Chapter 33: Priest Qingxu Thinks It’s a Pity
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After Ye Sheng had successfully completed his observation and meditation process, he opened his eyes to see that Fang Conglong had a terrified look on his face as he sat next to Ye Sheng. His eyes were shut tightly, and he seemed to be breaking out into a cold sweat, as if he had fallen into the deep abyss of h*ll.
Ye Sheng knew that he was observing and meditating on the painting of Laozi, and those evil thoughts had entered his mind.
He had gone through the same scenario earlier and had immediately understood what was happening. The human psyche was the most fragile thing in the universe. Once it was subject to temptation, it could entertain a million and one different thoughts. Some of them were good, some were bad. Some were kind, and some were wicked.
Laozi was the forefather of Daoism, so observing and meditating on a painting of him would help one to gain cultivation of one’s psyche, but, at the same time, wicked thoughts would also be created in the process. Ye Sheng had let out a mighty shout to shatter all those wicked thoughts, but he wasn’t sure what Fang Conglong was going to do.
He looked around and realized that Fang Conglong wasn’t the only one affected in this way. Everyone else also seemed to be in similar states as the wicked thoughts infiltrated their minds.
Those who had greater willpower didn’t suffer as much. Their faces were just pale, and their bodies seemed a little weak.
Those who had poorer willpower fought with these incessant wicked thoughts as if they were fighting with a vengeful ghost. They were covered with injuries, they risked dying from this, and their Qi and blood started to weaken.
Priest Qingxu was also observing the students. Once he saw that a student might not be able to hold up any longer, he would stretch his finger out and a bright spark would be sent from his finger to knock the student unconscious and thereby stop his thought processes.
Ye Sheng noticed what Priest Qingxu was doing, and Priest Qingxu’s gaze landed on Ye Sheng as well.
“Why aren’t you observing and meditating?” asked Priest Qingxu.
“I’ve completed it,” answered Ye Sheng.
Priest Qingxu looked in shock at Ye Sheng and said, “As a student, you must make sure that your words and actions are in line with each other. One should not boast all the time.”
“I’m not boasting. I have already completed the observation and meditation of Laozi’s painting, and I have gained a way of cultivating my psyche through this process,” said Ye Sheng confidently.
“So fast?” Priest Qingxu was still a little doubtful.
“I can cultivate using this method,” insisted Ye Sheng.
“Cultivate for me to see,” said Priest Qingxu with a nod. He still didn’t believe someone could accomplish it in ten minutes.
Ye Sheng sat down cross-legged, shut his eyes, and started to use this method to cultivate his psyche.
When one first started cultivating, using observation and meditation meant making the psyche think of a particular object and that object would eventually appear, which would increase the strength of the psyche. As the psyche’s strength increased, it would start to alter in nature. Finally, it would reach the point where the psyche’s energy could be expressed from the body and be used to attack opponents.
This was something that would gradually happen step by step, but Ye Sheng didn’t go through this progression.
His own body was already at Psyche Nourishing Level First Stage, and his psychic energy was actually at a pretty decent level. So for the first step in observing and meditating, he decided to think of the sun and the moon.
The growth of everything in the world depended on the sun and the moon, so the growth of his psyche was also dependent on the sun and the moon.
The sun was huge and hot enough to burn, so when he put his mind to it, Ye Sheng’s psyche seemed to have been thrown into a pot of boiling oil. The pain was almost unbearable, and he became weak very quickly.
But then the round moon soon appeared to nourish his psyche, and Ye Sheng breathed a sigh of relief.
The sun and the moon were opposites, even though they were actually one. One was aggressive, and the other was gentle. With the two opposites working together, it increased the strength of Ye Sheng’s psyche.
When Ye Sheng opened his eyes, the sun was reflected in one eye, while the moon was reflected in the other eye. Even though they faded quickly, they still brought about an invisible sense of authority and fear.
Priest Qingxu stared at Ye Sheng with his eyes and mouth wide open. He asked, “You were observing and meditating on the sun and the moon?”
Ye Sheng nodded and replied, “I was indeed observing and meditating on the sun and the moon.”
All the other students around him were in a daze as they stared at him in disbelief.
Fang Conglong exclaimed in surprise, “Brother Ye, I just managed to observe and meditate on the painting of Laozi, and you’ve already gone on to do that with the sun and the moon?”
All the other students were filled with jealousy. Some of them hadn’t even managed to achieve the observing and meditating on the painting of Laozi, never mind the sun and the moon.
