Pneumatic

Chapter 4: Qi Movement

There was no reaction at first, but Lei Dong was not discouraged. He simply continued to take deep breaths, expelling distracting thoughts from his mind. Gradually, his entire being seemed to merge with the jade slip. The information within the jade slip appeared to flow into Lei Dong's mind in a steady stream. The jade slip not only recorded the uses of the items in this novice box but also listed detailed sect rules one by one.

Perhaps others would ignore those sect rules for the time being, but Lei Dong read them word for word, as if trying to engrave them into his mind.

After a long while, Lei Dong finally released the jade slip, his entire body feeling exhausted. Reading the information within the jade slip was a mentally draining task for Lei Dong, who had yet to even begin his cultivation. However, the effort was not without reward. Aside from the sect rules, Lei Dong also learned the uses of the items before him. For example, the black uniform was, in a sense, a magic tool. Wearing it naturally had the effect of repelling dust and dirt. Additionally, it possessed a certain degree of defensive capability, able to withstand attacks from ordinary blades and swords.

Such a garment would be considered a treasure in a mortal kingdom. But here, only newly initiated disciples like Lei Dong, who had nothing to their name, would use it.

A finely crafted belt, neither metal nor jade, was, according to the jade slip, a storage belt. Its internal space was about one cubic meter. However, it was also the most basic, lowest-grade storage belt, only capable of holding small odds and ends.

There was also an ink-green dagger-like small sword, an ink-black waist pendant, and a small bottle of pills. Looking first at the waist pendant, it was exquisitely crafted with a ferocious relief carving and bore the three characters "Yin Sha Sect." The pendant's main function was to identify the wearer. Throughout the Yin Sha Sect's territory, there were many restricted areas open to disciples of different statuses. The restrictions would check the pendant's permissions and whether it matched the wearer's spiritual sense. If either did not match, the restriction would immediately activate, causing the offender great suffering.

What interested Lei Dong the most was the ink-green small sword. After witnessing the immensely powerful and sinister Ghost Fire Sword on the martial arena, he had been coveting it. Unfortunately, this entry-level small sword was merely an ordinary low-grade magic tool. Its power was far from comparable to the Ghost Fire Swords used by the seniors he had seen on the arena.

From the jade slip, he also learned that there were many ways to obtain better magic tools and items. The most primitive method was to refine them oneself. However, self-refinement would take up a great deal of time to learn the vast amount of related knowledge, delaying one's cultivation. Most people would use trade to acquire what they wanted. Additionally, one could complete various sect tasks to earn a certain amount of sect contribution points. These contribution points could then be used to exchange for desired magic tools and pills from the sect. Naturally, the more difficult the task, the higher the contribution reward. The better the magic tools and pills, the more contribution points were required to exchange for them. This was also an incentive measure adopted by the Yin Sha Sect, encouraging disciples to actively serve the sect and continuously strengthen themselves.

The final item was a bottle of ten Lesser Vitality Pills. These were used to consolidate the foundation and cultivate true qi. According to the jade slip, as long as one's aptitude was not too poor or one was not extremely lazy, one year, along with these ten Lesser Vitality Pills, would be enough for a newly initiated disciple to reach the first layer of the Qi Refining Stage.

Apart from the items above, the jade slip also contained a cultivation method called the "Profound Yin Heart Sutra Introductory Chapter." It was about ten thousand words long, with obscure and difficult content. Fortunately, it also included a three-dimensional cultivation animation. In it, a naked male figure sat cross-legged, absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, converting it into pure internal energy, which then circulated tortuously through the meridians in his body, finally forming a grand cycle. With this continuously looping three-dimensional animation, the entire cultivation process became much clearer.

The Profound Yin Heart Sutra Introductory Chapter guided the practitioner to draw the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into the body, cleansing the marrow and washing the hair, strengthening the physique. Upon reaching great mastery, one could open the Conception and Governor Vessels, forming an inexhaustible, endlessly cycling source of power within the body. The physique would then transition from the acquired state to the innate state, firmly laying the foundation for future entry into the path of immortality. This step into the innate state was called the Foundation Establishment Realm.

However, one should not underestimate the process from the Qi Refining Stage to the Foundation Establishment Realm. Countless cultivators spent their entire lives unable to successfully walk this path. Only by stepping into the Foundation Establishment Realm could one be considered a true cultivator, with their lifespan sharply increasing to one hundred and fifty years.

After obtaining the Profound Yin Heart Sutra Introductory Chapter, Lei Dong did not immediately begin cultivating. Instead, he spent three days memorizing the entire text, firmly imprinting every sentence in his mind. But even after constantly pondering the Profound Yin Heart Sutra, he could still understand less than a tenth of it. Fortunately, what he did understand was enough for him to begin tentatively cultivating the first layer of the method.

After a good night's sleep, he bathed and burned incense the next day, adjusting his state to its peak. Only then did he sit cross-legged in the cultivation chamber, attempting to cultivate according to the Profound Yin Heart Sutra and the animation.

According to the method, the first to twelfth layers of the Qi Refining Stage corresponded to the twelve main acupoints of the human body. For each main acupoint opened, the method advanced one layer, until reaching the peak of the Qi Refining Stage, when one would impact the thirteenth acupoint. Success would allow entry into the Foundation Establishment Realm. However, a tall building starts from the ground. To open the first acupoint, one must first accumulate a certain amount of true qi.

The entire Myriad Ghost Cave was located on a massive spirit vein. Cultivating on a spirit vein was generally twice as effective with half the effort. Breathing and cultivation were extremely tedious tasks. With each inhalation, one had to deeply draw the surrounding air into the lungs, then hold the breath, using visualization to sink the qi toward the dantian. Then, a wisp of faint spiritual energy of heaven and earth would be retained in the dantian, while the turbid qi was exhaled. This was a profound and mysterious method, but it was the only way for the vast majority of cultivators.

Even cultivating on this relatively good spirit vein, the amount of spiritual energy of heaven and earth contained in each breath was extremely minuscule. It was like panning for gold; one had to expend great effort to wash away countless grains of sand before occasionally finding that small, dazzling gleam.

After several hours of breathing exercises, Lei Dong still could not feel the profound sensation of qi described in the method, and his mood became somewhat restless. His crossed legs had already been changed over a dozen times due to numbness. His spirit and energy felt extremely depleted. Perseverance was certainly a good thing. But Lei Dong, who had transmigrated, understood more principles. Cultivation was something that could not be rushed; haste makes waste.

He exhaled a heavy breath of turbid qi, got up, and took a bath. For the rest of the time, he lay there reflecting on the gains and losses of the day's cultivation. Otherwise, he would read some strange anecdotes and records.

Waking up the next day, whether it was an illusion or not, his spirit seemed more vigorous than usual. Again, he bathed and burned incense, calming his concentration and doing his best to expel all distracting thoughts from his mind. Yet, after several hours, it seemed he had gained nothing again. A restless mood frequently arose, preventing him from focusing. Lei Dong immediately gave up again and began the process of relaxation and reflection.

This routine continued for half a month. Then, sitting cross-legged in the cultivation chamber, Lei Dong's eyes were tightly shut, his expression calm. Each breath was long and steady. His consciousness seemed to have sunk entirely into the process of breathing. Focusing his mind, the breath he had just drawn into his lungs seemed to follow his will, passing through his chest and lungs, sinking into his dantian at an extremely slow pace.

The dantian was originally an acupoint, and also an excellent container within the human body. After this breath of air sank into the dantian, the entire dantian suddenly felt full and distended.

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