Hou Niao listened to the music of the zither, feeling a great sense of relief in his heart; the elegance of a superior person was truly humbling, it was just a pity that he didn't even have the chance to ask for the person's name.
In just a few words, actually, he had already guessed her meaning; namely, that the passenger ship was under her protection, and the alluring sound of the jellyfish would not affect those with righteous thoughts. However, if one harbored improper intentions, then they could only hope for more luck.
It had to be said, this female Daoist had a ruthless heart; he rashly made a move, only to save a lustful person and nearly got himself involved too. Such a lesson was worth reflecting on.
The ways of the mortal world didn't quite work in the cultivation world.
Still, that old saying held true—even in the cultivation world, everything was predicated on strength; beyond that, there was nothing else.
This rash action had exposed many problems, and his own response had also been inadequate; for example, according to the Daoist scriptures, the strength of a Water Demon in water versus on land was incomparable. In water, it would be filled with demonic power, but out of water, it would be like a soft-shelled shrimp. Therefore, the timing of his sword strike was problematic.
The best method would have been to wait until the Water Demon had fully leaped out of the water before striking. The method he used at the time was an excellent technique against humans, but it lacked thorough consideration against such an abnormal creature as a Water Demon. That was the reason his sword strike was ineffective.
In a moment of urgency, he acted purely on instinct, forgetting that he was no longer an officer of the Criminal Investigation department, but rather a Daoist wandering the ends of the earth.
It was time to correct his position.
...The night passed without incident; the ships one by one weighed anchor, with several smaller boats hugging close to the passenger ship, knowing that there was a formidable Daoist on board to protect them, which ensured their safety along the journey.
Old Man Qi and his sons' boat was naturally among them. They didn't dare to stray too far. Over the next few days, all three of them did not remove their boots at night and clutched their blades, fearing that the Water Demon might seek revenge. But, the Water Demon was never seen again.
The female Daoist also vanished without a trace.
Hou Niao cast aside all these worries, starting to focus all his efforts on his own cultivation. Perhaps it was the wasted years that had solidified his foundation, because he made quick progress in the Energy Induction realm.
His was a case of thick accumulation leading to sudden progress; though, regrettably, it was a passive and reluctant accumulation.
With each Energy Induction, he swallowed more and more Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism, but the Jade was ultimately finite. It required a certain adjustment of one's heart realm to break through the constraint of only absorbing the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism through the Jade.
Cultivation is also about cultivating the heart, which begins with the first step into the path of cultivation.
At this time, one gradually transitions from deliberate actions to Wuwei, from keeping to forgetting, and from comprehending to not adhering rigidly. That meant not forcing actions, but instead letting things take their natural course. The Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism possessed spiritual nature and particularly repelled intentionality. Finding how to absorb it without deliberate effort was a science in itself.
And this was the most difficult barrier during the Pulse stage. Those who could succeed in Energy Induction within a month possessed such an ability; they had an innate closeness with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism, which allowed them to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Those who took many months to succeed were comparatively slow and dull, unable to find the opportunity to resonate with the Heaven and Earth Spirit Mechanism, and thus delaying repeatedly.
The Daoist scriptures say, "True intent flows continuously without interruption, to comprehend without adhering is true skill."
With accumulated practice, intention becomes unintentional, consciousness turns unconscious, thus allowing the spirit to rest to the utmost, reaching the state of absence of thoughts and desires, where the clear and calm spirit can result in dreamless sleep.
Daozi wrote, "The ancient Daoists, as they slept did not dream, and as they awakened had no worries."
Dreams, harbored by day and manifested by night, are an influence no one can escape. Like him, who had endured hardship in daytime cultivation and focused intently on one thing, he would surely dream of cultivation at night, with no other possibilities.
That was not a good thing, but rather a bad thing!
Only if one diligently practiced by day and entered dreamless sleep at night, could it be said that one really achieved the true skill of comprehending without adhering.
