Chapter 23: Condensing True Qi

  Shuǐ Shēng looked at the cover of the book with three large seal characters " Zuò Wàng Jīng" (The Classic of Sitting and Forgetting), and thought to himself, had Wū Mù Dào Rén already guessed that the three of them would definitely agree to his request?

  Wu Mu Dao Ren said slowly: "The method recorded in this 'Zuo Wang Jing' is different from the introductory Gong Fa taught in Yu Ding Men, but the principle is the same. I'll give you three days to memorize the first part of 'Zuo Wang Jing', then return the scripture to me without opening it. The content of the scripture can only be known by you three, if you want to enter Yu Ding Men and become a disciple of Yu Ding Men, you must keep this secret, cannot tell or pass it on to others. Otherwise, it will bring you three unexpected big troubles."

  The three of them nodded in agreement. The scripture was not long, with only over a thousand words, much shorter than that book which recorded many spells, and the text was also more straightforward and easier to understand.

  "Those who sit in forgetfulness are the foundation of longevity. Therefore, they invite the truth to refine their form; when their form is clear, it unites with the breath. They contain the Way to exercise their breath; when their breath is clear, it unites with the spirit. When the body and the Way are obscure, this is called obtaining the Way. The truth is the origin of the Way. Therefore, they clarify their spirits to unite with the truth... This is what is meant by sitting in forgetfulness."

  Watching the three children recite all the words in the book without a single mistake, Wu Mu Dao nodded in satisfaction. He then explained each sentence one by one, taking more than two hours to finish. Only when night had fallen did he send the three children back to their rooms to sleep.

  For three consecutive days, the three children did not leave their rooms, diligently reciting and memorizing the first part of "The Sitting in Oblivion Scripture". Wu Mu Dao Ren also did not take a step out of Song Tao Ju during these three days. Whenever the three had something they didn't understand, he would give them detailed guidance. The three children's meals were all delivered to their rooms by Xiao Dao Tong Jing Xin.

  Among the three, Shui Sheng and Wang Long took less than two days to memorize the scriptures by heart, without a single error. Dà Niú, on the other hand, spent exactly three days before he could commit all the scriptures to memory.

  Wumeng Daoist retrieved the scriptures and corrected the meditation postures of the three people, who then referred to the scriptures and meditated with their hearts.

  Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it's already the end of the year.

  After the three frightened children were sent back home, General Iron Wing immediately selected another three children to be sent over. Upon hearing that the three aquatic people were punished by Wu Mu Dao Ren to face the wall and reflect, he actually smiled with joy. Even when Wu Mu Dao Ren refused his request for an audience, he didn't show any displeasure, but instead complained that Wu Mu Dao Ren was too petty, why not punish a few more children together to face the wall, why not punish Tie Xin Tang to face the wall, causing Tie Xin Tang to roll her eyes in exasperation.

  Zhao Lao's coffin had long been buried. Shui Sheng and the three others were punished to face the wall, Hua Tianyu became silent and taciturn, like a completely different person from before. The little ones couldn't get an answer out of him whether he had "fed" Zhao Lao that night or not. Gradually, they also lost interest in the bet between the two.

  Three people immersed in meditation every day, even the lively New Year's atmosphere couldn't disturb them. Wumu Daoist visited several times and saw that the three were undistracted, he was very satisfied, but when facing outsiders, he turned back into his usual cold and expressionless self, not willing to say a word more than necessary.

  As the New Year approaches, the children begin to become lively, although YunTai Temple is quiet and deserted, LongYang Town is bustling with excitement. The children living in LongYang Town have all received new clothes and various snacks from their families, and they are excitedly calling out to each other, sharing the joy of the New Year!

  Tie Xin Tang and Xiao Juan brought a pile of food to "Songtao House" wanting to see Shui Sheng, but were unceremoniously blocked by the little Daoist priest, who didn't even allow the food to be sent in. Xiao Juan cried loudly, but the little Daoist priest was unmoved, closing the large door of "Songtao House" with an iron heart.

  Inside Songtao House, the three of them each stayed in a separate room, focusing their minds on comprehending "The Classic of Sitting and Forgetting". They sat cross-legged with eyes closed, completely unaware of Xiaojun's visit and her crying outside. Even as the new year approached, none of the three appeared before the children.

  The cold winter has gone, and spring is in full bloom. In the blink of an eye, more than two months have passed.

  In the afternoon of this day, dark clouds filled the sky, and spring thunder rumbled. After a clap of thunder, Shui Sheng, who was sitting cross-legged in meditation, suddenly felt a cool stream of energy burst out from his lower abdomen, flowing along the Eight Extraordinary Meridians towards the Mud Pill Palace at the top of his head. Along the way, it passed through the Heavenly Gate, pierced the Jade Gate, rotated under the Canopy, rose to the Hundred Meetings Point, and then descended back down from the head, passing through the Wind Mansion, rushing along the Spirit Path, gathering at the Life Gate, all the way to the Long Strong Point, before returning to the lower abdomen. Immediately following this, it rapidly circulated throughout his entire body along the four limbs, finally returning once more to the lower abdomen.

  This cool and refreshing air flow, ran rapidly throughout his body for a week, in just a few breaths, Shui Sheng already felt his energy fully restored, countless pores opening instantly, an extremely comfortable feeling that made him want to shout loudly. Hurriedly calming his mind, he tried to capture the air flow.

