In the Liu family residence, Wang Lingxin and Chunhua played in the garden. Although the residence they stayed in also had a flower garden, the one in the Liu family residence was larger, with a variety of beautiful flowers, neatly trimmed plants, grass, and there is even a small, beautiful lake with a pavilion beside it.
Wang Lingxin, having almost explored the entire Fengxian city and feeling bored, had visited the Liu family residence with Chunhua to play these past few days. Liu Mingzhen would personally welcome them, offering many kinds of valuable gifts, especially food.
Liu Jin would show her around the Liu family residence and sometimes join Wang Lingxin in her games, although he didn't want to. He had no choice but to follow along, playing hide and seek, tag, and other games. Despite feeling embarrassed, he could only grit his teeth and do it. Moreover, he thought that establishing a good connection with Wang Lingxin would be beneficial for him, especially when she soared high in the future. He had high expectations for Wang Lingxin; he had heard that she had a low-quality Spiritual Root, but despite that, he believed that with a master like Orion, she would become a renowned cultivator.
After playing for a while, Wang Lingxin sat on a stone bench in the garden to rest. There was a tray of Spiritual Fruits on a stone table nearby, prepared by the Liu family servants. Wang Lingxin sat and ate the fruit, feeling refreshed. Meanwhile, Chunhua stood near the lake, feeding the many colorful fish.
Suddenly, a masked figure appeared in front of her. "Miss Lingxin," he greeted softly.
"Oh... who are you?" Wang Lingxin asked, eating happily. The stone bench was tall for her short legs, and her legs dangled as she swung them back and forth.
"..." Liu Jin was speechless. Didn't we just play together a while ago? Now you're pretending not to recognize me? he thought. "It's me, Masked One," Liu Jin said.
"Hmm, how do I know that you are really Masked One? What if you are pretending to be him?" Wang Lingxin continued eating.
"Of course, I am the real Masked One. We’re in the Liu family residence, and it's highly guarded. It's hard for other people to infiltrate and even pretend to be me," Liu Jin explained.
There were many cultivators guarding the Liu family residence, both in the open and hidden. Several cultivators were secretly monitoring and guarding Wang Lingxin and Chunhua, including Liu Jin. It was hard to believe someone could infiltrate and sneak in.
"Well, if you are the real Masked One, then what is the secret password?" Wang Lingxin asked, still ignoring the masked man.
I see, so this is your real intention. Sigh… Liu Jin thought, realizing that Wang Lingxin just wanted to play and tease him. Liu Jin stood in silence for a moment, conflicted and unsure of how to respond.
"Leader, just do it. Don’t worry, we won’t look," Liu Jin heard via Voice Transmission.
“Hmph! Easy for you to say! You’re not the one who has to do it,” Liu Jin responded through Voice Transmission.
"Leader, she’s just a kid. Don’t think too much and just play along," came another Voice Transmission.
"That’s right, leader," added another Voice Transmission.
Liu Jin then heard others agreeing and some struggling to hold in their laughter via Voice Transmission.
He looked to the side and saw Chunhua still feeding the fish in the small lake. Liu Jin gritted his teeth and sighed internally, having no other choice.
He raised both arms and pretended they were cat claws. "Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow... " Liu Jin meowed, dancing and wiggling his butt left and right. This... this is too embarrassing and humiliating! Liu Jin thought, feeling helpless and unable to refuse Wang Lingxin's order.
After Liu Jin finished the secret password performance, Wang Lingxin exclaimed, "Oh! You are the real Masked One," enthusiastic and happy that she managed to make him meow and dance around.
Orion had taught her the importance of using a password to confirm someone's identity and to use it in certain situations, and she had agreed with Liu Jin to use one. Wang Lingxin came up with a playful password, incorporating both a specific phrase and a series of movements. Liu Jin wasn't thrilled about the choice, but Wang Lingxin insisted on it. The password required Liu Jin to act like a cat, meowing and dancing.
And now Wang Lingxin had the chance to make Liu Jin perform the password, and she eagerly took it. She was confident that he was the real Masked One but wanted to see him perform the password. After Liu Jin did, she was really satisfied and found the performance both funny and entertaining.
"So, what is it, Masked One?" Wang Lingxin asked, now taking him seriously.
