As Su Chan clarified the concepts of "Imprinting Spirit, Materialization, and Great Freedom" to Li Yundong before he entered meditation, she made sure the explanation was both thorough and accessible.

"Imprinting Spirit and Materialization can be seen as manifestations of a higher level of visualization," Su Chan explained patiently to Li Yundong, detailing the principles and Daoist methods of cultivation. "The Huangdi Neijing (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon), in the chapter Lingshu: Bentshen, states: 'What comes into being is called Jing (Essence); when two Essences meet, it is called Shen (Spirit).'"

"Furthermore," Su Chan continued eloquently, "the Huangdi Neijing, in Suwen: Xuanming W u Qi Lun, also points out: 'The Heart stores the Shen, the Lungs store the Po (Corporeal Soul), the Liver stores the Hun (Ethereal Soul), the Spleen stores the Yi (Thought), and the Kidneys store the Zhi (Will).'" "From this, it is evident that there are spirits within the body's Five Zang organs!"

"When a person cultivates, they constantly temper the vital energy (Qi) of their internal organs. Upon reaching a certain level, the Qi of the Five Zang organs will continuously strengthen, and the inherent spirits will slowly begin to reveal their unique nascent forms."

"Cultivators believe that since there are spirits within each person's Five Zang organs, the person themselves must also possess a spirit. This spirit does not refer to an individual's soul, but rather to the entirety of the person's Jing, Qi, and Shen (Essence, Vitality, and Spirit)."

"'When meditating, a cultivator can visualize the form of their own spirit—this is Imprinting Spirit (Yin Ling). However, at the beginning, this visualization will certainly be very vague. It must be gradually transformed into a concrete shape through constant practice—this is Materialization (Ju Xian)."

"'Once this level of visualization is complete, the person gains an autonomous spirit. The cultivator can judge their own cultivation progress based on the spirit materialized from their Imprint, and subsequently adjust their cultivation direction continuously.'"

Su Chan licked her lips as she spoke. Li Yundong, who had been listening intently, quickly poured her a cup of water. After taking a sip, the young woman continued, "For instance, if someone has strong Liver Qi, the materialized spirit will lean towards the color green, because Liver Qi corresponds to green."

Li Yundong couldn't help but interject, "If someone has strong Heart Qi, will the materialized spirit lean towards red? Because Heart Qi corresponds to red?"

Su Chan nodded in approval, "Exactly! Now that you grasp this principle, you can proceed with visualization and meditation. I will guard you while you do so."

Li Yundong was eager to try. He opened all the windows and doors in the room except the main entrance to ensure good ventilation. Then, facing East, he sat down cross-legged.

Li Yundong closed his eyes, his breathing gradually stabilizing into a long, deep rhythm. His mind became clear and vast. The Qi within his Ren Channel and Du Channel spontaneously began to circulate, commencing the Lesser Heavenly Cycle. After this flow completed its circuit, passed the Que Bridge, and returned to the Huiyin point, the Qi began to divert toward the other extraordinary meridians within Li Yundong's body, initiating the Greater Heavenly Cycle practice.

After both the Lesser and Greater Heavenly Cycles had run thirty-six times, the Qi of Li Yundong's Five Zang organs began to churn and boil. The five primal energies—green, white, red, black, and yellow—began to slowly converge above Li Yundong's head.

To the observing Su Chan, a plume of five-colored energy billowed above the Baihui point on Li Yundong's head, swirling and condensing above him, holding its form without dispersing. The little fox knew this was the manifestation of the Three Flowers Converging at the Crown (San Hua Ju Ding) and the Five Energies Returning to the Origin (Wu Qi Chao Yuan)!

Li Yundong had entered the deepest state of meditation. He felt as though he had returned to the boundless world he had visualized during the lotus pedestal contemplation before.

However, this time the surroundings were no longer vast darkness, but a sea of clouds churning in five distinct colors.

Li Yundong looked down. With a stir of his intent, he actively guided the Qi of the Five Zang organs to condense.

But no matter how he visualized, attempting to materialize the Qi of the Five Zang organs into any specific form, the Qi merely flowed independently, refusing to change according to Li Yundong's visualized intent.

Li Yundong couldn't help but stare in confusion, pondering Su Chan's earlier words. Suddenly, a thought struck him: Did Su Chan mean that because there are inherent spirits within the Five Zang organs, the process does not require his control; that the spirits would Imprint on their own?

Thinking this, Li Yundong frowned again: If I do not control them, how can the Qi of the Five Zang organs flow, change, and materialize into a spirit?

As he considered this, Li Yundong felt as if he were trapped in a dead end. The exit was subtly visible, yet separated by an invisible membrane.

"Could it be," Li Yundong looked at the churning five-colored Qi beneath his feet, a sudden idea sparking, "that I only need to try accelerating the flow of the Qi of the Five Zang organs?"

He attempted to guide the five-colored sea of clouds with his intent, urging them to flow faster and faster. Indeed, the sea of clouds slowly began to condense, seeming to form some kind of entity.

Li Yundong was overjoyed, realizing he had found the correct method.

Since there were spirits within the Five Zang organs, this energy did not require deliberate human control; sometimes, deliberate action could be counterproductive.

By merely quickening the flow of the vital energy of his Five Zang organs, Li Yundong was actually hastening the process of Imprinting Spirit and Materialization of those spirits.

As this mass of five-colored Qi slowly coalesced, it gradually revealed the form of a human figure, albeit with blurred facial features, hands, and feet indistinct.

"Is this the Imprinted Spirit?" Li Yundong was filled with surprise and joy. He continued to guide the flow of this five-colored Qi, trying to make this humanoid form clearer.

