Chapter Seven: Primordial Qi

Unlike acquired practitioners, those born with innate abilities—innate practitioners—are a different matter entirely. For Meng Fan, however, none of this presented a challenge. After all, the reason children are discouraged from practicing Qi prematurely is simply the fear that they might disrupt their internal energy flow. But what if one possessed the wisdom of an adult? How would that change the understanding of such techniques?

He had to attain Qi before his innate energy was obscured by acquired breath. To attain Qi, one required a formal technique.

One day, Meng Fan pretended to act spoiled toward Old Meng. "Dad, can you teach me that method you use to tame Da Huang?"

Upon hearing this, Old Meng looked at Meng Fan with a complex expression. Originally, he had hoped to keep Meng Fan away from the world of practitioners; he merely wanted him to grow up safe and sound, which was why he gave him the name "Meng Fan." Later, as Meng Fan’s innate talent began to emerge, Old Meng couldn't bear to see such potential wasted, and he had considered sending him to study under his master’s friends after he turned six. As for the Beast Master's techniques, they could be passed down as a family legacy.

It was only recently, after Meng Fan offered a suggestion that led Old Meng to discover his ability to control bacteria, that he truly grasped how terrifying the Beast Master’s arts could be in certain contexts. For the past few days, he had been hesitating over whether to pass these methods on to his son. He hadn't expected Meng Fan to bring it up himself.

Old Meng patted Meng Fan’s head and asked gently, "Xiao Fan, why do you want to learn this?"

Meng Fan feigned thought and replied with calculated innocence, "I want to play better with Da Huang and the others. I want to be like you—I want to understand what they’re thinking."

Old Meng listened, his brow furrowed in a dilemma. On one hand, there was his master’s trust; after all, in the current world of practitioners, who else would be willing to learn the Beast Master’s arts, which were so often looked down upon? On the other hand, there was his deep love for Meng Fan. He didn't want his son to be mired in danger. If his own ability to control bacteria were ever exposed, and if Meng Fan were to follow in his footsteps...

Meng Fan looked up at him with wide, watery, longing eyes. This was the first time Meng Fan had ever asked him for anything since he was born; Old Meng found it impossible to refuse. He knew he wasn't a perfect father. While other children played and frolicked, Meng Fan was always remarkably sensible, following behind him, wiping his sweat and kneading his shoulders.

Other children had things they wanted to eat or toys they wanted to play with, but Meng Fan had never once asked for anything. Old Meng was never a decisive man, and as soon as he saw Meng Fan’s eyes well up with tears, his heart softened instantly.

"Alright, Dad will teach you!"

Meng Fan was lifted into his father's arms as they headed toward the staff dormitory. He made a silent victory sign; he had prepared so many arguments, but it seemed crying was still the most effective tool.

***

In the lessons that followed, Old Meng first explained to Meng Fan what "Innate Qi" was and what it meant to be a practitioner.

Innate Qi, or simply "Qi," is the distinction between living and non-living things—the ability to reproduce through oneself and to refine through external force. Beyond the basic material inherited from the previous generation, living beings inherit abstract energy. This energy allows the successor to grow and think, transforming them from a walking corpse into a creature with self-awareness and a soul. Yet, as this energy dissipates, even if the successor constantly replenishes other forms of energy, they cannot prevent aging and death.

Those who first perceived this inherited energy called it "Innate Qi." Every practitioner’s innate energy takes a different form. A "practitioner" is one who can sense and utilize the Qi within their own body. Because they are different from ordinary people, they are called practitioners. Generally, it requires strict training and systematic guidance to skillfully manipulate this internal energy, which is categorized into innate practitioners and acquired practitioners. The advantage of practitioners over ordinary people lies in individual strength, while their disadvantage lies in their scarcity; thus, their society is primarily composed of small, closed-off villages.

Among the practitioners existing worldwide, the two largest and most systematic branches are Eastern Qi-refinement and Western Alchemy. However, in the tradition of the Beast Master, Qi is the foundation for communicating with all living things. The relationship between Innate Qi and the "Three Treasures"—Essence, Breath, and Spirit—is quite complex.

Speaking of these Three Treasures, one must mention the *Tao Te Ching*. To a practitioner, it is a brilliant classic of cultivation. It holds the concept: "The Tao produced One; One produced Two; Two produced Three; Three produced all things."

The "One" is Innate Qi. The "Two" is human nature and life (Xing and Ming). The "Three" are the Three Treasures: Essence, Breath, and Spirit. And the "all things" are the various wondrous methods and techniques derived from Innate Qi!

Qi is often seen as an energy that lacks physical form yet can cause all things to change. When this subtle substance is free from external influence, its energy and form are equal—Yin and Yang are balanced, merged into one. Taoists call this *Wuji*, which is why Innate Qi is also known as the state of *Wuji*.

In Old Meng’s explanation, to make it easier for Meng Fan to understand, he temporarily used "Nature" (Xing) and "Life" (Ming) to represent energy and form. When energy exceeds form, the substance expands outward; this is called "Yang Rise" or "Yang Instrument." As this consumes energy, the energy soon becomes less than the form, and the substance contracts inward; this is called "Yin Decline" or "Yin Instrument."

*Taiji* produces these two instruments; they interact and harmonize, creating a third substance—this is how "Three produces all things." The birth of all things involves bearing Yin and embracing Yang; everything has its *Taiji*, everything has its two instruments, constantly interacting and changing in endless cycles.

As Zhang Boduan wrote in *Wuzhen Pian*: "The Tao is void, producing one Qi; this Qi produces Yin and Yang; Yin and Yang combine into a third body; the third body reproduces all things in abundance." This is exactly the principle!

Yin and Yang are the beginning of all things. Yin never leaves Yang, and Yang never leaves Yin; this is the primal energy from which all things are born. In Innate Qi, the Yin and Yang energies clash and merge into one, constantly tempering and strengthening one’s nature and life. When the human body is in this state, its vitality is at its peak. For instance, a fetus grows from two cells into a complete human in just over two hundred days—a rate of growth never again matched in a lifetime once the innate period in the womb has passed.

This state of merged Yin and Yang is the "Innate State," capable of endless creation. It is the state in which one is most likely to attain Qi. Once a person develops, this innate state is soiled by acquired influences, much like a mirror covered in dust, becoming increasingly obscured and difficult to perceive.

Taoists call the innate Yin "Nature" (Xing) and the Yang "Life" (Ming). When these are merged, vitality is at its strongest. After birth, one enters the acquired realm. In the fetal stage, nature and life are unified. In early childhood, they begin to tilt; in youth, they tilt further; in adulthood, they divide; in old age, they separate; and at death, they scatter.

Looking at the trajectory of an ordinary life, Innate Qi moves from unity to tilt, division, separation, and finally dispersal. Throughout a person's life, this is the primary master—the master of all living things!