It was broad daylight when Ben Li and Lu Qing headed outside after breakfast. They chilled in the middle of the village and embrace its desolation and emptiness. It felt good to them that they could do stuff together without anyone bothering them.
"Before we begin to dive into the topics about Cultivation, let me teach you first the bare basics of what Cultivation really matters.
"Tell me what you know first about Cultivation. Then I answer any questions you have after the lecture."
Ben Li began to fulfill Wang Xie's promise by teaching Lu Qing about Cultivation.
But before she attempts to open her Gates and obtain the power to grow, Ben Li decided to hold that for now and start with a lecture. What he intends to do was correct her misunderstandings first before discussing the bare basics.
Then they'll move on to the fundamentals of the Gate Practitioner Realm. Then to the step-by-step process of Qi consolidation and the major issues regarding the obstruction of breakthroughs.
What Ben Li intended to do was to let Lu Qing figure things out on her own. Make her pave the path for herself. He wasn't willing to pass her some Cultivation Arts and will only give her pointers in his guidance.
When one person begins to tread in his Path in Cultivation, the first step is always hard. The second step would be even harder.
That goes the same for the next step, then the next, then the next... The whole process was endless. But that was what makes the Path of Cultivation seemed unfathomable.
The Path of Cultivation was an endless journey.
Now, for everyone's first step, it was always life changing.
Suddenly feeling the vitalizing power flowing in your body, you'd start to get ahead of yourself and think that you're invincible. That always happens to everyone. Even Ben Li was no exception.
But Ben Li didn't want Lu Qing to get ahead of herself. That will only ruin things for her on the long-term. And for that reason, he wanted her to takes things slow. The duration of the processing will likely depend on her comprehension of the pointers he gives. Talent stats mean nothing and are thrown out of the window. However, Ben Li was optimistic about Lu Qing's prospects. He was very patient for her as well. But his standard criteria will only tolerate everything if Lu Qing can breakthrough Foundation Formation Realm on her own. Lest, everything she starts now will all be for naught.
Lu Qing put a finger on her chin as she thought and groan. After a while, she said this.
"I know that you sit crossed legs and closed eyes for hours or even days until you get hungry. I know that you eat those strange, roundy thingies with different colors to make yourself feel better. I know that something bluish would crawl on your skin whenever you breathe and I know that you go Boom if you want to start fighting."
"... Uhh, correct."
Well that was one cute way of interpretation of everything awesome inside my head. Ben Li thought this as he chuckled in his heart.
"Now, tell me Lu Qing, why do you think we do those things?"
"... Mmmm, to make yourself look awesome?"
"... And do you think it's awesome?"
"No." immediate answer. Lu Qing shook her head in disagreement.
Cough cough...
Okay, I think she needs some motivation first before we get to the boring part of Cultivation.
"Listen Lu Qing..." And thus, Ben Li began my lecture.
Sitting crossed legged is a Universal Meditation posture design to have the Meditator establish a unique connection between them and Nature. Basically, this simple posture lets you become one with nature. But that wasn't all there is to it.
Sitting down crossed legged let's your muscles and tendons create slight tensions with each other and feel every fiber pulsing as one breathes Spiritual Energy.
As we Cultivate, we breathe through our Pores and absorb Spiritual Energy. With every inhale, Spiritual Energy would gather around and would be sucked into our Orifices and Pores. That Spiritual Energy that you had just sucked will directly go inside your Dantian and what Spiritual Energy left that wasn't inside your Dantian will immediately be brought out of your body as you exhale. And this process is repeated over and over until you feel like consolidating what you had just consumed.
However, most people can't seem to store enough Spiritual Energy for a breakthrough and what's bothering is that they can't maintain their breathing momentum while breaking their barriers at the same time.
It was a taxing, tedious and sometimes maximum effort isn't even enough when it comes to Cultivation.
That's why, acquiring Cultivation resources is a must.
One of those Cultivation resources we can acquire are Cultivation pills.
There are myriad types of Pills are there in the world. Some with medicinal properties that Cultivators are compatible with or allergic against, some carrying essences that guarantees breakthroughs or immediate death, and some are just too potent for someone or not enough at all.
Yet, it doesn't change the fact that Cultivation pills are very important for a Cultivator's life.
As for going Boom whenever we want to fight, that was just the result of unleashing our auras by driving our Qi to the max inside our Spiritual vessels. By unleashing our auras, we can affect our surroundings to our advantage. The stronger your Cultivation level gets, the more your auras affect the changes in the surrounding. And those kinds of changes bring about the best of your abilities when it comes down to fighting with your Qi and Techniques.
"Now do you understand?" I asked to which Lu Qing nodded in affirmation.
"Alright, let's start the lecture."
