Chapter 8

During the day, Li Muran diligently practiced, but his progress was still extremely slow.

By night, when the moonlight shone into the room, Li Muran practiced again—indeed, everything went smoothly, like water flowing naturally; with each breath, a strand of primordial energy was refined into his body. After an hour, the primordial energy in Li Muran's body surged and became abundant, reaching saturation once again.

Li Muran tried to control this primordial energy, and it went quite smoothly. As soon as he focused his mind, the primordial energy flowed like a clear spring through his arms, chest, and abdomen, nourishing his internal organs, giving him an indescribable comfort.

"It seems that this primordial energy is indeed ordinary primordial energy from heaven and earth, with no inherent problem!" Li Muran thought to himself.

But, what was the problem? Why did this primordial energy suddenly disappear overnight?

With this question in mind, Li Muran stayed awake all night, constantly monitoring the changes in the primordial energy within his body.

Throughout the night, the primordial energy remained unchanged and flowed smoothly, appearing quite normal.

However, as the sky began to brighten and the moonlight dimmed, with each breath, the primordial energy began to involuntarily and slowly dissipate from his body.

Li Muran, who personally experienced this process, was naturally very anxious. He tried every possible way to stop it, but to no avail.

Even if he held his breath, the primordial energy could still escape through his skin pores; even if he sat in meditation and practiced, the primordial energy he refined could not keep up with the speed at which it escaped.

Thus, when the sun rose and the first ray of sunlight illuminated the earth, the primordial energy Li Muran had diligently cultivated the previous night was almost completely gone, just like the day before.

"Why is this happening!" Li Muran was somewhat dejected. If this continued, wouldn't his cultivation efforts be in vain!

Unfortunately, he had no sect, no master to guide him, and everything had to be figured out on his own.

Li Muran sighed lightly, "If only I were a formal disciple! As a formal disciple, I could go to the library to read more books and perhaps find some clues!"

His current status as a listener disciple did not allow him to enter the library to browse all the books.

A few more days passed, and Li Muran practiced diligently day and night, with very little rest; however, every time it was daytime, the primordial energy in his body would dissipate on its own, leaving only a small amount remaining.

On the seventh day, it was time for the lecture. The disciples gathered in the Dakuanyan Peak Hall, waiting for Senior Brother Qingfeng to come and explain.

Soon, Qingfeng appeared on time, smiling as he asked about the disciples' cultivation progress. The disciples responded enthusiastically and were quite excited.

The quality of cultivation was already evident at this point. Disciples with good aptitude and diligence had already saturated their primordial energy in seven days and could now attempt to open various meridians, unblock the eight extraordinary meridians, and various body points. Those with slightly poorer aptitude had already cultivated a significant amount of primordial energy and would reach saturation in a few more days.

As for Li Muran, despite his diligence, he still had only a faint strand of primordial energy in his body, which was considered quite rare.

Li Muran did not feel inferior. He knew he was not that bad; he just hadn't found the right method.

If he could find the correct method and keep the primordial energy he cultivated at night in his body, his cultivation speed would be so fast that it would astonish these disciples and leave them far behind!

Qingfeng said loudly, "In fact, everyone has three major spirit points. Except for those who are born with them open, everyone else needs to open them one by one. The Ancestral Point is the lock of the soul, the first step in cultivation, which you have already opened; the Zhongshan Point is the gate of essence, located at the intersection of the line connecting the two nipples and the spine; the Dantian is located three inches below the navel, the storage point of qi."

"The Ancestral Point, Zhongshan Point, and Dantian, also known as the upper, middle, and lower major spirit points, correspond to the three treasures of spirit, essence, and qi, the foundation of cultivation!"

"After opening the Ancestral Point and seeing the divine light, one enters the path of cultivation. Next, one must use the refined primordial energy from heaven and earth to open the Zhongshan Point and develop the Dantian."

"The human body has eight extraordinary meridians, and the Zhongshan Point and Dantian are among them. The eight extraordinary meridians are the Governor Vessel, Conception Vessel, Thrusting Vessel, Belt Vessel, Yin Linking Vessel, Yang Linking Vessel, Yin Heel Vessel, and Yang Heel Vessel. There are eight major acupoints: Gongsun, Neiguan, Linqi, Waiguan, Shenmai, Houxi, Lieque, and Zhaohai, corresponding to each of them."

"Being able to use the primordial energy from heaven and earth to open the eight extraordinary meridians is a sign of successful cultivation. The more primordial energy one has, the stronger one's magical power, and the more significant the effects. Opening the Zhongshan Point is a sign of small success and reaching the middle stage of the Qi Meridian; further developing the Dantian is a characteristic of reaching the late stage of the Qi Meridian."

"Next, I will teach you the incantations for moving energy, opening acupoints, and unblocking meridians. If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

Qingfeng explained the methods for unblocking meridians and opening acupoints in detail, and the disciples listened intently. At this point, no one dared to be careless or miss a good opportunity.

