Heart Hearing

So Li Fan moved the statue of the Earth God down and replaced it with the statue of the Thousand-Faced Immortal. He also set up an array to protect his physical body when he left his body, and then waited quietly for nightfall.

Li Fan thought that Moon Worship for one night would be fine, but he didn't expect that before he could even leave his body, another side quest would be triggered.

As dusk fell, many people entered the mountains. Li Fan could sense with his Divine Sense that there were about three to five hundred people searching the mountains in groups. They were divided into teams of ten or more, conducting a net-like search, heading straight into the deep, pathless old forests. This was definitely not a normal hunting or logging operation.

Moreover, these people are all between the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment stages, and they should all be hunters or martial artists from nearby villages and towns. Few of them have seriously cultivated, so they are probably not here for Li Fan.

Although these people were still some distance from the Earth God Temple, and there was a magic array outside to conceal them, they shouldn't be able to find Li Fan. But how could he feel at ease Moon Worship under such circumstances? So Li Fan had no choice but to teleport underground to find out what tricks these people were up to.

Li Fan understood it after listening from a distance.

They were looking for someone, and they had to shout it out loud. The person they were looking for was named Lin Cheng, or some other Lin, or some other Cheng—it didn't matter. What mattered was that this kid was the illegitimate son of the Lin Family, a military household in the nearby garrison. He was a traitor who had murdered his father and brother, stolen the family's Cultivation Method, and kidnapped his sister to escape.

Li Fan curled his lip. Wow, there are just too many plots like this in the world of Xianxia. It's definitely abnormal not to encounter one at least once. He bet Iron Buddha's head that Lin Cheng was framed. After all, he killed his father and brother, stole his skills and ran away, so why would he bring along a burdensome younger sister? Nine times out of ten, he's just a dead sister-obsessed guy who's been framed and has a blood feud...

So Li Fan focused his Divine Sense and quickly located the brother and sister climbing the foot of the mountain. However, upon closer inspection, Li Fan suddenly realized something was wrong.

He leaped to the top of a branch and stood behind it, watching the boy struggling to climb the tree below.

This boy must have been fifteen or sixteen years old, at the peak of the Qi Refining Stage, but probably due to his family's circumstances, he hadn't yet obtained any Heavenly Treasure treasures to Foundation Establishment. And this young man really did kidnap his sister and run away. He literally tied a six or seven-year-old girl behind her back with iron chains. However, he had lost his right hand, and although he used some medicine and his own willpower to escape this far, the pursuers had already tracked him down.

As for the younger sister, she used to be a rather cute child, but now she's a ghoul.

Yes, there is probably someone here who killed his father and brother, but it shouldn't be Lin Cheng, the one-armed boy who got beaten black and blue.

"Just... just a little longer... beyond this mountain... there's a local temple... let's hide there... you remember... sob... we went there together... sob... I remember, Lin Xiang..."

"Even if you cry your eyes out, she won't come back." Li Fan looked into the little girl's eyes and touched her forehead. "She wasn't simply infected with evil energy; she was given a drug to turn her into a demonic corpse."

"What! Who!" Lin Cheng was shocked and drew his short sword from his waist, slashing behind him, but it would be a miracle if he could even hit it.

Li Fan circled around him, snatched the chain binding the boy's sister from his body, and leaped to the treetop with it in his hand.

"Ah--Give it back! Give it back to me!" Lin Cheng was pulled and fell, only able to collapse under the tree and shout weakly, frantically slashing wildly with his knife.

"Kid, don't be ungrateful. I'm trying to save you. You'd be a ghost if you climbed up the mountain like that. Besides, she's beyond saving. Your hand was torn off, it's tainted with evil energy for too long, it'll turn into a zombie." Li Fan rolled his eyes at him, picked up the zombie girl and examined her. "These chains have talismans on them, specifically for binding corpses. You, a garrison soldier, have something like this? Oh, I see, is your father planning to sell your sister to raise money for your Foundation Establishment?"

"Bastard! You evil Daoist! Give me back my sister! She's not dead! She's not dead! I beg you!" Lin Cheng stabbed the knife into the ground, took two steps back, knelt down, and kowtowed. "Immortal, I beg you! She just couldn't stand the drug, she didn't mean to hurt us! She still remembers me! She even quietly let me tie her up and follow her! There's still hope! Please spare her!"

