grand Harmony. At the same time, Lu Jiangxian shifted his intent. Brilliant rays of light instantly rippled across the mirror's surface like shimmering water. "There's a reaction!" Li Mutian and the others were thrilled, their eyes fixed intently upon the altar. The grayish-bronze mirror began to hum, and from its surface leaped a white pellet. Round and blazing with dazzling brilliance, its flickering white glow washed the courtyard in radiant pallor, shining so brightly that none of them could keep their eyes open. Li Chijing felt his mind go blank with a resounding roar, and a solemn, weighty voice suddenly surfaced: "Here stands a son of the Li clan, who restrains his passions, halts his misdeeds, and severs the roots of evil. I bestow upon him the wondrous Xuanming Dharma, allowing his Dao pursuit to take root, guiding him from mortal to saint, from inception to completion, beginning with the precept talisman before ascending to truth. I bestow upon him one scroll of the Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture, and one Golden Light Technique." Li Chijing scrambled up from the ground and sat cross-legged. The white pellet leaped into the air and sank into his Niwan Palace. His whole body shuddered, instantly submerged beneath an ocean of intricate knowledge in his mind. Having imparted the techniques, the white pellet spun gently within his Niwan Palace, traveled along his meridians, and finally settled into the Qihai point of his lower dantian. Seeing the Xuanzhu talisman seed sink into the crown of Li Chijing's head, Li Mutian and the brothers were seized with anxiety. With hearts in their throats, they watched as Li Chijing sat cross-legged with closed eyes, visualizing and concentrating his spirit, remaining motionless like that until daybreak. Only when Taiyin descended and the golden crow took flight did Li Chijing finally quiver all over and slowly awaken. He opened his eyes to find his brothers gathered in a circle around him, their faces fraught with worry. "Father, brothers! I have received the Xuanzhu talisman seed! I have crossed the threshold into cultivation!" Li Chijing sprang up in excitement and embraced his father tightly. Li Mutian chuckled heartily, swinging Li Chijing around in a circle. Li Tongya and the others let out a long breath of relief, their expressions alight with joy and excitement. "I received a method called the Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture—" As Li Chijing spoke, he attempted to recite the essentials of the chant. Yet the moment he tried, the white pellet in his Qihai point fluttered softly, and his voice vanished in an instant, leaving him babbling incoherently, unable to form a single word. Shocked, he instinctively covered his mouth, then called out: "Father!" Finding that he could speak again, Li Chijing breathed a sigh of relief. Refusing to believe it, he tried once more to recite or write down the essentials, only to realize he could neither speak nor transcribe them. "This immortal art cannot be written or spoken. How extraordinary." Li Chijing's expression shifted slightly, an embarrassed fluster showing on his face. "No need to worry." Li Changhu smiled, rubbing Li Chijing's head. Watching his father respectfully return the magical mirror to its place, he said, "When the Summer Solstice arrives, the rest of us will ask for the dharma together." "Eldest Brother," Li Chijing interrupted him, speaking hesitantly. "It seems... there are only six of these talisman seeds." "Only six?" Li Tongya, who had been studying the cloth of the Reception Method carefully, looked up and asked in surprise. "After receiving the Xuanzhu talisman seed, a great deal of information appeared vaguely in my mind—things like the six realms of cultivation, and Embryonic Breathing and wheel nourishing. The mirror seems capable of dividing into only six talisman seeds," Li Chijing admitted truthfully. Li Xiangping nodded, offering comfort. "Such a miraculous artifact that wrests the craftsmanship of heaven and earth naturally wouldn't have many to spare." Eldest Brother Li Changhu yawned, waved his hand, and said to his brothers, "Let's all head back to sleep. We've stayed up the whole night, and we're exhausted." "You're just worried sister-in-law will fret!" Li Xiangping laughed teasingly. "You brat!" Li Changhu replied generously, smiling as he pointed at Li Xiangping before murmuring, "I think that girl Tian Yun is quite nice myself." "Why are you playing matchmaker out of nowhere, Eldest Brother!" Li Xiangping's face stiffened. He turned on his heel, walked out of the courtyard, and headed back to his room. "Hahahahaha..." Li Changhu chuckled heartily as he stepped into the front courtyard. *There's a real chance here!* Li Mutian stroked his beard, musing secretly. *** That night, the moonlight was like water. Li Chijing sat cross-legged in the courtyard with his eyes closed. Forming hand seals, he drew a wisp of Qi from his Qihai point, guided it through his meridians, over the Twelve-Tiered Tower in his throat, and out through the space between his brows. In an instant, Li Chijing's vision brightened. The watery moonlight drifted slowly toward the point between his brows, intertwining with that strand of spiritual Qi. Before long, Li Chijing formed another seal, guiding the Qi—which had now transformed into a milky-white stream—back into the space between his brows, over the Twelve-Tiered Tower, and down into his Qihai point. Only after repeating this three times did Li Chijing open his eyes. He looked up at the sky; two shichen had already slipped by. *The speed of absorbing moon essence is far too slow.* Li Chijing calculated carefully: it took eighty-one cycles of absorbing moon essence to forge a single strand of moon essence Qi, and a full eighty-one strands were required to form the first of the six wheels of Embryonic Breathing—the Xuanjing Wheel. Once the Xuanjing Wheel was forged, one was considered to have entered Embryonic Breathing and could cast magical techniques. *Three cycles take two shichen, so eighty-one cycles would take fifty-four shichen,* Li Chijing reckoned in his head. *Cultivating six shichen a day, that would take nine days. Eighty-one strands would take two full years...* Looking at the moon essence gathered upon the magical mirror, Li Chijing blinked. Struck by an idea, he sat down cross-legged beside the stone pedestal to cultivate. Inside the mirror, Lu Jiangxian was whiling away the time half-asleep. He had long since absorbed enough moon essence. Time within the mirror was long and tedious; it felt just like sitting through a dull, pointless university lecture, dozing in and out. Sometimes an entire day slipped by in the blink of an eye. When Li Chijing's spiritual power leaped out from between his brows and landed in the moon halo upon the mirror, Lu Jiangxian was startled awake. Looking at the young boy before him, he could not help but chuckle silently. *Quite a clever one.* As Li Chijing guided the spiritual Qi back into his Qihai point, a chill washed over his entire body. The power of the moon essence had grown more than ten times stronger! At this rate, it would only take five or six cycles to form a single strand of moon essence Qi! He was tremendously energized, forming hand seals to continue his cultivation. It was not until the morning glow bathed the sky and his elder brothers arrived in the backyard that he reluctantly brought his session to an end. Seeing his brothers and father gather, Li Chijing recounted the events of the previous night. Everyone was both astonished and delighted. Li Mutian sighed, offered another stick of incense to Lu Jiangxian, and led his sons out of the secret room.