Chapter 13: Drawing Breath into the Body

Translator: yikaii Editor: yikaii

Unlike training for strength, where Lu Yang could eat spirit beast meat to enhance his power and soak in medicinal baths to strengthen his physique, honing his control required reliance solely on himself. This process demanded complete focus, without the slightest carelessness. As Senior Sister had put it, he needed to “find the right feeling, using the body to control the power, not the mind.”

Lu Yang’s task was to naturally grasp the tofu without any intentional effort. By the end of the day, he was covered in the smell of tofu, and his eyes, due to prolonged concentration on the tofu, nearly turned into cross-eyes. Fortunately, the experienced puppet gave him a couple of slaps, and his eyes returned to normal.

At mealtime, Lu Yang faced a table full of tofu dishes in silence. Stir-fried tofu, deep-fried tofu, steamed tofu, tofu pudding, soy milk boiled tofu… All were made from the tofu he had crushed during the day. Lu Yang learned that the tofu pudding and soy milk were generously provided by kind-hearted vendors.

Lu Yang was grateful to his ancestors. He knew that as long as he couldn’t control his strength properly, he wouldn’t get any other dish to eat. In other words, either he or the tofu had to give in. While tofu is not ordinary and can regulate a cultivator’s five elements balance, enhance qi, and increase endurance in battle, no one could endure eating tofu every day.

Left with no choice, Lu Yang focused on his meal, contemplating how to better control his strength the next day.

…

As Lu Yang slept, he felt a dazzling white light shining on his face, making his eyelids tightly shut and his expression contorted. Slowly adjusting to the bright light, he tried to open his eyes. He found himself in a pristine white space, surrounded by thick fog, with only a small area around him clear and visible. Lu Yang couldn’t locate the source of the light.

“Where am I?” Lu Yang panicked slightly. He was sleeping in the Dao Seeking Sect, a place teeming with masters, with Senior Sister right next door. Who could have silently brought him to this mysterious space? Were their intentions good or evil?

A majestic voice echoed from the mist, ancient and resonant, reverberating through the corridors of time, “Young one, this is a temporary space I’ve created, undetectable to others.”

Lu Yang shuddered, the prowess of this being was beyond comprehension. He could only hope that their intentions were not malevolent.

“I have witnessed eons, seen countless mighty beings whose cultivation dominated the world, yet all ultimately succumbed to the ravages of time, their vigorous battles against the heavens reduced to a sigh in their final moments.”

“Regardless of their brilliance, I have remained free and untroubled, eternally existing.” The voice carried an ancient and hoarse tone, tinged with the weariness of endless eons.
This great being’s existence was beyond Lu Yang’s imagination.

“Today, on a whim, I calculated and found that you and I are fated. So, I summoned your soul to this temporary space of inheritance.”

“This space contains everything needed for cultivation from the Qi Refining Stage to the Tribulation Crossing Stage – techniques, pills, secret manuals, and cultivation insights. You will unlock a part of my inheritance at each stage.”

Lu Yang sighed in relief, sensing the being’s friendliness, and respectfully inquired, “May I know who you are, Senior?”

The senior laughed heartily three times and approached from the mist.

The senior’s face was clean and fair, skin milky white, head squarely shaped—it was a tofu.

As the Tofu Senior approached, speaking more and more rapidly, he said, “I am the Tofu Celestial, and this is my life’s wisdom. The more tofu you eat, the faster your cultivation will rise, with a solid foundation. Surpassing levels, attracting admirers, reaching the pinnacle of the continent will be no problem…”

Lu Yang broke into a cold sweat, abruptly waking up, sitting up in bed, and looking around in the pitch darkness, a dead silence surrounding him. He sighed in relief.

“It was just a dream, thankfully.”

Lu Yang, feeling the cold sweat on his back, was still shaken.

…

Yun Zhi slowly opened her eyes, withdrawing a blue light from her fingertips that had been directed towards Lu Yang’s room.

“This should motivate him to cultivate more diligently,” she murmured to herself.

Her master had taught her that appropriate pressure could become a driving force, spurring people to strive harder.

Yun Zhi herself was a testament to this, so she believed her master’s words and used a dream spell to give Lu Yang a little pressure.

“The lines provided by the Eighth Elder are a bit embarrassing, I wonder how he manages to say them normally.”

Yun Zhi was good at seeking advice. Everything in the dream, every step, and every line, was scripted by the Eighth Elder, who also guaranteed its effectiveness.

…

Some time passed, and Yun Zhi saw Lu Yang effortlessly catching tofu, tossing it high, and catching it steadily. He even used tofu as a sandbag, tossing it back and forth with the puppet.

The soft tofu seemed like an extension of his body, easily controlled.

“Lifting light as  if it’s heavy, you’ve achieved it. This stage is complete.”

Lu Yang smiled, no longer the same person he was at the beginning. As he continued practicing with the tofu, his restless heart also gradually calmed down.

Without needing any mantras or techniques, he could do this.

“What’s next?”

Lu Yang no longer pursued the same progress as his peers, trusting that his Senior Sister had a reason for her arrangements.

Yun Zhi rarely smiled, but now she did, “We’ll solidify your Qi Refining Stage cultivation.”

Lu Yang, surprised, pointed to himself, “Qi Refining Stage? Me?”

He didn’t know when he had become a Qi Refining Stage cultivator. The books said that drawing breath into the body required guidance from a senior, imparting techniques, closing the senses, and organizing the meridians to succeed.

For those with less talent, even medicinal pills were needed.

He hadn’t met any of these conditions.

Senior Sister hadn’t told him how to draw breath into the body, nor imparted any astonishing cultivation techniques. He hadn’t closed his senses or used the elusive sixth sense. As for the meridians, he didn’t remember organizing them.

Dao Seeking Sect disciples didn’t need pills to enter the Qi Refining Stage; they were all exceptional talents.  If they needed pills for assistance, they might as well leave the sect.

Lu Yang believed he wouldn’t need pills either, but how had he entered the Qi Refining Stage?

“Three mornings ago,” his Senior Sister hinted.

Lu Yang suddenly remembered that morning.

He woke up early, facing the morning light with closed eyes, pondering how to grasp the tofu. As he delved deeper into his thoughts, he gradually lost awareness of his surroundings, becoming like a rising stream of clear qi, wandering between heaven and earth. Then his consciousness sank, returning to his body, feeling a warm breath flowing in his dantian.

That was also when he first successfully grasped the tofu.

He remembered that his Senior Sister wasn’t present during his tofu practice; she had been observing him from somewhere unknown.

“It seems that feeling was drawing breath into the body,” Lu Yang muttered, immersed in the experience.

That feeling was truly wonderful, like being wrapped in warmth on a cloud, too comfortable to want to open his eyes.

Unknowingly, he had fulfilled his little wish, drawn breath into his body, and become a Qi Refining Stage cultivator.

(End of the chapter)