I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 17 Qi Refining
Five days later, the sky cleared and the air was fresh.

It was the perfect time to read Taoist texts by daylight, but Ying Chan had already closed all the doors and windows.

Sitting still in a dimly lit space, one's mind naturally calms down, like still water.

If you maintain this state for a quarter of an hour and three breaths, without giving rise to any distracting thoughts, your mind will become clear.

Once the altar is clear, one can begin cultivating Qi.

Without needing to recall or explain, the contents of the "One Yuan Qi Cultivation Scripture" have already naturally flowed through one's mind.

Indeed, Ying Chan ultimately chose this martial arts technique.

He was not a person who looked back and forth, nor was he afraid of any dangers. Otherwise, how could he have traveled thousands of miles to come here to seek the Dao?

Since you've embarked on the path of cultivation, you're bound to face many challenges. You should avoid them when necessary, but if it's necessary, you shouldn't be afraid to confront them head-on.

In the past five days, Ying Chan has read the "One Yuan Qi Cultivation Scripture" countless times, and gradually gained confidence in his mind.

Having longed for the Way, today is the time to begin my practice.

……

You should regulate your breathing, inhaling more and exhaling less, with your tongue touching the roof of your mouth. Visualize the vital energy in your body rising to your throat and tongue with each breath, generating sweet rain...

This is how one collects dew from the Jade Pool, then sends it down through intention, piercing the towering buildings—this is how one passes through the Jade Palace…

In short, the cultivation of the Qi Refining Realm is about drawing Qi into the body and refining it into magical power.

Ying Chan has been practicing breathing exercises for a long time and has accumulated a lot of spiritual energy and vital energy in his body, so he can skip the Qi-inducing stage.

But in order to achieve perfection, he still didn't skimp on this little bit of effort.

The Yiyuan Lianqi Jing (Scripture of One Primal Qi Cultivation) contains three methods for guiding Qi, among which breathing exercises are the primary method, known as the "Yiyuan Fuqi Fa" (Method of One Primal Qi Absorption).

Ying Chan practiced this method for a few days, but he didn't feel anything else. He only felt that the primordial energy in his body, which he originally thought was magical power, seemed to have become much purer.

Taking the Wind Summoning Technique he knows as an example, although the amount of vital energy accumulated in his body has not increased recently, he can use the Wind Summoning Technique more often.

He didn't make a mistake in this step.

As the Qi cultivation begins, the pure vital energy accumulated within the body surges forth continuously, circulating throughout the body via the circulation method…

As soon as the first wisp of magical power was generated, Ying Chan immediately noticed the change.

Whether it's the spiritual energy introduced into the body or the vital energy that mixes with the body's essence, they are all ethereal and mysterious things.

It cannot be seen, smelled, or detected; it is only through the guidance and operation of the Dharma that a vague perception is achieved.

But when magical power is born, it is like a ray of dawn, instantly illuminating the entire world within the body.

Tailbone Pass, Spine Pass, Jade Pillow Pass, Crimson Palace, Mud Pill, Jade Pool...

As the magical power passed through, everything inside and out became clear and bright. Ying Chan felt that he was able to float away and ascend to heaven in broad daylight...

Of course, this is just an obstacle. If one truly immerses oneself in it, it is unknown whether one can transform Qi and ascend to immortality. The initial magical power will surely dissipate like the wind.

Ying Chan kept his mind focused and continued to move the energy. With the help of the magic power, the circulation of the vital energy in his body became more and more free, and streams of magic power were generated accordingly.

By this time, the previous illusion had long since dissipated, but it was unclear whether another obstacle lay ahead.

Although Ying Chan could sense that the newly generated magical power was very strong, it was not as described in the Yiyuan Sutra, which required complete concentration to barely control.

On the contrary, he was completely able to control the flow of magical power at will.

Even if one maintains a focused mind and circulates the energy dozens of times until all the accumulated vital energy in the body is refined into magical power, the result remains the same.

