"No wonder it was called a top-tier secret medicine, one of heaven and earth's rare treasures. Its medicinal power was truly formidable!"
After taking the Crimson Refining Paste, Huo Yuanhong could clearly feel streams of warmth rising from his abdomen, flowing with the beat of his heart and blood circulation into every corner of his body.
The hidden damage left behind because he had trained too quickly without sufficient nourishment was being repaired by the Crimson Refining Paste's medicinal power. Like spring rain moistening parched earth, it filled his body with vigorous life.
Just as with martial arts training, his absorption speed for supplements was enhanced three hundred and sixty-fivefold. In merely two hours, he fully digested the terrifying medicinal power that would have taken an ordinary person two or three months to absorb.
"Crackle, crackle..."
When he clenched his palm, it gave off a series of crisp pops like beans being stir-fried.
"Strong! Very strong!"
"Right now, the essence and vitality within my body are abundant. My endurance and potential are more than twice what they were before!"
Huo Yuanhong examined himself carefully, and joy immediately appeared in his eyes.
Previously, his physical condition had improved, but his nourishment had failed to keep pace, leaving his essence and vitality depleted. It was like someone training madly until every inch of his body was muscle, yet failing to keep up with nutrition. Even falling seriously ill would have counted as a mild outcome.
With the Martial Path to Divinity talent, he would not train himself into sickness, but the depletion within his body was real enough. He was strong, yet unable to fight for long.
Defeating ten Manifest Strength fighters had already consumed more than half his stamina, and that had been under conditions where he ended every battle swiftly and instantly.
But now, after spending only two hours to make up for that deficit, his essence and vitality were full and his breath abundant. Even if he fought another thirty Manifest Strength fighters, he would have strength to spare!
Getting this Crimson Refining Paste had been worth it. More than worth it!
Especially with the Martial Path to Divinity talent, he would forever advance in the most correct direction. That meant the Manifest Strength Peak he had trained was the most correct and ultimate Manifest Strength possible. Once his depleted essence and vitality had been replenished, it was so powerful that it could not possibly be any stronger, so perfect that it could not possibly be any more perfect!
At this moment, he was the most flawless extreme of Manifest Strength. Whether in physical conditioning, Internal Force attainment, or potential, he had reached an unimaginable level! He could be called a young Martial Immortal living in the present age!
Even True Man Zhang, the last Martial Immortal from three hundred years ago, would not have dared claim that he had been stronger than Huo Yuanhong at the Manifest Strength stage!
"There are still twenty-two days until the Jinmen Grand Competition that will decide the fate of the Commoner Faction!"
Huo Yuanhong calculated the time.
Now, he was getting closer and closer to beating the Dark Force beginner Gentleman Sword to death, to fulfilling that original obsession!
"I wonder how Gentleman Sword is doing. After what happened this time, there's no way he can suppress the laughingstock of Sword Inquiry Martial Hall's discarded disciple being noticed by the Divine Spear and then smashing through all of Sword Inquiry's elites..."
If Huo Yuanhong had guessed correctly, Gentleman Sword should currently be beside himself with rage and filled with terror, thinking of how to face the enraged Hall Master of Sword Inquiry Martial Hall.
A martial artist sought clarity of heart! Kindness must be repaid, and vengeance must be exacted!
And this...
Was only the beginning!
"My essence and vitality have already been replenished. Next, I can safely begin Heart-Mind Unity."
"I should first ask Master for the training method for the Heart-Mind Unity stage. Since there are ready-made experiences from those who came before to draw upon, why waste time slowly deriving it myself..."
Study.
Li Shuxing stared intently at a scroll. Upon it was a terrifying mountain holding up the azure heavens, of unknown and immeasurable height. Merely looking at it brought a sense of pressure and shock that seemed to spill beyond the paper.
