Simon's daily activities now included one more item.
Actually, for a person as tranquil as him, there were only a few things he did every day.
Wake up, wash up.
Breakfast, usually a bowl of plain congee with a small dish of pickles.
Read books.
Lunch, usually noodles with a vegetarian sauce, not much oil.
Read books.
Dinner, usually a steamed bun with two small dishes.
Meditate, sleep.
Excrete on schedule.
That was it.
Now, practicing martial arts was added, scheduled for the afternoon.
Central Plains martial arts internal cultivation follows the Twelve Primary Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians. These meridians connect all organs and systems of the body, internally harmonizing the human body, and externally connecting with heaven and earth. It can be said to be full of the great thought and wisdom of the Eastern concept of the unity of man and nature.
The five zang organs digest the essence of grains, meats, and other foods. Martial artists either use quiet meditation to allow their spirit to interact and transform into qi, or use external training to promote the circulation of essence into their flesh, blood, and bones, thereby nurturing internal qi.
Thus, the lungs belong to metal, nurturing Vajra Internal Qi; the liver belongs to wood, nurturing Purple Mist Internal Qi; the kidneys belong to water, nurturing Profound Yin Internal Qi; the heart belongs to fire, nurturing Pure Yang Internal Qi; and the spleen belongs to earth, nurturing Returning Origin Internal Qi. Different schools of internal cultivation nurture internal power of different attributes.
There is also considerable emphasis on the timing of cultivation, even down to the seasons.
The twelve hours of the day each have their elemental attributes, and the four seasons of the year also have their periods of emphasis.
The 'Suwen · Jin Kui Zhen Yan Lun' states: "The five zang organs correspond to the four seasons, each with their reception." The 'Suwen · Liu Jie Zang Xiang Lun' points out: "The heart communicates with the summer qi, the lungs communicate with the autumn qi, the kidneys communicate with the winter qi, the liver communicates with the spring qi, and the spleen communicates with the earth qi."
Martial artists in their practice, interacting with the external world, must always keep in mind the circulation of the five elemental attributes between heaven and earth.
The five elements have relationships of mutual generation and mutual overcoming, as well as over-control and counter-insult. Cultivating at the appropriate time is beneficial, while cultivating when the five qi mutually overcome often yields half the results for twice the effort. Especially in advanced internal cultivation, where martial artists draw upon the spiritual essence of heaven and earth to reverse to the innate realm, cultivation at this stage heavily emphasizes acting in accordance with the times.
Many unorthodox martial artists, haphazardly learning all the internal cultivation techniques circulating in the jianghu, ignoring the transformation relationships between attributes, often lead to chaotic internal breath, and even the regression of their cultivation.
For Simon, his Innate Qi was already a Primordial Internal Power, complete with all five elements, allowing him to cultivate anytime, anywhere.
Internal power is mysterious and wondrous. Once generated, it circulates through the meridians day and night without ceasing, running as naturally as a river. What a martial artist needs to do in practice is to control qi with their spirit, binding the wild and untamed internal power and consolidating it within the Dantian. This is what constitutes cultivation.
And clearing the meridians is, in fact, using spiritual read to penetrate the meridians, allowing the scattered internal power within them to be brought under one's control.
The so-called "dispersing cultivation" in wuxia novels, besides having all internal power absorbed by techniques like the North Profound Divine Art or the Star Sucking Great Law, also refers to when a martial artist, due to excessive mental exertion, can no longer restrain their internal qi, and the qi in their Dantian disperses back into the meridians.
After mastering and refining internal power, the next step is to condense cultivation into the various acupoints throughout the body, transforming it into four different types of True Qi with distinct effects.
These are Destructive, Agile, Protective, and Extraordinary.
Destructive True Qi makes internal power more incisive. When facing an enemy, it can more effectively penetrate armor, bodies, and internal qi.
Agile True Qi makes internal power more buoyant. Whether running or leaping, one becomes more agile and swift.
Protective True Qi makes internal power more resilient. It resists attacks and reduces both internal and external injuries sustained.
Extraordinary True Qi makes internal power more spiritual. Internal breath circulates more smoothly and freely.
Simon, of course, immediately prioritized enhancing Protective True Qi. It didn't matter if he couldn't defeat others, as long as he wasn't injured. Furthermore, Shaolin martial arts have many protective techniques, and it's always good to play to one's strengths.