"Mr. Orion has returned and called for you to come immediately," Liu Jin said, his face flushed with embarrassment behind the mask.
He then flickered away, disappearing from view, eager to escape the situation. Moments later, he was standing on a rooftop of a nearby building. Through Voice Transmissions, he could hear his subordinates struggling to contain their laughter, with some even openly mocking and joking about him.
"Hmph! Very good. It seems you've all been slacking off recently. Prepare for some harsh training this week!" Liu Jin replied via Voice Transmission, ready to discipline his subordinates for their audacity. After hearing about the harsh training, his subordinates quieted, not making a single peep anymore.
Liu Jin embarrassment and anger were palpable, particularly since he had been seen performing such an embarrassing act. At least Chunhua hadn't witnessed his humiliation.
Orion arrived at the residence in Fengxian City after being away for more than two weeks and took a seat in the workroom. Not long after, Orion watched through the CCTV camera as Wang Lingxin, followed by Chunhua, entered the residence.
"Master!" Wang Lingxin called out as she ran to the workroom. After hearing from Liu Jin that Orion had returned, she immediately left the Liu family residence.
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"Master, you've finally come back. What took you so long? Didn't you say you would only be gone for a week? Where did you go? What did you do?" Wang Lingxin bombarded Orion with questions as soon as she entered the room.
"Well, there were unforeseen circumstances, which took longer than expected," Orion explained.
Wang Lingxin complained for a while before Orion managed to calm her down by giving her an ice pop and promising that she could eat lots of ice cream later. Only then did Wang Lingxin settle down and sit on a chair at the side, licking her ice pop.
"Master Orion, welcome back," Chunhua said, bowing.
"Mmm... so, is everything alright since I left?" Orion asked.
Chunhua then gave her report, and Orion praised her. Chunhua then excused herself, mentioning she still had work to do. After Orion gave her permission, Chunhua left the room.
Orion then called for Liu Jin. A shadowy, masked figure suddenly appeared in the room.
"Mr. Orion," Liu Jin said, cupping both hands and bowing.
"This is the MSG and seasoning for the SFC for this month," Orion said, handing over a storage ring, getting straight to the point.
Liu Jin immediately received the storage ring respectfully, a wide smile hidden behind his mask. "Thank you very much, Mr. Orion." He then took out another storage ring and handed it to Orion. "This is the Spirit Stones and some materials that you requested. We're really sorry, Mr. Orion; we didn’t manage to gather everything you asked for, but we’re still trying to obtain it."
Liu Jin then took out several scrolls. "Mr. Orion, these contain the information you requested, as well as details on what happened while you were away," he said. Liu Jin gave daily reports to Orion, but they were brief, and the scrolls contained more detailed information.
"Very good," Orion said, taking the scrolls and quickly reading through them.
Orion had asked Liu Jin to gather various kinds of information, from high-level information about factions in the city and their movements to rumors regarding youths with extraordinary potential, especially those with tragic backgrounds.
After finishing reading the scrolls, Orion gave several instructions to Liu Jin and Chunhua before taking Wang Lingxin back to the house outside the city. After arriving at the house, Wang Lingxin had lunch, ate ice cream, then dashed off.
"Master, I am going out to play," Wang Lingxin called out as she closed the front door and ran out of the house.
A SO-1 drone then took off into the sky from the house, following Wang Lingxin, with Orion monitoring her via the drone. Wang Lingxin went to find Aria and took her to play in the village.
In an underground room.
Time to uncover the mysteries of the Meridian System, Orion thought internally as it retrieved three bandit bodies and placed them each on a stone table.
Wearing slime gloves and taking a very sharp knife from a nearby table, Orion started to cut open the bodies.
Two weeks passed. During this time, Orion focused on researching the bandits' bodies while also teaching Wang Lingxin about combat in the morning. The research yielded significant results. Orion found that the body structure of humans in this world is similar to Earth's humans, with only a few differences.
Orion discovered that the peripheral nervous system (PNS) in this world’s humans is unique. While it retains the whitish color similar to Earth’s humans, there are dark lumps spread throughout the larger trunks of the PNS. Previously, Orion found such features in the PNS of Spirit Beasts, thus piquing its interest to study the PNS of humans from this world.
