Chapter Sixteen: Cultivating Qi Nine Layers

  Mu Yuan's technique, Tian Shui Qing Yang, manipulated the spirit of the beautiful Feng Luan, and in an instant, he seemed to have entered a world filled with black flames. The surroundings were filled with jumping flames, and as soon as they sensed Mu Yuan's intrusion, they swept towards him like a raging fire, howling upwards!

  "Tidal true energy, ice seal thousand miles!" Mu Yuan's divine sense phantom body instantly enveloped a layer of purple-black water vapor mist, and in an instant, ice crystals filled the sky, freezing flames, spreading in all directions, turning Feng Luan's sea of consciousness into a world of ice and snow!

  "Haha!" Mu Yuan didn't expect it to be so easy. Feng Luan's spiritual world was completely disproportionate to his actual strength, freezing his soul and leaving a hint of thought before leaving.

  The divine consciousness returned, and Mu Yuan climbed onto the back of the Feng Luan, which was wide and spacious. The Feng Luan also became quiet and no longer resisted, and it was extremely affectionate towards Mu Yuan. Its broad wings shook gently, stabilizing itself, making Mu Yuan very satisfied.

  Mu Yuan was delighted, flying towards Mo Xue and Chu Yunfei with a greeting, riding the Phoenix Chariot in the sky, swift as lightning, accompanied by black flames flashing, like a large ball of light rolling back and forth, feeling quite carefree.

  Mo Xue saw Mu Yuan get carried away, just about to retort a few more sentences, when suddenly in the distance a green auspicious cloud burst forth into the sky, like a volcanic eruption, dispersing and unfolding in mid-air, even more dazzling than fireworks, stunning the heart.

  "It looks like there's movement in the Valley of the Absolute Dragon again, let's hurry over, who knows what good things we might encounter!" Chu Yunfei had experience with this before and his face lit up with joy as he shouted loudly.

  Mo Xue and Mu Yuan both agreed, "You two leave your mounts here first, we'll ride the Feng Luan to get there!" Mu Yuan loudly called out, pulling the two onto the back of the Feng Luan. The Feng Luan's wings shook violently, and in an instant it shot off like an arrow leaving a bowstring, heading straight for where the auspicious energy was surging.

  Juelong Valley was in the central mountain range, only a few dozen miles away from the endless forest where the three were located. At the speed of Feng Luan, it would take no more than the blink of an eye to arrive. When the three arrived, they found that many cultivators had already gathered here!

  The appearance of the three people made everyone slightly stunned, and then a hint of envy flashed in their eyes. The phoenix, the luan bird, and the qilin are already rare to see, and it's unknown what kind of luck the three people had, but they actually encountered one in the forest and were tamed by Mu Yuan, becoming their mounts.

  Mu Yuan didn't notice the gaze of the people around him, but only looked at the place where the auspicious air was surging. He saw that it was a concave hole, and a thick beam of auspicious air was constantly emerging from it, like a fountain. The light was like water flowers, splashing and rolling up, and in the middle, who knows what things were hidden, which made everyone curious!

  "Every time the auspicious energy passes through, you can enter the cave. Below is a vast cemetery, a piece of ancient dragon corpse, but all have seals and restrictions. It's incredibly powerful and unimaginable. If you want to get something from it, you can only rely on luck!" Chu Yunfei had entered before and obtained an ancient dragon horn, which was more than what Mu Yuan and Mo Xue knew, and explained with a smile.

  Muyuan chuckled and said, "Is this how you got your Canglong horn?"

  Chu Yunfei's face was slightly red, "The last time I came, it was also at the time of the auspicious energy surge. Along with a group of people, I entered in a daze and didn't know which guy struck one of the dragon tombs with his sword, causing a piece of Qinglong horn to fall into my arms. Seeing that it was something good, I naturally picked it up on a whim. That person, of course, wouldn't give up, and pulled some helpers to start chasing me down..."

  Mu Yuan and Mo Xue couldn't help but laugh and cry at this point, as for Chu Yunfei, they really didn't know what to say.

