Li Yuan opened his nonexistent eyes.
For the first time in a very long while, he turned his gaze backward—not to the journey toward the Eldest Breath that was still ongoing, but to the time that had passed.
How long have I been a pure soul?
The question came suddenly, like a flash of lightning in the silence. All this time, Li Yuan had been so focused on his spiritual journey, on developing his understandings, on the quest toward the source of all sources, that he had forgotten to count… time.
Let me see, he thought, beginning to calculate carefully.
I died at the age of 30. My body was destroyed on that battlefield.
After that, I meditated for 10 years to understand my new state as a pure soul.
Then, I meditated for another 50 years to deepen my understanding of the soul itself.
Then, 100 years to understand Chaos Qi.
And 20 years to understand Chaos as a universal concept.
Li Yuan paused for a moment, processing the numbers.
10+50+100+20=180 years.
I have been a pure soul for 180 years.
If I were still physically alive, I would now be... 210 years old.
The number was startling even to Li Yuan himself.
Seeing the Outer World
For the first time in the last 20 years, Li Yuan truly paid attention to his physical surroundings.
And what he saw left him stunned.
A lush forest.
In the place that was once a bloody battlefield, in the place that was filled with corpses and screams 180 years ago, now stood a forest so dense that almost no sunlight could penetrate to the ground.
Tall trees reached for the sky, some with trunks so wide it would take dozens of people to embrace them. Intricate, interwoven roots created a strong foundation. The leaves were so packed they formed a beautiful green canopy.
Life, Li Yuan felt a profound sense of wonder. Life has taken over death.
Where there was once blood, now there was tree sap.
Where there were once bones, now there were roots.
Where there were once screams, now there was birdsong.
Li Yuan felt something warm in a soul that no longer had a heart to beat. For 180 years, while he was immersed in his spiritual journey, nature had performed its own miracle.
Perhaps this is what true regeneration means, he thought. Not just healing, but a total transformation from death into life.
Reflection on Time
180 years, Li Yuan contemplated the number again.
Almost six generations of humans have been born and perhaps died since I became a pure soul.
The children I taught to read in Ziran Village—if they are still alive, they would now be grandparents.
Wen Zhi, Mu Yi, Fan Tu... are they still alive? Or have they long become part of the earth that nurtures these trees?
Father... Mother... it's been almost two centuries since I lost them.
Li Yuan felt something that was not sadness—he had already transcended sadness with his Understanding of Loss. But something more subtle. An acknowledgement of... impermanence.
While I was trapped in the journey toward spiritual immortality, the world kept turning.
While I was seeking the Eldest Breath, the breaths of thousands of beings had stopped and started again.
While I was comprehending Chaos, the chaos of life and death continued in the physical world.
Position as a Pure Soul
Li Yuan realized his unique—and perhaps lonely—position.
I might be the only conscious pure soul in this world.
The only one not bound to the cycle of birth and death.
The only one with unlimited time to pursue understanding.
But is it a blessing or a curse?
He remembered himself as Li Yuan, who still had a body. Who still felt hunger, thirst, fatigue. Who still had a deadline called death. Who was still bound to the physical world with all its limitations.
Back then, the limitation of time made me appreciate every moment.
Now, with unlimited time, have I perhaps lost the appreciation for time itself?
180 years... a monumental number for an ordinary human, but to me, it feels like... a warm-up exercise.
Returning to the Journey
But this contemplation of time did not halt Li Yuan's journey toward the Eldest Breath.
If anything, this reflection only strengthened his resolve.
180 years of understanding have brought me to this point.
13 understandings have been integrated into the Ganjing Realm.
I have already passed the discovery of Qi, of Chaos, of the true nature of reality.
If this journey requires another 180 years, or another 1800 years, I am ready.
Because as a pure soul, time is not an enemy. Time is... a space for growth.
Li Yuan felt his 13 understandings vibrate with a harmonious resonance. They were all mature, stable, and ready to face whatever awaited at the source of the Eldest Breath.
The water that flows with the wisdom of 180 years.
The wrapping that protects with countless experiences.
The soul that respects uniqueness with a perspective that transcends generations.
The Chaos Qi that gives strength with mature control.
The Chaos that provides flexibility with profound wisdom.
And all the other understandings, each enriched by the time that had passed.
A New View on Mortality
Seeing the forest that grew over the old battlefield, Li Yuan had a new insight into the relationship between the immortal soul and the mortal world.
Perhaps this is my role now, he thought. No longer to be part of the cycle of life and death, but to be... an eternal witness.
A witness to the transformation that occurs on a timescale incomprehensible to mortals.
Witnessing how a battlefield becomes a forest.
Witnessing how death becomes life.
Witnessing how chaos becomes beauty.
Witnessing how... all cycles turn in a greater harmony.
And perhaps, the journey toward the Eldest Breath is also part of that greater cycle.
Maybe the Eldest Breath is not the final destination, Li Yuan realized. But part of an even bigger cycle. A cycle that requires souls like me to complete it.
A cycle that requires time not in years or decades, but in... eons.
Continuing with a New Perspective
With a new understanding of time and his position in the larger scheme, Li Yuan continued his journey.
The serene qi path still flowed before him, winding through dimensions that could not be comprehended by those still bound by physical space and time.
The Eldest Breath still called from a distance—or a depth—that was difficult to describe.
And Li Yuan, with his 13 understandings and 180 years of wisdom, stepped forward.
No longer with the urgency of a youth who wants to quickly reach a destination.
But with the tranquility of a soul who understands that the journey itself is the goal.
With the patience born from the understanding that some things take time—even if that time is measured in centuries.
And with the humility born from realizing that even though I have been a pure soul for 180 years, I may have only just begun the true journey.
The lush forest swayed its branches in a gentle breeze, as if offering a blessing for the journey that would continue.
And Li Yuan, the soul who had seen a battlefield turn into a forest, continued the search toward the source of all sources.
With unlimited time.
With an ever-growing understanding.
And with the conviction that every step—even if measured in decades—brings him closer to the truth he seeks.
Or perhaps, brings him closer to the understanding that the truth does not need to be sought.
Because the truth already exists in every step of the journey.
It already exists in every 180 years that have passed.
It already exists in every transformation from a battlefield into a forest.
It already exists in every breath—including the Eldest Breath he is still searching for.