Chapter 11: Chapter Eleven - Qi Induction

If there is anything different about the early mornings in the Hengyun World, Zhao Chun feels it is likely that the air is a bit fresher.

Pushing open the lattice window, she saw that her three senior sisters had already left to attend to their duties. Yesterday happened to be the last day of the month, allowing for a day of rest; usually, they would leave before dawn and only return at sunset.

With so many hours taken up every day, the speed of their cultivation naturally slowed. The laborers worked diligently, yet only earned fifteen Essence Stones a month. Living such a tight-fisted existence, they had no choice but to keep their heads down and toil, sinking deeper day after day.

Zhao Chun closed her eyes, focused her mind, and let out a long sigh.

"Why are you sighing as soon as you wake up?" Zhou Pianran pushed open the door from her room and invited, "Let's go eat breakfast first. We have a lecture after."

Preparatory disciples have two types of lectures: minor lectures, held twice a month, taught by disciples who have already officially entered the sect; and major lectures, held once every ten days, taught by Foundation Establishment elders.

Today happened to be the first of the month, meaning there was a minor lecture. It would run from the Hour of the Dragon (7-9 AM) until the end of the Hour of the Sheep (1-3 PM), without a break.

The lecture was held in the Lecture Hall behind the disciples' quarters. The disciples from the Flying Gourd Small World were assigned to the Thirty-Ninth Courtyard. Each courtyard held a thousand people, with seating arranged according to a combination of cultivation level and talent.

At the front were naturally the senior brothers and sisters who had already reached the third level of Qi Refining and were about to step into the mid-stage. Then came those at the second and first levels of Qi Refining, and only at the very back were the newcomers who had yet to guide Qi into their bodies.

When cultivation levels were equal, those with superior talent were seated further forward.

Zhao Chun’s seat was behind the first-level Qi Refining disciples, placing her toward the front of the newcomers. By the time she arrived, many people had already gathered. She quickly found her seat, which was in the middle of a row of old desks.

People sat on both her left and right, all unfamiliar faces. Peng Zheng was in the row behind her, and the other two three-element spiritual root disciples from the Flying Gourd Small World were sitting nearby, but unfortunately, Zhao Chun did not know them and could not strike up a conversation.

There are always benefits to being a loner. She took the *True Perception Method of Universal Connection* from her cloth bag, spread it out on the desk, and silently memorized it.

Inside the hall, where a thousand people were gathered, the front half was silent, while the newcomers in the back half dared not speak loudly, only whispering to get to know one another.

Zhao Chun’s neighbors were both closing their eyes to rest, but two talkative ones in front of her were speaking in alternating high and low tones, sounding like a senior brother answering questions for a newcomer.

"Dare I ask, Senior Brother, how is this lecture usually conducted?"

"Our courtyard is always taught by Senior Brother Xun Xian, a senior disciple in the late stage of Qi Refining. He is a water-attribute cultivator with three spiritual roots, so his lectures on water-attribute spells are more detailed. Senior Brother Xun has ten years of teaching experience; in terms of cultivation foundations, few in the Outer Sect can surpass him."

"And this Senior Brother Xun, what is he like as a person?"

"Senior Brother Xun is broad-minded and not particularly strict. He only resolves doubts and imparts knowledge; he is not responsible for our specific cultivation. Whether you are diligent or lazy has nothing to do with him."

In that case, he was a bit like some of the professors from Zhao Chun’s university days.

The teacher only lectures; whether the students learn depends entirely on their own self-discipline. The excellent become more excellent, and the inferior become more inferior, creating a polarization within the classroom.

When Zhao Chun walked in, she saw that the third-level Qi Refining cultivators in the front included children as young as her, as well as youths of seventeen or eighteen. It was only through the combination of innate talent and acquired effort that such a peculiar scene could exist.

She recited the meridian and acupoint diagrams two more times before Xun Xian walked in with his hands behind his back. He sat cross-legged on the platform and said, "I am Xun Xian, a senior disciple of the Outer Sect, responsible for the lectures in the Thirty-Ninth Courtyard."

By seniority, he was a "Senior Brother," but the disciples below would not truly address him as such; they all called him "Teacher Xun" to show respect.

