Volume 3, Chapter 69 – Innate (Two-in-One)

Bai Xiang actually reacted very quickly. As soon as the cycle was established, she woke up and immediately sensed the remade circuit linking her and her younger sister together.

Her first instinct was to cut it off at once, but after probing deeply into her sister’s condition, Bai Xiang forced herself to change her action and chose to let everything continue.

Zhuqing… she had no idea how the girl had done it, but somehow, in this instant, the two of them had achieved a subtle kind of exchange.

The dantian acupoint in their lower abdomens had become the channel through which qi-force flowed. Violent power constantly surged from that spot into Bai Zhuqing’s body, rampaging rudely through the girl’s frame before it could do anything more, only to be drawn back out by Bai Xiang from above.

This qi-force, taken a second time, seemed to have had its nature slightly altered. It became tamer, and carried with it a mysterious energy brimming with life. As Bai Xiang received and digested this qi-force, she could feel that mysterious energy healing her—healing all the hidden injuries her body had accumulated during the process of visualizing the Great Sun.

So this is “picking medicine”?

In the unseen, Bai Xiang suddenly gained enlightenment.

Whether it was her or Bai Zhuqing, it was unrealistic to expect either of them, on their own, to discover that hidden acupoint that had surfaced above the dantian acupoint.

It wasn’t a matter of whether they could do it or not; it was that they simply couldn’t even imagine such a result. When you’re not even sure where the target is, what use is even the greatest calculating ability? It still can’t be put to concrete use.

But now, by some coincidence, they had each harvested the great medicine within the other’s body.

Bai Xiang was able to sustain her energy expenditure, heal the hidden injuries from forcibly tempering her body, and, in the process, constantly fine-tune her physical state so it aligned more and more with the Sun-Chasing Scripture’s qi-and-blood circulation method… She could now very easily complete “nine back-and-forth cycles”.

And the benefits Bai Zhuqing gained were even greater.

It was purely because she’d been too weak to begin with, but that didn’t change the facts. From this exchange, she obtained the great medicine nurtured in Bai Xiang’s acupoint. Every meridian she could probe in her body was widened and cleared; her qi-force grew sharper, and her cultivation surged madly.

Her Refining Qi realm directly broke through to the fourth layer and was now climbing toward the fifth.

The special qi and blood of the Sun-Chasing Scripture also roared and coursed through her veins, making her organs and bones even tougher and more resilient, able to bear greater pressure… Her breathing rate suddenly became very, very slow, but each breath was extraordinarily long and unbroken.

Her cultivation was too low, and she couldn’t take even the slightest initiative in this process. Her consciousness had already sunk into chaos, which instead happened to match the state of empty clarity emphasized by both Buddhist and Daoist schools.

Thought yet not thought, neither thought nor non-thought.

Bai Xiang narrowed her eyes and started doing the math.

The Sun-Chasing Scripture really was too overbearing. Without her little sister barging in to help, she not only wouldn’t have been able to push the qi-and-blood circulation to the ninth cycle, but even those hidden injuries… Even with her soul ability, it would have taken quite some time to nurse them back.

Same old story: a soul ability has no thoughts of its own.

What Bai Xiang didn’t know, her soul ability didn’t know either. She could replenish energy through tonics and diet therapy, then use her soul ability to gather that energy to heal her hidden injuries, but if she didn’t know exactly where those injuries were, that operation simply couldn’t be done.

She had to acknowledge the positive role Bai Zhuqing had played. Without her, she wouldn’t have been able to complete the Mountain-Crashing Section’s qi-and-blood circulation diagram, nor to visualize the Great Sun in her inner body-scape.

On top of that, the little girl was in this kind of state… and what they were doing was so serious, that she chose not to bother about some physical friction and focused wholeheartedly on her cultivation.

As time passed, outside Tingyu Tower, the sun slowly moved to the zenith, then gradually sank behind the western hills.

Night fell. The last trace of sunlight vanished. Lights came on all over the city, but only Tingyu Tower remained in pitch darkness.

What’s going on?

Xiang Xian had been paying attention to the movements at Tingyu Tower all day. Seeing that it was this late and they still hadn’t lit a lamp, she felt an inexplicable unease.

