Li Yuan felt a growing panic in the Realm of Questions.
A radius of 100,000 kilometers. The entire planet in danger. A resonance that continued to grow without limit.
But then, within that mental chaos, a calm realization began to emerge—like the surface of a lake slowly becoming clear after a storm.
I've done this before.
Six thousand years ago, when he lost control and released his fifteen understandings onto the world, what did he do after realizing his mistake?
I wrapped it back up.
The Wrapping Understanding—his second understanding. The understanding that not only served to hide power, but also to filter and limit the resonance that came out.
Li Yuan felt his Wrapping Understanding vibrate in his Zhenjing. It wasn't spectacular like the ocean of his Water Understanding, nor dramatic like the fire of his Anger Understanding. But it was constant. Loyal. Always working in the background like a servant who never rested.
All this time, the Wrapping Understanding has been working tirelessly to limit my passive effects.
Without that understanding, the 100,000-kilometer radius would surely have been active at all times. The entire world would have been affected by his resonance long ago.
But the Wrapping Understanding alone was not enough. It needed something more fundamental to work effectively.
Core Consciousness. Xīnyuán.
Li Yuan began to understand with new clarity what he truly needed. A Core Consciousness wasn't just one understanding chosen to be a "favorite." A Core Consciousness was the axis of the soul—the center from which all understandings revolved and through which all resonance was filtered.
And from the very beginning, unknowingly, Li Yuan already had a Core Consciousness.
The Water Understanding.
His very first understanding. The understanding he had been with the longest. The understanding that had shaped the way he interacted with the world for thousands of years.
Li Yuan reflected on his own behavior. How he always tended to flow with a situation rather than forcing it to follow his will. How he always chose gentleness over violence when possible. How he easily adapted to new environments, like water taking the shape of any container.
I have been behaving like water from the start.
The Water Understanding was not just one of the seventeen understandings he had. The Water Understanding was the lens through which all his other understandings manifested themselves.
When his Anger Understanding was active, that anger flowed like water—not exploding like fire, but flowing with a clear purpose to protect the weak.
When his Doubt Understanding vibrated, that doubt was flexible like water—not rigid like distrust, but open to receiving answers from any direction.
When his Chaos Understanding was active, that chaos moved like water—not destructive like an explosion, but creative like a river carving a new canyon.
Water has been my Core Consciousness from the very beginning. I just didn't realize it.
With that realization, Li Yuan began to feel something change in the way he understood his passive effects.
The passive effects of his seventeen understandings were indeed always active—Daojing was resonance, not energy that could be turned off. But with the Water Understanding as his Core Consciousness, those effects did not go out wild and uncontrolled.
All passive effects flowed through the filter of the Water Understanding first.
A person close to Li Yuan would feel the calmness and flexibility of the Water Understanding as the main effect. The effects of the other understandings were still there, but they were conveyed in a gentle and adaptive way—like water carrying minerals from the various rocks it passes through, but still feeling like water.
And the Wrapping Understanding worked together with the Water Core Consciousness.
Li Yuan began to understand how his first two understandings worked in perfect harmony.
The Water Understanding as the Core Consciousness filtered and harmonized all the passive effects, ensuring they manifested in a gentle and non-damaging way.
The Wrapping Understanding then "wrapped" those already filtered effects, controlling the distance and intensity of their spread.
Without the Water Core Consciousness: The entire planet would be affected by chaotic and contradictory passive effects.
With the Water Core Consciousness but without the Wrapping Understanding: The entire planet would be affected by harmonious but overly intense passive effects.
With both: The passive effects are controlled within a safe distance and at a non-damaging intensity.
Li Yuan felt a profound sense of relief. The protection system he needed had been there all along. He just needed to understand and optimize it.
In the ocean of his Water Understanding in his Zhenjing, Li Yuan began to experiment with more conscious control.
He focused his Water Core Consciousness, imagining all the other understandings revolving around the water like planets around the sun. Each understanding still had its own unique characteristics, but all manifested through the medium of water.
Then he strengthened his Wrapping Understanding, imagining it as an elastic membrane that could expand or contract as needed.
Control of distance.
Li Yuan felt that he could adjust the radius of his passive effects. Not eliminate the effect—that was impossible as long as he lived—but control how far the effect spread.
Under normal conditions, with both protection systems active, his passive effects might only spread within a radius of a few hundred meters. Far enough to affect people he interacted with directly, but not far enough to affect an entire city.
Control of intensity.
Li Yuan also felt that he could adjust how strongly the effect was felt. For people who did not interact with him directly, the passive effects could be as quiet as a whisper—barely noticeable, just making them a little calmer or a little more open.
For people who interacted with him intensely—such as in a long conversation or an emotional situation—the passive effects could be stronger, helping them feel a deeper peace or clarity.
Selective control.
Most importantly, Li Yuan felt that he could choose who was affected and in what situation. If someone approached him with the intent to attack, the passive effect of the Water Understanding could flow more strongly to soften their aggression. But for a person who just happened to be passing by, the effect could be minimized to be almost unnoticeable.
This is what has been working all along.
Li Yuan realized that the Millbrook family had never truly experienced severe emotional chaos despite living with him for four years. They did sometimes feel confused by their own emotions, but it never led to a mental breakdown.
That was because his Water Core Consciousness and his Wrapping Understanding had been working tirelessly to protect them.
The existing protection system just needed to be strengthened and perfected.
In the Realm of Questions, Li Yuan felt the urgent questions begin to transform into practical plans:
"How to strengthen the harmonization of the Water Core Consciousness with the other understandings?"
"How to optimize the Wrapping Understanding for maximum efficiency?"
"How to ensure both systems remain stable even as the understandings continue to grow?"
Li Yuan stood in the middle of the ocean of his Water Understanding, feeling a calm he had not felt in a long time. The crisis that had made him panic turned out to have a solution embedded in the very system he had developed from the beginning.
He was not an uncontrolled spiritual bomb. He was a cultivator who already had a sophisticated safety system, which he only needed to understand and perfect.
Water flows, but it never destroys its container.
Water adapts, but it never loses its identity.
Water gives life, but it never forces.
These were the principles that had guided Li Yuan for thousands of years. And these were the principles that would continue to protect the world from the power he carried.
With the Water Understanding as his Core Consciousness and the Wrapping Understanding as his external control, Li Yuan could continue to grow without endangering the world he loved.
The cultivation journey could continue safely.
And the world would remain protected.