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

As she spoke, Lu Jin walked behind Li Chang'an and pointed to a certain spot on his body:

"This is the coccyx, also called the Changqiang acupoint. It is located at the midpoint of the line connecting the tip of the coccyx and the anus, which is directly below your buttocks, at the point between the very end of the coccyx and the anus."

Then, Lu Jin's fingers slowly moved upwards along Li Chang'an's spine, saying:

"From here upwards, the bone joints are like abacus beads, one after another, until the area above the seventh vertebra is the Jiaji point."

His finger continued upwards, finally stopping at the back of Li Chang'an's head:

"From the Jiaji Pass upwards, push upwards to the beginning of the hair, and you will feel a protruding bone. Below this bone is a depression, which is the Yuzhen Pass."

Having said that, Lu Jin moved her hand away, slapped Li Chang'an on the forehead, and continued:

"I've explained the three gates to you. As for how to apply them, it's based on the principle of 'the birth of Yang at the winter solstice,' which means going up from the tailbone at the bottom of the sea, through the months of Zi and Chou, all the way to the top of the Qian trigram. This upward route is called the 'Du Meridian.'"

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an said, "Grandpa, my standing meditation begins with the Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang, gradually guiding the Qi upwards. The higher the level, the wider the range of Qi circulation. If one can reach the Ren and Du Meridians, in my grandfather's words, that's being a top-notch martial artist in the world, someone everyone treats with respect. I've seen many martial arts movies say that opening the Ren and Du Meridians makes one a supreme master. How come the Ren and Du Meridians are the starting point for cultivating both body and spirit?"

Lu Jin smiled and said, "This is about making choices in cultivation. Of course, starting from the Bladder Meridian of Foot Taiyang and going all the way to the Ren and Du Meridians is definitely different from starting directly from the Ren and Du Meridians. The two cannot be equated."

Li Chang'an nodded: "I understand."

Lu Jin continued, "Once you pass through the last three stages of Qi circulation, you've completed half of the Small Heavenly Circuit. What follows is the benefit of cultivating both body and mind."

"This benefit is also known as the Three Barriers, but I prefer to call it the Three Treasures."

"These three treasures are the spirit of the upper elixir, the qi of the middle elixir, and the essence of the lower elixir."

"The upper dantian, also known as the Niwan Palace, is located in the middle of the eyebrows."

"The middle elixir is also called the Crimson Palace, located between the two breasts."

"The lower dantian, also known as the sea of ​​qi, is located below the navel."

"These three treasures correspond to essence, energy, and spirit, respectively. As the saying goes, 'Jade liquid and fine wine descend from the twelve-story tower, directly reaching the Crimson Palace.'"

"It means that when your Qi (vital energy) starts to flow down from the Niwan Palace (the area below the head), it will transform into saliva."

"This saliva is different from the usual bland saliva; it is light and sweet, so it is also called 'jade nectar'."

"The 'nectar' is not swallowed like water or food. Instead, you have to lift your tongue up a little so that it goes down the cartilage of your throat segment by segment."

"The cartilage has twelve segments, so it is also called the Twelve-Story Building, which leads directly to the Crimson Palace, which is the middle dantian."

"After arriving here, some of these precious elixirs will transform into Qi and remain in the middle dantian, while another part will fall into the lower dantian to nourish the whole body."

"This Qi circulation route encompasses all three Dantian. Each time you circulate Qi, it nourishes the Shen (spirit) of the Upper Dantian, the Qi of the Middle Dantian, and the Jing (essence) of the Lower Dantian."

"The unity of essence, energy, and spirit is the essence and life, so this method is also called the dual cultivation of essence and life."

"Of course, cultivating both body and mind is a very complex process. The rotation of the chariot is only the basic entry point for cultivating both body and mind. There is still much more to learn about the training of both sex and life."

"The standing meditation you practiced before focuses on the essence of the lower dantian, so it is more about improving physical strength."

After speaking, Lu Jin looked at Li Chang'an:

"Now you understand the benefits of cultivating both body and spirit, right?"

"Grandpa, I understand!"

Li Chang'an thought for a moment and said, "If we take care of both essence, energy, and spirit at the same time, wouldn't it be faster to cultivate only one?"

"Hahaha!"

Lu Jin laughed loudly: "Is there a way to have it all in this world? You have to give up something to gain something. Cultivating both body and mind is definitely not as fast as cultivating only one, but in terms of cultivation level, those who cultivate both body and mind will definitely have an absolute advantage."

"However, cultivation is not just about fighting and killing. Cultivation is more about transcending oneself. Sexuality and life are like a person's two legs."

"Both legs must be intact and strong to walk properly; how can a lame person go far?"

"As for how to choose, that's up to you."

Li Chang'an said, "Grandpa, when I was reading a book before, I saw that Lu Zu once said, 'Cultivating only one's nature and not one's destiny is the first disease of cultivation. If one only cultivates one's ancestral nature and not one's elixir, one's yin spirit will find it difficult to become a saint even after countless eons.' I definitely want to have both nature and destiny."

Lu Jin smiled and said, "They say that if you want both life and health, it's easier said than done. Even if you understand the principle, it's not easy to actually do it."

"The master leads you through the door, but the cultivation depends on the individual. Little Chang'an, you need to take this step yourself."

"Now, sit quietly and meditate to feel the natural circulation of Qi within your body. When you are confident, you can begin to practice Qi circulation."

"Yes, sir!"

Li Chang'an quickly followed Lu Jin's instructions, sitting cross-legged and closing his eyes to carefully feel the slow flow of Qi within his body under the influence of the Zhou Tian system.

Lu Jin added, "Even if you feel confident, don't rashly practice Qi. Be sure to tell Grandfather beforehand, and he will protect you."

Circulating Qi is a very dangerous thing, and he didn't want his great-grandson to mess things up and ruin himself.

"Grandpa, I've got it."

After Li Chang'an finished speaking, he cleared his mind of all distractions and continued his meditation.

He focused his attention on the Qi that circulates naturally throughout the universe.

As his mind became calmer, the Qi became clearer, and it moved slowly.

After obtaining Qi, Li Chang'an could "see" the Qi in his body, but he could not see the meridians and acupoints.

Meridians and acupoints are extremely subtle parts of the human body that only people with very high levels of spiritual attainment can see. In Li Chang'an's perception, they were just a void of darkness.

The flow of Qi in the meridians is like a person carrying a lamp and walking in the dark. To walk well and steadily, one must have a brighter eye to discern the specific road conditions, which roads are easy to walk, which are difficult, which are straight, and which are winding...

Li Chang'an began to immerse himself completely in it.

He discovered that when the primordial energy of the natural universe passed through, it could clearly illuminate the condition of the surrounding meridians and acupoints, and his meridians were extremely wide.

"The difficulty of cultivating both body and mind doesn't seem to be as high as the legends say."

But he quickly put these distracting thoughts aside and continued to observe the various details of Qi flowing through his meridians, memorizing them thanks to his photographic memory.