  It took Water Birth a lot of time to condense another strand of the same airflow in his dantian, and this time he tried to control the airflow to run through the meridians all over his body. However, the airflow was like a naughty child, no matter how hard he tried, no matter how much he concentrated his mind, it just ran wildly in the meridians, not listening to his command at all.

  For the entire afternoon, Shui Sheng was immersed in novelty and excitement, understanding that this cool breeze was the "true energy" mentioned by Wumuwu Dao's mouth. With this true energy, it also had the possibility of casting spells.

  The sky grew darker, and the spring rain fell more densely. After several consecutive failures, Shui Sheng's heart gradually became disheartened, so he let this true energy move freely in his body. Unexpectedly, just as he had relaxed a bit, the thread of energy in his dantian suddenly dispersed throughout his limbs, leaving no trace, and he couldn't condense even a single strand again.

  Cao Cao ate a few mouthfuls of dinner, and Shui Sheng once again began to concentrate his energy, but unfortunately, even until late at night, Shui Sheng still hadn't managed to condense another strand of true energy. He lay down on the bed in frustration, snoring loudly as he fell into a deep sleep. What he didn't expect was that just as he had entered the realm of dreams, a flow of energy spontaneously condensed in his dantian and flowed smoothly through his body.

  The next day, Shui Sheng suddenly felt refreshed and invigorated, a stark contrast to his usual self. He hastily sat down cross-legged again and tried to condense his true energy once more. This time, the true energy circulated through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians for a significantly longer period than it had yesterday.

  Shui Sheng excitedly told the news to Da Niu and Wang Long, who were both extremely envious and shouted for Shui Sheng to demonstrate it. However, the true energy inside his body seemed to be intentionally opposing him, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't condense it. Seeing Shui Sheng's red face and thick neck, the two of them teased him mercilessly and left with loud laughter.

  After two little friends left, Shui Sheng couldn't sit still anymore. Originally, he was going to wait until the true energy circulated in his body as he wished before telling Wu Mu Daoist, but now he had to do it ahead of time.

  Wu Mu Dao Ren, who was meditating with his eyes closed in the room, listened to Shui Sheng's words and gestured for him to sit cross-legged on the mat opposite him. Following the method he had been taught, Wu Mu began to concentrate his spirit and gather his energy, reversing the flow of his breath to return to its origin.

  Perhaps it was the presence of Wumuwu that calmed his mind, for this time, he managed to condense a thin strand of true energy in his dantian with surprising speed. Elated, he began to carefully control the flow of true energy within his body.

  At the moment when Shuǐshēng condensed his true energy, a faint layer of black light flashed on his face and disappeared instantly. A stream of icy air burst out from his body, spreading all around. ūmù Dào Rén, who was staring intently at Shuǐshēng, felt a sudden jolt in his heart. Two sharp beams of light shot out from his eyes, and his thick lips moved slightly as if he wanted to speak, but he forcibly restrained himself.

  After a cup of tea, Wumu Daoist seemed to have thought of something, raised his hands, and quickly struck the major acupoints on Shuǐshēng's body with his ten fingers. Several earthy yellow light columns visible to the naked eye poured into Shuǐshēng's body from various acupoints. Wumu Daoist stopped after striking out more than twenty light columns.

  These columns of light are the true energy of Wumeng Dao person, which has condensed and entered Shuǐshēng's body. Along the eight extraordinary meridians of Shuǐshēng, they move around everywhere. The weak true energy inside Shuǐshēng is suddenly cut off by the incoming true energy, scattered in various meridians. As two completely different true energies collide inside the body, Shuǐshēng's whole body surges with gas and blood. Waves of piercing pain emanate from the five organs and six viscera as well as the four limbs and eight joints. On the skin, bulging packages rise like small mice scurrying around in the body.

  "Ah!" Shui Sheng couldn't help but let out a loud cry, suddenly opening his eyes wide, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans rolling down from his forehead.

  "Wudao Daoren said in a low voice: 'Listen, don't make any rash moves. Re-condense the true energy from your dantian, then use the condensed true energy to force out the true energy that I infused into you.'"

  Shui Sheng nodded, enduring the intense pain throughout his body, slowly closing his eyes, and attempting to condense his true energy from his dantian once again. He didn't know if it was due to the stimulation of Wu Mu Dao Ren's internal true energy or some other reason, but this time, he surprisingly managed to condense a strand of true energy with extraordinary ease.

  Across from him, Wu Mu saw a faint black light flash across the water's surface once again, his heart skipped a beat, and his expression instantly transformed into one of wild joy.

  " Qi guards the dantian, embracing the origin and guarding the deficiency, expelling the old...!" Wumuwu Dao Ren guided one word at a time, Shui Sheng followed the guidance, controlling his own true qi, trying to expel the strand of true qi that Wumuwu Dao Ren had injected into his meridians. Unexpectedly, as soon as the two strands of true qi came into contact, Wumuwu Dao Ren's scattered true qi not only failed to retreat but instead entwined with the new true qi born in Shui Sheng's dantian. As the two strands of true qi clashed, a dull ache began to throb in Shui Sheng's dantian.

  Before he could react, the small strand of true energy that Shuǐ Shēng had condensed earlier was also cut off by Wū Mù Dào Rén's true energy and merged in. The second strand, the third strand, the fourth strand, the fifth strand, as well as the true energy that Wū Mù Dào Rén had scattered and infused, all surged towards the dantian from various meridians throughout Shuǐ Shēng's body.

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