Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul

After moving the celestial bodies for an hour, Li Chang'an got up and went out. He ate breakfast and, as usual, went to the study to read.

This time, instead of looking for various cultivation manuals, he wanted to figure out what had happened in his previous state.

He has tested it several times, and as long as he enters a meditative state, he can enter that state. It can be said that this state has become stable.

After flipping through several books, he came across a statement in a Buddhist esoteric text.

That is, after a person dies, there is a certain probability that they will transform into the intermediate state (bardo).

Why is it called the intermediate state? Because it is a state that is stuck between life and death, neither yin nor yang, hence the name intermediate state.

The book says that the intermediate state (bardo) is not easily attained; it is not something that extremely virtuous people, extremely wicked people, or spiritual practitioners can possess. Only those in the middle have the potential to become intermediate beings.

The intermediate state being possesses supernatural powers, somewhat similar to the Alaya consciousness. It can ignore space and, as long as it thinks of its loved ones, can immediately go to their side. It can also sense the thoughts in its loved ones' minds and their longing for it...

The book describes it as having unimpeded movement, freedom of movement, keen senses, knowing others' thoughts, arriving at their destination at will, and manifesting without limit.

However, the state of the intermediate state is not stable. Generally speaking, there is only a brief period of consciousness every seven days, and the rest of the time one is submerged in a state of unconsciousness.

Li Chang'an had experienced this before. It was like changing scenes in a dream, which could change in an instant. However, he could not touch his relatives, and his relatives could not hear what he said. He had a dreamlike and hazy feeling.

The book only briefly mentions the intermediate state (bardo) and doesn't describe it in much detail, but Li Chang'an noticed one sentence.

It says that when a person dies, all thoughts are empty, and it is easiest to realize one's true nature at the moment of death, while the intermediate state (bardo) is the easiest time to attain enlightenment.

Li Chang'an felt that the state he experienced when he entered meditation was somewhat similar to the intermediate state (bardo).

However, this intermediate state is firmly attached to oneself and cannot be transferred to other places in an instant; one can only perceive one's own state.

In short, all the supernatural powers of this intermediate state can only be used on oneself.

Li Chang'an put down the book and searched the bookshelf for a while, trying to find more records about the intermediate state of being, but the Li family was not a Buddhist family after all, and they had very few collections in this area.

Looking at the time, Li Chang'an realized it was time for class, so he left the study and went to the classroom.

Lu Jin had already arrived at the classroom ahead of everyone else.

"Good morning, sir!" Li Chang'an greeted him.

"How did you sleep yesterday?" Lu Jin asked with a smile. "Were you so excited that you couldn't sleep all night?"

He remembered the time when he first learned to spin the sleigh wheel; he was exhausted, yet too excited to sleep. How nostalgic! That was almost ninety years ago.

"I rested well yesterday and have fully recovered," Li Chang'an said with a smile.

"Have you been secretly cultivating?" Lu Jin asked again.

"No!" Li Chang'an shook his head. "I was cultivating openly and honestly this morning!"

"Didn't I tell you not to cultivate and to rest properly?" Lu Jin pretended to be angry.

"Grandpa said that cultivation was not allowed yesterday, but he didn't say it wasn't allowed today."

"Hahaha, you're quite the sly one!" Lu Jin laughed. "How was your Qi circulation this morning?"

"Very smooth!"

"In that case, maintain your current state and strive to complete the 100-day Foundation Establishment as soon as possible. After the 100-day Foundation Establishment, your great-grandfather will teach you new things."

"Grandpa, does 'Hundred Days of Foundation Building' mean practicing Qi for one hundred days?"

For the past month, Li Chang'an had mostly studied physical knowledge, and the materials he read after class were also related to that.

As for knowledge about cultivation, much of it requires oral transmission and hands-on practice; it's not something you can learn just by reading a lot. Therefore, Li Chang'an didn't spend too much time on it.

Lu Jin explained, "The Hundred-Day Foundation Building does not mean practicing Qi for a hundred days, but rather circulating Qi throughout the body, filling every acupoint in the limbs and bones with Qi."

"The reason for foundation building is that the primordial energy manifests in the limbs and bones. Every moment and every action of a person while alive consumes the primordial energy."

"After the true qi transformed through refining essence into qi fills the limbs and bones, every movement consumes more of the acquired true qi."

"Although the natural loss of one's innate vital energy is still inevitable, this method can preserve it to the greatest extent possible and slow down its loss."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an suddenly understood. No wonder most extraordinary people with high cultivation levels live long lives; they rely on this skill of preserving their innate Qi.

Lu Jin continued, "The tempering of one's nature and destiny is like forging steel through a hundred refinements; it is a process that can damage oneself. If the foundation is not solid, one's foundation will inevitably be damaged during the tempering process, creating hidden dangers for the future. Therefore, the foundation building process cannot be taken lightly; the next step of tempering can only be carried out after the foundation building is completed."

"Grandpa, I'll be careful!"

After Li Chang'an finished speaking, recalling his previous feelings, he added, "Speaking of filling all the acupoints in the body, I think I have that feeling. When a full cycle is completed, not only the dantian, but other parts of the body are also getting warm."

Lu Jin nodded with satisfaction: "Yes, that's the feeling. There are 365 major acupoints in the human body. In the I Ching, nine is the largest number, and nine represents returning to the true nature. Therefore, each acupoint in the human body should be filled with nine mouthfuls of true qi. Once all the major acupoints in the human body are filled, then the foundation building is complete."

"If you work hard, it will take about a hundred days, so it is called the Hundred-Day Foundation Building. Little Chang'an, the next test for you is to complete the Foundation Building within a hundred days."

"If it's one hundred days..." Li Chang'an calculated quickly in his mind and blurted out:

"Three hundred and sixty-five times nine is three thousand two hundred and eighty-five breaths of true qi. There are twelve two-hour periods in a day, and each two-hour period is eight quarters of an hour. Two breaths of true qi can be generated every quarter of an hour. If you don't sleep or rest, you can cultivate one hundred and ninety-two breaths a day. According to this calculation, it will take a little over seventeen days to complete the foundation building."

Li Chang'an continued, "But you can't calculate it that way. People need to eat and sleep, and it's impossible to do it without interruption. If you cultivate for twelve hours a day, it would take about thirty-four days."

"If it's twelve hours, then basically all the time except for eating and sleeping would be spent on cultivation. But I have other things to do, such as reading and practicing swordsmanship. If I only cultivate for six hours a day, then it would take about sixty-nine days."

"However..."

Li Chang'an looked at Lu Jin and asked his fundamental question, "Grandpa, isn't cultivating for only six hours a day, which is three hours, a bit too lax?"

After all, even the most relaxed jobs these days still require eight hours a day!

After asking the question, Li Chang'an noticed that Lu Jin did not reply, but instead looked at him with a strange expression.