The situation in his Dantian now was exactly same as the 'Qi Introduction' recorded in the ancient books.
Could it be that he could truly cultivate in this game world?
He thought to himself.
Xuanqing was quite excited.
He looked around.
He could see the top of the barren mountain peak at a glance. There were no living creatures, meaning there was no danger.
Indeed.
He wanted to try whether he could cultivate here.
As the saying goes, if you hear about the Dao, you might die in the morning or the evening. Whether this was just the game world or a real world, to experience real cultivation would be pretty good already.
Just by breathing, he had obtained a trace of Qi. So if he were to practice meditation, the effects would certainly be better!
Xuanqing sat down with his legs crossed.
"Cold for an eternity, world most silent, mind calm as Qi, looking upon my God alone, heart and spirit together..."
Meditation wasn't something easy to achieve, even in the academy, very few students could do it, and he was one of them.
He chanted the Daoist 'Serenity Spell' in his mouth.
Very quickly.
His previously excited heart calmed down rapidly, and his entire being returned to a state of tranquility.
"Hu~"
After Xuanqing entered meditation, his breathing became extremely leisurely and protracted.
At a speed visible to the naked eye, countless points of light gathered around him, and these points of light entered his body along with his breath.
The Qi in his Dantian started to increase... one trace... two traces... five traces... one strand...
Practicing knows no time.
In the blink of an eye, the sun had set beneath the mountains.
Gurgle~
With an abnormal sound originating in his stomach.
Intense hunger forced him to awaken from his meditation state.
"Has night fallen so quickly?"
Xuanqing opened his eyes, and murmured with emotion.
In his perception, he felt as though he'd only practiced for a while, yet he didn't expect the sky to have darkened already.
He then felt at his Dantian.
A cluster of fist-sized, faintly-colored Qi lay quietly in his Dantian.
In his heart, Xuanqing moved, picked up a fragment of stone from the ground, channeled the mana in his Dantian into his fingertips, and gripped it hard.
Crack~
The fist-sized stone shattered as the sound echoed.
Looking at the crushed stone in his hand, Xuanqing's body shook slightly.
At this moment,
He couldn't describe his mood with words, any person on the path of cultivation, when faced with this kind of 'supernatural' power, would not have the slightest resistance.
"Hu~"
Xuanqing took a deep breath to calm down the excitement in his heart.
"Let's check the character panel, to see if there were any changes!"
In his mind, a thought formed.
[Name]:Xuanqing
[Grade]:Taiji Palace Chosen Scholar: Right Magistrate of the Five Thunder Court, Conjoined with Thunder Administration Affairs (9th Rank)
[Cultivation]:Qi Introduction (Early Stage)
[Cultivation Method]:Basic Breathing Method (Passive)
[Ingot]:0
"A ninth-rank Daoist official is the lowest rank. It seems that in this game, they won't recognize real-world Daoist officials!"
However, upon further thought, it made sense. If they acknowledged the existence of real-world Daoist officials in the game, wouldn't it be easy to achieve the highest Heavenly Master position?
He just didn't know, in this cultivation world, what kind of use this Daoist official had, and how to promote its rank.
Xuanqing thought to himself, then shifted his gaze to the cultivation level below.
In the Taoist Legends of Cultivation, the beginning of cultivation is Qi Introduction, followed by Refining Essence to Qi, Refining Qi to Spirit, Refining Spirit to Emptiness, and then you achieve immortality.
As for what's after achieving immortality, the ancient books didn't record it.
However, for the Taoists on Earth, this realm division didn't have any meaning, because they couldn't even do the first step of Qi Introduction.
"Yes, I've been in this game for so long, I don't know how the real world is doing?"
Xuanqing suddenly remembered.
After entering the Immortal Cultivation Game, he was attracted by the environment and couldn't help but cultivate. He practiced until it was night.
"Exit the game!"
[Warm Reminder: When the player exits the game, the character will be in an uncontrolled state, you can also recharge Ingot, to exchange for hang-up cultivation time.]
After Xuanqing silently thought about exiting the game in his heart, a mechanical prompt sounded in his mind.
Immediately afterwards.
The surrounding scenes immediately became blurry and he could vaguely hear the system prompt.
[Game Exit Successful]
.....
Real World, Qingping Temple.
In the bedroom.
Xuanqing suddenly opened his eyes.
He was about to check the time, but unexpectedly found that in his Dantian, there was an additional whirl of Qi, exactly the same as in the Immortal Cultivation Game.
A shiver ran through his body.
Could it be that the mana cultivated in the game has managed to manifest in the real world?
Xuanqing felt an intense heat in his heart.
