The Meridians of Heaven and Earth

Inner Alchemy practice was not the mainstream of Daoist practice from the beginning. In fact, during the Yu Dynasty and even the early Chen Dynasty, it was once considered heretical, literally meaning "deviant of the Way".

At that time, the orthodox Daoist school emphasized reciting scriptures, worshipping deities, and cultivating one's spirit and character.

Instead of focusing on Daoist scriptures, they study their own cultivation; instead of pursuing spiritual observation and self-cultivation, they focus on the timing and refinement of fire.

But it eventually became mainstream, and there's a reason for that.

The biggest reason is that in the ancient environment with low Spiritual Qi, Inner Alchemy Technique was almost the only way to reach a higher level of cultivation.

Cultivating and strengthening one's own vital energy, and forging one's character in the process, can minimize the consumption of Spiritual Qi and elevate one's spiritual realm.

Without the rise of the Inner Alchemy internal alchemy) school, Daoists might have ended up like those monks, appearing suddenly and then disappearing just as suddenly, without even leaving behind a lineage.

Even monks have their own Saha Continent, but what can Daoists possibly have? If that skill is lost, it's truly lost forever.

As the culmination of Inner Alchemy Technique), Hu Mang reverse-engineered the "Treatise on Sitting and Forgetting" (Treatise on Sitting in Oblivion) through the "Golden Core Elixir," achieving an astonishing result.

The ancestral aperture between the eyebrows suddenly shone brightly.

Hu Mang's consciousness was completely immersed in that state of forgetting himself and the world.

He could no longer clearly distinguish where his Divine Sense was, where the power of the Golden Core was, and where the surrounding environment was. The three had merged into one, like a few drops of ink in a glass of clear water, completely mixed together and indistinguishable from one another.

He "saw" the scene Seclusion Chamber training room: his junior brother guarding the mountain was dozing off, his head nodding, a trace of drool hanging from the corner of his mouth; he "saw" the training ground in the distance: several senior brothers were practicing Swordsmanship, their Sword Qi crisscrossing, carving deep marks on the stone slabs of the ground; he "saw" the scripture pavilion even further away: an old Daoist priest with white hair was holding an ancient book, carefully studying it word by word.

His Divine Sense continued to spread, beyond the gates of the Mysterious Peak Sect, beyond the boundaries of Spring Thunder Ridge, and extending to even more distant places.

He "saw" the market town below the mountain, where bustling crowds moved through the streets, and the shouts of vendors, the laughter of children, and the rumble of horse-drawn carriages intertwined to create a vivid picture of everyday life; he "saw" the fields in the distance, where farmers were bending over to work, and old oxen on the ridges were swishing their tails to shoo away mosquitoes and flies, a peaceful and idyllic rural scene.

This is definitely not Divine Sense; his Divine Sense doesn't go that far.

This cannot be considered Law Power Divine Ability or Law Power ability, because if it Divine Ability, it would be detected immediately.

If I had to describe it, it's more like a special version of the Unity of Heaven and Man, with "nature" making up a very high percentage, at least 90%.

His self-awareness was almost insignificant in the face of heaven and earth, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, assimilated by heaven and earth, absorbed by nature. At this moment, personal will and choices became insignificant.

Then, Hu Mang felt his self-awareness gradually fading away.

"In the early Yu Dynasty, although the Inner Alchemy internal alchemy) school showed some signs of resurgence, it was by no means the orthodox school of Daoism. There were many Daoist leaders who were hostile to this school, but Old Daoist Sima did not seem to be such a Daoist. He belonged to the school that was relatively friendly to Inner Alchemy and relatively interested in it."

"The reason for this is most likely because purely 'observing the spirit and cultivating one's nature' makes it almost impossible to reach the higher realms of Daoism. Even the original author of the 'Theory of Treatise on Sitting and Forgetting,' this old Daoist could truly achieve 'the Dao of Sitting and Forgetting,' but in this state, he could not maintain it for as long as I could. Therefore, he is relatively friendly to the Inner Alchemy lineage because he sees more possibilities from the Dao of Alchemy."

"Moreover, historical records state that this old Daoist had already formed his elixir when he went to sea. It seems you, old rascal, have also strayed from the orthodox path in the end."

While Hu Mang was "sitting in oblivion," various distracting thoughts flashed through his mind.

Moreover, this is likely due to the abundance of Spiritual Qi and Daoist charm in the Azure Mysterious Realm Profound Realm.

The Golden Core itself brought about a surge in sensory perception, and with this added, his speed in achieving the Dao of Dao of Sitting and Forgetting increased even more dramatically.

Therefore, in just one day and one night, he grasped the core of the "Theory of Treatise on Sitting and Forgetting"—the "Dao of Sitting and Forgetting".

"Only extinguish the mind that is moved, not the mind that shines; only meditate on the empty mind, not the mind that has a mind; do not rely on any thing, and the mind will remain constant."

The next moment, the Hu Mang's consciousness completely dissipated into the world, but its body's instincts seemed to merge into the pulse of heaven and earth.

"Huh?"

Hu Mang's nominal master, Ge Wen, the Daoist Earthly Mechanism, suddenly appeared outside the Seclusion Chamber.

Also appearing were two other old Daoist priests with similar cultivation levels.

"Senior Brother Xuanch en, Junior Brother Guigenzi."

Ge Wen quickly bowed.

The two returned the gift.

