The night wind passed through the small courtyard, lifting a few withered leaves that spun in circles on the ground.

Su Ming sat cross-legged on the smooth, worn bluestone in the yard, his eyes closed, his breathing steady, yet his mind was like a pot of boiling water, difficult to calm.

His master was going to teach him real immortal techniques.

“Disciple, concentrate your spirit, calm your energy.”

Lin Yu’s voice echoed in his mind, carrying a hint of hoarseness from having just woken up, yet it rang like a massive bell, instantly suppressing Su Ming’s chaotic thoughts.

“Yes, Master.” Su Ming took a deep breath, striving to sink his excitement and anticipation deep into his heart.

“What I will teach you today is called the ‘Aura Concealment Art’. This method is not for offense, not for slaughter, but solely for the concept of ‘concealment’,” Lin Yu’s voice was matter-of-fact, devoid of any discernible emotion. “You must remember, when walking in the world, the enemies you can see are never as terrifying as the enemies you cannot see. Making yourself disappear among the masses, like a drop of water merging into the ocean, is the path to self-preservation and longevity.”

Lin Yu thought to himself: “Lesson one: On the Self-Cultivation of an Actor. How to disguise a dazzling protagonist as an utterly ordinary extra. Master this lesson, and living until the grand finale isn’t just a dream!”

Su Ming felt a chill in his heart, etching the principle of ‘concealment’ firmly into his mind.

“The essence of the ‘Aura Concealment Art’ is not to have you cultivate some sinister, evil energy. That is not the righteous path and would also taint your foundation,” Lin Yu continued to explain. “Its core is to have you learn to control yourself. Your yang energy, or rather, your ‘vitality’, is currently like an oil lamp without a lampshade, blazing fiercely in the dark night. To those hungry ghosts and evil spirits, you are more tempting than the sweetest flesh and blood.”

Lin Yu thought to himself: “It’s like being the biggest, reddest cherry on a Black Forest cake, complete with a flashing neon sign that says ‘Come eat me!’ This master’s heart is weary.”

“What you need to do is learn to put a lampshade on this lamp, or even learn to temporarily retract the flame back into the wick, making it look like an extinguished lamp.”

Su Ming nodded, somewhat understanding. The analogy was vivid, and he could grasp it.

“Then, the first step: perception.” Lin Yu’s voice became ethereal. “Forget the spiritual energy you perceive during your usual meditation, and forget the flow of blood in your body. Go and feel something more fundamental… your ‘warmth’.”

“Warmth?” Su Ming was taken aback.

“Yes, warmth. You are alive, so your body is warm. This warmth is the most superficial manifestation of your yang energy. Now, close your eyes, sink your heart, and go feel it. It envelops your internal organs, flows through your limbs and bones, emanates from every pore of your body, forming an invisible halo. Go find it, feel it.”

Lin Yu thought to himself: “Quick, use your middle school biology knowledge! Feel what metabolism is! What heat dissipation is! Don’t think of it as something so mystical; just think of yourself as a large hot water bottle!”

Su Ming followed the instructions.

He discarded all distracting thoughts, completely immersing his mind into his own body.

At first, he could only feel the beating of his heart, the rush of his blood, and the coolness brought by the breeze on his skin.

Where was the ‘warmth’?

He was confused. This thing was invisible, intangible, even more elusive than the spiritual energy in the air.

Time passed bit by bit, and fine sweat beaded on Su Ming’s forehead. The more he tried to find it, the more untraceable that ‘warmth’ became.

“Master, I…” He felt somewhat discouraged.

“You’re impatient.” Lin Yu interrupted him flatly. “Let me ask you, on a winter day when your hands and feet are icy cold, what do you crave the most?”

Su Ming answered without hesitation: “A brazier of charcoal, or… a bowl of hot soup.”

“When you approach the charcoal brazier, do you see the firelight first, or feel the warmth first?”

“It’s… the warmth.” Su Ming pondered thoughtfully.

“Exactly.” Lin Yu’s voice carried a hint of guidance. “You don’t need to ‘see’ it, because you are already within it. What you need to do is ‘comprehend’ it. Like a fish comprehends the existence of water. Relax, don’t chase it, don’t grab for it, just stay still quietly, and let that feeling of warmth… tell you of its existence on its own.”

Lin Yu thought to himself: “Finally getting it. This kid’s comprehension is decent, just a bit stubborn. But that’s normal; who doesn’t have a newbie phase? Back when I first learned to use Office, it took me half a day just to figure out how to merge cells…”

Hearing his master’s pointer, Su Ming’s mind suddenly cleared.

He stopped deliberately searching, instead emptying his entire mind, as if waiting for dawn in the dark night.

