fynovel Chapter 18 Pure Lotus, Cultivating True Qi
Chapter 18 Pure Lotus, Cultivating True Qi
Having gained cultivation methods and secret medicines from the exchange meeting, Jiang Jun was satisfied. After wandering around the back streets and alleys a few times, he changed his clothes and went home.
"Am I suffering from paranoia?" He breathed a sigh of relief and opened the booklet that Lao Huang had given him.
That set of Spirit Realm cultivation techniques had a very simple and straightforward name: "The Fifth Set of Standard Divine and Mysterious Department Cultivation Techniques - Spirit Realm".
The exercise is divided into three chapters:
The Concentration Chapter nurtures the spirit, the Settling the Mind Chapter tempers the will, and the Spirit Communication Chapter communicates with the spirits of strange beings.
The first two posts also included visualization images: "Pure Lotus" and "Stone Guardian".
Following the instructions of the exercise, Jiang Jun sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, concentrated, silently recited the mantra, and visualized the "pure lotus".
According to the introduction to the exercise:
A beginner with average aptitude can cultivate their spiritual power into divine consciousness in three days.
In half a month, the divine consciousness condenses into a lotus seedpod; in one month, the first lotus petal grows; in three months, all twelve lotus petals are complete, and the "Pure Lotus" is formed, thus completing the Concentration Chapter.
Jiang Jun's divine consciousness had already been generated when he created the first talisman, "Ghostly Prohibition," and its power was applied to him.
With the successive blessings of the "Mysterious Encounter" and the "Divine Rooster Talisman," his divine sense grew increasingly powerful. However, lacking systematic cultivation, it appeared rather loose and lacked effective methods of application.
Now, with the cultivation of the Concentration Chapter, Jiang Jun's consciousness is spontaneously gathering in his sea of consciousness, and light is gradually emerging.
"Buzz buzz buzz..." Suddenly, a small lotus seedpod appeared in the light.
The lotus seedpod swayed, releasing a pure and tranquil fragrance. The first lotus petal followed closely behind, trembling as it took shape.
Then comes the second petal, the third petal... all the way up to the twelfth petal.
The "Pure Lotus" condenses and emerges.
As the saying goes, "Great achievements come from small beginnings." Jiang Jun's spiritual consciousness was already abundant; he only lacked guidance from the cultivation method. Therefore, he completed what an ordinary person would take three months to cultivate in just three hours.
His consciousness sank into the pure lotus, and he felt that everything inside and out was clear and pure.
The divine consciousness generated by the power of the suppressing object was now completely refined and transformed into a part of itself, solidified and not superficial.
Since "traveling" to the present, facing this strange and bizarre world, the negative emotions such as bewilderment, panic, boredom, and depression that once arose have been swept away.
"Is this what cultivation feels like?" He was somewhat intoxicated by it. "Indeed, it's wondrous and extraordinary, surpassing all base pleasures..."
Having mastered the first level of the Spirit Realm cultivation in one fell swoop, Jiang Jun began to study the second chapter of the cultivation technique.
The "Calming the Mind" chapter uses the "Pure Lotus" to guide the evil energy into the sea of consciousness, transforming it into various illusory tribulations such as raging fire, demons, and love tribulations, thus tempering the divine consciousness.
Practitioners need to use the Pure Lotus to purify these strange energies, making them yin but not evil, and transforming evil into righteousness.
Or rather, at this stage, the eerie energy is no longer eerie energy, but "yin energy".
These yin energies accumulate in the sea of consciousness, intersect with the divine consciousness, and then, according to the "Shi Gandang" visualization diagram, transform into a Shi Gandang to suppress the sea of consciousness and stabilize the mind.
But Jiang Jun got stuck as soon as he started cultivating.
"Buzzing..."
The three talismans—"Ghostly Prohibition," "Ghostly Sorrow," and "Divine Rooster Talisman"—trembled simultaneously.
With the power of suppression applied, the evil energy is repelled, making it impossible for it to get close, let alone be drawn into the sea of consciousness.
Jiang Jun shook his head, ended his cultivation, and soothed the spirits of the three protective objects.
"My son, we're learning from the barbarians to subdue them..."
"To subdue the supernatural, one must first understand it..."
"Be good, let's leave one opening for now, and if anything goes wrong, we can close it again..."
But no matter how much he talked, the three protective artifacts remained unmoved.
As long as he shows any sign of attracting evil energy, the power of the suppressing object will spontaneously retaliate.
