Chapter 2

Over the course of millions of years, the transmigrant Qian Chen silently pondered; the only reason he had not gone mad was because the artifact’s spiritual awareness moved with excruciating slowness—as the innate spiritual consciousness of the Dao Dust Pearl, Qian Chen could turn a single thought only once every sixty years.

Simply comprehending that he had become a pearl took Qian Chen thousands of years.

Thus, merely recalling his past, Qian Chen drifted through tens of thousands of years—thanks largely to the barrenness of his early life: both parents alive, schooling on schedule, undergraduate at a top 211 university, graduate studies at a prestigious 985, then transmigrating just as he was about to go bald. Compared to the simplicity and poverty of his pre-transmigration life, his post-transmigration experiences were nothing short of epic.

Yet he was merely an observer of that epic drama—a divine tool in the hands of the destined protagonist racing toward enlightenment.

The infant Supreme Dao Ancestor acquired the spiritual light Qian Chen had become, and from Qian Chen’s memories—such as the Dao De Jing and the Daoist Canon he had browsed during graduate school—he discerned the supreme Dao art.

Then he forged his path with ruthless decisiveness, flaunted his power, and attained the Great Dao.

All of the above were tales Qian Chen heard from the Languan Sect’s disciples extolling their founder’s deeds, embellished with a bit of his own speculation. In truth, during the centuries when Qian Chen accompanied the Supreme Dao Ancestor’s enlightenment, some error during transmigration had caused his own time to stagnate—he possessed neither awareness nor memory.

Only when the Supreme Dao Ancestor severed him did Qian Chen regain the ability to stir his spiritual awareness and turn a thought.

But even then, it was painfully slow: what for an ordinary person was a sixty-year span was for him a single thought. Time, in his perception, had been accelerated countless times; even those disciples of Languan who meditated upon his physical form could only earn his attention if they meditated continuously for over sixty years.

Even the story of the Supreme Dao Ancestor’s enlightenment with Qian Chen as his divine tool was pieced together only after the Languan disciples repeated it countless times—and after Qian Chen gradually mastered the Dao Dust Pearl’s subtleties, gaining the ability to retain infinite information in a single thought.

Millions of years of refinement and the nurturing of the Dao Dust Pearl had rendered Qian Chen unshakable, his nature stripped of restlessness.

So even though he had just awakened to find himself bound by a vile restriction, with a great enemy waiting to tear open his casing and extract his true form, Qian Chen remained calm—no matter how dire his situation, how hard life became, it was still infinitely better than being a pearl spirit who turned one thought every sixty years. Thus, Qian Chen merely sat in the courtyard basking in sunlight, smiling for an entire hour, finding joy even in the act of breathing air.

But he indulged in this morning’s pleasure only briefly; by afternoon he had gathered his resolve, for in three days, a trial awaited him.

“Cultivation, cultivation…” Qian Chen effortlessly gathered his spirit, and within his mind-sea, the Supreme Dao Dust Pearl emitted a faint glow.

Miao Kong had left him no cultivation scripture; the Dao texts in the Qiankun Bag contained only rapid-achievement techniques—capable of generating combat power with minimal effort, yet corrupting one’s foundation. Qian Chen had held the bag for so long without even glancing inside, knowing Miao Kong would never leave anything beneficial to cultivation.

All were protective artifacts, external cultivation tools, or martial and magical techniques.

According to the information from the Wheel of Reincarnation, the trial in three days is the first test to determine whether a reincarnator qualifies to enter the Wheel of Reincarnation Realm, with difficulty scaled to the reincarnator’s strength. I’ve just entered the Dao—the task won’t be hard… but this Wheel of Reincarnation Realm feels suspiciously like my past life’s main god space.

“Could it be that when the Supreme Dao Ancestor meditated upon me, he also comprehended the Gene Lock Dao? And created this Wheel of Reincarnation Realm to filter the strongest from the myriad worlds? If so, then those two reincarnators must have wiped out one of his sects right under his nose. But I don’t care—the Supreme Dao Ancestor is already a titan. Given how long we’ve coexisted, and that I’m his most beloved divine tool, surely some bond remains. If he appears before me, I’ll just rush forward and hug his leg.”

“Yet the Languan Sect disciples once mentioned that since the Supreme Dao Ancestor merged with the Dao, he has rarely manifested holy signs in the past few million years.”

“The current ruler of the Daoist sects is the Primordial Heavenly Venerable, whom the Supreme Dao Ancestor later elevated. This native protagonist has a peculiar sense of humor—he insists on assembling the Three Pure Ones. Rumor has it there’s another titan in the West, enlightened by him, who founded the Buddhist sect… This main god space—no, now it’s the Wheel of Reincarnation Realm—must be his work, or that of his disciples.”

Qian Chen’s wandering thoughts did not hinder his gradual emptying of the mind.

In the Languan Sect, countless disciples entered the Dao beneath the pure radiance emitted by the Supreme Dao Dust Pearl; over the years, Qian Chen had long since memorized every detail of the path to initiation: to enter the mysterious gate, one must first establish the Dao foundation, then sense the cosmic spiritual energy, transform the void into truth, and enter the Qi Refining realm; thereafter, according to one’s cultivation method, one cultivates magic power to achieve the Tong Fa realm.

Foundation Establishment, Sensing, Qi Refining, Tong Fa.

These are the four initial thresholds of cultivation… Foundation Establishment may take years, or as little as a hundred days: through breath control, spiritual energy intake, purification of body and mind, cultivation of the Dao body—after ninety-nine days, one sheds the roots of impurity.

