Starting Cultivation During a Trip

"What was that just now?" Zhang Fan couldn’t help but ask.

"It’s the Building Patrol Officer," Ge Shuangxiu whispered.

"Anyone who stays awake at night, or dares to have an Out-of-Body Experience and wander around, will be taken away by that lamp and burned for three days and nights."

As he spoke, Ge Shuangxiu pointed his mouth towards the window.

"The people by the northwest wall saw it."

"Are those people? I thought they were clay sculptures." Zhang Fan was astonished.

When he came in, he glanced and saw silhouettes sitting cross-legged by the wall, seemingly children about his age, looking just like clay statues under the twilight shadows.

"Those are the kids who didn’t sleep at night and whose Primordial Spirits were taken away," Ge Shuangxiu added.

"Once their Primordial Spirits are taken, they’re left there, only released after burning for three days."

"We’ve all been burned before."

Ge Shuangxiu grinned, remarking with a gentle laugh, "If you don’t want to appear out of place, you could try it too."

"What the hell kind of place is this?" Zhang Fan’s eyes widened.

He now felt as if he was abandoned, as if his parents truly didn’t want him anymore.

"I want to get out, I must get out." Zhang Fan clenched his fists, his eyes filled with a yearning for freedom.

"Life is rootless, drifting like dust in the unfamiliar lands. Scattered are the winds of change, this is no ordinary life. Falling to the ground as brothers, why need kinship in flesh and bone..."

Just then, a gentle reciting voice came from outside the door.

Zhang Fan instinctively looked up to see the door slowly open, and a young boy walked in. By the moonlight, he seemed two or three years older than him, tall and thin, with a high nose and bright eyes. His appearance was ordinary, yet quite memorable.

"How can he wander outside?" Zhang Fan couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

"His Primordial Spirit hasn’t awakened, so naturally, he’s unaffected," Ge Shuangxiu replied casually.

"A regular person?" Zhang Fan was stunned.

He knew there were about twenty or thirty children in this orphanage, all of whom had awakened their Primordial Spirits.

It’s known that it is incredibly difficult for most ordinary people to awaken their Primordial Spirits in a lifetime, yet this orphanage housed two or three dozen children, all of whom had done so—it was simply unbelievable.

And now, unexpectedly, a child without an awakened Primordial Spirit appeared, simultaneously ordinary and eerie.

"A newcomer?" The young boy walked up, looked at Zhang Fan, and showed a gentle, welcoming smile.

"Once you come here, we are all brothers."

As he spoke, the boy held out his fist in greeting.

"My name is Zhou Yi!"

"I’m Zhang Fan!"

...

Ten-year-old Zhang Fan settled into the Sanqi Orphanage, and in the blink of an eye, a year had passed from autumn to spring.

He gradually adapted to this strange and mysterious orphanage.

It felt like a forbidden zone, not all places could be ventured into. Over time, he curbed his curiosity, immersing himself entirely in cultivation, hoping one day to leave this ghastly place.

The children in Sanqi Orphanage were all quite special, and here, apart from his dormitory mates, he also sparred in Magical Combat with children from other dorms. Over time, he inevitably progressed.

"Zhang Fan, your Primordial Spirit is indeed powerful."

On the square, Rosen’s body suddenly halted, as if mired in a swamp. Zhang Fan leaped up, forming a Seal with his hands.

"Earth Burial!"

As he shouted, the surrounding soil surged, gravel flew, and in an instant, the area transformed into mighty waves crashing toward Rosen.

"Five Elements Burial Skill!"

"Great!"

The surrounding children cheered enthusiastically.

Zhang Fan’s advantage lay in the suppression of his Primordial Spirit. Even though he was among the younger ones in this orphanage, his Primordial Spirit was among the strongest, surpassing even his dorm mate Rosen.

At this moment, as his Primordial Spirit was influenced, a step slower made all the difference in victory and defeat.

"All Things in the Universe, return to dust!"

Suddenly, Rosen softly uttered these words, and the surging soil around him fell like leaves, breaking all techniques.

"Broke it!?"

