Record of a Demon's Cultivation Chapter 4: Sensing the Heaven and Earth Qi

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"Sit upright, calm your mind. Relax naturally. Close your lips lightly, breathe evenly through your nose. Clench your hands, eyes straight ahead. Concentrate your spiritual radiance, reaching towards the heart of heaven."

Ji Yin started detailing the initial layer of the "Longevity Technique", emphasizing the method for gathering qi.

With utmost meticulousness, Ji Yin instructed, breaking it down almost word for word. He wove in his own profound insights and past experiences throughout the lesson.

The youths paid rapt attention. Each one viewed this as their golden opportunity to soar like a dragon through the gates, vowing to grasp it firmly.

All these youngsters could read and write, part of the rare 'enlightened' few in Qian Guo. Thanks to Ji Yin's guidance, they grasped the core essence of the technique without much trouble.

A few eager souls had already assumed the cross-legged position, directing their thoughts skyward with eyes firmly shut. They absorbed Ji Yin's words while striving to detect the spiritual qi around them.

Song Wen, on the other hand, refrained from hastily trying to feel the spiritual qi. Instead, he focused intently on Ji Yin's instructions.

Sharpening the axe spares time for the chopper; this much he knew well.

Deep down, he was convinced that detecting spiritual qi and pulling it in would demand considerable time, far from a quick feat.

Before long, the morning session of two hours drew to a close.

Rising to his feet, Ji Yin announced in a booming voice, "Today's lesson on the technique concludes here. Commit it to memory and ponder it deeply. I eagerly await one of you sensing the spiritual qi soon and succeeding in drawing it in."

"Over the coming month, I'll dedicate one hour each day to instructing you in the technique."

"In this period, none of you may step outside this mansion, though you're free to roam inside. Meals will arrive daily, and your sole duty is to assiduously practice the 'Longevity Technique'. Don't disappoint the hopes I hold for you."

Saying this, Ji Yin departed from the wing rooms.

Right then, the Tian Sha Gang guards came forward, handing out a slim booklet to everyone. It contained the first layer of the "Longevity Technique", centered on qi cultivation.

The apprentices felt far from content; several headed straight back to their rooms, burning to start cultivating right away.

Others clustered in twos and threes, exchanging thoughts on the technique's intricacies.

Yet Song Wen skipped both the talks and the practice. Ji Yin's excessive attentiveness struck him as suspicious.

No favor comes without strings attached!

He couldn't shake the feeling that hidden machinations lurked beneath the surface. Ji Yin surely harbored some secret purpose.

Once Ji Yin was gone, the guards also withdrew from the mansion. Seizing the moment, Song Wen surveyed the whole estate.

The sprawling mansion clung to the mountainside. The wing section he occupied formed just a tiny fraction of the vast grounds.

Past the wings lay a broad clearing dotted with plants and small pools.

Deeper in, near the mountain base, stood a two-story structure. Song Wen figured it was Ji Yin's dwelling, and sure enough, the man had headed that way moments before.

Surrounding the building were various garden patches, abundant with medicinal herbs.

After a quarter-hour scouting the courtyard's basic layout, Song Wen went back to his chamber.

Lunch awaited on the room's table.

Three fluffy white steamed buns accompanied a dish of veggies stir-fried with bits of meat. In Qian Guo, this counted as lavish fare; typical families couldn't indulge in buns or meat daily.

The finer the hospitality, the deeper Song Wen's wariness grew. A massive scheme seemed to overshadow him and the other youths.

Lunch done, Song Wen pulled out the booklet.

The first layer of the "Longevity Technique" was succinct, barely over a hundred characters long.

Still, its wording was profoundly arcane and tough to penetrate. Without Ji Yin's elucidation, Song Wen reckoned self-deciphering would consume ages.

It required him almost thirty minutes to commit the intricate, winding passage of over a hundred words to memory.

Then, settling into cross-legged pose, he directed his awareness heavenward, murmuring the technique inwardly as he sought to perceive the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Cultivation time flew by; in moments, two or three hours elapsed, but Song Wen hadn't glimpsed even a trace of heaven and earth's spiritual qi.

"Do I lack talent for cultivation? Or is my talent terribly poor?"

His afternoon practice brought absolutely no gains, making Song Wen question his abilities.

When Ji Yin described the technique, he noted that innate talent for cultivation wasn't common to all. People with such gifts were incredibly scarce, and even those with some aptitude showed vast differences in their levels.

Ji Yin's grasp of cultivation talent looked quite shallow; he only brushed against it without exploring further.

A touch dejected, Song Wen pushed open his room door. Late afternoon had fallen.

Golden light from the setting sun bathed the sky, painting a mesmerizing and alluring picture.

Caught in the dire predicament he sensed, Song Wen ignored the sunset's splendor. Leaving his room, he noticed crowds of youths assembled in the courtyard, chatting about their cultivation advances.

Drawn by curiosity, he sidled closer to overhear and wandered nearby. He discovered that none among the hundred-plus had detected the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

At once, his anxious heart settled a little.

"Cultivating immortality is nowhere near as simple as it seems!"

After the evening meal, Song Wen pressed on with cultivation deep into the night, achieving nothing. Downhearted, he finally settled down to rest.

Dawn of the following day.

Ji Yin arrived right on schedule beyond the wing.

"Did anyone sense the existence of spiritual qi yesterday?"

Moments passed with silence from the youths, yet Ji Yin betrayed no frustration. He forged ahead relentlessly, breaking down the essentials of the 'Longevity Technique'.

Days slipped by swiftly, marking the third day of their cultivation efforts.

That night, as he practiced the 'Longevity Technique', Song Wen at last perceived the spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

Myriad glowing specks shimmered near his form, wandering without purpose.

Night wore on, weariness creeping in, when Song Wen abruptly brimmed with vigor and elation.

He had conquered cultivation's opening phase. This proved his possession of cultivation talent, granting a shot at becoming a revered 'immortal'.

Steadying his racing mind, Song Wen swiftly composed himself. He kept refining the 'Longevity Technique', eager to draw qi into his body in a single rush.

But despite his fierce efforts, the aimless lights eluded his grasp, steadfastly barring entry to his frame.

After nearly a quarter-hour of striving, realization dawned on him.

"No, I mustn't draw qi into my body so hastily, not right away. Until I uncover Ji Yin's reason for sharing this immortal technique, I can't reveal my cultivation talent."

The next morning, in the hour of the dragon (around 7-9 AM), Song Wen assembled with the other youths outside the wing.

Ji Yin questioned them one by one,

"Did anyone succeed in sensing the existence of spiritual qi yesterday?"

(End of the Chapter)