Gradually, he sensed a ‘feeling’ different from body temperature.

It was a very subtle ‘field’, brimming with vitality, spreading from the deepest part of his body. It was like a thin gauze enveloping him, warm and comfortable. When the night wind blew, it was this layer of ‘warm gauze’ that was touched first, and only then did his skin feel the coolness.

“I… I feel it…” Su Ming’s voice trembled with delight.

“Good.” Lin Yu praised. “Now, the second step: control. Imagine a thin layer of white mist rising from the surface of a river at dawn. This layer of mist is the yang energy you emit. And what you need to do is use your will to condense this mist back into a dewdrop, hiding it back under a blade of grass.”

Su Ming immediately began to try.

He transformed his mind into an invisible hand, wanting to gather that warm ‘mist’.

But the ‘mist’ was incredibly slippery, offering no purchase. As soon as his will moved, that warm field instead ‘whooshed’ outward in expansion, then abruptly contracted back.

A sensation of alternating heat and cold instantly spread throughout his body. Su Ming shivered, nearly jolting out of his meditative state.

Lin Yu thought to himself: “Whoa there! Steady! Steady! What are you trying to do? Play thermal expansion and contraction with your body? Don’t short-circuit your own meridians! I said condense, not compress! This is delicate work!”

“Master, it… it won’t listen to me.” Su Ming’s face flushed red with effort.

“You’re using ‘force’, not ‘intent’,” Lin Yu’s voice grew a bit sharper. “You’re thinking of grabbing it, commanding it. But it is part of you; how can you wrestle with yourself? You need to guide, not force. Like a shepherd guiding sheep back to the pen, not a butcher brandishing a knife.”

Su Ming stopped, carefully pondering his master’s words.

Guide, not force…

He suddenly thought of a question, one that had troubled him for several days.

“Master,” he cautiously began, “forgive my impertinence, but what kind of ghostly entity was that Wailing Woman Lantern from that night? How powerful must its master be? Can we… really avoid it?”

This question weighed on his heart like a stone. The unknown was the most terrifying.

There was a moment of silence within the ring.

Lin Yu thought to himself: “Here it comes, finally asking the key question. Without analyzing the enemy situation clearly, even I, this gold-standard bodyguard, can’t work with peace of mind. It’s time to give him a crash course on the types of monsters in the newbie village, and by the way, outline the cultivation realms for him.”

“Since you’ve asked, I will explain a thing or two to you.” Lin Yu’s voice returned to calm. “Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated. Before speaking of ghostly entities, you must first understand the cultivation realms of us humans.”

“We cultivators absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, temper our bodies, and defy the heavens. The path is long and arduous, divided into five major realms. From low to high, they are Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core, Nascent Soul, and Spirit Transformation. Each realm is further divided into four stages: early, middle, late, and perfection. You have not even stepped onto the threshold yet; you are still in the preparatory stage of drawing in qi and tempering the body.” (Secretly grumbling: “Although I didn’t read many novels in my previous life, I do know there are realms like Tribulation Transcendence later on. Unfortunately, the previous owner of this ring was too low-level to inquire about more information.”)

Su Ming’s mind shook, firmly memorizing these realm names.

Lin Yu continued: “And the ghostly entities between heaven and earth also have distinctions of strength and weakness; their realms can often be analogized to those of our human cultivators. When an ordinary person dies with lingering obsession, they become a ‘wandering soul’. They fear light and dread yang energy; a gust of wind can scatter them. They are not worth worrying about; the yang energy of an ordinary, robust man is enough to disperse them.”

“If a wandering soul encounters an opportunity, absorbs yin energy, or devours other lonely spirits, it can solidify its soul body and transform into a ‘vengeful ghost’. Vengeful ghosts already have the ability to harm people, confuse minds, and absorb yang energy. The yang energy of ordinary people is a great tonic in their eyes. That mountain ruin temple, if not for the Wailing Woman Lantern, would likely be infested with such entities. Their strength is roughly equivalent to our human Qi Refining stage cultivators.”

“Above vengeful ghosts, if they can develop spiritual intelligence, understand cultivation methods, gather yin energy into a core, and condense a ‘ghost core’, they can be called ‘ghost generals’. A ghost general is no longer afraid of ordinary scorching sun, can command hundreds of ghosts, and bring calamity to an entire region. Their strength is already comparable to the Golden Core or even Nascent Soul realm among human cultivators.”

Su Ming listened, his heart pounding with fear.

Golden Core, Nascent Soul! To him, those were already legendary land immortals capable of moving mountains and overturning seas! Ghosts could actually become that powerful?

“Then… then what about the Wailing Woman Lantern?”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep