Hands clasped behind his back, Ji An paced in circles around the cramped room, over and over again.
No one knew how long it lasted, but at last he slumped onto the meditation cushion, his gaze vacant and unfocused.
As a veteran reader of web novels, he had seen transmigration stories countless times and had often fantasized about how glorious it would be if one day he transmigrated.
But when it truly happened, his heart was filled not with excitement, but with panic.
There was no system, no mysterious old master, no peculiar artifact hidden on his person. He had crossed over completely bare, just himself.
An ordinary man would not suddenly become extraordinary simply by stepping into another world. Unless he had a "cheat," but he had none.
His parents were growing old… how heartbroken they must be at his sudden disappearance. At least he had taken out a life insurance policy on himself, the first deal he'd ever made as an insurance salesman. The beneficiaries were his parents.
He even found himself wondering if his body would only be discovered once it started to stink, by the young lady he shared an apartment with?
The sun sank low, its afterglow like blood. Shafts of crimson light filtered through the leaves, casting mottled scarlet patterns across the window lattice, burning into Ji An's eyes.
"Though the day dies, the evening clouds blaze bright. Though the years wane, late-season fruit is most fragrant. So in the twilight of life, a gentleman's spirit should shine all the more."
He murmured to himself, a bit of self-motivation. In his old job, if he couldn't master the art of self-hypnosis, he could never have survived as an insurance salesman.
Since things had come to this, he decided first to eat.
His circumstances could not be changed, so he would adapt to this world as best he could. After all, the chance to cultivate immortality and longevity was something he hadn't even dared to dream of in his previous life.
As for running away from his debts? He never considered it. Against the cultivators' means, he could hide for a day but not forever.
Only by truly stepping onto the immortal path could he find a chance to live. And time was running out.
The Dao Academy did not provide meals. The privileged students had servants who carried delicacies up the mountain for them, but someone like him could only fend for himself.
He scooped half a bowl of rice from the clay jar into a chipped bowl, calmly picking out the black grains one by one. Drawing water from the vat, he rinsed the rice several times before pouring it into the large iron pot on the wooden stove outside.
Adding another bowl of water, Ji An skillfully set kindling alight. Flames of orange-red danced within the stove, and as the fire caught, he settled down to recall the Opening Vein Method from memory.
The method was called the Azure Water Circulating Vein Technique. Within the academy, it was considered an ordinary technique, nothing exceptional.
Yet in the eyes of loose cultivators, even such a method was considered lofty and profound. This was why so many fought desperately to enter a sect.
Perhaps because of the fusion of souls, Ji An did not find the method obscure. In fact, once he calmed down, he discovered his thoughts flowed sharper than ever before. Many of the stumbling blocks that had baffled him in the past now fell into place with ease.
He silently recited the incantation again and again. With the accumulated knowledge of two worlds, he truly began to sense a faint trace of its essence.
The Circulating Vein Method emphasized the natural flow of water. The body's former owner had been too restless when taking the Opening Vein Pill, clashing with the technique's principle.
The pill's medicinal power, lacking proper guidance, ran wild, and so he had fallen into qi deviation.
Could it be… my golden finger is heightened perception, born from the fusion of souls?
Delight flickered in his heart. Ji An tossed a few thick logs into the stove, then ran out to gather a handful of wild greens. After a quick rinse, he sprinkled salt over them.
When the rice was ready, he shoveled it hastily into his mouth. Without even washing the bowl, he hurried back into the hut.
Bolting the door from the inside, he dragged over a table and propped it firmly against the wooden door.
Although excitement churned inside him, Ji An did not rush into cultivation. Instead, he washed his hands and face, changed into clean robes, and lit incense before slowly settling cross-legged upon the meditation cushion.
His body's former owner had failed precisely because of agitation, losing control of his emotions while circulating qi. Life was only given once; he would take that lesson to heart.
Closing his eyes, he stilled his mind. After sitting quietly for a moment, he began softly reciting the Circulating Vein Method.
With each repetition, his body and mind gradually relaxed.
Half an hour passed. Ji An felt a rare tranquility within. Silently chanting the incantation, he guided his inner qi along the pathways described in the method.
Though the Opening Vein Pill had failed to awaken his spiritual veins, it had not been useless. His inner qi had now reached the limit of what his body could contain. He no longer needed to fear insufficient qi to pierce open his dantian's ancestral orifice. As long as he could grasp the profound intent, he would surely cross that threshold.
Outside, the moon rose, tilting across the lattice window. A gentle breeze stirred, and shadows of trees swayed like dancers.
After a long while, Ji An exhaled and ceased his practice.
Tonight's circulation had been smoother than ever. Where intent went, qi followed like a river flowing downstream, without hindrance.
It seemed he was just on the verge of touching that mysterious, elusive insight. But every time he reached for it, it slipped away like scratching an itch through a boot. The frustration gnawed at him.
