Spirit-Settling Realm

Liang Qu felt that Jian Zhongyi's gaze at him before leaving was strange, like the disdain of Second Place for a beginner.

Thinking about his own writing, Jian Zhongyi, who had been watching from the side the whole time, shrugged.

It doesn't matter.

He doesn't want to Imperial Examination through the imperial examinations, nor does he plan to participate in the Martial Examination.

I'm off to the clinic to learn medicine.

For the next two days, Liang Qu lived a life revolving around three points: home, work, and shopping.

Every day I wander between the Martial Arts School, underwater, and my home.

Refining through seven stages in three days, the Marsh Essence is obtained from Cockscomb Fruit and Sturgeon King meat, steadily increasing at a rate of seventy points per day, and the fusion degree can increase by two per thousand in three days.

Of the five Water Beast under my command, excluding the recently joined River Dolphin Round Head, the other four are only a little over a hundred points of Marsh Essence away from their second evolution. They should be able to evolve after eating two meals of Sturgeon King meat.

During this time, Liang Qu also dug up a section of lotus root and handed it to the Record Keeper.

After comparison, the Record Keeper initially determined that it was a completely new variety that he had never seen before. He preserved it using special methods and prepared to report it to the Ministry of Revenue. The Grand Minister of Agriculture under the Ministry of Revenue would then identify it, plant it, and determine its value before awarding it credit.

It's another long wait.

Liang Qu always felt this was ridiculous. The unit of information transmission was a month, especially for things that needed constant verification, which meant that the subsequent reward for his invention of Pinyin had not yet been issued.

"Old Li, do you think it's possible to grow Cockscomb Fruit ourselves?"

Liang Qu held the seed of the Cockscomb Fruit in his hand, quite curious about this question.

Liang Qu had become quite familiar with the Record Keeper by exchanging his Minor Merit every day. He knew that the registrar's surname was Li, his name was Li Shoufu, his family was from the capital, and his ancestors had served as fourth-rank officials.

Unfortunately, his father was a disappointment. Li Shoufu was only a third-generation descendant, and he couldn't make a name for himself in the Imperial Examination examinations, so he could only barely manage to become a minor Record Keeper in a remote area.

Li Shoufu rolled his eyes. "If you could grow the things cultivated by the Grand Minister of Agriculture so easily, the fruits would be everywhere on the market by now."

The Cockscomb Fruit was cultivated using Secret Method by the Grand Minister of Agriculture. The fertilizer ratio and planting techniques were very particular, and no one Ministry of Revenue would know about it.

The reason why Cockscomb Fruit River Conservancy Office was because people from the Ministry of Revenue came to provide guidance.

"This fruit is so effective, has no one ever thought of using it?"

"Yes, people die for wealth and birds die for food, how could there not be?" Li Shoufu tapped his pipe. "There are no secrets in this world, let alone the fact that growing things requires a lot of manpower. It's impossible to guarantee that everyone will keep quiet. Someone will always leak information. But if you leak information, you can grow it for your own consumption. Who would dare to trade it in large quantities? Do you know Prince Zhou?"

Liang Qu pointed his index finger to the top of the boat. "That person's elder brother?"

"That's right, it's because of planting this stuff that they lost everything. They seized 120,000 mu of medicinal herb fields and 60,000 mu of ponds, and they'll be prosecuted for treason!"

Liang Qu clicked his tongue in amazement.

After chatting for a while, someone came to register their contributions, so he stopped chatting with Li Shoufu and turned to leave.

"Old Li, who was that guy just now? I saw him carrying several Spirit Monster heads over. He looked very young, but he was so powerful?"

"Hey, you're from the countryside? You only just found out? That's our Commander Xu's disciple, he's got some skills!"

"Goodness, I really didn't know that."

When Liang Qu returned home, there was no sound from the West Wing, and the door was wide open. He had no idea where the Old Monk had gone.

In the past two days, he went out, and the Old Monk followed him out; they were never seen.

According to the Old Monk, he probably went to find that Heretical Monk.

Liang Qu recently learned from reading that Buddhism is actually a very broad concept.

