When Qi Wuhuo returned home, he saw the old man still had a calm expression and was brewing tea. When he saw him coming back, he asked calmly, "Wuhuo is back?"

"Um."

"How was the lecture today?"

Qi Wuhuo told the truth, and added: "What I talked about today all came from Tan Tai Xuan's "Record of Becoming Immortals" and the practice records left by my good friend. I did not tell anyone the ones that the old man taught me." He still remembered what the old man said at the time, that some parts are "known by you and me, and only you can pass them on", and these cannot be passed on to outsiders.

The old man stroked his beard and smiled, "You can draw inferences from other cases and interpret other methods of cultivation. You can be considered to have entered the door."

"Yes, Shangshan."

He immediately picked up the tea, but did not drink it.

He was about to put it to his lips, but seemed to remember something and stopped.

He just held the teacup in his hand and said casually, calmly and nonchalantly:

"So what about alchemy?"

Qi Wuhuo immediately told the old man all the techniques and skills for alchemy. The old man nodded and asked, "Where did you get these techniques?" Qi Wuhuo thought for a moment and replied, "When I was preparing to start the furnace, I thought of the general principles of alchemy you mentioned. I suddenly realized that the techniques for alchemy were the same as the way of practicing cultivation, so I tried it."

The old man asked, “Is that all?”

Qi Wuhuo thought about it again and shook his head.

The old man seemed to be slightly relieved.

Qi Wuhuo replied: "When I was refining the elixir, I saw the sun and the moon appear at the same time in the winter afternoon, so I had some insights."

"Let's give it a try."

"Fortunately, nothing went wrong."

The young man showed a look of relief on his face, and then said:

"Then I remembered what you said: the sun is the heart, which is to cultivate the nature; and the moon is the kidney, which is to cultivate the life."

"The sun rises and the moon sets, every day is like this, as if the two are urging each other, and yet there is a mysterious feeling, each day is neither late nor early, as if the heaven and earth are also one body. Watching the rotation of the sun and the moon is like practicing both sex and life, not hasty, not slow, practicing every day, not slacking off, so it is called [going and returning]."

Then he stopped talking for a moment, restrained his youthful nature that was rarely revealed, sat up straight, and said softly:

"I just made random guesses. I don't know if I'm right or wrong..."

The old man paused for a moment and asked gently:

"what else?"

Qi Wuhuo hesitated for a moment, then said, "Since the rotation of the sun and the moon is like cultivating both the body and soul."

"Then is it possible that the heaven and earth are also one human body?"

"Or is it that although humans are small, they can still be a world inside of themselves?"

“Is it small, but also big?”

“Is the first step of spiritual practice to [look outward at the world and inward at one’s own nature]?”

The old man exhaled lightly.

I want to drink tea.

It is difficult to lift a cup of tea and drink it.

Only he could see that there were some ripples in the teacup.

After a long time, he nodded slowly.

Drink tea calmly and say just one word of kindness.

After a long while, he sighed and spoke again, seeming quite happy and expectant, like seeing a jade covered with dust, and then seeing its brilliance after sweeping away the dust. He smiled and praised, "After listening to my general outline, you know how to use the earth's energy to activate the sun and the moon, and then make the elixir. When making the elixir, you can also understand the dual cultivation of sex and life. How many practitioners have been meditating for decades, but don't know this principle."

“They may know these words, but they were only taught by their teachers and have no understanding of their own.”

"You are really good at this. It's true. Even I am a little scared by you."

"But your potential for understanding is not something you can be proud of. You should be cautious and not be too proud."

"The road is slow, and there is no rush."

"Can Wuhuo know?"

Qi Wuhuo cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

The old man looked at him with a satisfied look in his eyes. He pondered for a moment, but could not help but feel happy. He stroked his beard and promised:

"Wait until you really achieve great success one day."

"Perhaps I can personally make a furnace of elixir for you."

"And you can watch."

"No doubts, encourage it!"

"Hmm? Yes!!!"

A brilliant smile truly belonging to a young man appeared on Qi Wuhuo's face.

He just felt that the old man was teaching him and he was happy because he knew that the old man cared about him.

But I didn't know how heavy the weight of the old man's very calm words, "You come and watch me while I refine the elixir", really meant.

Time passes, but many things are no different from the past.

On the night before departure, Qi Wuhuo prepared many delicious dishes. On the next morning, Qi Wuhuo fetched water from the well early, washed his face, changed into clean clothes, locked the door, packed his bag, and most importantly, the white paper filled with the last wishes of the murdered souls, Tao Taigong's Jade Book, and the only clue to his past experiences - the badge of the Mingzhen Dao League.

Then a zither and a sword.

There is nothing else besides this.

He turned and walked out, closed his two wooden doors, looked at his house, turned around and saw an old man standing behind him stroking his beard, and the plum tree was in full bloom.

"Wuhuo, are you ready? If there are still some things that are not ready, you can stay for a while."

"No."

"Haha, let's go then."

"Come with me to visit my friends."

The old man stroked his beard and smiled, then walked out with Qi Wuhuo. There was a lively feeling outside, the New Year was approaching, and the town was also bustling. The butcher slaughtered a pig and shouted loudly. The skinny clerk in the wine shop was very strong. He moved such a big wine jar out, opened the mud seal, and scooped wine with a gourd ladle that had been dried and then cut open.

The clean wine fell down, and the aroma was so rich that people couldn't walk.

The vendors who only appeared during Chinese New Year also came with scarecrows filled with sugar figures and candied haws. On their small carts, the jingling sounds were heard. Qi Wuhuo remembered that he loved these the most when he was a child.

While my parents are still alive, while my hometown is still there.

The sound of playfulness was heard, and children who were only as tall as the boy's waist ran and played towards the vendor, brushing past the boy in the opposite direction. The children smiled brightly, and the boy's clothes moved slightly, and his body stood straight.

The vendor bent down, took out malt sugar with a smile, and the rattle stuck on his belt moved with his movements.

The children collected some broken iron pieces and exchanged them for a small piece of maltose from the vendor.

People were coming and going, talking about what delicious food they were going to eat during the New Year's Festival, and which important guests were coming, but they seemed not to notice the old man and the young man. The smell of fireworks drifted from his sleeves. The old man stroked his beard and looked at the young man next to him, smiling and asked, "It's New Year's Festival, it's so lively, can you come with me?"

Qi Wuhuo replied: "Yes."

“I’ve been through this before.”

"So, it's okay."

The old man looked at him, smiled and sighed: "It was just a dream, it revealed your reputation, but it also made some of your things more firm."

“Get rid of the false and keep the true.”

“It is the practice of Taoism.”

"Then let's go."

"Um."

The young man took one last look at the bustling town behind him, then turned around and was led by the old man to separate from these people who were filled with the smell of the world. He walked away with his back to the old man, and finally even the smoke from his sleeves dissipated like wind and smoke. He was wearing a clean blue shirt and a sword case on his back, which contained a sword and a zither. His eyes were clean and gentle. He was only fourteen years old.

He walked onto the avenue with the old man.

Slowly walked out of the town.

"Father, is the person we are going to meet close by? Can we walk there?"

"Haha, it's near and far, far and near."

“No doubt…”

"Come with me."

The old man stroked his beard and looked at the young man next to him, saying with a smile, using a double meaning:

"You are a talented person, and I will show you the way."