He rose slowly, lightly pounding the numbness from his legs, and paced to the window. With both hands, he pushed it open.
The moon now hung high, pouring silvery light into the humble room, draping the floor with its pristine glow.
Mountain winds rustled the leaves; insects chirped in rise and fall. The night outside was vibrant with life.
Letting the cool breeze sweep away his restlessness, Ji An replaced the incense and sat once more upon the cushion.
Clearing his mind of stray thoughts, he attempted circulation again.
Before long, he stopped.
This time, the flow of qi was broken and stuttering. It lacked the effortless, river-like momentum of before. Frustrated, he released the guided qi altogether.
He realized his heart had become ensnared by obsession. The harder he tried to grasp the mystery, the further he strayed from it.
Water cannot be grasped.
He exhaled deeply, steadying himself. Focusing solely on his long, steady breaths, he waited until calm returned before attempting again.
Yet this time, he lasted even less. His qi slowly slipped out of control.
Ji An halted at once. He knew: though he seemed calm outwardly, he had not truly set aside his inner fixation. If he forced the flow, he would end up just like the body's previous owner, ruined by qi deviation.
Only by letting go of obsession, guiding qi with a tranquil heart, could he hope to glimpse the hidden essence of the technique.
But once obsession had taken root, letting go was no easy task. Time was running short. The invisible string inside him was pulled taut; it would not relax simply because he told it to.
Rising, Ji An scooped water from a basin and stepped to the window. He gazed at the reflection of the moon shimmering in his cupped hands, lost in thought.
He recalled how smooth the first attempt had felt and searched for the reason behind it.
As he pondered, his fingers gradually loosened. The water slipped through and fell drop by drop.
Suddenly, a spark of realization flashed in his mind.
At the start, when he first guided his qi, he hadn't been clinging to expectations. Most of his attention had been fixed simply on reciting the incantation, for it was the very first time he had ever operated a cultivation method.
Closing his eyes, he let his arms fall naturally to his sides and softly recited the Azure Water Circulating Vein Method again, this time without forcing the qi to move.
At some point, a dark cloud drifted across the sky. The forest, bathed in moonlight, sank into darkness.
Rumble…
Thunder growled in the heavens.
Crash
Rain began to pour.
Soon after, dense raindrops began to fall like beans poured from a winnowing basket, pattering against the roof, the ground, and the leaves.
The sounds were similar, yet distinct. The rain on leaves rang crisp and light, while the drops striking the roof thudded heavy and dull.
At that moment, Ji An stopped reciting the incantation. He simply listened to the lively rhythm of the rain. His consciousness seemed to rise, drifting free of his body.
Countless silver threads of rain fell from the heavens, shrouding all of Little Cang Mountain in mist and drizzle.
His tranquil heart-lake rippled with endless waves. Without conscious guidance, his inner qi began to flow on its own, following the paths of the Circulating Vein Method.
It coursed one full circuit through his body before gathering at his dantian. After a brief pause, it spread outward again, filling his limbs and bones.
Round and round it went, ceaseless, without end.
The qi surged like ocean tides, rising and falling, each cycle faster than the last. At his dantian, it lingered longer and longer before dispersing again.
Outside, the downpour gradually eased. Droplets slid from the leaves into puddles, producing a crystalline ding-dong sound, clear as celestial music.
No one knew how much time passed before the amassed inner qi swelled to a critical peak. Suddenly, his dantian's ancestral orifice, sealed since before his birth, trembled violently and split open a crack.
Like a dragon drinking from a river, the immense tide of qi that threatened to burst his body was instantly sucked in.
In the blink of an eye, all the qi vanished without a trace. His body felt hollow, utterly empty.
But then, from within the ancestral orifice, a pure and radiant energy burst forth.
His bones resonated with a crisp chime as the clear energy surged through his body. Veins of qi, which had never before existed, now gradually revealed themselves.
The ancestral orifice opened. The immortal veins awakened!
Joy erupted in Ji An's heart. He withdrew from the profound state, ecstatic.
But at that very moment, his consciousness was suddenly yanked into a cold, silent darkness.
All sound vanished. Time itself seemed frozen.
He was like an insect sealed within amber, tragically still conscious, yet completely unable to move his body.
As he struggled in helpless panic, a gentle light rose in the center of the void. A tortoise appeared, its shell etched with the complete pattern of the Bagua.
Li and Kan fixed the north and south; Zhen and Dui set the east and west. It was the Later Heaven Bagua.
Damn it… Isn't that the strange stone tortoise I picked up in the mountains? The one someone offered a hundred thousand for?!
As the stone tortoise emerged, Ji An's consciousness snapped back into his body. At the same time, a string of information surfaced in his mind:
[Master: Ji An]
[Dao Resonance: 0]
[Spiritual Qi: 0]
[Techniques: None]
So the golden finger finally arrives? All because I wanted to sell you, and you dragged me here yourself?
Fine. You win.