chapter 2 true charms

Late at night, where the surroundings were quiet. The night sky was filled with stars, and the moon shone brightly alongside them, reflecting many stars in the water of the well that looked like a mirror. Among these, eight were particularly bright and arranged in the shape of a "well" — this was the "Well" constellation, one of the twenty-eight lunar mansions in Chinese mythology! In modern times, it is known as the "Gemini" constellation. Andrew Qi scooped up a ladle of water from the well using a gourd ladle hanging on the well's edge. With determination, he bit his finger and dripped his blood into the water, then he aimed the gourd ladle towards the starry sky and chanted, "Talisman, the connection between heaven and earth, yin and yang, the five elements, the sun, the moon, the stars... With my essence and blood, I open the Eye in the well constellation!" Subsequently, with mixed emotions, Andrew Qi waited for destiny's choice, whilst secretly praying. Fortunately, after a moment, an extraordinary phenomenon occurred! The scattered bloodstains in the gourd ladle suddenly became orderly, vaguely outlining the pattern of the Well constellation in the night sky, but it also gave the impression of an "Eye in the well," shrouded in mystery. "The Dragon charm of Well Constellation, activate!" Andrew Qi was overjoyed, yet also somewhat apprehensive. He sprinkled the blood water from the gourd ladle onto the well's edge, and suddenly, the moss-covered edge of the well revealed silver runes, interconnected with each other, shining like the light of the stars and moon. Suddenly, a thunderous roar came from the bottom of the well. The once calm water started churning wildly, as if caught in the midst of a tempestuous sea. Hiss! A white stream shot up from the well, reaching dozens of feet high, resembling a dragon playing in the waters. But quickly, the white stream vanished, turning into a beam of silver light that entered into Andrew Qi's left hand. A strong burning sensation emerged on his palm, and an "Eye in the well" shaped, dark red wound appeared. With instant reflexes, Andrew Qi shook his hand as if trying to throw off the burning sensation, but it was in vain! What was even more bizarre was that within the character "well", there was a symbol resembling a dragon or serpent, looking like the character "dragon" written in cursive, but was much more vivid. And this symbol was actually "alive," wriggling like a red "earthworm." Soon, the "well" shaped wound seemed to grow countless invisible "roots," rapidly spreading across his entire palm, arm, and his entire body! In an instant, Andrew Qi realized that the red "earthworm" was the spirit of the dragon guarding the truthful charms, named Ulysses. To be honest, Andrew Qi had quite an admiration for his ancestor, Hannah Qi, who not only married nine wives but also tamed a fierce dragon spirit into a simpleton, like a person of limited outlook and experience. Moments later, the glowing runes on the well's edge suddenly retracted as if nothing had happened. The Dragon charm of Well Constellation was successfully acquired! This also meant that the memories of "another Andrew Qi" were not a mere dream! Andrew Qi couldn't help but laugh. Since this was not a dream, there was a chance to make up for all the regrets of life, the shortcomings of cultivation! Whether it was rebirth, foreseeing the future, or a parallel universe, what difference did it make? But first, he had to improve his body, he did not wish to die before achieving mastery. The current Andrew Qi did not have sufficient capability to protect himself. Forget about the ancient martial arts families of China, even armed gangsters were more than he could handle, not to mention Florence Xia did not have a simple family background, so he must shorten the time it took to lay the foundation and start his path — there was no room for error! Time was limited for him! Tonight, he would begin the body tempering process! Under the moon and starlight, the peaks of Qingtai Mountain range were intermittently visible through the clouds, resembling a green dragon weaving through the mist, and the clouds around the many peaks eventually settled down below a towering cliff, bare of vegetation — this was the Dragon's Precipice. If a master of Geomancy with extraordinary accomplishments were to see such a pattern, they would inevitably say that beneath the Dragon’s Precipice lies a Geomancy treasure land for gathering wind and accumulating Qi, and if it were a practitioner skilled in magic formations who saw it, they would surely say this is where strong spiritual energy converges, which can be called an auspicious and spiritual land. Setting up a magic