Chapter 52

Finally, the class was over. Wei Tianchong, who had been listening drowsily, saw Tang Jie already pulling him quickly out of the courtyard.

Wei Tianchong, curious, wanted to ask, but saw Tang Jie make a shushing gesture to keep him quiet. He had learned to be more obedient and didn't dare to ask more. He and Shimeng followed Tang Jie closely out of the courtyard. After just a few steps, Tang Jie suddenly pulled him and shouted, "Run!"

"Run? Run for what?"

"For food!" Tang Jie whispered, already darting out like a bolt of lightning.

Food!

Shimeng and Wei Tianchong, as if waking from a dream, started running.

Seeing the three of them sprinting, the other students were stunned for a moment, then realized, "Food!"

With a rustle, all the students rushed toward Qianwei轩, charging in like a thousand troops, only to see Wei Tianchong and the others already at the front, panting as they received their food from the window. Indeed, they were all excellent dishes rich in spiritual energy, with bright colors and exquisite flavors.

"Finally, we can have a good meal!" Wei Tianchong held the food and sighed, sitting down to eat heartily.

Tang Jie chuckled but remained seated without eating.

"Why aren't you eating?" Wei Tianchong asked.

Tang Jie chuckled again, "You'll see soon enough."

In no time, Qianwei Garden was packed with people, and all the students formed a long line.

Tang Jie raised a sign: "Selling spiritual food, a full set for thirty-five spirit coins."

"You're selling lunch too?" Wei Tianchong's eyes nearly popped out.

No wonder he wasn't eating.

Tang Jie replied, "Why not? We haven't started our formal cultivation yet. Eating good food is just for strengthening the body. It's a waste to consume too much. I couldn't fully absorb the spiritual energy from yesterday's spirit wine, which was a pity. Selling it is better. My price is much cheaper than Qianwei轩."

"…You're ruthless!" Wei Tianchong was speechless.

Shimeng, who was also there, was so shocked that the food in his mouth fell out.

He had already eaten his share and couldn't sell it.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?!!" Shimeng was heartbroken.

Tang Jie calmly replied, "If I did, someone would have competed with me. It's not easy to find a big customer these days."

Even Wei Tianchong, who had eaten dinner with a clear broth the previous night, didn't dare to show off his wealth here. Thirty-five spirit coins would be equivalent to 35,000 official coins or over 100,000 black market coins in modern times!

Even the wealthiest young masters wouldn't dare to eat like this every day, so for Tang Jie, the fewer competitors, the better.

Shimeng sheepishly said, "I wouldn't do that."

Tang Jie sneered, "It sounds like you were sitting and listening to the lecture this morning."

"…"

After a while, someone, unable to tolerate the "pig food," ran to Tang Jie and bought the spiritual food. Of course, Tang Jie didn't forget to take the other person's "pig food" and ate it with relish.

In a moment, Tang Jie had already earned forty spirit coins. His monthly allowance at the academy was only ten taels, and now he had earned the equivalent of a year's income in just one morning.

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In the afternoon, it was time for the lecture on cultivation techniques.

The lecture was not held at Moxiang Academy but at the Jingjing Stone on Chaoyang Peak of Qingyun Mountain, and the students had to climb over mountains and hills.

Undoubtedly, this was another exhausting task. Wei Tianchong, who had never experienced such hardship, could barely walk halfway and sat on the ground, crying, "I won't walk anymore, I want to go home!"

"You have to walk, this is the lecture on cultivation techniques. Missing it would make your time at the academy meaningless." Tang Jie dragged him forward.

"I won't walk!" Wei Tianchong shouted.

"If you don't walk, I'll whip you!" Tang Jie threatened. Since leaving the Wei family, he had never used family discipline to threaten Wei Tianchong. Although Madam had given him the authority, it wasn't to be used casually, so Tang Jie was reluctant to use this "treasure." However, since it was about the lecture on cultivation techniques, he couldn't help but threaten.

Wei Tianchong trembled, knowing that Tang Jie would follow through. He had to stand up and continue walking, still shouting, "I'll tell my mother you made me suffer!"

Tang Jie sneered, "Go ahead, go ahead. I guarantee Madam won't listen to you."

"Nonsense, my mother loves me the most!"

"Madam does love you, but if she were here and saw you suffering, she wouldn't accept it. But since she's not here, no matter how much you complain, as long as it's for your benefit, she won't feel sorry for you."

"How can that be?" Wei Tianchong was stunned.

"Nothing is impossible," Tang Jie smiled. "When they can't see, parents can be very heartless. It's the same for all parents."

Wei Tianchong opened his mouth but couldn't speak. Thinking about it, Tang Jie was right. His mother had indeed said he should train well and be prepared to endure hardship. Could it be that she really wouldn't care about him?

Thinking of this, he felt a pang of fear and cried out, "Why is my life so hard!"

Tang Jie, seeing this, was annoyed and grabbed him, "Hard life? Young Master, I have a hard life. No matter how hard I try, I can't stop you. You've already lost me five points on the first day. I was counting on you to become one of the top ten disciples. At this rate, I'll be grateful if you don't become a dropout!"

