The math teacher at the podium was saying, "… If real numbers x and y satisfy xy > 0, and x²y = 2, find the minimum value of xy + x²..."
Lü Zu said, "The Dao is named by nature, it is without form, one essence only, a single origin, a divine essence… It is empty of self and color, an I-ness of energy, guarded as an egg, long-lasting, then inside and outside become seamless, the spirit complete, the energy full, and the essence transformed…"
The teacher continued lecturing on the podium, while I sat at the back of the classroom, engrossed in a book on Taoist cultivation.
When the second year of high school began, there was a major seating change. Unfortunately, Wu Xiaoman became my deskmate. Every time she saw me reading something unrelated to class during lessons, Wu Xiaoman would give me a disapproving look, silently conveying how unambitious she thought I was.
I had an average appearance and a medium build, and I never tried to pretend to be scholarly or high-minded, especially not in front of someone as beautiful as Wu Xiaoman.
A week after school started, everything settled into a routine. The other students studied hard, while I diligently focused on cultivating the Dao.
Wu Xiaoman was an excellent student, ranked among the top ten in the class, just like my cousin Zhang Fuhong. Her beauty attracted many of the boys, including my cousin Zhang Fuhong.
After becoming deskmates, Zhang Fuhong and I grew closer. Every night, when he returned home, he would chat with me, and of course, the conversation always revolved around how amazing Wu Xiaoman was. I would just reply vaguely, because my focus at school was almost entirely on cultivating Taoism. Deep down, I thought with a sense of pride, "Cultivators don't care much about the allure of women. See? Even though I haven't started cultivating yet, my desires are already gone."
One day, during a math lesson, the teacher asked, "In the relationship of trigonometric functions of the same angle, what is the square relationship… Zhang Santong, can you answer this?"
Under Wu Xiaoman's repeated urging, I stood up and foolishly said, "The Dao!"
The teacher exploded in anger, "The Dao? What Dao?!"
In history class, the teacher asked, "Zhang Santong, what is the connection between Song Ziwen and Sun Yat-sen?"
I answered, "Song Ziwen is Sun Yat-sen's brother-in-law."
The teacher gritted his teeth and pointed to a silver dollar from the Republic of China in the textbook, "Who is this person?"
Without hesitation, I answered, "A Buddhist Cultivator…"
The whole class burst into laughter.
After several such incidents, the teachers completely ignored me. Fortunately, my cousin Zhang Fuhong, in an attempt to get closer to me, didn't mention my embarrassing moments to my uncle.
Others laughed at my foolishness, but I laughed at theirs. I was cultivating the Dao!
For the next ten days or so, I summarized a common understanding in cultivation: "Refine the essence into Qi, refine the Qi into spirit, and refine the spirit into emptiness." There was also the final concept of "breaking through the void." Therefore, in my cultivation, I must begin with refining the essence into Qi.
Laozi said: "Those who do not know the union of yin and yang create, this is the ultimate of essence."
An infant, while sleeping, has no awareness of sexual desire, yet their reproductive organs still respond. This is the natural function of essence.
Thinking carefully, although I wasn't an infant, in my sixteen years of life, I had virtually no understanding of women. My awareness of sexual desire was almost nonexistent. Plus, every morning, I practiced cultivation, and the medicinal herbs I had taken during the summer break had greatly increased my energy.
To refine essence into Qi, the first step is to be full of energy. The first step in refining the self is to hone the body. The successful marker for this is a warm energy in the Dantian, with the kidneys feeling like they are simmering in soup, and the Qi flowing along the meridians. The second step is to establish the foundation, with the successful marker being the opening of the three gates and the seven channels.
Since childhood, I had practiced the family tradition of Zhang family martial arts, which had made my body exceptionally strong. However, refining the self also involves refining the heart. For safety's sake, I chose to start from the very first step of refining the self.
To collect the spirit, every night before sleep, I would light incense and focus my mind. To familiarize myself with the acupoints, I spent every morning silently memorizing them.
On September 9th, 1998, I officially began my cultivation. After returning home from school and eating dinner, I told my uncle and his family that I wasn't feeling well, then locked myself in my room.
I sat on my bed, using the seven-pointed sitting method I had learned from the books. When my body and mind were fully relaxed, I slowly focused my eyes and drew the spirit light from the distance toward the space between my eyebrows, closing my eyes gently. Then I guided this light into the Brain Palace…
Boom!
According to the method I had collected and organized, I should have drawn the spirit light down through the central channel to the Qi point, then to the Dantian, and finally closed the breath to guard the point. However, when I guided the spirit light into the Brain Palace, there was a thunderous sound.
For the first time, I saw the small flag without dreaming. The moment my consciousness guided the spirit light and encountered the small flag, the light transformed into lightning.
I focused my mind and let it flow naturally. I didn't dare to overthink it. The lightning, formed from the spirit light, was like a key. The small flag immediately released countless strands of lightning, which coursed through my entire body. Within a breath, it returned to calm. I opened my eyes and felt an unprecedented lightness in my body. My Dantian felt warm, my kidneys like being simmered in soup, and the Qi flowed along the meridians. My intuition told me that the refining of the self had been completed.
I seized the momentum and began to establish my foundation. I directed my Qi through the governing meridian from the tailbone to the cervical vertebrae, passing through the three gates, into the Brain Palace, down the Ren Meridian to the middle Dantian, and finally to the lower Dantian. This cycle continued endlessly, and my meridians became unblocked.
In Taoist cultivation, the establishment of the foundation should take a hundred days. But my spirit was greatly shaken. According to the steps for foundation establishment, all my meridians had opened. In the depths of my perception, I could tell that all of this was related to the summer storm in Jiusi Zhang and the small flag.
Had I not obtained the small flag, I might have spent a hundred or a thousand days in vain trying to establish my foundation. But now, it was accomplished easily, and I marveled at my luck.
Now, I constantly felt the small flag releasing a nameless refreshing energy within my Brain Palace, flowing through my entire body. My mind seemed to have become clear, and I felt as if my head had "opened up." At this moment, I was full of energy, my Qi abundant, and my spirit clear. The establishment of my foundation was complete.
It felt so effortless, and I thought to myself, This must be a coincidence.
When I obtained the small flag a year ago, it had been stained with my essence blood. Over the following year, I had kept the small flag with me, treating it as a friend and confiding my emotions in it.
All of this seemed very ordinary, but from the perspective of cultivation, it was part of the process of refining the magical artifact. Later, during the summer storm in Jiusi Zhang, when the small flag flew into the air, my consciousness could sense its location. The lightning struck the flag, and my mind and body were jolted. Unknowingly, my meridians had already been opened. Combined with my strong physique and abundant energy, in one night, I had completed the refining of the self and the foundation. Everything was no accident…
This chapter touches upon both the protagonist's internal cultivation journey and their interactions with others. I've adjusted the terminology and sentence structure to ensure clarity while keeping the tone consistent with the previous chapters. If you have more to share, I'm ready to continue!