Xun Xian was worthy of being a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator. He spoke of basic knowledge—guiding Qi into the body, cleansing meridians, and opening acupoints—with ease and in great detail. Zhao Chun was terrified of missing anything, so she only dared to scribble down some notes when he paused to drink tea.

As she listened and wrote, she gained a firm grasp on things that had not been mentioned in the Method.

Beyond their attributes, spiritual roots also possess "momentum." Some people have their momentum evenly distributed among all their spiritual roots, while others lean more heavily toward one or two attributes. Zhao Chun herself was Metal-Fire-Wood, leaning toward Metal and Fire. One could choose one of these as their primary cultivation attribute. For instance, Xun Xian, with his Wood-Water-Earth roots, leaned heavily toward Water; he focused his cultivation on the water attribute and eventually achieved success.

Therefore, those with a leaning were superior to those with evenly distributed roots. Zhao Chun wrote the characters "Metal" and "Fire" on her paper; she would likely choose one of these to cultivate.

It was not that there were no cultivators with multiple attributes, but it was too troublesome to cultivate them all. She needed to first shed her status as a preparatory disciple before considering anything else.

The content regarding guiding Qi into the body was only at the beginning of Xun Xian’s lecture; the rest was mostly knowledge about meridians and acupoints. Zhao Chun picked out what was important, keeping her focus on what she needed for herself.

After the theoretical knowledge was covered, it was time for questions. The newcomers were all busy digesting the massive amount of information, so those who actually had questions were mostly the second and third-level Qi Refining disciples.

Zhao Chun understood enough and only waited to return to her room to practice. She looked toward the back; most of the newcomers were grimacing, wishing they could bury their heads in their books. Some were muttering to themselves or deep in thought, and there were even a few slumped over their desks, sleeping soundly.

The others had nothing to do with her, though there was one acquaintance, Xie Baoguang, who was resting his head on his hand, his eyes already half-closed.

*He’s someone with no ambitions,* Zhao Chun thought, shaking her head.

The bell rang three times, signaling the end of the half-month minor lecture. Xun Xian did not care if any disciples still had questions; he stood up directly and said, "That is all for today. If you have any remaining questions, I will answer them at the next lecture!"

The disciples watched him leave, only daring to grumble in low voices, "The next lecture has its own matters; how could you possibly remember today's questions by then?"

Zhao Chun, however, felt satisfied. Xun Xian’s lecture was full of substance, which was exactly what a cultivator like her, who had just entered, needed.

The only drawback was that there was no break in the middle. She and Zhou Pianran were both hungry, so they hurriedly packed their things and headed to the dining hall.

It was only the Hour of the Monkey (3-5 PM) when they returned to their room after eating. Zhao Chun closed the door, preparing to begin guiding Qi into her body.

According to the book and what Xun Xian had said, one must first stimulate the spiritual roots, sense the surrounding spiritual energy, and then slowly guide it into the Dantian.

Zhao Chun closed her eyes and sat cross-legged.

Once her vision was lost, her other senses became exceptionally sharp. She could feel the warmth from her palms resting on her knees and the faint, slightly musty smell of the old wood in the room.

She could see nothing, yet it felt as if she could see everything.

In the darkness before her, three colors appeared. Gold and red shadows intertwined and bit at each other, while the remaining verdant green shadow trembled and hid below.

*This must be the successful stimulation of the spiritual roots,* Zhao Chun thought. She looked further into the surroundings and saw gray-white mist floating in the darkness, flowing like water.

She wanted to touch it, and suddenly, a glowing hand appeared before her. It was small, clearly belonging to a child—it was her own hand!

Her field of vision drifted upward, shifting from her hand to her body. A pure white fluorescence outlined her silhouette in the darkness. The three shadows darted into her lower abdomen, while the mist flowed around her, outside her body.

Humans are the spirits of all things. At birth, they still possess a trace of innate spiritual energy, but as they grow, this energy dissipates, and the filth of the world seeps into their skin and flesh, blocking their meridians and acupoints. Thus, humans lose their spirit and fall into a mortal state.

The path of a cultivator is the road from a mortal body back to becoming a spiritual entity. The first step of the *True Perception Method of Universal Connection*, "Nurturing the Body," is to clear the skin and flesh, building a bridge for spiritual energy to enter.

