His attributes suited him for pill-making and apothecary work; the thought of it made him happy.
"Can I have the manual? I want to study it so I can begin cultivating."
"Certainly. This is Shi Tong Yan’s first draft on immortal cultivation; you are the only one with this draft, so do your best to keep it safe."
Li Yan nodded and opened the page; the instructions were clear and concise, with illustrations on the side for reference.
Shi Tong Yan’s manual was really good and Li Yan found himself enjoying it as time passed.
"Qi is the essence, all life forms have Qi thus Qi is life. One must access their dantian to cultivate Qi."
Li Yan paused at the sentence, his eyes lingering on the words.
He read the passage again before turning the page.
The next section explained the meridians in greater detail. Shi Tong Yan had included a detailed illustration of the human body, with fine lines tracing the paths of the meridians toward the dantian.
Each major meridian had been carefully labelled, followed by a brief explanation of its function.
Li Yan studied the illustration with growing interest.
The manual did not make cultivation sound as mysterious as he had expected. Shi Tong Yan had approached it almost like a scholar documenting a new field of medicine, explaining each process in a clear and methodical manner.
Even the warnings were written plainly, without exaggeration.
"Qi cannot be forcibly drawn into the dantian. A cultivator must first learn to perceive Qi before attempting to guide it. Those who attempt to control Qi without understanding its nature risk damaging their meridians."
Li Yan’s expression became serious.
So that was the first step.
Perceiving Qi.
He continued reading.
"The first stage of cultivation is called Qi Perception. One must calm the body and mind, regulate the breath, and allow the surrounding Qi to reveal itself naturally. Do not attempt to seize it. Do not force it into the body. Perception precedes absorption."
Li Yan closed the manual for a moment.
He glanced around the quiet room.
There was no one left to ask.
Shi Tong Yan had written the manual before his death, and every answer Li Yan needed had been left within its pages. He suddenly felt a strange weight settle in his chest as he remembered that the person who had written these words would never be able to correct him if he made a mistake.
Still, Li Yan opened the manual again.
If Shi Tong Yan had taken the trouble to leave behind such detailed instructions, then the least he could do was follow them properly.
He moved to the center of the room and sat down.
According to the manual, the first step was to regulate his breathing.
Li Yan closed his eyes.
He inhaled slowly through his nose and allowed the breath to leave his body without forcing it. After several repetitions, his breathing gradually became steadier.
The room grew quiet around him.
At first, he noticed nothing.
There was only darkness behind his eyelids and the faint sound of his own breathing.
He continued.
One breath.
Then another.
Time slowly passed.
Li Yan’s thoughts wandered several times, but each time he returned his attention to his breathing. He remembered Shi Tong Yan’s warning from the manual and resisted the urge to search for Qi.
He was not supposed to chase it.
He was supposed to perceive it.
Eventually, something changed.
A faint sensation appeared at his fingertips.
Li Yan almost opened his eyes, but he stopped himself.
The sensation was strange.
It was neither hot nor cold. It felt more like a tiny current moving beneath his skin, so subtle that he might have mistaken it for his imagination.
He remained still.
The sensation slowly became clearer.
A faint stream of energy drifted through his fingers and toward his palm.
Li Yan’s breathing became uneven from excitement.
The moment he attempted to follow the sensation, it disappeared.
His eyes opened.
He stared at his hands.
Had that been Qi?
He immediately picked up the manual and flipped through the pages until he found the relevant section.
"Qi perception may initially manifest as warmth, coolness, tingling, pressure, or movement beneath the skin. Do not attempt to control the sensation. Familiarize yourself with its presence first."
Li Yan’s eyes widened.
It really was Qi.
He read the passage twice before slowly setting the manual down.
A smile appeared on his face.
He had succeeded.
Not in cultivating yet, but he had taken the first step.
Li Yan looked toward the manual again, his expression becoming thoughtful.
The more he read, the more convinced he became that cultivation and apothecary work were connected.
If Qi existed within every living creature, then it naturally had to interact with the body. The meridians, dantian, organs, blood circulation, medicinal properties...
There were too many possibilities.
His interest in pills suddenly became even stronger.
Perhaps one day, he could understand exactly how medicinal herbs affected Qi. Perhaps he could create pills that ordinary apothecaries had never imagined.
Li Yan picked up the manual once more.
For now, however, he needed to learn the basics.
He returned to the beginning of the cultivation method and started reading it again, this time with a completely different perspective.
Every word carried greater weight now.
This was not merely a theory written by a dead cultivator.
It was the foundation Shi Tong Yan had left behind.
And Li Yan intended to master it.
Within a blink of an eye, three days had passed within the space. Li Yan studied and cultivated diligently.
He had noticed how light his body had gotten, his sense had heightened in the process as well.
Li Yan could hear every single sound, from the gentle stream of water to the rustling of leaves, even the sounds of Xiaoxiao moving around the space did not go unnoticed.
"Master seems to be cultivating diligently, I will make him a nutritious lotus berry drink, so he can rejuvenate himself once he has a breakthrough."
She could feel it in the air, it was not far off.
And it was just as she had said. Within minutes, a golden light began radiating from Li Yan.
The light was so warm that Xiaoxiao felt as though the heavens themselves had come to see Li Yan off on his new journey.
It enveloped him completely, covering both his body and his spirit in a gentle radiance. Unlike when he had opened his dantian, when immense pain had torn through him, this light was as gentle as the first rays of sunlight after a long rain.
There was no pain in it, only warmth.
It soothed him from the outside in, sinking deeper than flesh and bone until it reached the very depths of his soul.
For once, Li Yan did not have to endure anything.
His soul, which had known far too much suffering, was finally given the reprieve it had never received.