Death God: Starting from Refining Essence into Qi

"It's too far off to consider establishing the Ghost Path Clan right now." Xuan shook his head, pulling his thoughts back to reality.

"The most important thing right now is to stick close to the future head of the family, Shihouin Senri, and cultivate diligently to strengthen myself."

Xuan walked to the center of the courtyard and began to practice the Twelve Postures of the Yi Jin Jing.

The only suitable exercises for his age are Baduanjin and Yijinjing.

The Eight-Section Brocade can unblock the meridians, but this effect is completely superfluous for Xuan, who has already established his foundation.

In contrast, the Yi Jin Jing is characterized by stretching tendons and bones, which can accelerate the growth period of the body and improve the foundation of bones.

It was March, and the spring chill was still in the air. However, because he had already established his foundation and his body was filled with spiritual energy, Xuan did not feel cold.

He walked to the center of the courtyard, closed his eyes, concentrated, and slowly began to practice the Twelve Postures of the Ancient Yi Jin Jing.

The preparatory stance straightens the body and invigorates blood circulation;

The posture of Wei Tuo offering his pestle regulates the flow of Qi;

The posture of "plucking stars and changing constellations" calms the mind and concentrates the spirit;

Extending claws and displaying wings enhances gripping power;

The "Pulling Nine Oxen by Their Tails" posture enhances lower body strength.

The Nine Demons Pulling Horse Sword Stance enhances the torso's twisting and coordination abilities;

The landing force of the three plates enhances the supporting power of the arms;

The Azure Dragon extending its claws posture stretches the spine and strengthens the waist and legs;

The "Crouching Tiger Pouncing on Prey" stance strengthens the leg roots and groin muscles.

Bowing posture enhances spinal flexibility;

The tail-dropping posture promotes blood circulation;

The energy sinks downwards at the end of the movement, bringing the entire set of exercises to a close.

After completing a set of twelve postures of the Yi Jin Jing (Muscle/Tendon Changing Classic), a fine layer of sweat appeared on my skin. The muscles and fascia throughout my body were stretched and stimulated, producing a slight soreness and swelling. The Qi and blood circulated smoothly throughout my body, reaching my extremities, and my hands and feet felt warm and swollen.

The Yi Jin Jing can stimulate and expand his body in advance, which is indispensable for Xuan's growth. Only when the body is strong can it store more spiritual power, have stronger spiritual pressure, and increase the rate of spiritual power release.

To put it simply: spiritual practice is like masturbating.

Spiritual power is like gunpowder, and the body is like the gun barrel.

If the premise is that the barrel will not explode, no matter how much gunpowder is available, the final factor that determines the power is the maximum safe chamber pressure, that is, how strong the barrel material is.

The most important factors are whether the barrel is stiff enough and the caliber is thick enough.

There's still a month until enrollment. During this time, Xuan not only needs to strengthen his body and bones, but also further cultivate to increase his total spiritual power and control precision.

Although I feel my soul is more stable after Foundation Establishment, that's all. I must continue cultivating while tempering my body, hoping to completely resolve this issue when I reach a higher realm in the future.

Having already established his foundation, the next step is naturally to refine his Qi.

"The Yi Jin Jing is like forging a sword into a sheath." Xuan gently clenched his fist, feeling the warmth throughout his body after using the Yi Jin Jing. "Refining purity and eliminating turbidity is like sharpening and tempering. We must also slowly hone our spiritual power and remove impurities before we can act when the time is right."

The so-called "refining qi" is to transform spiritual energy into pure qi and impure qi, and then refine the pure qi and remove the impure qi.

After completing the Qi Refining process, the pure Qi circulating along the Ren and Du meridians is also called Yuan Qi, at which point there are no more loopholes in the spiritual power within the body.

Byakuya Kuchiki's Zanpakuto, Senbonzakura, was controlled by Pepe Wakkabrada, who possessed the sacred symbol L (Love), because of a flaw in his spiritual power.

Refining one's Qi is a gradual process that requires patience and can only be achieved step by step.

Xuan sat cross-legged, concentrated his mind and calmed his breath, letting his thoughts sink into the depths of his soul's slumber.

The area was filled with azure spiritual energy, which was the unrefined, primordial spiritual energy after the Foundation Establishment stage.

