532 Sowing Kung Fu (1/2)
The carriage arrived slowly up the track towards the mountain villa under the watchful gaze of a crowd, and as it was about to reach the gates, it veered off to the left suddenly toward the forest.
It never changed its pace throughout the whole process, just the same depressingly slow monotonous pace as if all those people gathered weren't there. Meanwhile, the two coachmen driving were just rolling along in silence with their eyes half open, almost dozing as they plodded along the track. Their silence well set against the tardiness of the carriage's progress.
The Jianghu heroes gathered outside the mountain villa watched with wide eyes as the carriage rolled along the mountain road as if it was just a flat road along a plain. For a moment, they did not quite know what to make of what they were looking at. A man, all attired in black with a blade scar across his forehead, then broke ranks with them and pursued the carriage.
”Quick, follow it!”
The cry was heard by the others and one after another they picked up their pace and pursued the carriage. For the carriage to appear here for no reason must mean something!
The black curtained carriage ahead went about its plodding along in no great hurry. It passed forests and valleys, all the while being pursued by the throng of people who were unwilling to get too close to it or lose it.
This was when a man's voice pleasantly sounded in their ears,
”Calmly and appropriately composed should one go about entering Dhyana, as it is only in this way that genuine Qi may come about and be truly realized, thereby filling the Aperture acupoints...”
”...within one hundred days your meridian will open of its own accord...”
A scattering of golden and white specks of light circled the carriage, lending it a sacred air. It was as if an immortal had descended into the world, making the voice all the more solemn and impressive.
The Jianghu heroes were more than a little perplexed. Was the immortal, or treasure from within the carriage imparting the scriptures, teaching them?
They felt pleasantly surprised and slowed their pace, straightening up somewhat to listen in earnest. They were very familiar with this passage actually, their first days as practitioners were spent tempering their bodies to this passage, it was known as the ”Hundred-day Foundation”.
”...refining energy into Qi, then allowing this to accumulate within the elixir field so as to go about nurturing one's spirit something like how one cradles a baby...”
The following Jianghu men were listening most attentively, just in case they missed a sentence. Though, up until this moment, it was all content they were more than familiar with from during their training. Yet, as an immortal ”preached” it was imperative that one should compare what they had learned before with what they were hearing, and check the two for any deviations or errors.
The carriage turned up the mountain road and climbed ever higher, like it was heading for the peak and then intending to take to the skies.
In a genial and clear voice, the content to do with your inner child and Qi-cultivation came to an end, and the carriage was quiet again.
The Jianghu heroes who had been listening out for any unusual content were left scratching their heads. They really wanted to say something and press for more, yet at the same time felt deep awe for what lay within the carriage. Without even mentioning the immortal within the carriage, just the two coachmen were more than enough for anyone there to take on.
Could it be that there is still more, and would it depend on their body potentials, their substance, and their vital spirit?
As they considered this uneasily, they suddenly discerned a noise in the air. It was akin to song or recital and once again the specks of golden and white light wafted about the carriage.
”Life exists between heaven and earth, responding to the constellations above and connecting to the Generous Soil below. The Ninth Heaven above, the body with its Nine Apertures...”
”Just as there is order to the stars, one finds order in the body's acupoints, the universe is arranged in a natural yet ordered fashion, as is one's body...body...”
”From outside the body to its inside, there is always order...”
This was content that nobody had ever heard before. In just 10 or so sentences the secrets of the flesh were largely laid out before their very eyes.
Who knew that after all was said and done the body had so many mysteries surrounding it!
The body was, as it turns out, equally as precious as the nature associated with heaven and earth. Likewise, it harbored an axis to Taoism and the Dharma and Logos of Heaven and Earth.
We had only wanted to improve our sensory abilities, to be able to cultivate a flying sword or some divine charms. These particular rich treasures had been entirely ignored!
We only wished to stick close to the source of the wealth as a means for not going hungry!
They found themselves feeling excitement, emotion, and remorse too that this existed.
Then, the clear pleasant voice sounded once again,
”We find that the eyes are the aperture of the liver, from here stems the wood element's Qi, and from the aperture point for the lungs, what is the nose where we find the metal element's Qi...”
”The Nine Innate Apertures should be within the internal organs and those that cultivate their Nine Apertures should be training the five elements of their minds, as from here the inner realm is derived...”
Sentence after sentence from the scriptures entered their minds, each containing the means of cultivating their physical bodies. They were at once entirely transfixed by all this.
Ah, so one can practice it like this!
And it turns out you can practice it like that!
It was like a large gate crashing open in their minds, exposing a new world to them, one of multicolored splendor!
They were positively intoxicated. To think of it, the secrets of the flesh... The finer points to Kung Fu...
The golden and white specks of light were falling all around and dancing about the carriage now. In the eyes of the onlookers, it was as if they were about to lift up the carriage and take it into the sky.
An immortal!
They really were an immortal!
The carriage was still following the mountain road up toward the peak. Ahead of it was a sea of clouds, behind it a torrent of followers. Although their expressions varied slightly, they all looked utterly drawn in and infatuated with what they had witnessed here today.
The carriage continued without stopping toward the cliff, all the while the man's pleasant voice continued its clear recital of the scriptures,
”The aperture for the Hidden Latch and the home of the Vital Spirit. The door that goes between and the incredible mysteries that...”
”Focusing and concentrating one's primal aperture, opening the boundary between life and death, creating a bridge between Heaven and Earth, converging one's inner and outer realms... Only here does Kung Fu begin...”
In reaction to this sweeping pitch, the grass along the cliff sprung up and the subterranean spring waters nearby burst forth upon the ground's surface. The golden specks of light were coming together to form a beautiful golden lotus which was blooming right before one's eyes and those white specks of light were joining together ahead, akin to a descending glow from the heavens.
It would be hard to say how many of the martial artists there who witnessed this indescribable spectacle, who heard this unimaginable and hitherto unheard scripture found themselves with moist eyes and the odd hot tear breaking clear to streak down their cheeks.
It was physically and spiritually moving to hear such Taoism!
Some of the martial artists were crying with a joy which was intermingled with an intense sadness from considering that during their own youth there had been nobody there, no immortal to preach in this way. Now that they were older, in beholding such grand Taoism, all they would have time to do is pin their hopes and dreams onto their grandchildren for it was too late for them now.
Fang Huayin and Wan Yu who were the coachmen driving the carriage subconsciously brought the lead horse to a halt, as ahead of them now was the great cliff's edge!
Their feelings toward Mr. Su's words, by comparison to the Jianghu heroes behind the carriage, were so much deeper. During this period of time the finer points of his guidance had integrated somewhat and now the Heaven-connecting Kung-Fu's path was nigh - clearly marked before their eyes.
”This path will take you farther from riches, from prosperity. At times it may even be cold and lonely. Do you still wish to follow?”
It was at that moment that they were picked up by an invisible force and moved to two sides along the cliff. In their minds, Meng Qi's voice rang out.
”Huh...” As they were feeling gobsmacked, the lead horse strode out once more, stepping onto the thin air beyond the cliff's edge.