Supreme Golden Palace

Chapter 145 Changchun (Part 2)

A crimson light flowed around the pill, which seemed to have a life of its own, its brightness alternating with his heartbeat.

The sounds of dragon roars and tiger howls, initially chaotic, gradually returned to clarity, as if there were phantom images of dragons and tigers intertwining and swirling in the cinnabar light. The dragon's head was raised, bringing with it crimson flames and flowing clouds, and when the tiger's roar was deafening, the cinnabar light surged like waves.

When Lü Shang's fingers touched the bottle, there was a slight tremor under the glaze, as if it resonated with the energy within the pill.

A refreshing breeze entered his nose, and the instant it entered, Lü Shang suddenly felt as if a fine needle was gently pricking him deep between his eyebrows. Immediately afterward, a warm current burst forth from his Yintang acupoint and flowed down the bridge of his nose into his nasal cavity.

He instinctively held his breath, and the elixir energy traveled along the twelve hidden acupoints in his nostrils. Each time it passed a hidden acupoint, he felt a slight tingling sensation.

boom!
The instant his nasal passages were completely cleared, Lü Shang suddenly heard a sound like the earth splitting and mountains collapsing. At the same time, his nasal cavity felt hot, and two thin, red wisps of air escaped from his nostrils.

"The God of Nose, whose given name is Zhong Longyu and courtesy name is Daowei!"

This Everlasting Spring Pill truly lives up to its reputation as a precious medicine crafted by Zhongli Quan, the Master of Zhengyang. Lü Shang merely inhaled its medicinal aura, and with just that one wisp of energy, he opened all the orifices in his nose. This allowed his nasal spirit to develop extraordinary abilities, surpassing even his eye spirit.

From then on, his nasal passages also gained extraordinary abilities far beyond those of ordinary people.

It should be noted that the Nose God, along with the Hair God, Brain God, Skin God, Eye God, Neck Marrow God, Backbone God, and Tongue God, are listed as the Eight Scenic Gods of the Upper Part.

The nasal deity governs the nasal passages, ensuring smooth breathing and facilitating the exchange of internal and external energies for life.

In the path of cultivation, one should harmonize one's breathing, focus on the spirit within the nose, ensure even and smooth breathing, circulate true energy, and achieve harmony of body and mind. One should sense external changes, respond to various phenomena, resonate with the spirits within the body, and maintain one's own balance.

Furthermore, the nose is connected to the lungs, and the lungs govern qi. When the spirit of the nose regulates qi, the lung qi flows smoothly, and various diseases will not arise.

When practicing cultivation, visualizing the spirit in the nose can calm the mind and spirit, preventing distracting thoughts from arising. Inhale through the nose, guiding the breath into the dantian (lower abdomen), gathering qi and concentrating the spirit to nourish the primordial spirit.

With the help of this elixir energy, Lü Shang made further progress in his cultivation of the nasal spirit.

The lingering effects of the cleared nasal passages slowly settled within his body. Lu Shang gazed at the Everlasting Spring Pill in the bottle, which still pulsated with crimson light, and gently stroked the seal of the jade bottle with his fingertips.

The scent of cinnabar seeped into my skin along my fingertips, carrying a slight warmth.

Lu Shang stared at the pill in the bottle. The phantom images of dragons and tigers became clearer as the red light flowed. When the pill's energy entered his nose, his nostrils were still slightly hot, as if a clear spring was flowing down his nose and into his chest.

"I see,"

He placed the jade bottle on the table, sat cross-legged on the bed, closed his eyes and concentrated his mind according to the method of "Taiyi Jinzhi", and meditated on the gods. Suddenly, he heard the night wind howling outside the window and the copper bells tinkling.

While in meditation, Lü Shang only felt a slight twitch in his nostrils, and could "see" the branches and leaves of three old locust trees outside the courtyard stretching in the night wind, and smell the lingering aroma of wine from the tavern on the street corner a hundred feet away.

Even more miraculously, as the six senses progressed, subtle sounds gradually rang in the ears: Lü Yongji's teacup gently tapping on the table in the main hall, the gong sounding as the watchman changed shifts at the gatehouse, and even the crying of a baby in the neighboring neighborhood, all as if right beside the ear.

"This is,"

As the third watchman's drum struck, Lü Shang suddenly opened his eyes, got up, and pushed open the carved window. The moonlight, like frost, filled the courtyard as he gazed at his elongated shadow on the ground.

