Seven Orifice Qi Refining

At dawn, before the mountain mist on Morning Sun Peak had even dispersed, Chen Xian was already out the door, leaning on his walking stick.

He rose this early to "audit" the outer sect's morning lessons.

In the eyes of the outer sect disciples, this great-uncle master of theirs had practically become a peculiar sight on Morning Sun Peak.

Whenever those stewards or elders responsible for guiding new disciples in their cultivation stood on the platform, passionately explaining the Dao Qi Theory or the General Meaning of Mystic Cloud Dao-Guiding Art, there would always be a white-haired old man sitting in the back row, tremblingly stroking his beard while listening with rapt absorption.

"Look quick, isn't that the great-uncle master? Why does he come to listen to our beginner lessons every day?"

"What do you know? I heard from an elder that the great-uncle master is retracing his old path. For an expert like him, who suffered severe damage and lost all his cultivation, if he wants to recover his power, he has to start from the most fundamental things to find the essence of his past state. This is what they call—returning to simplicity!"

"Sigh, as expected of the great-uncle master. This state of mind is incredible!"

Hearing the discussions of the disciples around him, Chen Xian's expression remained unchanged, but inwardly he was bitterly complaining: "Returning to simplicity my ass!"

"That Mystic Cloud Dao-Guiding Art nearly had me shitting my guts out. If I don't figure out the rules of cultivation soon, breaking through to Dao Disciple fourth layer will be hopelessly far off."

He had originally thought that cultivation at the Dao Disciple realm was just about absorbing Dao Qi, then condensing new Dao Power in his dantian, and that would be it.

But as it turned out, he had cultivated until midnight last night, wasted a Qi Induction Pill, and still gotten stuck on the fourth strand of Dao Power without making any progress at all.

Only then did he understand—no wonder the Dao Disciple realm had nine layers, with every three layers forming one heavenly tier.

It turned out this referred not just to combat power, but also to the difficulty of cultivation!

"Last time, we covered how Dao Qi resides in the body, transforming into Dao Power to strengthen muscles and bones. If channeled but not released, the physical body alone can split rocks and sever iron—this is the first heavenly tier."

"These are the points that disciples below the Dao Disciple third layer need to pay attention to. You only need to condense Dao Qi and store it in your dantian to complete your cultivation."

"But for the next lesson, I will be teaching the cultivation methods of the second heavenly tier—that is, the fourth to sixth layers. Disciples of the first heavenly tier may continue listening or leave on their own."

Elder Wu paused here, his voice halting as he swept his gaze over all the disciples present.

Soon, disciples who had not yet broken through to the third layer stood up and left. It wasn't that they weren't eager to listen, but morning lessons always repeated these foundational teachings. They could come back to listen after breaking through.

After waiting a while, when most of the first-tier disciples had left, Elder Wu clapped his Startling Wood and amplified his voice: "Silence!"

The sound seemed to ring out right beside everyone's ears.

All the disciples stopped whispering and listened attentively.

Before starting the lesson, Elder Wu's gaze first fell on Chen Xian.

Ever since the great-uncle had started attending his lectures, he had felt a lot more pressure, afraid that he might teach something poorly and be scolded on the spot by this senior. But fortunately, the great-uncle only sat in and never offered any opinions, so he had gradually gotten used to it.

Chen Xian nodded with a smile: "Elder Wu, no need to mind me. Just teach as you normally would."

"Yes!" Wu Jun acknowledged with a nod.

Then he began to earnestly explain the cultivation methods of the Dao Disciple second heavenly tier.

His voice was not loud, but every word landed clearly in each disciple's ears, making it hard to forget.

"If the first heavenly tier is about internalizing Dao Qi, then the second heavenly tier is about releasing Dao Qi externally. We must hold Dao Qi in the mouth orifice, then let it out through the left nose orifice and in through the left eye orifice, then out through the right eye orifice and in through the right nose orifice, out through the left ear orifice and in through the right ear orifice, and finally back to the mouth orifice—this counts as one cycle."

"Once you complete forty-nine cycles of the Seven Orifice Qi Refining, you can condense a strand of Dao Power in your mouth and swallow it into your dantian."

Wu Jun explained in great detail, glancing at Chen Xian every few sentences. Only when he saw the great-uncle nod would he continue.

