Chapter 3 Niwan Palace

After drawing the talisman 12,000 times in his dream, Li Daoxuan felt dazed when he woke up. His fingers seemed to still have the touch of holding the pen, and the soreness of muscle memory made his wrist ache.

When it came time for morning reading and practice, he was still a little sluggish. He just followed his fellow apprentices in boxing and recalled what Uncle Jiu had taught him.

In his dream, he learned more than just drawing talismans. In the process of teaching him how to draw talismans, Uncle Jiu also taught him a lot of knowledge about talismans and Taoist magic. Compared with the talisman magic he learned from the old Taoist, what Uncle Jiu taught him seemed to be more complete.

From the basics of drawing talismans to the usage of various talismans, he learned more than what he had learned in Baiyun Temple. More importantly, compared with the Taoism of Maoshan, Jiushu's talisman method was more complete. It made up for many of Li Daoxuan's doubts when he was learning the Taoism of Maoshan.

"Uncle Jiu is from Maoshan, and I am also a disciple of Maoshan. Could it be that what Uncle Jiu inherited is the orthodox one, and the Maoshan Taoism that I learned is a fake?" Li Daoxuan was quite confused.

After practicing boxing and strengthening their bodies in the martial arts arena, the Taoists all went to the dining hall to eat breakfast as the bell rang. Baiyun Temple has always advocated eating simple meals and focusing on quiet cultivation and health preservation.

On weekdays, we eat two meals, breakfast and lunch. If we are hungry at night, we can eat water and fruits to fill our stomachs. We live in poverty on weekdays. There is little oil and water in the food, and one bowl of food may not fill our stomachs. In addition, we live in the mountains. Although there are many wild animals, they are difficult to find. If we catch one or two occasionally, we will be as happy as if we have found a treasure.

Li Daoxuan was obsessed with the mountain, partly because of the food in the temple.

After making breakfast, Li Daoxuan followed his fellow brothers to the Jade Emperor Hall.

There are always a lot of people here on weekdays. After all, the Jade Emperor Temple is a temple dedicated to the Jade Emperor, and there is an endless stream of pilgrims visiting.

But now the mountain is closed due to heavy snow, so pilgrims cannot come. So it is a good opportunity for Li Daoxuan and others to use it as a place to teach.

Among the many groups, Li Daoxuan found his own cushion. He deliberately found a corner that was sheltered from the wind, sat on the ground and began his day of meditation.

As a Qingwei sect monk, he naturally practices the way of inner alchemy. The so-called inner alchemy is to cultivate both nature and life. Ziyang Zhenren said: "Even if you realize the true nature, you will inevitably abandon the body and return to the body. When will you practice the great medicine and transcend the leakless and become a real person?"

Is this called dual cultivation of nature and life?

Therefore, those who cultivate the Yang Spirit are rooted in Heaven, and their Tao is in the rising and rising. They are called immortals, and therefore they are called the Heavenly Venerable.

There are those who cultivate the pure yang essence, which is said to preserve the spirit and energy, and refine the wonders in the form. Their whole body becomes visible and enters the invisible, so they are immortal and become gods in heaven.

Those who cultivate and accumulate Yin energy completely abandon their souls and spirits, and refine wonderful existence out of nothingness. They remain calm and their nature is quiet, so after death they become Yin ghosts.

It sounds mysterious, but in essence it means to train your muscles and bones externally and cultivate your mind internally.

Li Daoxuan practices boxing with his fellow brothers every day to strengthen his body, and what he cultivates is his "life".

The meditation and breathing exercises after cooking the morning meal are the practice of cultivating one's 'nature'.

The old Taoist said that the dual cultivation of nature and life depends on the person. There are things that are easy to encounter but difficult to achieve, and there are things that are difficult to encounter but easy to achieve. Seeking the Tao and cultivating immortality is all about personal wisdom.

If one is obsessed with something and wants to force his way into the right path, he will definitely not understand the true meaning of the wonderful Dharma. In the end, he will end up blaming the gods and immortals for their lies and will never be able to achieve enlightenment in his lifetime.

