Under One Person: The Seeker of the Dao in the Lü Family

Chapter 15 will not be taught for now; the method of guarding Yangguan.

A dark shadow darted through the depths of the woods, like a large black python, moving through the gaps between the trees.

It moved swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived at a deserted clearing on the mountain from the dark forest.

There was a large rock in the open space, and a giant black smoky python coiled around it and slithered slowly across it.

The crimson glow shone brilliantly on the deserted clearing, and also on the giant python and the large rock.

"rustle......"

The smoke gradually gathered, and the dark smoke slowly condensed into the shape of an old man with a hunched back and white hair and beard.

The old man was thin and wore an old-fashioned Wudang Taoist robe. The loose robe looked somewhat loose on him.

He sat cross-legged on the boulder, barefoot and with his head bowed.

After the black smoke completely solidified, the old man's figure became clearer. He raised his head, revealing a pair of black pupils and white eyelids, faintly radiating light, making him appear extraordinary.

The old man blinked as he faced the setting sun, and his once mysterious eyes returned to normal white pupils and black irises.

"The Lü family..."

"This is really difficult. The ones in the back mountains have gone mad, and I don't know if this younger one can figure it out. To think that I, Zhou Sheng, have done such a foolish thing in my entire life..."

This old man was none other than Zhou Sheng of Wudang, who had been missing for a long time. He had been out of contact ever since he sent the Feng Hou Qi Men Diagram back to Wudang Mountain.

He reached out his right hand and stroked the beard on his chin, looking as if he were deep in thought.

After a long while, the setting sun sank into the distant horizon, leaving only a small corner of crimson hanging on the edge of the sky, emitting a dim yellow light.

In the central sky, a bright moon appeared and disappeared, and several dazzling stars also emitted a silvery glow.

A cool mountain breeze swept across the open space, lifting the wide Taoist robe hanging on Zhou Sheng's body and bringing him back to his senses.

"Forget it, let's wait and see. I don't care if he's a genius or not. If he really is a god, he won't be lacking in skills. With my thing, once you have an epiphany, you can get the hang of it pretty quickly."

He nodded, put down his hand that was stroking his beard, lay down on the large rock beneath him, and said somewhat lazily.

"Hmm, it's time to eat something."

"That kid from the Lü family made a good point: the food outside is much better than the food at Wudang."

The evening breeze, mixed with the warm light of the setting sun, shone on Zhou Sheng. He stretched and got up from the rock.

"Let's go, let's go. I only came back to check because I heard that some members of the Lü family had gone up the mountain. Nothing has happened yet, so it's time to leave."

As he spoke, the old man's figure transformed back into a wisp of black smoke, drifting down the mountain through the woods.

As night gradually fell, the pitch-black night slowly enveloped the entire Wudang Mountain, and the black smoke that Zhou Shenghua had transformed into was also hidden under the vast darkness.

The mountain wind blew through the deserted mountain paths and silent forests of Wudang Mountain, and no one noticed that anyone had ever been there.

……

It was evening, in Lü Qian's room.

At this moment, Daoist Yunlong and Lü Qian sat facing each other, both with their palms facing upwards, cross-legged on the futons on the ground.

"Our Taoist cultivation emphasizes gradual progress: refining essence into qi, refining qi into spirit, refining spirit to return to emptiness, and refining emptiness to unite with the Tao..."

"Although this process is widely circulated outside, it is mostly just village gossip and hearsay."

"Master, how many novels have you been reading?"

As Lü Qian watched Master Yunlong's earnest explanation, and recalling the rather embarrassing question his master had asked that afternoon, he couldn't help but ask with some curiosity.

"What novel? I was just keeping up with the times and checking for any oversights!"

Startled by the sudden question, Daoist Yunlong paused for a moment, then hurriedly explained before rolling his eyes at Lü Qian, who was pursing his lips, and asking in an annoyed tone.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. I've already guided you through the Zhou Tian stage, and now that you've mastered the Wudang martial arts, is there anything you want to ask?"

"have!"

Lu Qian sat upright, slightly raising his head to look directly at Daoist Yunlong in front of him.

"I discovered that the entire cultivation process is both bottom-up and top-down."

"Humans possess three treasures: essence, qi, and spirit, which are stored in the lower, middle, and upper dantian, respectively. These three treasures are the concrete manifestations of a person's nature and life."

As he spoke, Lü Qian pointed to his three dantian, located below his lower abdomen, at the Tanzhong acupoint on his chest, and between his eyebrows.

"Among them, essence is the life-giving fuel of the human body, while primordial yang is the life-giving fire that ignites the fuel."

"The primordial yang burns essence, which rises and steams the five internal organs, six bowels, qi and blood, and meridians, thereby nourishing the body."

"The essence and energy after burning rise to the middle dantian and are stored in the dantian. Then, it is refined by the fire of the six fu organs to make food from grains and meets the qi of the lungs and fu organs. Thus, the essence and qi of the body are combined and merged, and then rise to the upper dantian."

"The upper dantian is the place where the spirit and consciousness are stored. When the essence and qi meet the spirit, the three interact and merge."

"For ordinary people, the Three Treasures will leak out through the Heavenly Gate and the skull. For cultivators, the Three Treasures will be carried down to the lower body and refined repeatedly along the upper, middle and lower paths."

Lü Qian traced his fingers along the Tianmen acupoint on his forehead, moving upwards to the top of his head.

"Not bad, not bad."

Master Yunlong pinched his beard and said with a smile.

"Very good, just as you said. So the first thing a cultivator should do is to prevent the body from leaking out, so that the three treasures of essence, energy, and spirit do not dissipate or leak out."

"If it rises and evaporates, the spirit and energy will be damaged; if it flows downward and leaks outward, the life fire will be insufficient."

"That's why I asked you this afternoon if you still had any true yang energy."

Master Yunlong nodded, taking the opportunity to make amends for his behavior that afternoon.

"Next, I will teach you the method of guarding the Yang Pass."

"At your age, the signs of Shao Yang are gradually increasing, and the Yang fire in your body is becoming stronger. This is the time when you need to be careful to prevent the leakage of Yang essence."

"Although your meditation skills are quite good, and you have a level of cultivation far exceeding [Concentration and Joy] at such a young age, and have even touched the threshold of the third level of meditation, [Detachment from Joy and Bliss], it is still safer to teach you the method of guarding the Yang Gate just in case."

"Oh, then let me ask first, will this interfere with my future sexual function?"

Lu Qian lowered his arms, then loosely clasped his hands between his knees again, and asked curiously.

"Of course, it only means you are to guard the sun's edge, not to completely shut it off. Speaking of which, the loss of the 'Shougongsha' (a type of virginity mark) is truly a great pity."

Master Yunlong shook his head, and after sighing, he looked at Lü Qian with a teasing smile.

"Why are you thinking about the future at such a young age?"

"Look at what you're saying. Although I'm single-mindedly pursuing the Dao, I've never thought about losing this thing. After all, as a normal man, I don't think anyone would be indifferent to this aspect, right?"

"Just like what Senior Brother Deqing mentioned during dinner today, that Boss Wang. He came to Wudang for further studies specifically in that area."

"I heard she brought her youngest son with her, what's his name, Wang Ye. She's really not very considerate and doesn't care about the child at all."

Lu Qian shrugged and said calmly.

"Listen to less gossip."

"Alright, listen to my instructions."

Master Yunlong glared at Lü Qian, and in his heart, he grouped Deqing and the other disciples, De'an, who needed to be disciplined, together, waiting to deal with them properly later.