Thinking of his own misfortune, while others were striving to improve themselves, he had to help such a person reach the Heart of Heaven. Tang Jie felt an immense headache.

Why did I make such a foolish wish back then?

Hearing this, Wei Tianchong felt very embarrassed and gritted his teeth, finally reaching Chaoyang Peak.

He thought he would be late and have to stand, but when they arrived, he saw that the Jingjing Stone was already covered with cushions, and everyone could sit.

Tang Jie pulled Wei Tianchong, and the three of them found a spot to sit. Soon, the other students arrived one after another, and no one was left out.

Wei Tianchong was very curious and asked Tang Jie, "Why didn't they drive away the latecomers this time? And everyone has a seat?"

Thinking for a moment, Tang Jie replied, "The events of yesterday and this morning were probably to teach everyone a lesson, to make them more disciplined. Missing a few lectures on literature and reason isn't a big deal. But the lecture on cultivation techniques is crucial, the foundation of Xiyue Academy. If someone is late, they might miss something important for life, so they won't be so strict."

"Ah, I see!" Wei Tianchong understood, then his face turned bitter, "If I had known, I wouldn't have run so hard."

"Look at you!" Tang Jie was speechless.

Soon, an old man with white eyebrows appeared on the Jingjing Stone.

The old man sat with his eyes closed, looking very solemn. Seeing him, the students whispered, "It's Master Ku."

Tang Jie had heard of Master Ku, a famous senior at Xiyue Academy who had taught many students and was highly respected.

Most importantly, Master Ku was known for his excellent character and was highly praised, so he wouldn't do anything to harm his disciples.

Sure enough, as soon as Master Ku arrived, he got straight to the point:

"The world is filled with spiritual energy, and the abilities of cultivators come from this energy. Cultivators cultivate the spiritual energy of the world, absorbing it into their bodies, merging it with their souls, using it through scriptures, and applying it through techniques. Therefore, the essence of cultivation is the body, soul, techniques, and scriptures, with the body absorbing energy as the foundation and techniques as the manifestation, forming the inner and outer aspects..."

As Master Ku spoke, the students began to visualize the grand scenes of cultivators mastering the world's spiritual energy, moving gracefully.

Cultivation on the path to immortality is essentially about improving the ability to use spiritual energy. Even when one reaches the Immortal Platform, the spiritual energy transforms into immortal energy, which is just a higher-quality form of energy.

Energy is like a stepping stone. No matter how you climb the path of immortality, whether you jump or leap, laugh or cry, shout or run, you can't do it without the foundation of this mountain and its path.

However, there are many paths, each with its twists and turns. How to climb them varies.

The use of spiritual energy by cultivators is fundamentally the same as the array techniques of Xu Muyang. Both involve arranging and combining to harness the power of spiritual energy. Whether it's an array or a technique, it's about issuing commands to the spiritual energy to achieve specific effects, forming different cultivation techniques.

This is why all techniques have a basic limitation: they must be something the spiritual energy itself can do.

If the spiritual energy can never achieve a certain effect, then such a technique cannot exist, unless you can master the Great Dao and transcend the limitations of energy.

"Spiritual energy is a tangible substance, capable of receiving commands and transforming into various things, with endless applications, but it has its limits. It cannot penetrate the netherworld, affect the future, or act on intangible things. Therefore, the ultimate goal of cultivators is to transcend the tangible and break the limitations of energy, which is called the Dao..."

This means that because spiritual energy is tangible, it cannot affect intangible things. Therefore, techniques like predicting the future or observing the will of heaven do not exist in this world.

So, in the vast universe, there are no such things as astrologers or fortune-tellers, and even if they exist, they are frauds. There is no technique that can predict events thousands of miles away by simply snapping your fingers—predicting is possible, but not by snapping fingers!

Only by mastering the Great Dao can one truly transcend the tangible and break the limitations of energy, gaining even more incredible abilities.

Therefore, cultivators are also called Daoists. The path of the Dao is the ultimate goal of cultivation, but it is very elusive, intangible, and hard to grasp. One must first walk the tangible path to have a chance to glimpse the Dao.

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. For any cultivator, to capture the intangible, one must first capture the tangible. The path of cultivating spiritual energy begins here.

Absorbing energy into the body, merging it with the soul, using it through scriptures, and applying it through techniques—these sixteen words summarize the cultivation process. Absorbing energy into the body is the beginning, and opening the spirit eye is the first step.

"The human body is a microcosm of the world, containing the five elements and encompassing all things. Energy flows through the hundred meridians, generating myriad techniques. However, the world is boundless, while human ability is limited. Absorbing energy into the body should correspond to the five elements..."

This means that the human body is a microcosm, containing yin and yang, the five elements, and corresponding to the world. Therefore, when spiritual energy flows within the body, it can correspond to the myriad techniques of the world through the laws of this microcosm.

However, the human body has its limits and cannot truly encompass the world, so one must choose a path and not act blindly.

Next, Master Ku began explaining the method of opening the spirit eye.

People often say that the spirit eye is where spiritual energy is stored, but this is not entirely correct. More accurately, it is through the spirit eye that energy can be stored and used.

