Chapter 17: Kung Fu

Yan Jiaoxi said: "The breathing method taught by the sect before is similar to the exercise method. It can also cultivate spiritual power, but it is relatively simple and is only suitable for monks before the third level of Qi refining. After the third level of Qi refining, you must choose a Of course, you can continue to use the breathing method, but the practice will be much slower..."

"This is the sect's catalog of exercises for outer sect disciples to practice. The catalog contains the names of the exercises, applicable spiritual roots, required spiritual stones, spiritual objects to break through bottlenecks, and the effectiveness of the exercises, etc. Yourselves Take a look first."

Yan Jiaoxi distributed the catalog, and every disciple got a copy, and ink painting was no exception.

The catalog is very thin, only about ten pages, but it contains dozens of dense records of exercises and related matters.

"If you have any questions, you can ask me." Yan Jiaoxi said.

The disciples were quiet for a moment, and then one disciple raised his hand and asked:

"Sir, are the skills divided into attributes and grades just like spiritual roots?"

Yan Jiaoxi glanced at the disciple lightly and said:

"You are at the third level of Qi Refining, and you are still asking such a simple question. It seems that you did not listen carefully to Professor Zhou's lesson. Go back and copy the "First Interpretation of Cultivation" and give it to me in three days."

The disciple was stunned for a moment as if he had been struck by lightning, and then he had no choice but to lower his head and say, "Yes." But he was filled with regret in his heart.

I was careless and forgot that it was not Teacher Zhou who was giving the lecture now, so I asked casually what came to mind...

Yan Jiaoxi looked around and said seriously:

"Teacher Zhou is old and has a good temper. If he doesn't supervise you much, you may not listen carefully in class. But the exercise selection method is very important. I will explain it to you again. Please listen carefully and don't find it boring."

The disciples sat upright one after another.

"A monk's spiritual roots are divided into attributes and grades, and the techniques are the same."

"The attributes of spiritual roots are mainly based on the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Some are single five elements, some are mixed five elements, and there are also the small five elements and the large five elements that have all five elements. In addition to the five elements, there are some that are transformed from the five elements. Special spiritual roots, such as ice spiritual roots, thunder spiritual roots, wind spiritual roots, and yin and yang spiritual roots, are quite rare and are generally difficult to encounter. "

"In addition, spiritual roots are divided into nine grades according to their qualifications, from lower to lower, lower to middle, lower to upper, middle to lower... all the way to upper and upper grades. There is a big disparity in each grade. The higher the spiritual root grade. , the better the talent in cultivation, the higher the upper limit of spiritual power that can be contained in the Qi Sea. "

"The classification of exercises is also divided into attributes and nine levels, which are basically the same as spiritual roots. When choosing exercises, you must choose based on your spiritual roots. What attributes of spiritual roots should you choose? What attributes should you choose? For spiritual roots, it’s best to choose exercises of the same grade.”

"The spiritual root attribute determines the monk's spiritual power. The rarer the attribute, the more special the monk's spiritual power. The spiritual root grade determines the monk's talent. The higher the grade, the higher the monk's monastic talent."

…

"The rarer the spiritual roots, the better?" a disciple asked timidly.

"Not necessarily. For disciples with big clans and sects, this is a good thing. But for ordinary monks, the rarer the spiritual roots, the fewer exercises they can choose, and some even can't find any exercises to learn. , this is not a good thing," Yan Jiaoxi explained.

"What if the attributes of the exercises are different from the attributes of the spiritual roots?" a disciple asked.

"It's not going to happen," Yan Jiaoxi said, "because you can't practice. You, a monk with the golden water spirit root, can't learn the civil and wood techniques at all."

"Are there no exceptions?"

Yan Jiaoxi raised his eyebrows and said: "At least it is not in the Taoist records of the Taoist court for more than 20,000 years. If you encounter it, you can tell me and I will gain insights."

The disciple shrank his head and stopped talking.

"Teach me, does the level of the exercises have to be the same as the level of the spiritual root?" Another disciple asked.

Yan Jiaoxi said: "High-grade spiritual roots can practice low-grade exercises, but low-grade spiritual roots cannot practice high-grade exercises."

Some disciples wondered: "If the spiritual root level is high, why should we choose low-level exercises? Wouldn't the spiritual power cultivated in this way be less?"

