Shen Ruling, over the course of fifteen years, fathered a total of five children—including those already born before his rise to power in the village. They were:
Shen Dejian (eldest son), Shen Deling, Shen Deming, Shen Dezhen , and the youngest Shen Delian Of the five, only the fourth son, Shen Dezhen, possessed open spiritual orifices.
According to the handwritten notes left behind by the wandering talisman master Han, spiritual orifices are the single most critical requirement for walking the immortal path. Cultivation aptitude exists on a spectrum, measured by the size of these orifices—from a mere 0.1 inches up to a legendary 9 inches.
Mortals possess spiritual orifices that remain dormant, ungerminated due to insufficient innate qi or other deficiencies—this is called incomplete aptitude.
Below 1 inch: Cannot step into the Essence Refining realm. Lifelong ceiling is the peak of Qi Sensing (equivalent to a peak innate or quasi-grandmaster martial artist).
1–3 inches: Can, with effort and fortune, reach Qi Condensation. Foundation Establishment remains a distant dream.
Above 3 inches: Foundation Establishment becomes realistic; Meridian Expansion lies within reach, and Purple Mansion flickers as a faint, tantalizing possibility.
Talisman Master Han himself had never witnessed, nor even heard reliable accounts of, anything beyond Purple Mansion. To Shen Ruling, even Qi Condensation felt like a remote legend—let alone higher realms—so he never lost sleep over the unknown.
At age six, Shen Dezhen's spiritual orifices were finally measured using a simple diagnostic circulation method Shen Ruling had painstakingly reconstructed from fragments of the Azure Chi Circulation Technique. The boy's orifices measured 2.3 inches—enough to give him a genuine shot at eventually entering Qi Condensation.
Dezhen was a quiet child by nature. Unlike his lively twin brother Delian, he was obedient almost to a fault, yet carried a subtle loneliness that few noticed.
The Azure Chi Circulation Technique itself was badly incomplete: it contained clear instructions only up to the peak of Essence Refining, along with two known methods to break through to Qi Condensation.
The first was the ancient, brute-force approach favored by most rogue cultivators: accumulate qi until the dantian could hold no more, then consume roughly five full spirit stones' worth of essence to force the breakthrough, followed by another five to stabilize the new realm.
The second relied on a pill formula. It required three main spiritual herbs—all at least a century old—plus five supporting mortal herbs:
Jade Gendarum, Tulip Orchises, Osmanthus Memento
When refined together, these produced a low-grade breakthrough-and-stabilization pill.
From that day forward, Shen Ruling began training Dezhen daily. Not yet true cultivation exercises, but grueling physical conditioning to strengthen stamina, bones, and meridians—preparing the boy's body to one day bear immortal qi.
Meanwhile, the eldest son, Shen Dejian, reached late-stage Body Tempering at age fourteen, putting him on a credible path toward becoming an innate martial master.
Five years slipped by like falling leaves.
On Yuling Mountain, in the small courtyard behind the main house, an eleven-year-old boy moved through forms that clearly surpassed ordinary mortal martial arts. His movements were precise, economical, infused with the faint rhythm of breathing that drew in trace ambient qi. Behind him stood a broad, stern figure—Shen Ruling, now sixty-two.
Two decades in this remote village had transformed the former wanderer into a true landlord. His presence carried the quiet weight of someone who owned the land beneath his feet, not through documents alone, but through time and sweat.
"Zhen'er," he said, voice low and steady, carrying both command and pride. "How does it feel? Do you think you can break through to the middle stage of Qi Sensing today?"
Shen Dezhen, already at the absolute peak of early-stage Qi Sensing, lowered his palms and turned. A small, confident smile touched his lips, though a thread of uncertainty lingered in his eyes.
"I'm ninety percent sure this time, Father. I've been preparing for five full months. Trust me—I won't fail."
Shen Ruling exhaled through his nose, a sound halfway between sigh and chuckle.
"If only Yuling Mountain had a proper spiritual vein… you would have broken through months ago. Maybe even your brothers and sister would have awakened orifices of their own."
The old notes of Master Han had been clear: only spiritual veins, places where heaven-and-earth qi gathered naturally, could fully unlock a cultivator's potential. Unfortunately, every known vein in Great Zhao was long claimed—by sects, noble houses, or powerful rogue alliances.
Dezhen said nothing for a moment. Then he bowed slightly.
"I'll go to the chamber now."
He walked to the small, hidden stone room carved into the hillside. Inside, he sat cross-legged on the plain mat, closed his eyes, and began to guide the qi.
Minutes stretched. Then—quietly, almost anticlimactically—the bottleneck gave way.
Qi rose in Shen Dezhen's channels, a gentle current pushing against the stillness of his meridians. He stood later in the courtyard again, the crisp autumn air biting at his bare arms. His breath plumed white before him, perfectly synchronized with the slow, deliberate movements of the Azure Chi Circulation Technique.
Shen Ruling watched, a mountain in miniature. Sixty-two years had etched themselves onto his face, but the years had been kind, carving him into quiet authority.
"Zhen'er," he rumbled, breaking the morning stillness. "The bottleneck has weakened. I can feel the tension in the water. Are you ready?"
Shen Dezhen finished the final form. His body stilled; only the mist of his breath moved. He turned, meeting his father's gaze—not with the pressure of expectation, but with the solid weight of shared purpose.
"Father, your son has not disappointed you."
A pause. Then, softer:
"But I think… we should start searching for qi-rich places. Even if we can't find a true spiritual vein, a place with denser ambient qi would still let me cultivate much faster."
Shen Ruling nodded once, eyes distant for a moment.
"Yes. I've already told Wang Ergou to keep an eye out for anything strange—rock formations that never frost, streams that stay warm in winter, groves where birds never land. If there's something here worth finding, we'll find it."
He rested a heavy hand on his son's shoulder.
"I'm proud of you, Zhen'er. Very proud."