Therefore, even though Maoshan has been passed down for 42 generations, there are only a few Taoists who can be called immortals.

Li Daoxuan usually recites Huangting Wuzhen and sits in meditation. But he never feels what the old Taoist says about taking in air and expelling turbidity, and boiling the jade cauldron soup. Could it be that he does not have the so-called wisdom root and cannot comprehend the Tao?

His thoughts were flying, but he soon entered into a state of concentration. Li Daoxuan sat cross-legged with his back straight. He placed his hands under his dantian and supported them lightly. He stood up straight with his chest raised, and his eyes slightly closed. His tongue lightly licked the upper palate, enveloping a mouthful of the nectar.

This method of meditation is called the Seven-limbed Sitting Method, which is a common sitting posture used in Taoism. There may also be special methods of meditation, which are all secret techniques of Taoism.

His thoughts were like a dream, and Li Daoxuan only felt darkness in front of his eyes.

In the past he would have been drowsy and then woken up and scolded by the old Taoist priest.

But at this moment, Li Daoxuan discovered a big difference in his vision.

The confused thoughts became clear, and a ray of light appeared in the dark vision.

This light spot was like the setting sun at dusk, following the darkness towards the center of the eyebrows. Li Daoxuan followed this light spot curiously, letting it drift.

The light spot seemed to be very sensitive, and soon reached the center of his forehead. Before Li Daoxuan could figure out what was going on, he felt a burning pain in his forehead.

It was as if something had drilled into the center of his eyebrows and was trying to break through the skin and bones to get out.

Li Daoxuan felt the pain but did not make a sound. He closed his mind and tried to be as quiet as possible. He knew that this situation was unusual. According to the old Taoist, it would only happen once in ten thousand years.

If he missed this opportunity, I'm afraid God would not be able to bear this and would strike him to death with lightning.

He closed his consciousness, feeling the increasing pain between his eyebrows. The feeling of tearing his forehead and shattering his brow bone was unbearable, as if it was breaking open his brain and stuffing something into it.

Li Daoxuan was very tough. He didn't say a word even though the pain was unbearable. He secretly rolled his tongue and gritted his teeth, trying to calm his mind. All the sufferings only lasted for this moment. As long as he could get through it, he would have entered another world.

The Taoist master once said that people have three dantians. The upper one is Niwan Palace, the middle one is Jiang Palace, and the lower one is Sheng Palace. These three palaces are the three flowers. If you can open Sheng Palace to gather Qi and transform it into liquid, you can ask for the Tao and ask for immortality. If you can open Jiang Palace to refine essence and store blood, you can live forever and stay young. If you can open Niwan Palace to transform spirit, you can achieve harmony between yin and yang and be naturally beautiful.

At this moment, Li Daoxuan passed through the middle and lower Dantian and went straight to the Niwan Palace. Not to mention the old Taoist, even the founder of Maoshan had never seen such an opportunity.

You should know that the upper Dantian is called Taiyi. It is the ancestral palace of the body and is supreme.

The Ten Books on Cultivation of Immortality says: "The Heavenly Brain is the center of the body, the meeting place of all spirits, and the Dao is in harmony with the Great Mystery, so it is called Niwan."

Li Daoxuan's opening of the Niwan by eliminating the middle and lower Dantian is something that has never been recorded in ancient books. If it can be successfully opened up, the benefits will naturally be beyond words.

He knew this too, and at this moment he was trying hard to endure the pain in his forehead.

The burning reached its peak, like a knife cutting or an axe chopping. Li Daoxuan almost thought his head was going to split open. He could no longer bear the excessive pain and almost fainted.

Just when he couldn't hold on any longer and the pain reached its peak, he felt a cool feeling spreading from his forehead to his whole body. It was as if an eye opened in the center of his forehead, and he could see everything in the Jade Emperor Hall clearly.

Li Daoxuan was extremely curious. He tried to open his eyes, and the touch on his forehead slowly disappeared. When he closed his eyes and used his consciousness to control his forehead, the strange feeling came again. It was as if there was an extra eye on his forehead, which could see the situation outside clearly.

"This is really magical." Li Daoxuan said secretly in his heart.

(End of this chapter)