Visualization Method (Seeking Collection)

In April, Shi Xuan had little interaction with his neighbors, only exchanging a few words when he went out to eat each day. Auntie Zhang mentioned her daughter a few times, but Shi Xuan's indifferent reactions stopped her from bringing it up again. He only chatted about idle gossip with the neighbors, such as the Son of Heaven summoning learned individuals from across the land to compile Daoist texts; Scholar Jiang had written another widely acclaimed poem in Hangzhou; the hermit of the mountains and wildlands' new storybook about a human-ghost romance was being retold daily in teahouses and was incredibly popular; there was a temple to Divine Lord Crimson Cloud in Liangzhou that was very effective for praying for marriage, but it was too far; the Widow Wu across the street had remarried a merchant from the Western Regions, whose high nose and deep-set eyes were frightening; and other trivial matters like the Zhang family's affairs and the Wang family's daughter-in-law being lazy.

On this clear autumn morning in October, Shi Xuan drank the Primordial Yuan Marrow-Changing Soup and began practicing the Ten Dragons Subduing Demons Fist in the small courtyard. After so long of practice, he entered the state quickly, gaining a clearer grasp of his physical body and soul.

With Savage Dragon Twisting Waist, Azure Dragon Subduing Waves, Fire Dragon Burning Heaven, and White Dragon Freezing Seas, each move of his fist further trained his body. However, the feeling of not grasping the essence of the techniques grew stronger. He hadn't broken through this barrier in four months, and it felt like a surge of energy within him couldn't be released.

When he reached Azure Dragon Soaring Through Sky, he suddenly entered a state of emptiness. His fist moved with his heart, his heart followed his spirit, his spirit followed his soul's thoughts. His essence, energy, and spirit seemed to be closely connected. The feeling of not grasping the essence seemed like it could be broken instantly. Shi Xuan concentrated all his strength, let out a great shout, and unleashed the Black Dragon Playing in Water. It was as if a barrier was broken, and simultaneously, he felt a vast, ancient, and profound dragon aura, as if he could control the very water in the air, emanating from this punch.

After this punch, Shi Xuan's bones let out a series of light clicks, which continued for a while before stopping. This was a sign of energy penetrating the marrow and connecting every part of his body, a manifestation of Body Tempering Great Accomplishment. Shi Xuan could previously only control his muscles and bones, but now he felt his soul's power greatly increase, becoming more sensitive and able to control the depths of his bones and the subtle corners of his body.

At this moment, many streams of heat rose from his marrow and permeated his internal organs. Shi Xuan was overjoyed and dared not delay. He closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, guiding these hot currents through his five organs, along the Twelve Meridians, and finally returning them to his Dantian. He then closed his eyes and finished his practice, his face full of joy. He had actually used this opportunity to break through to the Qi Nourishing and Soul Strengthening Stage.

Furthermore, because his body had previously opened the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, his internal energy had dissipated due to the death of his soul. This meant Shi Xuan didn't have to painstakingly open each of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians one by one, saving a great deal of time.

Generally speaking, for Internal Art Masters in the martial world, accumulating internal energy and opening the Eight Extraordinary Meridians takes about fifteen years, and this is for those with good aptitude who don't indulge in other pursuits and cultivate diligently. Those with poorer aptitude require even longer. Therefore, many Internal Art Masters never manage to open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in their lifetime. As for those with exceptional talent and fortunate encounters, it still takes seven to eight years to complete.

Why could Du Bai open the Eight Extraordinary Meridians in just three years? There were three reasons: First, he practiced the True Transmission of the Daoist Sect, which is worlds apart from high-level martial arts secret manuals, like the difference between immortals and mortals. Second, Daoist techniques emphasize nourishment, while combat relies on spells, talismans, and magical artifacts. Martial arts internal energy cultivation, regardless of anything else, focuses on the effect of injuring the enemy. Nourishment strengthens the soul, and a stronger soul can better control internal energy. When internal energy is controlled well, the effect of opening meridians is much better. Although internal energy cultivation also has the effect of nourishing the soul, its primary purpose is to injure enemies and repel them; nourishing the soul is secondary. The different purposes lead to different effects. Third, Du Bai himself had excellent aptitude, otherwise, Old Daoist Xu wouldn't have taken him as a disciple.

