章 138: VII: Budding relationships Part 3

‘Breathe. In and out, in and out. Let the air match the flow of the element.’ I recounted my first lessons with Shen Mu. Elemental breathing was but the first step towards the building of the spirit. ‘Then comes visualization: see the element filling the inside of your body from the bottom up. Start with your feet, visualize each finger being surrounded by the element, then slowly move up through every single part of your body; your heels, your calves, your knees…every bone and muscle until you are one with it.’

I felt the heat of fire rising through my legs and I sat unmoving on the floor. It wasn’t scalding, but warm and gentle. Fire relied heavily on the intention of the cultivator. Our enemies could be burned by it, or it could increase body temperature in life-threatening freezing conditions. It could destroy just as it could save lives. The difference was, as always, the intent.

I led the fire up to my head until it was all around me, surrounding me in a warm blanket.