Under One Person: The End of Technique, Company Building

"Do you know how outsiders perceive the methods of my Zhuge Liang lineage?"

"It is mysterious, complicated, and fancy. It is not just about esoteric techniques and boxing. You also need to learn things like iron ruler slapping the ribs, oil hammering and top-shouldering. The reason for learning all of this is simply to strengthen your mind, improve your physical constitution, and ultimately take control of yourself."

"The Zhuge family has a unique skill that relies less on talent and more on one's character."

"This is the Samadhi True Fire."

"The essence of Samadhi True Fire is not to ignite external things, but to ignite oneself. It is the spirit of the upper elixir, the qi of the middle elixir, and the essence of the lower elixir that ignite a flame of life."

"Ignite your greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt. The little bit left after burning these things away is the spark of the true fire of samadhi. The person who can ignite this fire must have a pure enough mind."

Zhuge Qi listened quietly.

He didn't rush to ask, "Then how do I practice?" He knew that since his uncle had taken out the booklet, he would naturally finish explaining what needed to be said.

"Among the four realms of stillness practice, the state of detachment and purity is the closest to the threshold of Samadhi True Fire. Once you have grasped this state, you can be considered to have obtained the key to Samadhi True Fire."

Zhuge Gong continued, "The essence of relinquishing thoughts and achieving purity is to let go of attachments, to let go of clinging to the body, to consciousness, and to external things, so that the spirit can return to its most original state. This state is only a thin line away from the 'ignition' of the Samadhi Fire."

"However, those who have renounced worldly desires and attained purity may not necessarily be able to ignite the Samadhi Fire. Historically, more than one of the Zhuge family's predecessors attempted to ignite the Samadhi Fire after reaching the fourth level of meditation, but failed."

The reasons vary. Some are not yet mentally stable enough, some are greedy for the power after igniting the fire, and some are backfired by their own inner demons during the process of igniting the fire. So don't think that crossing the threshold of letting go and purifying your mind means you've succeeded; that's just the beginning.

"I understand," Zhuge Qi said.

Zhuge Gong pushed the blue cloth booklet in his hand over, "This is a record of the Zhuge family's mental techniques for the Samadhi True Fire. It's not complete, but the core secrets are all in here."

He paused, a faint hint of caution in his voice: "When you light the fire, it's best to have someone by your side—not a protector, but someone who can bring you back if you burn it too much. When do you plan to try it?"

Zhuge Qi thought for a moment and said, "How about the day after tomorrow? Tomorrow I'll read the booklet first and thoroughly understand the mental techniques. Tonight I'll meditate to get into the best state, and then try it out in the morning. The mind is calmest in the early morning, so the probability of success is higher."

"Alright." Zhuge Gong nodded, saying nothing more, but simply pushed the booklet towards him again, "Take it."

Zhuge Qi took the booklet with both hands. It was very light, with only a few thin pages and a blue cloth cover that was already worn and frayed.

He didn't open it on the spot, but carefully put it into the inside pocket of his shirt, close to his chest.

"Thank you, Uncle."

Zhuge Gong waved his hand, "You brought this to this point yourself. I'm just pointing you in the door. Whether you can get through it or not depends on your own ability."

"Come find me when you're ready."

Zhuge Qi stood up, bowed slightly to Zhuge Gong, and then turned and walked out of the study.

The sunlight outside the eaves was no longer so intense; the light at three or four o'clock in the afternoon carried a warm golden hue, casting long shadows on the stone path.

He stood under the eaves, reaching out to touch the outline of the booklet on his chest; it was thin and had a slightly cool feel against his skin.

Then he exhaled and walked over to the group of young people in the backyard who were noisily playing cards.

"Brother Qi! Come quick! Ah Sheng has lost three rounds already! If you don't come to his rescue, he's going to lose all his dinner money!"

"You're here," Zhuge Qi replied with a smile, stepping into the sun-drenched courtyard.

He didn't rush to flip through the booklet that evening.

He played cards with Zhuge Guan and the others for two hours and won seven yuan. Zhuge Meng took four yuan to buy popsicles, and he used the remaining three yuan to buy a bottle of soda. He sat on the steps at the entrance of the courtyard and slowly drank it, watching the twilight creep up layer by layer from the end of the fields at the village entrance, dyeing the entire Zhuge Village a light blue like an ink painting.

Then he went back to his room, took a shower, sat on the edge of the bed for a while, and then took the blue cloth booklet out of his pocket.

The lamplight cast a halo on the cover, and the smell of old paper and blue cloth wafted out.

He turned to the first page, and the handwriting was handwritten, with strong and vigorous strokes, indicating that it had been copied by more than one person. In the middle, the ink on several pages was noticeably different, and the handwriting was more delicate, as if it had been supplemented by people from different eras.

He didn't stay up all night; he only read for about an hour, memorizing the core tips and steps, then closed the booklet and placed it next to his pillow.

As he lay down, he stared at the ceiling in the darkness, going over what he had just read in his mind again.

The secret to Samadhi Fire was simpler than he had imagined, but also more difficult.

In a simple process, the Yin and Yang energies in the body are mobilized to converge, collide, and rub against each other in the Dantian, creating the rudimentary form of "fire." Then, the mental energy is used to guide this fire upward along the meridians, through the chest and throat, and finally out of the mouth.

The whole process can be explained in just three or four sentences.

The difficulty lies in timing; the moment when Yin and Yang Qi intersect will ignite the fire in the heart.

The fire in the heart is not Qi; it is emotion, desire, obsession, and all the resentment and greed accumulated over the years.

They will surge up together at this time, turning on the igniter in the form of "fire".

If one cannot suppress their inner fire, at best their meridians will be burned and their cultivation will regress; at worst, they will suffer from qi deviation and lose their mind.

This is why only those with a pure enough mind can ignite the Samadhi True Fire.

It's not because your skills are bad, but because the more distracting thoughts you have, the more your inner fire burns.

The more someone wants to prove themselves, the more they cling to their obsessions, the more likely they are to burn themselves to death.

Zhuge Qi pondered this question quietly in the darkness for a while.

Over the years, he has accumulated quite a few distracting thoughts and obsessions: the future of his family, his personal ambitions, his pursuit of power, and his obsession with the "path of merging the extraordinary with ordinary people."

He usually kept these things under control, remaining impeccable at the company, behaving appropriately in front of Zhao Fangxu, and chatting and laughing at home.

But the thought of actively releasing them all is quite exciting.

He turned over, pulled the blanket up to his chin, and closed his eyes.

The chirping of insects outside the window and the croaking of frogs in the distant pond blended together, like a nocturne that you could listen to without getting tired of it, even without falling asleep.

He fell asleep quickly.

The next morning, when Zhuge Qi woke up, it was still not fully light.

The sky outside the window is a color between indigo and grayish-white, like a sheet of rice paper that hasn't been completely washed clean.

The copper bells under the eaves tinkled in the breeze, their clear and lonely sound making the whole village exceptionally quiet.

I woke up earlier than usual today, but I feel fine. I slept soundly last night without any dreams or being startled awake in the middle of the night.

He lay there for two minutes, sensing the state of his body. The flow of Qi was steady and smooth, even smoother than yesterday, like a widened river channel continuously dredging itself.

He sat up in bed, put on his clothes, and then picked up the blue booklet next to his pillow. He flipped to the part he had read yesterday and read it again to make sure he hadn't misremembered any step.

Then he put the booklet back on his pillow, opened the door, and went out.

All is ready except for the opportunity.