Chapter 65: The Metaphysics Master Is an Internet Celebrity 4

However, even though she understood the meaning, asking her to use this insight to comprehend the laws of heaven was far less efficient than simply reaching into the River of Time and touching its waters. After all, those waters contained all kinds of laws and principles. So after giving it a try, Mu Yin promptly set that aside and began following the meridian circulation chart provided, using it to guide the movement of the origin energy within her that had yet to be fully absorbed.

Don’t be misled by the fact that, despite expending so much origin energy through her abilities, she hadn’t evolved. In truth, origin energy was of an extremely high order; even a single wisp was not easy to fully assimilate. It was likely that this wisp alone was enough to fuel all the cultivation she would ever need in this lifetime.

With a clear route mapped out, Mu Yin didn’t trouble herself with any cultivation methods. Actually, as long as one understood the essence of such techniques and used them to attune to the universe, energy could be drawn in and circulate autonomously—this was the purpose of cultivation methods. Unfortunately, she didn’t quite grasp this.

Still, with her abilities, she could fully rely on her mental power to push the energy along the meridian routes; the method itself was unnecessary. Once accustomed, she wouldn’t even need to consciously direct it. Come to think of it, the cultivation methods of the Profound Sect differed from those for physical training.

The focus of physical cultivation methods was to temper the body, so the meridians involved were in the flesh, skin, and bones. In truth, these so-called meridians were rarely used and would be more aptly called blood vessels. As for the current practice, these were the meridians one would only find in martial arts fantasies.

Fortunately, although her abilities were cultivated differently, they, too, required energy to circulate through meridians; otherwise, she might not have even known where those meridians were. It was said that meridians only appeared when the body and soul fused, but in fact, the soul also had meridians—though for the soul, they were intangible, while for the body, although undetectable by science, they were material.

She had studied some medical theory in ancient times, but never found an enlightened physician willing to take her as an apprentice. Instead, she had memorized medical texts and meridian charts on her own, which was why she had this knowledge. After all, it would be quite comical to cultivate without even recognizing meridians.

As she pushed the thread of origin energy through her meridians, Mu Yin discovered that some meridians were blocked, others were naturally narrow, all of which made circulating energy difficult. No wonder masters preferred to train disciples from a young age—this must be one of the reasons.

Fortunately, origin energy was incredibly robust. Though it hurt a bit, it still managed to clear blockages and expand the channels. After about an hour, she finally completed a full circuit according to the chart.

At that moment, a layer of foul-smelling sweat broke out on her skin—impurities being expelled from her meridians through her pores. She looked down at her feet, unsure what to do. Even if she wanted to bathe, the cast on her foot hadn’t been removed yet.

After some thought, she searched for information on talismans and came across a popular science post about them. Clicking in, she found a series of videos. Searching carefully, she finally located a tutorial for a cleansing charm. She took out pen and paper and began to learn. Though the materials were ordinary, after nurturing them with energy, they could bear a little power.

She didn’t expect miraculous results—just enough to clean the grime from her body. She used her ability energy, since she’d only just begun her cultivation and had barely stored a thread of true essence, not nearly enough to draw a talisman.

Yet, she reasoned, since this world had supernatural attributes and she was already learning the methods of the Profound Sect, using her ability energy for a small amount shouldn’t draw any attention. Indeed, as she suspected, after a few failed attempts, she finally got the energy output right and produced a cleansing charm, which she slapped onto herself.

Instantly, all the filth on her body vanished. In fact, her power was so great that the entire room—and even the whole floor—was scrubbed spotless, startling the neighbors, who thought they’d seen a ghost. After all, some stains in the corners were impossible to remove, but now everything was pristine.

Even Hong Bo, lurking nearby, ready to pounce and devour a few souls to strengthen himself, was affected. According to common belief, ghosts were also called “unclean things,” so the cleansing charm written by Mu Yin with her ability energy treated him as filth to be swept away, inflicting further injury on top of the one he’d already received from her earlier strike.

Mu Yin hadn’t realized just how potent her cleansing charm was until, lying in bed, she noticed the previously dirty rug by her feet was now immaculate. Probing with her mental power, she discovered the truth and had an epiphany.

Her ability had evolved, and the energy it drew was converted from pure origin power—far more effective than using true essence. Moreover, a talisman was certainly superior to writing out characters in simplified script. So, energy that previously had the same effect as a written character now became five or six times stronger when shaped into a talisman.

She covered her face in exasperation. It seemed she’d better cultivate true essence as soon as possible. Speaking of which, the Profound Sect in this world didn’t divide cultivation realms the same way as in her previous world, where stages were named Qi Refining, Foundation Building, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Transformation, Void Refinement, Great Ascension, Tribulation Crossing, and Ascension.

Here, the stages were: Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit returning to Void, and Merging with the Dao—four phases. But after looking into the details, she realized it was all the same, just expressed differently.

As the Dao De Jing says, to cultivate, one must open the Mysterious Female Gate. There were many interpretations of this, and she had once searched it online. Some said the Mysterious Female was the mother of all things, the mother of the world, and after much categorization, it simply referred to the lower Dantian.

In other words, to begin cultivation, one must first open the lower Dantian. Indeed, the lower Dantian is closed at first; even using origin power, opening the meridians and the Dantian’s two entrances took some effort.

If she hadn’t begun by cultivating directly with origin energy, she probably wouldn’t have opened her Dantian so quickly. Perhaps this was why cultivation was so difficult for others.

Speaking of origin energy, Mu Yin suddenly thought of something: “Back then, I used the immense power of origin energy to injure that pervert. Although I later retrieved that wisp of energy, some must have lingered after passing through his body. Could that be why Hong Bo became a ghost after death?”

That was indeed the case. In a world where non-human entities were an obvious reality, how could the authorities not be prepared? Every executed criminal was given special treatment to ensure their soul would be sent straight to the underworld.

Yet, because of the lingering trace of origin energy she’d used on Hong Bo, even such a small amount allowed him to evade the call of the underworld after death, granting him powers no newborn ghost could possess.