Versatile Mage: I Awakened Nine Stars

Chapter 380 True Qi Refining Method
Shaka also knew about Xu Shen's Qi cultivation method.

As for Shajia, aside from Yumian's identity, he had already revealed most of the other information during his pursuit of this girl.

Appropriate honesty is the best way to build mutual trust and avoid misunderstandings. He doesn't want to plant a time bomb that could turn love into hate and lead to enmity, failing to achieve his goal and making the consequences even more serious.

"Saga, don't rush. Let me study it some more and make sure there are no problems before I teach you."

"No rush, brother."

Xu Shen sat cross-legged on the bed.

Saga nestled obediently on Xu Shen's lap, her fair face pressed against his, her clear, amethyst-like eyes filled with affection.

Even after seeing Xu Shen's face countless times, there was no sign of getting tired of it.

As she watched, Shaka herself blushed, lost in her own thoughts.

Xu Shen smiled, kneading her other cheek, focusing his mind and spirit.

"Fox Mother, what exactly is this true method of Qi cultivation you speak of?"

"Call me Nu'e."

In the realm of the mind, a gigantic fox shadow appears.

"Nu'e?"

The fox mother nodded slightly and said, "The origin of the Qi Refining Method is unknown. It matured during the time of the Yellow Emperor and reached its peak during the time of Laozi and Zhuangzi. It consists of four realms: refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness, and refining emptiness to unite with the Dao."

The fox mother—no, I mean the maiden's voice—was soft and gentle, and her pink eyeliner accentuated her captivating features.

Xu Shen pinched himself hard.

He's really crazy.

Since my rebirth, I've eaten all sorts of delicious food.

To actually target a fox...

"Those who refine essence into qi use the natural breathing through their mouth and nose to circulate true qi, which travels through the limbs and bones, clears the meridians and acupoints, cleanses the marrow and purifies the hair, transforming the acquired turbid essence into innate primordial qi, which gathers in the dantian and the sea of ​​qi, and is the foundation for the generation of all things."

Xu Shen held his breath and focused his mind, clearing his head of all sorts of random thoughts. He compared his own cultivation with the explanations of the fox mother and suddenly remembered that when he was forced to practice the Qi Refining Method in Dongting Lake, he seemed to have barely cultivated the stage of refining essence into qi and had entered the stage of refining qi into spirit without even realizing it.

Nu'e seemed to see Xu Shen's doubts and said, "You have had many extraordinary encounters in your life. Long before you started cultivating, all your meridians were already open, saving you the time of opening the meridians and refining the acupoints, so you naturally cultivate faster."

Xu Shen suddenly realized: "What about refining Qi into Spirit?"

"When the dragon and tiger unite, the metal god and the wood god, and the yellow woman acts as a matchmaker, the five elements gather together, and the five energies are born, circulating endlessly and continuously. In the Yellow Court, the sacred embryo and golden elixir are condensed, transforming into the primordial spirit and true spirit. A divine bridge is built to connect heaven and earth, returning to the Niwan point. This is the process of refining Qi into spirit."

Xu Shen scratched his head: "Nu'e, what you're saying is also in the ancient Wang's collection of books, but I still can't understand what 'dragon and tiger intercourse,' 'metal male and wood female,' 'yellow woman connecting the threads,' and 'five elements gathering together' mean?"

Whether it was Xu Shen's imagination or not, Nu'e's eyes seemed to be smiling.

She said, “Heaven has five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Humans have five organs: heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. Since these organs are where the spirit resides, it is said that the spirit is stored in the five organs. The five spirits store the essence and energy without letting it leak out, and preserve life without decaying.”

The process of "spirit inseparable from qi, qi inseparable from spirit" and "performing the cycle of qi through the universe" is called "dragon and tiger intercourse, metal male and wood female, yellow woman connecting the threads, and the five elements gathering together."

Among them, the Dragon and Tiger represent the elements of Water and Fire, the Metal Male and Wood Female represent the elements of Metal and Wood, and the Yellow Woman represents the element of Earth. The so-called "gathering of the Five Elements" refers to the process of collecting and harmonizing the five elements' energies to nurture the sacred elixir.

Xu Shen looked completely bewildered: "Isn't this quite easy to understand? Why is it written in such obscure language in the book, with all this talk of dragon and tiger mating, and metal and wood..."

Nu'e said, "You humans once said that the Dharma should not be easily passed on, which is why the Taoist books are obscure and create obstacles for yourselves."

Xu Shen: "..."

"Those who refine their spirit and return to emptiness observe and concentrate within, returning yin to yang. Their nature of non-action becomes perfect, and their formless form becomes wondrous. When the spirit is wondrous, its transformations are endless, its appearance and disappearance unpredictable; when the nature is perfect, wisdom illuminates all directions, and spiritual insight is unbreakable. Therefore, they can manifest billions of bodies, appearing in countless ways, while their true essence and primordial spirit remain immortal."

