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

Lu Jin fiddled with the alchemy furnace for a bit, then stood up and said, "For now, just keep the heat at this level. Come on, Chang'an, your grandfather will take you somewhere."

"Where?" Li Chang'an asked, puzzled.

Lu Jin smiled and said, "I arranged for people to set up the place the day you came to the Lu family. It was just set up yesterday."

As he spoke, he led Li Chang'an through the covered walkway, around the pond, through the moon gate, and all the way to the deepest backyard of the Lu family.

The backyard is not large. Outside the backyard is the mountain behind, which is lush and green. At the foot of the mountain are three caves side by side.

Lu Jin pointed to the leftmost cave and said, "That cave is mine, the one next to it is Lu Lin's, and the third one is yours, Chang'an."

"Isn't there a quiet room? Why go to the cave?" Li Chang'an asked, puzzled.

“A quiet room and a cave are different,” Lu Jin said.

"Is there any difference?" Li Chang'an asked.

"Of course there's a difference. A quiet room is just a quiet room, but there's a lot more to it than what you'd learn in a cave. Even the quietest room is an artificial structure, while a cave is naturally formed. Moreover, the location of a cave affects the overall effect. Chang'an, do you know anything about feng shui?"

"I've heard of it, but I don't know much about it." Li Chang'an realized, "Could caves be a kind of feng shui?"

“That’s right,” Lu Jin said. “Feng shui is actually about observing the structure of the terrain and the flow of qi, and making corresponding arrangements. The caves that Grandfather arranged are all located at the nodes of the qi, that is, the acupoints of the mountain range.”

"When meditating in such a place, practitioners can more easily resonate with the energy field of the mountains and rivers, and achieve the goal of comprehending the universe. Moreover, because it is located at the energy channel node, entering meditation here will directly face the energy channel, which is also a kind of tempering of one's own spirit."

"Therefore, after we, the members of the Sanyi Sect, enter the sect, we will choose a cave in the back mountain as our dwelling."

"I usually practice in a quiet room, but if I need to go into seclusion or have any questions, I will come to the cave."

"So there are so many intricacies involved." Li Chang'an suddenly realized, no wonder Master Zuo often went to the cave for seclusion in the plot, and those old Taoist priests from Wudang also stayed in the cave for many years.

The two walked to the cave. The cave was not large, but it was quite deep. The cave walls were all bare rocks, uneven and without any trace of artificial polishing. It was just a pure hollow.

Looking at the dark cave, Li Chang'an said, "Grandpa, isn't this just like being locked in a dark room?"

Lu Jin nodded and said, "That's right. You can't see, you can't escape, no one is with you, and you don't know what will happen. That's what the dark room is for. But that's the effect we want. We want to use these things to temper your character. The more afraid you are, the more you have to face it."

“I understand, Grandfather,” Li Chang’an said. “What I’m afraid of isn’t my true self, but my external self. The more I fear my external self, the more I should face it.”

“That’s right, that’s exactly it. When do you plan to come and try it?” Lu Jin asked.

"Now?"

"Kids are just too impatient. Let's eat first and then come."

Lu Jin took Li Chang'an out to eat.

Although the Lu family compound was large, there weren't many people eating there; the tables were mostly occupied by elderly people with gray hair and children under six years old.

Because the young and middle-aged men of the Lu family had to go out on business, the children would be sent to other sects to learn martial arts when they were five or six years old.

Therefore, those who remain in the compound are either retired elderly people or toddlers who have not yet reached the age for practicing Qi.

Lu Linglong is the leader of these children.

She had two little pigtails and rosy cheeks, and was playing in the courtyard with a group of little kids.

However, she never played games that girls liked, such as cat's cradle or house; she preferred games that boys played, such as wrestling and trifling.

Upon seeing Li Chang'an, her eyes lit up, and she ran over to grab his sleeve:

"Brother Chang'an, let's have a crutch fight!"

Li Chang'an was a few years older than her, so he had no intention of playing this game with her. He smiled, waved his hand, and walked around her.

After lunch, Li Chang'an and Lu Jin returned to the cave entrance.

Lu Jin pointed to a huge rock beside the cave entrance, wider than a person both horizontally and vertically, and said:

"To avoid being disturbed, this cave has a stone door. Once closed, very few people besides yourself can open it."

Li Chang'an looked at the huge rock. It was called a stone gate, but it was really just a big rock, without hinges or sliding rails, just sitting there on the ground.

