The next day, Wu Huang and little Hong Jiu'er met again.
"This disciple greets Senior Brother," Hong Jiu'er said as she made a slight bow, minding every movement with seriousness.
Wu Huang shook his head gently.
"There's no need for that," he replied calmly. "Did you come alone this time?"
As he spoke, his eyes briefly drifted backward, as if expecting to see the head of servants accompanying her.
"I know the way, so it wasn't necessary," the girl answered in a calm, yet slightly proud tone.
Wu Huang nodded and gestured for her to come in. The place was in silence, barely interrupted by the soft whisper of the wind. Hong Jiu'er advanced with short, obedient steps until she stood in front of him.
"Alright, let's begin with the basics," Wu Huang said as he instructed her to sit down. "I will teach you the most elementary training method."
Hong Jiu'er settled onto the floor, crossing her legs somewhat clumsily at first, but correcting her posture after a small adjustment. Wu Huang nodded, seeing that she had sat properly, and stood up, moving behind her and placing both hands on her back.
"Now, I will infuse some Qi into your dantian. Concentrate on the sensations."
"Yes, Senior Brother..." Hong Jiu'er said, a bit uncomfortable by the close contact.
Wu Huang, noticing that she trembled slightly when he touched her, could not help but sigh. Although he knew that such close contact was somewhat inappropriate, it was the most efficient and fastest method. The other method would be to saturate the environment with natural energy so she could perceive it slowly, but that would require a closed environment, specific formations, and a rather high amount of resources, which was not cost-effective and would take quite some time. Thus, using the fastest and most economical method was best.
Wu Huang closed his eyes and concentrated his Qi in his hands, beginning to circulate it slowly into Hong Jiu'er's body; the amount was very small to avoid causing problems. Immediately, Hong Jiu'er felt something enter her body. The sensation, while not unpleasant, was indeed strange and caused an itching and discomfort in her body.
"I know it's uncomfortable, but endure it, it will soon be over," Wu Huang said as he continued circulating his Qi in Hong Jiu'er's body.
Hong Jiu'er nodded slowly and closed her eyes tighter, concentrating.
Hm. Interesting. Her dantian is slightly lower than usual. Perhaps she has a very strong yang attribute, Wu Huang thought. Considering she is a Daughter of Destiny, she will probably also have some special physique or something similar.
"S-Senior Brother, I can feel the energy! It's circulating in my meridians!" Hong Jiu'er said, keeping her eyes closed.
"Excellent. I will teach you a couple of basic cultivation techniques so you can practice on your own," Wu Huang said as he withdrew the Qi he had transferred to Hong Jiu'er's body and stood up.
"Y-yes, Senior Brother!" she replied excitedly.
Wu Huang, holding the Heavenly Book in his hands, remained standing there. Without haste, he began to explain the technique in a measured voice, making sure every word was clear to avoid any kind of mistake.
"Pay attention," he added. "Everything begins with the breathing. Do not force it. Let it flow naturally, but be conscious of every inhalation and every exhalation."
Inwardly, he could not help but sigh. Although this method is very basic... it is refined to an incredible degree. It is unnecessary to add even a single period or comma to it.
His eyes rested briefly on the girl before continuing. Hong Jiu'er, who listened seriously, nodded. Her small hands rested on her knees as she carefully closed her eyes, trying to follow every instruction. Since she had already felt the flow of energy, she simply had to do what Wu Huang said as accurately as possible.
Wu Huang continued to explain with patience: the rhythm of the breathing, the correct posture, and the way she should focus her mind. He did not omit any detail. Hong Jiu'er followed every word, but as expected, she made some mistakes along the way. Luckily, Wu Huang detected any problem immediately and corrected it quickly.
At first, Hong Jiu'er's breathing was irregular, slightly rushed. Her eyebrows furrowed, showing the difficulty of maintaining concentration. But with time and practice, she managed to stabilize it, and little by little she made fewer mistakes until none were left. Wu Huang was surprised by this and nodded in satisfaction.
As expected when teaching a Daughter of Destiny, they are all highly talented, he thought as he sat to the side and watched over her.
Now he could only wait patiently and help her from time to time, as it depended on her own comprehension whether she could advance to the first stage of Qi Refining. This stage is quite basic: it consists of absorbing ambient energy, or the natural energy of heaven and earth, and refining it within the body.
Now that Hong Jiu'er had already detected the Qi, all that was left was for her to learn to absorb the energy from nature. But considering how quickly she learned to move the energy in her meridians, it shouldn't take long.
Of course, since it was her first time practicing, there was no surprising result. The most important thing at the beginning was not to obtain visible breakthroughs, but to cultivate the mind and form the habit before delving into the true practice. Time passed quickly. Noticing that the girl could no longer maintain her concentration any longer, Wu Huang decided to give her a break.
"That's enough for now, you may stop," Wu Huang informed.
Hong Jiu'er sighed in relief as she relaxed her body; maintaining the same position and continuously concentrating was a heavy mental burden. Wu Huang, seeing her state, could not help but smile. It reminded him of when he had practiced in his childhood. Although the age difference between his past self who had learned to cultivate and her was quite large, those moments when he was still in the Wu Family still gave him a bit of nostalgia.
Remembering things he didn't want to remember, he shook his head and offered her a cup of green tea that he had prepared beforehand for Hong Jiu'er.
"Here."