Li Yundong was unaware that for most cultivators, merely manifesting a recognizable object during the initial Imprinting Spirit stage was already an extraordinary achievement.

However, due to the transformation wrought by the Human Origin Golden Elixir, not only was his internal Qi immense, but the Qi of his Five Zang organs was also exceptionally powerful. Thus, immediately after Imprinting Spirit, he swiftly broke through to the level of Materialization.

As Li Yundong visualized, the mass of flowing, five-colored Qi gradually mixed and condensed, transforming into a mass of colorless energy, and the previously vague humanoid shape slowly stabilized.

Li Yundong was stunned to see that before his eyes, this mass of energy slowly became a towering, imposing humanoid figure. This being possessed Three Heads and Six Arms. One head glared fiercely, with a vertical eye radiating flowing, five-colored divine light in the center of its forehead—a dazzling, overwhelming presence; the second head was cold and haughty, its eyes slightly narrowed, displaying an aloof and unmatchable demeanor; the third head wore a broad, amiable smile, looking approachable and endearing.

Li Yundong carefully examined the expressions of the three heads and noticed that the features of these heads bore a faint resemblance to his own.

"This is the spirit within me?" Li Yundong's heart jolted. His gaze shifted to the spirit's Six Arms, each holding a weapon of a different color, assuming a distinct posture.

The two arms corresponding to the head with the vertical eye held, one, a black iron fan encircled by a lingering crimson, bloody light, with numerous golden Buddhist runes perpetually orbiting the treasured fan—making it appear both solemnly majestic and lethally potent. The other arm grasped a three-foot-long azure sword, inscribed with mysterious patterns, around which floated a faint purple light, dancing like a purple silk ribbon.

The two arms corresponding to the cold, aloof head held, one, a three-legged tripod, about the size of two heads, pitch black, covered in inscriptions of ancient writing and imagery. Colorful vapors swirled from the center of the cauldron, hinting at the emergence of seven-colored radiance. The other arm held an Eight Trigrams Mirror, within which a figure could vaguely be seen, endlessly repeating the cycle of human birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Finally, the two arms corresponding to the broad, smiling head each held a calligraphy brush as thick as a thumb and a grayish-green crystal bowl, respectively.

This three-headed, six-armed materialized spirit holding various artifacts greatly astonished Li Yundong. However, before he could react, he suddenly saw the figure lunge toward him, vanishing into his body in the blink of an eye.

In that instant, Li Yundong felt an inexplicable surge of power, as if he were the master of this world, the sole deity standing beneath the blue sky and upon the earth! He felt as if he was this three-headed, six-armed spirit, possessing immeasurable, boundless magical power!

Li Yundong felt both shock and disbelief as he experienced this strength. He attempted to stomp his foot upon the cloud layer beneath him, and immediately, a rumbling boom made the entire world tremble!

"This is my power?" Li Yundong was ecstatic, bursting into wild laughter. He tried controlling the three-headed, six-armed spirit to fly in the air. It was clumsy at first, but he soon soared unimpeded, moving freely through this minor world (Xiao Qian Shi Jie).

This feeling of unconstrained freedom and invincible fearlessness was precisely the final lesson and last hurdle of the Condensing Spirit realm.

Cultivators reaching this stage often possess extremely powerful divine consciousness, capable of visualizing a self-spirit far surpassing previous potentials. However, this visualized self-spirit only represents the height the cultivator might reach in the future; it does not mean the cultivator has already attained that level.

Because the meditating cultivator is experiencing this power and realm for the first time, they are easily tempted to mistake the spirit materialized within their minor world for their true self, thus falling into a state of Great Freedom Heart-Devil (Da Zi Zai Xin Mo). Therefore, cultivators also refer to this materialized spirit as the Self-Sovereign Heavenly Demon (Zi Zai Tian Mo).

From the moment humans enter the world, confined within the womb, sustained by the umbilical cord, they possess no true liberty. Even after birth, they are often constrained by parents, society, and the heavens!

The fundamental goal of cultivation is the pursuit of freedom, the attainment of a state of absolute ease (Zi Zai). Seeking immortality is seeking the freedom of the physical body, no longer bound by the constraints of aging, sickness, and death; seeking divine power is seeking the freedom of life itself, no longer oppressed or manipulated by various strong powers.

When cultivators enter their minor worlds for visualization, they enter a realm of illusory, absolute freedom, for this world is one they have conceived themselves. Naturally, they are the sole supreme god of this world, omnipotent and invincible!

A person who has never experienced this state of Great Freedom, suddenly encountering it, is certain to generate extremely terrifying Heart-Devils. The more weighted by desire a person is, the more acute this danger becomes! This is one of the reasons why cultivators emphasize keeping the heart pure and desires few during practice!

Although Li Yundong was not entirely free of desire, compared to the vast majority of people in society, he had managed to retain a precious, childlike innocence. Therefore, even as he felt the stirrings of the Self-Sovereign Heavenly Demon's mindset and laughed wildly in his minor world, a thread of clarity remained in his consciousness.

Especially as his laughter echoed mightily, Li Yundong suddenly heard, faintly, as if from some distant source, someone softly calling his name. This call felt like a cool breeze amidst a scorching summer sun, or a clear spring in a wild desert.

Li Yundong's spirit snapped back sharply. His wild laughter gradually ceased, and slowly, the entire minor world grew dim and turbid again. The previously visualized three-headed, six-armed spirit gradually vanished.

After a moment, Li Yundong awoke from his meditation. As he opened his eyes, he saw Su Chan watching him anxiously.

Seeing Li Yundong wake, Su Chan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, patting her chest. "That was too close! You nearly became lost in your own minor world, becoming a Self-Sovereign Heavenly Demon with a lost soul!"