Chapter 7 Uncle Biao’s Meditation Room

Chapter 7: Uncle Biao’s Meditation Room

Uncle Biao’s meditation room was located in an old office building in the Old City.

There were at least seven or eight meditation rooms like his in this building. After all, cultivation was still a relatively popular industry in this era. Although the threshold was very high, parents were enthusiastic about it. Everyone hoped that their child would be a cultivation genius, and then make a name for themselves and become a cultivator admired by everyone.

Where there is demand, there is a market.

Meditation rooms blossomed everywhere in this era. As long as you understood some professional cultivation knowledge, or had entered the door of cultivation, you could open a studio and teach students to earn money.

Many people even became private tutors.

In short, many unexpected and profitable professions arose around cultivation.

Uncle Biao was not very good at business; his meditation room was always half-dead. But today, when Li Yi arrived, he found that the meditation room was full of students, and business was surprisingly good, which made him feel a bit surprised.

As he got closer, he heard the sound of a teacher lecturing from inside the meditation room.

And it sounded like a woman, not Uncle Biao.

“Before you officially embark on the path of cultivation, you must first understand what cultivation is. What is the most basic principle of cultivation? Why, ten years ago, was our world jokingly called the last age of dharma by many netizens, a complete severance from the heavens, where not a single cultivator could be found in the entire world, and countries could only develop technology, yet now cultivation is already a very common thing?”

“Teacher Lin, I know this. It’s because our world experienced a spiritual energy revival after the Tian Qing Event,” a student immediately responded.

The young woman, referred to as Teacher Lin, said with a serious and earnest tone, “Spiritual energy revival? That’s just a meme. While it can barely explain a thing or two, it doesn’t touch upon the fundamental reason. Do you know what spiritual energy revival is?”

“This, I’m not quite sure,” the student’s voice weakened a bit.

“Before explaining spiritual energy revival, we must first understand the world we live in, and even the galaxy we are in. As we all know, our planet constantly revolves around the sun and rotates on its axis, which gives us the changing seasons, night and day. But from another perspective, it is the sun that pulls our planet, moving at a speed of 790,000 kilometers per hour, constantly shuttling and advancing through the universe.”

“Energy exists in the universe, but Cosmic Energy is not present everywhere. When the sun brings our planet to a place where Cosmic Energy is scarce, and our world does not receive the nourishment of Cosmic Energy, then the so-called last age of dharma appears. Conversely, if the sun brings our planet to a place rich in Cosmic Energy, and all living beings on the planet receive the nourishment of Cosmic Energy, then what you call spiritual energy revival will occur.”

“Spiritual energy is a type of Cosmic Energy.”

“The Tian Qing Event ten years ago was the anomaly that occurred after our world officially entered the Cosmic Energy field from a barren zone. My teacher said that in a massive Cosmic Energy field, space can be distorted, wormholes can be opened, and two very distant planets in the energy field might even have brief contact. Furthermore, after wormholes open, parallel worlds might be discovered.”

“Some special events happening in the world now, such as ghosts, qi objects, and the appearance of some Overmortal Creatures, are actually things from other worlds that have come to where we live. The reason we cannot understand or deal with many things is because cultivation in our world has just begun, while the concept of cultivation in parallel worlds may have been popularized for hundreds or thousands of years already.”

“So, in terms of cultivation, our foundation is very shallow.”

“But don’t be discouraged by this. I believe most people have great talent for cultivation; they just lack an opportunity to cultivate. As long as you join Uncle Biao’s Meditation Room, I believe your future will be limitless.”

“Today, Uncle Biao’s Meditation Room offers member discounts! Not twenty-eight thousand, not eighteen thousand, but only nine thousand eight! The first ten new members will also receive a free private lesson from me!”

The Teacher Lin immediately changed her tone, no longer lecturing, but starting to promote.

Li Yi, standing outside the door, listened intently, feeling that his knowledge had greatly expanded, and he began to understand more about cultivation. It was a pity that Teacher Lin did not continue lecturing. If he had money, he would also like to get a membership to attend classes and learn.

However, this Teacher Lin was indeed very professional. At this moment, many students had already started paying.

“Heh, heheh.” A excited laugh suddenly sounded behind Li Yi.

It was a middle-aged man nearing forty, with an ordinary appearance and some baldness, but he looked full of spirit.

“I knew these people would obediently pay up. It wasn’t in vain that I went to great lengths to pull my niece over to be a teacher. Li Yi, why do you have time to come to Uncle’s meditation room today? Did your family encounter difficulties? Don’t worry, Uncle earned a large sum of money today, so feel free to tell me any difficulties you have.”

Uncle Biao waved his hand, suddenly full of heroic spirit.

“I didn’t encounter any difficulties. It’s just that I’ve recently become curious about cultivation, so I wanted to ask Uncle Biao about it,” Li Yi said.

He didn’t want to trouble others with his family matters, because others could help once, but what about twice, thrice, ten times?