Daoist Xuanch en was a white-haired, youthful-looking Daoist with a ruddy complexion and full of energy. As for Guigenzi, he had a head full of withered hair, his face was covered with deep wrinkles, and his eyelids were drooping, as if he only had one breath left.

However, this "junior brother" seemed to be more skilled than his two senior brothers. After a couple of glances with his aging eyes, he said tremblingly, "Senior brothers are truly blessed."

Then the figure disappeared.

Daoist Xuanch en observed carefully through the door for a while before saying in a complicated tone, "Many disciples in our sect can sense the earth's veins, but even among the inner disciples, very few can sense the veins of heaven and earth; even among the True Disciples, not all of True Disciple can sense them. Many years ago, my junior brother picked up a Daoist genius Chunwuzi. How come you can still find such a cultivation genius now?"

Ge Wen then understood what had happened. He had just been wondering why the natural energy of Spring Thunder Ridge had been artificially disturbed.

He then scratched his head and smiled awkwardly.

"Luck, pure luck."

"If only I had a third of my junior brother's luck, that would be wonderful."

Daoist Xuanch en sighed, and his figure also vanished from the spot.

His disciples were all troublesome.

After Ge Wen was left alone, Old Daoist Ge scratched his face and muttered to himself.

"I've already grasped the essence of heaven and earth; forming the 'Flower of Spirit' shouldn't be a problem. Oh no, my eldest disciple isn't here. Will I have to take on the task of teaching and nurturing?"

Although Hu Mang lost consciousness, his "perception range" seemed to be expanding wildly, covering thousands of miles, even crossing the Liang Kingdom and reaching the border. He even entered several Spirit Paths. During his journey through one Spirit Path, he saw a ball of white light, and at the end of another Spirit Path, he actually returned to Wangsong County.

Inside the county government office, Brother Fox was examining the palm lines of a local lady from a prominent family. The lady's face was flushed, most likely not from the palm lines themselves, but from being touched.

Suddenly, the fox brother let out a soft "Eh!" and raised his head.

"Younger brother?"

The next moment, the light of the Lord of the Land in the Land God in Wangsong County suddenly shone brightly. The next moment, the Hu Mang's perception seemed to have expanded to its limit, and it began to trace back at a speed of a thousand times, ten thousand times.

During this process, the Golden Core returned to the Middle Dantian at some unknown time.

The insights into the pulse of heaven and earth also surged into the Upper Dantian of the Hu Mang, condensing into a small flower composed of Divine Sense essence.

Flower of Spirit!

"My disciple, your progress is too fast! Your master was caught completely off guard."

Inside the Seclusion Chamber, Hu Mang looked at the old Ge Wen with a puzzled expression.

The cheap master's expression didn't seem happy at all; rather, it showed more conflict.

"Isn't the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown a good thing, disciple?"

"Good, that's great, but it's a bit too fast. Your senior brother is on a mission for the sect in the Thirty-Three Heavens and won't be back for a while. With him gone, the task of teaching you will fall on your teacher's shoulders," Ge Wen said with a worried expression.

Hu Mang stared wide-eyed at the other person. "Damn, I know you're bad, but this is way too bad. You don't even want to teach me?"

Seeing the other's expression, Ge Wen knew what his second apprentice had misunderstood, and sighed, saying:

"According to the rules of our Mysterious Peak Sect, once inner disciple achieves the Three Flowers stage, this sect duty will likely fall to you; it's also your initiation task."

As Ge Wen explained, Hu Mang gradually understood what the other party meant.

Inner disciples are different from outer disciples.

For the first six months after entering the sect, there is no need to perform miscellaneous duties. You only need to focus on cultivation. In fact, if the inner disciple's cultivation level is not high enough, that is, if they have not yet achieved the Three Flowers stage, this cultivation period can be extended for several years. This is probably one of the benefits of inner disciples, as they can cultivate in such a high Spiritual Qi environment every day.

However, outer disciples are different. Basically, as soon as they enter the sect, they have to perform various sect tasks in exchange for cultivation techniques, spirit medicine, and even some sect treasure lands for cultivation.

After listening, Hu Mang sighed, "Outsourcing is never that easy in any world."

However, inner disciples are not just idlers. Once they complete their cultivation, that is, after "the Three Flowers Gather at the Crown", they will start to take on jobs, and usually big jobs.

It suppresses the earth's veins, guards against fissures, surveys mountains and rivers, and protects borders.

It seems that civil engineers in any world do pretty much the same things.

Moreover, under normal circumstances, inner disciples are required to lead the work teams.

In Heavenly Gate, such people are generally called foremen.

"... Generally, unless someone has exceptionally outstanding Root Bone talent, inner disciples are promoted from outer disciples. These outer disciples have done at least eighty or a hundred miscellaneous tasks for the sect. In such cases, it's natural to trust them to lead the sect's duties. However, since you were directly selected from the initial disciples to enter the inner sect, it usually takes two or three times for the master to personally lead the team."

Hearing this, Hu Mang understood that the old Daoist priest didn't want to go on his business trip.

"Master, even if I have Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and haven't yet mastered the three Law Technique I selected from the Scripture Pavilion, it's not like I'm about to go on a mission right away, is it?" Hu Mang asked.

Ge Wen looked at the other person with a resentful expression.

"Who told you to cultivate so quickly? Under normal circumstances, one needs to cultivate sect Law Techniques to a certain level and accumulate a certain amount of Peak Merit before one can successfully form the Three Flowers."

"Who gave you permission to touch the meridians of heaven and earth?"