Crystal Heart Realization

Xu Yan slept until noon, awakened by the clear sound of reading aloud.

Perhaps it was some diligent student. Even while walking beneath the shade of the woods, they did not forget to sway their head as they recited Daoist treatises.

Xu Yan put on Shangyin Academy's black robe, left the courtyard, and followed the path onward.

The moment he entered the Academy's Dao Pavilion, he ran into two familiar faces. Chu Tianzhao was touching his bruised purple-blue cheek, so unsteady on his feet that he nearly could not stand, staggering along.

Beside him stood a timid young girl, cradling several thick Daoist treatises in her arms. She was the junior student who had, when Xu Yan entered the formation yesterday, identified Dragon Spring as a displacement edict-script.

"Xu Yan!" Chu Tianzhao's eyes widened as he pointed at Xu Yan.

"Greetings, Young Master Yan. I am Wang Ru." Wang Ru lowered her eyes shyly.

Xu Yan raised a brow and looked at Chu Tianzhao strangely, as if asking, How did you get in here?

"Xu Yan, why are you looking at me like that?" Chu Tianzhao asked, forcing himself to sound bold. He hurriedly lowered the finger pointing at Xu Yan and awkwardly hid it behind his back.

Only after the words left his mouth did he realize that he was speaking to someone from Prince Wu'an's Residence. A wave of lingering fear rose within him, yet his youthful pride kept him from wanting to lose face.

Before Xu Yan could say anything, an older student in the distance saw them and immediately jogged over, raising a hand as he loudly rebuked them, "Do not be disrespectful to a teacher! The two of you—afternoon lessons have already begun. What are you still doing here?"

The two hurriedly ran into the pavilion. Chu Tianzhao staggered and even fell once.

"So clumsy." The older student's face was stern as he spoke irritably. Then, turning to Xu Yan, his expression changed completely, and he smiled. "Fourteenth Teacher, are you going to Rain-Listening Tower?"

The form of address made goosebumps rise on Xu Yan's skin. This older student truly had a remarkable disposition—he could call a boy of fourteen or fifteen, with such youthful features, "Teacher" without changing expression.

"Yes."

"Please follow me, Teacher. I'll take you there." The older student extended a hand. As they walked, he began introducing himself. "Teacher Yan, I am Liu Yun, from East Wan Commandery, sixteen this year..."

Rain-Listening Tower had nine floors and housed a million volumes of books.

To Xu Yan, this was undoubtedly an immortal realm in the mortal world. The scent of ink filled his nostrils, as soothing as a spring breeze.

Rather than seeking instruction from the masters, he might gain even more insight by studying on his own.

"Review the old, and know the new."

From childhood to adulthood, Xu Yan had always upheld this belief. With the ancient jade on his person, the time he could devote to reading and study far surpassed that of ordinary people.

He remained there until dusk descended, then finally stretched and walked out of Rain-Listening Tower.

It is time to go to Plum Mountain Ravine, Xu Yan thought.

The journey of less than three li made every step unbearably difficult.

The yin energy behind the mountain was immensely heavy, more piercing than the cold of a great snow year, as though blades and swords were scraping against Xu Yan's flesh and bones.

By the time he reached the cliff's edge, Xu Yan felt as though he had been stripped of a layer of skin.

Gritting his teeth, he bent his somewhat stiff legs and sat cross-legged. Within the ravine, the wind still howled, and he could vaguely hear underground springwater flowing, as pleasant as soft bells.

"Crystal Heart Realization... under such terrible conditions, how can one possibly keep the spiritual platform empty and clear?"

Xu Yan struggled to calm himself. His entire body trembled uncontrollably, and after only half an incense stick's time, his lips had already turned purple.

When he could no longer endure it, Xu Yan rose and practiced the body-tempering art within the Ancient Solar Record. Only then did he feel somewhat better.

Six hours later, Xu Yan returned to his courtyard, exhausted.

The next day was the same.

By the third day, his physical body and innate bones seemed to be slowly adapting.

