“Sit cross-legged to calm your mind, relax and be natural. Gently close your lips and teeth, breathe slowly and steadily, clench your fists, look straight ahead, gather your divine light, and reach the Heavenly Heart.”
Ji Yin began to explain the first layer of the Qi Refinement Stage cultivation method of the Chang Sheng Gong.
The content of the first layer primarily explained how to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and how to draw it into the body.
Ji Yin taught with extreme care, explaining almost word by word in detail, interweaving many of his personal insights and experiences.
The group of young people listened with great attentiveness, all believing that this was their chance to leap over the dragon gate and that they must seize it firmly.
These young people were all literate, belonging to the minority of 'enlightened' individuals in Gan Country, and under Ji Yin's explanation, they could generally understand the content and essence of the cultivation method.
Some impatient individuals were already sitting cross-legged, with their five hearts facing upward and eyes tightly closed. While listening to Ji Yin's explanation, they tried to sense the presence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Song Wen, however, did not rush to try and sense the spiritual energy; he listened carefully to Ji Yin's explanation.
He understood the principle that sharpening the axe does not delay the chopping of wood.
Moreover, he was very certain that sensing the presence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and drawing it into the body would be a very time-consuming process, not something that could be achieved in a short time.
Soon, the two morning hours passed.
Ji Yin stood up and said loudly,
“Today’s explanation of the cultivation method ends here. You all need to remember and comprehend it well. I look forward to someone being able to quickly sense the presence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and successfully draw it into the body.”
“For the next month, I will dedicate one hour each day to explain the cultivation method to you.”
“Within this month, you are forbidden from leaving this residence, but you may move freely within it. Three meals a day will be delivered to you. All you need to do is diligently cultivate the Chang Sheng Gong, and do not disappoint my expectations for you.”
After speaking, Ji Yin left the wing room area.
At this point, the Tian Sha Gang guards stepped forward and distributed a small booklet to everyone, which contained the first layer of the Qi Refinement Stage cultivation method of the Chang Sheng Gong.
The apprentices were still eager for more; some immediately returned to their respective rooms, impatiently attempting to cultivate.
Others gathered in twos and threes, discussing their understanding of the cultivation method with each other.
Song Wen, however, did not participate in the discussions or cultivation. He always felt that Ji Yin was being overly solicitous.
Unusual solicitousness often hides ulterior motives!
He always felt that behind all this lay an unspeakable secret, and that Ji Yin surely had some ulterior motive.
After Ji Yin left, the guards also departed from the residence. Song Wen then took the opportunity to observe the entire residence.
The residence occupied a very large area, built against a mountain, and the wing room area where he was located occupied only a very small part of the entire residence.
Behind the wing rooms was a large open space, interspersed with scattered vegetation and ponds.
Further back, at the foot of the mountain, there was a two-story building. Song Wen guessed that was where Ji Yin lived, as Ji Yin had just headed towards that building.
Around the building were plots of land where a large number of medicinal herbs were planted.
After spending a quarter of an hour getting a general understanding of the layout of the entire courtyard, Song Wen returned to his room.
On the table in the room, lunch was already laid out.
Three white flour steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried vegetables, with a small amount of meat in the stir-fry.
In Gan Country, this was already considered excellent food; ordinary families certainly couldn't afford white flour steamed buns or meat with every meal.
The better the treatment, the more uneasy Song Wen felt. He always had a sense that a huge conspiracy was looming over him and the other young people.
After eating lunch, Song Wen took out the small booklet.
The content of the first layer of the Qi Refinement Stage of the Chang Sheng Gong was very short, only a little over a hundred characters.
However, the content was extremely abstruse and difficult to understand. If it weren't for Ji Yin's explanation, Song Wen felt that relying solely on his own exploration and understanding would likely take a very long time to grasp its meaning.
After spending nearly half an hour, Song Wen barely managed to memorize the difficult and awkward hundred-plus characters completely.
Then, he began to sit cross-legged, with his five hearts facing upward, silently reciting the cultivation method while sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Cultivation time passed quickly. In a blink of an eye, two or three hours had gone by, and Song Wen had not sensed the presence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth at all.
“Do I have no cultivation talent? Or is my talent extremely poor?”
With no progress in an entire afternoon of cultivation, Song Wen couldn't help but feel self-doubt.
When Ji Yin explained the cultivation method, he mentioned that not everyone possesses the aptitude for immortal cultivation; only one in a hundred people has such an aptitude, and among those with aptitude, the level of talent varies from person to person.
It seemed that Ji Yin's understanding of the issue of immortal cultivation aptitude was extremely limited; he only vaguely mentioned it a couple of times without elaborating further.
Song Wen somewhat dejectedly opened his room. It was already evening.
The setting sun cast a golden glow across the entire sky, which was very beautiful and enchanting.
Trapped in danger, Song Wen had no mind to appreciate the beauty of the evening glow. He walked out of his room and saw many young people gathered in the courtyard, discussing their cultivation progress.
He also curiously went forward to listen, and after a stroll around, he learned that among these hundred or so people, not a single one had sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Immediately, his hanging heart settled down a bit.
“It seems immortal cultivation is not that easy!”
After dinner, Song Wen continued to cultivate until the early hours of the morning. With no progress, he reluctantly lay down to sleep.
The next day, early morning.
Ji Yin appeared outside the wing rooms on time.
“Did anyone sense the presence of spiritual energy yesterday?”
A moment later, seeing no response from the young people, Ji Yin did not feel disappointed. He continued to patiently explain the key points of the Chang Sheng Gong.
Time quickly advanced to the third day of cultivation.
That night, while cultivating the Chang Sheng Gong, Song Wen finally sensed the presence of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Countless sparkling specks of light floated around his body, drifting aimlessly.
Song Wen, who was already somewhat tired from the late hour, was instantly invigorated, his heart surging with excitement.
He had finally completed the first step of immortal cultivation, which meant he possessed the aptitude for immortal cultivation and had the chance to become an 'immortal' envied by all.
With his mature mind, Song Wen quickly calmed his excited thoughts.
He continued to cultivate the Chang Sheng Gong, to see if he could, in one go, successfully draw the spiritual energy into his body.
However, no matter how hard he tried, those floating specks of light did not obey his control and simply would not enter his body.
After trying for a quarter of an hour, he suddenly realized something.
“No, I can't draw the spiritual energy into my body too quickly, at least not be the first one. Before I figure out why Ji Yin wants to teach immortal methods, I absolutely cannot expose the fact that I have immortal cultivation aptitude.”
The next day, at Chen Shi (7-9 AM).
Song Wen and the group of young people gathered outside the wing rooms.
Ji Yin asked as usual,
“Did anyone successfully sense the presence of spiritual energy yesterday?”