Now that Shi Xuan had entered the Qi Nourishing Stage, the medicinal soup and baths could be stopped. This natural entry into the Qi Nourishing Stage indicated that his body had reached a limit for this stage, and pushing further would be detrimental. The next step was to accumulate internal energy, transform the body's essence, and simultaneously naturally replenish the body, slowly strengthening the physical form. Additionally, his daily meat intake needed to increase to ensure the needs of refining essence into energy. Once the Twelve Meridians and Eight Extraordinary Meridians were filled with internal energy, he would then open other smaller meridians, forming a postnatal Great Circulation, which is the realm of the Peak of Qi Nourishing Stage.

At this point, Shi Xuan's soul strength could also begin visualization. However, Shi Xuan did not immediately return to his room to meditate. Cultivation matters had urgency and importance. Shi Xuan had finally broken through his realm and was in high spirits. Forcing himself to calm down and meditate would be counterproductive.

Moreover, since Shi Xuan arrived in this world, he had always felt a sense of crisis and insufficient strength to protect himself. Therefore, besides eating and buying medicine, he rarely went out, determined to improve his strength. Otherwise, if he encountered something outside without corresponding strength to back him up, he would inevitably feel stifled. This could be considered a lingering effect of being a transmigrator.

Now that Shi Xuan had finally broken through to the Qi Nourishing Stage, he could be considered a master in the Jianghu. Combined with his spells and talismans, self-protection was more than sufficient. He finally felt a significant portion of the pressure lift from his heart. Therefore, this was the time for Shi Xuan to relax and rest, not for cultivation.

Shi Xuan sat on the ground, leaning against the small well. In his right hand, he held a small pot of yellow wine he had found in Old Daoist Xu's room. In his left hand, he held a scroll, "Jin Kui Zi Discusses Various Ghosts and Spirits," collected by Old Daoist Xu from a senior Daoist predecessor. It explained what external Dao ghosts and spirits were and recounted various strange tales of ghosts and spirits, giving it a strong flavor of Liaozhai. At this moment, the autumn air was crisp, and a gentle breeze blew. He read a page or two, took a sip of yellow wine, and when he got engrossed, he would shake his head and hum, enjoying the leisure of reading the Huang Ting Jing.

In this world, people do not reincarnate after death. If there is no one to offer sacrifices, their souls gradually lose their memories after seven days, slowly merge into heaven and earth after ten days, and completely dissipate after a hundred days. Unless they have great resentment and obsession, or encounter a place of Yin energy, their soul body can be stabilized and transform into a Yin ghost. The souls of cultivators, however, are subject to the backlash of heaven and earth. Upon death, their souls are annihilated, unless they cultivate to the Yin Spirit Stage to resist this heavenly law. Therefore, people in the world value sacrifices greatly. Receiving sacrifices and offerings from a family can preserve a soul for several years, and the more people who offer sacrifices, the longer the preservation time. However, unless one can comprehend the method of transforming the incense and fire prayer power of sacrifices into one's own Dao practice, it will not last more than a hundred years at most. These souls that receive sacrifices are collectively called ghosts and spirits.

Those with great resentment and obsession slowly become Yin ghosts. Their obsession is revenge, and their actions are driven by this obsession. Few have sanity or clarity. Of course, there are a minority who, because their obsession is not malevolent, retain their sanity, but their cultivation is unconscious. Generally, the older they are, the more powerful they become. Those without sanity will slowly gain intelligence after ten years. Those who encounter places of Yin energy are similar to the former, slowly becoming Yin ghosts, but they lack the obsession for revenge and possess sanity and intelligence, though their cultivation lacks inheritance. To survive long-term, they must consume blood food or Yang energy, or soul power. These two, along with souls that have not dissipated after a hundred days, are collectively called external Dao ghosts and spirits.