Zhong Liquan,

He muttered to himself, "A person from Zhongnan Mountain... Could it be that Patriarch Zhengyang knows my teacher?"

If he hadn't already achieved his own path, he would have truly wanted to do what he did when he sought the Dao in Zhongnan Mountain: abandon everything, become a disciple of Zhongli Quan (Zhengyangzi), and seek his personal instruction so that he could attain the true fruit of immortality.

However, Lü Shang has now embarked on his own path of cultivation, and he is confident that his path to becoming a human immortal is no less than that of any supreme saint or high-ranking immortal.

“Teacher,” Lü Shang sighed, thinking of the Taoist priest in Zhongnan Mountain.

After the fourth watch of the night, he lay down again and entered a meditative state, contemplating the image of the nose deity Zhonglongyu. This was a boy dressed in plain clothes, with eyebrows as light as ink and a nose as full as a hanging gall bladder, slowly inhaling and exhaling blue and white breaths.

This meditation lasted all night, until the first rooster crowed outside the window, at which point Lü Shang opened his eyes. When he opened them, he found his vision clear and bright. The red light of the Everlasting Elixir in the jade bottle on his desk had dimmed slightly, but it was still slowly rotating in the bottle, as if it were alive, subtly resonating with his breath.

He got up and opened the window. A few wisps of mist drifted in during the morning light, and he could actually 'see' the tiny dust particles carried in the mist, as well as the wisps of feathers left by birds that roosted on the eaves last night. This was a wonderful change caused by the resonance of the eyes and nose, and the fusion of the six senses.

"Your Highness, it's time to wash up and have your meal."

The steward Lü Quan's voice rang out from outside the courtyard: "Master is waiting in the main hall. He said he will take you to the palace to meet the Emperor today."

"it is good,"

Lü Shang responded, put the jade bottle on the table into his bosom, and slowly walked out of the courtyard.

Outside the courtyard, before the bronze wind chimes hanging under the eaves had even rung, he could already smell the austere fragrance of copper patina mingling with morning dew.

Turning past the carved screen, breakfast was already laid out on the jade table: venison jerky, alfalfa cakes, sesame porridge, and a dish of Longxi cured meat, which was Lü Yongji's favorite.

Lu Yongji sat upright in the main seat, the teacup placed on the table three-tenths of an inch to the left than usual, the vibrations of his knuckles tapping on the rosewood table filling the air.
"Father is drinking pine needle tea today,"

Lu Shang tucked his sleeves and sat down, his gaze sweeping over his father's unkempt white hair at the temples. The soft clatter of the teacup he'd heard during the night watchman's drum last night was from his father sitting at the table for a long time, using tea to stay awake. His nostrils twitched slightly; he 'saw' a faint bluish wisp of air in Lu Yongji's throat, a sign of slightly turbid lung qi.

Lu Yongji tapped his knuckles lightly on the table, his gaze falling on Lu Shang's increasingly clear features as he woke up. He coughed almost imperceptibly and said, "An old acquaintance from Longyou sent some newly made cured meat. Try some."

As he spoke, he picked up a piece of dark red, translucent cured meat and placed it into Lü Shang's bowl.

Lu Shang pondered for a moment, his fingertips tracing the seal of the jade bottle in his sleeve. He could clearly see the faint bluish-green stagnation beneath the blue veins on Lu Yongji's wrist, a sign of stagnant lung qi.

He calmly leaned over to take the cured meat, but as he handed over the teacup, he secretly tucked some of the Changchun Pill's powder into his palm, dissolving it into the tea. He said, "Father went to bed too late last night. Although this pine needle tea can refresh you, it is cooling and can harm your lungs."

As the edge of the teacup brushed past Lü Yongji's eyes, a flash of red light disappeared, mingling with the fragrance of pine needles and blending into the amber-colored tea soup.

"what?"

Lu Yongji had no suspicions. He took the teacup and took a sip. Suddenly, he felt a moistening sensation in his throat. The stagnation in his chest melted away like thin ice meeting warmth. He was surprised to find a warm current flowing through his lungs in the tea. When he looked up, he saw Lu Shang eating sesame porridge with his head down.

Suppressing his surprise, Lü Yongji took a few more sips of tea. The warmth became more pronounced, slowly flowing through his limbs and bones, making him feel warm all over. The fatigue and discomfort of the past few days were greatly reduced.

He put down his teacup and took a deep look at Lü Shang, only to find that his son was more radiant and had a different temperament than usual after waking up in the morning.

(End of this chapter)