During his time at the academy, he spent most of his routine studying scriptures, physical fitness, and practicing talisman creation.
After all, for a Taoist, the sale of talismans is one of his primary sources of income after graduation.
Now possessing mana, why not try to create a real talisman?
"I've been learning talisman creation for four full years with no practical use, I wonder what will happen if I infuse it with mana?"
With this thought in mind,
Xuanqing scouted his room for his tools: a talisman brush, chicken blood ink, cinnabar and yellow paper... everything was prepared.
With everything ready, he quieted his mind and focused.
He raised his hands slightly and aligned his legs with his shoulders.
"Heavens have its celestial generals, Earth has its chthonic spirits, smart and upright, impartial, cutting off the evil, and solving dangers like divine gods..."
Xuanqing narrowed his eyes and recited the mantra.
The five-year life at the Daoist Academy made him very proficient in the art of talisman creation, and the brush in his hand, flowed like a graceful dragon.
Not only that,
This time, he had mana in his body.
Xuanqing manipulated the mana from his Dantian towards the brush and flowed it into the talisman.
He wondered if it was an illusion.
After applying the final stroke, the yellow talisman seemed to carry a light trickle of golden light.
"Huff~"
Xuanqing sighed deeply and looked at the House Protection Talisman on the table.
From the outside, this House Protection Talisman showed no difference compared to the everyday talisman.
However, if observed carefully, one could notice that there was a trace of inexplicable Taoist rhyme flowing on the yellow talisman. The closer you are, the more apparent this inexplicable feeling becomes.
"It's done!"
Xuanqing was overjoyed.
After creating this House Protection Talisman, less than a third of his mana was consumed. He had the ability to produce two more talismans.
He should strike the iron while it's hot.
Without hesitation, Xuanqing took another blank, yellow talisman. He manipulated the talisman brush, depicting the talisman. Everything done in a flowing, unbroken chain of actions.
After a moment,
Just like before, when the talisman was completed, an elusive shimmer of golden light flowed across the talisman. The so-called 'Body Protection Talisman' with a thousand golden oil uses was created.
Two consecutive successful talisman creations made his spirits soar.
"It's not an illusion. The Qi cultivated in the game has indeed been brought to the real world." Xuanqing seemed to have a luminous glow in his eyes.
Fortuitous encounter.
It was a significant, fortuitous encounter.
And it was all brought about by the Cultivation Game on his phone.
"Right, the game..."
Xuanqing swiftly picked up his phone and looked at the screen.
....
....
While Xuanqing in the real world was still studying the Immortal Cultivation Game,
Meanwhile,
At the foot of the mountain behind Five Elements Mountain,
A thin, emaciated corpse lay on the ground.
Around this corpse stood five figures, all bald and dressed in Buddhist kasaya, half their bodies exposed.
These five monks are the Buddhist 'Five Guardian Buddhas', who guard the Five Elements Mountain.
They are the Golden Head Jiedi, Silver Head Jiedi, Boluo Guardian, Boluo Monk Guardian, and the Mahayana Jiedi.
The corpse on the ground was the 'game character' created by Xuanqing.
The Five Guardian Buddhas looked at the corpse on the ground, disbelief flashing in their eyes. They couldn't imagine how such a thing could occur.
"Could this be a conspiracy by the Daoist sect?"
"Strange, indeed strange. Fifth…go to the Southern Sea and inform the Bodhisattva about this."
In reality,
When Xuanqing entered the game initially, and appeared behind Five Elements Mountain, it gave the Five Guardian Buddhas a shock.
There was no sign of mana fluctuations, no prior indication of his appearing - just as if the Taoist appeared out of thin air.
Therefore, they thought that some mysterious Daoist cultivator had appeared, and they stood on the spot, not daring to make rash movements.
However,
Being dubious about the appearance of this 'expert', and thinking he might want to steal Monkey King, caused them even more shock.
They saw the Taoist pretend to be a beginner cultivating for a while, hold still for some time, and then he died on the spot.
He starved to death.
Yes, that's right.
A Daoist, who suddenly appeared at the foot of Five Elements Mountain, actually starved to death before their very eyes.
"I'm off to the Southern Sea." Mahayana Jiedi suppressed the shock in his heart, clasped his hands and uttered the name of Buddha.
A cloud of Buddha appeared under his feet and turned into a stream of light heading towards the Southern Sea. He went to the Southern Sea to ask the Bodhisattva.
"Amitabha, I hope nothing unexpected happens in the remaining time!"
The remaining four Guardians, staring down at the 'mysterious' corpse that has starved to death, prayed in their hearts.