Chapter 23: A Fifty-Fifty Chance, Perhaps?

"Difficulty is only natural. Novels care about logic, games care about fairness, but reality has never cared for either," Daoist Changkong said calmly.

True transcendence—is it really so easily achieved?

She herself, Daoist Changkong, began studying Daoist scriptures at age four. By six, she was practicing martial arts alongside breath-regulation techniques. By sixteen, she had mastered most of the knowledge within her temple. At twenty, she headed to the Northeast to fight the invaders. During that time, she exchanged ideas and debated with martial artists from all across the country. Sun Lutang, Li Shuwen—she had met them all, sparred with them all, and discussed the Dao with them all. Yet, despite such long and arduous efforts, she still had not attained transcendence.

Therefore, in the eyes of Daoist Changkong, the so-called "harmonious and perfect state of mind" was not a particularly high standard. At the very least, compared to transcendence, it really amounted to very little.

A moment later, after the group finished their discussion, Xiong Yan continued: "In the path of Qi cultivation, generally speaking, there are two ways to give birth to True Qi."

"For a true genius of Qi cultivation, even if their body is depleted or their innate constitution is lacking, as long as there is spiritual energy, they can slowly absorb it to reshape themselves. They will quickly reach a state of physical perfection, and then, on a day when their mind is clear and their spirit refreshed, internal energy will be born, and they will become transcendent."

"For those with only a modicum of talent, the path is to seek mental perfection after the body is healthy. Once the mind is perfect, one can attempt to 'refine the false into the true'—using spiritual energy as a catalyst, the body and mind as fuel, and the ATP within the cells as a foundation to forge an internal energy that exists between the false and the real."

"As for 'mental harmony,' it is actually not as absolute as you might imagine. Humans are intelligent; there are always more solutions than problems."

"If you cannot achieve eternal mental harmony, where you remain unmoved by external objects, then a temporary state will suffice!"

How difficult is it to always have a heart like still water? How difficult is it to never be moved by external things? One cannot demand that the average person reach the mental level of Zhuangzi in his later years; that would be absurd. Even Confucius himself only reached the point of "following his heart’s desire without overstepping the bounds" at the age of seventy.

"So, even if you are just a 'leek' in your daily life, constantly being harvested and squeezed, as long as you achieve mental harmony at some point in time, that is enough."

"In any case, one can only forge True Qi when the body is healthy and the mind is harmonious."

"However, a genius might simply take a nap and suddenly give birth to True Qi. Philosophers, thinkers, and highly intelligent individuals might achieve mental harmony through self-hypnosis or by resolving a difficult problem."

"As for ordinary people, it’s more a matter of destiny."

"Some people become completely immersed in music; when they emerge, True Qi is born. Some become completely lost in the intensity of a game, fighting to win, and once they succeed, they break through as a side effect—this is also quite normal, provided their body is healthy."

"But these examples are essentially rare opportunities that cannot be sought by force. Therefore, for an ordinary person to enter the path of Qi cultivation, the best method is to go through those complex and miraculous breathing techniques, constantly rearranging and combining them until they find the one most suitable for themselves."

"Practicing day after day, when the moment of destiny arrives, something is created from nothing, the false is refined into the true, and one enters the gate."

"Furthermore, consuming certain rare treasures, or having a master musician of the caliber of Cai Yong or Yu Boya play for you in person, allowing you to release your stress and achieve mental harmony through the music, is also a very normal way to successfully cultivate Qi."

"Oh, and if your state of meditation reaches the level of 'constant stillness,' that too can forge True Qi."

"In short, although Qi cultivation seems difficult, there are actually many ways to achieve temporary mental harmony."

"Moreover, as time passes, the next generation will have better natural aptitude for Qi cultivation than the last."

The path of blood and Qi is most suitable for this current generation. They grew up eating gutter oil, drinking melamine, and breathing exhaust fumes; their aptitude for Qi cultivation is effectively zero. But infants born after the resurgence of spiritual energy are different. They live in a world saturated with spiritual energy and have a higher affinity for it. Every one of them has some aptitude for Qi cultivation—some more, some less, but they all have it.

A moment later, Xiong Yan opened his eyes. "Alright, I have broken through."

"Director, do the twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary vessels actually exist? Why can't modern machines find them? Where exactly are they? Are they truly in a quantum state? If there are meridians, are there acupuncture points? Is there a method for humans to cultivate these points? Is there the 'North Dark Divine Skill' or the 'Star-Sucking Technique'? Are there..."

Watching Jiang Ju, who had not stopped talking since she opened her mouth, Xiong Yan could only conclude that her curiosity was truly immense.

Could this be the difference between a great scientist and an ordinary person? When faced with a problem, a great scientist keeps asking "why" until they find an answer, whereas an ordinary person just lets it go?

"I had a martial arts dream when I was a kid, too!" Lou Cheng said with a smile, clenching his fist.

"If the meridians and acupuncture points you speak of refer to those in the world of martial arts novels, then they do not exist at the moment!"

"Although the subsequent internal energy does need to flow through the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary vessels, this is more about the trajectory of the energy."

"Theoretically speaking, as long as a person is alive, the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary vessels in their body must be open. If they were blocked, that person would certainly have a serious illness—the kind that would leave them with little time left to live!"

"When our internal energy is first born, it comes from 'refining the false into the true.' In essence, it is not absolutely real, so this True Qi cannot be detected when checking the body with imaging equipment."

"Then comes the process of 'refining essence into Qi,' absorbing the nutrients from food to gradually strengthen the internal energy. Once strengthened, this energy will slowly reinforce every aspect of our bodies."

"The reason it flows through the twelve regular meridians after it is born is not to 'clear' the meridians, but because following this sequence is the most efficient way to strengthen the body!"

"Only when one reaches the 'Xian-Tian' (innate) stage can one truly refine the false into the true, and the body will undergo a significant evolution. At that point, the True Qi is visible to the naked eye and can be detected by machines. The meridians will then appear directly within our bodies, becoming something that can be observed and studied."

In a sense, the twelve regular meridians and eight extraordinary vessels at that stage are more like transcendent organs, only they belong to the realm of True Qi.

"Then, Director, can you beat Brother Bing now?"

As soon as Jiang Ju asked this question, the remaining twenty-some people all perked up. One by one, they were all quite violent at heart!

"Ahem, maybe... roughly... perhaps fifty-fifty."

Peng Bing was, after all, the world's number one fighter. If placed in a fantasy novel, he would be the peerless expert who suppresses the contemporary era and remains undefeated under heaven. How could Xiong Yan just open his eyes, give birth to True Qi, and turn around to crush Peng Bing?

"Ahem, to be realistic, my current physical constitution is no match for his. Before he achieved transcendence, he was at the absolute limit of human potential. Before I achieved transcendence, I was just a healthy ordinary person."

"Even though we have both achieved transcendence, the blood and Qi within his body are real and solid—the kind you can see on an X-ray. My internal energy is still between the real and the false."

"And, if you consider the gap in our respective combat experience, well... you understand."

"However, this is only for now, only at this stage..."