Chương 8: The Importance of a Teacher

"Yes, Elder Bai. I have a question regarding my cultivation." Lin Yi said. Elder Bai nodded and signaled him to continue.

"When I opened my Golden Cauldron and entered it for the first time, I felt no obstructions and the whole process was seamless. But after entering the first level of the Qi Condensation Realm, every time I switch my perspective into it again, I feel a slight delay."

"It doesn't feel wrong or anything like that, but it confuses me." Elder Bai smiled and nodded.

"First, before I help you solve your cultivation problem, let me say one thing."

"It is good that you asked me questions like this. If you have any flaws or problems during your cultivation, it would be best always to ask a teacher, lest you regret it in the future. Your division elders and teachers of the sect are responsible for answering questions, after all."

"Once you join a sect division, there will also be regular dao discussions with fellow disciples and elders where you can ask questions. If one day a master should accept you as a disciple, it would be even better. A master-disciple bond is much stronger and more important than a relationship with an elder." Lin Yi knew of that.

From his past life and the immortal texts of the sect, both mention that becoming a disciple to another cultivator is not just an honor but also a sacred link to the persons involved, the cultivation world itself, and even the Heavenly Dao. It is a strong karmic connection. Masters were not only responsible for imparting their knowledge of cultivation but also supported the disciples in finding their most suitable path of cultivation.

They often even lived together when their disciples were still young, and their relationship could be said to be stronger than blood. The saying, "A Master for a day, a father for a life" doesn't come from nothing. Of course, there are also different grades and rules to a master-disciple relationship. For one, only Dao Masters are universally acknowledged to be able to teach disciples on their own properly.

If a Qi Condensation cultivator took another Qi Condensation cultivator as his disciple, it wouldn't be taken seriously in the cultivation world, and in some factions there are even rules against it. Mostly they would be seen as teacher and student, similar to how Elder Bai was a teacher to thousands of disciples, Lin Yi included. There are also different hierarchies under the master's lineages. Similar to how the sect is divided into Outer Court and Inner Court, disciples can also be divided into different ranks.

For example, Personal Disciple, Direct Disciple, Inner Disciple, Outer Disciple, External Disciple, Disciple In-Name, Honorary Disciple, and so on. These grades, though, are more loosely defined, and every master could form their own hierarchy, but they were mostly similar to their own sect's, if they belonged to one. Elder Bai proceeded.

"Now, regarding your cultivation problem. In the future, you would likely solve this flaw on your own, and in some cases it would be even better to do it this way, but your current problem is not a major one." His lips formed again into the mischievous smile of a teacher.

"Tell me what you experienced during the opening of your dantian and what you experienced during the other times when your problem appeared." Lin Yi nodded, organized his memories, and spoke.

"A few days ago, during meditation, I started to sense a pull towards an unseen direction. After that, this pull appeared during every meditation session."

"And today I perceived, for the first time, a spiritual connection to my Golden Cauldron, but it always vanished before I could enter through it." Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

"Only during the ninth try did I successfully open the Golden Cauldron and awaken my Qi Flame. After I stabilized at the Initial Beginning of the first stage, I entered my Golden Cauldron again and there I noticed something."

"It didn't matter if I switched my perspective through my spirituality or entered through the spiritual connection and pathway. The same delay always happened." Elder Bai nodded. He calculated Lin Yi's retelling in his mind for a few moments and then asked another question.

"Tell me, Disciple Lin Yi. What exactly did you do to open your Golden Cauldron successfully?" Lin Yi looked slightly surprised that Elder Bai would ask this in particular. His thoughts churned. Suddenly, his spirituality brightened, and his thoughts flew more clearly. He discovered the solution to his cultivation problem. Lin Yi looked at the elder opposite him in amazement and asked. It was astonishing that Elder Bai could pinpoint his flaw in such a short time.