Did something go wrong with the cultivation?

Or was the cultivation going too smoothly, and they’d gotten addicted?

Could they really have just gone to bed for a nap in the afternoon?

“Peak Lord Xiang…”

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Right then, Bai Shengju came looking for her, carrying the same worry in his heart.

He’d also been watching Tingyu Tower. The progress over there was now the most important matter for Shenming Sword Dao. Even if he cared nothing for his own future and only for his conscience, he still couldn’t just ignore Bai Xiang’s seclusion.

“Don’t panic,” Xiang Xian put down the scroll in her hands. “I’ll go up and take a look.”

Riding the night wind, she drifted straight up to the viewing platform on the fifth floor of Tingyu Tower. Landing, she pressed her ear to the crack of the door and listened carefully to the sounds inside.

Hoo…

Splash, splash…

What kind of sound is that?

Xiang Xian’s eyes widened. She could hardly believe what she was hearing.

At first, it sounded like breathing, but on closer feeling it was like a great river in flood, like the tide rising and falling.

Her senses had never been muddled like this before, and for a moment she was caught off guard.

Is it breathing…?

Two different breathing rates—there were indeed two people.

Only, the rhythm carried a hidden profundity that made one feel there was some principle concealed within, but it was as sly and lively as fish darting through waves of thought, impossible to pin down however she tried.

After holding her breath for a while, Xiang Xian more or less confirmed that nothing was wrong inside, then slipped back down to inform Bai Shengju so he could relax.

And not long after she left, in the darkness of the room, the two tightly embracing sisters had their breathing rates begin to “synchronize”.

Breathing in the same rhythm.

Hearts beating in the same rhythm.

Everything was tending toward unity in the process, as though this was something that naturally ought to happen.

If Xiang Xian had stepped inside and seen this scene, she would have been even more shaken.

Her heart’s stirring would have been deeper. She would probably have used “seamlessly natural” to precisely describe that feeling, and along with it, grasped a fragment of Heaven’s Dao. For a cultivator at her level, all of that was entirely possible.

Finally, when the moon hung on the treetops, this balance was broken by Bai Zhuqing herself.

She felt like she’d just slept and, upon waking, her breathing and heartbeat had both changed, no longer able to match Bai Xiang’s without a gap.

She was no longer in that mental state of “neither thought nor non-thought” either. She snapped back into reality all at once and, first thing, became aware that she was locked in an embrace with a soft, fragrant body.

That scent was Sister Xiang’er…

The way their bodies were pressed together was far too tight, already beyond anything she’d ever dared imagine in her dreams. Instead of reassuring her, it made Bai Zhuqing so nervous that her whole body went stiff.

Suddenly, a vibration ran from the tip of her tongue, and at the same time a hand pressed down on her tailbone. Two forces shot together along the great dragon of her spine, as if they were driving a snake, driving a whip. With a single snap, they turned Bai Zhuqing’s body to jelly.

She practically melted into a puddle of mud, unable to muster a shred of strength, only able to lie on that softness and pant in little gasps.

Sister Xiang’er… what on earth is she trying to do…

Her consciousness turned hazy and muzzy. The girl’s eyes seemed to be spinning in circles as her chin was pinched, lifting her head up and forcing her to present herself.

She had no idea…

All she knew was that this feeling was floaty, like she might drift up to become an immortal. If it was with Sister Xiang’er, she wouldn’t resist…

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In reality, it was all just her imagination.

Pinching her face, Bai Xiang looked her over from side to side, confirming that from her head to her toes there was nothing wrong with her—that she was so healthy she couldn’t be healthier. Then she picked her up in a sideways carry and took her to the washroom to draw water for a bath.

“Right… This side of things is pretty much done, then…”

“The progress should be ahead of schedule. I need to digest it a bit and send Grandfather word that we’re safe.”

“Mm… there’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine, and Qing’er is fine too.”

The conversation drifted in through the steam. Bai Zhuqing’s mind cleared completely, and she found she’d been set down in a large wooden bathtub.

Her whole body felt burning hot. When she raised an arm, she found the skin on the surface had been scrubbed bright red.

This… she’s helping me scrub myself? How can she do something like that?