  Taking advantage of the auspicious aura that had not yet dissipated, Mu Yuan took a moment to glance around and saw that the cultivators present were not overly formidable. Most of them were hovering at the third or fourth layer of Qi Refining, and there were even some at the first or second layer. It was unclear whether those with higher cultivation levels were too proud to attend or were hiding in secret, waiting for an opportunity to reveal themselves. Mu Yuan's heart slightly calmed down as he thought, "How can we say that our three-person alliance isn't a considerable force? Even if it's a master at the fourth layer of Heaven and Man Unity, they may not necessarily be able to defeat us!"

  Cultivating Qi, the practice is divided into nine major realms. The first layer begins with communicating with the original Qi, mainly focusing on unblocking the body's meridians. The human body has countless intersecting meridians, and this layer is actually just about opening up the twelve regular meridians that run through the entire body, only cultivating the main pulse, and abandoning the rest! After all, in the practice of cultivating Qi, the final achievement is to attain an indestructible Yuan Shen (primordial spirit), which requires discarding the physical body. The physical body is just a vessel, a temporary residence for the spiritual soul. In the long river of time, everything with form will eventually become nothingness, and the physical body is only used for cultivating the spirit, so it's not necessary to be too attached to it!

  Of course, there are also many sects that pursue powerful combat strength and constantly develop the fleshly meridians and acupoints. The more they penetrate, the more majestic the true energy they can contain, and if they engage in a battle of techniques, they will naturally have the upper hand. Correspondingly, their achieved yuan Shen will be even more formidable, so most sects are tirelessly exploring the entire body to refine their yuan Shen into perfection. After all, living forever is not just about facing unpredictable winds and clouds, but also about facing the calamities and blessings of heaven and man, with many troubles!

  When refining the second layer, it is a step-by-step process of condensing and accumulating the original energy of the meridians and acupoints, allowing for a deeper resonance with heaven and earth. The acupoints on the human body correspond to the celestial bodies in the sky, containing infinite power. The meridians are like great rivers, while the acupoints are like lakes and seas. If one can fully cultivate them, they will be able to move mountains and oceans with a single gesture, pluck stars from the sky and grasp the moon.

  When the meridians are unblocked and the acupoints are opened, one can condense the Dharma body. The physical body is like jade or gold and iron, with a stable spirit that is stored within, making it difficult for external evils to enter and internal ailments to arise. This is the realm of cultivating Qi in three layers!

  The first three layers can be said to be mostly physical cultivation, making the body's functions strong and avoiding disasters. From the fourth and fifth layers onwards, one must start cultivating their spiritual consciousness, refining and condensing it, and tempering the yin-yang dual spirits. Only then will the spiritual consciousness be vast and profound, revealing the wonders of heaven and earth!

  With a strong and sturdy body, and a vast and profound spirit, one can condense the vital energy into an elixir. Using the physical body as a crucible, refine the essence, energy, and spirit through intense cultivation, and when these three are gathered together, the sacred embryo is formed, which is the Golden Elixir!

  Jīn dān jīn dān, jīn zhě, jiān gāng yǒng bù huài zhī wù, dān zhě yuán mǎn guāng jìng wú kuī zhī wù, zhè cái suàn shì liàn qì yǒu chéng, néng gòu tuō què chén shì fán sú, cái yǒu cháng shēng zhī wàng!

  English Translation:

  Golden elixir, golden elixir. The golden refers to the firm and unchanging substance that never decays. The elixir refers to the perfect, bright, and flawless substance without any deficiency. Only then can it be considered as having achieved success in refining one's energy, able to cast off worldly vulgarity, and have a hope for longevity!

  The term Jindan is a Taoist appellation. This nature, in Confucianism is called Taiji, in Buddhism is called Yuanjue, and in Taoism is called Jindan, but no matter what the name, it is one principle and one thing.

