Chapter 13: Drawing Qi into the Body
When Lu Yang trained his strength, he could consume spirit beast meat to boost his strength and soak in medicinal baths to reinforce his body. However, when it came to controlling his strength, there was no external cheat—he had only himself to rely on.
The whole process required immense concentration. Using Big Senior Sister’s words, I need to “find the right feeling and use my body rather than my psyche to control my strength.”
What Lu Yang had to do was to naturally catch the tofu without any deliberate effort.
After one whole day ended, Lu Yang was covered with the fishy smell of tofu. His eyes had focused on the tofu for so long that his eyes nearly became crossed.
Fortunately, the experienced puppet came over to give him two slaps, returning his eyes to normal.
When it was time to eat, Lu Yang stared silently at the table full of tofu dishes—stir-fried tofu, deep-fried tofu, steamed tofu, tofu pudding,[1] soy tofu boiled in soy milk…
All the ingredients were the tofu Lu Yang crushed during the day. He even heard that the tofu pudding and soy milk were gifted by the warmhearted shop owner.
Lu Yang thanked all eight generations of his ancestors.
The dishes will remain the same until I can control my strength.
In other words, between me and tofu, one of us will definitely be finished.
Tofu was not an ordinary food. Long-term consumption could regulate a cultivator’s balance of the five elements, prolonging their breaths and increasing their stamina during a battle. These were just a few out of the countless other benefits.
But no one can stand eating tofu every single day.
Lu Yang had no choice but to dig into his meal, pondering about how he could better control his strength the next day.
~~~
While still in his slumber, Lu Yang felt a dazzling white light shining on his face, causing his eyelids to stick together and form a contorted expression. Only until he had gradually adapted to the strong light did he try to open his eyes.
He found himself in an immaculately white space. His surroundings were filled with thick fog, limiting his visibility to only a small area around him. But Lu Yang couldn’t find the source of the light.
“Where is this place?” Lu Yang was a little frantic. I’m sleeping right in the Dao-Seeking Sect, where numerous experts congregate, and Big Senior Sister is just next door. Who could have stealthily pulled me into this mysterious space?
Are they a friend or a foe?
An imposing voice emitted from within the fog, distant like it had traveled from the ancient past and dwelled in the river of time. “Young man, this is a temporary space built by yours truly. No one can detect it.”
Lu Yang’s chest tightened. The other party’s methods were unimaginable. He could only hope that they didn’t bear any ill intention toward him.
“I have witnessed the ancient times and seen many experts with unrivaled cultivation, but not a single one of them could escape from the erosion of time. Their passion and ardent desire to overcome challenges ultimately wound up in a final sigh before their last breath.
“No matter how peerless they had been, I remain carefree and exist eternally.” The voice sounded hoarse from the vicissitudes of life, carrying a hint of weariness from everything returning to nothingness.
The existence of this unparalleled expert was beyond Lu Yang’s imagination.
The expert continued, “I had a sudden whim today to do a quick divination, and I calculated that you and I are fated, so I summoned your soul to this temporary space to receive my legacy.
“This space contains all the cultivation techniques required from the Qi Training Stage to the Transcendent Tribulation Stage; it comprises pills, secret manuals, cultivation insights, and more. Every time you reach a stage, you’ll be able to unlock a part of my legacy.”
Lu Yang let out a breath of relief. The other party seems friendly. He cupped his fists and asked politely, “Who are you, Senior?”
The senior laughed three times before strolling out from within the fog.
His face was white, his skin was fair, and his head…was a block of tofu.
Senior Tofu came closer, speaking faster, “I am the Tofu Heavenly Sovereign. This is my life’s learning. The more tofu you eat, the faster your cultivation will rise. With a solid foundation, you can then challenge those above your level and embrace women left and right. Reaching the peak of this continent will be no problem at all…”
Frightened until cold sweat broke out, Lu Yang’s eyes jolted open. He sat up on his bed and surveyed his surroundings blankly. Only upon confirming that there was nothing but darkness and silence did he heave a sigh of relief.
“So it was all just a dream. Luckily, it was a dream.”
Lu Yang could still feel his back soaked in cold sweat, fear lingering in his heart.
~~~
Yun Zhi slowly opened her eyes, a blue light from Lu Yang’s room returning to her fingertip.
She mumbled to herself, “Now, he will probably train even harder.”