"Is it my mental state that brought the delay? The first time I entered my Golden Cauldron, I had a pure and clear mind, and my thoughts flew smoothly, like it was one with nature." Lin Yi wondered if this was really the root of the problem, as Elder Bai answered.

"Is this a question or a statement, disciple?" Ugghh! Lin Yi suddenly had flashbacks to his past life's school years, when some teachers asked the same thing. It was always an aggravating question. He smiled wryly and answered confidently.

"It was a statement, Elder Bai. This is, no, this was my problem." Elder Bai smiled and nodded.

"You are correct. For someone like you, who possesses and has awakened the very rare Mortal Spirit Root, only a pure and unobstructed mental state would allow you to cross the passage towards your spiritual spaces. Of course, there are always external resources that can help with these breakthroughs, but they are too valuable to use on a low-level cultivator."

"After your breakthrough to the first level, you forgot this mental state, and as a result, entering the dantian naturally becomes obstructed, even if only a little. As you had experienced the smooth transition once, worse transitions naturally come to mind quickly."

"Most cultivators who just entered cultivation don't know such a high-quality mental state. To achieve such a state can also be considered a talent." He continued talking.

"The cultivation of the mental state or mind falls under a branch of the dao heart. The state you entered is called Wu Wei. When one achieves Wu Wei, the mind and one's actions follow the nature of heaven and earth. Breakthroughs are smoother, and bottlenecks appear less often while being resolved quickly. One's whole cultivation would advance twice as fast at half the cost."

"Of course, to achieve Wu Wei continuously is difficult, and only those who have cultivated it for a long time and entered the third stage of cultivation can activate it at will. Some special cases even have Wu Wei permanently active." Elder Bai stopped for a moment and talked to Lin Yi in a serious tone.

"Lin Yi, you must remember one thing. Even if you think in one moment you resolved a cultivation flaw or bottleneck and your spirituality gets a slight boost from that, remember that false enlightenments are also enlightenments." Lin Yi looked at Elder Bai in surprise and confusion as he continued.

"You might think you solved a problem in your cultivation, and even your mind gets clearer while your thoughts flow seamlessly, but you might have just created another flaw. This flaw, if left unnoticed, might then lead to an entire crooked path."

"Today's problem was not as major as many cultivators in higher levels of Qi Condensation know of it, but other flaws might cage you at a bottleneck forever. Many cultivators underwent such fates." Lin Yi nodded solemnly and bowed his head.

"Thank you, Elder Bai. I will remember this." Elder Bai nodded. He knew that cultivators with Innate Spirituality or similar talents have a higher degree of wisdom than most. He wasn't as concerned about Lin Yi's future cultivation as he was about some of his other students. Lin Yi is very young, and with the ability to achieve Wu Wei, he has a high chance of reaching the ninth level of the Qi Condensation Realm and trying to recall the Spirit Root, thus assailing the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Elder Bai stroked his long white beard with a happy expression. He is naturally joyful. Which teacher wouldn't be if they have a promising student? From the elder's perspective, Lin Yi might be even one of the most promising disciples of this year, even with his weak Spirit Root. Naturally, this disregards the disciples that were directly accepted into the Inner Court by the sect. Any of these have a great chance of establishing their foundation.

In fact, this is one of the requirements for entering the Inner Court as a disciple. Without even the slightest chance of reaching Foundation Establishment, there is no chance of being accepted. Elder Bai waved his hand.

"If you don't have any more questions, you may return to the lecture for this day. It has already begun. Hearing this, Lin Yi panicked slightly. I hadn't planned to talk so long to Elder Bai! Elder Bai directly noticed Lin Yi's unrest and smiled.

"No need for worry, disciple. Tell your Senior Disciple Hui that you were with me. He won't bother you for that." Lin Yi sighed in relief and thanked the elder. With a quick bow, he left the room and walked towards the lecture room. After Senior Brother Hui listened to his explanation, he did not make a fuss, especially after he noticed that Lin Yi had broken through the first level. Lin Yi could listen to the rest of the lecture in peace.