Time flew by,
and two years had passed since Li Qingshan first called roll in his "Introduction to Paleography" class.
The leaves of Jiangcheng University's plane trees had turned green, then yellow, and fallen, and now wore fresh green once more.
On campus, the clamor of youth continued as always,
as students hurried between classrooms, the library, dormitories, and the dining hall,
busy with their studies, their friendships, and the first stirrings of affection.
For the students majoring in classical Chinese,
Teacher Li Qingshan's classes gradually became a distinctive bright spot in their university lives.
He never taught straight from the textbook,
always drawing vast histories from ancient characters that seemed dry at first glance,
along with profound philosophy and even some unusual insights into heaven, earth, and nature.
Though he never again mentioned
"the mind" and "perception"
as directly as he had in that first class, the tendency to guide everyone to quiet their minds and approach the original meaning of the characters ran through his teaching.
As a result, his classes required solid memorization but also held a thought-provoking charm.
On Friday afternoon, the "Selected Readings in Daoist Classics" class had just ended.
The students packed up their things and prepared to leave.
"Yezi, let's go! We're meeting people at the soccer field!"
Pang Bo stuffed his books into his backpack as he urged Ye Fan, who was still looking over his notes.
"Coming."
Ye Fan closed his notebook,
whose pages were densely covered with points Li Qingshan had mentioned while explaining certain chapters of the Dao De Jing,
such as "attain utmost emptiness and hold fast to stillness" and "the myriad things arise together, and I thereby observe their return."
He felt that something else seemed to be hidden in those words, something worth pondering over and over.
In the front row, Zhou Yi was discussing the class with Wang Ziwen, who sat beside him:
"When Teacher Li explained 'the valley spirit never dies; it is called the mysterious female,'
the angles taken by the commentaries he quoted were really unique.
They understood 'female' from the perspective of heaven and earth generating life without end."
Wang Ziwen nodded.
"Yes, it's much deeper than simply explaining it as 'motherhood.'
I feel like listening to his classes has broadened my perspective on these classics."
Li Xiaoman packed up her things alone and got up to leave.
Only occasionally, when she heard Li Qingshan explain passages concerning spiritual cultivation,
would she knit her brows slightly, as though thinking about something.
Lin Jia walked over to Ye Fan and Pang Bo's desks and asked with a smile,
"Do you have any plans for the weekend? I heard a newly released movie is pretty good."
Pang Bo immediately perked up.
"Yeah, yeah! Yezi, come with us! Great beauty Lin herself has spoken."
Ye Fan smiled.
"You two go ahead. I want to look up some information at the library this afternoon.
I still haven't finished the reference books on oracle bone script research that Teacher Li mentioned last time."
"Tsk, Teacher Li again,"
Pang Bo said with an exaggerated sigh.
"Yezi, I've noticed you're practically becoming Teacher Li's number one fan.
You're always running to his office or spending your time at the library looking up the books he mentions."
Lin Jia covered her mouth and chuckled.
"It's a good thing Ye Fan is so eager to learn. But don't tire yourself out."
Ye Fan shook his head.
"I just find it interesting, that's all."
He was indeed full of curiosity about much of the knowledge Li Qingshan mentioned, and he gained a great deal from every discussion.
Just then, Li Qingshan had finished answering a student's question and was coming down from the lectern.
He happened to hear their conversation and smiled.
"Studying hard is a good thing, but remember to balance work and rest.
In the pursuit of learning, one must know when to tighten the bowstring and when to loosen it."
"Teacher Li."
They all greeted him.
"Ye Fan really has been working hard lately,"
Zhou Yi said, coming over as well.
"When we have questions to discuss, we often go to him too."
Li Qingshan looked at Ye Fan, approval in his eyes.
"It's good that you can settle your mind.
By the way, Ye Fan, about your question last time on how the concept of 'Qi' evolved in early writing:
I have a book of notes from the Republican period with some original insights. If you have time, you can come to my office and get it now."
"All right, thank you, Teacher Li!"
Ye Fan nodded immediately.
