I forge immortality with spiritual treasures.

Chapter 11 Metropolitan Academy

Qi cultivation is the first stage of Taoist practice.

The cultivation of this stage seems extremely simple in summary; it involves drawing spiritual energy from heaven and earth into the body and refining it into magical power.

In reality, except for a few exceptionally gifted individuals, ordinary people cannot directly perceive and utilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Therefore, one must rely on various methods such as breathing exercises, visualization, external techniques, and ingesting elixirs to draw qi into the body and then circulate it according to the techniques to cultivate Taoist magical power.

The breathing techniques that Ying Chan learned are the most mainstream methods of inducing qi today.

However, having the Qi-guiding technique alone is useless. He has not learned the Qi-refining technique and cannot convert spiritual energy into magical power. The spiritual energy accumulated in his body can at most have the effect of nourishing his physique, and he can also use it to perform some rudimentary spells.

……

In the days that followed, Ying Chan spent almost all his time studying diligently in his room.

Having understood the key points of cultivation, he also gained a clearer understanding of his current priorities.

While I cannot abandon the study of cloud-script calligraphy, I must also diligently study Taoist theories and understand various terms...

Therefore, the classics such as "Xuanqiao Jing", "Wuqi Lun", and "Xiangxing Yiji", which are not written in cloud seal script, should also be put on the agenda.

It should be understood that profound skills and secrets cannot be practiced simply by acquiring them, especially orthodox Taoist practices, which are often filled with obscure theories and various mysterious terms.

What is the Crimson Palace? What is the Jade Palace? What is the Mysterious Aperture? What is the Pulse of Heaven and Earth?
What is meant by "pouring water into the jade pool" and "passing the three gates"?

Li Xuanying wasted two years here without being able to enter the gate. Although it was partly due to his youthful aversion to learning, it also shows how difficult it was.

Fortunately, Ying Chan was able to memorize what he read and put in a lot of hard work to study it, so he quickly gained an understanding.

Gradually, he discovered that learning these things was not like building a house from scratch.

Ying Chan also studied the Tao.

Although both are secular doctrines, they do have many similarities and commonalities.

Perhaps the Taoism in this secular world originally originated from the mountains.

By comparing the two, I discovered many errors in the Taoist scriptures and theories I had previously learned, but in the process, my understanding also became more profound.

……

The afternoon was unusually cool and refreshing.

Ying Chan read through the Yun Zhuan script once and felt that there was nothing more obscure about it, so he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Having been in the Taoist temple for several dozen days, I am finally no longer like a complete novice.

I am one step closer to truly embarking on spiritual practice.

Of course, cloud script is not like secular script, which has more than ten thousand characters. Each character often has many meanings, and the combinations are even more obscure.

Therefore, although Ying Chan was able to read the cloud seal script, he was far from having fully 'mastered' it.

Even the contents of this book of cloud-script calligraphy are always fresh in his mind, and he gains new insights every time he reads it...

But this is enough.

Ying Chan did not intend to work in isolation. The cloud script was obscure and the Daoist texts were difficult to understand. One could listen to the Dao and seek answers, so why fabricate stories behind the wall?

He tidied up the scattered "Xuanqiao Jing" and "Wuqi Lun" on the table, as well as a "Ganying Jing" written in cloud seal script, and put them back on the bookshelf before leisurely leaving the study.

Li Xuanying was not in the courtyard.

He went to the mountains to collect herbs the day before yesterday, and it will be at least two or three days before he returns.

Of course, even though he was not there, Ying Chan was not the only one in the courtyard; there were also two spirits, Yi Shu and Yi Que.

However, 'Brother Tree' was always quiet and silent, while the colorful sparrow was quite lively and was nowhere to be seen all day, its whereabouts unknown.

Ying Chan shook his head and left the courtyard. Today was the beginning of the month, and the Capital Education Institute would release a timetable listing the courses for the month.

Ying Chan plans to try attending more lectures this month, and naturally he will need to take notes. In addition, there is another important matter to attend to.

As we walked up the Cloud Causeway, we found that there were indeed quite a few people traveling with us today.

This made things convenient for Ying Chan. He had been in the Taoist academy for quite some time, but he rarely left the academy and didn't even know where the Capital Academy was.

Getting lost is unlikely, but it's not like you'll get away without putting in some effort.

Now it's simple, just follow the crowd.

Of course, the crowd was actually only about seventeen or eighteen people. Firstly, the timetable had been released after the Dujiao Academy opened for meditation, and half a day had already passed. Secondly, according to Li Xuanying, many people were too lazy to copy the timetable and used other methods instead.

As for what method it was, Li Xuanying did not say, so Ying Chan naturally did not know.

After passing through the clouds and climbing the stone steps, we wandered around and lost two or three people along the way, as if we had only traveled together briefly. Finally, we reached an open area.

That's in front of the Tokyo Teachers' College.

There were already quite a few people here, but as Ying Chan and his group arrived, some people left, so it wasn't too crowded.

Therefore, Ying Chan easily spotted the class schedule posted on the list.

The courses offered at the Taoist academy were truly all-encompassing.

Talismans, alchemy, metal magic, yin and yang... this is all perfectly normal.

Feng shui, mineral identification, cultivation of spiritual herbs... these are indeed useful skills in the cultivation world.

Music, painting, carving... perhaps these are the pleasures of spiritual practice.

Ying Chan glanced at the timetable once and then recited it silently in his mind. That was enough to memorize it. He could write it down on paper when he returned to the academy.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a faint rustling sound behind him, not human footsteps. Turning around, he saw a sleek black greyhound darting into the crowd and peering intently at the timetable.

Ying Chan immediately realized that this was one of the so-called 'other methods'.

He chuckled, turned and left the crowd, heading back towards the Capital Institute of Education.

At this time, the academy was very quiet, with only a few assistant Taoist priests sitting behind their desks reading books.

These assistant Taoist priests were mostly former disciples who had failed in their cultivation but were unwilling to leave the Taoist academy. A few had other backgrounds, but in general, they were all seniors.

Ying Chan dared not be impolite, so he approached a desk, bowed, and said, "Greetings, Senior Brother in Charge."

"Greetings, Junior Brother." The assistant Taoist priest looked up from behind the desk. "Is there something you need?"

Ying Chan cupped his hands and said, "I have heard that beginners in Qi Refining can seek instruction from a Daoist master at the Capital Academy?"

According to what he learned from reading "The Dos and Don'ts of Cultivation", the choice of cultivation method is of great importance.

This is because people are very different from one another, and the cultivation methods suitable for them are also very different.

People with a mild temperament cannot cultivate techniques that require vigor and courage, while those with an impatient temperament are naturally not suitable for peaceful methods. People whose constitution is close to the fire element can achieve twice the result with half the effort when cultivating fire-elemental magic, but if they try to cultivate water-elemental magic, they will probably be wasting their time and effort...

Therefore, this seemingly simple choice is a matter of great importance and long-term significance, and should be treated with utmost care.

"Oh? You're just starting out with Qi cultivation?"

The Taoist priest in charge of affairs was not surprised to hear this, and said, "Regarding this matter, there are Taoist masters in the academy who teach and give lectures. However, the disciples entered the academy at different times and their progress in learning Taoism is uneven, so it is really difficult to get them all together."

"Therefore, the method was changed later, and the disciples were instructed to register their names at the Capital Academy first, and then the Taoist master would choose a day to give a lecture."

"Come on, sign your name here first..."

(End of this chapter)