ATPnovel Chapter 40: When the tendons are supple, the Qi flows smoothly; the Five Elements Concept
Chapter 40: When the tendons are supple, the Qi flows smoothly; the Five Elements Concept
Bai Yujing once had some famous sayings that served as warnings to the world.
Cultivating one's health through absorbing vital energy emphasizes the balance of Yin and Yang, and the mutual generation of strength and gentleness.
Bones are the yang aspect of the body, while tendons are the yin aspect.
Xiao Tianli uses yang energy to cleanse the bones, while Qingzhi and Yunmu use yin energy to infuse the tendons.
Fascia connects the whole body, governing flexibility, flexion and extension, and the flow of qi and blood; it is also known as the "gateway to the internal organs".
The skeleton is the framework and emphasizes rigidity, while the tendons are the network and emphasize flexibility.
Sunlight streamed through the bright window in the roof of the training room, forming a clear, golden band of light that shone on Li Ya.
After thoroughly applying the ointment, Li Ya sat down, and within a few breaths, he entered a state of complete absorption.
With each breath, all the pores on his body opened up, absorbing all the spiritual energy gathered by the array in his training clothes.
The ointment on the skin melted away like spring snow, and the pharmacological effects seeped into the skin through the dilated pores and adhered to the fascia.
The fascia gradually relaxes and stretches wherever the medicine reaches.
When the tendons are supple, all the meridians are unobstructed; when all the meridians are unobstructed, the Qi and blood are in harmony; when the Qi and blood are in harmony, the Dao Qi is generated.
The golden band of light slowly shifted until it disappeared completely.
Only then, with his entire body's fascia completely enveloped by the medicinal properties, did Li Ya begin the next step.
"Massaging tendons is like rubbing gold and jade; it should be slow and gentle, removing stiffness and nourishing suppleness, so that the tendons and qi can be in harmony, and the qi can be integrated with the body, thus achieving great success."
Following the instructions of the Spiritual Pivot, Li Ya guided the vast Azure Mist True Qi in his Qi Sea, circulating it gently, starting from his Dantian, like a pair of large hands slowly kneading it.
The gentle medicinal power is absorbed by the fascia during this kneading process.
Before long, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and slowly slid down.
Clearly, the consumption of true energy was considerable, and the formation in the training room accelerated its operation, with spiritual energy continuously converging into the training room from all around Qingmu Pavilion.
The medicinal smell of the ointment not only quickly disappeared between the mouth and nose, but also the pores of the whole body absorbed spiritual energy, which was then refined into true energy after circulating throughout the body.
Li Ya concentrated his mind and focused his thoughts, which, mixed with the Daoist rhymes continuously falling from the spiritual pivot, slowly outlined the Jade Tendon Talisman, starting from the dragon tendons on his spine.
The jade tendrils meander and twist, like a dragon lurking in the abyss.
The brushstrokes are slow and deliberate, each stroke steady and refined, with an invisible Daoist charm taking root deep within the body with every stroke.
The mystical power of the green mica, stimulated by the Daoist rhythm, converged with the large tendons, like countless steel wires twisted into a tough steel cable.
Immediately afterwards, the strokes landed on the major meridian nodes.
Dragon-shaped runes meandered and coiled, spreading outwards in layers from the dragon tendon as the center.
As the first layer of the Jade Tendon Scroll came to a close, a barely audible hissing sound emanated from the deepest part of the body.
The fascia throughout the body jolted violently, then instantly returned to normal.
Li Ya slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of stale air.
"Nine is the ultimate number. This Jade Tendon Scroll has nine lines forming one cycle, and nine cycles are needed to complete the cultivation of the third level of Qi Refining."
"When the work is accomplished, the muscles will be as supple as a coiled dragon, and the breath as smooth as a flowing river."
I looked up at the bright window.
It's getting dark again!
He slowly rose and gently brushed the dust off his clothes.
Pushing open the stone door of the training room, a cold wind swept through the forest. Since Senior Brother Lingji had not yet returned, Li Ya simply went back to the market town as well.
Inside the porcelain jar in the room, the small snail had already grown to the size of an ordinary watermelon.
Nourished by the spiritual spring all day long, surrounded by abundant spiritual energy, it has consumed plenty of the spiritual items that Li Ya has taken, and in recent days, it has grown bigger and bigger.
He threw himself onto the bed, without leaning against anything, landing right where he usually slept.
With a thought, his soul sank into the Spirit Pivot Cave Heaven.
He intentionally extended the operating time of the Dawnlight Crimson Gold Wheel within the Ling Shu Cave Heaven, which could slightly reduce the growth time of the Dragon Tooth Rice.
Looking out, the three acres of spiritual fields, planted with my own hands a little over a month ago, are already growing vigorously, full of vitality.
