60. A Cultivator, not a Martial Artist

(2 Months later, Somewhere in the Mountain Range.)

The moon hung high, casting pale light across the quiet courtyard. Mo Tian stood, his chest rising and falling in measured rhythm, the faint whisper of his breath the only sound in the stillness of the night. The air was thick with the promise of transformation, as though the very atmosphere held its breath in anticipation.

At seventeen, Mo Tian had already reached the Peak of the Aperture Tempering Realm, a feat few could even dream of, let alone accomplish. But he was not satisfied. This was the moment. This was the hour where the final barrier would break, where his cultivation would ascend beyond the limitations of the mortal realm.

His eyes narrowed, focusing inward. Beneath his skin, his body thrummed with energy, pulsing in time with his heartbeat. The hidden apertures within him, those dormant points of energy, stirred to life. They were not just physical, but spiritual, waiting for Mo Tian's command to awaken, to open the unseen paths within him.

He could feel the balance of intake and release shifting, adjusting. His breath became deeper, slower, more deliberate. Energy flowed through him like water through a river, but this time, it was different. He was no longer just a conduit for power, he had become the river itself.

With a thought, he began to draw the energy back that he had released, reclaiming what would have been lost, bending the power to his will. The wastage of his previous actions no longer existed. Every movement, every breath now fed into the cycle, the flow uninterrupted.

His body, ever so attuned to the shifts, instinctively expelled foreign energies that tried to corrupt his core. Poison, invasive forces, the lingering effects of past injuries, all were rejected. They pushed away before they could take root.

The process was subtle, yet profound. Mo Tian was no longer merely refining his energy, he was refining his very being, aligning himself with the perfect cycle of creation and destruction. The apertures within him, once passive and inert, now hummed with purpose. They connected, linked by unseen threads, and Mo Tian's form seemed to vibrate with potential.

With every breath, with every pulse of his heart, his body seemed to shed its limitations. He could feel the invisible wall that separated him from the next realm, a boundary not of strength, but of understanding. He was no longer just a martial artist; he was the embodiment of the cycle itself. Energy was not something he wielded, it was a part of him, a constant rhythm that coursed through his very being.

The transformation was subtle, but undeniable. His eyes glowed with a calm intensity, the pupils reflecting the vastness of the power he now controlled. His body was an ever-turning wheel of energy, each moment bringing him closer to a state where power was not just wielded, but lived.

As the night deepened, Mo Tian stood alone, the air around him still but heavy with the weight of his breakthrough. He had surpassed the peak of the martial realm, his body was now in perfect balance. Yet, he had not yet stepped into the next realm.

The next step would come, but not today. Today, he was not just a martial artist; he was a force of nature, waiting for the right moment to unleash the next phase of his ascension. The transformation was complete, but the journey was far from over.

As the lingering traces of his breakthrough settled, Mo Tian stood still in the moonlight, his senses stretching outward, touching every inch of his body as if to confirm the transformation. The cool night air swirled around him, but he was no longer the same person he had been hours ago. The power, the balance within him, felt like an intricate web, delicate yet unbreakable. But there was something else... something hidden just beyond his grasp.

His thoughts drifted inward, as he began to carefully inspect the changes within. His body felt lighter, more attuned, but there was one subtle shift that tugged at him. Mo Tian closed his eyes, concentrating on his internal energy, focusing on the familiar sense of his demonic nature, a presence that had always lurked beneath the surface.

The demonic blood that ran through him, a legacy from a lineage he'd long suppressed, had always been a double-edged sword. It was a source of power, yes, but also a mark of danger, of monstrous origins. The struggle to hide it from prying eyes, to conceal the dark aura that marked him as something more than human, had been a constant weight.

And yet, now, something was different. His demonic energy, once so potent, so volatile, had receded within him, retreating into the very marrow of his being. It no longer surged with the same chaotic fervor. Instead, it lay dormant, as if he could now control it with an ease he hadn't known before.

He reached out with his senses, searching for the familiar pulse of his demonic aura. Normally, it would be an effort to suppress it, to mask it from the world. But now, it was as if his demonic nature was simply... hidden, tucked away beneath the layers of his cultivated power. He could keep it concealed without exerting the exhausting effort it once demanded. In fact, it almost felt natural. There was no panic or overwhelming need to suppress it.

This was an advantage, one he hadn't anticipated. Until now, he had always been at risk of crossing paths with someone who could recognize the signs of his race. Perhaps he had been lucky, or perhaps the fools he encountered were too weak to sense what he truly was. But luck was not something he could rely on forever. If someone were to discover him, he would be forced to either kill them or flee, both undesirable options.

He opened his eyes and exhaled slowly, his mind turning. This was a breakthrough, yes, but it also felt incomplete. He could feel the weight of something elusive hanging in the air around him, as though the next step of his cultivation was just out of reach, like a word on the tip of his tongue that he couldn't quite say.

He stretched his senses once more, reaching into the deeper recesses of his body, where his apertures had opened wide. He felt them, those hidden channels, pathways within him, vibrating with an almost imperceptible hum. His energy coursed through them, but as he focused, there was something he couldn't understand. There was a gap, a space that shouldn't be there.

The transformation had granted him control over his power and mastery over the balance of intake and release, yes. He could feel the perfection of the cycle, his energy was no longer wasted, and his body could reject foreign elements. Yet... he couldn't advance. There was something about the next stage, something beyond the boundaries of the Aperture Tempering Realm, that he was not yet able to touch.

A fleeting thought passed through his mind, but it vanished almost as soon as it arrived. He couldn't feel the next step; it was not a matter of strength, but of comprehension. The path forward was veiled from him, as though the universe itself had placed a barrier that he was not yet meant to cross.

