Chapter 35: Cultivation
The talk of wei qi and ying qi left Li Qi utterly bewildered.
What was this? He didn't understand…
He only understood that the other party had mentioned self-destructing their cultivation, and thus, all their cultivation was gone.
No wonder she was so weak; that was the reason.
However, Shen Shuibi saw the confusion in Li Qi's eyes, so she explained: "The Lingshu chapter says: 'It receives water and grain and transforms substances. Its qi enters the five zang organs and externally connects the limbs and joints. The floating qi that does not follow the meridians is wei qi; the essence qi that circulates within the meridians is ying qi. Yin and yang follow each other, inside and outside are connected, like a ring without end. How vast and pure, who can exhaust its understanding?'"
"This means that the subtle substances transformed from food and drink enter the five zang organs internally and spread to the limbs and joints externally. Among these, the qi that floats externally and does not circulate within the meridians is wei qi; the essence qi that circulates within the meridians is ying qi. The wei qi, which belongs to yang, and the ying qi, which belongs to yin, follow each other, penetrating both inside and outside. Their circulation within the body is like a continuous cycle, an endless ring."
"The last sentence, 'How vast and pure, who can exhaust its understanding?' means, how can the circulation of ying qi and wei qi be thoroughly understood?"
"Both the medical school and the Daoist school do not know the laws of ying qi and wei qi circulation, so they only left behind the phrase 'who can exhaust its understanding?'" Shen Shuibi explained. "Therefore, with my wei qi implanted, there was actually no other way besides self-destructing my cultivation."
"I was afraid they would find me and then get clues about the Lady from me, so I simply abolished my cultivation, expelled both wei and ying qi completely, and reconstructed my circulation. Only then did I get rid of those things."
However, at this moment, the rabbit suddenly slapped her head, as if enlightened, abruptly remembering something: "Right! After that, I was captured by you! That big shaman!"
Li Qi was genuinely taken aback by this turn of events.
How could she remember it at a time like this?!
"But, by doing so, isn't Lady Luofu also safe?" Li Qi quickly said.
"Why?" Shen Shuibi's expression was wary.
"You also know that Wushen Mountain is an enemy of the Tang Dynasty. We wouldn't possibly capture Lady Luofu and hand her over to the Tang Dynasty, would we? On the contrary, Lady Luofu can perfectly take refuge on Wushen Mountain. The Tang Dynasty wouldn't be able to reach Wushen Mountain, would it?"
"If we find Lady Luofu, then Lady Luofu will definitely be safe!" Li Qi said. "Miss Shen, isn't that the logic?"
"It… it seems so." Shen Shuibi pondered carefully, and it indeed seemed to make sense.
"So, let's rest for one night, and then set off to find Lady Luofu. The sooner we find her, the sooner she'll be safe," Li Qi continuously instilled this idea into Shen Shuibi.
After their previous casual chat, combined with her initial impression, Shen Shuibi began to waver in her resolve.
Li Qi immediately continued, rambling on.
Time slowly passed, and the moon gradually rose.
In short, by the time the moon was about to hang over the treetops, Shen Shuibi was finally persuaded to embark on the journey together.
This rabbit, though learned and having remembered many things, was still quite foolish and easy to fool.
Moreover, for Li Qi, there was good news.
Because Shen Shuibi saw that Li Qi had nowhere to sleep, she took him back to the inn.
It was Li Qi's first time staying in an inn in this life.
He had to admit.
It was truly enjoyable.
...
The next day.
It was still dark, with the sky full of stars, when Li Qi woke up.
It wasn't that he was eager to set off or to freeload a meal from Ba Kui, but because, in his mind, the cultivation method of the ritual priest recorded in the book "Zhu" required cultivation at this very time each day.
This book was truly just a book in his mind. Apart from not needing to hold it in his hands or worry about losing it, it was exactly like a regular book.
It wasn't a memory, nor was it a searchable database; it was simply, purely, a book.
Want to know the knowledge within?
Alright, then open it yourself, and slowly read, slowly memorize.
Li Qi felt that he probably wouldn't finish reading all of it within five years.
However, the good thing was that the cultivation method itself was very short, without any complex elements. In summary, it involved extracting various different types of qi from heaven and earth, gathering them into the miniature heaven and earth of the human body, nurturing the spirit within, and then offering sacrifices to oneself.
Depending on the path, the main direction of sacrifice also differed.
There were still those three broad categories: Heavenly Spirits, Earth Deities, and Human Ghosts. These were the three different emphases for sacrificing to the spirits within the miniature heaven and earth of the human body.
Because of Master Zhu, Li Qi naturally entered the Earth Deity branch.
However, it was actually just an emphasis; in reality, all three branches still needed to be cultivated, but the effort invested in each differed.
And the cultivation method was also very mystical.
Since it was spring, at this moment, one should sacrifice to the Azure Dragon among the Twenty-Eight Mansions.
The "Twenty-Eight Mansions" are divided into four major groups according to the four cardinal directions: East Azure Dragon, West White Tiger, South Vermilion Bird, and North Black Tortoise, forming the "Four Symbols."
Among the "Twenty-Eight Mansions," the seven mansions of Jiao, Kang, Di, Fang, Xin, Wei, and Ji form a dragon-shaped constellation, which people call the Eastern Azure Dragon. Among them, Jiao represents the dragon's horns, Kang represents the dragon's throat, Di represents the dragon's claws, Xin represents the dragon's heart, and Wei and Ji represent the dragon's tail.
The records stating that the dragon "can be hidden or manifest, small or vast, short or long, ascends to heaven at the vernal equinox and dives into the abyss at the autumnal equinox" actually refer to the changes in the Eastern Azure Dragon constellation.
The Azure Dragon constellation rises from the eastern night sky in spring and sets in the west in autumn. Its appearance and disappearance cycle and direction coincide with the agricultural seasons of the year. In spring, when farming begins, the Azure Dragon constellation begins to rise in the eastern night sky, revealing its bright dragon head. In summer, when crops grow, the Azure Dragon constellation hangs in the southern night sky. In autumn, when crops are harvested, the Azure Dragon constellation also begins to set in the west. In winter, when all things are dormant, the Azure Dragon constellation also hides below the northern horizon.
At this moment, at the transition between winter and spring, the Azure Dragon constellation begins to show its head from the east. The Jiao mansion, representing the dragon's horns, begins to appear above the eastern horizon.
When the Azure Dragon constellation fully appears in the sky, it marks the official beginning of spring plowing.
This is commonly known as "the second day of the second month, the dragon raises its head."
This point in time is for sacrificing to one of the Heaven Spirits, the "Eastern Azure Dragon," also known as: Green Dragon.
"Among the noble Heaven Spirits, none is nobler than the Green Dragon." The Azure Dragon itself is the chief of the Four Symbols. At this time, sacrificing to the Azure Dragon can acquire the qi of the East, which can fill the miniature heaven and earth of the human body and store the spirit within.
That's why Li Qi got up at three or four in the morning, struggling out of his warm bed.
How could sleep compare to cultivation?
This was cultivation!
The path to becoming a superior person, the path to no longer being a boat hauler!
So, he immediately set up the formation and sacrificed to the Azure Dragon.
This was a sacrifice to the Heaven Spirits.
Afterwards, he still needed to sacrifice to the Earth Deities.
Only when everything was finished would that day's cultivation be complete, and he would officially step into the ranks of cultivators!
He finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He thought this as he watched his progress bar.
However, as he watched, Li Qi suddenly realized something.
After getting used to the progress bar appearing anytime, anywhere, Mister Zhu… seemed to have never had a progress bar appear on him.
(Chapter End)