A surge of embarrassed anger rose in her subconsciously. Bai Zhuqing instinctively curled her body up, leaving only her head above the water’s surface.

It wasn’t that she was that hung up on it, strictly speaking.

After all, she’d long since made her feelings clear. She didn’t mind; she was sure she wouldn’t mind Sister Xiang’er doing anything to her.

But everyone has a need for privacy.

Even if she liked Bai Xiang that much, Bai Zhuqing still wanted to keep a few things back, to keep a few little secrets only she knew.

Being scrubbed all over like a baby—at this stage of her life, that was just too much.

Her thoughts started to turn fuzzy again. Bai Zhuqing didn’t know whether it was the hot water or the steam, but all she could hear echoing over and over in her head was that “Qing’er,” until her whole little face flushed red at high speed.

Splash.

Water sounded softly. Bai Zhuqing only had time to catch a glimpse of a white-jade-like instep before the rising water covered her nose.

“Pff! Cough, cough, cough!”

She instinctively took a breath and immediately choked, coughing hard.

She quickly sat up a little straighter, and then saw Bai Xiang leaning against the other side of the tub, watching her with those uncanny golden eyes.

Sister Xiang’er is too beautiful…

Most likely just a soak after scrubbing, Bai Xiang wasn’t doing anything in particular.

Her long white hair was coiled behind her head. Her delicate features, that pale face and her forehead, were for the first time completely revealed in front of someone else.

Bai Zhuqing stared in a daze, only feeling that the lines and planes together were a masterpiece of Heaven’s Dao, a work of art born perfectly complete. Every rise and turn of a curve was so beautiful it made one’s heart pound.

The impact was so strong that she didn’t even dare to imagine the parts where those curves disappeared beneath the water. She could only blankly stare into those golden eyes, drawn into that golden whirlpool until her very soul felt about to be sucked in.

Her soul strength should have increased quite a bit during cultivation, so why was her performance still so fragile?

Bai Xiang, however, was somewhat dissatisfied. She first knit her brows, which produced another kind of allure on her face, and only then somewhat belatedly realized… had her bewitching trait grown stronger again?

She lowered her eyes to the water’s surface. Even she herself felt a bit dazed.

It wasn’t that she’d truly become more beautiful; it was that feeling—that aura that tugged at the level of soul and spirit. It had clearly become even harder to resist.

Something was off.

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Bai Xiang furrowed her brows even tighter.

At first she hadn’t taken it seriously, just thinking it was normal. She’d believed that as long as a person had enough soul strength and a distinctive enough appearance, they could produce a similar effect on others.

After forming her Core, she’d learned how to rein in that aura, so it had never bothered her, and she’d never given it much thought.

But this time, with her soul strength rising again and her deliberately relaxing that allure to train her little sister, she became aware of how it was changing and advancing—and this kind of sudden leap was not normal.

It had completely exceeded the bounds of simply “feeling beauty” or “being stunned by beauty.” If she had to put it into words, she would say this charm was closer to an Illusory God.

Yes, an Illusory God—the very Illusory God of the Demon Pool.

There was something wrong with these eyes.

Bai Xiang closed them and adjusted herself for a while. When she opened them again, that bewitching feel had finally faded quite a bit.

“Gugu!”

Bai Zhuqing finally woke fully and threw herself into her arms in a flying pounce. Under the water, her limbs were like a monkey’s. Not only did her hands wrap around Bai Xiang’s back, even her feet joined in, locking tightly around Bai Xiang’s legs.

What does she think she’s doing now?

Bai Xiang didn’t react, simply looked down at her little sister from above.

“I’m at the seventh layer of Refining Qi now…”

Bai Zhuqing felt like she was dreaming.

“In one day, from the second layer of Refining Qi to the seventh—crossing five stages in a row… This… how did things end up like this?”

She blinked and put on an innocent expression. “Gugu, please don’t blame me for being abrupt. I just wanted to see if I could still dual cultivate with Gugu…”

Bai Xiang let out an “oh.” “You even know about dual cultivation?”

“Of course!” Bai Zhuqing’s spirits lifted. “I’ve read a lot of Buddhist scriptures too, okay? Nuodi Buddhism even had a dual cultivation method. It’s a shame it wasn’t passed down. I just felt this was a lot like that!”

