As dawn broke, Bao Gu rose from her bed to meditate and cultivate in the courtyard.
The breakthrough she achieved yesterday gave Bao Gu a whole new understanding of the path to immortality. She realized that her previous inability to advance wasn’t due to a lack of spiritual energy absorbed, nor was it significantly related to her possessing the Five Spirit Roots, at least not in the early stages of Qi cultivation where the Five Spirit Roots have little impact on one’s practice. She had been solely focused on absorbing spiritual energy, neglecting the need to sense and comprehend the essence of cultivation, which resulted in her stagnation.
The first stage of Qi cultivation is “Embryonic Breathing,” which involves using basic breathing techniques to draw spiritual energy into one’s dantian. Once a certain amount of spiritual energy accumulates in the dantian, “Embryonic Breathing” occurs. The second stage is “Spirit Condensation,” which refers to opening one’s spiritual aperture, the first step in cultivating the soul. Without an open spiritual aperture, there is no spirit to condense or aperture to enter. If “Embryonic Breathing” is the first step towards absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, focusing on the body, then “Spirit Condensation” cultivates the soul.
Only after opening the spiritual aperture can one sense the existence of spiritual energy, and only by entering the “Sensing Phase” can one better continue their cultivation. Before this, one is blind and unable to sense anything, fumbling blindly in their cultivation process.
Cultivating immortality involves not only strengthening the body but also the soul, both of which complement each other and are indispensable.
Sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth requires no special technique; one can only quietly concentrate and sense the surrounding floating spiritual energy.
Bao Gu sat motionless on a jade stool in the courtyard, eyes closed, unresponsive even as withered leaves fell upon her head. Aside from the necessities of life, she spent every day meditating and perceiving the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
The process was monotonous, but fortunately, Bao Gu had the patience to endure it. Even after several days of continuous meditation without sensing any spiritual energy, she was not in a hurry. It took her half a month to enter the first stage and several months to reach the second stage. She was mentally prepared to spend a year to reach the third stage of Qi cultivation.
The ordeal wasn’t too hard to bear. While she sat in meditation, trying to sense the spiritual energy, time seemed to pass quickly. Often, she felt like she had only sat for a moment, but upon opening her eyes, she would realize that several hours had passed.
During this time, whenever she took out spiritual medicine to eat with wolf meat, the fluffy golden-furred monkey would appear on time, looking at her with eager eyes. Bao Gu figured that since the fruits in the mountains were gone in late autumn, the little monkey couldn’t find food and thus came to Lingyun Peak. Since she had food, it treated Lingyun Peak as home, lingering nearby, and rushing over whenever she ate her spiritual medicine.
She no longer had Zhu Ming fruits to feed the monkey, and she had been too busy cultivating and afraid of getting lost to go back to her small courtyard to pick them. She tried feeding the monkey wolf meat, but it ignored the meat placed beside her, staring intently at the spiritual medicine in her hand. She divided some of the medicine and placed it aside, and the monkey would quickly grab it with its little paws and stuff it into its mouth as if it hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years.
Having experienced hunger herself, Bao Gu couldn’t bear to see the monkey like this. Even though she had only a few pieces of spiritual medicine left, she still shared a piece with the monkey.
Days passed, and the monkey grew less afraid of Bao Gu, drawing closer to her.
Today, as Bao Gu ate her spiritual medicine, the monkey even jumped onto the jade table in front of her, looking at her with longing eyes, close enough for Bao Gu to touch it.
Bao Gu handed over a piece of spiritual medicine, and the monkey unceremoniously grabbed it with its little paw, stuffing it into its mouth without chewing before swallowing it. Then it continued to look at her with those pitiful eyes, as if to say it was still hungry.
The monkey’s gaze was too pitiful, its eyes seemingly about to fall into the spiritual medicine. Bao Gu couldn’t bear it and, gritting her teeth, left a small piece of the medicine she was about to eat for the monkey.
After swallowing the piece Bao Gu gave it, the monkey leaped onto the courtyard wall, spreading its limbs to bask its round belly in the sun.
Seeing the monkey’s round belly, Bao Gu wondered if it was still a baby. She ignored the monkey and closed her eyes to continue her cultivation.