Under the entire Buddhist sect, there are many different schools, the most common being Chan Buddhism) and Pure Land Buddhism, which are also the most numerous schools in the entire Da Shun. In addition, there are the Lun Sect, Tiantai Sect, Xianshou Sect, and even many schools whose lineage has been cut off.

I don't know which sect of Buddhism the Old Monk belongs to.

Judging from his wandering around, he should be a Chan Buddhism monk, a wandering monk, but the Old Monk's words and actions seem strange, unlike an ordinary Chan Buddhism monk.

The most distinctive feature of Chan Buddhism is its fondness for going out to teach and guide others, but we rarely see Old Monk going out to teach others.

I don't understand.

Liang Qu shook his head, opened the book, and continued reading by lamplight.

After several days of hard work, he had finished one of the three books, and when he looked at the so-called "Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Vajra Sutra," he was able to understand more and more.

I used to get confused after just one page, but now I can get confused after three or four pages, and I'm starting to figure things out.

Liang Qu could roughly guess some of the Old Monk's thoughts: he wanted to cultivate the old monk's "interest" through his in-depth study of Buddhism scriptures.

It's a pity.

Compared to his books, Liang Qu believed more that Matter Determines Consciousness, and he was completely indifferent to Buddhism, or rather, he was indifferent to all religions.

The only good thing is the people.

True masters who can restrain their desires and strictly abide by the precepts do exist, but they are one in ten thousand, even rarer than the Hunting Tiger Great Martial Master.

With this perseverance and kindness, one can become a master regardless of whether they believe in anything or nothing at all.

However, once believers form a powerful force, most will take advantage of the chaos, and the ultimate nature of the situation will be debatable.

According to the records Liang Qu had read, Louguan Platform, one of the Five Great True Lineages, along with the Hanging Temple, and the other three, had been involved in numerous scandals over the thousands of years.

It's not uncommon for a disciple to commit adultery with a worshipper or for a master to have an illegitimate child. It's only when someone has enough Fist that a true master occasionally emerges; otherwise, everyone would have already pushed him down when he fell from grace.

In the early morning, after having breakfast, Liang Qu sat in his Quiet Room with his Five Hearts Facing Skyward, his brows furrowed in tranquility.

His blood and Qi and Blood flowed according to the "Myriad Victory Embracing Oneness" method, faintly emitting a red glow.

In Daoist terminology, there is a term called Dan Yuan, which refers to the mind and spirit, or a sincere heart.

The so-called "embracing the essence" means guarding one's mind and spirit, remaining steadfast and unwavering.

When ordinary people encounter danger, they often become uneasy, lose their senses, and make foolish moves out of fear. Some even collapse and become unable to move.

However, if one cultivates to the point of embracing one's inner essence, achieving unity of mind and body, one will naturally be less prone to panic when encountering danger and will always remain calm.

Imagine how much help it would be to remain calm in the midst of a life-or-death struggle? The "Myriad Victory Embracing Oneness" has four levels: calming the Spirit-Settling, Inner Vision, Preserving Spirit, Gale Refinement, each level progressing in turn. The first level, Spirit-Settling, follows the same principle.

Upon reaching this state, the mind is calmed and all thoughts are eliminated.

It also allows the Cultivation Method to run freely while walking, eliminating the need for special meditation.

"With my diligence, I'm finally about to succeed!"

A white mist rose from the empty room as Liang Qu exhaled a long breath of white air in the Quiet Room.

The white vapor, like a three-foot-long sword, lingered for a long time.

A powerful flow of Qi and Blood circulates throughout the body, transforming into surging waves. A hazy red light emanates from the body, weaving a large red net on the surface, faintly tinged with silvery white.

Every pore of my body was breathing, the air was rushing, and my bulging veins were throbbing incessantly.

After a few breaths, the blood-red light on Liang Qu's body suddenly dissipated and receded into his body, his aura becoming unified and primordial.

An unprecedented tranquility.

Liang Qu opened his eyes, stood up, and did not deliberately move his Qi and Blood, but the qi in his body continued to cultivate automatically according to the "Myriad Victory Embracing Oneness" method, endlessly regenerating.

"It's done!"