"When the Fiend Corpse first mutated, it still retained some humanity, but it was too young, and its soul hadn't been refined. After seven days, its soul will dissipate, and then this Devil Embryo will devour your blood and flesh!" Li Fan rolled his eyes. "But I reckon that since you're always hanging out with her, you really won't last seven days before you transform into a fiend yourself. What, you two still want to be the Black Wind Duo, living a life on the run? Better a short, sharp pain than a long, drawn-out one..."

"Waaaah! It's all my fault! I'm useless, I can't get a ranking and therefore can't Foundation Establishment. Immortal, I beg you to save Lin Xiang, this has nothing to do with her!" Lin Cheng kept kowtowing, his head bleeding from the effort.

Li Fan rolled his eyes, made two gestures—one to freeze the corpse's movements, and the other to stop the bleeding from its severed arm. Then he hung the corpse on a tree, jumped down from the branch, landed in front of Lin Cheng, pinched his bones, and stuffed a Golden Core into his mouth, saying...

"Well, I hate people who go to extremes, so don't say I didn't give you a chance. What's your name?"

The one-armed boy hesitated for a moment, then said, "Lin, Lin Chen. Chen from the Imperial Residence in the North Chen Palace..."

"Oh my! Why did your dad give you such a name? Are you trying to rebel?"

"No, my family used to be part of the Imperial Guard of the North Chen Palace..."

"Uh, whatever." Li Fan tossed out eight talisman flags, forming an Eight Gates Golden Lock Formation. He then swept away the fallen leaves and used his finger strength to write a Cultivation Method on the ground. "This one is the <Tai Sha Dengyun Feixian Method>, which can refine a demonic corpse into a guardian immortal corpse that is as responsive as a fingertip."

Lin Chen's eyes lit up when he heard that.

"Your family's cultivation method is the same as that of the Immortal Palace Imperial Guards, which doesn't conflict with the origin of this Cultivation Method. Moreover, you and this fiendish corpse are blood relatives, so it's probably possible to successfully subdue it. Therefore, I'm giving you a chance. If you can learn this technique tonight, I might consider sparing your lives. If you can't, well, that's your fate, and I will have to exorcise the demon."

Li Fan released Lin Chen's acupoints and then disappeared into the shadows to maintain his aloof and dignified demeanor as a reclusive master.

"Thank you, immortal! Thank you, immortal!" Lin Chen kowtowed three more times on the ground, then rushed to the Cultivation Method to study it.

Li Fan hid behind and watched the boy's back.

Whether Lin Chen can cultivate his sister into an immortal is actually irrelevant. With the Eight Golden Locks here, the pursuers outside can't get in, and the pursuers inside can't get out. Anyway, they'll have to spend the night on this mountainside. As long as they don't disturb his Moon Worship, that's all that matters.

Moreover, although Li Fan didn't think this kid could comprehend Luo Feng's ascension technique in just one night, what if a miracle happened? If all else failed, he would just give the kid a chance to calmly reflect. Sometimes, people have to learn to let go in order to grow.

So Li Fan let go, leaving this side quest to develop as it pleased, while he returned to the mountain's earth god temple to Moon Worship, or rather, to worship the Thousand-Faced Immortal.

So, with a blink of an eye, Li Fan's spirit left his body and ascended directly to the moon.

The coordinates of this Thousand-Faced Immortal statue are locked to the centipede-shaped crater on the moon. Theoretically, no matter where you are in the world, as long as you can see the Moon at night, you can worship it.

Lately, things haven't been going smoothly. This time, the Mountain Lord isn't here at all, the little house on the moon is empty, and the Blood Pool is completely still. I wonder what the Mountain Lord is busy with all this time, appearing and disappearing like a ghost. What kind of enlightenment can one possibly gain from trying to comprehend the Dao on the moon?

Li Fan's time was limited, so he first flew to the centipede's back to read the scriptures.

Although he hadn't mastered the Blind Observation Technique, Li Fan urgently needed one or two combat skills that he could use in his primordial spirit state to fight and seize the Heavenly Book. Even though he hadn't fully mastered the Blind Observation Technique, he would continue reading the Ink Mountain Heavenly Book and hopefully find a couple of attack spells similar to the Jueyin Zhoumie Xian Guang.

