Hearing the teachings

Yunqi had been in the mountains for more than twenty days.

During those twenty-odd days, reading had still occupied the vast majority of the boy's time. He had attended lectures given by teachers on other peaks and gone to one of the several Dao discussions held on Eastern Heaven Road. He also kept a close eye on the class schedule, but to his disappointment, none of them had touched on the basics of qi ingestion.

He Bingkun explained that in the past, when disciples were recruited in large numbers, teachers might hold introductory lessons specifically for newcomers. This time, however, Bright Governance Mountain had recruited at an awkward point in the schedule, and only one disciple had joined, so the sect certainly would not arrange special classes for him. Presumably, Master Su Kong would teach him the basics herself.

Fortunately, Yunqi had possessed exceptional understanding since childhood. Reading on his own and occasionally asking He Bingkun questions in the evenings had already taught him a great deal, much to He Bingkun's astonishment.

Today was the ninth day of the fourth month, the day he was to report to Bright Governance Mountain.

Two quarters into the hour of the Hare, Cheng Yunqi was already waiting in the courtyard. After spending some time together, he had long since learned He Bingkun's daily routine.

Sure enough, before long, He Bingkun emerged from his room. He patted Yunqi on the shoulder. "Today's your big day. Make a good impression on the master."

Yunqi smiled and nodded.

He Bingkun gave a sharp whistle, seized Yunqi by the arm, and leaped into the air. The world spun around the boy, and then he found himself sitting on the Thunderbird's back.

The Thunderbird's back was soft, but its feathers were so slippery that he constantly felt he might fall off. Wherever his body touched the bird, he also felt a tingling numbness.

The Thunderbird beat its wings and soared. Yunqi was about to slide off when He Bingkun caught him. "Sit firmly with your legs crossed and your five centers facing the sky. Only when you can enter meditation on a Thunderbird will you have mastered the basics of seated meditation."

Yunqi had certainly not mastered those basics yet, so he clung tightly to He Bingkun.

The Thunderbird was indeed astonishingly fast. It flew straight up above the clouds, passing through the rainbow bridges' iridescent light. Soon, it reached the far end of Eastern Screen Mountain and plunged down through the clouds.

But something surprised Yunqi. When Feng Ji Hu had brought him here last time, the cloud layer had seemed immensely thick during their descent. He and the others taking the examination had landed on Bright Governance Mountain amid a boundless sea of white clouds. This time, however, the clouds flashed past in an instant, revealing an entirely different landscape.

Seen from above, Three Pure Ones Mountain was a succession of overlapping peaks and ridges, yet nowhere else possessed the spiritual grace of the scene before him:

Eight lofty mountains rose from the earth, their bases clustered together, while their summits leaned outward toward the eight directions: east, northeast, north, northwest, west, southwest, south, and southeast. Yet these eight peaks were all distinct. The southwestern peak was graceful as a spiral shell, veiled in clouds and mist; the northern peak was red as iron, with smoke and flames rising from it; the northwestern peak was shrouded in thunderclouds, flashing with purple lightning; and the southeastern peak was covered in green bamboo, its billowing waves surging.

Each of the eight mountains had its own form, together resembling a multicolored glazed lotus pedestal fired by some heavenly artisan through a strange twist of fate.

Among the eight mountains stood another, shaped like a lotus dais. Yet it was half-hidden in the radiant haze woven by the eight peaks' wondrous phenomena, making its details impossible to discern. All he could see were countless waterfalls and cascading streams hanging from its cliffs, rushing downward like millions of white silk ribbons.

"This is..."

"This is the Lotus Blessed Land," He Bingkun said.

He Bingkun pointed to the mountain covered in green bamboo. "That is Bright Governance Mountain. Since bamboo covers its slopes, and bamboo is elegantly known as the green god, it is also called Green God Mountain. It occupies the Xun position of the Lotus Blessed Land."

The Thunderbird carried them toward Bright Governance Mountain. Yunqi studied it carefully, but saw no other figures on the mountain, nor even a palace or pavilion or two.

He Bingkun guided the Thunderbird down and left Yunqi on a projecting stone platform on the southern side of Bright Governance Mountain's slopes. He said he would pick Yunqi up at the same place that evening, then rode the bird toward the northwestern peak shrouded in thunderclouds.

Standing on the platform, Yunqi looked around and noticed an upright stone beside him, inscribed with the words "Gentleman Liang's Crossing."

He searched the surroundings and easily found the little path he had taken during the examination. Following it deeper into the bamboo grove, he once again found Master Su Kong beside the pavilion behind the stele marking Zhan Biyun's Bamboo Retreat.

"Come and sit."

Master Su Kong spoke.

Yunqi entered the pavilion and sat on the meditation cushion opposite her.

"Have you settled into life on the mountain?"

"Yes. Life here is very good."

"Good. Once you have begun ingesting qi and your legs have grown stronger, go back to the town for a visit. It is not far. Besides, Bright Governance Mountain has few people and no fixed rest days. If you miss home terribly, simply ask for leave. Through the four seasons and eight festivals, you must not neglect the incense and food offerings to your parents. Follow the ordinary customs when you return home to tend their graves."

Yunqi relaxed a little. It seemed the mountain's rules were not as strict as he had imagined. He was not surprised that the master knew about his family; presumably, Rainfall Temple in the mortal world had already investigated his entire life from childhood onward. He bowed deeply and said:

"Thank you, Teacher."

"There is no need for thanks. Bright Governance Mountain has very few rules. You will learn them in time."