Though Chen Xian nodded back to Wu Jun every time, in truth, his scalp was tingling—he felt like his brain was about to grow.

Who the hell came up with this Seven Orifice Qi Refining? Is this a normal cultivation method?

But he had no choice but to learn it.

"I'll demonstrate it for everyone."

Seeing that the disciples below were either wide-eyed or frowning in confusion, Wu Jun knew most of them hadn't understood.

So he took out a prop he had prepared long ago—a black incense stick: "This is Dao Trace Incense. It can show the trajectory of Dao Qi flow."

He lit the black incense. The glowing ember sparked, and white smoke began to rise.

The white smoke floated into the air without dispersing, instead gathering into a clump.

Wu Jun opened his mouth and sucked the clump of white smoke into it.

Chen Xian sat up straight, watching intently.

Then, it was as if he saw a "chain-smoker" blowing out clouds of smoke.

The white smoke sprayed out from Elder Wu's left nostril, then drilled into his left eye, then sprayed out from his right eye, drilled into his right nostril, sprayed out from his left ear, and drilled into his right ear. The speed wasn't very fast, and the trajectory was clear at a glance.

Wu Jun opened his mouth. The large clump of white smoke had already condensed into a marble-sized white ball. The white ball slid down his throat into his belly, and only then did he close his mouth.

Chen Xian guessed that this was the completion of condensing one strand of Dao Power.

As long as he swallowed another forty-eight strands of Dao Power into his dantian, he could condense a complete strand of Dao Power and break through one heavenly tier.

"Did you understand?" Wu Jun said with a smile.

The disciples below, all at the Dao Disciple third layer, nodded one after another. It couldn't have been clearer—it didn't seem that hard either.

Everyone held Elder Wu's teaching ability in high regard.

"Then let's give it a try?"

Wu Jun waved his hand, and before each Dao Disciple at the third level, a stick of Dao Trace Incense appeared, igniting without flame.

Chen Xian had none before him, because Wu Jun assumed he didn't need it.

Chen Xian also had no intention of cultivating on the spot; he wanted to first see how these third-level disciples would react.

A quarter of an hour later, the entire lecture hall was shrouded in smoke like a celestial realm, yet within the haze, it seemed a hundred ghosts were emerging, utterly terrifying.

"It hurts, it hurts to death!"

"Ahhhh, the wisp of Dao Power I just gathered scattered again."

"What do I do? Blood is flowing from my seven orifices—am I going to die?"

A group of disciples wailed in agony within the hall.

Chen Xian looked at a disciple beside him whose seven orifices were bleeding, face smeared red, constantly howling in pain. He felt both speechless and relieved.

Speechless that this cultivation method seemed somewhat painful and undignified.

Relieved that Wu Jun hadn't given him any Dao Trace Incense.

Otherwise, if he, as the Grandmaster Uncle, were also bleeding from seven orifices and wailing in pain like these disciples, it would be a massive loss of face.

"Calm down! Opening the seven orifices is indeed painful, but this is a necessary step for externalizing Dao Power. Once you've condensed a few more wisps of Dao Power, this won't happen anymore."

"How can we, as cultivators, lose our composure and wail over a bit of pain? Your Grandmaster Uncle is still here—are you trying to make a fool of yourselves before him?"

"Your Grandmaster Uncle once endured the calamity of Sword Gate, then fell to the mortal world for sixty years, losing all his cultivation. Did he ever utter a single complaint about that suffering?"

Wu Jun's voice rang through the hall, and the lecture instantly fell silent.

A group of people, noses spurting blood, turned to look at Chen Xian.

Chen Xian was taken aback for a moment, then stroked his beard with an utterly composed expression. "Merely a bit of wind and frost."

The crowd was filled with reverence, feeling that the pain in their ears, noses, and throats had somehow lessened.

The cultivation mishap was merely an interlude, and the morning lesson soon ended.

Chen Xian hurried out of the lecture hall, intending to return to his cultivation, when a red dress descended on a flying sword, slowly landing on the path ahead of him.

Chen Xian pretended not to see her, lowering his head in an attempt to walk around.

"Old man, don't you run! You promised two days ago that you'd help me with something."