With virtue

Seven days later, Zhao Yunshu, through taking the secret medicine and using internal visualization techniques, had already entered the threshold and solidified his foundation.

Now, all that's left is to gather the energy.

The threshold has been crossed; the purpose of gathering qi is to obtain that bit of spiritual energy. Only then can the method be considered truly complete.

Therefore, on the morning of the seventh day, Zhao Yunshu began to collect water vapor again using his Qi-gathering technique.

For this touch of moisture, his choice was floral dew.

When Qi (vital energy) adheres to an object, it is like dew. Since Qi comes out of water, and water Qi is abundant, Qi also carries water Yin (the yin aspect of Qi) out. When it enters the kidneys, it is sealed by water.

So, on the morning of the seventh day, Zhao Yunshu pushed open the door of the secret room, picked up a white porcelain bottle, and went to the back mountain of the kiln.

The morning dew in the mountains had not yet dried, and dewdrops clung to the grass leaves and petals, sparkling as if the ground were covered with broken silver.

He walked carefully between the paddy fields, avoiding touching the dew. Instead, he used his observation skills to pinpoint a spot, then bent down and brought the mouth of the porcelain bottle close to a wild chrysanthemum, gently pressing it down. The dew then slid down the petals into the bottle.

This is dew collection. Many legendary immortals "eat the wind and drink the dew" using this method. Their disciples had to collect dew every day.

However, collecting dew is not difficult; the difficulty lies in collecting its essence.

If you only take the water from the bottle, it's just ordinary dew, good for watering flowers and cooking, but useless for spiritual practice.

What he truly wanted to collect was the tiny bit of yin energy that flowed from heaven and earth when the dew first condensed. This energy was formless and intangible, attached to the dewdrops, and would dissipate when exposed to the sun or blow away when blown by the wind. Ordinary people could not see it. Unless one was a practitioner of meditation who could see and collect it, even if all the dew on the entire mountain were collected, not a single drop could be retained.

Walk around and use your observation skills to distinguish which flowers still have the aura of water and which have been blown away by the wind.

It took about half an hour to collect a bottle of dew.

Immediately, Zhao Yunshu found a blue stone in the forest, sat cross-legged, closed his eyes to regulate his breathing, and focused his mind into his inner vision.

These days, I have been taking secret medicine every day, and my heart fire and kidney water have both grown stronger. In my inner vision, the heart palace fire is strong and the kidney palace water is abundant, but they are not dominant. Instead, water and fire meet and yin and yang are in harmony.

He guided his Qi with his mind, letting the heart fire descend and the kidney water ascend. The two Qi converged at the Tanzhong point, completing one cycle. He repeated this nine times, feeling his body and mind clear and bright inside and out, before slowly opening his eyes.

Next, we will use the method of observation to connect the inside and outside, and bring the moisture of the outer world into the body.

He held his hands in front of his dantian, and sent out his thoughts, which, like spider silk, probed into the bottle of dew in front of him.

At this moment, the inner and outer scenes converge. The outer scene is the dew in the porcelain bottle, while the inner scene senses a trace of yin energy.

He used his mind to gently pluck a wisp of moisture from the dew, guided it to his nose, and slowly inhaled it.

The moisture enters the body and transforms into a cool, thin stream that flows down the Ren meridian. Guided by intention, this moisture is directed into the kidneys.

Within the kidney palace, the black light intensified slightly before returning to calm. This was the kidney's ability to seal and store water, firmly locking in the absorbed water and preventing it from leaking out.

If there is leakage, it indicates kidney yin deficiency, which needs to be replenished.

With the first wisp, the rest went much more smoothly. He followed the method, drawing the moisture from the dew into his body one wisp after another, gradually filling his kidneys, as if a clear spring was slowly accumulating.

Once the moisture from the dew in the bottle has been completely extracted, the water in the porcelain bottle, though still there, has lost its vibrant luster and become lifeless, no different from ordinary well water.

Zhao Yunshu stood up, picked up the porcelain bottle to pour out the old water, and then took two more bottles of fresh dew from among the flowers in the forest, absorbing their essence one by one. He repeated this three times until the red sun rose above the treetops and the morning dew gradually dissipated, at which point he stopped.