  After the six-layered elixir is complete, the essence, energy and spirit are full and unbroken. When it reaches seven or eight layers, it is nothing but nourishing the golden elixir, gathering the spirits of heaven and earth, and taking in the essence of the sun and moon. Within this, there is still a checkpoint for refining the soul to become a god. Until the golden elixir is fully complete, the spirit and soul are strong and unbreakable. This is when the fleshly body's essence and energy, as well as the golden elixir's original energy, all gather into the mud pellet of the spirit and soul, achieving the original spirit. From this point on, one can roam freely in the heavens and manifest outside of physical form. This is already the ultimate realm of human cultivation, a state of eternal life and immortality!

  The Taoist is the orthodox cultivation of the yuan god, while the Confucian is to nourish a mouthful of haoran's righteous energy. There is also the practice of the Demon Sect, which is actually the ancient inheritance of the Wu Men blood clan. It is nothing more than strengthening one's physical body to resist the power of light and darkness, or collecting the essence of heaven and earth, the five elements of gold and iron, or many spiritual woods and jade stones, refining a body that does not die, and then practicing soul-snatching.

  The highest realm of Buddhism is to further advance the perfect enlightenment golden elixir, achieve sarira, and not abandon the physical body. Instead, it refines the golden body, situated in the middle of the Daoist and demonic cultivation methods. It uses the spirit to promote the body and the body to nourish the spirit. Compared to the Daoist yuan Shen, the demonic meat body, or the Confucian Haoran Qi, it is somewhat easier!

  The highest cultivation in the field, but it's only a four-layer cultivation. Just starting to expand divine sense, heaven and human interaction, realm is not low, but when it comes to combat power, it may not be stronger than three-layer cultivation. Mu Yuan didn't think much of it, and his heart was slightly settled.

  Now Mu Yuan is a handsome young man transformed by the Great Law of Stealing Heaven and Replacing Day, his own aura is also agile and changeable, like the chaotic and unpredictable tide of the deep sea, although it lacks thickness, but already has the meaning of the tide flowing, sharp and vast, changing and unpredictable, adding a unique charm to him, making him more handsome!

  There were several elegant female Taoist priests around, who saw Mu Yuan and couldn't help but come up to chat with him. In their conversation, they had the intention of pulling him in, wanting to cooperate with him and enter the Dragon Graveyard together. Mu Yuan was smiling and chatting as usual, while Mo Xue saw that he was pleased with himself and couldn't help but let out a cold snort. A burst of Tian Xin true energy suddenly emanated from her body, shining brightly like a cold moon, refreshing and chilling to the bone.

  Chu Yunfei couldn't help but shiver at the side, secretly thinking that women were not to be trifled with, and he shrunk his body, standing aside.

  Mu Yuan's whole body hair stood on end, and he subconsciously shifted his feet. He forced a smile at the approaching gentle female cultivator, and began to ramble on about unrelated topics such as the weather, auspicious signs, treasures, and so on.

  The auspicious clouds and mist in the sky suddenly dispersed like flowing water, pouring back into the rocky crevices. In an instant, everyone was in a flurry of motion, unfolding their bodies and riding the wind straight down.

  The cave is only about one zhang in diameter and can barely accommodate four or five people walking abreast. Everyone rushes to be the first to enter, eager to dig up the treasure inside!

  Mu Yuan and the other two didn't slack off either, their true energy merged into one piece, a rolling mass of light charged in, not slower than anyone else. Charging into the cave, it suddenly darkened before their eyes, surrounded by protruding stone walls, with countless talismans engraved on them, messy and disorderly, like tadpoles, also like large seals, exuding an ancient desolation and remoteness, full of ancient meaning.

  "These talismans are extremely powerful, passed down from the ancient times, and are more subtle and mysterious than most of the current cultivation world! When cultivating and refining Qi, one should take oneself as the foundation. Magical weapons and spiritual herbs are all external objects, and matters in the cave are temporarily not to be considered. First, let's take a look at the subtleties above. Otherwise, when the time has passed and the power of the talismans is unleashed, there will be no opportunity to observe and learn!"