Shifu had said that appropriate pressure can be translated to motivation and encourage one to become even more determined to succeed.
Yun Zhi herself was a successful example, so she believed that her master’s words made a lot of sense. As such, she used the Dream-Entering Technique to give Lu Yang a teeny weeny bit of pressure.
“The lines provided by Eighth Elder are a bit embarrassing. I wonder how he usually manages to say them.”
Yun Zhi was adept at consulting others. All the steps and lines played out in the dreamscape were written by Eighth Elder.
Eighth Elder assured me that it’d be effective.
~~~
Some time passed again. Yun Zhi noted that Lu Yang could now effortlessly grab tofu, throw it high up, and even catch it firmly. He even used the tofu as a sandbag, tossing it back and forth with the puppet.
It was as if the smooth and soft tofu had become a part of his body.
“You have achieved lifting light as if heavy. This phase shall end.”
Lu Yang smiled. After relentless practice of grabbing tofu, his impatience had also gradually settled down.
I am no longer the old me. I need no inner cultivation method or mantra to do this.
“What do you want to train next?”
Lu Yang no longer aimed to have the same amount of progress as his peers. I believe that Big Senior Sister must have her reasons for planning my current arrangements in such a manner.
A rare faint smile graced Yun Zhi’s countenance. “Reinforce your Qi Training Stage cultivation.”
Lu Yang was stunned and pointed to himself? “Qi Training Stage? Me?”
He didn’t know when he had turned into a Qi Training cultivator. Didn’t the books say that to succeed in drawing qi into the body, one must receive guidance from seniors, learn their cultivation techniques, shut off the five senses, and organize the meridians?
For those with poorer talent, they would even need the assistance of pills.
I haven’t met a single one of these criteria.
Yun Zhi had not taught him how to draw qi into his body, and neither had she passed on any astonishing cultivation techniques. Moreover, he had not closed off his senses and the unknown sixth sense. As for his meridians, he had no memory of having organized it before.
Dao-Seeking Sect disciples didn’t require pills to draw qi into the body; they were all one-in-a-thousand geniuses. If they still required the help of pills to enter the Qi Training Stage, it would be better for them to withdraw from the sect instead.
Lu Yang believed that he couldn’t use pills, but he was bewildered why he had suddenly attained the Qi Training Stage.
“The early morning three days ago,” Yun Zhi hinted.
The memory suddenly came to Lu Yang. That day, he had woken up very early. Facing the light at dawn with his eyes closed, he ruminated about how he could successfully grab the tofu.
As his thoughts wandered deeper, he gradually lost awareness of his surroundings, as if he had transformed into a rising wisp of air floating between the heavens and the earth. After that, his consciousness grew heavy and returned to his body. At that moment, he felt a wave of enlightenment wash over him, and vaguely felt like there was warm air flowing in his dantian.[2]
It was also then that he successfully grabbed the tofu for the first time.
He remembered that Yun Zhi was not present when he was practicing grabbing tofu. So all this while, Big Senior Sister has been observing me from somewhere.
“It seems like that feeling was me drawing qi into the body.” Lu Yang mumbled, caught up in his own thoughts.
That feeling was really amazing. It felt like I was in the clouds and enveloped in warmth. It was so comfortable that I didn’t want to open my eyes.
Without him noticing, he had already achieved a tiny wish of his—drawing qi into the body and becoming a Qi Training cultivator.
1. Fun fact: it is actually called “tofu brain” in Chinese. ☜
2. Dantian is a center of qi in the body. The most common dantian mentioned is usually the lower dantian, situated around the lower abdomen. The upper and middle dantian are between the eyebrows and at the chest area respectively. ☜
Rakumon's ThoughtsTofu brain??? ("Tofu Pudding")
Doufunao or "Tofu Brain" is a dish or dessert made of soy. It can be prepared sweet or salty. This is a generalization, but you the north generally eats it savory while the south eats it sweet. Perhaps you can also think of it as the debate over sweet vs savory pancakes :3
Why is it called "Tofu Brain?" I did some searching, and it seems that it was because Doufunao resembled the soft, white brain matter, and so it was known as the "brain" of the tofu.
Something similar is Douhua, directly translated as "soy flower." The texture is softer than Doufunao.
To avoid the sweet vs savory battle, here is a picture of the two, though there are definitely more variations, such as the sweet version comprising white and brown sugar.
So...sweet or savory? xD
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