Chapter Seven: The Beginning of Cultivation
"The Secret to Longevity" is said to have been created by my ancestor, the great Golden Immortal Guang Chengzi, before his ascension. Later, my ancestor's disciples divided this book into three volumes: "The Daily Chapter of the Secret to Longevity", "The Monthly Chapter of the Secret to Longevity", and "The Stellar Chapter of the Secret to Longevity". Although practicing "The Secret to Longevity" cannot lead to immortality, it can prolong one's lifespan if practiced to a high level. The "Daily Chapter" is masculine in nature and suitable for men; the "Monthly Chapter" is both yin and yang in nature and requires two people of opposite sexes to practice together; the "Stellar Chapter" is feminine in nature and suitable for women. I leave these words behind, hoping that future generations will be cautious.
As Li Jiancheng opened the first page of the secret book, he saw these contents written on it. It seems that the "Secret to Longevity" in "The Legend of the Double Dragons of Tang Dynasty" should be the "Monthly Chapter", so one needs to find Xu Ziling and Kou Zhong, two people with yin-yang attributes, to practice together. However, Shi Long did not want to share it with others, so practicing alone would lead to madness and death. Alas! It seems that one cannot have greedy desires.
He turned to the next page and saw that it recorded many chapters: Chapter One, Medicine for Detoxification; Chapter Two, Treatment of Injuries; Chapter Three, Internal Energy; Chapter Four, Martial Arts; Chapter Five, Array Methods. Although these five chapters cannot bring people back from the dead, as long as there is a breath left, they can all be restored. Seeing this introduction, he exclaimed in his heart: Divine Book!
"If Yang Jian had practiced this book earlier, he wouldn't have fallen ill to such an extent; and if that black-clothed person from earlier had time to read the introduction above and continued practicing, not only would the poison be resolved, but his internal organs could also be restored! Looks like I'm lucky, haha. This morning I just found out this is a world of martial arts, and tonight I've been given an extraordinary martial arts manual." Li Jiancheng thought to himself, smiling, that after cultivating this manual, even if Li Shimin unified the world, he wouldn't have to worry about living a peaceful life, but the Xuanwu Gate Incident couldn't be allowed to happen, or else everyone would die, and where could they talk about peace?
So he skipped the first and second chapters, and went straight to the third chapter. It's not that he didn't practice the first two chapters, but rather there was no need for it now, so he focused on cultivating his inner strength and martial arts skills first, and when the time came, wouldn't he be invincible?
Opening the inner power chapter, I saw that it only wrote five steps to practice inner power:
First step: Exhale and focus on the heart center. When ready, slightly close your eyes, gaze at the tip of your nose for a moment, then close your eyes and look inward at the heart center. Listen to your breath without making any sound. As you exhale, imagine that your breath is moving from your throat down to your heart center, slowing down and lengthening with each exhalation. Aim for 120-180 breaths per minute. Inhale naturally without thinking. If distracting thoughts arise during practice, use the counting method: count the number of exhalations from 1 to 10, then repeat from 1 to 10, until your mind calms down and you no longer need to count.
Practice this step three times a day for one minute each time. Try to fix your daily practice time to form a conditioned reflex. If you cannot fix the time, practice three times a day at morning, noon, and night without fail. After practicing for about 3-5 days, you will start to feel a sense of heaviness in the heart center, and around 10 days later, you will feel warmth in the heart center, indicating that the first step is complete and laying the foundation for the second step.
During this practice, beginners may experience dizziness, lower back pain, unnatural breathing, or discomfort with the tongue against the upper palate. These are normal phenomena when starting to practice, but they will gradually disappear as you continue to practice according to the requirements. In general, people with weak spleen and stomach energy, poor appetite, and low spirits may find their appetite increasing and their spirit lifting during this practice.
Second step: Intention and breathing follow, Dan Tian trend. When the first step of gong fa is practiced to the point where each exhalation feels heat in the heart area, you can intentionally guide the hot air from the heart area to gradually extend downward, step by step towards the Dan Tian (lower abdomen). However, it's essential to be relaxed and natural, without overusing intention or being too hasty. Practicing this way three times a day, for about two minutes each time, after about one year, you can feel a flow of heat reaching the Dan Tian with each exhalation. At this point, you may hear a gentle humming sound in your lower abdomen, increased gas production, improved appetite, and abnormal physical conditions gradually returning to normal.
