This continued for some time. Then I felt the pores all over my body opening and closing, as though they were breathing.
With every opening and closing, I felt something being expelled from my body while something else entered it.
My whole body felt incredibly relaxed. I just wanted it to go on forever...
I didn't know how much time had passed. By the time I emerged from that state, the sun was already about to set.
I looked around and saw Martial Uncle sitting nearby, staring at me blankly.
Because once I entered the formation, I had sat there from morning until sunset. Martial Uncle had been guarding me the entire time.
Feeling a little embarrassed, I said, "Martial Uncle, I'm sorry.
My whole body felt so comfortable in there that I forgot to come out earlier."
Martial Uncle came back to his senses and asked, "Do you know how long you sat in there?"
I looked at the sky and answered, "About seven or eight hours, I guess." I replied uncertainly.
Martial Uncle rolled his eyes. "What seven or eight hours? It's already the afternoon of the third day..."
I was shocked and said, "Martial Uncle, don't joke with me. It felt like I'd only been sitting for a few hours.
How could it possibly have been several days and nights? Besides, I need to eat."
Speaking of food, I realized that I wasn't hungry at all, which puzzled me.
Logically speaking, I had come here to cultivate right after getting up in the morning. It was already afternoon.
I should have felt hungry, but I didn't feel anything at all.
Martial Uncle's eyes grew brighter and brighter as he looked at me. Then he asked, "What did you feel after entering?"
So I told him everything I had felt after entering.
Martial Uncle praised me, saying, "You're a good seedling for cultivation. Most people need ten days to half a month just to find their Qi Sensation.
Some take two or three months, but you found it the moment you went in."
I asked Martial Uncle, "How long did it take you to find it when you cultivated?"
Martial Uncle coughed and said awkwardly, "Four hours, and I still didn't feel anything..."
Then Martial Uncle changed the subject and asked, "Forget about me for now. Tell me, what does your body feel like?"
I replied, "My body feels light as a feather, and I'm incredibly relaxed.
Everything I see is especially clear now.
The same goes for sounds. And every breath I take leaves me feeling refreshed and clear-headed."
I asked Martial Uncle doubtfully, "Did I really sit there for several days and nights?"
Martial Uncle nodded. "There's nothing in it for me to lie to you." Thinking about it, I realized that was true, so I stopped dwelling on it.
Martial Uncle waved his hand. "All right, that's enough for today. You may feel refreshed and clear-headed, but these old bones of mine can't take it."
I apologized, then helped Martial Uncle into the house.
Martial Uncle asked whether I felt hungry. I said no, then curiously asked what was going on.
Martial Uncle said that when someone was in a cultivation state, they wouldn't feel hungry for a short time.
That was because spiritual power continuously entered the body, and the body's functions switched to consuming Spiritual Energy.
So one wouldn't feel hungry for a while, but that state couldn't be maintained forever.
Generally speaking, ten days or so would be fine. But if that state continued without end,
the body's muscles would gradually atrophy, until the entire body became withered and gaunt.
Because I hadn't opened my body's channels, I couldn't circulate the Heavenly Cycle, and Spiritual Energy would run wild through my body.
In that state, the body would constantly expel impurities.
Once all the impurities had been expelled, it would begin expelling the good substances in the body too.
Then he told me to remember not to remain in that state for too long, or the consequences would be severe.
"All right, get ready to rest. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to open your body's channels. Then you'll officially enter cultivation."
I answered yes, then asked Martial Uncle, "I can sense Spiritual Energy now, so what realm am I in?"
Martial Uncle glanced at me. "You? No realm...
You can't even circulate the Heavenly Cycle, nor can you use Spiritual Energy. How could you count as having a realm?
You don't even qualify as a beginner. Stop thinking about all that nonsense every day. Cultivation requires keeping your feet on the ground."
The next day, we came to the same old place. Just like yesterday, I sat inside the formation.
Martial Uncle looked at me with a grave expression and said:
"Listen carefully to what comes next. Do exactly as I say, step by step. You must not be impatient."
I nodded and answered yes. Martial Uncle continued beside me, "Listen closely. This is the cultivation method of our Maoshan sect.
Remember, you must not pass it on to anyone else unless they are disciples who have joined Maoshan."
I hurriedly asked, "What about me? I'm not a Maoshan disciple." Martial Uncle said I was an exception.
I was his senior brother's grandson, as well as the junior of all his fellow martial brothers.
"All right, stop interrupting. Listen to me. What comes next is the cultivation formula, so memorize it well."
I answered yes and listened carefully to Martial Uncle's next words.
With a solemn expression, Martial Uncle said, "Gather one breath in the dantian, condense it and hold it firm; heat will rise in the abdomen and waist.
The first pass strikes the lumbar vertebrae, the second strikes the spine, the third strikes the central gate, and the Heavenly Cycle shall open of itself."
I stared blankly at Martial Uncle, then said timidly, "Martial Uncle, I didn't understand.
Martial Uncle smacked his forehead, covered his face with one hand, and remained silent for a long while..."
Suddenly, laughter rang out from inside the jar in the courtyard sealed with red paper.
"Ha ha ha! I'm dying of laughter! Kid, you really are stupid beyond belief." My face turned red, but I said nothing.
Then Martial Uncle took several deep breaths and shouted at the jar;
"Shut up! If something goes wrong during cultivation later, I'll throw you into a vat of boiling oil."
Then the jar gave a disdainful snort and fell silent.
Martial Uncle continued, "Then I'll explain it another way. Listen carefully."
I said yes and listened attentively.
Martial Uncle organized his words, then said, "Once you enter the state you were in yesterday,
try to gather the Spiritual Energy around you into your dantian, which is around your navel.
Then hold in the Spiritual Energy until it reaches a critical point.
Your waist and abdomen will feel burning hot. Then guide that sensation toward the vertebrae in your lower back.
If you succeed, you'll feel a stream of Qi traveling up your back. If you fail, try a few more times.
Once the channels in your lumbar vertebrae have been opened, guide the Spiritual Energy up through your torso.
Whenever you encounter resistance, break through it as you did before. Once you break through, you'll feel all the Qi flow into your chest.
Then your chest will feel stifled, as though something is blocking it there.
At that point, try to guide the Qi upward. Let it gather a little more, then force it upward with all your strength.
If you succeed, you'll feel a current of Qi flow into your body, then flow back into your dantian. That means you've succeeded."
After Martial Uncle finished, he asked whether I understood. I said I did, and then he had me repeat everything he had just said.
I repeated it once. Martial Uncle was still worried after hearing it, so he had me repeat it again.
I did as he asked. Only after I recited it word for word did Martial Uncle finally feel at ease.
Martial Uncle nodded. "Begin. I'll keep watch for you.
Remember, proceed gradually. Take it slowly. Being slow is nothing to fear, but you must be steady."
I took several deep breaths, slowly eased away the trace of nervousness and unease in my heart, then assumed my posture and entered a cultivation state.