“It’s not what you’re thinking.” Bai Xiang poured cold water on her.

Wild fantasies… Daoist “dual cultivation of nature and life” doesn’t mean that at all.

“Oh…”

Feeling the chill in her tone, Bai Zhuqing’s heart trembled. She drooped her head, a bit dejected.

This change in her reactions was truly interesting.

The corner of Bai Xiang’s mouth curled very slightly. She reached out and lifted the girl’s chin, leaning in close to her face.

“But I also want to know.”

“Whether that kind of cycle can continue.”

After the bath, she carried her fainted little sister to the bed. Bai Xiang began to sort through her gains.

First of all, the experiment had failed.

She had tried some methods in the washroom, and Bai Zhuqing had worked hard to cooperate at first, but perhaps because Bai Zhuqing was never able to enter that state again, the two of them just couldn’t sync up.

Which made sense.

Thinking it over, Bai Xiang felt it was only normal.

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What had happened today was far too uncanny, something that could be summed up as a single fortuitous encounter. If it were so easy to reproduce, she would instead suspect there was some hidden problem in it.

Secondly… she felt she’d really gained a lot.

On the surface it looked like Bai Zhuqing had taken more advantage, with five stages of advancement—saving decades of hard work.

Once she gained some experience, Bai Zhuqing could probably even trade blows with people like Guo Rongzhi and the others now.

But Bai Xiang felt her own improvement was greater. It wasn’t just that she had mastered the first chapter of the Sun-Chasing Scripture, or that she had been the one leading the latter half of that “great circulation,” and thus grasped the secret of picking medicine.

It was also because, by observing the process, she had glimpsed something deeper—the “Innate” realm that Sword Dao spoke of.

From returning to fetal breath, the Innate can be achieved.

That was how the Yuming library’s records broadly described the Innate realm.

No one in the past had understood what that meant, not until Bai Xiang visualized the Great Sun and, in that process, regarded Heaven and Earth as a mother’s womb and herself as an unborn infant.

She wasn’t sure if this was the only solution. She suspected it wasn’t.

There should be many paths to reach that ultimate goal, but she had undoubtedly found the one that suited her best. When she later influenced Bai Zhuqing, drawing her breathing rate closer, what she was really doing was pulling her back toward the Innate state.

In theory, if she wished—if she was willing to abandon her current path of qi and re-cultivate Sword Dao—she could immediately skip past the Divine Fetus straight into the Innate realm, only a single step away from becoming a Sword Lord.

“No wonder so few people through the ages have ever reached the Innate. Turns out Innate basically isn’t even a realm.”

Opening her eyes and finishing a new round of cultivation, Bai Xiang sighed silently in her heart.

That was how it was.

Strictly speaking, the Innate didn’t belong to the sequence of cultivation realms; it was an understanding, an enlightenment regarding one’s own Dao path.

You summarized and distilled it, then, on that basis, comprehended the fetal-breathing frequency that suited you best. From then on, your cultivation realm would be fixed.

Bai Xiang suspected that this process was essentially activating certain hidden meridians and acupoints in the body. But because everyone’s fetal-breathing frequency was different, the meridians and acupoints they activated were different, so the experience of predecessors could not be borrowed by those who came after. Imitating them was extremely difficult.

Maybe some of them activated too many acupoints at once, the stimulation too great, following the Innate in a single rush into the state of Returning to the Innate. When they woke again, they had already become Sword Lords.

A split soul would not fall in realm. Even if one fell into the demonic path and re-cultivated another method, they could still directly return to their peak.

Only now did she finally understand how Chan Master Daokong had managed to split off so many fragmentary souls and Yaosui, and how he could ensure that “in every life,” as long as he wished, he could return to his former cultivation after seizing a body.

It was far more advanced than Yao Qingyuan’s split soul.

Even if you only counted the added combat power, the gap was enormous.

She clenched her fist.

Bai Xiang had never felt this good.

Powerful qi and blood circulated endlessly through her. She could rely purely on her physical strength to clash head-on with an enemy, or she could convert that qi and blood into qi-force, further strengthening her sword qi.

So what level had she actually reached now?

Her back suddenly felt itchy.

She wanted to find a mountain and ram into it.