A State-of-Mind Balancing Method Forced into Being

The solution turned out to be simple: he still stirred Natural Energy to vibrate his meridians, causing his dantian to rumble. With that rumbling, suspended between reality and illusion, he suppressed the entirely illusory mental world.

The Spleen Pig, which looked like a domestic pig, did not fight back like the Heart Monkey. It simply lay on the ground and let him do as he pleased. However, it was far tougher than the Heart Monkey. Uchiha Yu tormented it for half the night, yet the fat pig merely lost a little weight.

What was worse, the frustration and retreating impulses that inevitably arose from his meager results became nourishment for the Spleen Pig. In the blink of an eye, it recovered most of its strength.

Uchiha Yu was immediately infuriated, but his anger was absorbed by the Heart Monkey. The Golden Snub-nosed Monkey's fur changed from golden yellow to a faint blood-red, and its body doubled in size. This monkey was far more proactive than the pig. The moment it gained a little strength, it began scratching its ears and cheeks, eager to make a move.

Uchiha Yu immediately gathered his thoughts, reining in his will as much as possible and maintaining a state of mind as still as dead water. He turned his attention toward the restless Heart Monkey.

In just a few seconds, the monkey's fur was sent flying by the Cleansing Shockwave as it struggled madly and shrieked without end.

Yet in those same few seconds, the dejection and surrender born from his utterly still state of mind were absorbed by the Spleen Pig. The pig's body swelled like an inflated balloon. Its bristles turned into steel quills, even tangling together to form armor. Its mouth filled with tusks, each as terrifying as a halberd or greatsword.

The strengthened Spleen Pig was no longer quiet. It began stomping the ground, using War Stomp to trigger violent tremors throughout the mental world, resisting and even trying to destroy the Cleansing Shockwave coming from his dantian.

Uchiha Yu's heart chilled. He understood that dealing with the two mental forms was completely different from when there had only been the Heart Monkey.

When there had only been the Heart Monkey, he merely needed to keep his mind as still as dead water and cleanse the mental space to easily subdue the monkey. But after the Spleen Pig joined in, doing so was equivalent to nourishing it and allowing it to become a new monster.

[Take a step back and the sea and sky will open wide.]

[Wait and see. Wait and see what this pig does, then act accordingly.]

[Don't rush. Maybe the monkey and pig will fight each other, and I can reap the benefits.]

The thoughts frantically growing in his mind were all about retreating, giving up, and waiting. Uchiha Yu understood that the Spleen Pig was behind them. Once he followed those thoughts, he would lose control and lie flat, coasting on his current achievements and never managing to rouse himself again.

The path of cultivation was like traveling upstream through a raging current. "If you do not advance, you retreat" was nowhere near enough to describe its dangers. Forget stagnating—even slowing down slightly meant facing the risk of capsizing at any moment.

[So I can neither make my mind as still as dead water nor become excited and agitated. I must maintain a calm, peaceful, impartial state of mind.]

[Normally, this state is not hard to achieve. As long as I shut out external distractions and enter meditation through various means, I have a chance of reaching it naturally.]

[But now I am fighting two mental forms. Calmness and peace can only be won through balance. Balance requires force, requires a point of leverage. Where can I find one?]

Uchiha Yu's mind's eye swept back and forth through the mental world, trying to find a suitable point to exert force from, but the empty mental world contained nothing...

[Nothing except... the Heart Monkey and the Spleen Pig...]

[Ha, so that's how it is. Balance!]

Uchiha Yu found the solution and no longer hesitated.

First, he focused his attention on the Heart Monkey, shaking the monkey's head until it squealed. Then he carefully guided the blasted-out monkey fur to fall densely over the pig's body. Stimulated by the monkey fur, the pig's War Stomp lost its rhythm. The vibrations from his dantian immediately regained their power and, aided by the monkey fur, pierced through the pigskin and deep inside.

The Spleen Pig's screams were deafening as filthy blood splattered everywhere, and its aura abruptly weakened.

[It worked!]

In that brief lapse of concentration, Uchiha Yu's mental state lost its stability. The two mental forms broke free from their previous disadvantage, regrouped, and began a stubborn struggle against him.

And so Uchiha Yu engaged in a back-and-forth tug-of-war with his own mental forms, repeatedly fighting for the initiative.

At one point, the Heart Monkey ran short on strength and was subdued too early, causing the Spleen Pig to suddenly swell in power.

Uchiha Yu was forced to recall his proudest accomplishments—his perfect battles, flawless killings, mental suggestions, and the like—briefly pushing himself into a state of arrogant pride and reigniting the Heart Monkey's frenzy.

After that, the Spleen Pig grunted as it transformed into Dangkang, becoming too weak to contend with the Heart Monkey. The blood-red ape then saw daylight again, pounding its chest and feet as it defied the heavens.

Following the clues, Uchiha Yu recalled the maxims of the cautious path and muttered, "Water benefits all things without contention. Because it does not contend, none under heaven can contend with it." He simulated the tranquil, inactive, conservative state of mind distorted by Confucianism, making Dangkang inflate into a black-haired domestic pig and draw the Heart Monkey's attention.

He carefully maintained the balance between the two mental forms, using their utterly opposing emotions to preserve the balance of his own state of mind and slowly wear down the inner demons' power.

In the end, Uchiha Yu won. Both the Golden Snub-nosed Monkey and Dangkang crouched quietly on the ground, covered in thick monkey fur and pig blood.

He opened his eyes and found that the sky outside the window was already bright. It was nearly six o'clock, much later than his usual time for going out to run.

He had stayed up the entire night. Though he had sat cross-legged without moving, he was exhausted beyond measure.

So he thought about taking the day off and skipping his run. The instant that thought arose, his balanced and stable state of mind tilted, and all kinds of thoughts began to stir. It frightened Uchiha Yu so badly that he no longer dared to slack off.

"Run. I have to run."

"To punish myself for being late, I'll add another lap today. Three laps!!"

His self-encouraging voice woke Miwa Masayo from her sound sleep. The Tabby Cat stretched lazily, still half-asleep, and muttered, "Yu's gone crazy again."

"Mm, he might be close to another breakthrough."

"So fast. It's only been a month and a half since he reached Foundation Establishment. Should I work harder too, meow?"

After careful consideration, Miwa Masayo changed positions and went back to sleep.

"Resting—if I don't rest properly, how can I have enough energy to work hard, meow?"

Uchiha Yu worked himself up, put on over six hundred kilograms of weights, and went out for a run.

In truth, that weight was no longer particularly difficult for him, so its training effect had diminished. But this was already the limit for weighted training. He could not add any more weight, or his center of gravity would completely lose control. Once none of his movements could budge the weights, it would become like a praying mantis lifting a barbell.

When the difference in mass was too great, even someone with the strength of ten thousand jin could not control a one-ton object. In the end, he would merely hang from the heavy object and perform dazzling gymnastics.

Since he could not increase the weight, he could only increase the amount of activity and let prolonged exhaustion temper his body. That could also improve his physical qualities, though the focus shifted from building strength to building endurance.

When he first began running, Uchiha Yu let his thoughts wander, using the activity of his mind to maintain the balance of inner calm. But as his stamina rapidly declined, physical exhaustion gradually focused his mind, and it settled into true tranquility as well.

It was an emptiness that sank to the bottom, free of thought and desire. That ethereal state liberated Uchiha Yu's heart. Though his body was incredibly exhausted, his mind felt lighter than ever before.