"This Buzhou Mountain Fundamental Diagram passed down by the founding patriarch is truly difficult to comprehend. Among so many Great Grandmasters throughout the generations, those able to grasp even a little of its surface were few enough to count on one's fingers..."
Li Shuxing sighed sincerely.
This Buzhou Mountain Diagram was said to have been obtained by the founding patriarch by chance from a blessed land when he had still been a woodcutter. It concealed the secrets of Martial Immortals and Human Immortals.
Yet even the founding patriarch, such a peerless genius praised as one of the Three Sages of the Martial World in his era, had pondered it for most of his life. Only when he had nearly become an immortal did he finally comprehend its true meaning.
The patriarchs of later generations, even with the founding patriarch's experience to guide them, had mostly needed to live until they were old and feeble before they could visualize even a fragment of it.
Even Li Shuxing himself had only begun to comprehend this Buzhou Mountain Fundamental Diagram after stepping beyond Transformation Strength.
In the judgment of every patriarch, including himself, this Fundamental Diagram had never been intended for Martial Persons or Martial Masters at all!
It was something only Great Grandmasters, Martial Saints, and those who had reached the later realms and touched upon the path of Martial Immortals could begin training!
"Oh? A-Hong is coming."
From a great distance away, Li Shuxing sensed his arrival. He put away the Buzhou Mountain Fundamental Diagram and placed it in the cabinet beside his writing desk.
Then he took out the Fundamental Diagrams for the Heart-Mind Unity stage that he had prepared for Huo Yuanhong and laid them across the long table.
No matter how strong Manifest Strength was, one remained an ordinary person. But from the Heart-Mind Unity stage onward, Martial Persons truly began to differ from ordinary people, touching upon something as mysterious and profound as Fist Intent.
To transform from an ordinary person into a Martial Master, an extraordinary individual, training through normal methods was terribly inefficient. Special methods were needed!
The method used by their lineage was to draw upon the Fundamental Diagrams of the Esoteric Sect, Taoist School, and Alchemy Path!
In Esoteric Sect and Alchemy Path cultivation, Fundamental Diagrams were bridges for using the false to cultivate the true. One might visualize the image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva, or visualize the inner landscape, eventually achieving the effect of creating a realm with the heart and tempering the heart through that realm!
Some internal martial arts also had similar methods. For example, one branch of Xingyi, while training Crushing Fist, would visualize the fist's edge as an awl piercing through a water film.
Or one might visualize "Jade Tree Hanging Precious Garment," imagining the bones as jade tree branches and the muscles as soft gauze garments hanging down, thereby eliminating muscular tension.
The Martial Path and Alchemy Path were not separate families. Many peak experts of the current age were also masters of the Alchemy Path! Li Shuxing was one of them!
Of course, their essential pursuits still differed.
The Esoteric Sect and Alchemy Path visualized Fundamental Diagrams in pursuit of "communing with the divine and uniting with the Dao," while Martial Masters used Fundamental Diagrams, at their core, to strike faster! Harder! More accurately!
The aim was "using intent to guide form, with form and intent giving rise to each other," casting away rigid attachment to movements!
At the Manifest Strength Pinnacle, including the extreme, one trained kung fu into one's muscles. In battle, one relied on the muscles' instinctive reflexes to execute techniques, for only then could one keep up with the ever-changing struggle between life and death!
But at the Heart-Mind Unity stage, one moved from instinctive muscular reflexes to consciousness directing movement!
This required one's thoughts to be incomparably agile and one's will incomparably powerful, so that one could first clearly perceive the entire situation, analyze and determine the next movement, and adapt with flexibility! One had to cast away stiffness and attachment in movement!
Thus, the first step was to create a realm with the heart and temper the heart through the realm, honing one's thoughts and will!
In the end, once one's thoughts and will became powerful enough and one comprehended one's true heart, one could train Fist Intent!
"Six Fundamental Diagrams should be enough for A-Hong to choose from."
Li Shuxing nodded slightly.