The first in the list is the 5 repeatable steps in Meditating Cultivation.
Absorb- the first step is to absorb the Spiritual Energy around the area and contained it inside the Dantian until it's capacity is full.
Temper- the second step is to flow the Qi into the Meridians and Acupoints of your Spiritual vessel and fill them up until there is no room left to flow.
Refine- the third step is to remove the impurities clogging up in your Spiritual vessel using the Qi that had filled up the Meridians and Acupoints and push the impurities out from your pores.
Cleanse- the fourth step is to purify your Qi by condensing it in accordance to a particular circulation or Cultivation Art repeatedly until the impurities inside your Qi has been remove and the capacity of your Dantian has been filled up with purer Qi.
Attune- the fifth step is two have your Spiritual vessel adapt the new changes by flowing your purer Qi throughout all the Meridians and Acupoints until you feel the imminent breakthrough to the next stage.
The second in the list is the introduction of the Gates Practitioner realm.
Even though we called it Gates, Gates are just a certain set for Meridians and Acupoints that we need to unlock by breaking the barriers. But the reason why we call them Gates is because unlocking one Gate grants a pathway to a new stage each time one is unlocked.
The first Gates to unlock are the Yin and Yang Gates. Only one gate must be unlocked each time so one must choose between the two before proceeding to the next. Although to some people, it doesn't really matter which one you choose first, but to others, it is a very important step that determines there's future.
After unlocking the first two Gates, the cultivator will be granted by his/her Spiritual vessel and energy called Qi. And that Qi has the unlimited potential to grow as you cultivate it however you like.
From starting there, you are granted two properties of the Qi you possess; YinQi and YangQi.
As you unlock more Gates, your YinQi will grow to become soft as water, heavy as your body, cold as ice, dark as the night, and deadly as poison.
While as you unlock more Gates, your YangQi will grow to become hard as stone, light as a feather, hot like fire, bright as daylight and revitalizing as medicine.
Other than those two, there's is also weaponQi, HealingQi, PoisonQi and many more depending on what path you Cultivate.
And the last thing in the list is your Objective and the Reason to cultivate.
Cultivation is always boring. As there are no shortcuts to exploit, nothing exciting will happen as you keep sitting crossed legged for hours and after hours and grow completely ignorant of how much time had passed by.
For that reason, Cultivators need motivation.
Whether it is to reach the strongest of your potential or surpass your potential itself, or other reasons like acquiring the capabilities to do something that you thought it was impossible or for some petty reasons like revenge, anything can be used for motivation.
That's why this world encourages competition between generations of experts to the point where it became this world's version of the Olympics.
In this competition where dogs eat dogs for a living, only the strongest will survive. And what determines the word 'Strongest' in this world is the 4 major stats that a cultivator must realize for oneself.
Innate Ability. Intelligence. Determination. Fortune.
Innate ability, there's no need to further explain this aspect. It's all about how far you can go with the potential you have in your hands.
Intelligence, some people aren't meant to understand the deeper profundities of the world. For that reason, it was best that you didn't understand at all and only comprehend the things you do. How much that you can understand will depend on how far you can go in your path.
Determination, as it was said, motivation is important. Sometimes you would ask yourself what was the point in getting so powerful when there are mountains that are impossible to surmount? For that question to be answered, motivation through competition is highly recommended. How determined you are depends on how strong your Willpower had gotten in your path.
Fortune, Cultivation Resources is a definite must have. No one can deny it. It doesn't matter what you use to increase your powers, what matters is that whether those Cultivation Resources you obtain is important in your path in Cultivation. Because hoarding all things in the world to nurture yourself will not get you anywhere in Cultivation.
Ben Li must make sure that Lu Qing understands these three subjects he plans to lecture before she proceeds to unlock her Yin Gate.
Understanding these three will help her concentrate in the boring path of Cultivation. And everything else will be determined by her. No one is forcing her to do anything. And if there is something that she must do, then is up to her to decide as well.
"The first thing that we got to know about Cultivation is that WE know nothing about the path of Cultivation." said Ben Li with a serious expression. "But I don't necessarily mean that because we don't know is why we should not do it. It is because we don't know is why we do it. We want to know so let's so it. That simple.
"Curiosity is another form of motivation. Realizing that are ignorant of everything lets you open your mind to everything to learn for yourself.
"The Path of Cultivation is endless. That is why no one truly knows what it is for no one has reached the end of it. You don't know it, I don't know it, no one knows it and definitely not even God knows it."
Time flew by and it became nighttime. I spent the whole day lecturing her until she understood everything she has to learn and answered her many questions that befuddled her.
Lu Qing was getting tired. So, I had her rest for today and continue what we haven't finished tomorrow.