Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul

Because he hadn't deliberately counted, Li Chang'an didn't remember how many cycles he had completed.

He stopped immediately when he saw his vital energy decreasing and about to be depleted in the intermediate state.

The first step in cultivating one's nature and life is to refine essence into qi. This refined essence includes both innate essence and acquired essence.

But whether it's innate or acquired, it all needs energy to maintain and replenish itself.

Where does energy come from?

Have a meal!

When Li Chang'an finished his cultivation and opened his eyes, he saw Lu Jin staring straight at him.

"Grandpa, what are you doing?" Li Chang'an was startled.

Lu Jin raised her wrist, revealing a watch hidden in her sleeve, and handed it to Li Chang'an:

"look!"

Li Chang'an glanced at the watch: "Rolex?"

Lu Jin: "..."

"What's so interesting about this thing? If you want it, I'll send you a few sometime, I mean, depending on the time."

"Is there a problem with the time?" Li Chang'an glanced at the hands of his watch again.

"This is a big problem. You entered a meditative state for almost twenty hours at a time."

Lu Jin appeared calm on the surface, but her heart was in turmoil.

Twenty hours. When most people first start practicing, they often can't sit still for more than a few hours, but Li Chang'an has been in a meditative state for so long.

It's important to understand that circulating qi and observing qi are different. Observing qi is simply seeing, while circulating qi requires effort.

This is not a concept; the difference is like watching TV all night versus working all night.

"Is there a problem with twenty hours?" Li Chang'an asked.

"What's the problem..." Lu Jin pondered Li Chang'an's words for a moment, "You mean... if you want, you can continue in meditation?"

"Yes!" Li Chang'an nodded.

"How long can you remain in meditation?" Lu Jin asked again.

Li Chang'an thought for a moment. He stopped this time because of physical reasons, but he was mentally okay.

The power of the mind is often stronger than the power of the body. Just like being online continuously, you can play games for seven days and seven nights without sleeping and without your mind collapsing.

But if you go seven days and seven nights without eating or drinking, your body will definitely break down.

It could be said that as long as he finished eating and replenished his energy, Li Chang'an could continue circulating his Qi, but thinking that he couldn't push his mind too hard, he said:

"Entering a meditative state for another two days and nights shouldn't be a problem, but I'm a little hungry now."

"Good lad! He can enter a meditative state for so long without any training?" Lu Jin gasped, looking at Li Chang'an as if he were a freak.

However, he did not praise Li Chang'an directly, because he was afraid that Li Chang'an would become arrogant as a result.

Imagine that as soon as you embark on your spiritual journey, you receive praise from all sides and know that you have exceptional talent. It would be difficult not to develop a sense of arrogance.

This mentality doesn't have a significant impact on other sects, but it's not good for the cultivation of the Sanyi Sect.

Therefore, Lu Jin sang a different tune:

"Little Chang'an, being able to maintain a meditative state for so long is a talent, but you must not be arrogant or complacent. You must know that there are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding. Being in a meditative state for a few days is nothing special. Not to mention, your great-grandfather was able to maintain a highly difficult state of qi circulation for decades..."

When Lu Jin uttered the last few words, his words seemed somewhat unsteady, and his mood became somewhat low.

Ordinary people feel mentally and physically exhausted after working hard for a few hours.

However, his master, due to his injuries, had to maintain a state of reversed life for many years.

The difficulty of circulating Qi in a reverse-life state is countless times greater than the difficulty of circulating Qi in the circulatory system.

Lu Jin had also tried, but he could only maintain it for about twenty days at most.

Master has been practicing Qi cultivation for decades without stopping. Who can understand the feelings he has experienced?

The older he got, the more he understood the hardships his master had endured, and the more he admired him.

"Grandpa, I understand."

Li Chang'an nodded.

At the same time, he also observed himself through the intermediate state (bardo).

When he saw Lu Jin say those words, several mixed thoughts arose in his mind: admiration, aversion, and impatience.

The respect stems from admiring the difficulties faced by the Left Gate Master, while the aversion arises from disliking the act of lecturing itself, and the impatience stems from the same reason.

An ordinary person might not even realize that this thought had arisen.

Even practitioners may find it difficult to distinguish which of these thoughts originate from themselves and which originate from the outside world.

However, Li Chang'an could discern from the feedback, similar to a baby biting its hand, that the respect came from the heart.

However, impatience and aversion to preaching arise from external influences.

The former is the true self.

The latter is the false self.

Li Chang'an silently recited "Amitabha Buddha" a few times in his heart to transform those two delusions.

"Since you're hungry, go and eat quickly. Because you need to establish your foundation, to avoid depleting your resources, your great-grandfather has arranged some medicinal cuisine for you," Lu Jin said.

"Thank you, sir!"

…………

…………

After finishing his meal, Li Chang'an did not continue his cultivation.

The body needs time to absorb and digest. Although the previous cultivation did not cause much damage to the mind, it still needs to recover.

The best way to restore physical and mental well-being is to sleep.

While Li Chang'an was sleeping, Lu Jin and Li Shaoyun were talking.

Lu Jin patted Li Shaoyun on the shoulder and said, "I like this child very much. Shaoyun, I plan to take him as my apprentice, bring him to the Lu family, and train him well."

Upon hearing this, Li Shaoyun was overjoyed.

The Lu family is one of the four great families in the world of supernatural beings, and Lu Jin is one of the Ten Elders of the world of supernatural beings, which can be said to be one of the top people in this world of supernatural beings.

If one can become his disciple and receive his full guidance, one's achievements will be limitless.

Li Shaoyun quickly stood up and bowed to Lu Jin:

"Uncle Lu, it is truly a blessing for this child to become your disciple. Please take him with you and teach him however you wish."

"It is my blessing to find such a suitable disciple and successor in my later years," Lu Jin said.

Although Lu Jin has not yet taught Li Chang'an about reversing the cycle of rebirth, understanding one's true nature is a major hurdle in the practice of reversing the cycle of rebirth.

Since Li Chang'an has already crossed this threshold, and given his excellent talent and cultivation at the third level of Reverse Rebirth, Lu Jin felt there shouldn't be any major problems.

Lu Jin patted Li Shaoyun on the shoulder:

"This child is ultimately a member of the Li family, so you mustn't neglect your own family's skills. During his Foundation Establishment period, you should properly teach him your family's sword techniques. I have to leave for a few days to attend a meeting at the company. I'll come back to pick him up after the meeting."

"Okay, Uncle Lu, I'll personally teach him later," Li Shaoyun said.

Lu Jin nodded, then reminded him, "But remember, during the Foundation Establishment period, only teach some techniques. Don't use any special tempering methods yet, as the Foundation Establishment is not complete, lest you damage your foundation. Remember that."

"Don't worry, Uncle Lu, I will definitely be careful. I won't let him practice swordsmanship for too long, and I will make sure he doesn't get tired," Li Shaoyun assured him.

"There's no need for that. You can decide the appropriate level yourself," Lu Jin said with a smile.

Li Shaoyun nodded, then asked, "By the way, Uncle Lu, was the company meeting about Zhang Huaiyi, a remnant of the Jia Shen rebellion?"