Chapter Eight: Hearing the Dharma

Cloud Qi had now been in the mountains for more than twenty days.

During this time, reading still occupied the vast majority of the young man's hours. He had attended a few lectures by scholars from other peaks, joined a discussion on the Eastern Heavenly Road once, and frequently checked the schedule, but to his disappointment, none of these touched upon the initial practice of absorbing qi.

He Zuo Kun explained that in the past, when there was a large intake of disciples, there might be a scholar assigned to introduce beginners to the path. However, this time, the recruitment period at Mount Meiji was neither early nor late, and with only one new entrant, the sect would certainly not arrange a dedicated class. Most likely, Master Su Kongyu would provide personal instruction.

Fortunately, Cloud Qi had always been gifted with keen understanding; by reading on his own and occasionally consulting He Zuo Kun in the evenings, he gained much, surprising his mentor greatly.

Today was the ninth day of the fourth lunar month—the day for checking in at Mount Meiji.

At the second quarter of the mao hour, Cloud Qi was already waiting in the courtyard. Having spent some time together, he was well aware of He Zuo Kun's daily routine.

Sure enough, before long, He Zuo Kun emerged from his quarters, patted Cloud Qi on the shoulder, and said, "Today is your big day. Do your best in front of Master Yu."

Cloud Qi smiled and nodded.

With a whistle, He Zuo Kun grabbed Cloud Qi by the arm and leapt into the air. The next instant, Cloud Qi found himself seated upon the back of a Thunder Sparrow. The bird's back was soft, but its feathers were slippery, giving him the constant feeling that he might fall. Where his body touched the creature, a tingling sensation ran through him.

The Thunder Sparrow soared skyward, and as Cloud Qi began to slide off, He Zuo Kun caught him firmly. "Sit cross-legged, palms and soles up. If you can enter meditation atop the Thunder Sparrow, then your meditation skills can be considered truly initiated."

Of course, Cloud Qi was not yet at such a level, so he clung tightly to He Zuo Kun.

The Thunder Sparrow lived up to its name, darting straight into the clouds. Passing through a bridge of iridescent light, they swiftly reached the far end of Eastern Screen Mountain and then descended through the clouds.

To Cloud Qi’s surprise, his previous journey here, led by Feng Jihu, had felt as though the clouds were thick as cotton; he and the other candidates had landed on Mount Meiji enveloped in endless white mist. This time, however, the clouds flashed by in an instant, revealing an entirely different scene below.

From above, the peaks of Mount Sanqing rose in layered majesty, but nowhere else was there such an air of spirit and wonder as here:

Eight lofty mountains thrust upward from the earth, their roots clustered together, their summits slanting outward toward the eight directions: east, northeast, north, northwest, west, southwest, south, and southeast. Yet each peak was utterly unique—the one to the southwest was elegant as a snail's shell, wreathed in cloud and mist; the northernmost burned red as iron, plumes of smoke rising from its slopes; the northwest seethed with thunderclouds and flashes of violet lightning; the southeastern peak was thickly forested with bamboo, waves of green rustling in the wind.

Each of the eight mountains had its own form, as if some celestial artisan had, by happy accident, fired a multicolored, glazed lotus dais in the heavens.

Amidst these eight, there was another mountain, shaped like a lotus platform, its details obscured by the radiant auras woven by the surrounding peaks. The only clear feature was the countless waterfalls cascading down its cliff faces, white ribbons pouring in their thousands.

“This is…”

“This is the Blessed Land of the Lotus,” said He Zuo Kun.

He pointed to the mountain covered in bamboo. “That is Mount Meiji. Because of the sea of green bamboo, and since bamboo is elegantly called the Green God, it is also known as Green God Mountain. It stands at the southeast position of the Lotus Blessed Land.”

The Thunder Sparrow carried them toward Mount Meiji. Cloud Qi studied the mountain carefully but saw no other figures upon it, not even a palace or pavilion.

He Zuo Kun landed Cloud Qi on a protruding stone terrace on the southern slope of Mount Meiji, saying he would return in the evening to pick him up, then rode the sparrow away toward the thunder-laden peak in the northwest.

Cloud Qi stood on the stone terrace, looking around. Beside him stood a stone stele, inscribed with the words: "Liangjun Crossing."

Exploring the area, he easily found the small path he had walked during his previous trial. Following the trail deeper into the bamboo forest, he soon arrived at the pavilion behind the monument marking Zhan Biyun’s hidden bamboo retreat, where he once again saw Master Su Kongyu.

“Come, sit down,” the master said.

Cloud Qi entered the pavilion and sat on the cushion opposite her.

“How are you adjusting to life on the mountain?” she asked.

“I’m well. Life here is very good.”

“That’s good. Once you’ve begun absorbing qi and your strength improves, you may return to the town for a visit—it isn’t far. Also, Mount Meiji has few residents and no set rest days. If you grow homesick, just ask for leave. At each season and festival, you mustn’t neglect your ancestral rites. When you return to sweep the ancestral tombs, just follow the customs of the world.”