He was working hard towards this goal, striving in his cultivation, striving to forget, not contemplating what the future may bring, nor thinking about how to slaughter in all directions or govern the world with law.
He simply regarded cultivation as an indispensable part of life, and naturally engaged in it.
Dreams began to become fewer and shorter, indicating that he was getting closer and closer to success.
... Sailing by day, he couldn't always stay in the cabin; the quarters were cramped, and over time could cause discomfort. Thus, besides cultivation, it was essential for him to go onto the deck to breathe fresh air; but the boat was really too small, if the Qi family father and son were rowing, there was basically no space for him to move about.
For a low-rank Taoist, knowing a couple of hand-held sword skills was very important. Before reaching Tongxuan, martial arts were an important means of self-defense and warding off enemies. For middle-low-rank cultivators, spells could not yet replace everything.
Hou Niao knew several sword techniques, considered quite good among mortals. This was a necessary skill for his line of work, a family art that had helped him subdue several extremely vicious criminals.
He did not want to abandon these skills, but there really wasn't space to wield sword techniques on the small boat, and his body was beginning to feel stiff from the lack of movement. So, after the Water Demon incident, he made a suggestion to the Qi family that they found astounding.
He would take up the oars!
A guest rowing, while the boatmen rested? It seemed wildly bizarre, but the sword strike against the Water Demon that night told the Qi family that this fellow wasn't as simple as he appeared on the surface.
At first glance, a scholar, but in reality, a swordsman?
At the beginning, he was not quite used to it, always unable to grasp the direction properly and had to be assisted by Old Qi. But after a day had passed, he no longer needed Old Qi's assistance and looked every bit the seasoned sailor, with strength and endurance to spare, doing the work of two men and putting the father and son out of a job, leaving them only to catch river delicacies to supplement their meals.
Rowing stimulated the blood, Swallowing drew in spirit, complementing one another.
This was the benefit of cultivating the Lower Dantian, no need to learn spells, one was superior from the start in terms of strength and endurance. It was no wonder Body Cultivation was favored for quickly developing combat power.
At this moment, Hou Niao was dressed entirely like a boatman, and he didn't mind it; with his bare chest revealing his well-trained and sturdy body, wearing nothing but short pants made of calf's nose, he enjoyed sweating profusely in the summer heat.
He had little experience in cultivation, but possessed a terrifying intuition for it; previously it hadn't manifested because he couldn't draw upon the Spirit Mechanism, but now that he'd passed this threshold, he began to indulge himself, which actually conformed with the path of Body Cultivation, an important branch of the Daoist Sect.
It was truly the best way, to let nature take its course.
Thus, he continued rowing and cultivating all the way until he entered White Sand State of Boundary State, not realizing that a month and a half had passed since he'd boarded the boat. On the last night of mooring before reaching Liuyang City, everything changed.
In the stillness of the night's secret cultivation, he felt the Essence increasing exponentially, sweet and satisfying, his Dantian warm, his body immersed in a harmonious glow. As he breathed in and out, every pore on his body responded in kind.
In utmost tranquility, he felt the Qi like strands of silver silk, penetrating the pores, a sensation of hollow bliss, indescribably wondrous.
Eventually, the Divine Intent became unified, and unwittingly merged as one, his heart within the Qi, the Qi enveloping his spirit, Chaos blending together, a lingering mist.
His nose no longer needed to breathe in or out, his navel had the ability to briskly absorb, like an infant in the womb, this is known as Fetal Breath.
The Energy Induction Realm was achieved!
From across on another boat came a clear expression of appreciation, "Good, with broad ambition and far-reaching spirit, rowing hard on the path of arduous cultivation! I am Daoist Yan, bound for Liuyang City."
Indeed,
... The Great Dao is clearly in sight; few are they who misunderstand this fountain. The green sprout is the air of Qian Kun, the divine water's foundation connected with mercury.