In addition to the five elemental attributes and four characteristics, internal cultivation also has a realm of purity.
Purity means exquisite and proficient, fine and unadulterated. It is only after years of diligent practice and repeated refinement of internal power that one can achieve even a slight improvement.
With each increment of purity, the internal qi becomes more refined, transitioning from soft to hard, from ethereal to solid. With hard striking soft, even a one-inch iron nail can pierce through a hundred zhang of clouds.
At this point, Innate Qi is very advantageous because of its high quality, which translates to a relatively high level of purity. This is also why Simon can make his internal qi penetrate rocks.
These days, besides the standard practice of restraining internal power, he also had to practice the transformation of internal power between solid and ethereal states. He needed to be able to seep into paper without damaging it, and yet pierce through metal without being hindered.
Compared to reading and meditating, practicing martial arts was no more interesting or boring than either. In his view, it was just a way to pass the time.
Thus, several more months passed, golden autumn rushed by, and cold winter descended.
In Shi Yi Yue, Mount Song experienced a snowfall, and unexpectedly, it lasted the entire winter.
Heavy snow blocked the mountains, making travel difficult, so this year's Dharma Assembly was not held. People huddled indoors, hibernating.
In late December, the festive atmosphere of the New Year grew stronger day by day. It was during this joyous time that Shaolin Temple encountered uninvited guests.
A white-haired middle-aged man traversed the snow-covered mountain path and arrived at the temple gates.
The gate-keeping guest monks were lazily basking in the sun, enjoying the rare warmth of winter, and were surprised to see the middle-aged man.
The man had proper features but a fierce demeanor. He wore a complicated black-and-red robe adorned with sinister totemic patterns. His eyes glowed faintly with a bloody light, which made the guest monks quite uncomfortable.
One of them, emboldened, stepped forward, "May I ask, benefactor, what brings you here? Do you have a calling card?"
"This humble person is Archmage Yu Feng of the Bloodhowl Sect. Entrusted by my Sect Master, I have come to your esteemed temple to deliver an invitation. I hope the monk will trouble himself to inform the abbot."
The visitor was perfectly polite, pulling out a clean white piece of paper from his bosom and handing it to the guest monk. As the monk took it, he felt that the object was soft and thin to the touch, yet of excellent quality, even more comfortable than the famous Xuan paper.
The guest monk performed a Buddhist salute, turned, and ran into the temple.
The abbot was currently sitting in his meditation room, tapping a wooden fish, not receiving guests. The guest monk first found Zen Master Zi Nie. The Zen Master took the invitation, immediately frowned, and then read the text on it.
"In ancient times, the Great God Xiangshu abolished the imperial court, and since then, the affairs of the martial arts world have flourished like brocade. I yearn for this, and now, I, along with hundreds of thousands of fellow martial artists, have decided to establish a sect in Bloodhowl Valley north of the river on the second day of February next year. The grand ceremony preparations are complete, and we specially invite renowned martial arts figures and heroes to participate in this grand event and bear witness. It is widely known that Shaolin is the paramount leader of the martial arts world, with profound prestige. I also know that Shaolin Abbot Zen Master Zixing is a person of exceptional character and martial arts. I sincerely hope you can grace our humble sect with your presence, bringing glory to our humble abode.
Respectfully, Lei Guangling, Sect Master of the Bloodhowl Sect of Jiangbei."
Zen Master Zi Nie sternly asked the guest monk, "Who delivered this invitation?"
"It was a benefactor who claims to be an Archmage of the Bloodhowl Sect. He is waiting outside the temple gate!"
Zen Master Zi Nie frowned and instructed, "Go back and tell the gate-keeping monks to be extremely vigilant of this person. This humble monk will invite the abbot, and then we will make a decision!"
The guest monk acknowledged the order and left. Zen Master Zi Nie hurried to the abbot's quarters, knocking three times.
"Is that Zi Nie? What's the hurry?"
"Abbot, you must know, there's a murderous villain who skins people outside the gate!"
The next moment, the main door burst open, and Zen Master Zixing emerged, his face ashen.
"Good, good, good! I want to see which evil demon dares to be so arrogant! You've come to the Shaolin Treasure Temple, but you won't be leaving!"
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