With Countless Qualities Bestowed Upon Me, I Shall Ultimately Become Immortal-Chapter 521 - 479: Celestial Qi Vanishes from the Mortal Realm; Three Steps to Knock on the Gate of Resonance!
Meng Chuan nodded slightly, absorbing the other’s words.
Moments later, he heard Uncle Master Zhao sigh deeply:
"The existence of vital energy in heaven and earth is extremely secretive. Ordinary people or martial artists, even after a lifetime of dedication, are unable to perceive it."
Only when the amount of new Qi Blood achieves a significant breakthrough can one feel the vital energy entering the body.
As for common people who do not practice martial arts, they have no concept of it at all.
He then asked:
"Uncle Master, is practicing the Great Circuit of the meditation technique daily also an interaction with the vital energy?"
"Exactly so."
He asked puzzledly:
"Then why can’t hard skills extract it?"
If hard skills could exchange vital energy, allowing it to enter the body and transform into Qi Blood, wouldn’t I soar to the skies...
"...How should I explain this to you, the meridians are like anchor points for the vital energy to enter the body. If you can practice the Great Circuit of hard skills while simultaneously cultivating the meridians, you can increase Qi Blood."
"..."
Standing post to cultivate, extending the meridians.
They store Qi Blood, anchor the school of martial paths, fundamental to the martial path.
In short, Uncle Master Zhao’s meaning is not to even think about it...
Meng Chuan asked again:
"Then Uncle Master, what exactly is vital energy? Besides the new life of Qi Blood, is there any other way to perceive it?"
"Vital energy... is what we martial artists call the power of heaven and earth; it has no specific form. You cannot see it, touch it, or perceive it, yet it permeates the air, omnipresent.
During the prosperous Ancient Martial Era of qi cultivation, vital energy was also called ’essence qi,’ which is the origin of the saying ’refine essence to transform into qi.’ You can think of it as ’spiritual energy’ described in those mythical tales of immortality.
In today’s Qi Blood Martial Arts Era, vital energy is a term for qi and blood that has yet to be acquired by the human body and exists between heaven and earth.
It’s like the breath of a spring, residing inside the body is internal breath; diffusing outside the body is True Qi, True Gang. This is how you should understand it."
"Will vital energy one day disappear?"
"I don’t know. I can’t feel it. Perhaps those Martial Arts Great Saints at the pinnacle of Great Chu know."
He understood and suddenly thought:
"Why is it that one can rarely see the Seven-Limit Great Saints in the mortal world? Does it have something to do with vital energy as well..."
Does their presence, maintenance, and actions in the mortal world consume a large amount of vital energy?
Therefore, these top-level experts rarely appear in the mortal world, leaving vital energy for future generations.
Meng Chuan felt that this speculation wasn’t wrong...
Upon reflection, he thought of another "qi" existing between heaven and earth.
"Then what about ’qi’, Uncle Master? The one that only exists in the ’real world’ and has disappeared from the mortal world."
"This qi, also called innate ancestral qi, surpasses vital energy; our Daoist sect even calls it immortal qi.
If one wishes to become an immortal and soar on cranes, what they lack is this breath of qi, and the decline of the path of qi cultivation is also related to the disappearance of qi.
The acquisition from heaven and earth by qi cultivators was too terrifying. The middle and lower-level qi cultivators could still refine vital energy to transform it into essence qi.
Whereas top-level qi cultivators of the Ancient Martial Era wanted to ’refine essence,’ vital energy was already useless, and they sought resources from mountains and rivers.
Without the existence of qi, even if all the three mountains and five sacred peaks of Great Chu were refined into essence qi, it could not produce a single ’immortal’ capable of rivaling a Seven-Limit Martial Saint.
This is another great advantage of Qi Blood martial arts, as it does not exhaust natural resources; one can improve just by practicing and standing post.
Even the Xingyi Sect, which borrows natural power to enhance oneself, will return it to heaven and earth.
Saying this is to tell you the power of qi. We martial artists still need the vital energy of heaven and earth to constantly improve. Broadly speaking, qi can make the world ascend.
Whether it’s the greening of mountains and vegetation or aiding in the abundance of vital energy of heaven and earth, or even influencing the upper limit of human martial arts, qi is nearly omnipotent."
"Uncle Master, do you mean that in the mortal world, we’ve lost qi, causing our development to stagnate?" 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
"I don’t know, and we can’t manage it either..."
Seeing that Meng Chuan wanted to say something else, Zhao Shousui spoke first:
"Alright, don’t ask anymore. I don’t understand anything more about qi."
Meng Chuan appeared content but wanting:
"Understood..."
Regarding qi, Taoist Qi had previously told him a lot while on Lishan Mountain.
After Zhao Shousui’s statements, Meng Chuan expressed deep regret over the disappearance of this "ultimate energy."
As for going to the ’real world’ to borrow qi for cultivation, not to mention how to enter it again.
Just thinking about those golden eyes like divine gaze in the sky above made him shudder...
Zhao Shousui took a sip of tea and waved his hand:
"Let’s not stray too far, let’s return to the Rhyme Realm of martial arts techniques. Now that you have reached this realm, if you want to continue forward.
You need to keep thinking and express your understanding of the ’Way’ through martial arts techniques to heaven and earth, intercepting vital energy to fulfill the martial path."
Meng Chuan had something else he didn’t understand, so he asked:
"Uncle Master, the word ’Way’ is too broad. Is the Way you refer to martial arts?"
"Nonsense... The word ’Way’ can be big or small. As grand as the cosmic karma and reincarnation, as minute as mundane tasks like washing clothes or cooking, mundane necessities.
The path one walks in life, what one does with focus for decades, is itself the process of approaching the Way.