Pang Bo patted Ye Fan on the shoulder.
"All right, then Ziwen and the others and I will head to the field first.
Great beauty Lin, shall we see the movie another day?"
Lin Jia smiled.
"Sure."
Watching Ye Fan leave with Li Qingshan, Zhou Yi remarked,
"Teacher Li really doesn't put on airs, and he knows so much."
Wang Ziwen agreed.
"Yeah, and he seems to hold Ye Fan in particularly high regard."
Inside the office, the scent of books filled the air.
Li Qingshan took a thin, yellowed, thread-bound volume from the bookcase and handed it to Ye Fan.
"This is the one. Turn the pages carefully; it's quite old."
"I will. Thank you, Teacher."
Ye Fan accepted it with both hands and carefully put it in his bag.
Li Qingshan strolled over to the window as if casually and looked down at the vibrant campus below. Suddenly, he asked,
"Ye Fan, have your studies been stressful lately? I see you're looking into these things outside class as well."
Ye Fan walked over beside him and answered,
"It's all right. I can keep up. I just find this stuff interesting and can't help wanting to learn more."
"Interest is the best teacher."
Li Qingshan nodded.
"I noticed you seem quite interested in ideas like Daoist health cultivation too?"
Ye Fan thought for a moment.
"Yeah. I think some of the things our ancestors taught, like following nature and tending to body and mind, make a lot of sense.
I read books about it sometimes and try breathing exercises and relaxation techniques."
He was referring to the "crystal visualization" method of calming the mind that Li Qingshan had taught him in private more than a year ago.
He had kept it up and felt very good. He had never explained it in detail to anyone else, only vaguely classifying it as "breathing and relaxation."
Li Qingshan smiled slightly.
"Good. 'When the spirit is guarded within, how can illness arise?' Keeping the mind calm really is greatly beneficial to the body.
Especially for you young people, with your heavy schoolwork, it's even more important to pay attention to it.
I also know a few simple guiding exercises that, combined with breathing, are very helpful for relieving fatigue. Would you like to see them?"
They were teacher and student, and with that connection, there was no harm in teaching Ye Fan some methods he could use now, tailored to his aptitude.
Hearing Li Qingshan's words, Ye Fan naturally could ask for nothing better.
"Sorry for the trouble, Teacher."
Li Qingshan briefly demonstrated a few movements, coordinated them with his breathing, and explained the key points:
"The key is to let your thoughts flow along with them. Neither forget nor force them; let everything happen naturally."
Ye Fan carefully committed them to memory and tried them a few times. At once, his body felt more relaxed and his mind clearer.
"That feels great!"
"You can practice during breaks from studying. The important thing is to keep at it,"
Li Qingshan advised.
"These things look simple, but only with time will they bear fruit."
After leaving the office, Ye Fan walked back to his dormitory, feeling a rare ease in both body and mind.
He felt more and more that Teacher Li was not only highly learned,
but also seemed to know a great deal about tending to body and mind, and held nothing back.
Scenes like this had occurred from time to time over the past two years.
As their teacher, Li Qingshan also had Lin Jia and Zhou Yi occasionally come to him with questions about such things,
and he did not hold back from teaching them the "reading method" and "health cultivation method" he had originally given Ye Fan.
Those seemingly ordinary "health cultivation methods" and "mind-calming techniques"
were in fact methods for laying the foundation of the mind, painstakingly simplified by him, a See the Gods, Indestructible expert, to suit the mortals of this world.
Although Ye Fan's Desolate Ancient Sacred Body was suppressed by heaven and earth,
under the nourishment of these methods day and night, the source of his spirit had unknowingly become far more condensed and full than that of an ordinary person,
while his physique was gradually improving.
Lin Jia, Zhou Yi, and the others had likewise benefited greatly, their spirits growing ever more lustrous.
Over the weekend, Li Qingshan returned home.
The dining table was fragrant with the dishes his mother, Su Wan, had made, several of them his favorites.
"Qingshan, is work at the university going smoothly? You look a little thinner again lately. Are you too tired?"
Su Wan asked with concern as she put food in his bowl.
