Chapter 4 4. Foundation Building
Xu Qing looked up and a big round face squeezed into his eyes.

The person who spoke was a fat man with squinty eyes. He was as thick and solid as a tree stump. He looked at Xu Qing with a silly smile on his face.

"good."

Xu Qing didn't want to pay any attention to the other party, so he just used the perfunctory approach.

"Can you let me have a taste? I won't eat your food for nothing." The fat man took out a meat bun from somewhere, as if to change his magic: "I'll trade this with you."

Xu Qing looked at the steaming meat bun in the fat man's hand and swallowed. The pancake in his hand suddenly lost its fragrance.

Even if I come, the meat buns are still delicious!

Xu Qing's expression changed immediately, and he pulled out another pancake from his bag: "Come on, brother, try this pancake, it's made by my mother, it's delicious."

Xu Qing and the fat man smiled and exchanged the food in their hands.

Taking the hot meat bun, Xu Qing took a bite and immediately felt the soft and tender texture, followed by the hot and delicious gravy flowing into his mouth.

"Delicious!" Xu Qing's eyes suddenly lit up.

"It must be delicious." The fat man was proud and raised his head: "This is made by the chef of Chunfeng Tower. Ordinary people don't have the blessing to eat it!"

The fat guy also had good teeth, so he had no difficulty chewing the hard pancake, and he didn't seem to mind the bland taste.

Xu Qing's impression of the fat man thus greatly increased.

While squatting under the tree to satisfy their hunger, the two of them chatted casually.

"Li Ping'an, your family should be quite wealthy. Why don't you think about studying, but practice Taoism instead?"

Li Ping'an is the fat man's name, which Xu Qing learned from the conversation just now.

Fatty Li patted his round belly:
"I don't have a brilliant mind for studying, and I can't bear the hardship of practicing martial arts. I have no choice but to go to the mountains to practice Taoism. I heard that Taoist practice requires refining essence into qi, so my physique can barely be considered an advantage."

"It's a good opportunity to lose some weight. When I lose weight, I'll be a handsome man that everyone will love!"

Hearing this, Xu Qing looked amused.

Children around fourteen years old have big stomachs. If they eat well and take good care of themselves, they will definitely be fat. After another one or two years, as long as they pay attention not to overeat, the horizontal growth will turn into vertical growth.

But it is said that losing weight can make you more handsome.
Although most fat people have potential, could you please open your eyes first?
Conversation room.

The sun left the middle of the sky and gradually set in the west.

Xu Qing didn't know how long he had been waiting.

a moment.

Suddenly, an old Taoist with white hair and ruddy face came with a group of children of similar age or even younger from the front mountain to the open space in the back mountain.

The Taoist Master Jingxin whom I met before was also among them.

He followed three Taoist priests who were also wearing dark blue Taoist robes and lagged behind the old Taoist priest by a few steps.

Those who arrived at the open space early were all staring intently, their eyes fixed on the Taoist leader.

The old Taoist priest, who looked like an immortal, walked slowly to a huge rock in the open space that looked like a prone green ox. He then jumped up and sat cross-legged, his eyes scanning the new disciples below.

Xu Qing thought that the old Taoist would show off some of his magical skills to open people's eyes, but he just jumped onto the rock and sat down, overlooking the people in the field.

He complained a few words in his heart, but when the Taoist priest spoke, he immediately straightened his attitude and listened attentively.

"To cultivate the Tao, one must have a strong foundation. If one's foundation is not strong enough, no matter how good one's path to immortality is, it is like the moon in the sea or the flower in the fog, which cannot be touched or felt!"

"The fact that you can come here shows that your aptitude is qualified. But aptitude alone is not enough for cultivation."

"It depends on one's character."

"If one's aptitude is sufficient but one's character is not, it will be difficult to climb the Great Dao."

"So, the first stage of the entrance examination is to test your physique, and the second stage is to test your character."

Xu Qing scanned the newcomers in the open space, leaned over to Fatty Li and asked, "Don't we need to test our root bones?"

“No need.” Fatty Li shook his head. “Anyone who comes here early, as long as they are not completely without the aptitude to cultivate immortality, will be accepted into the sect even if their aptitude is a little weak.”

Xu Qing muttered, it turns out that there are human relationships everywhere.

But he is the beneficiary, so I can only give him a thumbs up for it.

If it weren't for Uncle Zhang's recommendation, with his flawed foundation, he might have been rejected at the first level and would have had no chance of standing here at all.

"Do you know what foundation building is?" asked the old Taoist who was sitting cross-legged on a huge rock.

Everyone below looked at each other in bewilderment; they did not expect the old Taoist to suddenly ask this question.

To Xu Qing's surprise, the first person to answer was the fat man next to him:

"Master, I know this. Building a foundation is laying the groundwork. It is the first step in cultivating immortals."

"The way of immortality is in heaven, the way of humanity is on earth. Humans stand on the earth, looking up at the sky and keeping their feet on the ground. Therefore, if one wants to seek the way of immortality through humanity, one must first be fully human."

"And this step is to build the foundation."

The old Taoist nodded slightly: "Not bad."

Fatty Li received the praise and laughed, putting his hands on his hips.

