Chapter 406: 375. The Way of Cultivation

375. Chapter 375: The Way of Cultivation

A night of cultivation made Li Yi feel distinct changes within himself; silver radiance seeped from deep within his bone marrow, staining his blood, and as his blood transformed, it nourished his five viscera and six bowels, strengthening his physique, even increasing his height.

The influence of the gene warrior still lingered; even if Li Yi did nothing, his body continued to slowly evolve.

Li Yi felt he would soon become a muscular giant over two meters tall.

Indeed, in what kind of world you cultivate, you become what kind of person.

"After inheriting divine blood, becoming a gene warrior, and simultaneously cultivating the Evolution Art, my body consumes too much—just one night and I'm starving." Li Yi felt he had become a glutton; drinking several vials of extraordinary nutrient fluid did nothing but fill him with water, just enough to keep him from dying of hunger.

He must find better sources of food, or prolonged starvation would hinder his progress.

"I wonder what the powerful in this world eat?" Li Yi stepped out of his room, planning to beg a meal at Xiu Xiang's estate and sample the cuisine of this alien world.

He wandered through the vast estate.

With his keen sense of smell, he caught the scent of food.

Following the aroma, Li Yi reached a place resembling a kitchen, where he soon saw many muscular servants gathered around a large cauldron, steam rising, radiant light shimmering, chunks of meat swirling within, emitting an exotic fragrance—just breathing it in filled him with vigor.

It was hard to imagine how much blood essence such a piece of meat contained.

"What kind of meat is this?" Li Yi asked one of the servants.

The servant was about to answer when an old man with white hair and beard, bent and hunched, shuffled over leaning on an old wooden staff.

"Master Nanshan," the servants bowed respectfully.

Master Nanshan stroked his beard and smiled: "Da Yi, this is the meat of an eight-hundred-year-old dragon. The merchant lord bought it yesterday from Beihuang City."

Li Yi immediately remembered.

He hadn't realized the dragon's body, after its hide was stripped and made into armor, was now being boiled.

"Old man, do you know me?" Li Yi studied the old man named Nanshan—he had never seen him before.

"I am a guest in the merchant lord's household. I inquired with the servants and learned a divine-blood warrior named Da Yi arrived yesterday." Nanshan added: "There were strange phenomena in your room last night. Did you know?"

Strange phenomena?

Li Yi froze for a moment, then understood—last night, while practicing the White Bone Contemplation, he had absorbed too much cosmic energy, causing it to coalesce and produce unusual sights.

"I was cultivating last night."

He didn't want to explain further, lest he say too much and reveal more than intended.

But Nanshan asked: "What is cultivation?"

This question left Li Yi momentarily speechless, and at the same time, a new suspicion arose in his mind.

Could it be that this world has no cultivation?

But how could that be?

How could a world with gods possibly have no cultivation?

Yet seeing Nanshan's earnest, curious gaze, Li Yi began to doubt his own assumption—perhaps this world truly lacked systematic cultivation, for its civilization was primitive, and its people were naturally strong, possessing unimaginable physiques and bloodlines.

Cultivation might not be widespread at all.

"How do ordinary warriors grow stronger?" Li Yi did not answer immediately but asked instead.

Nanshan smiled: "Rigorous training and brutal combat—refining body and will through life-and-death struggles; undefeated through a hundred battles, and strength naturally follows."

"And what of someone like you, Master Nanshan, who lacks a powerful physique or whose body has aged—how do you grow stronger?" Li Yi asked again.

"Observe wind, rain, thunder, and lightning; comprehend the transformations of the four seasons; understand the principles of heaven and earth, yin and yang; prepare tools to shape form, conceal the unforeseen to cultivate the mind. When the universe is tranquil and stable, heavenly light arises—thus one can command all things."

"."

Li Yi understood nothing—this lifetime he had suffered from lack of education.

"Can you demonstrate?"

If he couldn't understand, at least he could watch.

Nanshan smiled, raised his staff, and with a casual flick, a chunk of dragon meat floated from the cauldron, landed in his staff, and he devoured it greedily.

At that moment, Li Yi understood: this was what "tranquil universe gives rise to heavenly light" meant.

That heavenly light was clearly the glow of the soul.

When Nanshan performed the technique, his soul power stirred cosmic energy, interfering with reality to produce abilities like telekinesis—small-scale, moving objects; large-scale, commanding wind, rain, thunder, lightning—this was the principle of magic.

Indeed, all cultivation was fundamentally the same.

"Eat as well—this meat is exquisite," Nanshan said, flicking his staff again; a piece of dragon meat flew to Li Yi.

Li Yi caught it and tore off a large bite—it was incredibly delicious, though the cooking was slightly underdone, still tough; as the meat entered his stomach, his blood surged violently, his body feeling like a furnace, heat surging to burst forth.

This was a classic case of over-supplementation—his body could not handle the immense blood essence within the dragon meat.

But soon, as his blood circulated, the vast blood essence was consumed, transformed into nourishment that strengthened his divine blood.

His hunger vanished completely; he felt bloated.

One piece of meat was enough to fill him?

