Awakening

The next morning, Mo Hu slept in until early afternoon until his hunger woke him up. He rose from his bed and began to stretch only to be immediately surprised by the condition of his body. His body felt stronger but lighter, his five senses had improved significantly, and he now felt a sixth sense that could scan the surrounding area but he couldn't quite understand what he was experiencing. He left his cave to go fishing at the beach and discovered that catching fish was even easier than before. He was in a pleasant mood as he walked back to his home.

'This is amazing! I wonder what caused this change to happen?' He wondered.

'Well, it appears your body broke through the Body Perfecting stage into the Qi Gathering stage, Congratulations,' a voice explained.

Mo Hu stopped as a chill ran up his neck and scalp.

"Hello Senior, are you hear about the Senior that lived here recently? I'm sorry, but he past away though I do t know when. I didn't mean to offend anyone by living here," Mo Hu stated as he tried to locate the source of the voice.

'No matter where you look, you can't find me like that, but it would be difficult for me to explain my situation for now. That being said you seem ignorant of your situation and I believe I can help,' the voice replied.

"What do you need me to do, Senior?" Mo Hu inquired.

'Well, first I am speak to you mentally, so you don't need to keep speaking out loud. Next, as far as my needs are, as long as you can stay living in this island, it would be enough for now. I am currently damaged and stay here is speeding up my recovery. Unfortunately because of the damage, I don't have fully access to my memories, but I believe the ones I can remember will help you,' the voice explained.

'So I just speak my thoughts like this," Mo Hu thought.

'Exactly, now I can't speak for too long so I'll give you some advice for now. The ring that you have in your robes right now is a special item. It's normally called a storage ring and the amount it can care depends on the craftsman. I no longer sense an imprint on it, so the previous owner must have pasted away. If you drip a drop of blood on it, it will absorb your imprint and as the new owner you can access it. I'm fairly certain that there should scrolls and manuals inside that can help with your current situation. I apologize but I don't have much energy, so I need to rest but we will discuss things in the future. ' the voice stopped after this and everything was once again quiet.

Mo Hu waited for a few moments and when it seemed nothing else would be said, he returned to his cave and sat down at the table.

'That Senior said that I was at the Qi gathering stage, what does that even mean?' Mo Hu thought to himself, 'well he mentioned that if I bleed on the ring, I will know more.'

Mo Hu took the ring out of one of the pockets in his robes and using the sharp edge of his sickle, lightly pricked his finger. He took the ring in his hand pressing his bleeding finger on it and immediately felt connected to the ring. He imagined a large museum and as he did that a large open space appeared before him. This space was easily multiple football fields in size and arranged neatly were all sorts of items organized into groups of items. He visualized racks of weapons and armors, shelves of trinkets, racks of scrolls, bookshelves of manuals, rows of plants, displays of jewelry and rings, and many more things than he could imagine.

'That Senior mentioned that something in here would teach me what I needed to know,' Mo Hu thought to himself, 'it must be one of those scrolls or manuals over there.'

He made his way over and was about to start reading when he found he wasn't able to. Formulating a theory, he guessed, 'I must not be able to read these while they are still stored inside the ring. It's possible that things inside are in stasis, unaffected by normal interactions. I have to bring these things out if I want to read them,'

He imagined to himself taking the first five manuals out and when his eyes opened, give manuals were on the table in front him. Mo Hu was pleased with himself and grabbed the top manual and began to read. He quickly stopped reading when he couldn't understand the instructions and concepts written, so he put that book to the side and picked up the next one. After going through the first five and not having success, he returned the manuals to the ring and grabbed the next five. He went through the first two shelves when finally, he found a book for a new cultivator.

"Cultivator? Is that what they call themselves?" Mo Hu mused aloud.

He opened the book and started reading. The contents described the method of cultivation mentioning that the key to cultivating was Qi. Qi had to be absorbed into a person's body and mind but it was impossible for common people to do so because their bodies were tainted by impurities. So the first step was to purify the body and enter the Body Perfecting stage by eating and drinking food and water rich in Qi energy. Each time this food was digested, the impurities would be expelled until the body was completely purified. Once this step was taken, the cultivator would perform a procedure that would cause the accumulated Qi in their Dantain to enter their Meridians, a system of vessels that delivers Qi to the body. The Meridian system consists of ten pathways and was broken down by elements: fire, water, earth, wood, metal, ice, lightning, wind, light, and dark. Each branch of Meridians was regulated by major meridians, minor meridians and tertiary meridians. Ten charts was drawn on the manual displaying the paths for each elemental system. When the accumulated Qi reached the ten major meridians, the pressure would build on all other until one open, described as something breaking or popping inside yourself.

"Ah, so that's what happened yesterday, but if I look at these charts and the number of meridians shown then something is off. The number of pops I heard exceeded the number on just one chart. In fact from what I can remember, if I count the pops and then count the total number of meridians of all the charts it would be equal. But it's not possible to open every single meridian, right?" Mo Hu voicing his opinion.

Since he couldn't answer his own question, he continued reading.

Once the process is complete, it is necessary to find someone who can identify which element or in rare cases, elements that opened. Most cultivators will open a single elements fully and open small amounts of other elements as well, but the other elements will not be able to be used and thus should be ignored. Rarely a prodigy will be able to fully open two elements but this is a blessing and a curse. Cultivators that are capable will be much more powerful than the average cultivator but the amount of resources to practice will great increase, so these prodigies will have to have the support of a large family or sect to reach their potential otherwise it's best just to pick one element and focus on it. To open 3 elements is a miracle and when it happens, you probably won't here about it because most leaders will personally handle their cultivation. If a cultivator is found to have 3 elements, they are considered a geniuses, and enemies will go to great lengths to kill them. Once your element has been determined, the next step is find a cultivation method and techniques that suit yourself. The best way to cultivate is to use spirit gathering arrays, which attachs Qi from the environment, allowing the cultivator to use his method and gather Qi into his Dantain. The second method uses spirit stones, crystals that are produced by a dragon or spirit vein in the ground, absorb Qi but this is a less attractive option as spirit stones usually serve as currency between cultivators. The best possible method is to find and environment that matches your element as pure elemental Qi is easier to absorb.

Mo Hu stopped reading at this point, 'It would seem that I need to learn and practice a cultivation method first. Trying to read ahead won't help me but how do find out what elements I am?'

At this time the voice spoke again, 'If it's something as minor as this, I can accomplish this.'

'Please Senior, I thank you in advance,' Mo Hu agreed.

A warm feeling entered Mo Hu and traveled throughout his body and a few moments later he heard, 'It's not possible, but I can't be wrong. You have opened every meridian in your body, you can practice anything!'