What Shen Lian been through was a necessary stage for most practitioners.
For some of the scholars on earth, after going through cultivation for years, there would come a time when they reached the stage of revelation. When that happened, they would howl so loud that it could be heard even from several miles away.
Such a howl was comparable to the sound of endless wind blowing and water flowing on earth.
People from the outside world could even see the cloud formed by the Qi of heaven and earth above Shen Lian’s roof. It did not go away.
The howling and its vibration had sent a shock to everyone on Qingliang Peak. Chen Jianmei was the first to arrive at Shen Lian’s house. His sword went by and isolated the area.
Yan Bugui, too, appeared at the same time. For half a year, there had been new streams of students joining the lower house. Looking at the situation, they all thought one of the seniors had achieved a breakthrough.
They were envious of the person. When they got closer and realized that it was from Shen Lian’s house that the momentum came from, they were even more surprised.
The time taken for Shen Lian to go through Wenxin Road was extremely short, he was famous among the people in the upper house. However, for some unknown reason, none of the elders took him in as a student. He was mostly discovering his cultivation experience alone. He did not even attend the bimonthly meeting with the elders. Nobody had really seen him around.
Others could not guess his level of cultivation experience. As a general guide, for Qingxuan’s students who were under twenty, even though they would be extremely talented, they would not have reached a very high level in terms of cultivation.
Judging from how the Qi formed into mist and cloud, to them, this was something way beyond their imagination.
Chen Jianmei and Yan Bugui were both surprised. In the long years since Qing Xuan existed, there were indeed great geniuses who managed to get past the point of Entry at a younger age. The point of Entry was the key to the organization of Qi. At this point, the Qi would turn into mana – it would be able to nurture the spirit, and also to use some Dao techniques.
It was only up to this point that the basic to Dao was considered complete.
At the same time, once mana was formed, one must be careful in choosing the methods of martial exercises. As one’s path was chosen, the decision would be irreversible and it would do more harm than good.
What was great about Shen Lian was that at this point, he could command such a high level of Qi.
The command of Qi depended upon the methods of martial exercise and also how well the body could take it, in addition to having powerful spirit. Else, it would be similar to the situation where a child was killed under the fatigue of trying to carry a burden of a thousand pounds.
The both of them noticed how concentrated the Qi was – it would be a challenge even for cultivators who had reached the level of deity.
Shen Lian was not one that could be evaluated based on the normal measures as he first cultivated his spirit before he went on to the practice of Qi.
The howl slowly faded away.
Shen Lian was not paying attention to what was happening with the outside world. Qi was flowing into his body. While not all were absorbed, they were all directed at him.
He was now sitting with his legs crossed. He felt that his body was light and he was feeling nothing – he was neither sad nor happy.
A swirl appeared inside his body. It was the point of Entry and it was traveling within his vessels. Everywhere the swirl traveled to, the essential Qi, the inner Qi and the power of his spirit intertwined. The overflowing Qi in his body was reacting with the Qi from the heaven and earth and his spiritual energy to form a wonderful reaction.
The more solid it became, the reaction turned into a strange energy, which was in between the state of spiritual energy and inner Qi.
When the Qi of vitality transformed, the swirl disappeared along with it. Some of this energy was flowing through his vessels and was stopped at where the bier was. Once it met with Shen Lian’s spirit, it attached to his spirit, like a frozen dew.
Shen Lian felt like his spirit was being cleansed, like a clear mirror being rid of dust.
All of a sudden, he thought of a short passage. He opened his eyes and the Qi from the heaven and earth went away slowly. He recited the following: “The body was a Bodhi, and the heart was a mirror; clean it daily and diligently, and don’t ever let the dust fall on it.”
He finally understood the reason why Daoist Master designed cultivation into nine states. The moment the point of Entry was passed, the inner Qi would then combine with the spiritual energy in the body and formed a special energy. This energy could get stronger by absorbing Qi; it could also be used directly on the spirit to cleanse the mind, which further strengthens it. This state was known as “Soul Deepening”.
Not all cultivators had access to The Mastery of Senses, which was able to swallow the vitality of the body and even the inner Qi to strengthen the spirit.
Another way was through entering someone’s dream and by engulfing his or her will to empower oneself. It was not necessarily evil, but it took a lot of chances to be able to reach the out-of-body state.
In addition, the will of human in dreams was full of impurities. By engulfing it, it was more likely to do more harm than good.
Hence, Soul Deepening was one of the most crucial parts of cultivation. It was only through this method, then the spirit could subsequently become stronger until one could gain sufficient strength to no longer be bound by the body.
From Soul Deepening to the out-of-body state, there was not any challenge as it tended to be natural.
Shen Lian was almost always in the state of Soul Deepening, but unlike the nurture of mana, his vitality was absorbed by his spirit.
****
Since the day the odd occurrence happened to Shen Lian, days and nights had gone by. The curious bunch had already left, except for Chen Jianmei. By the time Shen Lian retreated, he retreated his sword too.
He lowered his voice and said, “‘Clean it daily and diligently, and don’t ever let the dust fall on it,’ was a good phrase.”
What Shen Lian recited in his room was overheard by him.
He mumbled in a voice which no one could hear him, and he left right after.
The next day Shen Lian was brought away by Jingqing, as the headmaster had summoned him.
The moment Shen Lian saw Zhang Ruoxu, he was shocked.
Zhang Ruoxu looked significantly younger, with his black hair and handsome face. He could have easily gotten all the attention he wanted in the common world.
Zhang Ruoxu did not pay attention to Shen Lian’s reaction. He just looked at him and nodded.
Shen Lian did not understand why he was summoned, and hence he asked, “Why did you call me in today?”
“Nanhai Flying Celestials Island was the teacher of the previous generation of Qing Xuan. He has left behind his teaching and recently there is an evil spirit appearing in the area. It particularly likes children. None of the cultivators on the island can beat it, and hence I am asking you to help kill it,” Zhang Ruoxu spoke slowly.
The teaching spread around in human was not recognized officially, but given the relationship and how Qing Xuan was relatively weak now if that evil spirit was not killed, it would be an embarrassment.
It was also appropriate for Shen Lian to attend to it, as he only joined not long ago. If he failed, it would be alright. If he succeeded, during the bier meeting, it would be good to bring it up.
Zhang Ruoxu further explained, “Since you have passed the point of Entry, you have to choose a cultivation exercise. However, you have to think thoroughly. We can wait till you get back from your mission.”
Shen Lian just reached a breakthrough. It was a good time for him to start taking it slow for a while. It was the right way to learn cultivation.