Chapter 17. Cultivation (1/2)

After waiting a while in the garden, Elder Sun came back with a dark expression. His face was full of anger. Earlier, when he talked to the patriarch about the matter, some of his apprentice-brothers ridiculed him. He thought, “Wait until I get all the gourds and create an immortal pill that will greatly increase my cultivation. Let’s see who will be laughing then.”

After entering the garden, Elder Sun saw Wang Lin and huffed, “Wang Lin, from today on, you are my, Sun Dazhu’s, disciple. You must cultivate properly to not disgrace your master’s name.” He tossed out a small pouch and said, “This is the inner disciple’s identification. It also acts as a bag of holding. It can hold a lot of things. Your clothes and instructions to your cultivation method are stored inside. Check it out yourself.”

Wang Lin quickly picked it up. He was very excited, and his mind was filled with the thoughts of his parents’ expectations. This time, he wholeheartedly called Sun Dazhu master.

Sun Dazhu replied with a grunt. He shifted his gaze and said, “From now on, you will live in the room in the back. You can’t leave without my permission.”

With that statement, he picked up a pebble and threw it at the garden gate behind him. There was only a purple light when the pebble hit the gate and it disintegrated into a fine powder.

After this display, Sun Dazhu gave Wang Lin a cold look and walked into his room.

Wang Lin’s pupils contracted. He was terrified. He held his bag of holding and entered his room. The room was small and only contained a bed. Wang Lin didn’t mind. He sat on the bed examined the bag of holding.

The little gray bag didn’t look that special. Wang Lin turned the bag upside down on the ground and several things fell out. There was a set of red clothes and a little booklet.

Wang Lin’s face lit up. He picked up the little booklet and excitedly opened it. On the first page it read: “Three Stages of Qi Condensation ”

He read until midnight using the light of the oil lamp. He closed the book and felt he had a bit more understanding of cultivation. This booklet contained three stages of concentrating qi, which were considered the most basic stages. In the booklet, it was mentioned that there were total of 15 stages of Qi Condensation. Only after reaching the third stage could one gain access to the method for later stages.

The so called Qi Condensation was to absorb the spiritual energy from heaven and earth to change the body and build a foundation for the future.

This was also a test of how good one’s natural talents was. The more talented one was, the faster they could absorb spiritual energy into their body. Naturally, their cultivation speed would be quick, however, if one’s talent was average, then perhaps they would never reach the third layer in their lifetime. Some couldn’t even reach the first layer.

The Three Stages of Qi Condensation booklet became Wang Lin’s treasure. He immediately memorized the method for the first three layers in his mind. He sat cross legged with his eyes closed and began to breath with the one long three short method stated in the booklet. One long means to take a deep breath, while three short means to take three short breaths that were one third the length of a normal breath. Using this abnormal breathing method allows one to quickly absorb spiritual energy into their body.

The booklet indicated that the first time one practiced breathing technique, they would feel as if there are ants crawling inside their body. This was caused by spiritual energy entering the body. The booklet said not to be nervous. Just relax and imagine yourself becoming nothing, then become one with heaven and earth.

After a long time, Wang Lin helplessly found that not only did he not feel anything, but he was out of breath thanks to this abnormal breathing.

Wang Lin sighed. He knew that most of the disciples here had a lot of talent and that this booklet was written for them. His talent was only average. How could he compete with them?