While the white candle still burned, leaving her some time in the underworld, Song Miaozhu hovered over the dark wooden chest and began flipping through the books Sister Xiang Yun had given her.
Despite being thousands of years old, these texts from the last era of cultivation were remarkably well-preserved.
"Spring Longevity Manual (Vol. 1),
An Introduction to the Four Arts of Cultivation,
Minor Five-Element Spells,
The Art of Breathing and Circulation
,Comprehensive Herbology
,Map of Central Plains Markets,
Bestiary of Spiritual Beasts,
Essential Knowledge for Qi Refiners…"
Miaozhu skimmed the title and contents of each volume before setting it aside. Just as Sister Xiang Yun had said, these weren't particularly profound cultivation manuals—certainly not secret techniques or elite methods.
There were only a handful of genuine cultivation manuals among them, but there was still value. Together, they covered techniques, minor spells, and a wealth of practical knowledge. Even the books that seemed basic were windows into the culture and structure of the cultivation world from a bygone age. That alone made them worth reading.
At the very bottom of the box, she came across a book titled:
"The Method of Spirit Induction."
She opened it and found it detailed how ancient cultivators guided qi into their bodies.
According to the text, practitioners would sit cross-legged on a meditation cushion, palms and soles facing upward, with the crown of the head (Baihui point) aligned toward the heavens—a posture called "Five Centers Facing the Sky." This was believed to connect the body with the natural world, allowing one to resonate with the Dao of Heaven and Earth and draw in spiritual energy.
During meditation, entering a state of "Unity of Heaven and Man" would reveal glowing motes of spiritual energy. The colors one could attract indicated their spiritual roots—the foundation of cultivation.
The book described spiritual energy as divided into the Five Elements (Metal—gold, Wood—green, Water—blue, Fire—red, Earth—yellow) and Yin (gray-black) and Yang (white). However, while elemental roots existed, Yin-Yang roots did not.
Yet, strangely, Miaozhu realized the energy lights she had seen didn't resemble any of these.
What she saw had the same white glow as yang qi, but it shimmered faintly with iridescent hues—subtle, shifting, almost dreamlike. And more puzzling still, there was only one kind of light. No variety, no elemental color palette.
Still, the sensation she felt when observing these lights mirrored what the book described. Perhaps in this era, spiritual energy manifested differently—its appearance altered by time.
Another discrepancy: according to the book, one must be in deep meditation to see the spiritual lights and draw them into the body. But Miaozhu had spotted them during paper crafting, sitting casually on a bamboo stool—no meditative posture, no closed eyes, no stillness of mind. And the lights didn't enter her body. They hovered instead around her paper creations.
At first glance, the Method of Spirit Induction seemed useless to her. She set it aside and explored the other texts.
After finishing the chest's contents during her spare time, she revisited the Method of Spirit Induction and noticed something crucial.
The cultivation rules of the past could be summarized in six words:
"Comprehending the Dao of Heaven and Earth."
Every technique, regardless of form, revolved around this principle—attracting spiritual energy by aligning with nature's laws. The "Five Centers Facing the Sky" posture embodied the Five Elements theory, which was the era's foundational understanding of the cosmos.
But times had changed.
If the rules of cultivation had shifted, then the Five Elements theory might no longer apply. The nature of spiritual energy itself could be different.
Stripping away the ancient method's superficial steps, its core was simple:
"Find a practice that resonates with the laws of this world, and spiritual energy will come to you. When it does, draw it in. Refine it. Make it your own."
In the past, this meant sitting motionless, meditating, reaching for the heavens with mind and body.
In the present… it might be something else entirely.
And what had drawn the energy lights to her?
Paper crafting.
She hadn't absorbed the energy, true—but the fact they responded to her work meant that action must harmonize with the current cultivation laws in some way.
That realization changed everything.
Perhaps she didn't need to follow the old methods at all. She just had to lean into what already worked.
After all, even in the past, not every cultivator succeeded right away. Those with pure spiritual roots attracted qi effortlessly. But those with mixed roots had to work slowly, painstakingly drawing in each light. The process was a hundred times harder.
Even if spiritual roots no longer applied, it was likely that cultivating in this era had its own hurdles.
So, failure didn't bother her anymore. If one attempt didn't work, she'd simply try again.
If paper crafting could draw the energy lights, she would craft even more.
She practiced daily—over and over, folding paper offerings with increasing speed and precision. And in time, the results came.
Eventually, she could fold Grade Two Gold Ingots steadily, without even needing to wait for a spiritual light.
And then… she noticed something new.
The energy lights came faster now.
Though still just one at a time, they no longer waited until the offering was complete. Instead, they merged eagerly with her creation halfway through the folding process.
They remained indifferent to her, but their attitude toward her crafted objects had shifted dramatically.
This surprised Miaozhu.
According to the Method, a spiritual light's attitude toward you revealed your cultivation potential.
Nowhere did it say that could change.
Every book agreed: spiritual roots were innate, unchangeable. Otherwise, Sister Xiang Yun wouldn't have spent her life collecting these books without ever managing to cultivate herself.
Yet now, Miaozhu wondered—
"Could spiritual energy respond not just to one's nature, but to one's work? To the quality of what they create?"
The better her paper offerings became, the more eagerly the spiritual lights responded.