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

Chapter 63 The Pure Yang Way, the Three True Fires?

Lu Qian's voice startled Fang Dongtian and Liu Xingyang, who were inside the room.

He reached out and knocked on the door again. "Disciple Lü Qian requests an audience with the Ancestral Master!"

"Enter!"

Fang Dongtian's voice rang out from behind the door, and Lü Qian pushed open the door and went inside.

"Squeak!"

Lu Qian stood inside the room, leaning against the door, and bowed to the two people inside.

"Lu Qian of Wudang greets Grandmaster Fang and Uncle Liu!"

Fang Dongtian sat cross-legged on the couch with a kind and benevolent expression, while Liu Xingyang sat on a futon on the ground. The two of them quietly watched Lü Qian.

Get up!

"yes!"

Lu Qian stood up and said to Fang Dongtian, "Upon learning tonight that the Ancestral Master intended to impart profound teachings, this disciple came here in the dead of night. Please forgive me, Grand Master Fang!"

"It's alright, please sit down."

Fang Dongtian pointed to another futon on the ground, then said to Liu Xingyang, "Xingyang, you can go down now. Liu Er is not allowed here."

"yes!"

Liu Xingyang knew what would happen next, since Fang Dongtian had initially entrusted him with this task, but he didn't dare to make the decision himself and could only push the matter of passing on the teachings back to Fang Dongtian.

Upon receiving Fang Dongtian's order, he quickly got up, left the room, closed the door behind him, and walked away without looking back.

"Alright, now it's just the two of us here. Lü Qian, I want to ask you, what have you gained along the way?"

Fang Dongtian looked down at Lü Qian and asked with a smile.

"Of all the things in the world, I will do as I please."

Looking at the short Taoist priest on the bed, Lü Qian explained in a deep voice, "There are many paths in this world, but I have a Taoist heart in my heart, which can break through all kinds of illusions; I have a path of life and destiny under my feet, which can prove that I can reach the heavens and the earth."

"Very good! Just as your Grand Tutor Zhou Meng said, you are the one with the opportunity in the last six hundred years."

Fang Dongtian and Lü Qian exchanged words in cryptic language. Looking into Lü Qian's clear and insightful eyes, he knew that the child's words came from the heart and that he had been practicing what he preached all along, truly pursuing his own path.

He nodded. "Now I will impart to you the path to heaven from Baiyun Temple. Are you willing?"

Lu Qian was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, but he immediately reacted, bowing towards the Fangdongtian above, "This disciple is willing!"

He originally thought that Master Fang had called him over in the middle of the night to teach him some unrelated skills, but he didn't expect the old Taoist to have such great courage and directly bring out the path to heaven.

This kind of inheritance can almost be considered the most treasured secret of each school and sect.

"good!"

Fang Dongtian nodded without further ado, "My Baiyun Temple and your Wudang both belong to the Quanzhen Dao lineage, and our founder is the Assistant Emperor Wang Chongyang."

"Master Chongyang inherited the lineage from the two patriarchs Zhongli Quan and Lü Dongbin, namely, the Zhengyang Emperor Zhongli Quan and the Chunyang Emperor Lü Dongbin."

"In general, the cultivation paths of all the Quanzhen lineages are similar, all belonging to the 'Pure Yang Path'."

Lü Qian nodded; he was aware of all of this.

The Quanzhen School of Taoism can be traced back to Laozi, and it reveres Wang Xuanfu, also known as the "Eastern Emperor," as the founder of the Quanzhen School. Its history is long and rich.

"You should have been taught the Wudang's [Golden Elixir of Rejuvenation] by now, right?"

After seeing Lü Qian nod, Fang Dongtian continued, "The alchemy method of my Baiyun Temple can also be called 'Burning the Body and Refining the Spirit'."

"The first step is [Refining the Yang Soul]. Do you know the difference between different souls?"

Lu Qian listened attentively to the explanation and replied, "Since the beginning of chaos, heaven and earth have been divided into yin and yang, and purity and turbidity."

The Yunji Qiqian states: "The human body is similar to this. The soul is formed from the pure and light energy of the human body and rises to the Niwan Palace, the center of heaven; the spirit is formed from the turbid energy of the human body and sinks down to the heart and internal organs of the mortal body."

"The soul and spirit are to the human body as yin and yang are to the heaven and earth."

