Translator: Cinder Translations
"Sit upright, calm your mind. Relax naturally. Close your lips lightly, breathe evenly through your nose. Clench your hands, eyes straight ahead. Concentrate your spiritual radiance, reaching towards the heart of heaven."
Ji Yin began explaining the first layer of the cultivation technique "Longevity Technique", focusing on the practice of gathering qi.
Ji Yin taught with extreme care, almost explaining word by word. He interspersed many personal insights and experiences into his teachings.
The young people listened attentively. They all believed this was their chance to leap through the dragon gate and were determined to seize it.
These young people were all literate, belonging to the minority in Qian Guo who were 'enlightened'. Under Ji Yin's explanations, they could mostly comprehend the essence of the technique.
Some impatient individuals had already seated themselves cross-legged, their minds turned towards the heavens, eyes tightly shut. They listened to Ji Yin's explanations while attempting to sense the presence of the spiritual qi.
Song Wen, however, didn't rush to attempt sensing the spiritual qi. He was earnestly listening to Ji Yin's explanations.
Grinding an axe doesn't waste time for the woodcutter; he still understood.
Moreover, he was certain in his heart that sensing the spiritual qi and successfully drawing in qi would be a time-consuming task, not achievable in a short period.
Soon, two hours passed in the morning.
Ji Yin stood up and proclaimed loudly, "Today's teaching on the technique ends here. You need to memorize and comprehend. I look forward to someone quickly sensing the presence of the spiritual qi and successfully drawing in qi."
"For the next month, I will allocate an hour every day to teach you the technique."
"During this month, you are forbidden from leaving this mansion, but you may move freely within it. Your daily meals will be delivered, and your task is to diligently cultivate the 'Longevity Technique'. Don't let down my expectations with you."
With that, Ji Yin left the wing area.
At this moment, Tian Sha Gang's guards approached, distributing a small booklet to each person. It recorded the first layer of the cultivation technique "Longevity Technique", focusing on qi cultivation.
The apprentices were all unsatisfied; some immediately returned to their respective rooms, eager to begin cultivation.
Some gathered in small groups to discuss their understandings of the technique.
However, Song Wen didn't join in the discussions or cultivation. He felt Ji Yin was too solicitous.
No kindness is without ulterior motives!
He always felt that behind this lay some undisclosed secrets. Ji Yin must have some hidden agenda.
After Ji Yin left, the guards also departed from the mansion. Song Wen took the opportunity to observe the entire compound.
The mansion occupied an extremely large area, built against the mountain. The wing area where he was located was only a small part of the entire compound.
Behind the wing area was a large open space with scattered vegetation and ponds.
Further back, at the foot of the mountain, was a two-story building. Song Wen guessed that it was where Ji Yin resided, and indeed, Ji Yin had just walked towards that building.
Around the building were plots of land, many of which were planted with medicinal herbs.
After spending a quarter of an hour gaining a rough understanding of the layout of the courtyard, Song Wen returned to his room.
On the table in the room, lunch had already been set out.
Three white steamed buns and a plate of stir-fried vegetables, with a small amount of meat mixed in. This was considered a sumptuous meal in Qian Guo; ordinary households wouldn't be able to afford steamed buns or meat every meal.
The better the treatment, the more uneasy Song Wen felt. He always sensed a huge conspiracy looming over himself and the other young people.
After finishing lunch, Song Wen took out the booklet.
The content of the first layer of cultivation technique "Longevity Technique" was concise, consisting of just over a hundred words.
However, the content was extremely obscure and difficult to understand. If it weren't for Ji Yin's explanations, Song Wen felt that understanding the meaning by himself would likely take a long time.
It took Song Wen nearly half an hour to barely memorize the more than hundred words of complex and convoluted text.
Afterwards, he began cross-legged meditation, focusing his mind towards heaven, silently reciting the technique's content while attempting to sense the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
The time spent cultivating passed quickly; in the blink of an eye, two to three hours had passed, yet Song Wen had completely failed to sense the presence of the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
"Could it be that I lack talent for cultivation? Or is my talent extremely poor?"
The afternoon's cultivation yielded no progress at all, leading Song Wen to doubt himself.
During Ji Yin's explanation of the technique, he mentioned that not everyone possessed the innate talent for cultivation. Those with such talent were exceedingly rare, and even among those with potential, the level of talent varied greatly.
It seemed Ji Yin's understanding of cultivation talent was extremely limited; he vaguely touched upon the topic but didn't delve deeply into it.
Feeling somewhat disheartened, Song Wen opened the door to his room. It was now late afternoon.
The setting sun cast a golden hue across the sky, creating a beautiful and enchanting scene.
Due to the crisis, he felt he was in, Song Wen had no interest in admiring the beauty of the sunset. He stepped out of his room and saw many young people gathered in the courtyard, discussing their progress in cultivation.
Curious, he approached to eavesdrop and circled around. From what he gathered, not a single person among the hundred or so had sensed the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
Instantly, his hanging heart found a bit of stability.
"It seems that cultivating immortality isn't as easy as imagined!"
After dinner, Song Wen resumed his cultivation, continuing until late into the night with no progress. Disappointed, he reluctantly lay down to sleep.
The next day, early morning.
Ji Yin appeared promptly outside the wing.
"Did anyone sense the existence of spiritual qi yesterday?"
After a moment, seeing no response from the young people, Ji Yin didn't show disappointment. He continued tirelessly to explain the key points of the 'Longevity Technique'.
Time passed quickly, and it was already the third day of cultivation.
That evening, while cultivating the 'Longevity Technique', Song Wen finally sensed the presence of spiritual qi of heaven and earth.
Countless shining lights flickered around his body, drifting aimlessly.
As the night deepened, feeling somewhat tired, Song Wen suddenly felt a surge of energy and excitement.
He had finally completed the first step of cultivation. This meant he possessed the talent for cultivation and had the opportunity to become an enviable 'immortal'.
Having calmed his thoughts, Song Wen quickly regained composure. He continued to cultivate the 'Longevity Technique', hoping to gather qi into his body in one fell swoop.
However, no matter how hard he tried, those drifting lights remained beyond his control, refusing to enter his body.
After attempting for about a quarter of an hour, he suddenly realized.
"No, I can't draw qi into my body too quickly, at least not first. Until I understand why Ji Yin wants to impart this immortal technique, I cannot expose the fact that I possess the talent for cultivation."
The next day, at the hour of the dragon (around 7-9 AM), Song Wen gathered outside the wing with the other young people.
Ji Yin systematically inquired,
"Did anyone succeed in sensing the existence of spiritual qi yesterday?"