Whoosh...

Almost at the same moment, Rosen moved, appearing ghost-like in front of Zhang Fan.

"Intimidating Gods!"

Zhang Fan formed a Seal with one hand, his Primordial Spirit trembled violently, the terrifying frequency once again slowed Rosen’s movement.

In a split second, Zhang Fan leapt back more than ten meters, creating a distance.

"Not fighting anymore."

Rosen saw this and slowly withdrew his hand, losing interest in continuing the fight.

His Daoist Skill surpassed Zhang Fan, but Zhang Fan’s Primordial Spirit suppressed him greatly. If the fight continued, neither would win or lose.

"Zhang Fan, once my Daoist Skill is further refined, your last bit of life-saving technique will be useless." Rosen smirked.

"Just wait, I’m working on an Alchemy Technique. Once I master it, my Primordial Spirit could crush you." Zhang Fan refused to concede.

Truth be told, Rosen was two years older, but Zhang Fan didn’t fear him at all.

"Disperse!"

Nearby, Chen Ji waved his hand, dismissing the crowd.

Zhang Fan went to the corner, about to rest, when he saw Zhou Yi squatting not far away, motionless, seemingly watching something.

In the Sanqi Orphanage, Zhou Yi was considered an anomaly, being the only ordinary person without an awakened Primordial Spirit.

Every night, he roamed the different dormitories, like a social butterfly.

According to him, since everyone is brought together by fate, they are brothers, regardless of blood relation.

Despite being just an ordinary person, he possessed an innate friendliness, which made others willing to befriend him.

Over time, he became a frequent guest in various dorms, as he was the only one who didn’t need to sleep at night and wouldn’t have his Primordial Spirit burned.

Zhang Fan asked him why, as an ordinary person, he was here.

Zhou Yi replied that a great Primordial Spirit is always encountered unexpectedly.

Zhang Fan often teased him, reminding him he hadn’t awakened his Primordial Spirit nor practiced cultivation.

Each time the topic came up, Zhou Yi would earnestly say that the Dao is not meant for cultivation but enlightenment, suggesting he might grasp it someday.

"Zhou Yi, what are you looking at?"

Zhang Fan walked over, looked down, and was taken aback.

On the ground, a group of ants was crawling, transporting scattered grains of rice.

"What’s so interesting about ants?" Zhang Fan couldn’t help but ask.

"Don’t you find it fascinating?" Zhou Yi’s eyes shone with a peculiar light.

"A single ant is weak, but a group can accomplish many things..."

"They have clear divisions of labor: soldier ants for defense, worker ants for foraging and building, the queen ant for reproduction..."

Saying this, Zhou Yi paused slightly and looked up at Zhang Fan.

"Zhang Fan, do you think these ants could be a single life form?"

"A single life form?" Zhang Fan expressed doubt: "What do you mean?"

"I mean these ants are actually one entity, each like a cell in a human body, just more dispersed."

"The queen ant is the brain, the soldier ants are the skeleton and muscles, worker ants are the blood..." Zhou Yi’s eyes gleamed with unusual brilliance.

A race, akin to a single life form.

Both an individual and a collective, in perfect harmony.

"Just like the human Primordial Spirit, same origin, same source... A solitary Primordial Spirit is so fragile, innately influenced by Consciousness, hard to awaken, sometimes even trapped in Great Night..."

"Such fragile power..." Zhou Yi murmured softly.

"What if all Primordial Spirits were like ants, sharing a single brain, how powerful that would be." Zhou Yi grew increasingly excited as he spoke.

"Zhou Yi, you..."

Zhang Fan was stupefied, watching Zhou Yi, his expression somewhat dazed. Such words seemed to plant a seed in young Zhang Fan’s heart, a seed yet to sprout.

"Zhang Fan, do you think there exists a Technique that could connect everyone’s Primordial Spirits?" Zhou Yi looked at the ants beneath his feet, then at the sky. His gaze seemingly reached far into the distance, beyond ordinary sight, full of longing and aspiration.

"If not, I hope someday I can start this school of thought," Zhou Yi whispered softly.