His father, Li Guoqiang, said nothing, but gave him a questioning look as well.
Warmth filled Li Qingshan's heart, and he smiled.
"Dad, Mom, I'm fine. I'm not tired at all.
Maybe it's because the weather's getting warmer.
What about you two? How has your health been lately?"
"We're doing great!"
Li Guoqiang said in a booming voice.
"I feel like I've been getting stronger and healthier these past few years.
At my last workplace physical, I didn't have a single one of Old Wang's old ailments. Even the doctor said my condition didn't look like that of a man in his early fifties."
Su Wan nodded too.
"Yes, I used to catch colds easily when the seasons changed, but that's much better now.
Auntie Zhang next door keeps asking what supplements I've been taking to give me such a good complexion."
Li Qingshan smiled and secretly swept his divine sense over his parents' bodies.
Thanks to his persistent, secret care using pure primordial Qi,
the few hidden ailments in their bodies had long since vanished without a trace.
Their internal organs were full of vitality, and their Qi and blood were vigorous. They were far younger and healthier than others their age.
He had even quietly simplified and adapted a set of the gentlest breathing exercises to suit their constitutions,
claiming that they were "health exercises" taught by an old traditional Chinese medicine doctor at the university and having them practice daily to further strengthen their vitality.
"That's good."
Li Qingshan put another chopstickful of food into each of their bowls.
"An old professor at the university said the most important things for good health are a cheerful mood and a balanced diet.
You're doing very well keeping that up."
After dinner, Li Qingshan sat with his parents in the living room, drinking tea and watching television, enjoying a rare moment of leisure.
In his sea of consciousness, the chaos-colored Divine Seed revolved day and night,
slowly but steadily drawing in the thin energy of heaven and earth and wisps of Solar True Force,
and in turn nourishing his body and soul.
Teaching, living, walking, and observing in the mortal world were themselves a form of cultivation.
His state of mind grew ever more harmonious, resonating with this world in the Age of Dharma's End.
In the early morning, standing on the balcony and facing the first ray of the rising sun,
As he gathered and refined that pure Solar True Force, warmth spread through his body, and he seemed like a god.
All of this took place in silence, unknown to anyone.
Over those two years, he had also used his winter and summer vacations and his spare time outside class to travel across many famous mountains and great rivers,
relying on his hazy memories from his previous life and the Divine Seed's faint response to search for any traces of cultivation that might have remained on Earth.
He had ventured deep into Jianmen Pass in Mount Shu and felt the traces of sharp sword intent that lingered there,
finding several broken stones carved with indistinct runes, their spirituality almost entirely dissipated.
He had set foot on Mount Mang in Luoyang and carefully searched the ancient tombs there with his divine sense,
discovering places where Yin Qi gathered and crude feng shui formations that had long since ceased to work.
He had also visited Dunhuang, where, amid the vast grottoes and sea of sand,
he sensed a trace of the Buddhist Zen intent of nirvanic stillness and found a hidden grotto,
which held only a few fragmentary, indecipherable scriptures and a Demon-Subduing Pestle, badly rusted and devoid of spiritual light.
His gains had been meager, mostly fragments of texts or ancient objects that had completely lost their potency.
But he was not discouraged.
He kept the scattered refining materials and damaged low-grade artifacts he had found; perhaps they would prove useful someday.
On this day, he returned from Mount Hua.
After two years of preparation and gradual, imperceptible progress, his foundation had been laid.
His parents' health and safety were assured, and his own cultivation was steadily improving.
The Stone Gate remained dormant, and the day of Nine Dragons Pulling the Coffin had yet to arrive.
He picked up a pen from his desk and casually wrote a word on a note:
"Kunlun."
It was time to explore the ancestor of all mountains, the source of China's myths.
Though dangers lay everywhere there, and even a Quasi-Emperor would spill blood in the grand formation that shrouded the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains,
there were also more opportunities to be found.
He glanced at the calendar. There was still some time before the next long holiday.
Enough time for him to take care of his affairs at school and give his parents a proper explanation.