Not long after she entered meditation, she suddenly felt a sensation and “saw” specks of light floating around her. She didn’t open her eyes; darkness still surrounded her, but within it, specks of light twinkled, like the glow of fireflies on a summer night. These specks were much smaller than fireflies, like dust, but emitted beautiful, multicolored light.
Was this spiritual energy? The spiritual energy she sensed?
She tried to use her cultivation technique to absorb the floating spiritual energy and found that as she practiced, the multicolored specks of light followed her breath and pores into her body.
Bao Gu opened her eyes, overjoyed, feeling clear-headed and as if her vision had improved. Unsure if it was an illusion, she closed her eyes again and sensed the spiritual energy drifting around her. Although she could only sense it within a foot of her body, it was enough to make her happy.
In the following days, Bao Gu continued her daily cultivation, her storage bag of spiritual medicine now empty after being shared between her and the monkey.
After two days without spiritual medicine, the monkey didn’t show up on the third day. Bao Gu searched the peak of Lingyun but couldn’t find the monkey. She took out a map to find her way back to her residence of several months, only to discover that her small courtyard had been plundered just like the medicinal fields of Lingyun Peak. The thief had dug up all the newly planted medicinal seeds and left not a single Zhu Ming fruit, without leaving any trace.
Fuming, Bao Gu rushed to her Martial Aunt, the great white snake, who lived not far from her courtyard. She stood by the pond and shouted, “Martial Aunt, Martial Aunt, my courtyard has been robbed!” There was no response from the deep pond. Bao Gu threw a stone into it, still no response. She threw a larger stone, yet there was no reaction. Seeing that her Martial Aunt ignored her, she returned to the courtyard to search for clues but found nothing. She had to return to Lingyun Peak, frustrated and defeated.
Who was this thief, and how cruel they were!
Without spiritual medicine or fruits, Bao Gu could only rely on absorbing the spiritual energy scattered between heaven and earth for cultivation.
She also wandered the nearby mountains and wildlands in her spare time, hoping to find wild spiritual medicine or fruits, but to no avail.
In the blink of an eye, the day arrived for the elder to give a lecture. Bao Gu wanted to attend the lecture at the Transmission Hall, but after checking the map and the route, she decisively gave up. Even if she left now, she wouldn’t reach the Transmission Hall until tomorrow night. It would take her at least six or seven days just to leave Lingyun Peak, not to mention the possibility of encountering wild beasts or demons on the way.
Bao Gu could only diligently practice the introductory techniques her senior sister had given her and spend her free time practicing combat skills.
About five days later, the golden-furred monkey that had disappeared for seven days suddenly reappeared. It curled up in a corner of her courtyard, constantly licking its paws. Whether it was because it was curled up or had grown thin from hunger, it seemed much smaller than before, and its once fluffy fur was now dirty and matted together. As she approached, she noticed a large patch of fur missing from its back, the skin charred, and a long gash oozing golden blood.
It was injured! Who could be so cruel and excessive to harm such a small, adorable monkey, and with such severity, both burning and cutting it?
She took out the healing medicine Yu Mi had given her and approached the golden-furred monkey. Seeing it raise its head warily, she pointed to the medicine bottle in her hand and said, “I’ll treat your wounds.” The monkey looked at the bottle without fleeing, so she slowly approached, knelt beside it, and sprinkled the powder from the bottle onto its back.
The monkey watched Bao Gu with round eyes, probably feeling the effectiveness of the medicine on its back, and stretched out its paw towards her. After she sprinkled the powder on its paw, it stood up, revealing its belly covered in fine cracks and sticky with golden fluid.
Bao Gu carefully carried the monkey back to her room, carefully cleaned its wounds, applied medicine all over its body, fed it a solidifying and rejuvenating pill Yu Mi had given her for adjusting meridians, and made a nest out of clean tiger skin for it in her bedroom.
Bao Gu had thought it was just a slightly spiritual beast or a monkey she had never seen before, but when she saw its golden blood, she realized it might be a legendary spiritual beast, or at least an unusual one.
