The master sounded very excited on the phone.
He praised me incessantly, saying that I had now opened my "spring eye."
From now on, I had truly stepped onto the path of cultivation.
I didn't quite understand what a "spring eye" was.
After my master's excitement subsided, I curiously asked:
"Master, what do you mean by 'spring eye'?"
Perhaps it was due to my breakthrough, but my master was in a very good mood.
He cleared his throat twice:
"This 'spring eye' is the eye of the Dantian.
For ordinary people, the Dantian eye is in a closed state.
They cannot sense it themselves.
But once this eye opens, one can sense the Qi within the body and also actively guide this Qi.
In our profession, we call this Qi 'Dao Qi.'
With Dao Qi, you are considered a true Daoist."
My master explained it to me in detail, looking very pleased.
After listening, my heart trembled slightly.
No wonder I could feel a warm current in my Dantian.
So this warm current was the Qi in my Dantian.
With excitement, I continued to ask:
"Master, are there different cultivation levels in our profession?
What is my cultivation level now?"
My master did not hesitate, answering with a chuckle over the phone:
"In our Daoist sect.
Once the spring eye is opened, one has reached the first realm: the Spirit Spring Realm.
There are eight more great realms after that.
They are Qi Nascent, Soul Palace, Profound Elixir, True Radiance, Dao Body, Human King, Void Spirit, and Earth Immortal, totaling nine great realms..."
My master slowly and meticulously explained the cultivation realms to me.
As I listened, a sense of fervent excitement surged through me.
It felt as if, in that instant, I had opened the door to a new world.
A new world of Daoist cultivation.
A world where one borrows Qi from heaven and earth to achieve cultivation.
My master said that within these nine great realms, each realm has three minor stages, divided into early, middle, and late phases.
As for me now, I had only opened my spring eye.
Therefore, my current realm was the very bottom, the early stage of the Spirit Spring Realm.
My master also told me not to get too complacent or overjoyed.
He said that although I now possessed Dao Qi and had officially entered the ranks of cultivators,
With the addition of Dao Qi, I was only slightly stronger than an ordinary person.
If I encountered someone specializing in strength, or a big fellow working on a construction site, they could still kill me with a single punch.
He warned me against becoming restless and urged me to cultivate diligently every day, following a cyclical pattern.
Since we were on the phone, there were many questions I didn't have time to ask.
My master told me to first get familiar with the Dao Qi that had appeared within my body and to ask him any further questions when I came to work tomorrow.
With that, my master hung up the phone.
After hanging up, I still couldn't contain my excitement.
Amidst my happiness, I did not forget my master's words.
Sitting in my room, I continued to practice breathing and circulation to stabilize my current state.
After all, from this moment on, I was considered someone with genuine cultivation.
I was a true Daoist with cultivation, not just an apprentice.
After cultivating in my room for over an hour, seeing that it was getting late, I went to wash up and sleep.
The next day, I woke up feeling more energetic than ever and eagerly went to work.
As I opened my door to leave for work, I saw Aunt Wang from next door standing at her doorway, urgently calling into her house:
"Old man, hurry up!"
Seeing Aunt Wang looking so anxious, I casually asked:
"Aunt Wang, where are you off to?"
Aunt Wang, seeing me, did not hide anything:
"Ah! My ill-fated youngest daughter's family was in a car accident. I'm going to the hospital to see them now.
By the way, Xiao Qin, could you call a car for us online?
That way we can get there faster."
Hearing about Aunt Wang's youngest daughter's family being in a car accident, my heart sank.
After all, it was not good news.
I immediately nodded:
"Okay, Aunt Wang, which hospital are you going to?"
As I said this, I took out my phone, ready to call a car for Aunt Wang.
"The Second Hospital. She called me last night, saying they were all going on a trip today.
But who would have thought that early this morning, the hospital would notify me to come in.
They said all three of them are in the hospital, and I don't know how badly injured they are..."
Aunt Wang said anxiously, tears streaming down her face.
In such a situation, I couldn't pry for more details, so I just offered Aunt Wang some words of comfort.
After Uncle Wang came out, I accompanied them downstairs.
After seeing them off in their ride-hailing car, I then took the bus to work.
I didn't dwell much on the incident with Aunt Wang's youngest daughter's family.
After all, it didn't have much to do with me, nor did it involve any of my interests.
I just felt it was a minor interruption.
More importantly, my thoughts were still on cultivation.
And I was also very curious about what level of cultivation my master, Gu Hui, possessed.
When I arrived at the shop, I found my master drinking morning tea.
I respectfully greeted him, "Master."
My master responded with a cheerful "Mm."
I walked a few steps closer and asked:
"Master, I still have a few questions about cultivation that I'd like to ask you!"
My master didn't look at me, lifted his teacup, blew on it, and took a sip:
"Go ahead!"
"Master, when I circulate my Qi, it always feels a bit sluggish.
The Qi is also weak, feeling like it comes and goes intermittently. What's going on?"
I described my current situation and the obstacles I was facing.
My master chuckled:
"You have to eat rice one bite at a time, and walk one step at a time.
Now that you've just opened your spring eye, don't be too hard on yourself.
Progress step by step, and with time, you'll become accustomed to it!"