I'm Shaolin, but I also practice SongXi (Wudang). I learned from an old man in a forgotten village, but thats not important
炁 is the character specifically for ZhenQi, its not used any more. (Combin. Void + Fire means 'cessation of desire').
I know what your talking about, but its the compiled standard Qigong of all china. There are many sects with many different views. Somewhere along the centuries the concept of Zhen QI, breath Qi, and several others have been rolled into one....and it doesn't really make sense.
But when it comes to these things no one will heed whats written on a forum. So I'll have to leave it there. The character is worth looking up though
It has a bit more meaning than the standard 'Vapour'. (The actual character is a little different to 炁 but thats the closest still used)