Li Muran memorized every word Qingfeng said, not missing a single one. Qingfeng mentioned that this basic Daoist method for unblocking meridians and opening acupoints is called the "Daoxin Tongmai Jue" and is divided into nine levels. He would teach one level each month and then let the disciples study and practice on their own.

The first level of the method was relatively simple. However, the disciples' comprehension varied, and it took a full half-day to complete the teaching, with no more questions.

Qingfeng continued, "Our Yuanshu Sect is a sect of talismans, primarily focused on making and using talismans. Besides daily cultivation, the art of making talismans is also a required skill. Now, I will teach you the key points of making 'Primordial Energy Talismans.' You all have a certain foundation in making talismans, having trained your hand strength, eye strength, and mental state, so it shouldn't be too difficult for you!"

"Making talismans!" The disciples immediately perked up. Most of the sect's wondrous techniques are completed in the form of talismans, and now having the opportunity to truly engage in making talismans, they were naturally quite eager.

"Primordial Energy Talismans," Qingfeng cleared his throat and said, "as the name suggests, are talismans that store primordial energy from heaven and earth. Primordial Energy Talismans are divided into different ranks based on the amount of primordial energy they contain. The most basic one-star Primordial Energy Talisman requires only one character, one seal, and one incantation. If you practice diligently, I believe it won't take long for you to make one."

"Only one character, one seal, and one incantation?" Li Muran's heart stirred, "It doesn't seem too difficult!"

Qingfeng added, "Actually, the key to making Primordial Energy Talismans is not the technique of making talismans, but the source of the primordial energy. The primordial energy used to make Primordial Energy Talismans is the primordial energy from heaven and earth that the talisman maker has cultivated, or in other words, their own magical power. Each time a Primordial Energy Talisman is made, a significant amount of magical power is consumed. For you, it's best to have enough confidence before starting to make talismans to avoid wasting magical power."

"Although Primordial Energy Talismans are the most basic talismans, their applications are very wide. The main function of Primordial Energy Talismans is to replenish the primordial energy of other talismans. The sect has a rule that all disciples, according to their cultivation level, can receive some talisman paper and ink each month, and they must also submit a certain number of Primordial Energy Talismans to the sect. If the number is insufficient, they will be punished."

"For you, in the first year, you do not need to submit Primordial Energy Talismans, but from the second year onwards, you must submit five one-star Primordial Energy Talismans each month."

"Senior Brother Qingfeng, do you also need to submit talismans?" a disciple asked curiously.

Qingfeng smiled bitterly, "As a late-stage Qi Meridian disciple, I must submit three two-star Primordial Energy Talismans each month, equivalent to thirty one-star Primordial Energy Talismans. This is not an easy task."

Since all the disciples had made Enlightenment Talismans before, they had a certain foundation in making talismans. Qingfeng simply explained some key points of making Primordial Energy Talismans and then instructed the disciples to go to the warehouse to collect talisman paper, talisman pens, and talisman ink.

The disciples immediately rushed to the warehouse, each entitled to ten one-star talisman papers, one low-grade talisman pen, and two ounces of talisman ink.

The process of collecting the items was quite simple, requiring only the registration of identity and name, and a fingerprint. Everything went smoothly until it was Li Muran, Mu Li, and a few others' turn, when they encountered a problem.

"Why aren't you giving us the talisman paper?" Mu Li frowned.

Li Muran said, "According to the sect's rules, all new disciples can receive ten talisman papers and other items for free in their first year. Why isn't Senior Brother Wu giving us a few?"

"That's right," the warehouse manager, a middle-aged man surnamed Wu, whose cultivation was only at the middle stage of the Qi Meridian, said, "If you were formal disciples, there would be no problem. However, you have not yet officially joined the sect and are only listener disciples. Whether you have the right to receive talisman paper is not clearly stated in the sect's rules. As the manager of the warehouse, I must strictly follow the rules!"

"Let me handle it this way. I will go and see the sect leader and ask for his opinion. However, the sect leader is very busy, and I may not be able to see him immediately. You will have to wait a bit longer!"

"What should we do!" Li Muran and Mu Li looked at each other, quite anxious.

Mu Li tugged at Li Muran's sleeve and whispered, "Senior Brother Zhao, I heard that Manager Wu likes to take small advantages. If you give him some benefits, he will take extra care when distributing the items. Otherwise, he will just give you some inferior items to get by."

"What do you mean?" Li Muran was taken aback. The disciples exchanged glances and nodded, indicating their agreement.

These few disciples pooled their silver and handed it to Mu Li, who, holding a pile of whole and broken silver, smiled at Senior Brother Wu, "Senior Brother Wu, this is a small matter, no need to trouble the sect leader. Senior Brother Wu can make the decision himself. We are not outsiders. This is a small token of our appreciation, please accept it, Senior Brother Wu."

Manager Wu glanced at the silver and said disdainfully, "Hmph, gold and silver are just worldly things. What use do I have for them? If you really have the intention, bring me two spirit stones!"