Fang Dongtian looked at Lü Qian with admiration. These days, there aren't many people who can calm down and recite the Daoist Canon.

He was increasingly optimistic about Lü Qian, saying, "That's right. After a person is born, their acquired consciousness desires to grow stronger and gradually become the master of their body."

"People eat grains and cereals every day, and the impurities of the world contained in them gradually deplete and obscure their vital spirit."

"Ordinary practitioners use their own essence and energy to reverse the flow and make up for the loss of their primordial spirit, but this method is twice as difficult and half as effective, and is just like nailing a broken bowl or patching a leaky cup."

At this point, Fang Dongtian shook his head and said with a hint of pride, "But the tempering method of my White Cloud Temple is different."

"【Refining the Yang Soul】is a process that uses one's own essence and energy, supplemented by the Yang energy of heaven and earth, to continuously strengthen one's primordial spirit."

Lü Qian understood. One method was to mend the fence after the sheep were lost and make up for the loss in time. The other method was to reinforce the bowl and cup to prevent water from leaking while making the container larger so that it could hold more water.

In comparison, Baiyun Temple's method is more ingenious.

"I will first teach you the incantation and the diagram of the Qi circulation route."

As he spoke, Fang Dongtian got off the couch and pointed his finger at Lü Qian's brow.

In an instant, Lü Qian felt his mind become clear, and at the same time, a scripture appeared in his mind.

"Try following the scripture once first."

"yes!"

Upon hearing this, Lü Qian immediately sat cross-legged on the futon with his palms facing upwards, and entered a meditative state the moment he closed his eyes.

This level of meditative cultivation pleased Fang Dongtian even more.

After entering a meditative state, Lü Qian, following the scriptures in his mind, gathered his essence and energy at the center of his head, which is the Niwan Palace. At the same time, the primordial spirit in the Niwan Palace attempted to draw upon the yang energy between heaven and earth through the cranial opening.

It was the dead of night, the hour of Zi, the time when the yang energy of the day begins to rise.

When the essence and vital energy arrive at the Niwan Palace, the yang energy drawn from the outside world also passes through the crown of his head and gathers in the Niwan Palace.

When the essence and yang energy met, they seemed to transform into a blazing flame, burning the primordial spirit in the Niwan Palace, causing Lü Qian to feel a burning sensation.

Inside Lü Qian's Niwan Palace, his primordial spirit, which had been nourished by the golden liquid, emitted a faint golden hue.

At this moment, when this golden primordial spirit encountered the flames, it turned red-hot, like gold being scorched by a raging fire, but the immortal gold within it became even more intense.

True gold is refined by fire; this is a perfect example.

At this moment, Fang Dongtian, who was outside, saw a faint golden-red light flashing between Lü Qian's eyebrows, corresponding to the Niwan Palace, and nodded in satisfaction.

He didn't expect that Lü Qian could master it in one go, and judging from the extent of his progress, he must have gained a lot.

After completing one cycle of Qi circulation, Lü Qian opened his eyes, exhaled a breath of stale air, and felt that his mind was more agile.

"How does it feel?"

"As gold is refined in fire, impurities gradually disappear, and the primordial spirit becomes increasingly clear and powerful."

Looking at Fang Dongtian's smiling face, Lü Qian answered truthfully.

Fang Dongtian nodded, then his smile faded. He said seriously, "Remember, if your meditation skills are not strong enough, do not attempt to practice this technique around noon."

"Use the yang energy of heaven and earth to temper your primordial spirit, but be careful not to lose control and play with fire and get burned."

The universe operates in a cycle of Yin and Yang, with the midnight hour (11 PM - 1 AM) and noon (1 AM - 1 PM) being two separate times of Yin and Yang interaction each day.

At midnight, yin energy begins to rise and yang energy gradually increases, accumulating until it reaches its peak at noon. At this time, the yang energy then turns back to yin energy, gradually increasing until it reaches its peak again at midnight. This is how yin and yang interact and generate each day.

This is why some practitioners become agitated with distracting thoughts at noon, making it impossible for them to even meditate and enter a state of deep concentration.

"Disciple understands!"

Lü Qian answered respectfully.

"Alright, now that you've mastered the first step, I'll pass on the second and final step to you."

"Refine the Yin Soul to achieve Pure Yang."

"I'll teach you how to ignite the Samadhi Fire first!"