Chapter 78

（Chapter one is being released at midnight, and many others are being released at the same time. The competition for the new book monthly ticket list this time should be very intense. If you think this book is good, please save your monthly ticket for Futo. Thank you.

By the way, this chapter is purely nonsense and can be skipped.）

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It was evening.

All the way until Zhao Futo saw Aunt Lan and the others off, he felt that the two little girls were looking at him with particularly strange eyes, making him feel as if he had flowers on his face.

Before leaving, Nalan Dou secretly pulled him aside, her face flushed red, and asked how he found her hidden files.

Zhao Futo replied, "There wasn't much in the entire F drive, and the first few folders were empty. But there was one folder that was 1GB in size, and it only contained a few photos. How could I not know there was a hidden file in there?"

Then Nalan Dou asked him how he knew the password for the encrypted file. She clearly remembered that Zhao Futo was a novice in computer skills and couldn't possibly crack an encrypted file.

Zhao Futo replied, "The password you used was always your birthday. How could I not know?"

Thus, the little girl left in embarrassment and anger.

………………

Night fell.

In the study, Zhao Futo lit some sandalwood incense, then tied the jade pendant with a special red string, adjusting the length so that the pendant would rest right over his sternum, just below the two rows of ribs. His goal was to protect his heart meridian, which is not the heart itself but the central position of the body, very close to the middle dantian, an important intersection point of the body's qi and blood.

Focusing his mind and holding his breath, after an initial moment of tension, Zhao Futo sat cross-legged and entered a deep state of breathing.

The internal alchemy he practiced was all about stillness!

The degree of stillness represents different realms. Everyone knows about "refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, and refining spirit into emptiness," but few know what exactly is being refined, what state is being practiced, and what is being refined in each situation. There is a masterpiece of a movie called Inception, which divides the levels of dreaming, with each layer representing a different level, involving deeper and deeper levels of thought waves.

This is a masterpiece!

Because it not only integrates Eastern breathing, Western meditation, Christian silent prayer, Buddhist sitting meditation, and more, but also clearly defines the progressive levels of human consciousness and thought waves.

So-called longevity techniques.

Are nothing more than breathing, expelling the old and taking in the new!

Breathing brings in oxygen, which is transported by the blood, and the level of oxygen supply to the brain determines the health of the body.

How to achieve immortality.

Zhao Futo doesn't know, and he doesn't believe it, because to be truly immortal, one must have no physical form, otherwise, the body will eventually collapse, like a stone that remains unchanged for millions of years.

That may not be a good thing, but living a little longer, a bit longer, is a kind of pleasure.

Internal alchemy breathing also has different realms. Whether one can delve deep and break through the life gate depends on whether one can achieve stillness.

Practitioners sit in meditation, with various thoughts, a single thought, or no thought at all.

Purity leads to stillness, stillness leads to depth, and depth leads to self-connection.

………………

Various thoughts, with the body, focusing on the dantian. — This is "refining grain into essence."

A single thought, with the body, focusing on the whole body. — This is "refining essence into qi."

No thought, with the body, no need to focus. — This is "refining qi into spirit."

No thought, no body, focusing on the void. — This is "refining spirit into emptiness."

………………

For practitioners, the entry point can be fast or slow, depending entirely on talent, but it all comes down to stillness. The four transformations of internal alchemy do not require any specific realm or level. Even a beginner can achieve a state of no thought and no body. However, being in a state of no thought and no body does not mean one has reached the realm of "refining spirit into emptiness." In Daoist terms, a realm refers to a full state, like laying a foundation. If the foundation is not solid, building a house on it will eventually lead to collapse.

Therefore, if one's essence and blood are insufficient, and one's qi and spirit are not full, prematurely entering this state and forcibly focusing on the void will eventually lead to heaviness in the body and a feeling of being weighed down by a heavy object on the head.

Over time, this will harm the body.

Life is about gradual progress. If one's essence and qi are insufficient and one forcibly transforms into spirit, it will harm the spirit. This is why some practitioners experience dizziness and discomfort after deep meditation. Therefore, practitioners should not blindly pursue depth in meditation. If one's essence and qi are insufficient and one forcibly transforms, it will harm the root. The circulation of qi and blood in the body's meridians is the foundation. The twelve regular meridians govern the internal, while the eight extraordinary meridians govern the external. The entry point for internal alchemy is the Ren and Du meridians, which are the central meridians of the body, connecting all the other meridians.

Unfortunately, there are too many charlatans in the world who, without understanding the principles, start teaching others, and themselves pursue "stillness" blindly, forcibly transforming into spirit and returning to the void. They imagine creating the world and all things in the void, which is essentially the same as what happens in Inception, ultimately just creating a dream of their own.

This is what is meant by "daydreaming."

In ancient internal alchemy, there is always a step called "laying the foundation," which can take up to a year or as little as a hundred days.

