He positioned his left hand above, with the middle finger pressing against his right palm, while the middle finger of his right hand was positioned below, pressed against the base of his left middle finger. Both hands formed the shape of an unopened lotus bud, ensuring they’d be connected once the spiritual energy entered his body and that the flow of the exchange wouldn’t happen too fast.
He closed his eyes, but his vision didn’t go dark. His powerful divine soul allowed him to clearly perceive the spiritual energy flowing around him in five swirling hues of red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.
The way of Heaven takes from what is in excess to make whole what is in dearth, whilst the way of Man takes from those in want to offer to those who lack for naught.5 Follow the course of nature, for that is the way of the Dao; align with Heaven’s will, know your destiny, and use what is in surfeit in the universe to remedy your own deficits.
Mo Tianliao’s new body wasn’t an ordinary human body, so he couldn’t directly absorb spiritual energy. He had to follow the Art of Burning Wood’s instructions to first absorb wood-based spiritual energy into his body, then channel the fire-element spiritual energy into his dantian.
Imagine myself as the undying tree that stands between heaven and earth, and all the spiritual energies of the wood shall be mine to command.
Countless wisps of green spiritual energy swirled tentatively around him before gushing into him from all directions, like trickling rivulets streaming into a mountain creek.
The wood-based spiritual energy was full of vitality as it circulated through his limbs and bones. Mo Tianliao felt like a sapling absorbing water. His limbs slowly stretched under the abundance of spiritual energy, and his joints popped. He carefully controlled the circulation as it flowed between his hands, and the spiritual energy coursed through his body in streams as wide across as a man’s finger, speeding until it peaked. He instantly put his palms together.
As countless rivers to the vast ocean flow, so do spiritual energies in all creation go.
His eyes snapped open, glowing green. He’d succeeded.
He gradually concluded his mediation, looking delighted. No matter how good someone’s aptitude was, some degree of obstruction was inevitable in the process of absorbing energy. Even heaven-attribute cultivators with broad meridians would be hindered by the limitation of their physical flesh. But with the body of the divine tree, Mo Tianliao could absorb spiritual energy into his flesh and blood.
If one imagined that a person with a single attribute was sucking in spiritual energy through a thin bamboo straw, and a person with a heaven attribute absorbed the same energy through a bamboo pipe, Mo Tianliao was essentially siphoning it in through a huge bamboo tube.
Now that he’d succeeded in absorbing wood-based spiritual energy, Mo Tianliao breathed a sigh of relief and proceeded to draw in fire-element spiritual energy.
The average person with dual attributes had to absorb both spiritual energies at the same time and prevent the two from colliding. But Mo Tianliao wasn’t a true dual-attribute cultivator, so he could absorb them separately.
With his divine soul, he looked internally into his body. The woodfire in his dantian was only a firefly’s glow, flickering weakly.
He separated his hands into an upper and lower protective position around his dantian and drew over the red spiritual energy. Before he could recite the incantation, the woodfire leaped and whirled in excitement, creating a small spiritual vortex in his core that promptly drew in the fire-element spiritual energy.
“Ugh…” Mo Tianliao grunted. It felt as though tiny flames were converging from all over his body toward his dantian, burning his meridians along the way. For a moment he felt searing pain, but then his meridians adapted to the heat, leaving him feeling comfortable. It was like soaking his feet in hot water—scalding at first, but pleasant once he got used to it.
When his dantian could no longer hold more spiritual energy, Mo Tianliao cut off the absorption and slowly expelled a breath of turbid energy. The woodfire in his dantian had grown larger, and it rested lazily without moving, apparently sated.
Mo Tianliao flopped back onto the bed, too exhausted to move. Earlier, he’d discovered that his woodfire wasn’t limited to the tiny one in his core; it was spread throughout his body, but he could currently only use the fire in his dantian. He’d need to keep cultivating to draw these scattered flames into his dantian.
Having successfully absorbed these spiritual energies, Mo Tianliao had a good night’s sleep.
Meanwhile, the gorgeous man in Qingning Palace turned over on his soft bed and slowly opened his enchanting eyes.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, casting fan-shaped shadows of his long eyelashes on his face. His thin, pink lips pinched softly together. “Damn it.”
He sat up, got off the bed, opened the window, and gazed out at the little courtyard at the side of the palace. Seeing that spiritual energies had stopped converging there, Qingtong placed a hand on the windowsill for support, then gracefully leaped out and transformed into a white cat, sneaking away into the night.
The man on the bed was asleep when the white cat jumped onto his bed and nudged him disdainfully.
“Mm…” Mo Tianliao hummed and loosened his arms slightly.
The fluffy little cat burrowed into the crook of Mo Tianliao’s arms, but it wasn’t as comfortable as he preferred. He pawed Mo Tianliao’s collar apart to reveal the soft inner garment underneath. Satisfied, he settled in.
“Pawpaw…” Sensing something furry snuggling up to him in his sleep, Mo Tianliao smiled and hugged the furball in his arms tighter.
“Dummy.” The cat pouted, nuzzled his head against Mo Tianliao’s stubbled chin, and closed his eyes in contentment.
✦ ✦ ✦
MINI EXTRA
Woodworker: Pray tell, what’s up with Shizun sneaking into his disciple’s bed in the middle of the night?
Shizun: I’m here to check on your cultivation progress.
Woodworker: Too much effort. Why don’t I just cultivate in your chamber? *doe-eyed*
Shizun: *raises paw, sends him flying with a swat*