47: Chapter 46 Inner Alchemy Quiet Skill

Just as he was about to send a WeChat message to ask Zhang Youdao, he suddenly paused.

"That's right, aren't there videos for this!"

Li Changsheng hurriedly opened the other few videos next to the file.

Seeing the content of the videos, Li Changsheng's eyes lit up; these were actually video files of Daoist Master Zhang Zhishun explaining how to Cultivate.

Seeing this, he dared not delay and hurriedly cast them onto the large TV screen he had just bought and barely used.

This large 80-inch floor-standing screen cost seven thousand yuan and was specifically used for reference during Cultivation.

Looking at the clear image on the large screen, Li Changsheng nodded with satisfaction.

"Something is still missing: a human meridian chart."

Li Changsheng hurriedly operated the computer next to him, placing the meridian diagram for Internal Alchemy Meditation from the document in the top-left corner of the video playback and pinning it.

This way, he could watch the video while comparing it with the human meridian chart on the side; perfect.

Note: This is how I do it, but I haven't learned Internal Alchemy; I just looked it up. This requires a lot of patience. ( • ̀ ω • ́ ) ✧

While referring to the video, Li Changsheng began to breathe and practice inhalation and exhalation according to Daoist Master Zhang Zhishun's movements.

The so-called Internal Alchemy Meditation actually has relatively simple and casual movements.

You can practice while sitting, standing, lying down, or even while walking.

Because he was at home, Li Changsheng adopted the standing posture: standing naturally, knees slightly bent, hands stacked over his Dantian, or hanging at his sides.

The essence is that one must relax, be quiet, and have no restless emotions in one's heart.

The eyes should be half-closed, meaning three-tenths open and seven-tenths closed.

The tongue should touch the roof of the mouth; the Dui trigram represents the mouth, and in the Alchemy classics, this is called "blocking the Dui."

This means curling the tip of the tongue back and pressing the underside of the tongue tip against the roof of the mouth.

Because there are two small pits on the human palate called the "Tianchi Acupoint," which connect upwards to the Niwan, it is easiest to leak spirit and Qi there.

Therefore, when practicing, one must mimic the state of an infant suckling.

Furthermore, breathing must be natural and relaxed; avoid short and rough breaths. The nasal breathing should gradually become deep, long, even, fine, and subtle.

Next is the hand seal; in Daoism, the hand gesture is called the "Taiji Bagua Yin and Yang Interlocking Seal," also known as the "Taiji Seal."

As long as the movements are accurate, one's hands will feel hot and swollen, which is incredibly wondrous—it is the effect of the Yin and Yang Qi connecting.

Beyond the external techniques of Internal Alchemy Meditation, there are also internal techniques, divided into listening to the breath and observing the light.

Referring to the video, the explanation, and the diagrams, Li Changsheng began to simulate this state.

Unlike the Eight Brocades, the Daoist Internal Alchemy is more casual, having a sense of Laozi's original concept of "governing by doing nothing."

However, there is one strict requirement: regardless of whether it is internal or external, you need to maintain a state of mental stability.

In other words, you can practice while walking, but if it is noisy outside, as long as you can maintain mental stability and focused consciousness, the Cultivation will still be effective.

At this moment, when Li Changsheng began to use his consciousness to push the Qi along the route of the Internal Alchemy Meditation, he felt the Qi within his body moving along the predetermined path, following the push of his consciousness.

It was like a message flowing through dry ditches.

The ditches were not only dry but also seemed to be uneven; when the "Qi" flowed to these places, it felt obstructed. One needed to use consciousness to guide the Qi to continuously impact and fill in the uneven spots to make them solid and level.

And this was not even the worst part; the key difficulty was that the meridians in the body are intricate and complex. Wanting to circulate along the routes in the video and the annotations was equivalent to requiring highly concentrated consciousness and careful control.

Because the Qi in the body is like a car that is somewhat difficult to control, you need to steer it carefully; the slightest carelessness will cause it to veer into other lanes.

Once you take the wrong turn, trying to turn back results in one of two situations: the first is an erratic flow of Qi, and the second is the reversal of the Qi, which is even more serious.

Therefore, Li Changsheng controlled it with extreme caution, and he had to keep looking at the annotations and the video, which naturally consumed even more mental effort.

Looking at how easily Daoist Master Zhang Zhishun practiced in the video, Li Changsheng couldn't help but grumble inwardly: How are you so skilled at this, old man?

Looking at himself, even just comparing the meridians took a lot of time; after all, he had to compare the diagrams with his own body, otherwise, if he went to the wrong acupoint, it would be a big problem.

It took a full two hours for Li Changsheng to finally and with great difficulty complete one full cycle of circulation.

By this time, he was drenched in sweat. He was tired—the physical exhaustion was secondary; the main issue was that his mind was overly fatigued.

Yet, Li Changsheng didn't seem to feel any changes in his body.

Opening the panel to look, his Lifespan and various attributes were stagnant.

Why do ordinary people find learning this Internal Alchemy so boring and tedious, and why do even some martial artists prefer to learn Internal Martial Arts or the Eight Brocades rather than touch Daoist Internal Alchemy?

First, they cannot see obvious results, so after a long time, they naturally get tired of it.

Second, there is a threshold of guiding Qi with intent and using Qi to guide the body; if one hasn't even reached this step, then practicing Internal Alchemy will be even more boring.

Because you can only stay at the level of external postures and techniques; this can indeed help with health, but practicing it to the end doesn't have much effect.

But this had no impact on Li Changsheng at all because he was quite focused, had a foundation in guiding Qi with intent, and because of the Eight Brocades, his consciousness was stronger than the average person's.

Mental Energy 7 is the best proof of this.

He lay on the chair, closed his eyes to rest for a while, drank some water, steadied his mind, and then continued to Cultivate.

After Li Changsheng finished the second session, he felt even more mentally exhausted. He checked the time: it took one hour and forty-eight minutes.

"It's much faster than the first time. It seems that moving the 'Qi' is a gradual process."

Li Changsheng created a document and recorded these two times.

Just as he was about to start the third session of Cultivation, a voice suddenly appeared in his mind.

[Host has independently comprehended the Internal Alchemy Meditation chapter from the book "Source of Qi" and has initially mastered it. Mission completed: Self-Taught Stage One!]

[Reward: "Source of Qi" Longevity Qigong chapter.]

Hm?

Li Changsheng was stunned, and then his exhausted mind couldn't help but secrete a large amount of dopamine.

There had been a precedent for completing hidden missions before, but he didn't expect that self-study could also trigger this effect?

"Is the System trying to strengthen my own initiative?"

Li Changsheng could only guess this; the System perfectly highlighted Laozi's concept of "governing by doing nothing." It was very casual; apart from the main storyline of promoting Traditional Martial Arts, everything else had to be figured out on his own.

"The Longevity Qigong chapter?"

Regarding the reward, Li Changsheng was a bit curious. He had seen the Longevity Qigong chapter in the book "Source of Qi."

Besides the Longevity Qigong chapter, there was also a Vajra Qigong chapter; one focused on the internal, and one focused on the external.

Of course, Daoist Master Zhang Zhishun's Vajra Qigong was also called the Eight-Section Vajra Qigong, but this "external refinement" was not the Hard Qigong of martial arts.

Instead, it was about refining the body and the internal organs.

As for Longevity Qigong, it focused on the internal, refining the mind and the person's Innate Qi.

Originally, Li Changsheng was thinking about fully mastering Internal Alchemy Meditation before pondering Longevity Qigong, and then the Eight-Section Vajra Qigong, but he hadn't expected the System to just give him one.

This undoubtedly saved him a lot of time learning the techniques.