Each rice stalk is slender and firm, without any crookedness or weakness. The spiritual energy flows slowly along the veins, and tiny fragments of light can be seen moving among the leaves.
The soul floated above the spiritual field, where a refreshing spiritual fragrance permeated it.
At this rate of growth, in another month, the entire field of Longya rice will be fully heading and grain-filling.
Then, a month later, a bountiful harvest of spirit rice will be produced.
Li Ya secretly planned that once this batch of Dragon Tooth Rice matured and was harvested, he would not sell the spiritual rice he obtained, but keep it for himself.
Before reaching the sixth level of Qi Refining, one needs continuous nourishment from spiritual food.
Compared to elixirs that are prone to causing toxicity, spiritual rice is gentle and nourishing, making it most suitable for cultivating one's foundation in Taoism.
"Creating a grotto-heaven requires a considerable investment. I only hope that this trip to Fallen Dragon Valley will yield a large number of mountain roots."
"These three acres of spiritual fields alone are not enough to grow enough Dragon Tooth Rice for our own consumption."
With his soul returning to its place, Li Ya opened his eyes and threw another Qi Gathering Pill into the vat.
With his head resting on his arms, Li Ya will have his fascia refined in a few more days. He will have completed all the necessary training for the third level, far surpassing that of ordinary cultivators, and will then be ready to break through.
I only hope that when I break through to the fourth level, with this solid foundation, I can gain the favor of the immortals and be rewarded with supernatural powers and extraordinary phenomena. That would be the best outcome.
"Please enlighten me, Spiritual Pivot. I believe that with such a breakthrough in foundation, one may be favored by the immortals."
[When Ling Shu assists fellow Daoists in deducing whether they will receive the favor of the Immortal Dao during their breakthrough.]
[Spiritual Energy Consumption: 300 strands of True Qi]
[Time required: One incense stick's time]
[Fellow Daoist, please confirm whether this deduction is valid?]
"Can!"
This situation baffled him. Such a deduction about immortality took so little time, only the time it takes to burn an incense stick.
After an incense stick has burned, the small, gilded characters slowly emerge.
[When you broke through, no immortal favored you, simply because the method of refining qi through three stages of body tempering was obtained from the "Twelve Yuan Chen Great Strength Bone Demon Abandoning Body Scripture," which does not belong to the immortal path.]
[Your request has been fulfilled, fellow Daoist. May you be well!]
"Indeed, I was just a bandit asking for directions when I encountered government soldiers."
Li Ya smiled and shook his head.
He exhaled softly again, and the white vapor condensed in the room without dissipating.
The Chensu Tiandu Sword Pill has been nurtured in the lungs and acupoints for a long time. Although it cannot be controlled yet, it has already gained many benefits.
First, there's the breathing exercise. The lungs belong to the metal element, and while the lungs nourish the sword pill, they are also strengthened by the metal energy emitted by the sword pill.
My breathing skills have also improved a lot.
Next is aptitude. Li Ya felt that if he were to cultivate metal-related techniques, he would most likely be able to quickly master them.
"Currently, I am practicing a wood-based technique, but in order to be able to use this sword pellet, I also need to learn a metal-based technique."
"Cultivating two methods is still cultivation, so why not cultivate five methods as well!"
"Please help me, Ling Shu, whether I can also cultivate the other four nine-grade five-element cultivation methods passed down by the Yunfu Sect, and their advantages and disadvantages."
[The Spiritual Pivot will assist fellow Daoists in deduce and cultivate the Five Elements techniques.]
[Spiritual Energy Consumption: Five Dou of True Qi]
[Required spiritual items: *Golden Edge Body-Cutting Scripture* (missing), *Azure Mist Condensing Wood Nourishing Essence Technique*, *Cold Stream Concealing Essence Chapter* (missing), *Minor Yang Fire Cultivating Qi Record* (missing), *Pure Earth Concealing Breath Nourishing Form Method* (missing)]
[Time required: One month]
[My true energy is insufficient. Fellow Daoist, would you please confirm whether we should perform the deduction in stages?]
The "Azure Mist Condensing Wood Nourishing Essence Technique" that I practice now was passed down from my master; the other four techniques were quite difficult to obtain on my own.
"This deduction has consumed a considerable amount of true energy, almost as much as the energy consumed by the hidden acupoint."
Is it worth the effort?
The Yunfu Sect follows the path of Jiamu Qinglong Leichen Dan, and its core cultivation technique is only at the seventh rank. Although there are precedents of successful Foundation Establishment, no one has succeeded since.
To cultivate a Golden Core, even the lowest grade nine Golden Core, requires a cultivation technique of grade five or higher.
"The lineages in this Central Continent are very strict. I was born into the Yunfu Sect, so I bear the mark of the Yunfu Sect. No other lineages will accept me."
"Therefore, we have no choice but to take an unconventional approach."