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

Li Shaoyun initially listened with a smile, not paying much attention. What constructive opinions could a little kid possibly offer?

But as he listened, the smile on his face froze.

"Incorporate the essence of the Snake Gate into the transformations of the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate..."

He moved his lips, chewing on the words over and over in his mouth. At first, he only felt that they made some sense, but the more he pondered them, the more an inexplicable feeling of excitement surged in his heart.

He's been stuck on this one move for thirteen years now.

For thirteen years, he practiced swordsmanship countless times, breaking down and refining the seven characters "dragons leaping and tigers bounding, all moving like snakes," practicing them over and over again.

He believed he had mastered each of the three gates—Dragon Gate, Tiger Gate, and Snake Gate—but when he tried to combine them, he always fell short.

He always thought that his skills were not good enough, that his mastery was not deep enough. So he practiced day after day, year after year, until his temples turned gray, but the move was still just a shell of its former self.

But today, his grandson only watched him demonstrate once, and then revealed the secret in one sentence: it's not about stuffing the Dragon Gate and Tiger Gate into the Snake Gate, but about infusing the essence of the Snake Gate into the Dragon and Tiger.

"Without this intention, a dragon is nothing more than a long, winding worm... Without this intention, a tiger is nothing more than a toothless worm..."

Li Shaoyun muttered his grandson's words repeatedly, then walked to the sword rack as if possessed, drew the iron sword, walked to the center of the courtyard, barefoot, pointed the sword tip at the ground, and closed his eyes.

With those eyes closed, it took more than a dozen breaths.

Li Chang'an remained silent, simply watching quietly.

Suddenly, Li Shaoyun opened his eyes and began to move. He started practicing the Longmen sword technique, but his aura was completely different from before.

The longsword flashed through the air, from Dragon Gate to Tiger Gate. The trajectory of the sword changed, the posture of the body changed, and the direction of the footwork changed, but the tip of the sword remained locked on one point.

That spot was the throat of his imagined enemy, and also the target of the Serpent Gate.

"This is it, this is the feeling I wanted!" Li Chang'an thought with delight.

When Li Shaoyun practiced this move before, the dragon was a dragon, the tiger was a tiger, and the snake was a snake. Every change was clear, but every change was disconnected.

But now, the "intention" of the Snake Gate is like an invisible thread, connecting the Dragon Gate's chopping and the Tiger Gate's slashing together.

The form may change, but the meaning remains constant.

After completing the set of movements, Li Shaoyun suddenly straightened his sword and thrust it out horizontally.

This thrust was utterly simple, devoid of any frills, and even lacked any sword energy. It was accompanied only by a very soft, short "hiss," like a snake flicking its tongue.

Then, the sword tip stopped in mid-air, motionless.

Li Shaoyun looked at the iron sword in his hand, his hand trembling slightly, not from fatigue, but from excitement.

Thirteen years, a barrier that had trapped him for thirteen years, today his grandson stood by and watched for a while, then said one sentence: "It's broken."

Thirteen years of hardship have been resolved.

Li Shaoyun turned to look at Li Chang'an, his eyes filled with shock, elation, disbelief, and a hint of awe that even he himself was unaware of.

"The true teaching is contained in a single sentence, it really is... the true teaching is contained in a single sentence..."

Li Shaoyun murmured something, then suddenly strode forward, picked up Li Chang'an, and lifted him high above his head.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The old man laughed heartily, "I've been stuck on this move for thirteen years, longer than you're even older, and today you've cracked it with just one sentence!"

"I was just saying..." This scene made Li Chang'an feel a little uncomfortable.

Li Shaoyun laughed loudly as he put Li Chang'an down: "What a fine 'just saying'! Your casual remark is worth ten years of hard work for others. If you were to take it seriously, wouldn't you wake up your ancestors from their graves?"

"Our ancestor wouldn't be so easily startled!" Li Chang'an said with a smile.

"Indeed, our ancestor was very composed. Come, Chang'an, I'll teach you swordsmanship."

Then, the soft whistling sound of a sword cutting through the air echoed through the courtyard once again.

…………

…………

In the early morning, Li Chang'an sat cross-legged on the bed, circulating his microcosmic orbit as usual.

Lu Jin has been attending meetings at the headquarters of Naerdutong for twenty days now.

During these twenty days, Li Chang'an only did three things: eat, sleep, and cultivate.

He discovered that the more monotonous his life was, the fewer distracting thoughts he had, and the faster he could cultivate himself.

In this state, it only took him nineteen days for all 365 major acupoints in his body to be filled with true qi, leaving only the Baihui acupoint.

Baihui acupoint is also known as the Sanyang Wuhui acupoint. The common saying "Three Flowers Gather at the Top" and "Five Qi Converge at the Origin" refers to this acupoint.

Therefore, this place is also known as the meeting place of all yang energies and the acupoint at the top of the head, which is the hub where the body's qi and blood and yang energy converge.

Of course, merely establishing the foundation is far from achieving the Three Flowers Gathering at the Top or the Five Qi Converging at the Origin. Those are the signs of perfection that only appear in the later stages of cultivation.

What Li Chang'an is doing now is simply filling the Baihui acupoint with true Qi.

As usual, he circulated his Qi through the microcosmic orbit, channeling it into his acupoints thread by thread.

As true qi gradually filled his entire body, Li Chang'an felt increasingly clear and transparent.

He felt that his body was like an incredibly precise instrument, with each meridian as a wire and each acupoint as a capacitor or chip, and the flow of true qi within it was the current that drove this instrument.

Professor Lu Jin's teachings from some time ago allowed him to gain a detailed understanding of every aspect of this instrument. Combined with his observation of the intermediate state, he could accurately repair any damage to this sophisticated instrument.

With these understandings, Li Chang'an became increasingly adept at cultivation.

It can be said that although his cultivation time was short, the foundation he laid was quite solid.

Under these circumstances, laying the foundation will naturally follow.

There was no difficulty; a surge of heat rushed straight to the top of one's head.

A buzzing sound went through my mind, like a clap of thunder in spring.

The Baihui acupoint was instantly opened, and true qi flowed throughout his body. Li Chang'an felt as if he had stepped into a completely new level. He opened his eyes, and there seemed to be a faint light flowing deep in his pupils.

Foundation building complete!

Li Chang'an carefully examined himself and noticed the changes in his body.

Before Foundation Establishment, Qi was just Qi. But now, the true Qi in the dantian has transformed into a wisp of mist, slowly rotating within the dantian.

At the same time, he also felt a surge of thoughts flooding his consciousness: joy, excitement, agitation, pride, arrogance, and conceit...

Such thoughts, such as pride and arrogance, are usually considered negative feedback, while excitement and enthusiasm are often considered positive feedback that comes from the heart.

However, after Li Chang'an touched upon these thoughts one by one in his intermediate state, he clearly discovered that not only pride and arrogance, but even excitement and exhilaration were all external feedbacks, while only joy came from his own heart.