formation here for cultivation would certainly result in twice the result with half the effort put in. In fact, the area around Tao Li village beneath Dragon’s Precipice was originally a huge magic formation meticulously arranged by the ancestors of Andrew Qi, with the Volong Well being the most important focal point of the formation, and the ten acres of peach grove at the Qi family's old house serving as the natural instrument for setting up the formation. However, after the ancestor Hannah Qi, a celestial being, had passed away, no one recognized the mountain river spirit-gathering formation. After all, Hannah Qi was not an ordinary Geomancy practitioner, but a cultivator of charms and immortality! At this moment, Andrew Qi stood in the middle of the peach grove, at the central position of this mountain river spirit-gathering formation. With the palm of his left hand, he grasped the focal point of the Dragon charm of Well Constellation formation. The cool breeze blew through the woods, his heart as calm as still water, clearly feeling the spiritual energy of the entire Qingtai Mountain being lively, and even being able to control the flow of spiritual energy. Feeling the flow of spiritual energy throughout Qingtai Mountain, Andrew Qi uttered in a low voice, "By the power of the truthful charms, I draw the spiritual energy from the veins of Qingtai, seizing the creation of heaven and earth! Refine my body! Go!" This is the method of cultivating immortality through charms—using charms to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body. As it is said in the "Fairy Charm Flower Scriptures", "A charm is a method that communicates the Yin and Yang and the Five Elements of heaven and earth, the sun, moon, and stars... Human strength has its limits, whereas the power of heaven and earth is infinite. Therefore, by using charms to harness the spiritual power of heaven and earth for our own use, we may achieve eternal life and creation." When Andrew Qi began to practice with the Volong charm of the Well constellation, the leaves of three thousand-year-old peach trees moved, even without the presence of wind. The ancient clouds over Dragon’s Precipice suddenly began to churn, and then the clouds over the entire Qingtai Mountain range were set in motion. These clouds then drifted towards the peach grove, quickly enveloping the entire grove and cabin in mist, as if an invisible force was influencing everything. These clouds were the spiritual energy of the Qingtai Mountain range. As Andrew Qi inhaled, it entered his skin, blood vessels, tendons, bones, and then his internal organs. Under the nourishment and cleansing of the spiritual energy, Andrew Qi felt the impurities and filth inside and outside his body being washed away, turning into breaths of "turbid air" exhaled with his breaths. After some time had passed, the eastern sky began to brighten. A red sun rose slowly over Dragon’s Precipice, the clouds thinned, and the wind was light. The peach grove and mountains were no longer unusual, but Andrew Qi himself had undergone an extraordinary transformation— Having refined the impurities from his body, Andrew Qi felt much lighter, and his bones and muscles were much stronger. Every muscle, bone, and piece of skin seemed to be reborn, as if he himself was undergoing a metamorphosis! This is the great accomplishment of body refining! In the twelve realms of cultivation to immortality, although the body refining stage is only at the first realm, it is the first realm for a cultivator! What does the great accomplishment of body refinement signify? It means having the strength to lift a thousand pounds! Skin being as tough as copper, bones as strong as iron! Immunity to all diseases! Unaffected by both coldness and heat! This is equivalent to a top-level master who has practiced martial arts for many years, like the Iron Vest training or Golden Armour techniques, or even better! After all, the body refining technique Andrew Qi practiced is the most domineering Demonic Dragon embodiment in the realm of true cultivation, and he is nourished by the genuine energy of the Dragon, which is extraordinary. In his "other memory," Andrew Qi was surrounded and fell in a battle against a group of immortals because he relied too much on the power of the charms and neglected physical cultivation. As a result, when the charms were exhausted, he was attacked and killed by those immortals. Naturally, he could not make the same mistake again. Most importantly, with the great accomplishment of body refining and after being cleansed by spiritual energy, Andrew Qi finally broke through the threshold of cultivation, and he could now create charms himself! The path of cultivation, had officially begun!