“Teacher, what’s so difficult about the sun and the moon? I’ve already completed the observing and meditating of the painting of Laozi, so let me now think about the sun and the moon,” demanded another student loudly, because he didn’t want Ye Sheng to have all the limelight.
“Shut up. If you want to die, don’t do it in my classroom,” reprimanded Priest Qingxu as he frowned.
That student shuddered from fright and stared in shock at Priest Qingxu.
Priest Qingxu let out a long sigh and said, “The process of observation and meditation may seem simple, but it is also filled with many grave dangers. If you end up focusing on the wrong thing, then your psyche can also be destroyed. You will become a lunatic, constantly in a daze, and the rest of your life will be ruined.”
The students were taken aback. They didn’t know that there were such risks involved.
“The sun and the moon are major elements of the universe. The sun is hot enough to burn. All of you just started cultivating, and you actually dare to think about the sun? Even if the sun you meditate on is only a tiny fraction of what the actual sun is, it’s enough to set your psyche on fire. Once that happens, you’ll become like a brain-dead person,” said Priest Qingxu very sternly.
“Then why was Ye Sheng able to accomplish it?” one of the students asked.
Priest Qingxu looked at Ye Sheng and said, “Tell them why you were able to accomplish it.”
“I was able to observe and meditate on Laozi’s painting in ten minutes, so perhaps my psyche is naturally strong. I immediately thought about observing and meditating on the sun and the moon, and somehow I achieved it. Now my psyche has been greatly increased,” replied Ye Sheng.
Priest Qingxu pointed at Ye Sheng and said, “He has already reached Psyche Nourishing Level First Stage. Observing and meditating on the sun and the moon is a major sign of that. When you are able to observe and meditate on the sun and the moon, that would mean that you’ve also reached Psyche Nourishing Level First Stage.”
Fang Conglong was in shock. “You managed to observe and meditate on Laozi’s painting in ten minutes? I spent six hours doing that.”
Ten minutes!
This time record had really floored all the students. Those who hadn’t managed to succeed felt like crying. Why did some people get through this process so easily, while they had nearly suffered a breakdown earlier?
“Ye Sheng, when the students came to register yesterday, why didn’t I see you among them?” Priest Qingxu asked Ye Sheng with a pleased look as his love for talented students overtook his heart.
Ye Sheng stood up and bowed. “I didn’t look for a teacher yesterday.”
“Then you can take me as your teacher. You are gifted in cultivating in Daoism, and you shall be the leading student of this batch,” said Priest Qingxu as he pointed at Ye Sheng.
The other students were filled with jealousy immediately when they heard these words. Why couldn’t such an honor fall on themselves?
Fang Conglong was even more excited and said, “Brother Ye, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and take him as your teacher!”
Ye Sheng hesitated and said, “Priest Qingxu, I am very grateful for your kind intentions. But I would like to learn from Daoism, Occultism, Confucianism, and the martial arts. I might not learn everything in detail, but I must have some understanding of all of them. I hope you will forgive me for not taking you as my teacher.”
“What? So you didn’t take a teacher yesterday at all because you wanted to go through all the different faculties?” Priest Qingxu wondered if he had heard this boy wrong. What incredible ambition was this?
“You foolish child, there’s a limit to everyone’s energy. You’re so gifted, so how could you waste it on an exercise like this?” Priest Qingxu felt like it was such a waste.
Ye Sheng stood his ground and humbly accepted the criticism, but he remained firm in his decision.
He had a dantian, Earth, so he couldn’t get stuck in just one faculty. He had to practice martial arts, study the ways of Daoism, and get to know more about all sorts of different techniques in order to give the Earthlings a wide variety of choices.
“You…you…you’re really being foolish!” Priest Qingxu saw that Ye Sheng wasn’t going to listen to anything he said and became so angry that his insides hurt. It had been so rare to find such a promising child, but this boy was ambitious beyond belief.
“Teacher, if Ye Sheng doesn’t take you, you still have me. I can become your direct disciple,” one of the other students immediately tried to grab this opportunity for himself.
“Move aside.” Priest Qingxu didn’t even look at him and used these two words to burst the student’s bubble.
Everyone burst out laughing loudly.
Priest Qingxu gave a long sigh and said, “I still hope that you will think through this carefully. I will always be open to being your teacher. That’s the end of today’s class, come again tomorrow.”
All the students immediately stood up and said, “We bid farewell to the teacher.”
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