"Grandpa, you call this a door?"

"As long as it works, there's no need to worry about such details," Lu Jin said, waving her hand.

"How do you use it? This must weigh at least several thousand pounds. You can't close it, and even if you do, you can't open it," Li Chang'an said.

"Who said it can't be turned off?"

With a thought, Lu Jin activated his Qi reversal state, his eyes bursting with white light. He bent down, gripped the bottom of the boulder with both hands, straightened his back, and actually lifted the boulder, which was wider than a person both horizontally and vertically.

"If you reach the first level of Reverse Life, wouldn't you be able to close it?"

Having said that, he put the boulder down.

The stone hit the ground with a muffled "bang," and the ground trembled slightly.

Looking at the giant rock, Li Chang'an gained a direct understanding of the Dragon-Tiger Mighty Force of the first level of Reverse Life for the first time.

Chapter 37 Greed for Zen

"Grandpa, if we're going into seclusion for a long time, what will we do about food and drink?"

Li Chang'an asked, he had never quite understood those people who would go into seclusion for ten days or half a month at a time. How did they manage to eat, drink, and relieve themselves? Did they need someone to bring them food every day?

Lu Jin smiled and said, "It depends on the level of your seclusion. If it's a shallow level of seclusion, you can just eat at the appointed time. If it's a deep level of seclusion, you'll need to bring some fasting pills to sustain your life."

"There are also fasting pills?" Li Chang'an asked curiously.

"Yes, you can buy them at medical clinics run by extraordinary people like Jishetang. Of course, you don't need the fasting pills; you can just bring the supplies in to eat and drink, as long as you take care of the excrement properly."

As they spoke, the two entered the cave.

As soon as he entered, all the sounds outside ceased. His heartbeat and breathing were amplified by the cave walls and could be heard clearly. Li Chang'an felt as if he were the only person left in this enclosed space.

“It’s really special inside,” Li Chang’an said.

Lu Jin's voice came from the side, "Although this cave wasn't carved out with modern tools, it has been structurally designed to isolate any outside noise and absorb internal noise. It will be absolutely quiet inside."

"Of course, this will also bring absolute loneliness and amplify one's negative emotions. The first time you cultivate here, it will be very difficult to endure. Lu Lin did not last long the first time."

Locking a small child in a dark room is a form of torture that most people can't endure for long. Even in prison, it's considered a form of punishment… Li Chang'an said, “Then I'll see how long I can last.”

"Since you've decided to go underground, I'll head out now."

"it is good."

As soon as Li Chang'an finished speaking, Lu Jin quickly walked out.

Then, with a loud "boom," the boulder fell, and the light at the cave entrance completely disappeared.

Immediately afterwards, Lu Jin's voice came through the stone wall:

"Chang'an, your grandfather has to leave now. You should focus on your cultivation in the mountains. There are huge boulders blocking the way outside, so no one will disturb you."

"However, if Grandpa is delayed by something and doesn't come back in time, you'll be in big trouble..."

The sound disappeared.

"..." Li Chang'an sat in the darkness. He knew that Lu Jin was lying to him, but inevitably, some distracting thoughts still arose.

Will my grandfather refuse to open the door for me?

Could it be that Grandpa encountered some unexpected situation outside?

If something happens to Grandpa, the soundproofing here is so good that even if I scream my lungs out, no one will come.

Thoughts popped up one after another.

He couldn't even keep up with the transformations.

Although Li Chang'an could see thoughts, he had not reached the state of not having thoughts.

The emergence of such thoughts is actually a very normal phenomenon. It's like a person walking alone at night. Even if they desperately tell themselves that there are no ghosts in the world, they will still feel all sorts of fear and trepidation. In fact, the more they remind themselves, the more afraid they become.

"No, I can't think about it. The more I think about it, the more distracting thoughts I have. I just need to focus on it."

Li Chang'an looked around. The cave was pitch black, and there were no artificial decorations inside, not even a meditation cushion. He sat down cross-legged on the spot and began to meditate.

However, his meditative state was very poor because he was not wearing a watch or carrying a mobile phone, so he did not know the time. In addition, the pitch-black environment around him made him feel very insecure. Everything around him was beyond his control, and he felt like a mayfly that could be swallowed at any moment.