"Could it be that the cultivation system of suppressing objects and the system of controlling demons are completely incompatible?" Jiang Jun frowned.
"Or perhaps, the cultivation methods of the Department of Mysteries are simply too supernatural, while the methods of Longhu Mountain might be more earthly and compatible with the suppression of objects?"
But Qingjiang City is more than a thousand kilometers away from Longhu Mountain. Where could he obtain the cultivation method?
Moreover, if he went to ask for it, would the other party be as generous as the Bureau of Mysteries and give it to him as soon as they asked?
Jiang Jun shook his head and began to ponder a way to break the deadlock. After a while, he discovered a loophole.
"This stage of cultivation is less about calming the mind and more about refining energy. Subduing the illusions of calamity is ultimately about using yin energy to condense the stone guardian."
"There is no Yin energy in the world; it is only through the purification and transformation of evil energy by cultivators that Yin energy is generated."
"But I already possess the power to suppress things, and its profound power is no less than that of Yin energy. Could it be used as a substitute?"
After clearing away his negative emotions, Jiang Jun became more decisive.
He closed his eyes and concentrated, activating the Pure Lotus to draw upon the power of the suppressing force within his body.
Clear light, purple light, white light, firelight... swirled around him, then were drawn by his divine sense and fell into his spiritual platform.
Jiang Jun silently recited the incantation, guiding the power of suppressing things to settle below his sea of consciousness.
However, although the power to suppress objects was obedient, it was ultimately not something he cultivated on his own.
Although it obeyed his command and obediently hovered below his sea of consciousness, it showed no signs of coalescing and thus could not manifest as "Shi Gandang".
"What's the fundamental difference between Yin energy and the power to suppress objects...?" Jiang Jun examined the cultivation technique and quickly discovered, "It's not the nature of the power, but the involvement of divine consciousness!"
Yin energy is formed by the purification of evil energy by the "pure lotus" transformed from divine consciousness, and it is bound to be imprinted with the mark of divine consciousness.
Having figured this out, Jiang Jun stopped trying to take shortcuts and instead activated the Pure Lotus, constantly intersecting with the power of the suppressing force.
Since they both originate from the same source, they naturally do not exclude each other.
And so, time passed little by little.
As the sunlight gradually dimmed and night fell.
"Ding-dong..."
The clear sound of a raindrop falling onto the water's surface resonated in Jiang Jun's mind; though faint, it was deafening!
A unique wisp of suppressing power fell into the bottom of the sea of consciousness, shining brightly like a precious pearl.
Jiang Jun awoke from his meditation, his face beaming with joy. With a thought, the precious pearl appeared before his eyes.
Under the control of divine consciousness, the pearl transformed into a drop of water, a flame, a wisp of breeze, and many other transformations.
"Its nature is pure, and it can change at will, as easily as using one's own arm or fingers. This is exactly the same as the description of yin energy in cultivation methods."
He pondered for a moment: "Since it corresponds to Yin energy, why not call it—'True Qi'!"
Although the true qi is not in the dantian but in the sea of consciousness, which is somewhat strange, Jiang Jun himself created the method, so he naturally has the right to name it.
Furthermore, the term "true qi" is a homophone for "qi that suppresses things," which also implies clarifying one's own foundation.
He waved his hand, withdrawing the wisp of true energy back into his sea of consciousness, and began to ponder "Shi Gandang" again.
According to that booklet, there are countless variations of visualization diagrams, far more than just these two.
The Bureau of Mysteries has the Pure Lotus and the Stone Guardian; Longhu Mountain has the Dragon and Tiger Images; Bodhi Temple has the Bodhi Tree and the Bright Mirror Platform...
In reality, the compatibility between Shi Gandang and the power of suppressing objects is not very high.
However, Jiang Jun currently has no other methods and has not reached the level of creating his own visualization diagrams. He can only look for a better one while still having options, and first condense the Stone Guardian to improve his level.
"Anyway, the focus of a monster tamer's training is still the contract with the monster; the visualization diagram is just the foundation, and it can be changed later."
"As for my side, if the idea is feasible, the focus is still on the contracted entity itself; the visualization diagram is just icing on the cake..."
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. Let's practice for now." He focused his mind on his spiritual platform and continued to imbue the object with the power of the Pure Lotus.
The second wisp of true energy, the third wisp of true energy...
The true energy drifted down and settled at the bottom of the sea of consciousness.