Chương 2: The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram

After Zhang Huaijin guided spiritual energy into his body and became a first-level Qi Refining Realm cultivator, a visualization diagram appeared in his sea of consciousness. It was another gift from the Realm-Breaking Pearl. Deep within an endless expanse of primordial chaos, a black-and-white Tai Chi diagram floated, slowly rising and falling. From a distance, it looked like a massive millstone, black on one side, white on the other, twisting and turning, grinding down everything in its reach.

For five years, Zhang Huaijin's soul was tempered without rest. Though he endured immense pain at times, it was still a great blessing. Just now, he had broken through to the third level of Qi Refining Realm, reaching its peak. But his soul had already grown strong enough to rival a late-stage Qi Refining Realm cultivator. The Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram. That was the name of this image. For five years, it had slowly refined his soul. Zhang Huaijin had grown sharper, more intelligent.

He could pick up cultivation techniques and scriptures almost instantly. His soul had become dense, and his comprehension now reached an extraordinary level. His cultivation speed was already comparable to that of an ordinary three-spirit-root cultivator. After he became a cultivator, the Realm-Breaking Pearl had given him the visualization diagram and then fallen back into dormancy.

Over the following five years, as he cultivated, thin threads of spiritual energy were quietly siphoned away and absorbed by the Pearl. Now, five years later, the once-pristine pearl tattoo on his body had turned black and white once more. Its energy was full to bursting. Zhang Huaijin had a feeling that with a single thought, he could directly step into the fourth level of Qi Refining Realm and advance to the middle stage of the realm.

The Realm-Breaking Pearl could help him break through cultivation bottlenecks, but it required a massive amount of resources and energy to do so. Back when he had first become a cultivator, the Pearl had exhausted all its energy just to leave him the visualization diagram. It had taken five full years to recharge. And here was the most important thing, the Realm-Breaking Pearl only worked on major bottlenecks between realms. Take the gap between the third and fourth levels of Qi Refining, for example.

Though it was only a single level apart, it was a massive bottleneck. Some five-spirit-root cultivators needed seven to eight years just to break through that one barrier. In other words, as long as the Pearl had enough energy stored up, major cultivation bottlenecks would simply have no effect on Zhang Huaijin. As for the smaller, intermediate levels? He had the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram for those. His daily cultivation speed wasn't slow at all.

It was already comparable to a three-spirit-root cultivator. With the help of the Realm-Breaking Pearl, he could pull far ahead of everyone his age. Zhang Huaijin also had a feeling that as time passed, the boost from the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram would only grow stronger. And when that happened, that would be his moment to shine. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ——"Second Brother!

You hermit, you finally came out of seclusion!"

"Grandfather and your father are looking for you!" As Zhang Huaijin was deep in thought, a clear voice rang out nearby. He smiled when he heard it and turned around. A boy in gray clothes was moving like a beam of light, arriving at his side in an instant.

"Little Fifth, slow down. What's the rush? Take a deep breath," Zhang Huaijin said, giving the boy a light tap on the head. The boy's name was Zhang Wujian. He was the second son of Zhang Huaijin's second uncle. At thirteen years old, he was ranked fifth among the third generation of the Zhang family. He had a four-spirit-root and was at the second level of Qi Refining Realm. Having only been a cultivator for three years, he had already reached the second level.

A four-spirit-root cultivator was indeed faster than a five-spirit-root. Without the visualization diagram, Zhang Huaijin would probably still be stuck at the second level himself. That was how important spirit roots were for cultivators. In a small family like the Zhangs, most members had four or five-spirit roots. Having just one three-spirit-root cultivator was enough to make him the future hope of the entire family.

Foundation Establishment was too much to hope for, but reaching the peak of Qi Refining Realm was almost guaranteed if he didn't die young. As for geniuses with two-spirit-roots or even a Heaven-root? That was beyond their wildest dreams. Even if smoke suddenly started rising from their ancestors' graves, they wouldn't dare keep such a person. They would have to send them to a major sect. Otherwise, trouble would come knocking. The law of the jungle, that was the rule of the cultivation world.

"Second Brother, how many times have I told you? Stop hitting my head!" Zhang Wujian frowned, muttering in dissatisfaction.

"I don't know what Grandfather wants. He just said to come quickly."

"Got it. And also… I lied before. Patting your head won't actually stunt your growth." Zhang Wujian looked up.

"It definitely won't make you shorter. From now on, every time I see you, I'm patting your head."

"Hahaha!" Zhang Huaijin laughed heartily, then dashed toward the peak of Green Bamboo Mountain.

"Second Brother! You're so annoying!" Zhang Wujian's angry shout lingered in the air long after he was gone. — At the summit of Green Bamboo Mountain stood a large cluster of cyan-colored pavilions, arranged like teeth on a comb. This was where the Zhang family cultivators lived. Dense green bamboo groves surrounded the area. When the breeze blew, the leaves swayed, creating a soft, rustling sound. — Inside the Zhang family's main hall. Zhang Huaijin stepped through the doorway and was met by two concerned gazes.

"Huaijin, not bad. Third level of Qi Refining Realm, and at the peak of it. If everyone in our clan worked as hard as you, we'd have nothing to worry about," said the speaker, the Zhang family patriarch and Zhang Huaijin's grandfather, Zhang Chongwen. Zhang Chongwen was eighty eight years old, a peak Qi Refining Realm cultivator, and the anchor of the Zhang family. He is a four-spirit-root cultivator, originally a rogue cultivator.

He had only reached the seventh level of Qi Refining Realm at forty, and that was after clawing his way up through tremendous hardship. Knowing his own limits and having suffered injuries, he decided to establish his own family and carry on his bloodline. That was how the Zhang family of Green Bamboo Mountain came to be. The other person in the room was his father, Zhang Chongwen's eldest son, Zhang Lixian. Zhang Lixian was the Zhang family's first three-spirit-root cultivator.

At forty-eight years old, he had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining Realm. Lately, he had been trying to break through to the ninth level. For a small Qi Refining Realm clan, a ninth-level cultivator was a matter of life and death. If Zhang Lixian could reach the ninth level before turning fifty, he might even have a shot at Foundation Establishment.

"Father, don't praise him too much. His head will get too big to fit through the door. Now, let's discuss family matters," Zhang Lixian said, waving his hand and gesturing for Zhang Huaijin to sit down. Zhang Lixian spoke quickly, and soon Zhang Huaijin understood the family's current situation. Things were getting difficult. The clan had more and more cultivators, but their resources were stretched thin. This year's harvest was poor. They had collected less spirit rice than usual.

And there were too many places that needed manpower. The Zhang family was less than sixty years old. They owned three hundred acres of first-level spirit rice paddies, all reclaimed by Zhang Chongwen and his descendants, inch by inch, over decades. Of them one hundred eighty acres were on Green Bamboo Mountain itself. The remaining one hundred twenty were scattered elsewhere.