Li Chang'an quickly used his intermediate state awareness to examine the thoughts in his mind and found that his heart was already turbulent, with various thoughts rising and falling like waves.

Previously, under his deliberate preservation and transformation, it would have been impossible for him to have so many thoughts.

"It turns out that the reason I am usually calm is not because I have reached a certain level of sexual cultivation, but because I am in a safe environment. My external self, that is, my consciousness, has not been stimulated."

"But when I was in an unsettling environment, this consciousness immediately became restless, and when it became restless, it naturally caused far more distracting thoughts than usual."

Upon realizing this, Li Chang'an immediately understood why some people, despite cultivating very well, would suddenly lose control of their mindset under certain circumstances, leading to a drop in their cultivation level.

This is actually because the mind has not been properly controlled.

No matter how high your spiritual level is normally, when you encounter special circumstances, such as the death of your master, wife, or daughter, your consciousness will become restless and agitated.

If you cannot suppress your consciousness, it will pull you down from your current state, causing you to do things that defy common sense.

For example, even someone as highly accomplished as Master Zuo was brought down after witnessing the truth behind the three realms.

Wugensheng was known as a born genius, but his personality changed drastically later, and he did a series of absurd things. It is estimated that something caused his consciousness to act recklessly, which pulled him down from his original state.

"And right now, I haven't encountered anything yet. I've only been in a closed, completely dark environment, and my consciousness has already started to act recklessly. It seems that my level is still far from sufficient."

Li Chang'an thought to himself.

Immediately, he held his breath and stopped trying to distract himself from his thoughts.

Because shifting your attention is actually a form of feedback to them.

He silently observed these thoughts in his intermediate state.

Gradually, the thoughts in his mind began to fade away because they received no feedback.

After calming down, he began to forget his surroundings and entered a meditative state, circulating his Qi in a reverse-generation state to refine his essence, Qi, and spirit.

Once he entered this state, the fear in his heart completely disappeared. Not only did it disappear, but he also felt increasingly exhilarated and began to experience all sorts of indescribable pleasures.

Although this pleasure was somewhat intoxicating, Li Chang'an's intermediate state was very clear. In fact, he was practicing in a state that was not calm enough, thus entering a state of greedy meditation.

What is greed for Zen?

This state only appears in the third stage of meditation.

In one's own world, basic meditation is divided into four levels.

The first state is called "joy and happiness arising from detachment," and entering this state allows one to experience stillness.

The second state is called "joy and happiness arising from stillness," where the feeling of tranquility is intensified.

The third stage is called "detachment from joy and bliss." As one's meditation skills deepen, one will experience the pleasure that stillness brings.

In this state, entering samadhi becomes very pleasurable. If one enters samadhi in pursuit of this pleasure, it is called greedy meditation.

Greed for Zen is essentially the same as a sorcerer's obsession with inner visions, just worded differently.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary practitioners will not be involved in the state of greed for meditation in the early stages.

Because ordinary spiritual practice does not require high levels of meditation skills, one only needs to reach the first stage of meditation, namely the joy and bliss arising from detachment, to begin.

Those most deeply involved in the practice of meditation are sorcerers, because their cultivation begins at the third level of stillness, making them most susceptible to this hurdle.

In the past, Li Chang'an would make a point of clearing his mind. When he entered meditation, his level of stillness was very high, so he had never entered a state of greedy meditation.

But this time, because he was in such a dark and unsettling environment, even though he tried his best to keep his mind calm, he was still not completely calm and thus entered the stage of greedy meditation.

Chapter 38 A New Breakthrough

The state of greedy meditation is very comfortable, and one can forget the darkness and unease of the outside world.

In the current situation, this is undoubtedly a good option.

However, Li Chang'an saw with his intermediate state awareness that after entering the state of greedy meditation, his mind was filled with many hallucinations, as if he were dreaming, which in turn gave rise to many random thoughts that had never appeared before.

If one becomes addicted to it, even though greed for meditation is a phenomenon that only appears in the third stage of meditation, the tranquility it brings is not even as good as that in the first stage of meditation.

Practicing in this state is essentially the same as not practicing at all.

Therefore, there is no such thing as a perfect combination of enjoyment and spiritual cultivation.

However, Li Chang'an's current state of indulging in meditation reminded him of lucid dreaming.

After his mother passed away in his previous life, he was particularly obsessed with lucid dreaming for a period of time, which means he remained in a lucid state while dreaming.