Ye Yun and Tian Ling'er had not yet reached Tai Chi Cave when they spotted Tian Buyi and Su Ru waiting at its entrance from afar. Ye Yun's heart gave a little lurch. During this time, Su Ru had truly treated him like her own son, caring for him with the utmost attention. She had even made Tian Ling'er a little jealous, which was one of the reasons Ling'er came by to pester Ye Yun every day. Now, the two of them had come together to teach him the simplest foundational technique. He was deeply moved.
"Master, Mistress." After greeting them, Ye Yun's lips moved, but he couldn't find the words to express his gratitude. Tai Chi Cave was in the back hills of Great Bamboo Peak, and usually only disciples who had cultivated the Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao to the third level or higher were allowed to enter and practice there. The fact that he could come here before he had even begun cultivating showed just how much his master and mistress valued him.
Su Ru smiled warmly and patted Ye Yun's head. "All right, good boy. Come inside with Mistress. You've always wanted to cultivate, haven't you? I'll start teaching you today."
"Mm. I'll study hard." Ye Yun nodded vigorously.
Tian Buyi nodded, turned, and headed into Tai Chi Cave. Su Ru smiled and followed, holding Ye Yun's hand. Tian Ling'er pouted, then hurried over and clung to Su Ru's other arm.
Tai Chi Cave wasn't just one large cavern. It was divided into several separate chambers, each a sealed room, partitioned off by thick stone doors that blocked sound very effectively and kept outside distractions from disturbing those who were cultivating. After Tian Buyi entered the central hall, he told Ye Yun, "Practice hard," then walked off with his hands behind his back and entered one of the chambers.
Watching Tian Buyi's retreating figure, Su Ru couldn't help laughing. "Ling'er, you should go practice too. You've been slacking off enough these past few days. Time to focus again. Don't let your junior brother catch up to you."
"How could that happen? I started cultivating years before he did. No matter how talented he is, he can't surpass me. Junior brother, you can give up now. You'll never get the better of your senior sister in this lifetime." With that, Tian Ling'er gave a smug little snort and headed straight for the nearest chamber.
Su Ru shook her head, amused by her haughty daughter. "Xiao Yun, your senior sister is just like that. Don't take it to heart. Let's find a chamber and start cultivating too."
Ye Yun nodded. "Mm, I know. Senior Sister's actually very nice. She'd be even nicer if she didn't pinch my cheeks."
Su Ru smiled and led Ye Yun toward one of the chambers, explaining as they went, "Xiao Yun, remember this: these chambers are for quiet cultivation. Once someone enters, the mechanism locks the door, and under normal circumstances, it can't be opened from outside. There's a small hole in the door fitted with a water mirror, so we can check on whoever's inside and make sure nothing has happened to them. Besides keeping out distractions, the chambers also have a much higher concentration of spiritual energy than outside, so cultivating here is twice as effective. From now on, try to practice here whenever you can. It'll save you a lot of effort."
"Mm, I understand, Mistress. I'll work hard at cultivating." Ye Yun nodded solemnly. He had finally gotten the chance to begin cultivating, and he wouldn't slack off. After all, he needed to rely on it to gather enough energy to get home.
Only after following Su Ru into the chamber did Ye Yun realize it was barely a dozen square meters, even smaller than a modern room. It had no windows, either. Its light came from several luminous pearls set into the ceiling, which cast a gentle glow. They weren't quite as bright as the incandescent bulbs of later generations, but they came close.
Aside from the luminous pearls, the chamber held only a small low table. A little bell sat on top, and beside it lay a bamboo mat about a square meter in size. The mat seemed to be made of Black Knot Bamboo. There was nothing else in the room.
After closing the stone door, Su Ru led Ye Yun onto the bamboo mat. Her usual gentleness gave way to a solemn expression as she said, "Our sect's wondrous art is profound and mysterious, and many evil cultivators and demons covet it. You must swear a solemn oath that, once you've mastered it, you will never pass it on to anyone outside the sect."
Ye Yun wasn't surprised by Su Ru's demand. A sect's secret manuals concerned its very legacy, and if they fell into the wrong hands, the sect could be targeted. It was much the same in any world. Without hesitation, he raised his right hand and swore solemnly, "Heaven above, I, disciple Ye Yun, swear that as long as I live in this world, I will never reveal the secrets of the Qingyun Sect's Daoist arts. If I break this oath, may I be struck by lightning and die without a place to be buried."
When Su Ru heard Ye Yun make his oath, her expression softened. Smiling, she nodded and said, "You've already learned the body's meridians and acupoints. Now I'll teach you the first level of the Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao. Follow my instructions as you meditate and observe yourself. Sense the qi, and try to open your acupoints and draw spiritual energy into your body as soon as you can."
"Mm, I understand, Mistress." Ye Yun nodded seriously.
Su Ru had always trusted Ye Yun. Though he looked very young, he was exceptionally sensible, unlike other children who were always eager to play and couldn't sit still. What surprised her most was that he had a photographic memory for both things he saw and things he heard. In just three months, he had mastered the obscure writing and diagrams of the body's meridians. This time, too, he hadn't let her down: she had recited the first level of the Tai Chi Xuan Qing Dao only once, and Ye Yun had been able to recite the entire text back to her without missing a word.
After answering Ye Yun's questions, Su Ru told him to try cultivating. But then something astonishing happened. As soon as Ye Yun began following her instructions, she could clearly feel the spiritual energy in the chamber growing denser. Though Ye Yun hadn't absorbed any of it, all that energy had gathered around him. And this was his very first time cultivating! Less than a minute had passed. The first time she cultivated, it had taken her a full hour just to sense the spiritual energy around her. Guiding it over had taken three days, and opening the acupoints throughout her body to draw it in had taken more than a month. What she was seeing now overturned everything she had believed. This was beyond genius—he was a monster! Still, she hoped there would be many more monsters like him.
Immersed in the bliss of his first cultivation, Ye Yun had no idea that Su Ru was staring at him in shock. He was lost in the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by spiritual energy, his whole body warm and comfortable. Su Ru had even gotten one thing wrong: it had taken Ye Yun only three seconds to sense the spiritual energy. He'd spent all the remaining time calming himself down. As for the spiritual energy, he hadn't guided it over at all. It had come to him on its own.
Seeing that Ye Yun's cultivation was progressing smoothly, Su Ru nodded in satisfaction and slipped out of the chamber as quietly as she could. Not long after she left, Ye Yun opened his eyes, still immersed in that wonderful feeling of being surrounded by spiritual energy. He didn't know whether what was happening to him was normal, and unfortunately, Su Ru wasn't there when he looked. But he understood that he hadn't made a mistake, because if his cultivation method had been wrong, Su Ru wouldn't have left.
I'm shamelessly here to recommend this again—please add it to your collection!
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