With his disciple's attainment at the Manifest Strength stage, he was only a thread away from the extreme. Yet that thread was fundamentally impossible to cross. Human strength had limits; perfection was impossible. Even True Man Zhang had not achieved complete perfection in his day.
This was a secret he had learned from the Founder's Notes, and one he had personally verified. That final flaw truly could not be repaired.
Even returning afterward with a realm beyond Transformation Strength to make up for it would still not work.
Once one was only a thread away from the extreme, unless one forcibly concealed the flaw through special external power like Wu Yuanchu and became a Pseudo-Peak, there was nowhere further to advance!
Unfortunately, such external power was far too difficult to find, and he had no suitable option for now.
Therefore, he planned not to dwell on the matter of the extreme for the moment. In any case, with his methods, he had a way to supplement it with external power later.
He would first let his disciple achieve Heart-Mind Unity, so as not to delay the growth of his strength and affect the Jinmen Grand Competition.
Once he found suitable external power, he would tell his disciple this good news and make him a Pseudo-Peak no less formidable than Wu Yuanchu!
"When the time comes, A-Hong will surely be delighted."
Li Shuxing smiled and continued reviewing the Fundamental Diagrams. Only after confirming that every one of them was without issue did he nod in satisfaction.
These Fundamental Diagrams were the accumulated legacy of their lineage over generation after generation. Some came from long-inherited Esoteric Sect traditions, some from Taoist mountains, and some had been gifted by friendly Alchemy Grandmasters.
Any one of them, if brought outside, would be enough to serve as a treasured inheritance at the bottom of a chest, a legacy that could suppress an entire martial arts hall. Yet Li Shuxing had prepared six whole diagrams for Huo Yuanhong, allowing him to choose freely!
Before long, Huo Yuanhong walked in and bowed. "Master."
"You're here. Sit."
Li Shuxing looked Huo Yuanhong up and down, and the more he looked, the more pleased he became.
He knew full well that if not for Huo Yuanhong this time, the Manifest Strength disciples outside would not merely have failed to take first place—they would not even have been able to hold onto second or third.
"Here, take this Spirit Nourishing Secret Medicine for the Heart-Mind Unity stage first. It should last you for a while. If it isn't enough, go borrow more from the Fang Family..."
"I estimate that in a few days, the Fang Family will invite you to one of their social dances. It's an old custom. Just spare a little time to make an appearance, since the secret medicines for your future nourishment will all have to be paid for by the Fang Family..."
"Don't feel embarrassed. Being able to borrow medicine is a skill in itself. Once your master here reached the peak, I only cared about practicing martial arts and never managed any business. Whenever I ran short of money, I borrowed it. The debts I owe couldn't be repaid in several lifetimes. Even this Martial Arts Hall was bought for me by the Fang Family..."
"So long as I still possess this martial skill, no matter how displeased those old Fang Family fellows are inside, they still have to pinch their noses and pay up, helping me keep this Martial Arts Hall running!"
Li Shuxing laughed.
"This disciple understands."
Huo Yuanhong understood inwardly. His master truly had the wind in both sleeves, and if he wanted to obtain nourishing medicinal ingredients, he would still have to start with the Fang Family.
"Your Manifest Strength training is nearly complete now, and you can begin Heart-Intent Harmony. This is the foundation for training Dark Force: using intent to guide the course of Internal Force, using mental techniques to control the body's subtle details, and ultimately reaching the level of 'Form-Spirit Unity, where intent arrives and force arrives'..."
"What this stage mainly trains is Mental Strength and will. First, you must select the most suitable Fundamental Diagram to temper your will..."
As he spoke, Li Shuxing suddenly frowned. He rose to his feet and looked outside, as though he had sensed something.
"A troublesome old fellow has arrived. I need to go deal with him. The Fundamental Diagrams are all here, so pick one and try it first. I probably won't have time to teach you today."
