332: Chapter 332 Guiding Qi into the Body (Part Two)

The screen switched images.

A diagram of human Meridians appeared on the screen, but it wasn't the abstract meridian map used in traditional Chinese medicine; it was three-dimensional and more precisely labeled.

"The flow path of Spiritual Qi within the human body is fixed," Tao Zhe said. "Your task is to let the Spiritual Qi from outside enter your body, follow this path for one full circuit, and return to the starting point. This process is called the Small Heavenly Cycle."

"The first step of Drawing Qi into the Body is sensing the Spiritual Qi."

"Close your eyes."

Five hundred people closed their eyes almost simultaneously.

"Focus your attention on your skin. You should now be able to feel a sense of coolness, or a tingling sensation, or both. This is the reaction of Spiritual Qi coming into contact with your skin."

Zhang Lei closed his eyes, his consciousness moving toward the surface of his skin.

He found that sensation easily.

It had been there all along.

It hadn't stopped since he passed through the portal yesterday; he had just been busy with other things and hadn't paid special attention to it.

Now that he was focusing on it—

That tingling sensation seemed to be magnified tenfold.

"If you've found this sensation, don't rush to the next step. Stabilize it first and maintain your perception of it," Tao Zhe said.

Tao Zhe didn't speak again for about three minutes.

"Now, use your consciousness to connect these points."

Zhang Lei's focus began to roam across the surface of his skin.

His consciousness was like a very thin beam of light, sweeping from the top of his head to the soles of his feet, connecting those pulsing points into a line, then the line into a plane, until finally, the outline of his entire body lit up in his mind.

He could feel the shape of his own body.

Every muscle, every bone, and every inch of skin was a glowing silhouette.

"If you can feel the outline of your body, then you have completed the first step," Tao Zhe said.

Zhang Lei opened his eyes briefly and stole a glance at his surroundings.

Zhou Jun was sitting to his left, brow furrowed and lips moving, clearly not having found the sensation yet.

Lin Feng sat to his right, his face very calm.

Old Han was to Lin Feng's right, eyes closed, his expression focused, though sweat had already broken out on his forehead.

Zhang Lei closed his eyes again.

"Step two: Breathing."

"Breathe normally; do not control the rhythm. However, when you inhale, you must realize that you are breathing in more than just air—you are also breathing in Spiritual Qi. The Spiritual Qi will follow the air into your lungs. Then, when you exhale, the air leaves, but the Spiritual Qi remains."

Zhang Lei took a breath.

At first, there was no sensation.

The second breath.

He suddenly noticed that the layer of coolness in the air didn't seem to follow him as he exhaled.

He took another breath and then slowly exhaled.

This time he was certain: the Spiritual Qi was indeed remaining in his chest cavity.

"If you can feel the Spiritual Qi accumulating in your lungs, then you have completed the second step."

Zhang Lei felt his chest slowly becoming "heavy."

"Step three, which is also the hardest step today: Drawing Qi."

Tao Zhe's voice remained flat.

"Spiritual Qi has now accumulated in your lungs. But it is just sitting there, not flowing. What you need to do is make it move."

"Follow the path on the screen."

The screen lit up.

A section of the Meridian diagram was enlarged, marking a route that started from the lungs, traveled down the right side of the body, through the waist, into the abdomen, and finally stopped at a single point.

"Starting point: the lungs. Ending point: the Dantian, which is the position three fingers below your navel. For your first time Drawing Qi, only follow this segment; do not be greedy."

"Method: Use your consciousness to lead the Spiritual Qi out of your lungs and make it flow along this path."

"Note: This step will hurt."

"It's not a sharp pain, but a dull ache from the Meridians being stretched. If you feel it, it means you're doing it right. If the pain becomes unbearable, stop and start over from the beginning."

Zhang Lei opened his eyes for a moment.

The path on the screen remained lit.

He committed the path to memory, then closed his eyes again and focused his consciousness on the area of his right lung.

There was more Spiritual Qi there than elsewhere, and he attempted to make that mass of Spiritual Qi move downward.

At first, there was no reaction.

Zhang Lei immediately tried a second time, and it was a bit smoother this time.

That cluster of coolness began to slide slowly down the inner wall of his right chest cavity.

It slid down to the position of the third rib—

Pain.

It wasn't a sharp pain, but a dull ache of being stretched open, like water suddenly flowing through a pipe that hadn't been used in a long time, and the pipe walls weren't used to it.

Zhang Lei's brow furrowed, but he didn't stop.

Tao Zhe had said this was normal.

He continued to guide it.

The mass of Spiritual Qi continued downward, passing the ribs and entering the abdominal cavity.

The space in the abdominal cavity was larger than in the chest; it moved more slowly, but also more steadily.

The midpoint of the path was a spot next to the lumbar vertebrae.

When the Spiritual Qi reached that spot, Zhang Lei suddenly felt a wave of dizziness—that point seemed more "blocked" than others, and the Spiritual Qi was stuck, unable to pass.

He took a deep breath.

Steady.

He refocused his attention on that spot, as if clearing a clogged pipe.

He didn't push hard, but instead let the Spiritual Qi rub against that spot repeatedly—once, twice, three times.

On the seventh time, that spot suddenly "cleared."

It was a very distinct sensation, like something had been punctured through.

The Spiritual Qi surged through all at once, rushing along the remaining path toward the Dantian.

Zhang Lei's body jolted violently.

He could feel the mass of Spiritual Qi reaching its target—the spot three fingers below his navel. It gathered there, forming a small, solid, cool mass.

"Dantian."

He murmured to himself in his mind.

He had succeeded.

His first time Drawing Qi into the Body.

He opened his eyes.

At some point, a line of text had appeared on the screen, scrolling across the front of the Cultivation Field:

[337 students have completed their first Drawing Qi.]

Zhang Lei glanced at the clock in the Cultivation Field.

Only fifteen minutes had passed.

He was among those 337 people.

He lowered his head and glanced below his navel.

There was nothing there—from the outside, it looked no different from any other part of his body.

But he knew something was there.

He had never felt anything like this inside his body before.

The people around him still had their eyes closed.

Lin Feng's expression was beginning to show signs of pain, meaning he was stuck at some point.

Old Han's sweat had already soaked the front of his training uniform, but he was still persevering.

Zhou Jun had opened his eyes, a dazed expression on his face; clearly, he might not have even finished the first step.

Zhang Lei looked at them.

Then he looked at his own hands.

The tingling sensation in his fingertips was still there, but it was different now.

That feeling was connected to the cool mass in his Dantian, as if a thin thread had strung together all the points across his body.

For the first time in his life, he felt that he knew his body completely, from the inside out.

The numbers on the screen were still ticking upward.

[552 students have completed their first Drawing Qi.]

[568 students have completed their first Drawing Qi.]