We martial artists practice martial arts, pursuing precisely the martial path."
"Understood."
Every day, Aunt takes care of the household, even though the family is now wealthy because of her own efforts.
She refuses to hire a nanny, insisting on doing the laundry and cooking herself, finding joy in it.
Because this is her own path to happiness.
Seeing that Meng Chuan understood, Zhao Shousui nodded and said:
"Then I’ll continue. The stage of Martial Arts [Rhyme] is vast.
The elders have divided this stage into three steps. The first step is to achieve [Know Yourself], then [Know Heaven and Earth], and finally [Know the Source].
The so-called Know Yourself stage means having keen thoughts, a body harmonious and free, truly becoming the master of one’s own self. The second step...
If you can reach the final step of knowing the source, as the name suggests, the energy in your eyes will no longer be an elusive, intangible thing. Your martial moves will become worldly martial arts, and yet the ultimate truth of heaven and earth.
Don’t ask me exactly how to take these three steps or what else there is; I don’t know."
"Understood. Uncle Master, which stage are you at now?"
"Like you, I’m still striving to know myself... The cultivation of Rhyme cannot be aided by anyone else, not even a bit. Each step is akin to a century-long endurance race.
The requirement for comprehension is extremely high. I’m struggling to train my Divine Skill, so where would I find the time to ponder these issues? I can only rely on occasional insights for slow improvement."
Meng Chuan nodded, deep in thought:
The complete classification of martial arts talent in Great Chu first looks at comprehension, then at natural aptitude, and finally at the Three Flower Foundation.
No wonder comprehension becomes more important, surpassing even natural aptitude among martial arts families as advancement is achieved.
The further one goes on the path of martial arts, the more one needs "insight" in everything they do; the thinking never stops.
"Alright, you brat, don’t continue overthinking. As long as you keep practicing martial arts, the understanding of the Rhyme realm will never cease. Even though you are young and can grasp Rhyme, in the future, you might even become my teacher."
"Uncle Master, aren’t you contradicting yourself? You just said that the cultivation of the Rhyme realm can only rely on oneself."
"... Enough chattering, anything else? If not, get lost."
Meng Chuan smiled sheepishly, embarrassed, and said:
"Uncle Master, I actually do have something..."
"Speak..."
"My spiritual power is now solid enough, like profound iron.
So I want to learn how to utilize spiritual power to attack."
He had already asked his master, who advised him to learn the Wudang style, which was most effective.
"Profound Iron Foundation?"
"Yes, thanks to the Celestial Tear Gold from Master Chen."
He saw Uncle Master Zhao ponder for a moment, his voice softly reaching:
"For spiritual power, our Great Chu martial arts family has two practical applications. One is to consolidate the sea of consciousness for defense.
This is the same in any sect or school.
For attacking, each Daoist sect has its unique methods. Our Wudang often attaches spiritual power to fists, feet, and weapons to enhance attacks on the opponent’s [spirit].
Other families, like the Celestial Master Mansion, have the [Talisman Thought Technique]. When spiritual power reaches a certain level, one can draw talismans out of thin air, disrupting the enemy’s spirit from a thousand meters away or provoking their inner darkness, making thoughts chaotic, and creating heart thunders out of nowhere.
Stepping outside the frame of the Daoist domain, other sects like the Buddhist Sect of Wutai have disciples who are all martial artists of the Elephant Form Sect. Those with exceptional spiritual power talent practice a secret technique called [Heart Image Technique]. They can transform spiritual power into images of ferocious beasts like tigers or pythons, tearing the opponent’s spirit from a distance."
Hearing Uncle Master Zhao’s words, Meng Chuan expressed a desire to learn from other families...
On the side, Zhao Shousui glanced at Meng Chuan’s expression, guessing what this kid was thinking...
"You brat, are you looking down on our Wudang methods? The so-called Great Path is simple; attaching spiritual power to fists and feet for attack is much more practical than drawing talismans or condensing flying swords.
You’re skilled in fists and feet, which is perfectly suitable. Moreover, those techniques don’t align with your path. Do you really want to become a Sword Immortal Mage?"
Meng Chuan was surprised:
"Can spiritual power really be condensed into a flying sword?"
"... You’ve been listening for so long, and that’s all you heard...
It is possible to condense a flying sword, as it is our Quanzhen’s [Heart Light Technique]. Using a secret technique to fuse True Gang and spiritual power, condensing it into an invisible light blade to strike the enemy’s sea of consciousness from afar.
True Qi is useless. Do you have True Gang?"
"Uncle Master, when I achieve a Grandmaster breakthrough and possess Martial Arts True Gang, you must teach me this method."
"... Next time, for sure."
After Zhao Shousui finished speaking, he reached for his waist and took out a long and solid dragon mace.
Meng Chuan stared; he had seen this kind of weapon before.
It resembled a whip but did not bend, had four edges without a blade.
The new action team leader at the Yong’an Police Bureau, Chief Long’s junior brother, had used a similar weapon.
Unexpectedly, Uncle Master Zhao also used such a thing.
This weapon was also a future alternative to the Fang Tian Halberd for Meng Chuan.
With his own tremendous power, it could easily break bones and tendons, taking down a person with one blow.
...
On the side, Zhao Shousui closed his index and middle fingers, slowly stroking from the handle to the tip of the mace.
A layer of pale blue radiance adhered to the mace along the direction of his fingers.
In the weapon held by Uncle Master Zhao, he felt the presence of [Spirit].
That blue glow resembled the power of True Martial.
"I’ll teach you how to imbue your body with spiritual power. You should first learn how to attach it to fists and feet before attempting to imbue a weapon."
Seeing Meng Chuan take out a fist blade, Zhao Shousui advised.
