Godfather Zhou Qing

Wei Xu followed Zhou Qing's advice. Instead of hastily entering meditation again, he first took a walk in the woods beside the Instruction Platform. By the time he returned, his demeanor had become incomparably relaxed.

He sat down on his meditation cushion and, before long, entered a tranquil state. He sensed a great power between Heaven and Earth enveloping him, responding to him with every breath.

Seeing Wei Xu quickly sense spiritual energy under Zhou Qing's guidance, Wang Xiaohu grew so envious that his whole body itched. He fawned, "Brother Zhou Qing, give me an idea too, so I can sense spiritual energy."

Zhou Qing smiled. "What problem do you have?"

Wang Xiaohu scratched his head. "Uncle Chen said that to sense spiritual energy, I first have to clear my mind and still my thoughts. But distracting thoughts always keep popping up in my head. The more I want them gone, the more rampant they become. What am I supposed to do?"

For one thing, Zhou Qing wanted to spread the word that he could help others cultivate, increasing his own value. For another, he wanted to use these disciples to test his understanding of the relationship between spiritual energy and the mind.

So he considered what he had just observed.

He had discovered that the electromagnetic signals of the human body had a stable state. Whenever distracting thoughts arose in a person's mind, they produced noise within those stable electromagnetic signals.

Yet given enough time, that noise would always fade away, and the body's overall electromagnetic signals would always hover around that stable state.

It was like regression to the mean.

An idea came to Zhou Qing. "Distracting thoughts in your mind are already detrimental to cultivation. Now you've produced another distracting thought—the thought of eliminating those distracting thoughts. That only adds one more to the multitude of distracting thoughts, so naturally they only become more numerous."

Wang Xiaohu heard nothing but a string of "distracting thoughts." It took him quite a while to grasp Zhou Qing's meaning.

He said miserably, "Then what should I do?"

Zhou Qing smiled. "Do nothing. Don't do anything at all. Just let them settle naturally."

"Like muddy water—leave it alone long enough, and it will naturally clear. The more you try to make it clear, the more you stir up the water."

"It's that simple?"

Wang Xiaohu was doubtful.

Zhou Qing confirmed, "It's that simple."

Wang Xiaohu followed Zhou Qing's guidance and entered meditation once more.

Many distracting thoughts rose in his mind again. This time, he kept Zhou Qing's words firmly in mind. He no longer tried to drive them away, instead treating them like a swarm of flies, letting them buzz wildly around him without paying them any heed.

After two quarters of an hour passed, the distracting thoughts actually grew fewer and fewer. In the end, he suddenly entered an exceedingly tranquil state.

In that state, his heart was like a polished mirror, immaculate down to the finest speck. Suddenly, he sensed that great power filling all Heaven and Earth.

So this was spiritual energy?!

After earning Chen Qingxuan's praise, Zhou Qing became a prominent figure among the disciples on the Sermon Platform. Everyone had already been observing him in secret.

Some also had doubts about cultivation, but they did not dare ask Chen Qingxuan, a Foundation Establishment senior, for guidance. They therefore planned to consult Zhou Qing, whom Chen Qingxuan had acknowledged.

However, Zhou Qing had joined the sect at the same time as everyone else. Young people inevitably had competitive spirits, and asking a fellow disciple who had entered alongside them for advice was ultimately somewhat difficult to voice.

Thus, everyone continued watching and waiting.

But now, seeing both Wei Xu and Wang Xiaohu successfully sense spiritual energy under Zhou Qing's guidance, everyone's eyes immediately turned red with envy.

That small measure of competitive pride in their hearts gradually faded away as well.

Those capable of cultivating immortality were not weak-minded. They understood perfectly well how to choose between a momentary loss of face and the benefits of cultivation.

Before long, others came to seek Zhou Qing's advice.

At first, they were his companions from Cloud Prefecture City.

Later, even disciples from other places came to consult him. The entire Instruction Platform had, for all intents and purposes, become Zhou Qing's personal grand lecture hall.

Chen Qingxuan, who should have been handling this task, instead became a lone figure.

Chen Qingxuan did not mind. He uncorked the wine gourd that never left his side and wanted to take a swig, only to find that it was already empty.

He moistened his mouth with the two or three drops of wine that fell out with great difficulty, then turned his gaze back toward Zhou Qing.

Watching Zhou Qing casually guide his fellow disciples, every word striking directly at their ailment and sending them away delighted, after which they easily sensed spiritual energy, Chen Qingxuan once again felt regret in his heart.

By afternoon, all sixty new disciples had successfully sensed spiritual energy.

More than half of them had received Zhou Qing's guidance.

At this point, the arrangement on the Instruction Platform changed.

At first, the largest group had been the more than twenty disciples from the Azure Cloud Sect, led by Wei Kuang. Next came the disciples from Cloud Prefecture City, while the others sat scattered in groups of two or three.

Now, the Cloud Prefecture City group had expanded greatly.

Many disciples who sought Zhou Qing's guidance immediately sat down to meditate after receiving it. Once they successfully sensed spiritual energy, they did not think of returning to their original places.

Thus, with Zhou Qing at the center, nearly thirty people sat together. Almost every disciple of commoner birth had gathered at his side.

Zhou Qing had become a godfather-like figure among the disciples of commoner birth.

Seeing that all the disciples had successfully sensed spiritual energy, Wei Xu spoke. "Uncle Chen, should you teach us how to gather and circulate qi now?"

Chen Qingxuan shot him a glance and said disdainfully, "What, you've only learned to walk, and you're already in a hurry to learn to fly?"

"Even craftsmen in the mortal world know that they must become proficient in their craft, let alone us immortal cultivators, for whom every step is fraught with danger."

"You merely sensed spiritual energy for the first time under the watchful care of your elders and companions, and already you want to gather and circulate qi. You truly underestimate the dangers of immortal cultivation."

"If you wish to learn how to gather and circulate qi, there is a standard. Only when you can sense spiritual energy at every moment and feel it responding to your breathing will you be qualified to learn how to gather qi."

"Right now, you are still not qualified."

"What you need to do now is take advantage of the time while I..."

At this point, he paused slightly and glanced at Zhou Qing before continuing, "Take advantage of the time while Zhou Qing and I are here, able to correct you promptly. Extend the time you can sense spiritual energy as much as possible, and strive to reach proficiency as soon as you can."

"Yes!"

Everyone answered in unison, then immediately began meditating on their respective cushions.

Watching everyone enter tranquil meditation, Zhou Qing suddenly felt helpless.

He could help everyone else sense spiritual energy, but he could not do it himself. Now that everyone had entered meditation, he alone had become an idler.

Zhou Qing thought that if he wanted to forge a path of cultivation that did not rely on spiritual roots but instead used magnetic fields, he would inevitably need to draw upon orthodox cultivation methods.

Time waited for no one. Once he grew older and his essence, qi, and spirit declined, even if he created the cultivation method then, it would already be too late.

He had to seize every moment he could.

He should not pretend to meditate here and waste time. He might as well make use of Uncle Chen's regard for him, find a way to coax the methods of gathering and circulating qi out of him in advance, then study them every day after returning. Perhaps he might gain something from it.