But the story isn't over yet.

He still needs to gather fire energy.

The kidney water is sufficient, but the heart fire is still deficient. If one only cultivates water and not fire, it is like having no firewood under the stove; the water will never boil. The purest and most righteous fire energy in this world is the true fire of the sun. The morning sun is fierce but not violent, warm but not scorching, making it the best time to gather fire energy.

He then relaxed and calmed himself, facing the rising sun, and began to gather qi.

This true fire of the sun is the purest and most yang energy between heaven and earth. All things grow by relying on its blessings. If a cultivator can obtain even a trace of it, their inner fire will be aided by the essence of the sun, and its power will increase dramatically.

However, the essence of the sun is intense, unlike the gentle morning dew. If one is not careful when gathering qi, it is like setting oneself on fire. At best, it will cause burning pain in the meridians; at worst, it will damage the internal environment.

Zhao Yunshu dared not be negligent. He first calmed his mind by regulating his breathing. Then, he pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth and gradually lengthened his breathing. With each inhale and exhale, he slowly dispersed his thoughts from the Baihui acupoint on the top of his head into his limbs and bones.

After nine breaths, one feels a sense of calm in body and mind, and a clear and empty mind, and then one begins to gather qi.

He imagined the red sun in the sky, with a golden ray of light slowly descending, like a waterfall hanging upside down, or a long river cascading down.

After your mind is completely empty, observe that all 36,000 pores on your body are open and participating in your breathing.

With each inhale, the sun's rays transform into 36,000 extremely fine golden threads, seeping into the body through every pore. Imagine sending your entire form into the sun, where the sun and your form become one, allowing your body to be forged.

Thus, the fire energy merged into the heart palace, and the flames within the heart palace grew significantly stronger than before.

Zhao Yunshu was overjoyed, but dared not be distracted. He steadily refined the essence of the sun into his heart fire, thread by thread.

The inner vision now presented a different scene—the Kidney Palace was filled with shimmering, mysterious water, echoing the flames in the Heart Palace. The golden line where the water and fire energies met at the Tanzhong acupoint was even brighter than before.

He dared not practice for too long, for fear of injuring himself. So he exhaled a long breath of turbid air, which condensed into a white mist in the air and lingered for a long time.

The Water and Fire Technique has now been mastered. From now on, all that is needed is to continue gathering and refining Qi, and one can gradually accumulate experience and reach perfection.

The water method has received the shade of morning dew, and the fire method has received the yang of the rising sun; only when water and fire are in harmony can they truly have a foundation.

Become!

Thus, he truly possessed the power of water and fire!

"Since it's worked, let's give it a try!"

As soon as he thought of it, he immediately did it, his eyes falling on the dew that had been dried by the sun and lost its vitality.

The dew we see now is just ordinary water.

However, following his gaze, he saw a ripple suddenly appear in the center of a patch of dew that looked like scattered silver, which then bounced up the surrounding dew and the scattered silver disappeared instantly.

Immediately afterwards, he suddenly raised his palm, and a thin column of water gathered from the dew, shooting into the sky, about three feet high. In the air, it condensed into a transparent water snake, which swirled for a moment before scattering with a splash, creating water droplets like shattered jade.

Although the water snake only lasted for a short while before falling apart, it was still a success. He was slightly pleased and tried it twice more. By the third time, the water snake could hover in the air for seven or eight breaths. Although it was only as thick as a thumb, it already had quite a presence.

Overjoyed, he immediately rushed back to his room and lit the lamp.

He stirred his inner fire and slowly brought his palm close to the oil lamp. The flame, which had been burning quietly, suddenly flickered violently. Then the flame tip tilted and leaned towards his palm, as if it had been gently pulled by an unseen hand.

He slightly clenched his five fingers, and the flame suddenly shot up more than two feet high, transforming from an ordinary lamp into a fiery sword, its light changing from orange to blue, dazzling and piercing!

Zhao Yunshu raised the corner of his mouth, withdrew his palm, and the flame returned to its original state, still a tiny dot, burning quietly, with only the rapidly melting wax below showing the fire technique he had just used.

You've really mastered it!

Cool!