A hundred thousand souls.
That number resonated within Li Yuan's consciousness like a harmony so complex that it was almost incomprehensible from an individual perspective. A hundred thousand beings—humans, animals, plants, and some universal souls—now formed a spiritual ecosystem that had fundamentally changed the nature of his Zhenjing.
For the last ten years, Li Yuan had carried out the collection operation methodically and systematically. Ten years of moving across continents, visiting every location where clusters of touched souls drifted in their spiritual silence. Ten years of using specialized techniques he had developed—the Instinctual Wrapper for animal souls, the Growth Wrapper for plant souls, the Geological Wrapper for universal souls.
And now, with a hundred thousand souls safely within him, Li Yuan made a decision that would change his entire operational approach.
"It's time to stop searching," he whispered to the silence of the mountain where he had chosen to meditate. "It's time to... call."
Preparation for Deep Meditation
Li Yuan chose his location carefully—the highest mountain peak on the continent, a place where spiritual energy flowed with maximum purity. Here, far from the distractions of human civilization, he would spend the time needed to develop the revolutionary method that had begun to form in his consciousness.
His consciousness body took a familiar cross-legged position, but this time with a different intensity. This was not a meditation for personal spiritual understanding or growth. This was a meditation for... creation. To develop a technique that would change the entire paradigm of his collection operation.
"A hundred years," he decided with a certainty that had been honed over ten millennia. "A hundred years to develop a method that will make the remaining millions of souls come on their own."
The Concept of Soul Understanding Resonance
In the first weeks of his meditation, Li Yuan began to explore a concept radically different from the individual approach he had been using. Instead of seeking and gathering souls one by one, what if he could... summon them all at once?
"A Daojing cultivator with soul understanding," he reflected, feeling the resonance of the hundred thousand souls within his Zhenjing, "should be able to resonate with millions of souls at once."
This idea grew from a simple yet profound observation: the souls he had collected did not come with resistance. They responded with recognition when they encountered genuine spiritual authority. What they needed was not force or manipulation, but... an invitation. A call that resonated at the right frequency.
"It's not catching a bird with your hands," Li Yuan formulated an analogy that would guide his technique's development, "but creating a song so beautiful that millions of birds come on their own."
Method Development: Years 1-25
The first twenty-five years of meditation were dedicated to understanding the fundamental nature of spiritual resonance on a massive scale. Li Yuan had to learn how to generate a vibration of soul understanding that could reach the entire planet without creating chaos or unintended consequences, as had happened four thousand years ago.
A key insight came from the realization that he didn't need to release the full soul understanding—only its vibration. Like a ringing bell, he didn't need to give the entire bell to the listener; only its sound needed to travel.
"Releasing the vibration, not releasing the soul," he murmured with growing excitement. "A vibration that carries an invitation, recognition, and the promise of safety and home."
The hundred thousand souls in his Zhenjing became a laboratory for this experiment. Li Yuan learned how to create resonance patterns that could be recognized by different types of souls without overwhelming them. The frequency for human souls, the frequency for animal souls, the frequency for plant souls—each required precise fine-tuning.
Method Development: Years 26-50
The second quarter of the meditation focused on the problem of scope and control. How to ensure that the soul understanding vibration reached the entire planet without dissipating or becoming distorted by distance?
Li Yuan discovered that the answer lay in leveraging the existing spiritual infrastructure. The planet has a network of spiritual currents—ley lines, energy flows, connection points—that could be used as an amplification system.
"Like dropping a stone into a perfectly still lake," he visualized, "ripples will travel to every shore. But unlike physical ripples, spiritual ripples can be guided, focused, and amplified by the planet's natural spiritual geography."
This phase also involved learning how to create selective resonance. The vibration had to be powerful enough to reach the touched souls worldwide, but specific enough not to affect living souls or spiritual systems that operated normally.
Method Development: Years 51-75
The third quarter of the meditation was dedicated to developing the delivery mechanism. How to ensure that the souls responding to the invitation could safely travel to his Zhenjing without trauma or loss?
The solution involved the integration of multiple understandings he had developed over millennia. The Wrapper understanding for protection during transit. The Water understanding for a smooth flow and navigation. The Sky understanding for freedom from physical constraints. The Home understanding for a sense of destination and welcome.
"A combination of understandings," Li Yuan realized, "not just for collection, but for invitation, protection, guidance, and integration."
The Creation of the Soul Sea: Years 76-100
The final quarter of the meditation focused on preparation for the massive influx of souls that would result from the successful implementation of the technique. A hundred thousand souls had already dramatically transformed his Zhenjing. Millions of additional souls would require a completely new spiritual architecture.
Li Yuan began to develop what he called the Soul Sea (魂海, Hún Hǎi)—a vast spiritual space within his Zhenjing specifically designed to accommodate millions of souls in sustainable harmony.
The Soul Sea was not a simple expansion of existing space. It was the integration of the Home Understanding into the Soul Understanding, wrapped and protected by the Wrapper Understanding. A space designed to feel like a home to every type of soul, regardless of origin or nature.
"A sea deep enough for millions to swim," Li Yuan conceptualized, "gentle enough for fragile souls, vast enough for souls that need space, intimate enough for souls that seek connection."
The construction of the Soul Sea required a fundamental restructuring of his entire Zhenjing. Li Yuan had to carefully relocate the existing hundred thousand souls, expand the spiritual infrastructure, and create new harmony patterns that could accommodate an exponential increase in complexity.
Integration and Testing
In the final years of the hundred-year meditation, Li Yuan began careful testing of the Soul Understanding Resonance technique. He conducted small-scale trials with souls in the immediate vicinity, gradually expanding the range and intensity.
The results were... extraordinary. Souls that had previously required hours or days for individual collection now responded within minutes to the resonance invitation. They came willingly, drawn by a spiritual song that promised home, safety, and understanding.
"It works," Li Yuan breathed with a mixture of awe and relief after a successful test with a thousand nearby souls. "They come on their own, guided by resonance, protected by integrated understandings, and welcomed by the Soul Sea."
Preparation for Global Implementation
After a hundred years of intensive meditation, Li Yuan finally felt ready to attempt the global implementation of the Soul Understanding Resonance. The hundred thousand souls in his Zhenjing now served as a choir that could amplify his resonance. The Soul Sea was prepared to receive millions. The technical aspects of long-distance spiritual resonance were mastered.
"This time will be different," he reflected, remembering the uncontrolled resonance from four thousand years ago. "This time, the resonance will be controlled, specific, purposeful. An invitation rather than an accident. A gathering rather than a scattering."
Standing on the mountain peak where he had spent a century in deep meditation, Li Yuan prepared for the moment that would complete his collection operation in a single, massive effort. Millions of souls across the planet were about to receive an invitation to come home.
A hundred years of preparation were about to be tested in a few crucial hours that would determine the success or failure of the entire operation.
The Soul Understanding Resonance was ready for global implementation.