Li Shuxing pondered for a moment before speaking.
In any case, these Fundamental Diagrams could not lead one astray in training. At worst, they would simply produce no effect, so he was not too worried.
With a flicker of his body, he vanished from the spot.
"What swift movement technique."
Huo Yuanhong exclaimed in admiration, then began examining the Fundamental Diagrams laid out on the table.
After looking over them several times, he could not make heads or tails of them and had no idea which would suit him. So he simply decided to visualize every one of them and give them all a try.
Following the method his master had taught him, he imagined a bowl of murky water in his heart, each strand of murkiness representing distracting thoughts in his mind.
By picking out each strand of murkiness, he gradually emptied his heart of distracting thoughts and reached a state of near-empty clarity and lucidity.
This was the Bowl of Water Meditation Method. Its purpose was to keep one's mind as clear as an infant's, making it easier to come into contact with the artistic realm within a Fundamental Diagram.
Next, Huo Yuanhong picked up the leftmost Fundamental Diagram. It depicted a Hungry Tiger Biting Knife Diagram, lifelike and majestic.
At first, Huo Yuanhong felt absolutely nothing as he looked at it. But gradually, as the words Heart-Intent Harmony appeared on the panel, a strange sensation arose.
It was as though the fierce tiger in the Fundamental Diagram had come alive, the aura of the king of the mountains and forests rushing straight at him!
In the end, as he imagined and constructed the image and scene of the Fundamental Diagram within his mind, when he closed his eyes, it felt as though he truly stood within a forest, facing a vicious tiger lunging toward him!
That rolling Killing Intent, that stimulation of standing on the brink of life and death...
Tempered his will, as though it were being struck again and again by a steel-forging hammer, becoming increasingly pure and condensed.
Just like old soldiers who had fought a hundred battles upon the battlefield, whose wills grew stronger through repeated tempering between life and death until they ultimately became like steel and iron!
Baji Quan (Manifest Strength (600/600) → Heart-Intent Harmony (1/600)
"So this is the effect of a Fundamental Diagram: creating a realm with the heart and tempering the heart through that realm!"
"Just as striking sandbags and piercing paper can train the body and Internal Force, one imagines and constructs the scenario within a Fundamental Diagram, then uses special methods to hypnotize oneself into truly being there. One either experiences the stimulation of life and death or comprehends the grandeur of nature, achieving highly efficient training of Mental Strength and will!"
"Compared to truly fighting a vicious tiger to the death or waging bloody war on a battlefield, it's much safer!"
"I'll try another one!"
Huo Yuanhong picked up another Old Ape Meditation Diagram. After trying it for a while, he found its effect somewhat better than the Hungry Tiger Biting Knife Diagram.
"Another one!"
And so, Huo Yuanhong tried them one by one.
After he had tried all six diagrams in front of him, he noticed another one placed atop the cabinet beside him. It depicted a gigantic mountain supporting the azure heavens, with the inscription "Buzhou Mountain" beside it.
It looked like a Fundamental Diagram as well, so he casually took it down and began practicing with it.
"Huh? This one is good!"
Although constructing the scene was extremely difficult, with Guaranteed Insight constantly correcting and refining it, he forcefully managed to build it.
Huo Yuanhong closed his eyes and imagined himself standing at the foot of the mountain. He raised his head and witnessed with his own eyes that heaven-piercing mountain of immeasurable height toppling down and crushing toward him!
That immense terror and immense shock caused his thoughts and will to condense at an astonishing speed.
In terms of efficiency, it was at least several times greater than the previous six diagrams. In terms of quality, it surpassed them by an unknown number of times!
"This is the one! Master placed this one separately from the other six, so he must have been hinting that I should choose it. As expected of Jin Gate's number one—his eye is truly seasoned!"
Huo Yuanhong nodded in satisfaction, cradling the Buzhou Mountain Fundamental Diagram as he focused on training.
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