CHAPTER 3: FISH MEDALLION, GOLDEN FINGER

The moment Lu Chen stepped through the portal, everything around him began to settle.

But before he even opened his eyes, he heard a voice echoing in the air.

"At the dawn of time, who conveyed the Dao? When heaven and earth were yet unformed, how could it be known? In the blind churn of darkness, who could sound its depth?"[1]

Lu Chen snapped his eyes open and shouted, "Who is it? Who's speaking?"

The voice struck something deep inside him. It felt as if something within his body was about to break free and rush toward the sound.

Towering parasol trees stood all around him, leaving only a single path ahead that led into the unknown. The voice had clearly come from that direction.

The sensation of something trying to leave his body urged Lu Chen forward. The further he walked, the stronger the feeling became.

Time passed, minute by minute. Lu Chen had no idea how far he had gone. Just as he was about to turn back, the silhouette of a city suddenly appeared before him.

Step by step, he approached it. As he gazed at the city's outline, he realized the city looked almost identical to the one carved into the token that had opened the portal. The only difference was that this city was intact, with no sign of war, ruins, or a man waving a flag.

Suddenly, the Twin-Fish Medallion on his chest flew out and began to flash red at a steady rhythm. The closer he got, the faster it pulsed. The chanting voice also grew louder.

Eventually, Lu Chen reached the city gates. The medallion was now flashing so rapidly that the naked eye could no longer catch the intervals.

Lu Chen stopped in his tracks and carefully observed the city.

Just then, the massive gates creaked open, and a soft voice drifted out from within, "You've finally arrived."

At that moment, the Twin-Fish Medallion broke free completely and shot forward. After flying for a while, it hovered in front of a grand palace.

An old man stood beside the palace, chanting.

Lu Chen listened closely and realized that it was the same voice he had heard earlier.

The old man had a tall, broad build. His weathered face was lined with sorrow. A wide belt wrapped around his waist, and a long sword hung at his side, engraved with the name Ling Jun. He wore a tall scholar hat and a snow-white robe. He paced slowly at the palace gate, like a banished poet chanting by the marshes, or a solitary heron crying its elegy to the wind.

Lu Chen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Grandpa, was it you who called me here?"

The old man didn't turn around. He simply continued chanting, "At the dawn of time, who conveyed the Dao? When heaven and earth were yet unformed, how could it be known? In the blind churn of darkness, who could sound its depth?"

As he stepped in front of the Twin-Fish Medallion, he suddenly turned to Lu Chen and asked in a tone hovering between a question and a statement, "Do you know what cultivation is? Do you understand what heaven and earth mean?"

Lu Chen froze. Those were the exact same words Blindman Lu had once said to him.

Just as he was about to respond, the old man looked up to the sky and murmured again, "What is cultivation? What is heaven and earth?"

At this moment, Lu Chen realized the old man was nothing more than a phantom. He might not have been speaking to Lu Chen at all, but instead to someone who had once stood in this very spot.

As Lu Chen pondered the meaning behind the words, he saw the Twin-Fish Medallion fly straight into the palace.

He rushed in after it, only to find the hall filled with ancient trees and spirit plants.

At the center of this grove stood a massive stone chair. A white-haired man sat there with his head lowered and his face obscured. The Twin-Fish Medallion landed in his hand, and the red light from it flowed steadily into his body.

The man spoke in an aged yet gentle tone, "You've finally come. I've waited a long time."

Lu Chen stared in disbelief. "You were waiting for me?"

The man walked up to Lu Chen. Now that he’d raised his head, his face was visible, and he seemed to be in his seventies or eighties. Placing a hand gently on Lu Chen's head, he touched the Twin-Fish Medallion back around his neck with the other hand.

"Yes, I was waiting for you. Or to be precise, for the one who wears the Twin-Fish Medallion. My duty is to help that person begin their path of cultivation. That's why I'm here."

Lu Chen looked down at the medallion and asked, "So anyone wearing this pendant could've come here? It's not about talent?"

The man nodded. "You could say that."

Lu Chen suddenly had the feeling that everything in this world had been pre-arranged. He had been wearing this jade pendant ever since he was found, and now, it turned out to be the very item required to enter this place.

He looked up at the man, his gaze cautious. "Are you... that emperor? The Heavenly Emperor who emerged from Greenheaven Village ?"

The man shook his head. "No, I'm just one of his avatars. The original has nine avatars in total, and each one is independent, with different personalities and abilities. I've been here since before he became an emperor, waiting to fulfill my duty. But without the original's spirit qi support, I aged rapidly, and my cultivation has all but vanished. Now, less than a tenth remains. Anyway, my name is Feng Tiancheng. If you don't mind, you can call me Grandpa Feng."

Lu Chen nodded. "Alright, Grandpa Feng."

