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

This kind of persistence may not seem like much to adults, but it is quite precious among children.

After studying for more than ten days, all of which were related to the twelve meridians, Li Chang'an felt the knowledge was more and more profound the more he studied.

No wonder many traditional Chinese medicine practitioners can't figure it out in their entire lives.

He went to consult Lu Jin.

Lu Jin laughed and said he was too hasty!

"I really want to improve," Li Chang'an said.

Upon hearing this, Lu Jin burst into laughter.

After teaching the twelve serious rules for so many days, I'm finally getting a little impatient. That's more like it!

This is also a test for him; spiritual practice is not about passing the time, but about making progress.

If he doesn't mention it, and Li Chang'an doesn't mention it either, and they just continue to drift along with him in the Twelve Serious Affairs, then it would undoubtedly be a failure in the assessment.

Now that Li Chang'an has brought it up himself, this hurdle has naturally been overcome.

Lu Jin said, "Wanting to improve is a good thing. If you don't want to improve, how can you talk about cultivation?"

"The most important thing in spiritual practice is to move forward. If you don't want to improve, then you'll just stay in the same place."

"The twelve primary meridians have actually been taught quite a bit already; we're just reinforcing the explanations and deepening understanding."

"Now that you want to improve, I'll teach you some new things."

"Today we will teach the eight extraordinary meridians, which are in addition to the twelve regular meridians."

Lu Jin turned around and wrote the four characters "Eight Extraordinary Meridians" in the small black notebook.

"Did you think it was the seven meridians and eight extraordinary vessels?" Lu Jin asked.

Li Chang'an nodded: "Hearing the number eight at the end, one naturally associates it with the number seven."

Lu Jin said, "That's only natural. This 'qi' doesn't mean strange. It's a name in the Book of Changes. It doesn't belong to the twelve meridians. It corresponds to the eight trigrams."

“We won’t talk about the Eight Trigrams today, as they are too complicated. The Eight Trigrams involve a series of classics such as the Book of Changes, the Yellow Emperor’s Inner Classic, and the Coffin. Even at my age, I still don’t understand many of them.”

……

……

Lu Jin taught the lesson very carefully, but Li Chang'an still found it very difficult and wanted to learn more about the related knowledge.

Immediately, he remembered what he had said before: to consult ancient books more often to broaden his knowledge. But he never actually did so.

"They've been far too lax!"

So, after finishing breakfast, Li Chang'an went to his grandfather's study.

His grandfather's study was filled with all sorts of books, but as far as he could remember, his grandfather had never read them.

Li Chang'an couldn't help but sigh, "Old Ma was right. There are many books in his office, but they're not for him; they're for others to read."

Immediately, he consulted some books about the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and found that much of the content was not even as detailed as what Lu Jin had taught in class.

I wouldn't say it was a great success, but it wasn't a complete failure either; it was a moderate success.

Lu Jin also noticed Li Chang'an's actions.

He secretly observed that Li Chang'an was reading a book, and it wasn't the kind of comic book that Linglong liked, but a cultivation classic. He was very pleased.

Most importantly, this kid is good at choosing books; he knows which ones he should read and which ones he shouldn't.

Some of the cultivation notes in Li Shaoyun's notebooks were wrong, and he was worried that if Li Chang'an read them, it would have a negative impact on him.

Unexpectedly, Li Chang'an only glanced at it before tossing it aside, muttering to himself, "It's a bit difficult, I'll look at it later."

Knowing when to advance and when to retreat, understanding gains and losses, and not being overly ambitious—this kid has a good character! Lu Jin thought to himself.

…………

…………

Over the next few days, Li Chang'an continued to listen to Lu Jin explain the relationship between the Eight Extraordinary Meridians and the Acquired Bagua, and then went to read books after class.

Lu Jin continued to observe secretly, and seeing that Li Chang'an's enthusiasm was not just a passing fancy, but a daily practice, he was even more gratified.

Whether it's cultivation or study, he hasn't slacked off in the slightest. This kid's character is exactly what I admire!

After a period of teaching the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, Lu Jin began the next stage of teaching.

In class, he took out a diagram of the human body.

The surface was covered with dense black dots, enough to trigger trypophobia in anyone looking at it.

Lu Jin said, "This is the treasure map of the human body. There are 365 acupoints on the entire body, which correspond exactly to the 365 degrees of the celestial sphere and also to the 365 days of the year..."

“These acupoints range from Baihui on the top of the head to Yongquan on the sole of the foot. Each acupoint corresponds to a specific meridian and organ, and even the time of day is different.”

"The effects of stimulating acupoints vary; some can immobilize the body, some can stop bleeding, and some can be fatal..."

"This is a more complex system than the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, and it is also a very crucial system that needs to be carefully understood."

……

……

Even Lu Jin found this kind of knowledge tedious, but Li Chang'an still studied it very diligently, which made Lu Jin like him even more!

For the next period of time, Li Chang'an practiced standing meditation and attended classes every day.

Today's lesson is still about acupoints.

The human body's acupoints are connected to the solar terms and even the stars in the sky.

The effects of touching acupoints vary depending on the time of day.

This is something that needs to be paid attention to in spiritual practice.

Because when circulating Qi, one must pay attention to the right time and place. If Qi is circulated to acupoint at an unsuitable time, it may cause Qi to be disrupted, leading to serious consequences.

After learning about the relevant content, Li Chang'an couldn't help but sigh, "Is cultivation really such a dangerous thing?"

No wonder everyone says that without the true teachings, one cannot practice haphazardly, otherwise one will face a near-death experience.

