The 'science' behind the artificial qi circulation system was a field that had been oversaturated with all sorts of wild experiments, conducted by desperate cripples and retarded mortals alike. At least that's the impression Han Xuhan had gotten from the manual's extremely arbitrary use of logic to justify sets of actions that did not quite line up according to any single orthodoxy's ideologies.

From regular cultivators, the creator of this technique had borrowed methods of dividing a technique into layers and the reliance on qi circulation as the source of all power.

From the monks who practiced loosely religious scriptures, the creator of this technique borrowed the principles of methodical purification of oneself, physically and mentally. However, this aspect of the technique was flawed, which resulted in great damage to his body and subsequently a tragic death.

The manual also referred to several other obscure schools of thoughts that Han Xuhan didn't have much idea about. But it was clear that the principles borrowed from these schools were too esoteric to be understood by someone at his level. And due to the demonic nature of the manual, coupled with its history, Han Xuhan didn't have the guts to openly ask his teachers for help in comprehending this technique.

Maybe he had a chance now, with Kong Ye being so tolerant of his little schemes so far...

One of the most fascinating and difficult problems tackled in the manual was the relationship of qi with meridians, a prime objective that the author wished to explore properly. Research had apparently shown that the ability of a cultivator to control qi did not exist solely due to the existence of the meridians in his body. It was the cultivator's inherent, inborn quality, influenced by bloodlines, mutations, and factors beyond the normal human's understanding. Meridians were only the most important tool required to channel this talent. But it was indeed possible to influence qi by talent alone, however weak and useless the degree of influence may be.

Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian had this talent, but not the tool to utilize it. Han Xuhan had given them a close substitute, their artificial qi pathways. Unlike Xuhan and his fellow disciples who had to learn to sense qi via secret incantations, the undead minions had a natural affinity with qi due to their physique literally being shaped by qi.

Another theory was taken out directly from famous texts on practical cultivation. Any cultivator from a bare basic sect would know this theory and its use.

The degree of influence a cultivator would be able to exert on foreign qi is inversely proportional to the distance between the cultivator and the qi, subject to the positive incremental effect by the cultivator's own qi, level of cultivation and the degree of proportional change is unique for each cultivator.

This nature of foreign qi greatly influences one's own qi, because the moment the two come into contact, the unruly, chaotic foreign qi sweeps the controlled qi away. The finer a cultivator's control over their qi gets, the longer they can persist with their qi flowing outside their body. Han Xuhan, at his current level, could effectively control his own qi from nearly twenty meters away.

Of course, if the distance between his qi and his body was filled up with large, solid obstacles like a wall, or a dense crowd, then his ability was significantly weakened. The texts had no answer to this issue.

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Mu Ran could effortlessly reach fifty meters, from what he had observed. The average disciple at the mid-level of the physique transformation realm in his generation could hit roughly twenty-five meters at most.

Going by this rule, the most optimal qi circulation system for artificial cultivators like Zhanxian and Tun Shi Tian had to be on their own bodies. The closer, the better. Otherwise, Han Xuhan would've just bought some disposable tubes to create qi circulation systems for all of them and become an overlord.

And now, Hai Yin Zhe had become the third one. Han Xuhan had taken his time, planning a very obscure pathway on the underside of the snake's bones, so that an opponent would be hard-pressed to predict that the snake can use qi the same way a cultivator can.

"Waaah! Is it done? I don't wanna sleep anymore!" Little Zhe struggled out of Xiao Wu's grasp. "Let's play! Let's play! Let's play! LET'S PLAAAAYYYY!"

"Of course," Han Xuhan agreed excitedly while he prepared the setup to let little Zhe control qi by itself. He was done soon, and the two of them placated the snake into sitting patiently on top of the rock for another couple of minutes while the gadgets gathered qi.

"This is what we're going to play with tonight," Han Xuhan said, holding up a solidified qi cube.

"Food?" Hai Yin Zhe wondered.

"Yes, we're playing with food, just like you always want to. The rules are simple: the food will melt into water, and we will compete on whoever can collect more in their hand!"

"Hand?" Little Zhe glanced at its own limbless body, sounding stunned. "Papa! I don't have hands! Why don't I have hands?!"

"You have these grooves here, little Zhe," Xiao Wu helpfully pointed out, having realized what Han Xuhan's plan was. "Collect the food in these grooves; they're much more useful than hands! Hands can't hold soft things like water."

"HAHAHAHAH!" Little Zhe suddenly looked extremely pleased. "Papa doesn't have goobs! Uncle Woo doesn't have goobs!"

"Yes! Now let's get started. Look, this is going to melt now!" Han Xuhan kickstarted the performance with a smile on his face.

The cube of qi began to distort as he put his concentration on guiding the qi.

"Is it time yet?

Is it time yet?

Is it?

Can I begin?

Can I?"

Little Zhe kept trying to inch closer while Xiao Wu held it back.

In the middle of a large bowl, the cube was soon turned into a gooey turquoise-colored soup.

His eyes met with Xiao Wu, signaling to let little Zhe go.

"Three, two, one, GO!" He shouted.

Hai Yin Zhe shot toward the bowl. Han Xuhan grabbed its sides to stabilize it while the snake rampaged inside, swimming in the liquified qi.

"Oh no! Little Zhe is so fast!" Han Xuhan exclaimed while putting a hand inside the bowl to help the snake plunge into qi properly. "I can't even pick up one handful!"

"HAHAHAHAHA!" The snake was ecstatic.

Han Xuhan poured some more qi into the unfilled portion of the grooves and then exerted the entirety of his mental force into keeping the qi inside.

"Brother Wu. Do it."

Xiao Wu was fast as lightning, clicking on the switch of the formation around them. The two of them leaped outside, away from the formation and the gadgets inside to watch the plan unfold.

Hai Yin Zhe was oblivious to these changes, happily rolling around inside the bowl. Immediately after their leap, the formation identified the snake as the default owner of the qi.

All qi inside the formation fell under Hai Yin Zhe's command.

Han Xuhan and Xiao Wu watched with wide eyes as qi from all directions rushed towards the snake, like magnets attracted to magnets. A hazy field of qi encapsulated the bowl while Hai Yin Zhe's indistinct shadow continued to stir up a small storm inside.

"You've won, I've lost! Now we can start the second stage of the game, little Zhe!" Han Xuhan declared with a victorious smile. From inside the pouch, he pulled out the diagram depicting the qi cycling method for the first layer of the artificial meridian system.

"Now, let's see who can move the water without touching it!"