Chapter 3: Qi Cultivation/Where am I?

It's been three days. The clean-shaven senior didn't tell me a single thing about breaking through, but the technique hall had some, fortunately. Gathering qi hasn't been well for me.

It started on the first day.

I searched the technique hall for books on information about the Qi Gathering and Qi Refining stages.

The technique hall looked the same as the hall the senior was in, except there were hundreds of third-class disciples talking with each other about their cultivation.

I ignored the chatter and searched for the books.

Four hours of searching later, I found three books.

While two of them were strewn about on some desks with ethereal blue lamps, the third book was in the hands of a white-haired disciple for a few minutes; he threw the book back, muttering about something 'not being there.'

The two books on the table were about progressing in and breaking through to Qi Refining.

The third book was about how to sense qi and not to endanger yourself while gathering qi.

***

Returning to my housing, I started studying the texts on Qi Gathering.

It was filled with vague descriptions and explanations of the properties of qi and how to sense it.

There were only two things I understood reading that book: Firstly, qi is in the air we breathe and surrounds us, so focusing on breathing and trying to feel the qi move into my body is key; secondly, I should never try to move the majority of my qi toward my brain or heart.

After finishing the book, I immediately put what I understood into practice.

I took a lotus position and breathed in… then exhaled.

I felt nothing, so I tried again.

After clearing my head of thoughts and fully focusing on trying to sense the flow of qi, I breathed in and felt the air enter my nose and my chest expand… then exhaled and felt the air exiting my nose.

Still felt nothing, so I tried it another time.

The usual clearing of my head of thoughts and focusing on my body ensued. Before clearing my thoughts, I wondered what qi even felt like and how long people here usually take.

I started breathing in.... then I felt a faint flicker in me and immediately exhaled, which caused me to lose the feeling.

'Could that be how Qi feels?' I excitedly thought.

I tried it again.

Cleared my thoughts, focused on my body, and started breathing in.

I felt a bigger flicker than before, faintly moving through my body. I exhaled and noticed most of the qi exited along with my exhale.

'I'd say more than seventy-five percent left with my exhale… This is gonna take a while… Unless…' I noted.

Wanting to test out my theory, I breathed in and held my breath for as long as I could. Most of the flickering qi died down and settled below my solar plexus; I was ecstatic that I wouldn't need to wait as long.

'I guess that's how most people gather qi.' I thought, remembering a passage in the book that described this exact feeling after breathing in.

I exhaled, and seventy-five percent of the qi in my core stayed put.

'Now to just keep gathering qi until my core can't take it anymore.

***

I kept gathering and storing the qi. It felt refreshing and made me lose track of the time I spent.

I didn't feel hungry or thirsty while gathering qi.

My core was around halfway filled.

I kept gathering qi.

Every time my core's qi increased, I felt my body squirm and change into something else.

Every time that happened, I felt weightless and free.

I ignored those sensations and kept gathering qi.

Something in my being demanded more qi.

A greed-filled pit that I kept dumping more and more qi into with each breath.

I listened to it, and I kept gathering more qi.

***

'My core's finally filled. Finally, being clear-minded enough to think for what felt like an eternity…

'What the hell was that? It felt like someone put my body into autopilot…'

'Is that normal? I'll check with the senior disciples.'

I opened my eyes after what felt like a good nap. I saw that nothing much changed.

I went outside the housing area and saw the same buildings. 'Are the buildings older than they used to be? Some of the books even have dust on them.' I thought while walking through one of the halls.

"Hey, you there!" I heard behind me.

I looked over to who called me and saw a middle-aged man with purple and white robes.

'Don't recognize him either… What is going on here?' I delved deep into my thoughts.

"Are you going to answer my question?" He glared at me like I was wasting his time.

"What question?" I didn't hear him ask me anything.

"What is a Heavenly spy doing here… I'm giving the lowest amount of courtesy to a person that's intruding on our sect." He interrogated.

'intruding? Heavenly spy? Sect? I'm not in the Heavenly Palace anymore… What happened while I was cultivating?'

"If you don't have anything to say, then I guess we'll need to force it out of you." He answered my pondering silence while muttering about how the other sects would berate them for this.

He whispered something to someone, and I blacked out.

***

I woke up hanging upside down while tied with what seemed to be threads infused with qi.

"He doesn't know anything. He answered everything we asked, and he asked questions about what we were asking." A deep-pitched female voice sounded out.

"Either he's a pawn that has no use to them or betrayed his sect. Why else would he hide in one of the housings?" Another person spoke, who sounded androgynous, with a pondering tone.

"But that doesn't make any sense. They could just kill him, or… they must have erased his memories. That doesn't explain how he seemingly teleported here." A man with a naturally mocking tone spoke out loud.

"He's awake." The androgynous voice called out.