Elven Legacy

Chapter 13: Qi & Cultivation

Following the instructions in the manual on how to properly meditate and sense Qi, I cross my legs, close my eyes and form a circle with my hands right in front of my navel, as well as also breathing in a specific rhythm, once I've done all those, I start trying to sense the outside world without my eyes, which is incredibly easy considering my 'Minds Eye' ability activates whenever my eyes are closed.

As I can sense everything that's going on around me, I try focusing on the atmosphere in search of finding Qi, as the manual states that Qi exists everywhere within everything. After what felt like hours of meditation, I finally sensed something within the atmosphere around me, and I quickly tried to focus on where I sensed it, though when I did, I couldn't find anything there anymore.

I was confused about what had just happened, but I was more excited at finally being able to sense Qi for the first time, even if it was momentarily; calming back down, I continued meditating, and just a few seconds later, I sensed something else appears, and it felt the same as what had just appeared before.

This time though, when I try focusing on it, I don't rush at it like I did last time; instead, I move carefully and slowly, and by the time I had my full concentration on the Qi floating in the air, I suddenly sensed Qi appear somewhere else in my room. I was happy to be progressing at what was said in the manual to be the most challenging step when you first start cultivating, but before I could bask in my happy thoughts, two more Qi appeared, and then another two, then five more, then nine more, than eighteen, thirty-five, eighty, until eventually, Qi started appearing in my room in bigger groups and far faster than I could even count.

By the time I sensed no more Qi appearing in my room, it was practically already filled to the brim with Qi, but it was giving me a headache, so I decided to take a quick break before I tried absorbing Qi, besides I was curious to see how long it took me to sense Qi.

Opening my eyes, the first thing I notice is that I can no longer sense Qi, well at least not as well as before; I can faintly sense something in the atmosphere around me, but I have to concentrate on being able to feel a little bit of Qi, which is quite disappointing considering when I use my 'Minds Eye' I can easily sense Qi.

Shaking my head, I get up from my meditating position and start doing some stretches, as staying in that position for so long was feeling uncomfortable, once done I looked at one of my nightstands with the clock on it and was surprised when it showed it was only a quarter past two.

'I remember when I arrived, the time showed it had just changed to one, so you're telling me while I was meditating, which felt like hours, had only been a little over one hour.' Thought Elif, feeling annoyed at how boring meditating was. Though what Elif didn't know was how unreasonable it is to be able to sense Qi within ninety minutes of meditation, as most people take ten's of hours, if not days, and even the ones with incredible talents would still take a couple of hours, and that's all with exceptional resources to increase their sensitivity to Qi.

Sighing, I hopped off the bed and used the bathroom before coming back and starting the following process of cultivation; getting back into the meditation position, I reread the manual as I didn't wish to make a mistake.

'So, now I must mentally chant the mantra, which will resonate with my spirit root, activating it, allowing me to absorb the Qi into my body.' Thought Elif.

Calming my mind, I started chanting the mantra repeatedly.

'Huángjiā jīnglíng gāo yú yīqiè. Huángjiā jīnglíng gāo yú yīqiè. Huángjiā jīnglíng gāo yú yīqiè.'

At first, when nothing happened, I was slightly confused, but I persisted. Eventually, I could sense the Qi in my room, which hadn't moved once, begin moving closer to me. When I had absorbed them into my body, I felt my entire body warm up slightly in a very comfortable way, and it felt so wonderful that I got lost in thought while cultivating, not even noticing someone had entered my room.

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While I was sipping tea and admiring the beautiful forest in our backyard, I suddenly sensed the slight decrease of Qi in Elif's room which startled me, as ever since Elif had returned to his room to cultivate, I had been keeping my divine sense on him just in case if something went wrong while he was cultivating, I could instantly be there to help him. But what shocked me was that it hadn't even been two hours since he had returned to his room, and yet I could tell that the Qi in his room was constantly decreasing at a steady pace before instantly getting filled back up since the density of Qi in his room is incredibly high.

Setting my teacup down, I teleported directly into Elif's room, ignoring the formations as the formations inscribed in his room allowed access for any Elf with Royal Elven blood flowing through their veins. I knew that Elif must've been able to sense Qi, but seeing it with your own eyes was something else.

'It took him less than ninety minutes to be able to sense Qi, which is unprecedented within our Royal family; I believe it's been recorded that Grand-Ancestor James was the quickest ever to be able to sense Qi within the Royal family. Still, it took him merely one hour and fifty-eight minutes, just below two hours; however, it's not anywhere near as impressive as Elif, as Grand-Ancestor James had used several different pills and rare herbs.' Thought Tyler, in astonishment at the monumental achievement Elif had just accomplished.

I continued watching Elif cultivate for a little bit to make sure nothing would go wrong, but after seeing Elif cultivate smoothly for a while, I decided I should leave, as Elif wasn't able to sense me with his ability when I first arrived, which goes to show how deep he is meditating considering I wasn't even trying to hide my presence; however if I wanted to with the difference in our cultivation base he wouldn't be able to sense me even with his ability.

'Haha, I can't wait to see the waves my grandson makes in the future when he decides to step out into the cultivation world; with the amount of potential and talent that Elif has, who knows what kind of level he'll reach in the future. Maybe, he can be the first to finally reach the rumored Immortal level.' Thought Tyler as he stared at Elif with a smile before vanishing from his room, returning to viewing the vegetation.

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While mindlessly cultivating, I was broken away from my thoughts by a sudden feeling of uncomfortableness in my entire body, causing me to stop chanting the mantra and end my cultivation session. Opening my eyes, the first thing I see isn't much as it's dark in my room; looking out my window to my balcony, I notice that the sun has already set, indicating several hours had passed since I had started cultivating.

'Did I really spend that long cultivating? It didn't even feel like an hour had passed while cultivating?' Thought Elif in surprise at how long he had cultivated for.

When I went to stand up, I did a little bit of stretching as my body was a little sore from sitting in one spot for several hours before trying to figure out why my body felt uncomfortable. After inspecting my body for a few minutes, I noticed nothing that made me think of the cause of my uncomfortableness, but then I thought of something that might be the problem.

'It said in the manual that you'd know when your meridians are full of Qi by the uncomfortableness you would feel throughout your body, so maybe my body is full of Qi, and I can no longer absorb Qi anymore until I advance?' Thought Elif, realizing he was just a step away from advancing into Foundation Establishment.

'So If I want to advance into Foundation Establishment, I would normally use all the Qi in my meridians and cycle them through my body, which would expel all the impurities out and allow me to be given a body suited for cultivation. I, on the other hand, already have a physique meant for cultivation, so does that mean I've already absorbed enough Qi that I would need to advance into Core formation?' Thought Elif, not completely sure whether his assumption is correct.

'Hmm, I don't know, but that's fine; I can always ask my parents or grandparents for help, besides I'm quite hungry.' Thought Elif as he jumped off his bed and made his way to the door.