According to the Daoist canon, the human body inherently possesses two energies, Yin and Yang. Yang is pure and Yin is turbid. The pure rises to become the heavens, while the turbid sinks to become the earth.

Those who cultivate themselves absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth into their bodies, but they must undergo a process of refinement, removing the impurities and retaining the pure energy, before they can transform it into their own use. This "impurity" refers to the turbid energy, while the "pure energy" refers to the clear energy.

Xuan Quan urged his spiritual power to circulate rapidly along the Small Heavenly Circuit.

Spiritual energy rises from the dantian, passes through the three gates of the coccyx, spine, and occipital bone, ascends to the Baihui point on the top of the head, and then descends along the midline of the face, chest, and abdomen, returning to the dantian. This cycle is called "River Chariot Transport," commonly known as the "Small Heavenly Circuit."

As the number of cycles increases, profound thoughts permeate the flowing spiritual light, keenly capturing every imperceptible stagnation and blockage in the high-speed cycle.

He pinpointed these "impurities" and, like peeling silk from a cocoon, gradually stripped and extracted them from the spiritual flow during the process.

The turbid air was forced together by his will, rising along his meridians and finally condensing in his throat. Xuan opened his mouth and slowly exhaled.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Xuan's forehead. It wasn't due to physical exhaustion, but rather from the intense concentration required to endure the torment of his soul while simultaneously maintaining his mental focus.

"Fortunately, the 'Star-Picking and Constellation-Changing Stance' of the Yi Jin Jing has a high concentration effect, which reduced the impact of the pain on me," Xuan thought to himself.

He precisely captured that pure energy that was layered with the other spiritual energies, and guided it into a deep sleep.

The practice abruptly ceased.

"It's definitely different." Xuan opened his eyes, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

With a slight thought, a wisp of azure spiritual energy appeared in the palm of his right hand—this was unrefined, primal spiritual energy.

Then, he extended his left hand.

A wisp of pure air slowly appeared.

Xuan was stunned.

He blinked and looked again.

That wisp of pure energy... was black.

Xuan stopped laughing.

As a member of the orthodox Taoist lineage, one naturally knows that the pure energy recorded in the Taoist canon should be bluish-white like jade.

However, due to differences in individual constitutions among practitioners of different schools of martial arts, records show that there are very few cases of bright red or purplish discoloration, but there is absolutely no precedent of one being pitch black.

Xuan stared at the wisp of black energy in his palm. It floated quietly, so deep that it didn't seem like spiritual energy, but rather like a miniature black hole.

He attempted to manipulate this wisp of black, pure energy.

The expected ease flowed through his mind the moment it stirred. Xuan opened the door and tossed his hand towards the courtyard—

laugh!

The black mist shot out like a snake.

Xuan Ning Shen Perception, pupils contracted.

The wisp of black mist touched the cherry blossoms falling from the sky—it didn't burn, it didn't shatter, it didn't even make a sound. The petals, from the point of contact with the black mist, gradually turned into grayish-white powder.

The cycle of birth and death of all things is the natural order.

The Liezi (Chapter 12, "Questions of Tang") states: "The beginning and end of things are without limit. That which is born cannot but be born, and that which is transformed cannot but be transformed; therefore, they are constantly born and constantly transformed. Those that are constantly born and constantly transformed are always born and always transformed."

But this force has already broken the cycle.

"This is too dangerous..." Cold sweat beaded on Xuan's forehead. "If the Soul Society discovers this kind of spiritual power, the consequences are unimaginable."

Just as alarm bells were ringing in his mind, the wisp of black smoke had already dissipated into the air.

Xuan took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, carefully examining the wisp of black pure energy within his body.

"I see. This black energy is in a mild state within the body and has not shown any corrosive properties."

Xuan maintained his pure energy state and once again raised his hand to shoot at the petals flying in the air.

This time, the cherry blossoms were scattered by the spiritual energy, breaking into pieces all over the ground.

Xuan finally felt relieved, closed the door, and immersed himself in cultivation again.

The black, pure energy flowed like a gentle stream, slowly growing stronger within the meridians.

Night had fallen, and the cool moonlight spilled into the courtyard.

This is the perfect time for cultivation.

I hope that I can learn about the soul and spirit at the family academy, resolve my soul-related issues as soon as possible, and explore this world with peace of mind in the future.