Yan Jiaoxi said: "The higher the grade of the skill, the more spiritual stones are needed for practice, and the treasures of heaven, materials and earth to break through the bottleneck are also more valuable. Some of the treasures of heaven, materials and earth are simply not something that ordinary monks can afford. Don't I chose a high-level technique, but halfway through practicing it, I found that I couldn’t afford it, and it was too late to regret it.”

"What if the spiritual root level is low, but you learn a high-level skill?" The disciple asked again.

Yan Jiaoxi said: "According to the "Book of Cultivation Skills", if the level of the skills exceeds the level of one's own spiritual roots, most monks will absorb too much spiritual power after practice, resulting in damage to the sea of ​​​​Qi, and serious collapse of the sea of ​​​​Qi. , their cultivation is completely ruined, and even worse, they become possessed by evil spirits, and their body and soul disappear."

"Some people are obsessed with it. Does that mean there are also people who are not obsessed with it?" A disciple's eyes lit up and he asked.

Yan Jiaoxi gave him a meaningful look:

"Don't always think that you are the most special one. Others will have problems if they learn it, but you might be fine if you learn it. Some people may have luck in practicing Taoism, but don't pin your life and death on this misty luck. Go it alone. Seeking death."

Many disciples here have had this thought. At this time, they felt a little shuddered when they heard this and did not dare to have other thoughts.

Yan Jiaoxi said again: "These are not individual cases, but countless lessons learned over the past 20,000 years of the development of Taoism. If we do not learn from the experience of our predecessors, it is easy to make mistakes. Once a Taoist goes astray, he often cannot help himself. "Some people can turn back, but some people can never turn back."

Teacher Yan sighed, looking a little disappointed. Mo Hua felt that Teacher Yan seemed to be a little worried.

But Teacher Yan did not say anything more, but pointed to the "Tongxianmen Qi Refining External Sect Practice Catalog" and said:

"You should follow what I just said and look for it yourself and choose a suitable one. Remember, don't be too ambitious in practicing Taoism, the right one is the best."

The disciples lowered their heads and flipped through the practice catalog.

Mo Hua knew the general idea and began to look for the practice.

He was a middle-lower grade spiritual root, so he could only practice middle-lower grade practice, but he was a little curious about what the top-grade practice was like.

Mo Hua first flipped to the end of the catalog and looked at a few top-grade exercises:

"Heaven and Earth Xuanhuang Jue": Upper and lower grade, suitable for cultivation of earth-type spiritual roots, can cultivate spiritual power for 120 cycles, at least 5,000 spiritual stones need to be refined to complete the Qi Refining Period, and natural treasures are required: Xuanhuang grass, bitter water root, Tianxuan stone...

"Soft Water Jue": Upper and lower grade, suitable for cultivation of water-type spiritual roots, can cultivate spiritual power for 130 cycles, at least 5,200 spiritual stones need to be refined to complete the Qi Refining Period, and natural treasures are required: Hundred-year-old rootless water, silver snake blood...

"Five Elements Qigong": Upper and lower grade, suitable for cultivation of gold, wood, water, fire and earth five elements spiritual roots, can cultivate spiritual power for 150 cycles, at least 6,000 spiritual stones need to be refined to complete the Qi Refining Period, and natural treasures are required: Jinyuan stone, molten fire stone, hundred-year-old soil...

...

Mo Hua was amazed.

"It takes at least five or six thousand spirit stones to complete the Qi Refining Stage. This is just the spirit stones for refining, not including the natural treasures that assist cultivation and break through bottlenecks. Some rare natural treasures may cost more than five or six thousand spirit stones..."

Mo Hua worked hard for a month and only earned fifty spirit stones. The consumption of five thousand spirit stones made Mo Hua's scalp numb.

Mo Hua also heard from others that ordinary casual cultivators, even if they have top-grade spiritual roots, can't afford to practice top-grade exercises.

If you must practice, there are generally only two ways.

One is to find a big sect, worship the elders of the sect as a teacher, enter the inner sect, be bound to the sect, and never leave the sect for life.

The second is to find a family to marry into and let the family provide you with cultivation, but the family will ask you to change your family, abandon your name, parents, origin and everything in the past. Although you have a future, you are no longer yourself...

No matter what you choose, it is basically considered as human dependence. Although there is hope for cultivation, you can't help yourself.

No wonder monks often say that fate comes first, luck comes second, and feng shui comes third.

A monk's fate is determined once by his spiritual roots and once by his birth.

It is not easy to change your fate...

Mo Hua sighed deeply.