Now Li Yi understood what the people of this world ate—they consumed dragon meat, beast meat.

In contrast, Nanshan devoured one piece of dragon meat in seconds, still not satisfied, took another large chunk, and ate it with obvious delight.

Li Yi was astonished.

This old man could eat so much meat—meaning his strength was extraordinary, for such vast blood essence flooding his body would kill a weaker person.

"Da Yi, you have not yet answered: what is cultivation?" Nanshan asked, still eating.

Li Yi pointed and said: "This is cultivation."

"Eating?" Nanshan said earnestly: "Please, Da Yi, explain to me."

Explain?

He had little education—how could he explain?

Li Yi pondered deeply, then suddenly thought of something and pointed outside at a warrior: "What of those who eat meat?"

Nanshan glanced and answered without hesitation: "Brave and fierce."

Li Yi pointed to several maids: "They eat no meat, only grains—what of those who eat grains?"

"Wise and clever," Nanshan replied.

Li Yi then pointed to the sky outside: "What of those who eat qi?"

"Eat qi?"

Nanshan looked at the meat in his hand, then at the steaming grains in the cauldron, then at the boundless heavens and earth beyond.

He fell into deep thought, yet felt something was missing—something just beyond his grasp.

This frustration made Nanshan anxious; he bowed deeply and reverently to Li Yi: "Please, Da Yi, teach me."

"Those who eat qi become divine and long-lived," Li Yi said slowly to Nanshan.

"Those who eat qi become divine and long-lived?"

These words struck Nanshan like thunder—he froze, stunned. A fleeting, supreme truth seemed to be forming within him, giving him the sensation of enlightenment.

All his accumulated experience and knowledge over countless years surged forth.

In this moment,

Nanshan grasped the true essence of cultivation and understood the ultimate principle of transcending mortality to become divine.

"Ha ha."

He laughed joyfully, ecstatic, lost in rapture; he dropped his staff, his body glowing, and ran and flew out of the room toward the quarters where Merchant Lord Xiu Xiang resided.

Li Yi blinked: "What triggered him? Did he go mad again?"

He didn't know why, but this scene felt familiar—as if he had seen it before, and now it was nothing unusual.

Nanshan ran so fast he lost one of his shoes.

Some guests at the estate, seeing Nanshan's uncharacteristic frenzy, were astonished and chased after him, wanting to ask what had happened.

"Master Nanshan, what happened? Why are you so uncomposed?"

"Master Nanshan!"

One by one, the guests followed, worried the estate's wisest elder might have suffered some mishap.

Yet Nanshan kicked open the door to Merchant Lord Xiu Xiang's chamber.

At that moment,

Merchant Lord Xiu Xiang lay asleep on his bed, surrounded by several beautiful concubines; startled by the commotion, they instinctively reached to summon guards.

But then they saw Nanshan, frantic and glancing around, and Xiu Xiang was immediately alarmed—he kicked away the concubines, threw on his robe, and hurriedly said: "Master Nanshan, what urgent matter brings you here? Please instruct me."

He was deeply respectful.

For Nanshan would never burst in unless it was a matter of great importance.

If even the estate's wisest elder was so uncomposed, something monumental must have occurred; as merchant lord, Xiu Xiang did not need to know the reason—only how to respond.

Nanshan did not reply; he rushed to the bookshelf beside the bed.

On the shelf lay a scroll, crimson in hue, forged from crimson gold, inscribed with three characters: The Great Wilderness Annals.

This was the annal Xiu Xiang had spent his entire life striving to write, hoping to immortalize his name through it and become a merchant lord remembered by generations.

After all, there were countless merchant lords—but only Xiu Xiang could write an annal.

This was an honor.

Of course, Xiu Xiang himself was unskilled in writing annals—he provided only funds; the true author was this elder, Nanshan.

Thus, within the estate, Nanshan's status was extremely high, far beyond that of ordinary guests.

Nanshan picked up the scroll and sighed: "Merchant Lord, you have gained Da Yi—like a great roc riding the wind, like a fish returning to water. Your name shall be passed down for ten thousand generations—today is the day."

He took up the carving knife beside him and revised the Great Wilderness Annals, adding three characters at the end: The Yi Origin.

Then he unrolled the scroll and began carving.

Li Yi asked: "What of those who eat meat?"

Bo replied: "Brave and fierce."

Li Yi asked: "What of those who eat grains?"

Bo replied: "Wise and clever."

Li Yi asked: "What of those who consume Qi?"

Bo begged for clarification.

Li Yi said: "Those who consume Qi attain spiritual clarity and longevity."

When he finished writing the line, Nanshan Bo set down his carving knife and laughed.

"Lord Shang, this scroll now holds a single character worth a thousand taels of silver." With that, Nanshan Bo returned the bamboo slip to Xiu Xiang.

Xiu Xiang was stunned and elated, his excitement making his hands tremble.

He could not fathom why adding just one phrase had made his chronicle worth a thousand taels per character.

What profound truth did that phrase contain, capable of reviving a chronicle that was not even finely crafted?

Overcome with excitement, he could not wait to read it.