Cultivation and Attempts

"Oh, is that so? Truly worthy of the Uzumaki Clan."

"Those Uchiha are all damned!"

Today marks the third day since Bai Sui's treatment. Perhaps because he was injured while serving the Uzumaki Clan, he hasn't been assigned any work, allowing him to focus on his recovery.

When the villagers living around Bai Sui learned that he had assisted in an Uzumaki Clan transport mission, they were eager to hear about his experiences during their downtime.

For his part, Bai Sui was happy to take this opportunity to build rapport, hoping to integrate into this place and gather the information he craved.

Through two days of subtle probing, Bai Sui gradually managed to reconcile the memories in his mind with the reality before him.

Having truly come to understand this place, Bai Sui felt a sense of disappointment.

After all, this is the world of Naruto. Though he still doesn't know how many years remain before the plot begins, it is a world of miraculous power. If he can only watch and never truly experience it for himself, it will always be a source of regret.

However, based on the intelligence gathered over the past two days, even those who have lived on the outskirts of the Uzumaki Clan for generations have never heard of anyone becoming a ninja. They even believe that such power is innate to the clan members and not something that can be acquired through training.

Of course, Bai Sui's questions were very subtle; he often used a tone of admiration to describe the strength of the Uzumaki, thereby guiding those listening to share their own thoughts.

This way, even if someone hears of Bai Sui's actions later, they will only think of him as an ordinary villager who developed a longing for the Uzumaki Clan after witnessing their formidable power.

A forty-year-old elder in the crowd noticed that Bai Sui's expression looked a bit off, but he didn't think much of it. Everyone knew Bai Sui was allowed to rest in his hut due to his injuries, so he began to shoo the others away. "Alright, everyone, let's disperse. Don't disturb young Bai Sui; his wounds haven't healed yet. Go on, off with you."

Yes, in this era, a commoner who lives to forty is already considered an elder. Seeing the old man speak up, the others didn't linger and left Bai Sui's hut one after another.

The commoners like Bai Sui, who are under the protection of the Uzumaki, are not each assigned their own house. While the Uzumaki Clan is relatively gentle toward them, they aren't generous enough for that.

The house Bai Sui lives in is constructed with wooden pillars forming the frame, walls made of rammed earth and straw, and a thatched roof. Because it is near the sea and the winds are strong, the roof is weighted down with thick logs and stones.

The floor is simply packed earth, with a fire pit dug in the center, and wooden planks laid around it for sitting and sleeping.

As for townhouses or similar structures, those are beyond the reach of commoners; only the nobility of various nations and members of ninja clans have the qualifications to build and inhabit them.

Even the wooden hut Bai Sui lived in before wasn't for one person, but four.

And that was only because the hut they were assigned was small; the larger ones housed as many as eight people.

Bai Sui's former roommates were killed in the last mission, so he is currently without any roommates.

For some reason, the authorities haven't assigned anyone else here yet.

To be honest, even in his previous life, Bai Sui only shared a room with others during his school days, but it was never in such a "sleeping feet-to-feet" state.

So, although Bai Sui feels a bit guilty, he is also quite relieved that those people are no longer around.

Lying on the straw-covered wooden planks, Bai Sui sighed deeply, confirming once again that he possessed no system or golden finger typical of a transmigrator.

For the first two days, due to his physical condition, he fell asleep quickly despite the hardness of the floor, simply out of sheer exhaustion.

Now, however, Bai Sui has regained his energy and is no longer as drowsy as he was, leaving him tossing and turning on the straw, unable to sleep.

Tired of the restlessness, Bai Sui felt he needed to find something to do, as the people here live by the sun.

It is only about seven o'clock, and for someone like Bai Sui, who is accustomed to the schedule of the modern era, falling asleep now is quite difficult.

Bored, Bai Sui lit the firewood in the pit. By the flickering light, he gathered the straw on the planks and sat down.

He first stretched his upper body by raising his arms, then extended his legs together, pressing slightly on his knees to soothe his muscles.

Maintaining this posture, he closed his eyes and focused, imagining all the Qi in his body flowing toward his feet.

Gradually, Bai Sui felt his feet begin to warm, a sensation that slowly spread up his legs.

He did this to ensure that his legs wouldn't go numb during his meditation.

Furthermore, this time served to calm his mind and eliminate distractions. With the preparations complete, Bai Sui began his formal meditation.

He first tried the full lotus position, but unfortunately, because his body had never practiced it and his legs lacked flexibility, he had to settle for a half-lotus.

This didn't matter much, as it is the primordial spirit, not the physical body, that truly meditates.

The physical posture is merely to minimize distractions and prevent the interference of the conscious mind.

Bai Sui placed his hands in the Dhyana Mudra below his navel (left hand under the right, thumbs lightly touching).

He turned his gaze inward, eyelids half-lowered, focusing on the small bone bridge at the top of his nose.

He then clenched his teeth, pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth to collect his breath, and focused his hearing inward.

Adjusting his nasal breathing, he gradually reined in his consciousness.

The sound of his breathing had to be faint—so faint it couldn't be heard. He had to be careful not to make a sound, for any noise would disrupt his state of mind.

Thus, his breathing had to be weak; the weaker the breath, the quieter the sound, and the quieter the mind.

This is because breathing is controlled by the conscious mind; if the breathing is uncoordinated, it means the conscious mind has not settled.

Therefore, the best approach is for each inhalation and exhalation to be so light that even his own ears cannot hear it.

He silently counted his breaths in his heart. If he found he had forgotten the count, it meant his mind had wandered, and he would have to refocus and start counting again.

These actions—the half-lowered eyelids and the counting of breaths—were necessary because, in the early stages of meditation, it is extremely easy to fall asleep.

Once asleep, the primordial spirit hides away, and if one falls asleep while sitting, the head often drops, putting pressure on the cervical spine, which is harmful to the body over time.