Zhao Chun tried to guide the spiritual energy toward herself, but to no avail. The mist bypassed her body, not a single wisp entering.

Looking closely, she saw tiny black spots remaining on her body, blending into the dark background like little holes.

It seemed the "Nurturing the Body" step had gone wrong; she hadn't met the standard for guiding Qi.

Knowing where the problem lay, the remaining task was simple. Zhao Chun stopped sensing the energy, took three deep breaths, and switched to silently reciting the mantra to continue nurturing her body.

On days without lectures, things were leisurely. Zhao Chun spent most of her time in her room practicing, but Zhou Pianran was someone who couldn't sit still. With her gentle nature and social skills, she had made some friends within the Xuancao Garden.

When they were together, she liked to tell Zhao Chun the latest news, ensuring Zhao Chun wasn't completely cut off from the outside world.

For instance, Zheng Chenqing, who had delighted Elder Lin so much, had been taken as a personal disciple by the Sect Master after it was discovered that he was exceptionally suited for the sect's secret techniques—a meteoric rise.

Or Elder Qiu, whom they had seen the day they arrived in the Hengyun World. Her name was Jinying. She had been an infant when the Sect Master adopted her. With three spiritual roots, she had broken into the Condensing Essence stage at twenty-five and was quite famous in the Hengyun World.

What Zhao Chun heard most about, however, were the petty squabbles between the various factions of the Lingzhen Sect disciples.

The Hengyun World was filled with sects. Beyond the sects, there were family systems supported by great cultivators. They were closely linked to the sects; the elders of the families held positions as sect elders, and their descendants became disciples.

Disciples with backgrounds were naturally different from ordinary people. Within the Outer Sect of the Lingzhen Sect, there was a subtle division into three types of disciples: those from small worlds, those from the Hengyun World, and those from cultivation families. Their status and honor increased in that order.

The Thirty-Ninth Courtyard was entirely composed of those from small worlds, so the atmosphere was more peaceful. In some courtyards where all three types of disciples coexisted, conflicts often arose.

Zhao Chun did not want to get involved; she only wanted to cultivate, hoping to become an official disciple as soon as possible. She also urged Zhou Pianran to stay away from disputes. They had no one behind them; they couldn't afford to offend anyone.

"I understand. I only ask about these things occasionally; I wouldn't dare draw attention to myself," Zhou Pianran said, showing she had her own sense of caution.

She held a cup of hot tea in both hands and asked, "How are things on your end? You've been getting more and more reclusive lately, always staying in your room."

She had been practicing the Nurturing the Body mantra for seven days, and the black spots on her body had completely dissipated. Zhao Chun felt it was time, so she said, "Success or failure will be decided tonight. I have full confidence!"

"Then I'll wait for your good news! Senior Sister Lian even said that once you become an official disciple, you should help them with some of the easier tasks."

"The senior sisters have treated me with sincerity; I will certainly not let them down." During her days of bitter cultivation, the senior sisters had taken good care of her, handling her food, clothing, and shelter. Even if there was a bit of "betting" on her potential involved, their kindness was genuine.

That night, Zhao Chun sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. Cui Lan'e had found it in the storage room for her; the canopy bed was inconvenient for cultivation, so cultivators often kept cushions on hand.

Her body, bright as white jade, sat in the darkness. The surrounding mist no longer repelled her as it had before; instead, it circled her skin, tentatively touching it.

Zhao Chun knew the opportunity had arrived. She immediately stimulated her spiritual roots, and the three-colored shadows condensed into a vortex, pulling the spiritual energy toward her body.

At first, the spiritual energy was startled and darted about, refusing to submit. But after sensing the goodwill released by Zhao Chun, it hesitated and moved forward. Finally, under the constant attraction of the spiritual vortex, it chose to probe inside!

Zhao Chun felt her body become more vibrant, beginning to breathe on its own!

Once there was one, there were two. The spiritual energy gradually enveloped her, passing through the vortex into her Dantian. It no longer repelled her, becoming intimate instead.

At this point, the guiding of Qi into the body was completely finished. Zhao Chun had officially stepped onto the path of cultivation, becoming a first-level Qi Refining cultivator!