The Down-and-Out Senior Brother: Inner and Outer Elixirs (Part Two)

"The path of cultivation demands that you set your mind straight and recognize that this body is not the self, nor is the soul. Only that tiny spark of innate Numinous Awareness is the true self. Cultivating the true essence through this borrowed, false vessel—that is the true face of Borrowed Falsehood, Cultivated Truth."

Yulizi spoke at length, and Su Che felt a glimmer of understanding.

"The path of cultivation begins with the search for that spark of Numinous Awareness. Condensing a Reverted Elixir is the process of catching it and giving it lasting form."

"When you establish the Dingding Pivot, qi joins with spirit and body joins with will, until there is no distinction between them. The most mysterious resonance at their center is the soul's pivot, where innate Numinous Awareness resides. To make it stable, you need an elixir method. Such a method links Numinous Awareness to a corner of the Great Dao, allowing that innate spark to grow."

"From ancient times to the present, elixir methods have been divided into Inner Elixir and Outer Elixir methods. Inner Elixir takes Numinous Nature as its foundation and Yin-Yang qi as its guide, gathering Sun Essence and Moonlight Essence to nourish Numinous Awareness. Outer Elixir puts disciplined practice first, drawing on rare treasures of heaven and earth and making the transformations of Kan and Li its key. One draws out the mysteries of Numinous Nature, the other the subtleties of disciplined practice. Neither stands above the other."

"Since the Medieval Era, however, the Internal Elixir Method has gradually flourished while few have shown interest in the External Elixir Method. That is only because Numinous Nature is easy to seek, while disciplined practice is hard to accomplish."

"You built your foundation on the Secret Register of the Yin Heaven of Zhoujue,