Chapter 94: The Middle

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Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Liu Jin closes his eyes and gently cycles Qi through his body. It flows through Nine-Headed Snake God’s Veins and passes through his dantian.

With every breath, the process repeats itself.

With every breath, his focus sharpens.

His lower dantian is in good condition. This comes as no surprise to Liu Jin. The lower dantian lays the foundation for all that follows, so it is easily the most important one at lower levels. Old Jiang had always stressed its importance, and Liu Jin always focused his efforts accordingly, something that had served him well when he was in the Foundational Realm and the Inner Realm.

Liu Jin is now in the Nascent Realm, the third Realm of cultivation. The days in which he could just focus on his lower dantian are long gone.

After all, it is in the Nascent Realm when one starts becoming aware of their soul.

Perhaps, due to the events of Eastern Port City, Liu Jin has become aware of his soul a little earlier than he otherwise would have. However, it is a fact that cultivators usually start becoming aware of their souls when they are in the Nascent Realm. It happened sooner rather than later, but he would have hit this point all the same.

And the soul is not the domain of the lower dantian.

No, the lower dantian is more closely related to the physical. It is the best for receiving and distributing Qi through the meridians, nourishing the physical body.

The soul, meanwhile, is the domain of the middle dantian.

It is not something Old Jiang had ever told him, probably because the soul is something one must become aware of by one’s own merits. It cannot be forced. Indeed, it was through constant cultivation that Liu Jin noticed his awareness of his own soul increased when he focused on his middle dantian.

Right now, that is the dantian he is focusing on.

Liu Jin carefully cycles his Qi through it, paying attention not just to the way the energy moves through his body but also how it flows into his very spirit. He feels the shape of his soul, the way it molds itself to his body as if it were just hiding beneath his skin.

Breathe in.

Breathe out.

Sweat shines on Liu Jin’s forehead. His brow creases as he phases out his five senses. His body is important, but it is not what he needs to focus on right now. He needs to start paying more attention to his middle dantian and what it rules over. He needs to start mastering his very soul.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Breathe in. Breathe out.

Slowly, carefully, Liu Jin wills his soul to move. It doesn’t do so quickly or easily. It cannot even be compared to a baby’s first steps. It just…

Twitches.

One twitch. Two. Three.

Four.

Fi…ve.

It is the soul equivalent of wiggling one’s toe. For now, this is the best Liu Jin can do.

It is enough to leave him gasping for air.

His concentration breaks. He collapses on the floor, his body now drenched in sweat, his chest heaving as he stares at the ceiling. Even after all this time, he can only move his soul this much. To think Xiao Nan could split his soul into pieces and control them from a distance. Incredible.

After a few minutes laying there, Liu Jin recovers enough to stand up. He reaches into his spatial pouch and takes out a towel to dry himself. He groans as he rolls his shoulders, trying to work out the kinks there. A glance at the window shows him the sky is turning dark. He has been meditating for hours.

It has been almost a week since he and the others were released from the Punishment House. Tomorrow, they’ll set out for Night Phantasm City with Young Master Feng Zhi. Compared to the events that led to that outcome, the past few days have been quiet and peaceful. With most of the main instigators against them being punished, the other disciples have seemingly decided to let them be. Even Bei Duyi has apparently faded into the background.

For Liu Jin, not much has changed. He had gone to the Apothecary the day after being released, unsure of what to expect. The revelation of Elder Xue’s true identity had shocked him.

However, nothing happened.

Once more, Elder Xue had not been there, apparently busy with something. Instead of meeting her, Liu Jin had been welcomed back by the other disciples and had then proceeded with his duties as usual, slowly racking up points. He had been at the Apothecary almost every day since then, and the pattern just repeated itself.

Today is an exception. Today, Liu Jin stayed in his room to meditate.

His depressingly empty room.

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It is not that Liu Jin’s room is, by any means, inadequate. It is the room of an Inner Disciple of the Eternal Flame Clan. As such, it has a nice view, is of decent size, and the bed is soft like a cloud.

It is also empty.

Other disciples decorate their rooms with trophies from their adventures or trinkets brought from their homes or bought from the store. Liu Jin has done no such thing. Save for the protective talismans on the door and walls, there is nothing that would make one think this room is being used by someone else.

It would be easy to blame the state of the room on Liu Jin’s short time with the Eternal Flame Clan, but that would be wrong. Even if Liu Jin had been a member of the Eternal Flame Clan for more than a month, he wouldn’t have bothered decorating his room. All his things are safely stored in his spatial pouch, and he likes it that way.

Tonight, he takes out two items from it and puts them on the floor.

The first is the Black-Winged Imperial Eagle egg. The Qi inside it still beats strong. Xiao Fang has done a good job taking care of it, yet raising the chick that will hatch from it is not something Liu Jin has time for. That is why Liu Jin has not yet removed the temporal seal on it.

When he returns… yes, when he returns from Night Phantasm City. That will probably be the best time for it.

His mind made up, Liu Jin casts his gaze towards the other important item. It is safely stored in a glass jar with several protective talismans on it.