Third step: Regulate breathing and concentrate the mind on the Dan Tian. Following the previous step, when each exhalation has a warm flow sinking into the Dan Tian, after the Dan Tian becomes warm and hot, then stop the breath intentionally or unintentionally at the Dan Tian, that is, focus the mind on the Dan Tian, without paying too much attention to exhalation. Practice three times a day, each time for about three minutes. The training time for this step is approximately 40 days, after which you can feel a "qi ball" forming inside the Dan Tian. As the practice accumulates, the qi ball gradually grows larger, and the lower abdomen becomes full and strong, sometimes accompanied by itching, jumping, or heat in the kidney area and limbs. These phenomena or sensations may vary from person to person. Generally, those who suffer from insomnia, constipation, irregular menstruation, or abnormal bowel movements can see significant improvement.
Fourth step: Unobstructed and unassisted. Following the previous step, when the true Qi in the Dan Tian is full to a certain extent, it will rise along the spine. At this time, the intention should follow it up without being distracted by other things (unobstructed); when it stops at a certain place and does not rise again, or even retreats, do not use your intention to guide it upwards (unassisted). Because the speed of the upward movement is completely determined by the degree of fullness of the true Qi in the Dan Tian. The fuller the Dan Tian, the greater the power of the upward movement, and the faster the speed; otherwise, the upward movement will stop or even retreat. When it reaches the "Jade Pillow Pass" at the back of the brain and repeatedly wants to go up but finds it difficult to pass through, you can use the inner vision method of looking at the top of the head, and generally, you can break through the Jade Pillow Pass. This is a crucial step. The number of times you practice each day can be increased appropriately to 4-5 times, each time taking about half an hour. Generally, within seven days, the Qi flow can break through the "Jade Pillow Pass". This also varies from person to person, some people can pass through quickly and powerfully, while others may need several attempts; slower ones may take several days; individual differences may cause difficulties in passing through due to special circumstances. During the practice of this step, you may experience a strong urge in the neck and back, or a feeling of tightness on the head, which is a sign before breaking through the pass, do not worry or relax; after breaking through (Weilu, Jiaji, Yuzhen), it will naturally feel relaxed and pleasant. After breaking through, when exhaling, the hot flow goes straight down to the Dan Tian, and when inhaling, the hot flow rises along the spine, passing over the top of the head to the mouth, forming a circulation of Ren Du (i.e., "Small Heavenly Cycle"). At this stage, the body can be significantly improved, and long-term persistence can lead to recovery. Even healthy people can achieve a light and agile body, full of energy.
Step 5: Cultivate the Original Spirit and Nurture Life. After the Ren and Du channels have been circulated, generally still focus on the Lower Dan Tian while other meridians can also be opened successively. If energy appears at the top of the head, you can shift your focus to the Upper Dan Tian (brain), being flexible in your grasp. The practice time remains three times a day, each time about half an hour. During this period, reactions such as strange itching on the scalp, numbness and tingling of the tongue tip, electric currents running wildly throughout the body, skin numbness like ants crawling, tension at the brow and nose bridge, and tightness around the head may appear. These vary from person to person, but do not be afraid and do not pursue them. After about thirty days, various movements will gradually subside naturally.
In ancient times, a moment was equivalent to 15 minutes now, and an hour was equivalent to 2 hours today. Li Jiancheng looked at what was written on it, so he sat down on the bed and started practicing according to the first step. He sank into his heart and didn't know how long it had been or what time it was, so he decided to take a rest. Practicing this kind of thing can't be rushed, many books and TV shows say that many people are too impatient, resulting in going crazy and dying. Li Jiancheng certainly couldn't let such a thing happen to himself.
In a daze, Li Jiancheng seemed to feel his father calling him, but he thought it was just a dream and didn't think much of it, so he continued sleeping.