Yunqi assented.

"Gather your thoughts. Now we will discuss cultivation.

"Bright Governance Mountain takes the Dao of internal alchemy as its foundation. Internal alchemy is the source of all methods and the root of longevity. Before attaining immortality, there are five major realms: qi refining, life treasury, golden core, nascent soul, and union with the Dao. Qi refining begins with qi ingestion, so that is what we will discuss first today.

"The spiritual qi of heaven and earth is the precious essence of this world, the stairway to immortality. For those of our Daoist tradition in particular, spiritual qi is the sole means of opening the treasures within the flesh, and the sole foundation for casting myriad spells.

"The spiritual qi of heaven and earth flows without constancy, but there are always patterns to follow. Spiritual qi in deep mountains and vast marshes is generally more abundant than in towns amid the mortal bustle. At noon, under the Solar Star's influence, yang-aspected spiritual qi is more active; at midnight, beneath the moon's gentle illumination, yin-aspected spiritual qi is plentiful. Wood-aspected spiritual qi is most abundant in forests, while water-aspected spiritual qi flourishes above rivers. There are exceptions, but these are the general trends.

"The spiritual qi of heaven and earth comes in countless varieties. Naturally, we cultivators cannot ingest them all. Wood-aspected miasma, earth-aspected marsh gas, and fire-aspected sulfurous fumes are deadly poisons, to say nothing of the rest. Thus, the first step in qi ingestion is knowing what kind of qi to ingest.

"The qi you ingest is determined by your body's innate attributes and your cultivation lineage. Most people need not delve too deeply into the former. Bodies such as the pure yang body or the Origin Yin body are exceedingly rare. As for you, Yunqi, I have already examined you. Your body is ordinary too, though your meridians are thicker and tougher than those of others your age. Presumably, that is also an effect of tempering your body with pure spirit qi.

"I know what you want to ask. Pure spirit qi is, of course, also part of the spiritual qi of heaven and earth. In essence, it is a type of yang qi. Our sect's tradition holds that pure spirit qi is a form of the clear qi that arose when heaven and earth first opened and the clear was separated from the turbid. It can clarify the seat of the mind and stabilize the primordial spirit. The Meridian-Opening and Muscle-Stretching Exercise you practice now is merely the most elementary method of ingesting pure spirit qi. There are naturally more wondrous methods to follow.

"As for our cultivation lineage, Bright Governance Mountain's tradition is rooted in the Great Dao of Yin and Yang and grounded in the way of the living dead. From this extend such methods as pure yang, corpse liberation, soul-returning, ghost commanding, and corpse raising.

"Furthermore, our Bright Governance Mountain lineage permits cultivation of all five elements, with particular emphasis on fire, wood, and earth methods. From these three have sprung methods such as heartflame, withering and flourishing, and corpse nourishing. The paths of wind and lightning may both be cultivated as well, but our tradition places greater emphasis on wind methods, developing such arts as Wind Escape, Message Gathering, Heavenly Hearing, Evil Expulsion, and Spirit Wandering. Lightning methods also include Divine Shout, Spirit Refining, and Body Tempering.

"In short, once you enter Bright Governance Mountain, there are no restrictions on qi ingestion among the five elements, the branches of yin and yang, or the two qi of wind and lightning."

Sukong spoke extremely quickly, but fortunately, Yunqi also had an excellent memory. Rather than seeking a thorough understanding immediately, he committed everything to memory so he could chew it over slowly after returning.

"There are several methods of qi ingestion: breathing, sitting in oblivion, pacing the celestial pattern, hand gestures, incantations, external alchemy, and visualization. The first five are ultimately methods of bodily formations. Through breathing, sitting in meditation, walking, forming hand seals, chanting, and similar actions, the body creates a formation. Once that formation takes shape, it naturally draws in spiritual qi.

"Your Meridian-Opening and Muscle-Stretching Exercise is, in fact, a method of pacing the celestial pattern.

"External alchemy relies on outside assistance, including taking pills, eating special meals, and bathing in medicinal preparations. There is no need to elaborate.

"Visualization is rather more mysterious. You must understand that some kinds of qi can only be ingested by special spiritual beings of a particular affinity. True solar fire, for instance, has always belonged exclusively to the Golden Crow race, and has long since vanished from the world. Mountain forest miasma is a deadly poison, and for us cultivators, even refining it into a magical artifact presents a thousand trials and ten thousand difficulties. Yet the mountain fiends and pythons in the mountains can breathe it in and out as easily as anything else. Earth-moss azure essence is a qi formed from the fusion of earth and wood affinities. It is highly useful in pill refining, but only creatures such as azure goats, azure oxen, and azure deer can ingest it.

"For spiritual qi of this kind, bodily formations are useless. Thus, sages of old created visualization methods. Ultimately, visualization uses the false to seek the true. By contemplating the essence, qi, and spirit of other spiritual beings—with spirit being the key among them—you sketch an illusory spiritual being within the unseen and place it in an aperture of your body. Our Daoist tradition calls this an Inner Landscape Deity, because this method first appeared in the Scripture of the Yellow Court's Inner Vision during the Wei and Jin eras. Once the Inner Landscape Deity manifests, you can naturally ingest qi with every movement, without deliberate effort."

Yunqi listened quietly for a long time. When Sukong seemed to have nearly finished, he asked, "Teacher, may I ask which method of qi ingestion is suitable for me?"

For the first time, Yunqi saw Master Su Kong smile. He heard her say, "You must learn them all."

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