BaiShe settled into lotus position facing her.
"Close your eyes," said the Queen. "Perceive the energy around you. Qi is not a simple force, it is the very essence of the world... You must aspirate it through your pores, let the flow pass through your meridians and guide it toward your Dantian, just below your navel."
BaiShe began to learn the rudiments of Qi manipulation under the skeptical but intrigued eye of the Queen.
"It is... more difficult than expected," murmured BaiShe.
"Do not be so impatient, little serpent," mocked Long Huang. "A mortal normally takes fifty years just to open his meridians."
However, the surrounding Qi began to swirl around him, violently aspirated by his unique constitution.
The Queen's expression changed instantly. She saw the spiritual mists condense into an emerald vortex that rushed into BaiShe's body. It was not the hesitant manipulation of a novice, but the insatiable hunger of a predator.
