Chapter 123: Speculations
She continued, "Actually, if that were all, I would have told you the day I arrived at Azure Isle. But the moment I saw the Crystal Grass, I made new discoveries and speculations!"
"Crystal Grass?"
"Yes, you also mentioned that spirit plants are a newly emerging kind of magical plant. Their most important feature is that they emit a sparkling glow."
"Exactly!"
Elijah nodded.
"When I was practicing the Hun Yuan Technique, which is the second part of the body refining technique, I also felt a similar glow!"
"Could it be... that glow is the energy floating in the air? The same energy that\'s within our bodies?"
Elijah had a sudden flood of thoughts. Including, what exactly is the corpse core?
"Maybe, but there\'s something strange: only when I\'m practicing the Hun Yuan Technique can I sense it! I asked Daisy to try cultivating it, but she didn\'t notice anything. However, the energy in her body did increase slightly! This shows that this cultivation method is universal, not just something only I can practice.
I\'ve also started teaching Bella and Fiona these past two days, and they didn\'t notice the fluorescence either!"
"Daisy learning is one thing, but Fiona too? And you didn\'t even tell me? So I\'m the last to know?" Elijah looked exasperated.
"Hmph, there\'s a reason for that!" Charlotte retorted, pouting.
"Let me teach you now, and you\'ll understand."
"Sure! Go ahead!" Elijah said eagerly.
"First, sit cross-legged like me!" Charlotte instructed.
Elijah mimicked her, placing his right foot on his left thigh, then his left foot on his right thigh, finally resting his hands on his knees with palms facing up.
"Close your eyes, calm your mind, and empty your thoughts!" Charlotte continued.
Elijah complied. Soon, he suddenly felt Charlotte\'s finger touch his abdomen. Somehow, a warm sensation lingered there. Then the second spot, the third spot...
"Guide the energy within your body along the points I\'ve touched!" Charlotte instructed.
Elijah had an epiphany! The points Charlotte touched were acupoints. He followed her instructions, moving the energy through the points she had indicated.
The energy rose from his lower abdomen, flowed through his heart and lungs, moved into his limbs, then through his liver, spleen, kidneys, and other organs, finally gathering at the perineum before returning to the lower abdomen, forming a large cycle.
After a few cycles, the warmth from Charlotte\'s guidance faded. Elijah roughly remembered the locations but, fearing mistakes, he stopped. He sensed the energy within him and indeed felt a barely perceptible increase.
"How was it?" Charlotte asked as he opened his eyes.
"Pretty good. I did feel a slight increase in energy, but I didn\'t see the fluorescence you mentioned," Elijah replied with a hint of regret.
"Could it be related to your ability to see inside yourself?" Elijah suggested.
"I\'ve thought about that too. Why don\'t you try imitating my ability?"
"Alright!" Elijah immediately switched to Charlotte\'s internal vision.
Charlotte again left warm imprints on his body. Elijah tried moving the energy, and a tiny portion split off to follow the path Charlotte indicated. After one cycle, Elijah suddenly noticed, in his internal vision, tiny points of fluorescence appearing in the surrounding darkness.
They seemed attracted to his body, converging from all directions, merging into his energy flow, and slightly enhancing it.
Not only that, even the stronger energy maintaining Charlotte\'s ability benefitted, subtly increasing. Elijah ran a few more cycles, and as the warmth from Charlotte\'s guidance faded, he stopped and exhaled deeply.
Seeing Charlotte\'s concerned gaze, Elijah nodded and said, "I saw it too!"
"It seems it\'s not just my imagination; there really is such an energy in the air, it\'s just that we usually can\'t see it. But when practicing the Hun Yuan Technique, we involuntarily absorb it," Charlotte exclaimed excitedly.
"Has this energy always existed? Or did it only appear after the virus outbreak? Why do spirit plants have similar fluorescence? Are they also absorbing this energy? Is there a connection between the virus and this energy?" Elijah posed a bunch of questions.
Even a year after the previous world, research on the virus, spirit plants, and corpse cores by surviving humans still remained limited to using corpse cores to cultivate spirit plants, and then using spirit plants for awakening and advancement.
What connection did they have before? No one understood.
Even the technique to enhance physical fitness was passed down by Charlotte.
With that in mind, Charlotte must have discovered Chi in her previous life and attempted to cultivate it.
"On this point, I have a guess!" Charlotte pondered for a moment before continuing, "In fact, there are records in many ancient texts that in ancient times, there existed a mysterious energy in our world called Chi!"
"Chi?"
"Yes, according to records, Chi exists in everything in the universe, whether it\'s the air, mountains, rivers, or plants, animals, and humans. Chi exists within them. Through cultivation, people can stimulate the Chi within their bodies and, by continuously absorbing and strengthening it, allow it to flow through the meridians, granting them magical abilities.
Like those immortals in ancient myths, controlling wind and thunder, emitting clouds and mist, and prolonging their lives — all of that was achieved through cultivating Chi!"
"In that case, it\'s similar to modern awakeners. But why hasn\'t anyone discovered Chi in recent times? I don\'t believe that with today\'s technological level, it couldn\'t be detected!" Elijah questioned.
"I\'m not sure about that," Charlotte shook her head. "But in recent times, there hasn\'t been anyone with special abilities, not even in martial arts, which seems to have faded away gradually. It\'s as if Chi never existed."
"Chi existed in ancient times, but it disappeared in modern times, only to reappear after the virus outbreak," Elijah muttered to himself. "There must be a reason for this, but for now, we can\'t see through it. Well, let\'s not dwell on it. We know the role of Chi!"
Elijah began to consider other questions, such as how spirit plants usually rely on absorbing external Chi to grow, but their growth rate is extremely slow. When cultivated with corpse cores, the growth rate significantly accelerates. Could this corpse core be condensed from the Chi within the human body?
Since humans can\'t directly consume corpse cores, is it because during the condensation process, the virus also gets inside? Is there a way to absorb it like plants do?