Cloud Qi felt a trace of relief—evidently, the mountain’s rules were not as strict as he had imagined. That the master knew of his family was no surprise; surely the Rain Temple in the mortal world had investigated his background thoroughly. He bowed deeply and said, “Thank you, Master.”

“No need for thanks. The rules here are few; you’ll come to know them in time,” replied Su Kongyu.

Cloud Qi acknowledged her words.

“Settle your mind. Now, let us speak of cultivation.

“Mount Meiji’s tradition is rooted in the Internal Alchemy Path—the source of all methods and the foundation of longevity. Before one attains immortality, there are five grand stages: Qi Refinement, Life Storage, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Unity with the Dao. Qi Refinement begins with the absorption of qi, so today, we shall speak first of this.

“The spiritual qi of heaven and earth is a treasure of the world, a ladder to immortality, and especially for our Daoist path, it is the sole means to unlock the treasures of the flesh, and the only reliance for the practice of myriad arts.

“The flow of spiritual qi in the world is ever-shifting, but patterns can be discerned. In remote mountains and deep marshes, qi is denser than amidst the bustle of the mundane world. At noon, under the sun’s urging, yang qi grows more active; at midnight, bathed in the lunar rays, yin qi flourishes. In forests, wood qi is most abundant; above rivers, water qi is strongest. There are exceptions, but these are the prevailing trends.

“There are countless kinds of spiritual qi, but we cultivators cannot absorb them all. Some, like the miasma of wood or the marsh gas of earth, or the sulphur vapor of fire, are highly poisonous. Thus, the first thing is to know which qi to absorb.

“The choice depends on the innate attributes of the body and the tradition of cultivation. For most people, there’s no need to overthink the former—pure yang or primordial yin constitutions are exceedingly rare. As for you, Cloud Qi, I have already examined you; you possess an ordinary body, though your meridians are sturdier than most your age, likely due to the effects of refining your body with pristine qi.

“I know what you wish to ask. Pristine qi is also spiritual qi, essentially a kind of yang qi. In the sect, it is said that pristine qi is a remnant of the pure energy that separated from turbidity at the dawn of creation. It clears the mind and steadies the spirit. The exercise you currently practice—Opening the Meridians and Extending the Sinews—is a basic method for absorbing pristine qi; in the future, you’ll learn more profound techniques.

“As for the tradition of cultivation, Mount Meiji’s lineage is based on the Great Dao of Yin and Yang, focusing on the Way of the Living Dead, from which branch the methods of Pure Yang, Corpse Dissolution, Soul Restoration, Spirit Command, and Corpse Raising.

“Moreover, our branch cultivates all five elements, with a special emphasis on fire, wood, and earth, from which derive the methods of Heart-fire, Withering and Flourishing, and Corpse Nourishing. Both wind and thunder can be cultivated, but we particularly value wind methods, developing wind evasion, omen gathering, celestial hearing, banishing evil, and spirit wandering. As for thunder, we have the arts of Divine Roar, Spirit Refining, and Body-Tempering.

“In short, here at Mount Meiji, within the five elements, the branches of yin and yang, and the energies of wind and thunder, there are no taboos in absorbing qi.”

Su Kongyu spoke swiftly, but Cloud Qi’s memory was excellent. Without seeking to understand everything at once, he committed it all to mind to ponder later.

“There are several methods for absorbing qi: Breathing, Sitting in Forgetfulness, the Pace of the Dipper, Hand Seals, Incantations, External Alchemy, and Visualization. The first five are fundamentally body formations—through breathing, meditation, walking, gestures, and chants, the body itself forms a formation that naturally attracts spiritual qi.

“Your Meridians and Sinews practice is, in fact, a form of the Pace of the Dipper.

“External Alchemy relies on outside aids—pills, food, medicinal baths, and the like, which need no further explanation.

“Visualization is more mysterious. Know that there exist types of qi that only certain special spiritual beings can absorb. The True Fire of the Sun, for instance, was once the exclusive domain of the Golden Crow race, now long extinct. Mountain miasma, a deadly poison, is nearly impossible for cultivators to refine into magical tools, yet the demons and pythons of the mountains can absorb it at will. The Lichen Green Radiance, a fusion of earth and wood qi, is invaluable in alchemy, but only the green sheep, green ox, and green deer can digest it.

“For such spiritual qi, body formations are useless. Thus, sages created the method of Visualization—a way of seeking truth through imagination. By observing the essence, qi, and spirit of other spiritual beings, and especially by focusing on the spirit, one sketches an illusory entity in the mind, placing it within the body’s apertures. In our Daoist tradition, this is called the Inner Spirit, a method originating from the 'Inner Spirit Sutra of the Yellow Court' of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Once the Inner Spirit is present, there is no need for deliberate effort; one absorbs qi naturally with every move.

“Cloud Qi listened quietly for a long while. As Su Kongyu seemed to have finished, he asked, ‘Master, which method of absorbing qi is best suited for me?’

“For the first time, Cloud Qi saw the master smile. She replied, ‘You must learn them all.’”