Time flew by, and Bai Sui's days were always full.
To be honest, Bai Sui was quite satisfied with his circumstances in this life. Aside from often missing his loved ones from his previous life, there wasn't much else he felt nostalgic about.
Technology had been highly advanced in his previous life, but after comparing the two, Bai Sui realized he didn't actually like it. After all, life in his previous world had been far too busy. Unless he withdrew from society, it was impossible to avoid all sorts of social obligations.
There had been far too little time each day that truly belonged to him. People were social creatures, after all, and if he wanted to interact with others, he couldn't afford to fall too far behind on information.
His previous life had also been an era of information overload, with all kinds of news pouring in every day. To maintain his social relationships, he had to carve out time from an already packed schedule just to keep up with what was happening in the world.
In terms of material comforts, the Naruto World was extremely backward. Yet on a spiritual level, Bai Sui felt his days were deeply fulfilling.
He suffered no excessive mental strain and didn't need to stay up late. He could live each day according to his own plans and enjoy a comfortable life.
The food was indeed poor, but there was always enough to fill him up. His clothes were all made of coarse cloth and chafed his skin, but Bai Sui had never cared much about such things.
He had also grown somewhat accustomed to the wooden bed after sleeping on it for a while. Besides, he was gradually replacing sleep with meditation, so it didn't bother him much anymore.
The one thing that still made Bai Sui miserable was using the toilet. No matter what, he couldn't get used to cleaning himself with leaves or wooden boards. It was uncomfortable and unhygienic. He had no good solution, so he could only hope his cultivation would eventually solve the problem.
After all, once he achieved the status of an earthly immortal, he would be able to empty his bowels completely. With that in mind, Bai Sui had even more motivation to cultivate.
In the blink of an eye, three months passed.
Winter arrived. Perhaps because of the weather, or perhaps for some other reason, the fighting gradually died down once the season changed.
This brief period of peace lent the entire clan compound a relaxed atmosphere. Even the commoners like Bai Sui and the others, who lived on the outskirts, could feel it.
That night, Bai Sui cultivated as usual. In stillness, his breath flowed softly and without interruption. His expression was joyful, as if drunk and bathed in bliss. This was the warmth of yang spreading throughout the body, the Golden Flower just beginning to bloom.
Then all sounds fell silent. The bright moon hung at the center of the sky, and the whole world seemed to glow. This was the heart becoming clear and open, the Golden Flower fully unfurling.
Then his whole body felt full and strong, unafraid of wind or frost. What others found dull and tiresome only made his spirit burn brighter. He could build a house of gold and raise a platform of white jade. Even the decaying things of the world would spring to life at his touch. His red blood became milk, and his seven-foot body was nothing but treasure. This was the Golden Flower reaching its full magnificence.
In a hazy state, he sensed something within himself:
First, while seated, his spirit entered a valley. He heard people speaking as if they were a mile away, yet every word was clear. Their voices echoed like replies from within the valley. He heard them, but it was as though he had never heard them before. This was the spirit dwelling in the valley, something he could test for himself at any time.
Second, in stillness, his vision shimmered, and everything before him turned white, as if he were within the clouds. When he opened his eyes and searched for his body, he could neither find nor see it. This was the empty chamber giving birth to light, the inner and outer worlds shining as one, and auspicious stillness taking hold.
Third, in stillness, his physical body felt soft and pliant, like silk or jade. It seemed as if he could no longer remain seated, and his whole body began to float upward. This was the spirit returning to the crown of the head. Given time, its ascent could be expected at any moment.
These three phenomena would naturally emerge as the Golden Nature was refined and solidified. Bai Sui could tell, though, that this was not all there was to it. He would have to explore the rest step by step.
Feeling the warmth of yang throughout his body, Bai Sui decided to take advantage of the Golden Flower's full bloom and begin matching yin and yang, setting out on the path to earthly immortality.
The Golden Flower had bloomed, and his Primordial Spirit and consciousness now moved entirely at his command, rising with his thoughts and obeying his intent.
He turned his awareness inward and used his will to guide the true water in his kidneys, stirring it until True Qi gradually rose.
It had to be said that over the past three months, Bai Sui had practiced both dynamic and still exercises every day without fail. His body was now supple, and his organs were strong, so the guiding exercise went smoothly.
He guided the True Qi to circle slowly within his kidneys, accumulating there until dawn. When he turned his awareness inward, he found a spring of clear water gathered within.
Bai Sui returned to his senses and saw that the sky had brightened. He swallowed a mouthful or two of saliva, rubbed his head and face twenty or thirty times, then exhaled the foul, stagnant qi that had accumulated overnight.
After stretching and loosening his muscles, Bai Sui began preparing breakfast.
The children worked at the Fishing Port during the day, then came to Bai Sui's place in the afternoon to learn how to read and pick up general knowledge.
Since Bai Sui planned to leave the Uzumaki Clan, he treated the children well but deliberately kept some distance. He was afraid he wouldn't be able to bear leaving them when the day came, and he also worried that any mistake might bring trouble down on them.
As for the debt he owed the Uzumaki Clan for raising him, Bai Sui would never forget it.
He couldn't do anything for them just yet, but there was still a long road ahead. Once he could protect himself, he would repay the Uzumaki Clan.
What was more, Bai Sui planned to search for his birth parents someday. No matter what, he could never repay the kindness of their giving him life. If he had any other blood relatives, he would do his best to help them, too.
After preparing the ingredients for lunch in advance, he saw that the sun was nearly overhead.
As he turned his awareness inward, his kidney qi rose naturally, like water boiling and giving off steam. It climbed slowly, straight into his heart.
At that moment, he swallowed the saliva in his mouth. The heart's fluid then flowed to the kidneys, joining with the kidney water. The heart's fluid and kidney qi naturally combined, giving birth to the liquid of the Great Ultimate.
True Qi drew the liquid in, and true water drew in the qi. The liquid and true water were naturally one, so the liquid contained True Qi, and the qi contained true water. They joined and descended together, a process known as the mating of the Dragon and Tiger.
Afterward, he swallowed the qi and drew in his outer kidneys, gathering the three fires into one to warm and replenish the lower field. Without liquid, qi gathered to produce it; with liquid, it was refined into qi. This was called "gathering fire."
At this point, qi truly formed within Bai Sui's dantian. This was the foundation of all his future cultivation. Whether he turned it into a pearl, mercury, or cinnabar, or used it to attain the Golden Core and prove the Dao, everything would begin from this moment.
Though he had made progress in his cultivation, Bai Sui showed nothing on his face. His cultivation was still insufficient, and if the Uzumaki Clan discovered him now, he wouldn't even have a chance to fight back. His origins were simply impossible to explain.
Bai Sui continued cooking for the children. In the days that followed, he taught and looked after them while secretly cultivating.
The qi within his dantian continued to accumulate. He kept cultivating like this for three years.
Over those three years, the qi and liquid within his dantian constantly transformed. Bai Sui refined them every day, eventually condensing a pill bead about the size of a grain of rice within his dantian.
Though tiny, it was extraordinary.
Whenever it sank and rose within his dantian, it absorbed the surrounding True Qi and used it to strengthen itself. In other words, from that moment on, as long as Bai Sui remained healthy and strong, he would grow stronger with every passing moment.
I won't write the specific cultivation process and methods in this book.
If you want to read about them, you can check out my other book. The first dozen or so chapters go into detail.