Highest Good is Like Water Heart Mantra

Most people hugged their arms and shivered beneath the biting Cold Wind.

Ningguta lay in the farthest reaches of the northern frontier, where the environment was exceptionally harsh. In the depths of winter, temperatures could even plunge to sixty or seventy degrees below zero.

Exposed to the elements in such conditions, one would soon die of hypothermia.

Fortunately, it was not yet winter.

Not far away, the few people cowed by Xu Yunfan all wore numb expressions. When they noticed Xu Yunfan's gaze sweep over them, they shrank like quails, not daring to say a word.

A pack who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Xu Yunfan snorted, recalling how these people had bared their fangs and brandished their claws in Jade Capital, arrogant and overbearing.

They had played their way through every brothel in the city.

Li Haomiao, strapped to Xu Yunfan's back, stared blankly at the Desolate River Ice Field ahead and could not help sighing.

"White silk froze across eight hundred li, ice fields sprawled over three thousand rivers.

"The far north truly lived up to its reputation. Back in Jade Capital, I had wanted to see these northernmost lands. Now that I had, they truly lived up to their name."

Xu Yunfan said, "Didn't you see it when you were being escorted here?"

"I was unconscious the whole time."

Just then, Yang Gan's somewhat rough, indifferent voice rang out.

"You have three days of rest. The Stone Houses beside you are your quarters. There is a Warm Spring not far away for bathing. Do not enter any other places without permission. Violators will be beheaded."

No one dared speak. They followed the crowd toward the Stone Houses, and Xu Yunfan went with the flow in silence.

Yet he could clearly sense Yang Gan's icy gaze sweeping over him several times.

"You got me killed."

Li Haomiao naturally understood what Xu Yunfan meant, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

Xu Yunfan glanced back. Li Haomiao's smile wrinkled the three savage scars on his face, making him look especially horrifying and twisted.

"..."

At last, inside the Stone House, they were given a bowl of hot food—vegetable gruel. After finishing it, Xu Yunfan went to the Warm Spring and washed himself clean.

After soaking until every inch of him was warmed through, Xu Yunfan was about to leave when he suddenly spotted Zhou Feng, whom he had not seen for a long time, not far away.

Beside Zhou Feng stood a broad, sturdy man with disheveled hair.

The two were speaking in low voices.

Zhou Feng looked up and saw Xu Yunfan watching him. His expression shifted slightly before he finally turned his head away.

Xu Yunfan sighed inwardly and gave up on going over to greet him.

Most of his attention was on the man beside Zhou Feng. He was certain he had never seen that man in the mine tunnels.

Because they were fairly close, he could clearly see that the man's fingers were not caked with mining dust from long hours of labor.

Xu Yunfan narrowed his eyes. This fellow had infiltrated the place.

Li Haomiao, who had seen it all, said quietly, "Looks like you're fairly sharp."

Xu Yunfan lowered his voice.

"You knew already?"

"This is the best opportunity. Too many people from different factions have gathered here, and it is also the best chance for that Bewitching Woman to sweep up all the rebels in one net."

Li Haomiao's gaze was deep and shadowed. "Find an opportunity and get me out. Very soon, very soon, upheaval will come."

It seemed Zhou Feng had proactively made contact with someone and learned this information.

Xu Yunfan considered it. If not for Li Haomiao's intelligence, he would only have sensed that something was wrong even now.

Then he reacted.

"I'm getting you out?"

Xu Yunfan pointed at himself in a daze. "You mean me?"

Li Haomiao's expression remained calm. "Why not?"

"I don't have that kind of ability. Your courtly struggles have nothing to do with me, so don't drag me into them."

Li Haomiao said, "I can teach you the Morning Sun One Qi Art. Once you have mastered Tendons, Bones, and Skin, use the Morning Sun One Qi Art to unite the External Three Harmonies. From outside to within, temper flesh, blood, marrow, and qi. This is a peerless divine art of the age."