However, to Li Fan's utter dismay, the scriptures on the centipede's shell were still not combat skills, but rather auxiliary skills.

The second chapter, titled "The Heart Hearing Method," quotes the words of the Great Master: "To understand the meaning by following what is heard is the observation of the mind; to grasp the meaning by holding onto what is said is the discernment of the mind." It details the two methods of mindful observation and mind discernment for further analysis and screening of what is seen and heard in the Tai Su Realm.

In plain terms, it means that even with the information obtained through blind observation and hearing, one still needs to carefully observe and understand it to grasp its meaning, and carefully discern it to extract usable and meaningful information.

In fact, based on the cases recorded in the Heart Hearing Method and Li Fan's own personal experiences, this is indeed a very important Dharma. Whether it's the Tai Su Realm or the Void Abyss, there are far too many unknown and dangerous things in this world. If you don't discover something early enough, it's a dead end. But if you actually hear some information, it's also a dead end.

Therefore, it is absolutely unwise to accept everything one sees and hears without filtering or discernment. Harmful and misleading information must be eliminated, and what remains is the 'Tao'.

To put it more clearly, the Gu Guan Method is to capture as much noise as possible from the Void Abyss, while the mental hearing method is a sieve and filter. The mental observation method analyzes and extracts the information from these noises, while the mental discernment method distinguishes whether this information is harmful. Only in this way can the brain accept and understand what is finally extracted.

So how do we distinguish them?

Here, the Moshan lineage returns to the concept of 'heart' and 'human heart.' They use the human heart as a scale to measure whether the information obtained through blind observation is correct or incorrect, beneficial or harmful. Losing the human heart is unacceptable; it's that simple.

In practical terms, it means testing each case one by one, testing people's hearts.

If only the physical form changes while the human heart remains the same, then it is still a way.

If a person's heart changes, even if they still maintain a human form, they are a demon who must be killed immediately.

The vast majority of the Revered Heavenly Demon on the five peaks of Mo Mountain, and countless pioneers of Mo Mountain, perished during the 'test of the heart' process.

But they also left their footprints; on the centipede shell behind them, countless diary entries, like unfinished diaries, are carved.

These are not only the 'observations' of these predecessors exploring the Tai Su Realm, but also the 'noises' that can lead to 'human hearts' being misled, discovered only by the pioneers who risked their lives to test and learn. Subsequent disciples can only go further if they first know what these 'noises' are that they cannot listen to.

And this account of 'noise' seems to stretch on and on.

To be generous and ready to die for one's cause—is this the way of Moshan?

'Li Fan has mastered <Mind Observation>'

'The Cultivation Method is being evaluated'

'Mindful observation, the method of primordial spirit, enhances the ability to analyze and process known signals. Improves the efficiency of perceiving known types of targets.'

'Li Fan has mastered the art of "Heart Debate"'

'The Cultivation Method is being evaluated'

'Mindful discourse, the method of primordial spirit, effectively combats interference from known noise and reduces the probability of mood deterioration due to exposure to unknown signals.'

This method, which enhances the efficiency of Divine Sense in detecting and locking onto enemies, is more suitable for long-range sword fighting. However, the most important function of Mind Debate is to eliminate harmful noises that cannot be heard.

To some extent, the art of discernment and Li Fan's calmness have a similar effect.

These are still just enhancements to target acquisition capabilities; no matter how advanced the radar is, it's useless without weapons...

"Which one is the attack skill...?"

Who are you going to fight this time?

Li Fan turned his head and saw the Mountain Lord standing behind him, carrying a huge human head on his shoulder. The head was as big as a hot air balloon, with sallow, withered skin and a balding man with a thick beard. A dent had been punched in the middle of the bald spot, probably from the Mountain Lord's slap. The four eyeballs on the head were bulging out like goldfish eyes from the blow. Blood and brain matter gushed from the mouth and nose, spraying all over the Mountain Lord like a torrent... But he was wearing a bright red robe anyway, so it didn't matter...

"Ah, it's... to steal the Heavenly Book..." Li Fan couldn't help but stare at the head, unable to tell whether it was an illusion, a soul, or a physical entity.

"Aren't all these heavenly books enough for you to read?" The mountain lord casually pointed to the centipede at his feet. "You can learn them one by one, and when you 'read' them all, you will be able to learn the method to destroy all things."