Therefore, without laying the foundation, the base is unstable, and years of meditation are like building a house in the air. Those who imagine great powers and abilities will ultimately harm their roots and fall ill. If one wants to become a god or immortal and suffers from this, it is their own fault. But for ordinary people who practice for health, if they are influenced by others and pursue quick results without understanding the importance of the foundation, they will be harmed innocently.

………………

All was quiet.

At first, Zhao Futo had countless thoughts, but then they converged into one. In a slight electric sensation, his heartbeat, limbs, and senses all disappeared from his neural perception. A warm current of qi circulated within him. Perhaps because he had been deliberately strengthened in the Nightmare Space, his control over his body had never been so clear. The qi passed through his tailbone, rose to the life gate, which pulsed, and after 72 breaths, it surged upward, passed through the Jade Pillow, and reached the Baihui point. It then descended through the nose, entered the Dantian, and circulated continuously.

With each breath, the qi circulated through the Ren and Du meridians, completing a cycle in 72 breaths.

After 36 cycles through the Ren and Du meridians, he no longer focused on them, letting the qi circulate on its own. In the extreme stillness, his body became vibrant. He lifted his buttocks and contracted his anus, and his breathing gradually weakened until it was almost imperceptible. The qi in his body gathered at the life gate, which pulsed continuously. Without any conscious effort, the qi surged upward, passing through the various points of the Du meridian and reaching the top of his head, the Niwan point, known in the esoteric tradition as the "Crown Chakra." At this moment, his vision reflected inward, and only two points remained in his body: the Baihui and Niwan points.

Then, a bolt of lightning struck, and it felt as if a window had opened at the top of his head, allowing a cool breeze to flow in. This cool breeze instantly spread throughout his body, blending with the hot qi inside, forming a balanced qi that circulated throughout. At this moment, Zhao Futo was completely lost in the experience, feeling as if a window had opened at the top of his head, letting in sunlight and a refreshing coolness.

The term "enlightenment" is used to describe this state.

At this moment, if someone had any delusions or religious thoughts, or if they imagined becoming a god or immortal, various illusions would arise. The "Three Flowers Gathering at the Crown" is one such illusion, but it is the most balanced and does not interfere with the mind. When the three flowers appear, the life gate can be broken!

At this point, the qi in the twelve regular meridians combined, and the eight extraordinary meridians continued to circulate. The qi in his body was no longer limited to the Ren and Du meridians. The cool breeze from the top of his head blended with the hot qi inside, forming a balanced qi that returned to the qi sea. This balanced qi is what is referred to in the legends of internal martial arts masters. In the ancient scrolls of Chen-style Tai Chi, the core of the coiling force is this balanced qi, which is born at this moment!

When the balanced qi is generated, the bones and blood in the body begin to change. The term "transforming the marrow and blood" refers to this process.

Internal alchemy and martial arts are combined.

In ancient times, internal martial arts masters had methods to exercise the internal organs, bones, and marrow, known as "Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound." When internal alchemy reaches this point, the "refining essence into qi" is complete, and the sound of the elixir can be heard. Any movement can produce the sound of the bone marrow in the spine, and the internal methods gradually expand. At this point, the body can enter a very strange state, and one can attempt legendary practices like fasting or being buried alive (which only Buddhist practitioners do). At this level, one can attempt to "ascend" or "dissolve." In Daoism, this is known as "dissolution," which involves the soul, a realm that modern science still struggles to explain.

When "refining essence into qi" is complete, one can stay awake for three days and three nights without feeling tired, and the body's metabolism gradually becomes controllable. This is the foundation of longevity. Although one does not have supernatural powers, one is already different from ordinary people.

This is the thousand-year-old tradition of China that has never been broken.

………………

After "refining essence into qi" is complete, the next step is to replenish the essence, qi, and spirit, and then advance to "refining qi into spirit."

Hmm.

In the past five hundred years in China, no one has clearly recorded achieving the completion of "refining qi into spirit." Daoism and Buddhism take different paths from this point. According to ancient texts, completing "refining qi into spirit" can reverse aging, which is beyond the understanding of modern humans. In Buddhism, most Zen masters choose to "ascend" and form relics at this point. Beyond this, it becomes more mythological, involving figures like Zhang Sanfeng, whose history is largely lost. Instead of being misled by myths, it is better to focus on health.

………………

That night, Zhao Futo broke through the life gate!

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Hmm, I decided to take a break today after writing this.

I will continue the main plot tomorrow. The real-world part will not take up too much space; the main focus will still be on the Nightmare Space world.

This volume, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, is now concluded.

The next volume will be a gold-level main plot world. To be honest, I am a bit worried about choosing to write about "Resident Evil" at this critical moment of release, as it is a plot that has been overused.

{Piaotian Literature}