"You teach it first."

"With your temperament, I fear the moment you get it, you'll abandon me without hesitation."

Xu Yunfan said solemnly, "Yan King, your eyes have failed you. I am an upright man, honest and trustworthy, the same within and without, open and aboveboard. How could I break my word so lightly?"

Li Haomiao merely gave a "Heh-heh" and said nothing.

Xu Yunfan was helpless at the sight. This man was also the sort who would not release the hawk before seeing the rabbit. The Morning Sun One Qi Art had to be incomparably precious. If he missed this chance, he might never again have such a good opportunity—or rather, such an easy chance—to obtain a peerless divine art.

After soaking in the Warm Spring a while longer, Xu Yunfan carefully observed the mine slaves around him and was somewhat surprised.

"There are quite a few martial artists."

Li Haomiao said blandly, "Most are from official or noble families. What is strange about them practicing martial arts? Otherwise, how could every overseer possibly possess martial skills?"

His looks had been ruined, and three of his limbs had been broken. No one here knew that the once-renowned Yan King was him.

What caught Xu Yunfan's attention most was a youth in the neighboring Warm Spring, about the same age as himself, whose eyes darted restlessly in every direction.

The lean muscles on his bare upper body were enough to show that he had practiced martial arts for no short time.

"Eh, the son of Grand General of State Fang Wen—Fang Mushan."

Li Haomiao's expression was filled with melancholy as he sighed. "Half the ministers at court have likely become souls beneath that Bewitching Woman's blade. That Grand General of State Fang Wen was a staunch supporter of the late emperor. He has likely been thrown into the Heavenly Prison by now.

"This boy has extraordinary talent for martial arts. He practices the All-Encompassing Sky Spear Technique, and his gifts are exceptional. Do not be fooled by his frail body—his strength is astonishing. Even the late emperor once praised him as a genius capable of fighting above his rank."

After a pause, he said softly, "When the time comes, we can follow him. With him clearing the way, we will be safest."

Xu Yunfan raised a thumb.

"When it comes to selling people out, you're the best."

"..."

By deep night, the straw bedding in nearly thirty Stone Houses was almost filled with people.

Outside, the north wind wailed. The slightest gust felt piercingly cold to the bone.

In a corner, Xu Yunfan faced the wall with his fingers interlocked, both index fingers extended and pressed together. He silently recited the Highest Good is Like Water Heart Mantra.

The Proximity Mantra he had obtained from that human-skin pouch was a cultivation art for refining the mind and spirit.

It carried the meaning of facing matters directly, representing stability of body and mind: remaining unmoved and unshaken when confronted with events, displaying a strong physique and will.

In mystic sect cultivation, it was often used for mental adjustment before entering a state of stillness and concentration, helping cultivators cast aside distracting thoughts, focus their minds, and face every trial and challenge in cultivation with steadfast resolve.

At the same time, reciting this word in battle could keep one calm and composed, allowing one to make the correct judgment.

It was an extraordinary art that aided cultivation.

It could steady the mind and spirit, fortify one's will, and bolster one's consciousness.

According to the Proximity Mantra's description, once cultivated to the extreme, no myriad disturbances of the outside world could affect one. In an instant, one could sense everything around one's body, take in a vast flood of information within a short time, make the most effective judgment, and then reach a decision.

It was an exceptionally terrifying ability. By the standards of immortal-heroic arts, it rendered one unafraid of all manner of illusion techniques, allowing one's body and mind to merge with heaven and earth and enter a state of sudden enlightenment, thereby increasing cultivation efficiency.

It was enough to be called a divine power.

Suppressing the tumult in his heart, Xu Yunfan silently recited the Highest Good is Like Water Heart Mantra, clearing his mind and entering a state of luminous emptiness.

*You are cultivating the Proximity Mantra and reciting the scripture, but you seem not to have grasped the method. You ponder it carefully, yet still cannot make heads or tails of it.*