Feng Tiancheng continued, "Since you came from Greenheaven Village, you should know this place is meant for cultivation. But from what I can see, you haven't started cultivating at all."

Hearing that, Lu Chen immediately understood that this was his chance. He replied earnestly, "Grandpa Feng, I came here to find the meaning of cultivation. I want to begin this path. I want to understand what cultivation really is, and what heaven and earth truly are."

Feng Tiancheng looked at Lu Chen and gently shook his head. "The nature of cultivation, the meaning of heaven and earth... I'm afraid I don't have the answers to those. I'm just an avatar. But I know the original once pondered the same questions. If all you want is to begin cultivating, I can help you. Once you've built your strength, you can seek the answers yourself or ask the original."

Hearing what Feng Tiancheng said, Lu Chen had no choice but to set the question aside and change the subject. "Grandpa Feng, I went through the Heavenly Pool Baptism a few days ago, but I still haven't reached the Qi Absorption Realm. If possible, I hope you can help me cultivate. I want to seek the truth behind cultivation and the nature of heaven and earth."

He recited the lines he had overheard outside the main hall.

"At the dawn of time, who conveyed the Dao? When heaven and earth were yet unformed, how could it be known? In the blind churn of darkness, who could sound its depth?

"I want to uncover the purpose of my cultivation."

Feng Tiancheng looked at Lu Chen, as if seeing his younger self during the days he had once sought the Dao. He murmured, "You really remind me of myself back then. I wonder how the original is doing now."

Feng Tiancheng seemed to have made up his mind. He raised his hand and helped Lu Chen up. "I do have a way to help you step into cultivation, but you must promise me one thing. Once you become strong enough, you must find my true body."

Lu Chen's resolve grew even stronger upon hearing this. "Grandpa Feng, I promise you. Please, help me cultivate."

Feng Tiancheng nodded. He removed the Twin-Fish Medallion around Lu Chen's neck and explained, "Back when I was cultivating, I once forged a enchanted artifact called the Yuanyang Twin-Fish Disk.[2] For some reason, the disk shattered and this medallion is a fragment of that very treasure. This medallion is the core of its Heavenly Pool. The two fish, one black and one white, represent yin and yang. Within the medallion lies a boundless universe. It can draw in and refine spirit qi, forming a small world of its own. But for some reason, only this medallion remains now."

As he spoke, Feng Tiancheng placed the token into a groove in the stone chair. A pit suddenly formed within the main hall. Spirit qi poured out from the medallion, growing denser by the second until it gradually condensed into liquid.

Lu Chen stared at the spirit-qi pool, unable to suppress the tremor in his heart. He thought to himself, This single pool might be enough to support the cultivation of everyone in Dongshan City.

He had heard storytellers mention that the spirit qi of heaven and earth was incredibly precious. Back before the Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Disk existed, spirit qi was scarce, and there were fewer and fewer cultivators over the years. It wasn't until the appearance of the Seven Children and the Heavenly Emperor Spirit-Gathering Disk that spirit qi began to recover. Even so, a spirit-qi pool like this was extremely rare.

Feng Tiancheng watched as the qi filled the entire pool. He tossed the Twin-Fish Medallion back to Lu Chen and said, "I've checked your body. Your Heavenly Pool has already been unlocked. It's clearly capable of drawing in spirit qi. I don't understand the talent test you mentioned, but once the pool is open, as long as there's enough qi, it's only a matter of time until you reach the Qi Absorption Realm."

Feng Tiancheng grabbed another handful of spirit plants from the side and tossed them into the pool. "From what you said, the outside world went through a period of spirit qi decline. If that's the case, it's normal that you couldn't draw it into your body. When I was cultivating, the world was abundant with spirit qi. Almost everyone was a cultivator.

"Back then, talented youths were everywhere. Some were born already at the Qi Absorption Realm. Some had vast Heavenly Pools that could continuously store spirit qi. Others had such powerful bodies that they could move mountains and seas with sheer strength.

"Your Heavenly Pool is very similar to that of people coming from a certain ancient bloodline. Legend has it that when heaven and earth first came into being, spirit qi was so thick it was liquid. At that time, five supreme beings were born. One of them lived in a secret place at the far eastern edge of the world. Their bloodline was called the Green Sovereign Bloodline."

After speaking, Feng Tiancheng stepped into the spirit-qi pool to replenish himself and waved for Lu Chen to join him.

Lu Chen looked at Feng Tiancheng. "Grandpa Feng, what should I do?"

Feng Tiancheng gently pulled him into the pool with a wave of his hand.

As the two soaked in the spirit liquid, Feng Tiancheng continued, "Those beings were born with their Heavenly Pool already opened. But because their pools were so vast, they needed a huge amount of spirit qi to reach the Qi Absorption Realm. Once they did, their cultivation would improve at an astonishing pace."