A person without a spirit eye is like a brush that must constantly absorb and use ink, like a brush constantly dipping into ink to write, as Tang Jie did initially.

A person with a spirit eye is like a fountain pen that can write continuously.

Therefore, the spirit eye is not the reservoir of the pen but the small hole at the tip. Only through this hole can the energy in the reservoir be controlled and flow out, and through this hole, ink can be absorbed back in.

The five elements in the human body each have their characteristics. The position of the spirit eye affects its effects, so cultivators must make a careful choice from the beginning.

Xiyue Sect mainly cultivates the Heart Meridian of the Hand Shaoyin and the Kidney Meridian of the Foot Shaoyin, so most techniques are concentrated in these two meridians, and the spirit eye is often opened between them.

The Heart Meridian of the Hand Shaoyin starts in the heart and extends to the heart system, with acupoints such as Jiquan, Qingling, Shaohai, Lingdao, Tongli, Yinxi, Shenmen, and Shaofu.

The Kidney Meridian of the Foot Shaoyin starts at the little toe, runs through the sole, and connects to the whole body. The first step of the Zangxiang Jing starts from the Kidney Meridian. Its acupoints include Yongquan, Yougu, Youmen, and Shenfeng.

Therefore, the spirit eye can be opened in various parts of the body, depending on the need.

For example, Yongquan is located on the sole, originating from the kidneys and belonging to water, positioned in the earth, and beneficial for warmth and nourishment. If Yongquan is the foundation of the spirit eye, then water-based techniques are most suitable for cultivation, but it also has an affinity for earth. The Kidney Meridian has strong nourishing abilities, making it easier to advance in cultivation, so it is suitable for techniques that focus on water with earth as a secondary element. It is easier to advance in cultivation but not strong in combat, making it suitable for students seeking longevity.

However, if you are a combat enthusiast and cultivate fire-based techniques, it would be less effective.

In addition to the position of the spirit eye, there are different cultivation methods, and the same spirit eye can have different effects depending on the method.

Therefore, before opening the spirit eye, one must determine their future path.

Why must cultivators make a grand vow?

Because only by making a grand vow can one know their future path and avoid confusion.

From the beginning, cultivators must be firm in their resolve and know their future path to avoid taking detours. Some detours, once taken, cannot be undone.

At this moment, Master Ku spoke eloquently, explaining the functions and properties of the various meridians and acupoints in the human body, leaving the students enlightened and greatly impressed, realizing that Xiyue Academy lived up to its reputation. The previous frustration from being pushed to the limit was greatly reduced.

When Master Ku finished his lecture, everyone realized it was already dusk.

Master Ku waved his拂尘 and said loudly, "Today's lecture is over. Each student can take a cultivation manual from the Jingjing Stone and follow it to open their spirit eye. Starting tomorrow, there will be Q&A sessions. I will be here daily to answer questions. If you have no questions, you can skip the session and practice on your own. Remember, without permission, the techniques you learn must not be shared. Those who secretly exchange techniques will be severely punished."

Then, countless manuals appeared in front of the Jingjing Stone.

These manuals were not physical but appeared on the stone wall, each with a name and a description indicating where the spirit eye can be opened, its functions, characteristics, and related taboos.

Clearly, this was to let everyone decide their own path.

"Once you choose your path, you cannot turn back. Please choose carefully." With these words, Master Ku disappeared.

The students gathered around the Jingjing Stone, looking at the countless manuals floating by, feeling overwhelmed and unsure of what to choose.

Wei Tianchong looked at Tang Jie, "What should I choose?"

Unconsciously, he had come to value Tang Jie's opinion greatly.

Tang Jie replied, "Everyone has their own path. Ultimately, you should choose your own. If you ask me, I can only say, think carefully about why you are cultivating!"

Wei Tianchong was stunned. He thought seriously for a while and murmured, "Actually, I'm cultivating to fulfill my mother's wish and the family's expectations. As for myself... I've never really thought about it."

Looking at the Jingjing Stone with countless manuals flying around, Wei Tianchong's eyes showed a hint of confusion.

Tang Jie smiled, "Think more. Everyone has a goal, and the path you choose is the one that leads you closest to your dream."

"What about you? What will you choose?" Shimeng couldn't help but ask.

"Me?" Tang Jie smiled and pointed to a manual, "I'll choose this one!"

Both of them looked, and as Tang Jie pointed, the manual turned into a golden light and flew into his hand, then disappeared. Its contents appeared in Tang Jie's mind, but there was no physical form. Another identical manual appeared on the Jingjing Stone.

"Shaohai Dongjin Technique!" Both of them exclaimed.

Shaoyin is the most important of all meridians, and Shaohai is the foundation of Shaoyin, making it the first spirit eye of Xiyue Sect.

It originates from the heart and belongs to water, emphasizing convergence and the ability to embrace all rivers.

It is located at the elbow, beneficial for energy, and enhances the speed of techniques.

Its method is refined and pure, excelling in breaking through defenses, making it invincible.

It is beneficial for gathering energy!

It is beneficial for quick attacks!

It is beneficial for breaking through defenses!

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PS: I just noticed a