Testing a New Cultivation Method

After arriving in Changnan, Wang An first rented a room to stay in. It was near the subway, so transportation was convenient.

Wang An used his Avatar to act anonymously and planned to post a transaction listing online.

Meteorite for sale to the highest bidder. Please do not contact me with offers below 50,000. Interested parties, send me a private message. Pictures below.

Meteorite picture.jpg

He posted it in several meteorite Tieba communities and forums.

That evening, Wang An was studying how to use his Avatar to practice methods considered relatively dangerous online.

The basic methods were safe, but their bonuses were far too small. Wang An had been practicing them for more than ten days.

He only felt a tiny change in his body. If he had to put it into numbers, this was what it looked like.

[Name: Wang An

Essence: 1.20

Qi: 1.09

Spirit: 2.05

Talent: Avatar

Occupations: intelligent life-form, student, martial artist

Skills: Basic Taijiquan (proficient, 80/1000), Health Qigong Baduanjin (beginner, 90/100), Mindfulness Meditation (beginner, 90/100)]

Although Health Qigong Baduanjin was close to reaching the proficient stage, judging from his practice of Basic Taijiquan,

after reaching proficiency, the bonuses to his body grew smaller and smaller. Even if he practiced it to mastery, he estimated that his Essence attribute would not rise much above 1.5.

And even if Mindfulness Meditation reached proficiency, it would not give much of a bonus to Wang An's Spirit attribute.

So more advanced cultivation methods became more pressing.

Besides, the higher his base attribute values were, the smaller the bonuses from cultivation methods became.

Wang An could take advantage of the fact that his Avatar was not going out for the time being to experiment with cultivation methods.

During this time, Wang An had also become thoroughly familiar with the various Daoist classics.

To be precise, Daoist cultivation proceeded through successive stages: Refining Essence into Qi → Refining Qi into Spirit → Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness → Refining Emptiness and Joining the Dao.

Although each of the earlier stages had its own specific methods and steps,

the precise timing of whether "the medicine is too old or too young" at each step,

and the state of non-action in which "true qi circulates of itself, gathered without gathering," among other things, all required a master to teach the proper timing.

By testing the methods on his own body through his Avatar, Wang An could experience exactly what each degree of timing was like.

He could experiment step by step to determine whether "the medicine was too old or too young" and how to improve afterward.

Wang An's original body was laying the foundation and strengthening its essence in preparation for Refining Essence into Qi later.

Because of the many different experiences a person's bodily world had undergone, the body would ultimately have suffered depletion and deficiency in certain places.

First, he used the Precept Observance and Virtue Cultivation Method to regulate his behavior:

Abstain from desire and preserve essence: exercise restraint in sexual activity to preserve innate essence.

Keep regular hours: always sleep before the hour of the rat (11 p.m.-1 a.m.) and rise during the hour of the hare (5-7 a.m.).

Eat a light diet: eat less meat and fish, and reduce the size of dinner.

Cultivate the mind and character: still thoughts by practicing "notice a thought as soon as it arises; once noticed, it vanishes" in daily life.

This would reduce desires, deepen sleep, and gradually restore energy.

Dynamic Exercise Daoyin Method

Practice: perform it once or twice every morning.

Mental method: coordinate movements with breathing, and observe the movements and the flow of qi and blood with the mind.

After practice, the body felt slightly warm and unobstructed, and the mood was pleasant.

Standing Stake Qi-Gathering Method

Posture: stand with feet parallel and shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent and body straight, both arms curved in front of the abdomen.

Mental method: imagine standing in a hot spring, ripples gently caressing the whole body; or imagine being like an ancient tree putting down roots, with empty space above the head.

Breathing: breathe naturally into the abdomen.

Duration: gradually increase from 15 minutes to more than 45 minutes.

The hands and feet remained warm, the dantian felt warm and full, and afterward the mind was clear and refreshed.

Spirit-Concentrating and Breath-Regulating Method

Counting breaths: sit quietly and count only exhalations, from one to ten, repeating the cycle. Start over if the mind wanders.

Listening to breaths: stop counting and use only hearing to perceive the faint sounds of breathing, until "mind and breath depend on each other."

This brought an initial state of "entering tranquility," with distracting thoughts greatly reduced and the sense of time disappearing.

Finally, this led to a healthy state of "full essence, abundant qi, and flourishing spirit," laying a solid material foundation for the transformation to follow.

In fact, Wang An was already doing all of these things; he simply had not been practicing them so systematically.

So his Avatar could begin with the first step of Refining Essence into Qi: producing the medicine.

Wang An immersed his mind in the Avatar within the space and used Mindfulness Meditation to enter a state of deep tranquility.

That step was still easy for him.

But afterward, he had to direct an intention that was "there and yet not there" ever so slightly toward the lower dantian.

He had to accompany it with deep, long breaths, but place more emphasis on intention than on breathing.

"Do not forget, do not assist; guard it, yet do not guard it."

What kind of "there and yet not there" was this? How was he supposed to direct his attention, and what did "do not forget, do not assist; guard it, yet do not guard it" mean?

Fortunately, Wang An had already done his homework on this step.

It was mainly divided into four steps.

The first step was preparation: find a time when he absolutely would not be disturbed and a quiet, well-ventilated room, then turn off his phone.

Sit cross-legged or upright on a firm chair, or simply assume the standing stake posture, ultimately reaching the point of forgetting the body's existence.

First, take three deep breaths. When inhaling, imagine drawing in a clear spring; when exhaling, imagine blowing all the tension and distracting thoughts out of the body like dust. Let all the muscles, especially those of the shoulders, face, and lower abdomen, relax completely.

The second step was to enter the state and begin counting breaths, with the eyes slightly closed and attention focused only on exhaling.

With each exhalation, silently count a number.

This was not about how quickly or accurately one counted, but about using the counting to slowly tether the "mind-monkey and thought-horse" that ran wild everywhere.

When one could count through three to five cycles in a row without much distraction, it meant the "surface of the lake" had begun to grow calm.

The third step was the core exercise: switch from "counting breaths" to "observing." When the mind felt relatively calm and the breathing naturally became deep, long, fine, and gentle, stop counting.

Gently move one's attention deep into the lower abdomen, a little farther inside the body, and observe the location of the "lower dantian."

Imagine one's attention gently and softly spilling over that region deep in the lower abdomen like faint moonlight at night. Maintain a state of "awareness"-aware that there is a space there, aware that the breath is naturally flowing in and out.

The final main task was to maintain this "moonlight-like awareness," with breathing naturally accompanying it in the background.

The fourth step was to grasp the mental method. This was the hardest and most crucial part.

Four scenarios could be used to understand "do not forget," "do not assist," and "guard it, yet do not guard it."

He went through these steps. Along the way, his mind wandered while counting breaths, and his mind-monkey and thought-horse ran wild.

Even so, Wang An had already built some foundation. After making a few mistakes, he gradually worked through the steps and entered the state of "do not forget, do not assist; guard it, yet do not guard it."

He did not know how much time had passed before he felt his dantian gradually begin to warm. A qi movement that was there and yet not there stirred, arising of itself without thought or improper thoughts.

This feeling is truly wonderful. As that thought arose, Wang An gradually emerged from the state of "medicine arising."

Carefully savoring the experience, Wang An could truly and tangibly feel a mysterious Daoist world opening up to him.

He withdrew his mind and checked his phone. It was twelve o'clock; three hours had passed.

"Sure enough, time vanishes in cultivation!" Wang An exclaimed.