The mountain lord, carrying the enormous head, leaped up and plunged into the pool of blood with a splash. Heaven knows how he managed to stuff such a large head inside...

Anyway, he probably couldn't bring it back, Li Fan shrugged and looked at the notes of the seniors from Moshan behind him.

Thinking about it carefully, there's actually no need to learn any extra skills.

Because the mountain lord only has one trick up his sleeve, which allows him to make a living anywhere.

The Ghost Hand should be enough.

Li Fan opened his eyes and checked his feelings.

0.3k/5.9k, charging progress is 5.9k/5.9k.

The battery is overflowing...

There was nothing he could do about it. The later chapters of the Heart Hearing Method included two sections on Mind-Observation and Mind-Discrimination, as well as a large amount of 'miscellaneous' descriptions. Moreover, Li Fan hadn't finished reading them yet. So, he figured he could just let it all go. He could catch up on it after spending two days wandering around Tai Su.

Anyway, let's start with the lottery! Come on! System, give me a flying sword! Make it powerful! We've gone through so many rounds, the guaranteed drop should be here by now! Flying sword! Flying sword! Flying sword!

'Prize being delivered'

'The flying sword has been delivered'

"Oh my god!!! I actually won!!!"

Li Fan almost flew into the air. He quickly grabbed the object that had been sent from the void and examined it. His smile froze on his face. "System, what is this?"

'Flying sword...'

"Sword my foot! Isn't this a bracelet?!"

If he's not blind, this is a jade bracelet, the kind women wear on their wrists... or ankles, it's a bracelet anyway!

'The prototype of the Jade Purity Flawless Flying Sword has been delivered. It is an item created based on the analysis of <<Jade Pure Jade Quality Flawless Escape>> and <<Jade Pure Return to Dust Primordial Qi Technique>>, as well as scanning of native flying swords.'

The currently unlocked features are:

Firstly, it is an active feature; it can consume Yuqing Zhenyuan to activate the flying sword.

Secondly, it is an active feature; one can consume Yuqing Zhenyuan to retrieve the flying sword.

Thirdly, it is an active skill; it can consume Yuqing Zhenyuan to repair the flying sword.

Ugh... the stuff the system gives us is getting worse and worse. This 'flying sword' only has three attributes. And the fact that it consumes true essence for every trip, return, and repair is just too weak!

Well, it's just a prototype after all. The system's product line needs improvement and upgrades, so I can understand. Sword bracelet... a bracelet it is then. Sword pellet is a ball, isn't it?

Li Fan comforted himself for a moment, then tried to inject Yuqing Zhenyuan into the jade bracelet in his hand to activate it. The bracelet was visibly dyed black.

Could it be that it's transformed into the same material as his carbonized skin? In terms of toughness, it should be no less than a typical Golden Core flying sword, right?

Li Fan tried to control the bracelet using the sword-controlling technique of the Beichen Sword Sect, but he didn't know if it was a product of the system or if it was incompatible with the native flying sword operating system, but the bracelet didn't react at all.

So Li Fan thought about how to use the other system items, aimed his Divine Sense at the big tree outside the earth god temple, and threw the black bracelet in his hand out like a ring toss.

The bracelet-shaped flying sword vanished in the next instant, with a crisp 'snap', it got stuck in the tree trunk. Well, that flying sword was quite powerful; it couldn't even cut through a tree...

Sigh, it's a prototype after all. At least it's pretty fast; there wasn't even Sword Light... Hmm?

Li Fan suddenly paused, frowned, and vaguely felt that something was wrong. So he snapped his fingers and tried to recall his flying sword.

With a 'ding,' the black bracelet returned to his palm, and it was incredibly hot.

"Hiss..."

Li Fan frowned as he stared at the 'flying sword' that had been burned into his palm. He quickly covered his palm with charcoal skin, glanced at the tree outside, hesitated for a moment, then turned around, locked his Divine Sense onto the tree trunk, and activated the bracelet in his hand.

The bracelet disappeared in an instant.

Then a soft 'snap' sound came from behind.

Li Fan slowly turned his head and watched as the big tree cracked and fell, the bracelet firmly embedded in its heartwood.

This time, Li Fan 'saw' it clearly.

Strictly speaking, this flying sword didn't fly out on its own; it was directly teleported to the coordinate point.

Oh... System, what have you created...?