By referencing scrolls and books, Orion concluded that the PNS in this world is called the Meridian System. The dark lumps are known as Meridian Points. There are scrolls depicting the Meridian System and Meridian Points. Based on their shape and position, Orion concluded they resemble the PNS and its dark lumps. Orion conducted in-depth research to study this further.
Using a high-resolution imaging tool with advanced zoom capabilities, initially designed for analyzing Martian rocks and soils, Orion researched the PNS and the dark lumps. Studying the cross-section of the PNS, Orion discovered it differs from that of Earth's humans. Not only are there blood vessels, but there is also a unique tube-like structure, similar to a blood vessel but slightly distinct, which, through further experiments, Orion found is used to transport Qi.
The presence of Qi in this tube-like structure was detected by Orion using a specialized talisman it created with O# inscription. The talisman glows when it detects Qi, with the intensity of the glow increasing as more Qi is detected. When Orion brought the talisman close to a small portion of the PNS from a cultivator, the talisman glowed brighter, indicating a high concentration of Qi.
Further research on the dark lumps revealed that Qi can exit through them. Orion concluded that the PNS of humans in this world is different from that of Earth's humans. The PNS here has a unique tube-like structure that transports Qi, and Qi can exit via the dark lumps.
Both mortals and cultivators from this world have this tube-like structure to transport Qi and dark lumps in their PNS. The difference is that in mortals, the dark lumps are smaller, the tube-like structure that transports Qi is closed, and the PNS shows no trace of Qi. In cultivators, the dark lumps are larger, the tube is open, and the PNS contains traces of Qi.
Another discovery by Orion is regarding the Dantian. In this cultivation world, a cultivator has an organ called the Dantian located in their lower abdomen. Mortals do not have such an organ. It could be said that after becoming a cultivator, they develop a new organ called the Dantian.
Orion's research on the Dantian revealed that its size is determined by the major cultivation realm. Currently, Orion only has Dantian from Qi Condensation realm cultivators and a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator. The Dantian of a Qi Condensation realm cultivator is smaller than that of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator.
For the same major cultivation realm, the size varies slightly, determined by the minor cultivation realm, with the 9th stage being bigger than the 1st stage. Based on what Orion learned from various books and scrolls, the size of the Dantian is also determined by the cultivator's talent; those with good Spiritual Roots have a bigger Dantian.
Orion conducted further research by cutting the Dantian open to study it. It found that the Dantian contains a high concentration of Qi.
In the Dantian of a Qi Condensation realm cultivator, the Qi is not dense and immediately evaporates. In the Dantian of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator, there is a clear liquid containing a high concentration of Qi. Orion used a talisman to detect this Qi.
The Qi in the Dantian of a Qi Condensation realm cultivator is mostly in the form of mist and disperses quickly after the Dantian is cut open. The Qi in the Dantian of a Foundation Establishment realm cultivator is in liquid form. Orion conducted experiments with it and managed to use this liquid Qi to activate inscriptions. This liquid Qi is similar to LQ, and further research shows that its Qi content is roughly equivalent to that of LQ-0
In addition to focusing on the Meridian System and Dantian, Orion conducted thorough research on the bandit bodies, trying to find other differences from Earth's humans. Despite discovering that the PNS of humans in this world is different from Earth's humans, the central nervous system (CNS) and other parts of the body are the same. The only differences are the PNS and the organ called Dantian. The PNS functions the same as Earth's humans' PNS but with the additional function of transporting Qi.
Truly a great discovery, Orion thought. In this cultivation world, the peripheral nervous system is called the Meridian System and functions like the PNS from Earth but also serves to transport Qi.
On Earth, there is also a concept of a Meridian System, but it is different from the one in this cultivation world.
Should I capture live bandits and perform further research on them? Orion pondered internally, considering whether capturing live bandits would yield more insights for further study.
On a small hill near Fengxian City, a visitor from another world had uncovered significant information about the Meridian System and Dantian. Despite not being a cultivator and unable to cultivate, this visitor’s understanding of Dantian and Meridian System far surpassed that of most inhabitants of this world.
In this cultivation world, where science is not developed and knowledge about the peripheral nervous system (PNS)—referred to here as the Meridian System—is limited, the inhabitants recognize its functions for stimulus input, body control, and most importantly for the transport of Qi.