Because they need to consume blood food, Yang energy, or soul power, external Dao ghosts and spirits often harm people. However, if their cultivation is insufficient, they often cannot get close to people with vigorous Qi and Blood, as they will be burned by the vigorous Qi and Blood, and in severe cases, they will be utterly annihilated. At the same time, external Dao ghosts and spirits who have not cultivated to the Soul Departure Stage often incite emotions in cultivators during their practice, causing them to develop inner demons and fall into Qi Deviation, giving them an opportunity to devour the cultivator's soul power.

The ability of external Dao ghosts and spirits to incite others' emotions is their innate talent, which can be exerted from a great distance. Therefore, there are mainly three ways to deal with this talent: First, set up formations to isolate the inside and outside, but Shi Xuan cannot do this now. Second, cultivate with complete focus, remaining undisturbed by extraneous thoughts in a state of stillness, rendering this method of inciting emotions ineffective. Third, possess a magical artifact that suppresses the soul, but Shi Xuan does not have one either.

Despite this, Old Daoist Xu's specially made Spirit-Calming Sandalwood Incense can help focus the spirit and slightly suppress external Dao ghosts and spirits. Therefore, overall, as long as Shi Xuan does not let his mind wander during cultivation, there will be no danger. Moreover, as long as his sanity is not clouded, if anything goes wrong, he will immediately withdraw from his meditative state, even at the cost of soul injury.

Shi Xuan had a pleasant day. By evening, he had gathered his mind, and his entire state reached a peak. After bathing, changing clothes, burning incense, and worshipping heaven and earth, through this series of steps, his heart and spirit reached a state of emptiness and tranquility. Of course, once he became proficient in the future, or his cultivation deepened, he would not need so many complex steps, often reaching this state of emptiness and tranquility with just a few breaths.

Shi Xuan sat cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes, and concentrated, embracing the primal and guarding the one. He soon entered a state of meditation. Once in meditation, he began to visualize the divine intent of clear wind and bright moon depicted in the "True Method of Clear Wind and Bright Moon Illuminating the Spirit" from the "Treasure Record." In the initial attempts, he would always reach halfway through the visualization before other thoughts arose, leading to failure, much like an ordinary person trying to concentrate on one thing but constantly letting their thoughts wander, then startling awake and returning to the original point.

Shi Xuan was not discouraged, knowing this was normal. He began practicing the method of gathering thoughts described in the "True Method of Clear Wind and Bright Moon Illuminating the Spirit." He imagined himself as a supreme master, looking down upon his myriad thoughts. These thoughts arose one after another, filling his entire Sea of Consciousness. As the master, he made these thoughts gather within the Sea of Consciousness, no longer fluctuating.

Here, the goal is not to extinguish all thoughts. If all thoughts were extinguished, one would likely cultivate into a stone without thought or emotion. What is emphasized here is the absolute control of the true spirit, being supreme and controlling these thoughts so they no longer fluctuate, calmly observing thoughts arising and perishing but remaining within the scope of control. Therefore, the ultimate realm to be achieved here is not the "Realm of Void Where Not a Single Thought Arises," but the "Realm of Void Where Not a Single Thought Is Stirred." This is the essence of the true transmission, as the saying goes, "True transmission is one sentence, false transmission is ten thousand books." This is also the great Daoist method of Consciousness as the True Spirit.

Following this method, Shi Xuan subdued his myriad thoughts in a state of emptiness, allowing them to arise and perish within the Sea of Consciousness but remain confined to their location. Gradually, Shi Xuan felt his thoughts become focused and singular, and he began to visualize the spirit of clear wind and bright moon.