Such a small creature, aside from its lightning-fast speed and ability to leap high and far, Bao Gu hadn’t seen it display any other magical abilities. Could its talent be its speed, leaping ability, and spiritual communication? The jade slip mentioned that creatures with golden blood have powerful bloodline forces and divinity. Although the little golden monkey’s blood was only pale gold, that still counted as a spiritual beast with some divinity, right? Bao Gu felt she truly had great fortune and luck to have found a spiritual beast without even leaving her home!
Under Bao Gu’s careful care, the monkey recovered enough to climb out of its nest and leap to her, begging for pills. It ate one after another, clinging to her hand, refusing to let go without more pills. Her several bottles of pills were all gone in less than three days due to the monkey’s persistence.
With the help of a large amount of healing medicine, the monkey’s wounds healed quickly. Once recovered, it dragged its little tiger skin nest outside the courtyard wall and lay in it, comfortably basking in the sun.
A spiritual beast, tsk! Bao Gu was extremely fond of this highly spiritual little monkey.
Suddenly, as if sensing danger, the monkey leapt up, grabbed its tiger skin nest, and darted into Bao Gu’s room without looking back. Bao Gu followed into the room but couldn’t find the monkey or its nest. She stepped out of the courtyard, puzzled, to see what had frightened the monkey away, only to see dozens of people flying towards her on swords in the sky, including her senior sister.
They flew over her head without looking back, heading straight for the back mountain’s medicinal fields. After about half an hour, Bao Gu saw her fellow disciples flying around on their swords, and her senior sister landed in front of her with a very unpleasant expression.
Bao Gu called out, “Senior sister, you’re back! Did you break through??”
Yu Mi’s face was ashen, her teeth almost grinding to dust. She asked Bao Gu, “Were you joking when you told me about the medicinal fields being robbed?”
Bao Gu replied, “Senior sister, when have you ever seen me joke? Has another place been robbed? Are those senior brothers and sisters flying around in the sky looking for the thief?”
Yu Mi, grinding her teeth in anger, exclaimed, “I heard from the elders that our ancestor once sealed a troublesome monkey on the main peak of Lingyun. They suspect that the monkey isn’t dead and that when you accidentally entered the main peak’s ruins and inadvertently lifted the seal, you also released the monkey.”
Bao Gu blinked and asked, “What kind of monkey?”
“A palm-sized, fluffy golden monkey, round like a ball. It’s as fast as lightning, and even Nascent Soul elders can’t catch up to it!”
Bao Gu swallowed hard and asked, “What does this monkey have to do with the medicinal fields being robbed?”
Yu Mi asked, “Do you know what that monkey is called?”
Bao Gu shook her head.
“Duobao Linghou, also known as the Treasure-Stealing Spirit Monkey, a type of spiritual beast! It doesn’t spare any spiritual medicine, fruits, or miraculous herbs. Any place it visits won’t have a single leaf or root left! Wherever it appears, you won’t find any spiritual medicine or fruits within a thousand miles. Despite its palm size, it has an enormous appetite. It could eat up our entire back mountain’s medicinal fields in one night.” Yu Mi trembled with rage, wishing she could capture the monkey and flay it alive.
Bao Gu weakly asked, “Senior sister, since it’s a spiritual monkey and acts so outrageously, it must have some significant use if it hasn’t been exterminated, right?”
Yu Mi huffed, “Yes, it’s unmatched in finding spiritual medicine and fruits in the world.”
Bao Gu forced a comforting smile and said, “Don’t be angry, senior sister. We could tame it and have it help us find spiritual medicine and fruits!”
Yu Mi glanced at Bao Gu and snorted, “Dream on! By the time it finds them, they’ll all be in its stomach. How could it be our turn?”
Bao Gu stiffened, blinking, unsure of what to say, feeling a bit stifled, just a bit, not too much. She consoled herself, “It’s okay! It’s okay!” Unable to suppress her emotions, she inwardly ranted, “It’s infuriating! After nearly a month of catching the thief, it turns out the thief was right under my nose, and I even saved the spiritual medicine I was about to eat for it, feeding it all the spiritual pills my senior sister gave me! My courtyard full of spiritual medicine and so many Zhu Ming fruits! The medicinal fields of Lingyun Peak’s back mountain, if they hadn’t been eaten by this wretched monkey, they would all be mine…”
Bao Gu felt increasingly stifled, tears streaming down her face. She was heartbroken.
