Su Mu woke from meditation and stretched, his bones and sinews crackling all over.
The corners of Su Mu's mouth curled up slightly.
After one night, he found that his body had improved considerably.
His stamina, arm strength, endurance, and the like had all increased substantially.
This was extremely useful to him, too.
By the time Su Mu pushed open his door and stepped outside, the group owner and the others were already waiting outside. A few even had dark circles under their eyes.
Su Mu smiled at the sight, knowing they had stayed up all night.
There was freshly cooked porridge before them, still piping hot.
"You're awake! The porridge just finished cooking. Come eat!"
They greeted Su Mu with particular enthusiasm, hurriedly inviting him to sit down for breakfast.
Breakfast consisted of nothing but porridge and a few plates of pickles. Su Mu did not mind, and soon finished two bowls of porridge after sitting down.
Not wanting to keep them hanging any longer, Su Mu said, "Then let's start cultivating now."
Hearing this, the people who had been competing to wash the dishes tossed aside their bowls and chopsticks and looked at Su Mu earnestly.
"Come on. Let's go back to yesterday's spot. The Spiritual Power there is a little more abundant."
Su Mu led the way toward the large rock.
The others followed closely. Ming Lan struck up a conversation with Su Mu, telling him that they had named the large rock the Moon-Gazing Stone.
That was because they could admire the most beautiful moonlight there.
Hearing this, Su Mu thought back carefully and realized that, at night, the view of the moonlight from that spot ought indeed to be a feast for the eyes.
Soon, they all took their seats on the large rock.
"The first step in cultivation is to enter meditation and then sense Spiritual Power. You need to empty your minds."
Seeing them staring fixedly at him, Su Mu directly explained the prerequisite for cultivating.
"Try entering meditation first. Let me see."
Once Su Mu finished speaking, they hurriedly closed their eyes, presumably trying to empty their minds.
Su Mu looked at each of them in turn, unable to tell how far they had gotten.
After some thought, Su Mu entered meditation as well. By sensing whether the surrounding Spiritual Power was coming into contact with them, he should be able to get a rough idea of whether they had succeeded.
As soon as Su Mu entered meditation, he sensed the surrounding Spiritual Power. It drifted around them, but none of them absorbed it.
Su Mu began trying to make contact with them.
Yet when Su Mu extended his perception to where they were, it seemed that there was nothing around him apart from Spiritual Power, flowers, grass, and trees.
It was as though Su Mu were the only person there.
Startled by what he sensed, Su Mu opened his eyes. When he saw that they were all still sitting cross-legged beside him, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
For that brief instant, Su Mu had thought he had seen a ghost!
From the looks of it, when I enter meditation, it's as though I enter a separate world, and anyone unqualified to enter that world can't be sensed. Is that what this means?
Su Mu pondered this. He felt that this explanation more or less made sense.
"Um, this isn't working. I don't think I can manage this step."
"Me neither. What exactly counts as emptying your mind? Entering a state of nothingness?"
Half an hour later, they opened their eyes one after another, their faces helpless.
For people like them, who had no cultivation experience whatsoever, accomplishing this step was simply too difficult.
"I feel like I've got a little idea, but at the same time, not really."
The group owner spoke up as well, though his face also held a hint of helplessness.
After hearing this and pondering for a moment, Su Mu said, "Then let me try and see whether I can help you get past this hurdle."
As he spoke, Su Mu looked at the group owner beside him. "You first."
Since the group owner said he had some idea, starting with him ought to offer a slightly higher chance of success.
The group owner immediately nodded and closed his eyes, delight on his face.
Su Mu placed a hand on his shoulder. "Try entering meditation."
The group owner slowed his breathing slightly, trying to sense the state he had felt earlier.
At that moment, Su Mu hesitated briefly, then began guiding him according to the information he had previously learned from Xiao Wu.
In fact, this simply meant entering meditation himself, then guiding the other person into a meditative state as well.
As Su Mu understood it, he would enter that unique world himself, then pull the other person inside.
Soon, Su Mu gradually sensed another object appearing nearby, constantly absorbing the surrounding Spiritual Power. This object was probably the group owner.
But as he tried to absorb this Spiritual Power, the rate was clearly far lower than Su Mu's.
If Su Mu was like an adult eating a normal meal, the group owner was a newborn infant drinking water in tiny sips.
Su Mu felt that he had succeeded, so he withdrew from his meditative state.
When the others beside him saw Su Mu open his eyes, they asked with delighted surprise, "Well? Did the group owner succeed?"
"How did you know?"
Su Mu was a little puzzled. He had sensed the group owner beginning to absorb Spiritual Power, which was why he thought he had succeeded. But how had the others known?
"Look."
Seeing Su Mu's confusion, the others pointed at the group owner.
Su Mu looked over and immediately found himself caught between laughter and tears.
At that moment, the group owner actually wore an expression of utter bliss. Looking like that, it was hardly surprising that everyone around him thought he had succeeded.
Had he failed, he would probably have been frowning from time to time, pondering how to find that meditative state.
"Yes. Who's next?"
Su Mu nodded to confirm that he had indeed succeeded.
The others could barely contain their joy, but still nodded toward Ming Lan.
"You go next."
Ming Lan hurriedly nodded her thanks to them, then sat down cross-legged, her face full of anticipation.
Seeing this, Su Mu repeated the same process, beginning to help her enter a meditative state.
This time, however, helping Ming Lan took considerably longer than helping the group owner.
In the end, though, he still succeeded in helping her enter meditation.
After she entered her meditative state, Su Mu paused briefly. The rate at which Ming Lan absorbed Spiritual Power was much the same as that of the group owner beside her.
When Su Mu opened his eyes again, the group owner opened his at the same time.
"Well? How did it feel?"
Seeing the group owner open his eyes, Su Mu could not help asking.
"Hmm, I can't really describe it. It just felt like something around me was drawing me in, and then I started absorbing it without realizing."
The group owner hesitated briefly before answering.
Su Mu nodded at his words. "You still need to keep absorbing it. Once you reach a certain point, you'll be able to experience some of the benefits."