Mo Tian furrowed his brows, narrowing his focus. It wasn't a lack of power, nor was it a failure of his cultivation. No, it was something deeper, something that could only be understood with time, with a deeper level of understanding.

Was it... enlightenment? Was this elusive sensation a form of insight that he had yet to grasp?

He frowned, unable to fully articulate what he felt, and yet, he knew he had to reach it. Something was missing. A piece of the puzzle.

The breakthrough had made him stronger, but the door to the next realm still stood closed. He needed to understand what lay beyond, what unseen truth held the key to his next step. Until then, he was trapped at the precipice of his potential, waiting for the final understanding that would allow him to break free.

With a slow breath, Mo Tian closed his eyes once more, surrendering to the quiet hum of his energy, hoping that the answer would come to him. It had to.

Mo Tian stood still in the stillness of the night, the hum of his cultivation filling the space around him. His focus turned inward, seeking answers from his energy, from the very depths of his being. Yet, despite all the control he had gained over his energy, despite his understanding of the intricate cycles within his body, he found nothing. There was no new path forward, no shift that could explain the elusive barrier that still stood between him and his next breakthrough.

He felt the weight of frustration creeping up, but he resisted it. He could not afford to be distracted by impatience. There was always another way forward, another answer, waiting to be found.

And so, with a deep breath, he turned to the thing that had always guided him through the complexities of cultivation: The System. Then, Mo Tian thought that the 'Devouring Yin Scripture' may have the answer. The manual was an invaluable source of knowledge for both his demonic lineage and his cultivation journey.

The Scripture had been handed down to him by the system. He opened to the section he had often reviewed, searching for some clue that might illuminate the path forward.

As he read through the familiar passages, a sudden line caught his eye, one that had eluded his notice before. His brow furrowed, the words echoing in his mind.

"Before the realm of inner energy, there is a transition, a crossing. It is here a cultivator first senses Qi, awakens their spiritual root, and opens their dantian. Only through this can the full potential of energy be harnessed and controlled."

Mo Tian's fingers froze over the page. The words seemed to hang in the air, striking him like a sudden realization. He had heard of many things in his time, but this... this was something new. Something foreign.

A transition? A crossing? The idea that a cultivator needed to awaken their spiritual root and open their Dantian before progressing into the realm of inner energy was entirely unfamiliar. He had always understood cultivation to be a matter of refining energy, controlling it, and using it for power. But this spoke of a process far more intricate, far more foundational than anything he had ever encountered.

Mo Tian turned the pages quickly, scanning for more details. He had never come across this concept in his studies. It was almost as though it were a different path, a fundamental step that most cultivators must take, but one that had not been explicitly mentioned in the texts he had studied until now.

The realization hit him like a thunderclap: to advance, he needed to do something more than just refine and control his energy. There was a missing piece in his understanding of cultivation, a foundational act that he had not yet undergone.

He was not yet a true cultivator in the traditional sense. He had surpassed the peak of the martial realm, yes, but he had never properly opened his Dantian or fully awakened his spiritual root. That was what had been eluding him, the crucial step that was required before advancing into the deeper realms of cultivation.

Mo Tian sat down, crossing his legs and holding the Scripture before him. His mind raced, processing the revelation. The spiritual root, the Dantian, these were terms that now took on new significance. These concepts were not just part of his training, but a critical juncture in his path forward.

In his pursuit of power, he had overlooked the importance of these fundamental processes. His cultivation had been driven by control and mastery, but he had never once paused to ask whether his foundation had been built correctly. The inner energy he had cultivated, the power he had drawn in, all of it was meaningless unless he first completed this step.

His thoughts swirled, piecing together the scattered fragments of knowledge he had gathered over the years. Qi, the fundamental energy that flowed through all living things, was not the same as the inner energy he had learned to manipulate. It was a primal force, one that connected the heavens and the earth. Only by awakening his spiritual root could he begin to attune himself to this force, drawing in Qi in its purest form.

Mo Tian's eyes narrowed. He could sense that this transition would not be easy. It would require more than just understanding, it would demand that he surrender himself to the natural world, open himself to the flow of energy, and awaken a part of him that had remained dormant all this time. The Dantian, the center of one's cultivation, had to be opened properly. It was the gateway to the power that lay beyond.

But even as he grasped the magnitude of this revelation, doubt crept in. The Devouring Yin Scripture had never provided a clear method for awakening the spiritual root. There was no step-by-step guide, no easy path. Mo Tian had always been guided by instinct, relying on his own strength and will to overcome challenges. But now, it seemed that instinct would not be enough.

The path forward was unclear. Yet, Mo Tian knew this was a turning point. If he could awaken his spiritual root and open his Dantian, he would step into a realm he had only begun to comprehend.

He clenched his fists, resolve hardening within him. He would find the way, no matter what. This was his journey, and he would not be deterred.

To check his deduction, Mo Tian opens the [Host status]. A blue screen appeared in front of him when he was standing in the black abyss.

[Host Status]

Name: Mo Tian

Lifespan: 73 Years

Race: Human (Savage Grade)

Cultivation: Mortal Realm, Awakening Realm, Qi Sensing Stage (Heavenly Demonic Way, Law-Grade)

Techniques, Arts & Inherent Abilities: Phantom Step Art (Mortal Top-Grade, 100%), Heavenly Demonic Weapon Arts (Mortal Law-Grade, 100%), Training Space Mind Technique (Unknown, 82%), Eternal Embrace (Mortal Law-Grade, 100%)

Physique & Bloodline: None

Occupation: None

[Return]

When Mo Tian saw this he confirmed his guess. It seems what he needed to comprehend and sense was the existence of Qi. If he did not, he would forever be a martial artist and not a true cultivator.