People still had to rely on themselves.

“It’s good that everything’s fine. After your dad became a Sleeper, you were my biggest worry. If you have any difficulties, just say so, don’t be embarrassed. Your dad and I used to be brothers who would die for each other. If he wakes up one day and finds out I didn’t care about you, he’d probably beat my head in, haha,” Uncle Biao said.

“Earlier, you said you were interested in cultivation? That’s great! I told you before, your dad was a true cultivation genius, and your talent probably isn’t low either. If you embark on the path of cultivation, you’ll definitely achieve great things. It’s just that you used to always decline, using the excuse of needing to take care of your family. But I understand, cultivation takes a lot of time, and now you’re the only one in your family, and you still have to earn money to buy nutrient solutions. If you were to cultivate, you really wouldn’t be able to take care of your family.”

At this point, Uncle Biao thought for a moment and then said, “My teaching level is very limited, and I wouldn’t want to mislead you. I’ll let my niece teach you. Her level is much higher than mine. You heard her lecturing inside just now; there’s a lot of professional knowledge that I can’t even explain.”

“Troubling Uncle Biao’s niece, isn’t that a bit much?” Li Yi felt a little embarrassed.

“What’s the big deal? You can come over anytime you want to listen to a lesson, it’s free,” Uncle Biao patted Li Yi’s shoulder, then smiled and said, “Wait for me.”

With that, he walked into the meditation room.

Li Yi couldn’t help but feel touched by this; his father’s friend was indeed very reliable.

Uncle Biao had only been in the meditation room for a short while when the door of the meditation room opened, and a young woman with short hair and dressed very neatly walked out.

She sized up Li Yi, then smiled and extended her hand, saying, “You’re Li Yi, right? My name is Lin Yue. You probably don’t remember, but we used to play together when we were little. Uncle Biao often brought me to your house as a guest, and your dad even guided my cultivation before he became a Sleeper. It’s just that later I left Tianchang City to further my studies outside, which is why we’ve drifted apart over the years. Don’t worry, if you want to cultivate, I will do my best to help you.”

“Thank you, Lin Yue,” Li Yi said, and at the same time, he recalled that there indeed was an older sister, a few years his senior, who used to play with him when he was little.

It was just that as he grew older, his childhood memories had become much blurrier.

“Don’t be so formal. I’m older than you, just call me Sister Lin. Come with me to the office, this isn’t the place to talk,” Lin Yue said warmly and proactively.

Li Yi followed silently.

Upon reaching the office, Lin Yue asked Li Yi to sit down, then skillfully picked up the kettle, brewed a cup of green tea, and said, “Li Yi, I’m a direct person; I don’t like to beat around the bush, so let’s get straight to the point. How much do you know about cultivation?”

“Not much. I haven’t been exposed to it before. I’ve only heard some things about cultivation online and from relatives,” Li Yi shook his head and said.

“So, you’re a complete newcomer then?” Lin Yue said, deep in thought.

Li Yi said, “If Sister Lin finds it troublesome, I can go back and look up some information first, or audit a few classes—”

“No, I didn’t mean that, don’t overthink it. I’m just considering where to start. After all, you’re new, so I can’t just teach you how to cultivate right away. I need to teach some basic theoretical knowledge first,” Lin Yue said. “How about this, I’ll explain, and you ask if you don’t understand. That will save some trouble.”

“Okay,” Li Yi nodded.

Lin Yue played with the teacup in her hand and said, “Actually, what is called cultivation is very simple. It is essentially a process of absorbing Cosmic Energy to bring about a personal evolution and transformation. In ancient times, it was called cultivating immortals, and Cosmic Energy is actually the immortal qi or spiritual energy in novels.”

“Sister Lin, isn’t it said that our world is polluted, and cultivating recklessly will make people go mad, or even die?” Li Yi asked.

“That’s correct. The Cosmic Energy in our world is polluted. If a normal person, knowing nothing, directly steps into cultivation, that’s the result. However, this situation changed six years ago. To date, two paths of cultivation have been summarized that can be barely traversed.”

“Let’s talk about the first one.”

“There are actually countless tiny, unobservable wormholes around us, but a rich Cosmic Energy field can distort wormholes, and even open some of them. Although it’s very brief, it’s precisely this short time that allows the Cosmic Energy from the other end of the wormhole to enter our world.”

“Before that Cosmic Energy is polluted by our world, one can guide it into our body through intent, stimulating cell evolution, and thus stepping into cultivation.”

“This method is the most stable and most widespread, but its drawback is obvious: its efficiency is extremely slow.”

“Because the Cosmic Energy overflowing through the wormholes is too little, and the output is unstable. To cultivate, one needs to spend a lot of time and effort. Moreover, guiding Cosmic Energy into the body for cell absorption is not 100% successful; there’s also a probability of failure.”

