Shen Zhuo retained no memories of his previous life. The only indicative of his origin was a certain innate feeling on his chest - a certain anxiety. To him, it was as if the world around him was just weird and not quite real.
Shouldn't the grass grow a little bit more tilted to the side? Shouldn't the sky have a certain hue of green added to its blueness?
His eyes could barely adapt to the luminosity, and some eeriness accompanied his unsteady steps, from a baby to young child.
Shen Zhuo was now 3 years old. He was the legitimate son of the Sect Master and Founder of a sect called The Blue River Mountain Sect.
This was a relatively young sect in the world of aetheria. Amidst the immortal clouds, between the Great Dragon Gorge, the Blue River Mountain Sect stood peaceful and mostly uninterested in worldly affairs.
Some would say that, instead of a sect, Blue River Mountain stood more as the retirement home of Sect Founder Ye Han.
Little Huang, drink a bit if you want to.
The name gave to him by his parents was Ye Huang, since his eyes had a yellow-bluish color since birth. At the moment, his father presented him with a cup of tea, while he and his wife appreciated the chilling roaming clouds atop Mount Shuang.
Shen Zhuo, now Ye Huang, had been born with a special constitution. Both his father and his mother had perfect bodies with a high cultivation in all aspects, so there was no doubt about his lower treasure. His Jing was of the best possible quality, and as such, his body was perfect and flawless, from his hair to the smallest of bones.
He would feel no chill in winter, and no heat on summer. He would be perfectly nourished with only a little bit of food and could also absorb great amount of nutrients from a feast, without becoming tired or sluggish.
The little child took the tea cup on his hands and sipped a little bit of its contents on his little mouth.
Bitter!
Green Heart Spirit Tea was definitely bitter. However, it was also refreshing and had a sweet aftertaste.
Ye Huangs' face betrayed his young age, as the bitterness wasn't of his taste. His parents laughed calmly and happily. His father stroked his head and his mother looked at him with candidness.
- Husband, little Huang seems to think the tea is too bitter for him! - his mother chuckled a bit.
- Haha. A young child surely would think so. But this is his first day outside of the Valley, so this is a good experience. Drink a little bit more son, and pay attention to the feeling on your throat. When drinking something which is very bitter, you must not concentrate your spirit on your mouth, or your spleen will be overwhelmed by the taste and your mind will become confused. You must not also let your spirit rest on your tongue, or it will become aroused by the bitterness and leave your heart. Instead, focus on your throat and feel your breathing as the tea cleanse and restricts your lungs. Breathe in and out with calmness and decisiveness. This is a good chance to experience the primordial breathing.
Ye Huang took a little bit of tea on his mouth, once again. The tea cleansed his throat and restricted his breathing, just like his father predicted. All bitter things could do this. The anxiety on little Huangs' heart stirred a bit, but his constitution was perfect and it soon went away.
Soon he could feel his restricted breathing entering a mystical state. It was as if he had returned to the womb, and his lungs did little more than absorb a little bit of oxygen from the blood, instead of nourishing the blood themselves.
At this point, Ye Huangs' heart exerted a little bit more of strength, and his chest expanded. His restricted lungs limited the time and rhythm of breathing, changing the very rhythm of his chest qi.
His heart was in charge of the chest now, and not the habits and quirks Ye Huang had acquired so far. His chest qi, receiving the power of the heart and the restriction of the lungs, became harmonious, primitive and ancient.
Just like a newborn baby or a very old man, Ye Huangs' breath returned to the origin, and so, through breathing the primordial breath, his spirit managed to grasp a little bit of the mystery of the Primordial Dao, everlasting and free from the constraints of death and rebirth.
Ye Huang opened his eyes, a little bit of water in them. The Primordial Dao was beautiful indeed, and his Dao Heart appreciated it.
Even as a child, after all, Ye Huang had been in contact with the Dao. His parents learned the Parental Dao with him, and every moment they interacted with him, was a moment of cultivation.
By living amongst cultivation, his own heart learned how to cultivate by instinct, maintaining a calm and composed attitude.
- Little Huang, that was great.
His mother caressed the back of his head, and then took the cup from his hands.
- But you must be careful not to exaggerate. This bitterness stimulates the five senses and can easily become a source of unrest for your souls, stirring them with the mundane sensations and illusion.
- Keep a steady heart and your souls will find the path to steadiness themselves - his father complemented.
Ye Huang looked at his father, the experience sipping in his mind. As the restricted breathing went away, soon he felt his mind speeding with thoughts.
- Dad, I felt something, but I…
- Sh sh sh… - said his mother, taking him on her arms - this is what we were talking about, son. The bitterness of the tea is fire. Now it is turning into earth on your body. Your earthily mind will become agitated and start to think on impulse. You must not think on impulse, specially during cultivation practice, or it will bring lack of moderation and throw you into disarray.
As his mother embraced him, Ye Huang felt a bit of those thoughts drifting away. However, that was just for a moment. Soon, they were back and, sure enough, on the next moment his father was standing in front of him.
- Come, son. Your earthly mind is in unrest now, so it must be restricted. To restrict the earthly mind, one needs to close the eyes and interact with the world through feeling and reacting. I will teach you how to do that by the Dao of the Sword.
As his mother released him, Ye Huang took the iron dagger his father had given him and stood in attention.
Even if it was just a plain dagger, it was a little bit bigger than Ye Huangs' arm, so it was a good imitation of a sword.
- Good. We will restrict your earthly mind by stimulating your liver. Close your eyes and follow my hands as I put your body in position.
Ye Huang closed his eyes, and his father approached him, gently touching his limbs in order to show him the correct posture for holding the sword.
Every time Ye Huang felt his fathers' hands, he reacted to them by following his fathers' orders and movements. In truth, Ye Han didn't use even the smaller amount of strength. He merely touched his sons' skin and then moved his hand away from the limb, his son following the movement of his hands until he stopped in position.
- Good. You can sit and relax now son. - Ye Han said to his son, allowing for him to relax now that his earthly mind had settled.
- After the liver has restricted and harmonized your earthly mind, the little bit of tea inside of you will be directed to second transformation, son. From fire to earth, and then from earth to metal. Breathe in and then breathe out. Try to remember the primordial breathing. Breathe in the beginning and origin of all things. And then breath out the end and demise of the world.
- As his mother instructed him, Ye Huang breathed in and out, foul breath being released, clean spiritual breathing being taken in.
As he breathed, Ye Huang felt the impure remains of the teas' bitterness being released through his foul breath, while his primordial breath filled his body with life.
After a few breathings, Ye Huang felt that all bitterness had been expelled from his body and opened his eyes.
- That's great son. - His mother praised him - All things go through two transformations inside ones' body, and then are expelled from it. The teas' bitterness was a spiritual sensation of fire, so it first gathered your spirit and then turned into earth, stimulating your earthly mind. Then, for the last thing, it turned into metal and, being now impure and weak, was expelled.
Ye Huang cupped his little fists and bowed his head slightly to his mother, which brought fort chuckles and heartwarming laughter from both her and his father.
- You can come now, little Huang. Your cultivation practice for today is over.
- Yey! Mom, I want choco for desert, can I have it?!
Ye Huangs' eyes beamed with spirit as he felt joy. Running towards his mother, he hugged her and immediately began to talk and interact with his father and mother like a regular 3-years-old child.
The family went down the mountain, headed to the Blue River Mountain - were Ye Hans' residence had been built.