Xu Qing also glanced at Fatty Li in surprise. He didn't expect that this guy was not a fool but had some knowledge.

"The ancients said that emptiness becomes spirit, spirit becomes qi, qi becomes essence, essence becomes form, and form becomes man." The old Taoist said: "This is the path to being born as a human being."

"It is also said that if you follow the way, you will become a human being, but if you go against the way, you will become an immortal." "So, we who practice Taoism and seek immortality are walking in the opposite direction of our birth as human beings."

"The disciple just now said it very well. If you want to seek immortality through human nature, you must first perfect your humanity." The old Taoist's gaze fell on Fatty Li again, causing the smile on the other's face to become even brighter.

“So the first step in spiritual practice is to focus on the word ‘human’.”

“Only when one’s body is flawless and complete, and one’s foundation is sound, can one take steady steps, move upward against all odds, and return to one’s original nature.”

"Next, I will teach you how to build a foundation for the perfect humanity."

This statement came out.

The new disciples were shocked.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing was also extremely excited, and seemed to be unable to control himself.

He didn't expect that he could be taught the method of cultivation before he even got started!

Although the method passed down by the Taoist master at this time must be the most basic one, this secret is priceless and hard to come by outside!
Feeling the unrest in the field, the old Taoist frowned and shouted loudly: "Calm down!"

Only then did everyone quiet down again.

The old Taoist shook his head and continued:

"The foundation-building method is also called the quiet practice method, the sitting meditation method, and the meditation method."

"As the name suggests, it is a method of meditation to achieve tranquility."

“When one successfully enters a state of tranquility and concentration, with the mind neither scattered nor drowsy, the true energy will naturally be generated within the body.”

"When the true qi is generated, it goes up from the Governor Vessel to the Baihui Point, and then goes down to the Yinjiao Point on the upper palate of the mouth, where it turns into 'Jinjin'."

"The second is that it goes up from the Ren channel to the Chengjiang point at the lower jaw of the mouth, where it turns into 'Jade Liquid'."

"The 'golden jelly' and 'jade liquid' mix in the mouth, thus forming a sweet 'nectar'."

"When the 'nectar' is formed, keep your tongue on the roof of your mouth without moving it, and suck the saliva to the root of your tongue. When your mouth is full and about to choke, tilt your head back and slowly swallow it."

"It is important to note that 'nectar' is not ordinary saliva. If it does not have that sweet taste, it does not count."

After listening to the old Taoist's explanation, Xu Qing and Fatty Li didn't think it was difficult.

Isn't it just swallowing saliva?
"Master, what does it take to be considered a successful foundation building?"

Fatty Li is very brave and just asks questions directly if he has any.

"Don't worry."

The old Taoist waved his hand and said:

"There are 365 major acupoints in the human body, corresponding to the number of the Zhoutian."

"Nine is the largest number in Yi numbers, and nine is the return to the truth, so each acupuncture point in the human body should be filled with nine mouthfuls of nectar."

"The process of filling up the 365 major acupoints in the human body is called 'foundation building', a total of 3,285 mouthfuls of nectar."

"There are twelve hours in a day, and one hour is eight quarters. When a person is meditating, and his six senses are pure and his mind is neither distracted nor drowsy, he can transform a mouthful of nectar every quarter of an hour."

"If you have a firm will, work hard day and night, and can calm your mind while walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, you can complete the foundation-building process in 49 days."

"If you work hard for six hours a day and spend the other six hours eating and sleeping, you can complete the foundation-building process in two weeks."

"If you occasionally lose your concentration and your efforts are in vain, and the nectar does not grow, you can add another seventy-seven forty-nine."

"If three times of forty-nine still cannot build a foundation, then add another forty-nine, and so on, up to a maximum of six times of forty-nine."

Xu Qing smacked his lips inwardly.

The root bone does have an impact on the achievement of foundation building, but the impact is not significant.

What is more important is to look at one’s character.

The level of one's character can be judged by the time it takes to build the foundation. If one completes the foundation in 49 days, his character is at the best level, which is the highest quality.

The second level is two 49 days, the third level is three 49 days, and so on, there are a total of six levels.

"If one still hasn't successfully established his foundation within six weeks, that is, within a year," the old Taoist paused, "it means that his character is not suitable for practicing Taoism."

"Instead of clinging to this path and wasting time in the mountains, it is better to go down the mountain, return home, marry a wife, and live a peaceful life. This is the right way."

The old man's words were tactful, and Xu Qing summed it up in two words: "eliminated".

In other words.

Those who fail to successfully build a foundation within one year must leave the mountain. Even if they have the aptitude to cultivate immortality, they cannot become formal disciples of Yuanfu Temple.

"Alright." The old Taoist said no more, "From now on, sit on the ground and meditate."

"I will teach you the secret formula of the static exercise."

Everyone was excited and eager to follow the Taoist's instructions and sit cross-legged on the ground.

Only a few people did not sit down cross-legged immediately. Instead, they bowed respectfully to the old Taoist priest, thanked him for teaching them skills, and then sat down slowly.

This includes Xu Qing and Fatty Li.

The old Taoist nodded and accepted the gift calmly.

(End of this chapter)