"We have that same bloodline. Back then, even with spirit qi everywhere, it still took me three years to reach the Qi Absorption Realm. Now that the qi outside is so thin, it's completely normal that you haven't reached it yet."

Feng Tiancheng revealed his own Heavenly Pool as he explained.

Lu Chen looked on as the phantom image of Feng Tiancheng's Heavenly Pool filled the entire hall. It kept absorbing spirit qi, but no matter how much it took in, it never seemed to fill.

Lu Chen stood frozen, murmuring, "So this is the Heavenly Pool of the Green Sovereign Bloodline? How can it be so huge..."

Feng Tiancheng chuckled at Lu Chen's stunned look and patted him. "Don't worry. With the Twin-Fish Medallion, you'll have enough to reach the Qi Absorption Realm. It's just a matter of time."

By now, Feng Tiancheng had already recovered part of his cultivation. He looked noticeably younger.

"I'll teach you a cultivation method. Focus and practice it carefully. Guide the spirit qi through sixty-four cycles of the Greater Circulation, then lead it into your Heavenly Pool. Keep doing this until it's full. You'll reach the Qi Absorption Realm much faster this way."

He pressed a finger to Lu Chen's forehead and passed the technique into his mind.

Lines of script describing a technique called the Grand Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Mantra surfaced in Lu Chen’s mind, followed by the image of a tiny figure. In the figure’s dantian sat a miniature spirit-gathering disk, its internal dial rotating continuously.

All of a sudden, the tiny figure sat cross-legged and repeatedly ran the technique through Lu Chen's mind.

Lu Chen had heard from storytellers that most cultivators used a disk to absorb qi and reach the Qi Absorption Realm. Even after that, they still needed the disk to cultivate. This was his first time seeing a method that didn't rely on a disk. Curious and fascinated, he started following the little figure's movements to circulate the spirit qi.

Lu Chen tried once, twice, then a third time, again and again without success. But eventually, he succeeded in completing one full cycle and guided the spirit qi into his Heavenly Pool.

Just as he was about to open his eyes in excitement, Feng Tiancheng held him down to help him stay calm and continue circulating his qi.

Lu Chen felt his consciousness gradually enter a mysterious space. His awareness floated up and down as the Grand Heavenly Spirit-Gathering Mantra took effect, and the flow of spirit qi grew faster and faster, surging into his Heavenly Pool.

Seeing Lu Chen enter a meditative state, Feng Tiancheng stepped out of the spirit pool, picked several herbs from the surrounding spirit plants, and began refining pills, all while steadily tossing the leftover herbs back into the pool.

Before they knew it, four days had passed. The spirit qi in the pool was nearly depleted.

At that moment, a crisp sound echoed from within Lu Chen's body. He let out a low groan, and his body began to tremble violently. As if triggered by that sound, all the bones in his body began to break and be restored from top to bottom. His skin was repeatedly torn and healed. Blood poured from his wounds, slowly dyeing the pool red.

Feng Tiancheng rushed over and fed Lu Chen the pills he had just refined. He helped Lu Chen absorb the medicine to ease the pain and struck his abdomen several times with a mysterious technique.

Lu Chen's convulsions slowly subsided. Then, a beam of red light suddenly shot out from his lower abdomen, beginning to absorb the remaining spirit liquid.

Gradually, the red light grew unsatisfied with just spirit qi. It split into several vines, drawing in the medicinal power and spirit qi from the surrounding ancient trees and spirit plants, merging everything into Lu Chen's body. A Yin-Yang Core began to take shape at his lower abdomen.

Upon seeing this, Feng Tiancheng also extended a few green vines from his waist and said, "Little Green, happy to see a new companion? But it looks like this one's a little different from you."

The green vine seemed to understand Feng Tiancheng and affectionately brushed against his ear. As the Yin-Yang Core formed, the changes in Lu Chen's body gradually slowed down and eventually stopped.

A red light radiated from the Yin-Yang Core, wrapping around Lu Chen's body. It began using the remaining medicinal power to repair the damage, pushing out shattered bits of flesh and dark impurities from his body.

This was a secret technique of Feng Tiancheng's clan, one only suited for their bloodline. At the beginning of cultivation, the body would be enveloped in spirit liquid, which continuously bombarded the meridians during training, gradually expanding them.

Finally, it would temper the body, expelling impurities through repeated cycles of tearing and stretching, strengthening it to the peak of the Qi Absorption Realm. This secret technique allowed practitioners to bypass the body-tempering phase of said realm and enter formal cultivation directly.

1. A reference to the ancient Chinese poem 《天问》 (“Heavenly Questions”) by Qu Yuan (屈原), a masterpiece of Chu Ci (楚辞) that ponders cosmological and philosophical mysteries. ☜

2. In Daoist cultivation, Yuanyang(元阳)refers to the fundamental life force or essential yang energy that sustains life. ☜