Chapter Five: On the Art of Cultivation

He still couldn't make sense of it all, but soon he found peace within himself. Since he couldn't understand and, apart from continuing with this task, had nothing else to do, he decided to carry on. Quickly, he focused his consciousness and kept trying to reach out with his mind to the energy within his lower abdomen, guiding it to circulate along the route he had just discovered, again and again. Perhaps it was precisely this acceptance, his natural and unhurried attitude, that allowed him to relax completely and cultivate without distracting thoughts.

He was unaware that he had not died; his body lay motionless on the bed within the container. The reason for his current state was that his consciousness had awakened within his sea of awareness. In ordinary people, when they sleep, their consciousness also enters a dormant state within the sea of awareness. The occasional dream arises from the consciousness not being deeply dormant, leading to scattered thoughts. The reason his consciousness fully awakened might be connected to his lifelong practice of breathing exercises alongside physical training. Although the ancestral breathing formulas he followed couldn't channel spiritual energy to nourish his body and mind, they had strengthened his consciousness far beyond that of ordinary people. Thus, though the medicine he took placed both his body and consciousness into a dormant state, after some time, his body remained asleep, but his consciousness awakened far earlier within the sea of awareness.

His situation was extremely dangerous, for in today's world, cultivators no longer existed. Researchers knew nothing of consciousness, nor how to let it rest as the body did. They simply relied on past experiments and experience, believing that inducing sleep with medicine would not affect body or mind, ensuring normal recovery upon awakening. Other astronauts had always operated this way. However, their consciousness was not strong, or even if someone was stronger than average, none matched Li Xingyu's level. Even if a strong consciousness awakened early, it was unlikely they would have coincidentally participated in such an experiment. After his consciousness awoke, his body remained in deep sleep due to the medicine, so his mind could not sense or control his body. This was also because his consciousness was not yet strong enough; if it grew powerful enough, he could awaken his body unless stronger drugs were used.

The danger lay in the fact that if the body remained asleep while the consciousness awakened in the sea of awareness, and the body did not stir soon, the consciousness would fall into endless loneliness, having nothing to do. This loneliness could dull the mind, leaving the person an idiot upon waking, or, worse, the consciousness might collapse under the weight of solitude, never to wake again. There was a famous experiment in the modern world: a person was tied to a chair, blindfolded, and told their wrist would be cut. A dull knife was drawn across their wrist, and a nearby faucet was opened, letting drops fall with a ticking sound. After a time, the person died—perhaps the most successful experiment proving the death of consciousness could bring death to the body, and scientifically demonstrating the existence and consequences of consciousness.

Fortunately, before this mission, he had obtained a cultivation formula, which he was able to practice. That he acquired the formula might have been a coincidence, yet this coincidence was inextricably linked to calculations made by ancient masters. Without their foresight, there would be no prophecy, nor a clan member guarding it and its related artifacts. That the formula suited him was perfectly natural; the prophesied individual was meant to be a descendant of the royal clan, and those of royal blood possessed the spiritual blood needed to cultivate the clan’s methods. The formula inscribed on the beast skin by the old man was designed for ordinary clan members, and the paper contained only the most basic part. As for why a complete, translated manual was never passed down, even the elder did not know; it related to an ancient event that affected the entire cultivation world.

In the true world of cultivation, there were countless techniques, but each placed special demands on the practitioner. If one failed to meet the requirements, they could not cultivate, or would advance slowly, with limited achievement, or might even face danger. The most basic requirement was compatibility between technique and constitution. If they did not match, cultivation was impossible; even if they did, the speed and height of achievement depended on the quality of one's constitution. The simplest classification divides constitutions into the five basic elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as rare attributes like wind, darkness, light, and thunder. The reason for the emergence of rare attributes remains unknown; the common view is that they are mutations arising from the mixing of the five elements. The strongest evidence for this theory is that people with elemental constitutions often possess two or more attributes, while those with rare attributes have never been observed to possess two rare attributes, or both a rare and an elemental attribute.

The cultivation world has a broadly accepted hierarchy of constitutions. First, single-element constitutions are considered the best among the five elements, as such individuals are highly sensitive to and adept at absorbing and transforming their corresponding elemental energy. Perhaps their focus and specialization stem from their singularity. Next are those with two or three elemental attributes, who can sense, guide, and transform energy fairly well. The worst are those with four attributes; their mixed constitution makes it difficult to achieve anything in cultivation. Those who possess all five elements are exceedingly rare; after countless trials with various techniques, it is found that they generally lack talent for cultivation. Though their initial speed is fast, nearly equal to single-element individuals, none have ever broken through the first stage of cultivation.

The reasons for studying five-element individuals are threefold: first, their rarity, even more so than rare attribute holders, suggesting a special status. Second, cultivation seeks to transcend oneself, break through the five elements, and achieve immortality. Since all things are composed of the five elements, or since the five elements derive from something primordial, perhaps those with full elemental harmony can merge into the original energy and truly return to the source. Third, ancient legends in the cultivation world, though few can recount the details, all agree it is connected to complete elemental harmony.

As time passed, interest in five-element constitutions waned, but they were not entirely excluded from the cultivation world; some sects still accepted the occasional five-element practitioner. As for rare attributes, there is little dispute; those who practice corresponding rare techniques match single-element practitioners in their ability to manipulate two or three types of energy, and their offensive power is even greater. However, the greatest flaw of rare attribute holders is that none have ever broken through the middle stage of cultivation to reach the advanced stage, though they are indisputably the most powerful within the middle stage.

Most people in the cultivation world possess no attributes at all. They truly cannot practice any cultivation technique, but over the years, they have developed other ways of training. The most famous are the body refiners, who, though unable to reach the equivalent of a cultivator’s middle stage, are nonetheless recognized by cultivators. Other methods, like internal training simplified from cultivation techniques, martial arts, and external disciplines, are not acknowledged by cultivators but still allow some ordinary people to surpass others, giving rise to varying powers and rulers among mortals and forming a relatively orderly society.

At the end of 2012, I wish everyone a good beginning in the brand new 2013: may your work go smoothly, your family be happy, and your health be strong. There will be two more chapters updated later today; I hope everyone will bookmark and support this book and Crystal.

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