Xu Shen was completely bewildered. He was, after all, a powerful figure who had entered the Refining Spirit and Returning to Emptiness Realm, but he didn't understand a word of what the Fox Mother was saying.

Unwilling to accept it, I pondered it carefully but still couldn't understand, when suddenly something came to mind.

“Nu’e, you just said that the realm of refining Qi into spirit requires the union of dragon and tiger, the union of metal and wood, the connection of the yellow woman, and the gathering of the five elements to condense the golden elixir and sacred embryo in the dantian. Does that mean that it is like a woman’s pregnancy, and that the golden elixir must be matured before it can be introduced into the spiritual world to transform into the primordial spirit?”

The maiden gave a soft "hmm".

"Then look, what is this?"

In his spiritual world, Xu Shen pointed to himself and paced back and forth in front of the Fox Mother.

The fox mother remained silent.

"Eh, you don't mean... you don't understand either, do you?"

Fox Mother: "I'm not familiar with your human cultivation methods. Is there a problem?"

"No, no problem..." Seeing the fox mother's increasingly dangerous gaze, Xu Shen waved his hand dismissively.

After pondering for a long time, the fox mother said, "Your spiritual power is very strong. This may be the reason why you can create a primordial spirit even though you have never cultivated properly. However, without the process of combining essence, qi and spirit, your primordial spirit is very weak. In human terms, it is malnourished. You cannot exert any of the abilities you should have, so it cannot be considered a true primordial spirit."

Xu Shen remained silent.

Lies don't hurt, truth is the knife.

He felt as if the fox mother had stabbed him so many times that his heart was riddled with holes.

"Therefore, I suggest you start cultivating Qi to transform into spirit again."

"Hey, what should I do with this pseudo-primordial spirit of mine?"

"Go away."

"Oh."

Xu Shen had no regrets.

After all, it came about inexplicably and very easily.

As a result, after much effort, he discovered that although this thing was illusory, it was actually quite resilient.

No matter what I do, it won't dissipate.

Ah this...

He looked at the fox mother with eager eyes.

The fox mother lowered her eyes to avoid eye contact.

Does he seem a little guilty?

"How about we skip the dispersal and I just refine it directly?"

Xu Shen tentatively asked a question.

"also."

“Alright???”

Is the Qi Refining Method really that sloppy?!

Xu Shen was skeptical, but he followed the fox mother's cultivation guide to rebuild his Qi Transformation Spirit realm.

however.

Soon, he reluctantly opened his eyes.

"Nu'e, what exactly is this Five Elements Qi you're talking about? Since there's no magic power in this world, could it also be devoid of the Five Elements Qi?"

Nu'e said, "Your human race once said that there are five elements in the heavens, which are divided into seasons to nurture and create all things. Theoretically speaking, wherever there is life and matter, there is the energy of the five elements."

Xu Shen was somewhat shocked.

The Five Elements Qi sounds pretty awesome.

The fox mother continued, "The ancient human race discovered that the five elements of qi correspond to the five internal organs and spiritual treasures of a person. After absorbing and refining them, they will generate life essence, which can prolong life or even make one eternally youthful."

Among them, the fire element corresponds to the heart's spirit, governing blood circulation; the wood element corresponds to the liver's spirit, governing healing and detoxification; the earth element corresponds to the spleen's spirit, governing blood circulation; the metal element corresponds to the lungs' spirit, governing breathing; and the water element corresponds to the kidneys' spirit, governing essence storage and bone strengthening. This is the fundamental theory of Qi cultivation. With continuous Qi cultivation, even if one cannot transform into a spirit, or if the primordial spirit decays, the physical body can remain youthful.

"Holy crap, so that means the Qi Refining Method is a path to immortality without having to eat people?!"

Nu'e said calmly, "The way of man is to take from those who have little to give to those who have more. Eating people and eating heaven are essentially no different."

No, it's still different.

At least, there's no moral pressure about eating the heavens.

but……

Xu Shen said, "If the Qi Refining Method can truly lead to immortality, why have we never heard of anyone who has achieved immortality throughout history?"

"Gathering the five elements is a matter of seizing the creation of heaven and earth, how can it be so easy? Countless Qi cultivators spend their entire lives but still cannot achieve the perfection of the Golden Core and transform into the Primordial Spirit."

"Isn't there a shortcut?"

"Have."

As the fox mother spoke, she looked at the Suihou Pearl, whose cracks in Xu Shen's spiritual world had not yet been fully healed.

(End of this chapter)