Chapter 135: Xianyun Discusses the Dao of Form, Spirit, and Soul

"It is not that I am unwilling to teach you," Hanyang said, walking past Long Qi, taking a copy of "Dao Theory" from the bookshelf behind him, and continuing, "With your aptitude, you are indeed capable of practicing this art. But do you understand how to control the Spirit Qi within your body?"

Upon hearing this, Long Qi shook his head. All along, the sect had only taught Dao Theory and martial cultivation; as for Spirit Qi, most of it was only touched upon briefly, and as for the internal and external, he had never heard of it. He had always practiced the "Entwining Dragon Sword Technique" more, and although it mentioned moving Spirit Qi into the sword, he had always been ambiguous about it.

Seeing him like this, Hanyang smiled: "You see, firstly, you do not understand the Spirit-Moving Path, and secondly, your status is, after all, that of a disciple of Fucang Elder, while I am only the Sect Leader's Head Disciple; in truth, it is not appropriate for me to overstep my bounds."

"However, if Junior Aunt agrees, as long as you can comprehend the Five Elements Path and the method of moving Spirit, I am willing to teach you everything I know."

……

Long Qi returned to Xianyun Abode and flipped through the books Lingxiang had chosen for the three of them; among them were indeed those concerning the method of moving Spirit and the Five Elements Path. The Five Elements Path was easy enough to explain, but this business of moving Spirit was much more obscure.

Rendong was very curious when he saw this. Logically, these classics related to the Five Elements were originally chosen by Lingxiang for him. Although he had never understood why, the fact that Long Qi valued them so much now made him even more puzzled.

Could it be that there was some profound mystery in these books?

Just as he was thinking this and wanting to contemplate them himself, he saw Xin Yi enter the room, saying that Lingxiang had summoned the three of them to the courtyard to teach them Witchcraft.

Upon hearing this, Long Qi went out immediately. Didn't this just suit his wishes? He darted out faster than a rabbit in the fields; just as Xin Yi reached out to ask, he had already run out.

This kid, when did he start being so proactive about Witchcraft? Previously, he had been quite dismissive of these things...

Lingxiang placed four cushions in the courtyard and had the three of them sit opposite her; it looked quite formal. Of course, this was Lingxiang's first time being a master, and previously she had only taught others a few things, but now that she was officially teaching in the capacity of a master, she naturally had to be more solemn. Thus, she followed the example and arranged it just like in Hufeng Hall.

But although it was already spring, the spring chill was still biting. Sitting in the courtyard without moving, just blowing in the cold wind, even the three of them who practiced martial arts could not bear it.

Long Qi sat on the cushion, rubbing his arms in confusion, and hurriedly asked Lingxiang: "Since we are to be outside, how can you just make people sit here? If we catch a chill, how can we still cultivate?"

Rendong felt this was very true upon hearing it, and even Xin Yi looked at Lingxiang in confusion.

Yet Lingxiang appeared unhurried, just sitting quietly on her cushion.

"I naturally have my reasons for doing this, but since you have asked, in accordance with the master's virtue of teaching and resolving doubts, I will tell you."

"If all things in this world wish to cultivate, they must have three things: form, spirit, and soul. Form is easy to explain; everything that exists in this world has form. Taking humans and wild beasts as examples, the physical body is form. Taking inanimate objects as examples, what the eye sees is form. Even the Qi that is invisible and intangible in daily life is actually a type of form."

As Lingxiang spoke, she flicked her fingers, and suddenly a gust of wind rose in the courtyard.

"If Qi were formless, there would be no wind." As she spoke, she withdrew her hand gesture, and the wind stopped immediately.

"I have spoken of form, now let us speak of spirit. Storybooks often equate spirit with the soul, but that is not the case. This spirit is actually thought. Humans are good at thinking and can concentrate their spirit, which is why there is ancient inheritance. But what wild beasts think of is nothing more than fullness and warmth, so animals only reproduce."

"Finally, there is the soul. This is the foundation of cultivation. If a person wants to succeed in the Dao, they must first learn to gather Spirit. This is like an instinct. In ancient times, the ancients were actually very good at gathering Spirit, but with the changing of dynasties and the changes in all things, this ability of humans to gather Spirit has become weaker and weaker. On the contrary, those wild beasts, because of the power of nature, have that innate instinct that makes them particularly good at gathering Spirit."

Lingxiang rambled on for a while, but Long Qi was left completely bewildered. Even Rendong could not quite wrap his head around it, but Xin Yi seemed to have understood. He had a thoughtful look on his face, and after thinking for a moment, he asked:

"Even so, why can some inanimate objects turn into monsters?"

Hearing Xin Yi ask this, Lingxiang felt very gratified. It seemed that among her three disciples, there was still one who was clever.

"I said just now that all things have form, but there are differences in spirit and soul. If a person wants to cultivate, they must know how to communicate with the Spirit. If a beast wants to cultivate the Dao, it must learn how to concentrate its spirit. As for these inanimate objects..." Lingxiang said as she stood up and took a comb from her waist.

"Inanimate objects only have form, but they can become monsters because of thought. Take this comb, for example. If someone gives you a comb, and that person is someone you are attached to, you will entrust your feelings to it. Over time, you will be able to gather Spirit for it, and as the days go by, it will naturally be able to communicate with the Spirit. And once it communicates with the Spirit, it is very easy for it to become a monster."

"This is why the monsters and spirits we see in daily life are mostly wild beasts from the mountains; it is precisely because they are naturally good at gathering Spirit."

"Having said this, do you all understand?" Lingxiang imitated the old pedants in the schoolhouse at the foot of the mountain, walking around the three of them with her hands behind her back and asking.

When Long Qi heard her ask this, he shook his head, looking as if to say, "I didn't understand a single word of what you just said," while Rendong seemed to have understood a little, but there were still some parts he did not quite grasp, so he just lowered his head and pondered.

Seeing Long Qi like this, Lingxiang experienced the feeling of the old pedants in the schoolhouse at the foot of the mountain who were frustrated that their students would not improve. She had broken it down so much, yet this blockhead still did not understand. It truly lived up to the saying that rotten wood cannot be carved; he had a Heavenly Spirit Root for nothing, but his head was a gourd, empty and hollow.

Seeing the two of them like this, Xin Yi smiled and said: "In short, we must now learn how to gather Spirit, and then we can practice Witchcraft and Dao formulas."

Hearing this, Lingxiang clapped her hands and pointed at Xin Yi, calling out: "Exactly! Ah, there is still one clever one after all! This master is very gratified! Very gratified."

Upon hearing this, Long Qi was a bit unhappy: "You could have just said we need to practice the method of gathering Spirit. Why waste so much breath, going around in circles?"

Lingxiang slapped Long Qi on the head, looking as if she were angry at his failure to live up to expectations, and said: "Saying so much is naturally useful."

"Now that you are practicing Witchcraft, you must know the method of gathering Spirit, but if you want to succeed in cultivation, you still cannot let go of concentrating the spirit. Concentrating the spirit is like Dao morality, and gathering Spirit is like Witchcraft. If one only knows Witchcraft but does not understand Dao morality, then that Witchcraft will not be powerful. But if a person has profound Dao morality, then it is very easy for this person to achieve a positive result. Take the reincarnated Golden Cicada, for example. Tell me, what Witchcraft did he know? In the end, didn't he still achieve a positive result? That is the principle."

Lingxiang said this as she walked back to the cushion and sat down.

"Having said so much, in the end, I still have to teach you the method of gathering Spirit..."