The hundred-day Foundation Establishment is the process of adjusting body and spirit, shedding postnatal impurities, and attuning oneself to the optimal state for cultivation. Methods vary by sect; naturally, the Languan Sect, origin of the Daoist path, cultivates the supreme foundation. Buddhist, Confucian, and even heretical sects like Red Lotus, White Lotus, Joyful, and Great Luo—though differing in approach—all establish similar Dao bodies: shedding turbid energy, drawing near spiritual energy, and with slight adjustment, one may easily switch to another method.

Yet sects of the Wu, Demon, and Demon Beast lineages tread the opposite path.

They nurture evil roots, cling obsessively to darkness, and corrupt the Dao body; after such Foundation Establishment, they hinder orthodox cultivation. Many demonic Foundation Establishment methods leave behind impurities that taint one’s essence, causing orthodox sects to despise them.

Qian Chen’s Foundation Establishment method is the Languan Sect’s foundational true transmission: the Primordial One Qi Art. Generation after generation of Languan disciples entered the Dao through this scripture; Qian Chen had studied it for millions of years and knew it by heart. The scripture bases Foundation Establishment on the primordial one qi carried within the human body from the womb, its essence drawn from the Dao De Jing: “Can you hold your spirit and soul as one, never separating? Can you concentrate your qi to achieve softness, like a newborn babe?” The body transforms as if returning to the womb, sensing the purest primordial energy.

When breaking through to Sensing, it is like being reborn from the womb, drawing the first breath of primordial energy.

Thus, the sensed energy is the purest, the true qi cultivated the most superior—even the inherent power within the magic power generated is greater than that of other sects…

Such a Dao body, within Daoist circles, is called the Primordial Dao Body—one of the ten supreme Foundation Establishment methods, alongside the Pure Dao Body, the Primordial Dao Body, the Pure Yin Dao Body, the True Yang Dao Body, the Elixir Cauldron Dao Body, the Mystic Womb Dao Body, the Non-Action Dao Body, the True Martial Dao Body, and the Five Elements Dao Body.

Qian Chen followed the method, breathing in gradually forming a peculiar rhythm.

This breathing pattern was awkward: one breath divided into nine intermittent, half-continuous, half-disconnected inhalations into the lungs.

The air drawn in became crisp and cool, like the freshest morning air of winter—cleansing away the pollution of the small town’s bustling crowds, leaving only the purest essence. This essence coalesced into a thread; as it circulated, Qian Chen’s breath grew faint and intermittent, his chest no longer rising and falling—breathing shifted inward. The air through nose and mouth became imperceptible, fine as silk.

Qian Chen sat cross-legged in the lotus posture, his body naturally relaxed, spine stacked like beads, upright and natural, shoulders relaxed without forced posture, hands resting gently on knees, head neither bowed nor tilted, chin slightly tucked, eyes half-closed, tongue pressed against the upper palate.

That thread of energy flowed through the bridge of heaven and earth formed by the tongue pressing against the palate.

Qian Chen gradually grew drowsy, then lay down at ease, limbs curled into a fetal position, circulating inner breath, letting nature take its course. Saliva sweet as dew secreted in his mouth, which he swallowed repeatedly, nourishing his body.

After an hour, he slowly withdrew from inner breath, feeling his entire body light, nimble, and serene.

The hunger that had gnawed at his stomach for two days vanished entirely.

Qian Chen knew this was merely a temporary illusion—Foundation Establishment of the Primordial Dao Body was not a true return to infancy; there was no umbilical cord delivering nourishment. The golden saliva and jade fluid he now possessed were spiritual essences generated by his body’s inner breath—capable of cleansing evil roots, yet still derived from the body’s essence, one of the body’s minor medicines.

Sourced from the body’s essence, if one harvested only this medicine without replenishing nourishment, it might seem harmless for now, but the root would already be depleted.

Thus, Qian Chen now needed to replenish nourishment…

Yet during Foundation Establishment, one must avoid turbid energy. Thus, sects and noble families, when cultivating, avoid worldly pollution to prevent regression of progress. They retreat to pristine, spiritually rich lands—even to celestial paradises—eating spirit grains and yellow essence, drinking spirit springs and dew.

Only after breaking through to Sensing, gaining the ability to internally refine turbid energy and ensuring the Dao foundation never regresses, do they descend from the mountains.

Since Qian Chen began Foundation Establishment with the Primordial One Qi Art, his breathing had already shifted to inner breath—he no longer drew in turbid air. But while breathing could be managed, food was harder: he was now penniless, with no access to spirit herbs or dew. The spirit pills in the Qiankun Bag were left by Miao Kong with ill intent—mostly wolfish and tigerish medicines, lacking the nourishing elixirs Qian Chen needed.

After painstakingly establishing the Primordial Dao Body, how could Qian Chen dare consume these spirit pills secretly laced with poison?

He had not yet reached Qi Refining—he could not yet internally refine.

The poison in the pills was stubborn, its nature akin to spiritual energy, yet far harder to cleanse than turbid energy. Swallowing even one pill might require Qian Chen three to five days of arduous effort to purge.

Patting his empty stomach, Qian Chen sighed in frustration.

He now needed to plan for his food and water over the coming days—and during the trial.

Fortunately, this body had already completed Foundation Establishment; though not a supreme Dao body, it was quite pure. Qian Chen’s shift to the Primordial One Qi Art came naturally—he did not need to restart from scratch. A month’s refinement would suffice to perfect his fire. And luckily, this body had not yet broken through to Sensing; otherwise, Qian Chen’s transition might have been troublesome.

Pushing open the gate of this courtyard, Miao Kong must have scanned with spiritual sense, found this abandoned little yard, and dumped him here. The yard was overgrown with weeds; piles of debris blocked the entrance… Qian Chen swept aside the debris and headed straight into the county town.