At this point, Lin Yue also sighed, feeling helpless: “But if it were only this, it would be fine. As long as one had perseverance, they would eventually gain something. However, absorbing Cosmic Energy from the other side of the wormhole is too dependent on luck. Take me for example, at my unluckiest, I sat in the cultivation room for three days with no results, not a single bit of energy from another world around.”

“Of course, there are also times when luck is good, encountering a large overflow of Cosmic Energy from within a wormhole. But that feeling is like a thirsty person on the high seas suddenly encountering a torrential downpour; countless amounts of fresh water are falling, yet all you can do is open your mouth and catch just a tiny bit to moisten your throat.”

“That feeling is truly maddening. But here, I must solemnly remind you, no matter how ‘thirsty’ your body feels during cultivation, absolutely do not absorb the polluted Cosmic Energy of our world, and don’t have the mindset that absorbing a little bit will be fine.”

“A survivor at sea, even if they die of thirst, will not drink seawater, because the more they drink, the faster they die.”

Towards the end, Lin Yue suddenly stared at Li Yi with extreme seriousness and earnestness.

Clearly, this reminder was very important.

“I remember,” Li Yi nodded solemnly.

“Heh heh,” Lin Yue laughed again. “Don’t be nervous. You don’t even know how to cultivate yet, so worrying about this problem is a bit early.”

Li Yi scratched his head and said, “You’re right. But Sister Lin, what’s the second cultivation method you mentioned?”

Lin Yue’s smile faded, and she extended a slender, pale finger, saying, “The second cultivation method is very simple: possess a qi object.”

“A qi object comes with its own energy field, which can eliminate energy pollution within a certain range, preventing cultivators who absorb Cosmic Energy from undergoing abnormal changes. This is like a shipwreck survivor lacking water on the sea having a seawater purifier, able to continuously obtain fresh water instead of relying solely on rain from the heavens.”

“Therefore, the difference between cultivators with and without qi objects is imaginable.”

At this moment, Li Yi’s heart couldn’t help but burn with excitement. If the half dao coin in his pocket was a qi object, wouldn’t his cultivation speed advance by leaps and bounds?

“But don’t even think about it. qi objects are too precious. Individuals are not allowed to possess them. Even if someone is lucky enough to obtain one, once discovered, it will be forcibly confiscated by the state,” Lin Yue said.

“I’ve heard of incomplete qi objects. What are those?” Li Yi asked again.

Lin Yue explained, “Incomplete qi objects are just qi objects that are not whole. However, the state doesn’t forcibly confiscate these, because the value of an incomplete qi object is already greatly reduced. But even so, the market price for incomplete qi objects has been rising steadily, and they are still not something ordinary people can possess.”

“Can incomplete qi objects also eliminate energy pollution?” Li Yi became curious.

Lin Yue frowned at this moment: “I don’t know much about qi objects, but I imagine incomplete ones must have flaws. However, only those who possess incomplete qi objects would know what those flaws are, and such people wouldn’t go around telling everyone.”

“Then how do you determine if something is a qi object?” Li Yi finally asked the crucial question.

He didn’t dare to ask directly at first, as that would make his intentions too obvious and easily expose him, so he saved this question for last.

Lin Yue chuckled, “You haven’t even started cultivating, and you’re already thinking about qi objects?”

Li Yi smiled awkwardly, “Just asking casually. What if I get lucky one day and encounter a qi object but don’t recognize it? That would be a huge loss.”

“Since that’s the case, I’ll answer that question for you. It’s indeed very difficult for ordinary people to distinguish qi objects. It could be a stone, a feather, an artifact, or even a hand, a corpse. To determine whether something is a qi object, I know a more reliable method: cultivate next to the qi object.”

“Once you enter the cultivation state, you can perceive the surrounding Cosmic Energy. Since qi objects have their own energy fields, by simply comparing the two, the answer becomes very clear.”

“Furthermore, once a person cultivates to a certain level, their eyes can see many things normal people cannot, and they can even perceive the existence of energy fields. So, advanced cultivators can also tell at a glance whether something is a qi object.”

“So that’s how it is.”

Li Yi’s eyes flickered upon hearing this.

It seemed he could only determine if the half dao coin in his hand was a qi object after he started cultivating.

“Sister Lin, I want to cultivate. Could you please guide me?” Li Yi then pleaded.

“Of course, no problem. However, there’s an old saying: ‘The master leads you to the door; cultivation is up to the individual.’ I can only guide you to get started. As for how far you can cultivate and whether you achieve anything, that’s up to you. Don’t have too much hope, I’m afraid the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. I’ve taught many students, and many of them have cultivated for three to five years with no results.”

“Cultivation talent is very important. As for what cultivation talent is, you’ll understand when you first enter the door.”

Lin Yue took a sip of tea and continued, “I don’t want to waste time. You don’t have time to prepare. Let’s start cultivating now.”

“Okay,” Li Yi nodded solemnly.