Half a month later, Xu Yan had completely adapted to the yin energy of Plum Mountain Ravine. Like an old pine, he sat firmly at the cliff's edge, invisible Shangyin energy circling around him, his spiritual platform incomparably empty and clear.

Let wind and rain lash at me; I remained unmoved as a towering mountain.

On a small mountain in the distance, Yan Qing and Qiu Yunji watched him, their eyes full of surprise. Yan Qing casually sighed. "A youth blessed with early wisdom is likely to die young."

After saying that, he even put on a convincing show of pinching his fingers as he calculated.

Qiu Yunji remained expressionless upon hearing this. "Then, Senior Brother, why are you not dead?"

"Cough, cough. Speak of him if you must—why bring me into it?" Yan Qing nearly choked. For a moment, he did not know how to respond, his expression somewhat awkward. Helplessly, he laughed. "Junior Sister's words are indeed sharp, piercing straight to the point. But sometimes they make no sense at all, yet still leave one unable to refute them."

"Compared with Senior Brother, Xu Yan still falls short. He accumulated his learning day by day through reading, which is why his attainments far exceed those of his peers. Senior Brother, since I entered the Academy, I have never seen you set foot in Rain-Listening Tower even once. Yet you still became the top scholar in the literary examination of the Dragon Gate Examination back then. It truly is unbelievable." Qiu Yunji spoke each word with a solemn expression.

Yan Qing ignored her and changed the subject on his own.

After watching Xu Yan for a while longer, the two began discussing other matters.

"Eldest Senior Brother sent word yesterday. The Seven Absolutes of Imperial City and Nangong Wenqiu are all heading for Mang Mountain," Qiu Yunji said.

"Perhaps some clue concerning an ancient Daoist tome has emerged from its depths again." Yan Qing spread his hands.

"Senior Brother, keep an eye on them. Do not let them affect the Academy," Qiu Yunji said.

"If it is not for an ancient hidden Daoist tome, they will not fight. If some ancient treasure emerges, the outcome will not be decided in a day or two. It will take at least one or two years." Having said that, Yan Qing stopped paying attention to his stubborn junior sister and immediately rode the wind away.

Time flowed on. Winter passed, spring arrived, and another year flew by like an arrow.

The twelfth-month plum blossoms of Shangyin bloomed and withered, withered and bloomed again, repeating in endless cycles.

After the Shangsi Festival, students gradually returned to Shangyin Academy.

At Plum Mountain Ravine behind the mountain, upon the steep cliff, a young man sat in quiet meditation. Naturally, it was Xu Yan.

He was already fifteen years old. Without realizing it, he had grown a little taller, and his features had matured somewhat. Other than that, his appearance had scarcely changed.

A thin layer of frost covered his black scholar's robe. His eyes were tightly shut, and no breath could be detected from him.

This was the longest he had ever spent seeking the Dao in Plum Mountain Ravine—ten full days. He had abstained from the five grains, never taken even half a step from that spot, and even his breathing had become exceedingly faint.

Over the past year, Xu Yan spent his days reading and studying in Rain-Listening Tower, then meditated in Plum Mountain Ravine after dusk to contemplate the Dao. His life was monotonous, repeating day after day, but Xu Yan found some joy in it.

He lived such days in peace and comfort.

It was not until the following morning, when the golden fragments of dawn poured down upon him and melted the thin frost covering his body, that Xu Yan's eyelids stirred.

Then he suddenly opened his eyes.

His brown pupils were incomparably clear, pure and transparent as crystal glass.

"So this is the reason behind what they call Crystal Heart Realization..." Xu Yan seemed lost in thought.

He could roughly guess why Master Xun had made him come here to meditate in seclusion—to temper his state of mind and forge his innate bones.

Investigate things to understand principle; extend knowledge and act with steadfastness. Clarify the heart that seeks the Dao, and establish the will to cultivate.

As he considered this, the hesitation vanished from Xu Yan's expression. He rose and returned toward the Academy, walking without pause. He stepped upon the Jade Steps of Evolving Script and headed straight for Plum Mountain's summit.