He began to pay more attention to the basics, and even if there was something he didn't understand in class, he would ask Lu Jin for help.

This made Lu Jin very pleased.

Lu Jin even felt that even his master should have praised Li Chang'an.

He still remembered what his master had said to his fellow disciples.

Success or failure hinges on a single point. A master can teach you how to overcome obstacles, but can a master overcome obstacles for you?

Having a thirst for exploration, being good at asking questions, being good at solving problems, being able to find a way forward independently, and being able to draw inferences from one instance to another—these are the greatest talents in the path of rebirth.

Seeing Li Chang'an, Lu Jin finally understood why, during the Three-One Assessment, his master said that his behavior of staying in the lower courtyard in an orderly manner was somewhat rigid and that he was trapping himself, while praising the naughty child who ran to the upper courtyard to play without permission.

Having reached this stage of the assessment, in his mind, Li Chang'an had already passed the test.

Chapter 4 Cultivation Practice

Today is February 5.

Early in the morning, Li Chang'an practiced standing meditation as usual.

He has been practicing standing meditation for more than two months, and his body has undergone some changes during this period of practice.

He's grown taller, and when he wears clothes, the sleeves are a bit too short, and the trouser legs are rolled up, revealing his ankles.

Not only his height, but when he looked in the mirror, his shoulders seemed broader and his chest thicker.

He used to be a soft-spoken elementary school student, but now he looks more like a capable middle school athlete; the change is quite obvious.

"This feeling of becoming stronger is really exhilarating. Just standing meditation has brought about such a big change. What would it be like with other cultivation methods?" Li Chang'an was both excited and expectant.

After finishing his practice session for the day, Li Chang'an went to his study to read for a while before coming to the classroom.

During this time, his classes at school were suspended, and he spent his days at home listening to Lu Jin talk about cultivation.

Lu Jin talked mostly about those seemingly dry basic cultivation common sense, but he always kept silent about the strange and unusual things in the world of supernatural beings.

Li Chang'an had asked out of curiosity because he had once overheard his grandfather and Lu Jin talking about Zhang Huaiyi.

He guessed that the plot was about to begin, and Zhang Huaiyi might be setting up a big scheme.

Lu Jin replied, "Cultivation requires focusing on oneself, not seeking externally."

"Don't seek outside," Li Chang'an kept these four words in mind, and then stopped asking questions. At his current age and level of cultivation, he couldn't get involved in such matters, and none of the people around him were involved either.

A short while later, Lu Jin arrived on time.

"Greetings, sir!"

Li Chang'an quickly greeted them.

Lu Jin smiled and nodded: "Little Chang'an, after studying so much theoretical knowledge, today we won't talk about theory, we'll put it into practice."

Is it finally about to begin...? Li Chang'an perked up and sat up straight.

“Previous theoretical knowledge relied more on comprehension, but now it’s time to test your aptitude. Today I will teach you how to circulate Qi,” Lu Jin said.

"Is this a different method of circulating qi from standing meditation?" Li Chang'an asked.

“That’s right, what I’m going to teach you today is called ‘Turning the River Chariot’.” Lu Jin explained, “Turning the River Chariot is a term used in the Neidan School of cultivation, and it’s the first step in cultivating both body and mind. If you can’t even turn the River Chariot, then don’t talk about anything else.”

So, is it finally time to cultivate both body and soul...? Li Chang'an couldn't help but feel excited.

There are all sorts of strange and wonderful cultivation methods in the world of supernatural beings, but cultivating both body and mind is definitely the way to go.

"Before I teach you how to turn the river cart, let me first tell you what the river cart is."

Lu Jin walked up to Li Chang'an and said:

"The human body is like a river."

"Everyone has Qi in their body, whether you are aware of it or not, Qi is there."

"These energies will rotate according to the laws of the universe."

"And this principle is called the natural circulation of Qi in Taoism."

"As long as a person is alive, the natural cycle will continue until death."

"The method of turning the river chariot is a method created by the Taoist ancestors who were inspired by the natural circulation of qi."

"So this method also has another name, which is the circulation of the microcosmic orbit."

Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an's eyes widened slightly. The concept of circulating Qi throughout the body is well-known and mentioned in many works, but the specifics of how to circulate it are rarely discussed.

"And this is how the natural celestial sphere rotates!"

Lu Jin raised his hand and glanced at the watch on his wrist, saying:

"It's 8:30 now, which is the Chen hour. Naturally, the Zhou Tian Chen hour follows the Tao Dao."

"Tao Dao is located in the upper part of the Du meridian, below the Dazhui point, right here!"

Lu Jin reached out and pressed a point where Li Chang'an's neck met his back, and said:

"Take a closer look around here, what's different?"

Li Chang'an closed his eyes and carefully sensed it for a moment, then opened them and said:

"Grandpa, I feel a bit of heat where you pressed. There's a very faint Qi there, moving very slowly forward with the movement of blood and Qi."

“Fever is a very normal phenomenon, but you were able to feel the Qi there. Your perception is very strong!” Lu Jin’s face showed a hint of approval: “That’s right, what you felt was the natural rotation of the River Chariot.”

Upon hearing this, a sentence suddenly flashed through Li Chang'an's mind.

The innate one governs the entire celestial sphere, encompassing all its changes.

If this statement is reversed, then it would be that Zhou Tian leads the heavens.

He blurted out, "Grandpa, is this primordial Qi being moved by the external Qi circulating throughout the body?"

Lu Jin was taken aback, then burst into laughter:

"Haha, what a clever lad!"

"That's right, this primordial Qi moves according to the changes in the external universe, which is why it is described as the natural universe."