Li Yuan sat in the stillness of the Realm of Questions, his consciousness now stable again with Water at its center.
After experimenting with various Core Consciousnesses, after feeling the newfound flexibility of his consciousness, Li Yuan began to notice something he had always considered a single entity.
The passive effects he radiated actually had two different layers.
Two types of passivity.
The insight came when he carefully observed how his resonance affected his surroundings. All this time, he had assumed all passive effects came from the same source. But now he began to distinguish two different streams.
The first—passive from the realm itself.
Li Yuan felt that the Ganjing realm had its own passive effect. Not because of a specific understanding he had, but because of the fundamental nature of the realm itself.
Ganjing was the realm of feeling. Its passive effect was universal—like a sixth sense that resonated with the world's vibrations.
Within a certain radius around Li Yuan, living things began to be affected in a subtle but real way. Animals became calmer without knowing why. People felt more peaceful but were unaware of where the feeling came from. Even plants seemed to grow healthier.
This isn't because of my Water Understanding. This is because I am in the Ganjing Realm.
Li Yuan realized that anyone who reached Ganjing would have a similar passive effect—making the surroundings affected by the Dao's resonance, even though the beings themselves were not consciously feeling anything directly.
And the second—passive from the specific understanding.
This was what he had been more focused on all this time. The effects of the Understandings of Water, Silence, Chaos, and the others. The effects that were unique because of the specific understandings he had achieved.
When a person was close to him, they were not only affected by the general effect (the Ganjing effect), but also began to be influenced by the specific characteristics of his understandings—becoming calmer like water, more peaceful like silence, more spontaneous like chaos—without them realizing or understanding where the influence came from.
Two layers working simultaneously.
Li Yuan began to separate these two effects in his consciousness. Like a musician learning to hear harmony and melody as separate elements within a single song.
The Ganjing effect created a "general sensitivity"—a spiritual radar that made people more aware of the subtle things around them.
The Understanding effect created a "specific influence"—making people feel the specific qualities of the aspects of the Dao he understood.
But there was something even more interesting.
When Li Yuan focused his attention on his Water Understanding, which was now in the Wenjing Realm, he found a third layer.
The Wenjing passive.
The Water in the Wenjing Realm didn't just make people feel gentleness and flexibility. The Water in Wenjing made them start to "hear" something deeper.
People within its radius of influence began to hear the intent behind words. Began to understand the hidden meaning behind actions. Began to feel the rhythm of life that they were usually unaware of.
Wenjing gave clarity to the sensitivity created by Ganjing.
Li Yuan began to formulate this beautiful progression more systematically:
Without any realm: People live with ordinary consciousness, insensitive to subtle vibrations.
With the Ganjing effect: People become sensitive—they feel there is "something" but don't know what it is.
With the Wenjing effect: That sensitivity gains clarity—they not only feel, but begin to understand.
And all of this was layered with the effects of the specific understandings.
Li Yuan tried to think more systematically:
The Ganjing Realm created a universal sense—a 360-degree radar that detected vibrations, but didn't see the details.
The Wenjing Realm provided the "tone color" for that radar—it began to know the purpose and intent behind the vibrations.
The Specific Understandings were like the focus of a camera lens—very sharp details, but only on a particular aspect.
So when a person is close to me...
Li Yuan imagined the experience of a person who entered his radius of influence:
First, they would feel a heightened awareness (the Ganjing effect)—suddenly more sensitive to the things around them.
Second, they would begin to "hear" a deeper meaning (the Wenjing effect from the Water Understanding)—understanding intent and emotions more clearly.
Third, they would feel the qualities of water (the Water Understanding effect)—becoming gentler, more adaptive, calmer.
Three layers working together to create a complex experience.
Li Yuan realized why the people in Millbrook often seemed confused by the changes within them when they were near him. They were not only experiencing one change, but three changes at once—and they had no framework to understand what was happening.
And this was just with one understanding in the Wenjing Realm.
Li Yuan felt a little dizzy imagining the complexity that would occur when more of his understandings reached higher realms.
When the Understanding of Silence reached Wenjing, people would not only feel peace, but would also begin to "hear" meaning in silence.
When the Understanding of Chaos reached Wenjing, people would not only feel dynamism and spontaneity, but would also begin to understand the hidden patterns in chaos.
And with seventeen understandings...
Li Yuan remembered the 100,000-kilometer radius calculation that had panicked him before. Now he understood that the number was not just about the physical range, but also about the complexity of the effects.
Everyone within that radius would not just be affected by one simple effect, but a combination of:
The universal Ganjing effect (heightened sensitivity)
The specific effect of the high realms (clarity and understanding)
The effects of seventeen different understandings simultaneously
No wonder the Core Consciousness and the Wrapping Understanding were so important.
Without the Water Core Consciousness to filter and harmonize all the effects, people would be overwhelmed by a complexity they couldn't handle.
Without the Wrapping Understanding to limit the range and intensity, the entire world would experience a spiritual overload.
I am not just radiating "power"—I am radiating a complex awareness.
Li Yuan began to understand his responsibility with a new perspective. He not only had to control power, but also to control the level of consciousness he shared with the world.
Too little, and people would remain trapped in ignorance. Too much, and they would be overwhelmed by a complexity they were not ready to accept.
It was like being a teacher who had to know how much knowledge a student could handle at one time.
In the Realm of Questions, Li Yuan felt a new appreciation for the complexity and beauty of the Daojing system he had developed.
It was not just about individual cultivation, but also about how that individual cultivation interacted with the collective consciousness around it.
Every step in the spiritual journey had social consequences.
And with that realization, Li Yuan felt more prepared to continue his journey with a deeper wisdom about the impact of every progress he made.