At this point, Ying Chan was able to break free from meditation, and his first attempt at Qi cultivation was considered a great success.

But he couldn't help himself, and a new idea popped into his head. He should know that if he stopped now, although he had mastered the magic power, he wouldn't have entered the realm of Qi cultivation.

Because magical power has nowhere to reside, unless Ying Chan keeps moving and circulating it, it will dissipate into primordial energy within ten or twenty days at most.

To preserve magical power for a long time, one must open up the mysterious aperture.

What is the Mysterious Aperture?

When one reaches the state of utmost emptiness and stillness, there is no longer a physical body, but only a sense of vast emptiness and darkness, one becomes one with heaven and earth, and the vital energy is brewing within. This is the most wonderful state of cultivation, hence it is called the Mysterious Aperture.

The Mysterious Aperture is the key to a Qi Refining cultivator's ability to store magical power.

The cultivation of the Qi Refining Realm involves refining magical power, then using that power to open up the Mysterious Aperture, accumulating it step by step until the meridians of heaven and earth are opened, allowing the inner and outer worlds to intersect.

However, this is an extremely delicate skill. It requires both strong enough magical power to open the mysterious aperture and precise enough control to avoid damaging it.

Otherwise, if you fail to open the mysterious aperture, you will not only harm yourself, but it will also become increasingly difficult to open the aperture again next time.

In Ying Chan's understanding, although the power of the "One Yuan Qi Cultivation Scripture" was formidable, it was difficult to control, so he had not originally intended to achieve it in one fell swoop.

However, the current situation is not what he imagined...

Ying Chan never retreated from his meditative state, maintaining the transfer of magical power. As long as he was certain that he could control it freely, he decisively began to open the mysterious aperture.

In the stillness, he found the key to his inner world, then separated a strand of his magical power, condensed it into a fine needle, and, like threading a needle, 'pierced' it into the mysterious aperture—

In a mere instant, it was blasted away!

Ying Chan was both pleased and surprised. He was pleased because it was so easy to open the mysterious aperture, but surprised because the magic power was so strong that it was indeed not an exaggeration.

Previously, I had taken control of the technique with ease and even thought that the "One Yuan Qi Cultivation Scripture" was just an exaggeration. Now, I realize how powerful it is.

However, the stronger one's magical power, the more careful one must be after entering the Mystic Aperture.

Ying Chan carefully controlled this wisp of magical power, operating it according to the methods in the "One Yuan Qi Refining Scripture," slowly opening up the Xuan Aperture while simultaneously dispersing it into the Xuan Aperture to make it stable and resilient.

Before the current wisp of magical power is exhausted, another wisp is sent in, and this process is repeated...

In the dimly lit bedroom, Ying Chan's energy gradually plummeted to its lowest point, seemingly even weaker than before he had mastered his magic.

However, if there were truly someone knowledgeable in Taoist practices here, observing the faint yet continuous flow of their profound energy, they would know that this was actually a manifestation of their cultivation.

Because his magical power was already hidden in the mysterious aperture, he had entered the stage of Qi cultivation.

-

Before we knew it, the days and months had turned several times.

Ying Chan finally opened his eyes, his gaze shining brightly, illuminating the small room.

Ying Chan seemed to sense something, so he gathered his energy and spirit, and the strange phenomenon quickly disappeared.

But he was still excited, because his first attempt at Qi Refining was so successful. He not only successfully refined his magical power, but also opened up three mysterious apertures in one go!

Although the Xuanqiao was almost empty at this moment, Ying Chan could not help but be pleased.

The cultivation of Qi is fundamental.

Progress can be judged by the opening of the mysterious apertures. There are a total of thirty-six steps, that is, opening thirty-six mysterious apertures is considered a success.

Although it is said that one should start with the easy and then move to the difficult, the fact that one should be able to open up three mysterious apertures in one breath is certainly worthy of praise for one's diligence and courage.

After more than forty days in the Taoist temple, I finally opened the door to cultivation and saw a corner of the scenery.

(End of this chapter)