Chapter Fifteen: The So-Called Mystical Cultivation

After enjoying a lavish feast worth two hundred coins, Feng Xue felt enriched by the experience. Accompanied by his somewhat disheartened senior brothers, he made his way back to the mortuary, where formal instruction began.

This senior brother had no intention of deceiving him; without even selecting excerpts, he produced the original manuscript his master had given him. The yellowed pages and slightly worn edges revealed it was no hastily prepared forgery.

“Sir, you should first copy it out; it will serve as reading practice. If anything is unclear, just ask me directly,” he instructed.

With that, the two began repetitive tasks such as folding paper ingots and stringing five-colored threads.

Seeing this, Feng Xue did not hesitate. He immediately took out his phone and photographed the entire “secret manual” from start to finish, then proceeded to copy the dozen or so pages by hand.

He photographed to avoid errors or omissions, and copied to deepen his impression.

As the senior brother had said, the act of copying was, in itself, a form of reading.

Contrary to Feng Xue’s expectations of a Taoist text filled with cryptic language and jargon, this manual was surprisingly straightforward—almost as if to ensure even the illiterate could understand. It was written entirely in plain language, striving to clearly explain exactly how the practice was to be performed. From this, Feng Xue deduced either the founding ancestor who wrote the book had a slow-witted disciple, or the cultivation method recorded was a common, accessible technique.

He had no preference either way; the more accessible the practice, the lower the threshold. A rare, peerless manual mastered by only a few over a millennium might not serve him as well as this practical guide.

The manual was roughly divided into three parts. The first outlined an overview of metaphysical cultivation and its taboos. The second detailed specific methods of practice. The third covered the rites of setting up an altar and several simple spells.

Though eager to skip ahead, Feng Xue, having endured the torment of only sixty days left to live, restrained himself. He began at the first word, copying diligently and committing each character to memory.

The opening explained that human cultivation varied widely but could be broadly categorized into two types: martial cultivation, which nourished essence and solidified qi, and metaphysical cultivation, which refined essence into qi and qi into spirit.

The text did not elaborate on martial cultivation but focused on metaphysical practice. It emphasized nourishing the spirit with qi and blood to produce magical power, strengthening the spirit until it was whole and qi full, which in turn nourished the body. Early on, practitioners must suppress impatience and arrogance, avoiding rashness; otherwise, they would severely damage their lifespan. Even if they advanced in realms, the lost vitality could never be recovered. The strongest would only meet an untimely death, and a single misstep could prevent even the survival of their shadow spirit.

“This aligns with what Doctor Lan said. For me, that’s actually good news,” Feng Xue mused.

Having copied the first chapter and, despite not fearing lifespan loss, carefully noted all the taboos, Feng Xue then began transcribing the true cultivation methods.

As the saying goes, the core teaching can be summed up in a few words. The practice was surprisingly succinct, summarized as: Strengthen, Concentrate, Nourish.

“Strengthen” referred to physical fitness. Though metaphysical cultivation did not rely on physical prowess as martial cultivation did, a healthy body provided more essence and qi for refinement.

“Concentrate” meant to focus the mind through visualization combined with breathing exercises, purifying thoughts and constructing a spiritual image in the mind to serve as a foundation.

“Nourish” involved continuously sustaining the spiritual image with qi and blood, fortifying the spirit. This process also generated a byproduct called “magical power,” which, though weaker than a martial artist’s true qi in bodily enhancement, could be wielded with rites to perform various wondrous feats.

This cycle of strengthening the body, concentrating the mind, and nourishing the spirit continued until the spirit was perfect and without flaw, capable of nourishing the body in return—a true metaphysical cultivator.

Yet the manual’s instruction ended there.

Feng Xue hesitated but decided not to copy the final section first. Instead, he turned to the senior brother, who was folding yet another basket of paper ingots.

“Junior master, this guide only details up to the Minor Success stage. After the spirit is flawless, how does one continue cultivation?”

Hearing this, the senior brother paused briefly then smiled.

“My junior brother and I asked our master the same question. Actually, it’s no different. Once you’ve refined to that stage, you simply continue repeating the method, strengthening the spirit until you achieve the Yang Spirit and ascend by day. But according to my master, the last clear record of such an ascension was centuries ago. Most practitioners just keep cultivating until they die of old age, then go to the Underworld to have our ancestors arrange a position for them.”

“The Underworld? A job?” Feng Xue was surprised to hear those words. The junior brother, eager to show off, said:

“Yes, yes! After metaphysical cultivation, even in death, the spirit remains conscious and can directly transition to ghost immortal cultivation. Our human metaphysical ancestors have been down there working hard for hundreds or thousands of years. Each sect and school has its own enterprises. For example, our founding ancestor is…”

“Slap!” The senior brother abruptly struck the junior brother’s face, cutting off his boasting.

He then addressed Feng Xue:

“Sir, this Underworld is mainly controlled by the major sects. Our small branches can’t compare to those wealthy clans. Someone like you, a big shot, just needs to prepare a spirit altar and seated statue before transitioning to ghost immortal cultivation, set up a memorial tablet, and have your family offer incense. This preserves your spirit’s clarity. Then the City God will receive you and guide you to the Underworld’s divine court to practice the ghost immortal path.

“As for how to cultivate there, our master never said. He only mentioned that someone in the Underworld would teach you. As for what position you can attain, besides your background, the strength of your spirit is crucial. So even if no one has achieved Yang Spirit for centuries, everyone still strives to cultivate—after all, a stronger spirit means a higher office in the Underworld.”

“I see,” Feng Xue nodded slightly, though he harbored his own suspicions. Though called ghost immortals, the talk of City Gods and incense made it seem akin to spirit mediums or exorcists. Yet the notion of ancestors slogging it out below sounded oddly like hell.

Shaking off the strange thought, Feng Xue resumed copying. Compared to the straightforward first two parts, the third finally gave him a real sense of cultivation.

At a glance, in addition to text, there were various diagrams. Yet from the beginning, it remained simple and clear.

According to the manual, in early metaphysical cultivation, the spirit was weak. Though possessing magical power, it was difficult to control and relied on magic altars and rites to channel power and produce effects.

When the spirit grew strong enough, control over magic power improved, allowing the practitioner to cast spells without relying on altars or rites.

At that stage, altars and rites served as amplifiers. Through their own magical power, practitioners could invoke the forces of the heavens and earth, incense offerings, and wishes, producing stronger effects.

The manual also noted that each cultivator’s spiritual image differed, so the powers they could command varied. Only by developing rites and spells tailored to their own spirit image, adapting to circumstances and acting at will, could one be considered a true master. Otherwise, they merely repeated others’ teachings.

Of course, this manual did not expect newcomers to suddenly perform master-level feats. The third part contained a simplified formula for designing rites, general instructions for altar setup and opening ceremonies, and four practical universal spells: Summon Thunder, Substitute, Invite Spirit, and Attach Spirit.

Thus concluded the third part of the manual.