“I’ve never heard of it,” Qiao Zhi replied, shaking his head. “However, “sacred scriptures” are generally scriptures that concern the official titles, true nas, ceremonial rites, and enchantnts of the divine class. These are all things required by divine class cultivators among Dao artists.
“There are divine class Dao arts among the twenty-five orthodox arts, but I’ve never heard of this Purple Mansion Sacred Scripture, so it’s probably not anything legitimate. Where did you hear about it?”
Chu Qiguang smiled to conceal his disappointnt as he replied, “I heard it ntioned by a few old n at the entrance of the village.”
The Purple Mansion Sacred Scripture might be his only hope of returning to Earth, yet he didn’t know if he would be able to find it.
“Those old farts do nothing but brag and spout nonsense all day long!” Qiao Zhi scoffed. “You can listen to them, but don’t take what they say seriously. Let’s get back on track. There are many introductory paths into cultivation, and each school has its own thod, such as adhering to Buddhist precepts, reciting scriptures, holding rituals, engaging in qi refinent... There are far too many of them to count.
“However, those are all too disjointed, and it’s also very difficult for the average person to gauge their level of progress in such practices. Thankfully, one of the founding figures of the Great Han Empire, Zhong Wu Feudal Lord Qi Mingde, once embarked on a journey under the emperor’s orders to collect all of the Dao arts under the heavens. Then he referenced those Dao arts to split the ntal state of cultivators yet to attain the Dao Comprehension state into five states, naly Concentration, Peace, Serenity, Consideration, and Attainnt.
“Today, I’m going to teach you the thod to reach the state of Concentration. Don’t look down on this first state! Countless people are unable to reach it even after more than ten years of ditating and reciting scriptures. That said, you were once a heavenly immortal, so as long as you work hard in your cultivation, you should be able to reach it in about ten days.”
Chu Qiguang was feeling very anxious after hearing Qiao Zhi’s projection. He knew perfectly well that he was just a slimy trickster from Earth, not so heavenly immortal, so there was no way he had any aptitude for cultivation.
Is he going to suspect my identity if I don’t accomplish anything after say, half a month of cultivation?
Following Qiao Zhi’s instructions, Chu Qiguang had already sat down with his legs crossed. After closing his eyes, all he could hear was the wind brushing past his ears and Qiao Zhi’s voice echoing directly in his mind.
“The average person experiences countless thoughts and distractions in everything that they do. The first step in cultivation is to eliminate those distractions, achieving the state of Concentration to ensure ntal clarity. Furthermore, Concentration can partially replace sleep. If you do it consistently over a long period of ti, your mory and reactions will be enhanced, making you smarter and sharpening your senses.
“However, it’ll be very difficult for you to enter the state of Concentration in your first attempt. For now, write down the character for peace in your heart, then focus all of your attention on it until it’s the only thing left on your mind...”
Qiao Zhi’s voice trailed off as he stared at Chu Qiguang and exclaid, “You’ve already done it! You’ve reached the first state of cultivation, just like that! I’ve seen quite a few prodigies in my ti, but even the fastest took four days to reach the Concentration state! Your aptitude for cultivation is unbelievable! As expected of a forr heavenly immortal.”
Qiao Zhi was so overjoyed that he began grooming himself in excitent, a wide smile spread across his face as he continued, “With the aptitude you’ve shown, I’m confident that I can get you to the Dao Comprehension state within five years! There’s going to be another almighty cat lover in this world soon!”
At that mont, Chu Qiguang felt like his mind was completely clear of thoughts, but at the sa ti, he had a perfect awareness of his own condition and his surroundings.
In this state of Concentration, he felt completely relaxed, both ntally and physically, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his mind, leaving him in an unprecedented state of rest.
However, it didn’t take long for the distractions to return. His forehead felt a little itchy, he could hear the sound of the wind constantly brushing past his ears, his back felt a little sore, not to ntion the insistent grumbling in his belly...
With the rise of these distractions, Chu Qiguang was no longer able to ditate and withdrew from his state of Concentration.
Seeing his agitated expression, Qiao Zhi smiled and said, “Even though you were able to successfully enter the state of Concentration on your first attempt, your ntal state is not sothing that can be maintained without effort. Instead, you can easily fall down to a lower ntal state if you’re not careful, so you must remain vigilant at all tis.
“As the saying goes, attainnt is much easier than maintenance, and this applies to cultivation as well. Once you can maintain the state of Concentration at will, you will have reached the second state.”
Chu Qiguang was reflecting on the state of Concentration that he had just experienced, and a joyful look appeared on his face as he asked, “Is cultivation this easy? There isn’t anything like spiritual energy, golden cores, or nascent souls involved?”
“Easy? You only say that because you don’t know how long this first hurdle has stumped the average person,” Qiao Zhi scoffed. “It would’ve never been this easy if you hadn't awakened intelligence from your past life. As for the profound things you ntioned, those are only things that true masters can comprehend because the human language is unable to describe the state that they have attained.
“If you try to learn those things at your current level, then you'll only hit a dead-end. You could cultivate for a hundred years without making any progress! Alright, that’s enough chit-chat. Continue your cultivation. Each session of ditation is a form of deep rest and relaxation. People normally think about far too many things throughout the day, leading to daily ntal exhaustion. Only through this form of daily restoration can one’s mind be enhanced.
“It’s a similar concept to nurturing soldiers; the key lies in the word “nurture”. Only with enough sleep and sustenance can soldiers grow stronger, and daily ditation is the best way to strengthen the mind. This will enhance your mory and reactions over ti.
“Daily ditation over a long period of ti will lead to sharpening of the mind and the senses, allowing you to beco more efficient in everything that you do.”
Chu Qiguang closed his eyes and attempted to reenter the state of Concentration, but this ti it was more difficult because distractions constantly arose. Only after a long while was he able to enter the state of Concentration again.
Once again, he experienced that sa sense of complete relaxation of both body and mind, and his brain was also receiving ample sustenance.
About fifteen minutes later, Chu Qiguang was unable to stand the mounting agitation and erged from his state of Concentration a second ti. He stood up to walk around a little before being urged by Qiao Zhi to continue.
The process was repeated several tis. Each ti, Chu Qiguang found it more difficult to reenter the state of Concentration as he was plagued by nurous distractions. The beating of his heart, the itching of his skin, even the sensation of the wind caressing his body all beca infinitely magnified, making it impossible for him to find peace.
Finally, after erging from his ditative state one last ti, Chu Qiguang felt so agitated that no matter how hard he tried, he was unable to continue ditating.
“You’ve reached your limit,” Qiao Zhi assessed. “For the average person, it would be impossible to continue cultivating beyond this point, but of course, I have so tricks up my sleeve.”
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