Thirty-Six Thousand Arts, the Foundation of All Arts

(Please bookmark, tip, and vote... I almost feel bad asking when there's no bonus chapter...) But these Grudge Ghosts clearly knew none of that. Cowed by the Thunder Bead's power, they dared not approach Tang Changsheng, yet refused to retreat. For a time, the two sides remained locked in a standoff.

Tang Changsheng gave a muffled grunt and desperately focused his mind, trying to kindle his Heavenly Heart.

Some people lost their heads completely in a panic. Others found immense reserves of potential awakened by danger.

Tang Changsheng was plainly one of the latter. In this perilous standoff, his mind became unusually focused, while every stray thought flew beyond the nine heavens.

In less than half the time it took an incense stick to burn, he kindled his Heavenly Heart. A faint radiance shone from between his brows.

With his Heavenly Heart awakened, his six senses sharpened dramatically. Things ordinary people could neither see nor sense appeared before his eyes.

Now, within his Heavenly Heart, Tang Changsheng visualized the Guardian Divine General of the General's Temple: a blue face, protruding fangs, golden armor, and an iron whip in hand. Two precious orbs rested on his shoulders, one the sun and the other the moon.

Ordinary people could not make out the figure he visualized. They would only sense that Tang Changsheng had taken on an imposing air of authority.

But to the ghosts, it was entirely different. Behind Tang Changsheng, they could see the faint outline of a Divine General appear. Ferocious in aspect, he looked ready to swing the Steel Whip in his hand and strike down any ghost he saw!

The ghosts still facing him down took fright at once and fled, turning into ashen wisps.

This was Preserving the Spirit, one of the Daoist tradition's most important inner practices.

At its deepest level, it could even call upon true deities and Divine Generals to deal with ghosts and monsters. It was the foundation of all Daoist supernatural arts and spells.

Tang Changsheng had only just kindled his Heavenly Heart. With too little inner cultivation, the Divine General he projected through visualization had blurred features and form without substance. It could do little more than frighten these ghosts...

Even so, the Divine General's appearance sent the dozens, perhaps a hundred, Grudge Ghosts fleeing in panic.

Preserving the Spirit consumed the radiance of his Heavenly Heart at a tremendous rate. After only a few breaths, Tang Changsheng could bear no more and had to withdraw the ability.

His legs went weak all the same, and he could barely stand. In that brief span, he had exhausted all the vital essence, energy, and spirit in his body.

This was still a dangerous place. Having only just scared the ghosts away, Tang Changsheng did not dare linger.

He swallowed a specially prepared pill. Once its effects began to spread and warmth rose from his dantian, he found the strength to hurry out of that eerie place.

He headed into the distance. The safest thing to do now would have been to cross back immediately.

But Tang Changsheng had not forgotten why he had come to this world.

He wanted to test whether his sect's claim was true: after the great calamity, had his own world really become so lacking in spiritual energy that cultivation was difficult?

Had he managed to kindle his Heavenly Heart because he had spent a few days cultivating at Primordial Yang Abbey on his last visit?

Unfortunately, he had not kindled his Heavenly Heart then. Unable to look inward, he had not understood the subtle changes that occurred as his body absorbed spiritual energy...

After coming all this way, Tang Changsheng had no intention of giving up halfway! His future cultivation depended on it!

As daylight broke, he looked around. Mountains rose and fell beneath a lush green canopy. He was deep among the peaks, and the scenery was exceptionally beautiful.

"The surroundings are lovely. Perhaps I could build a hut in the mountains nearby and cultivate here..."

The more he looked, the more satisfied he felt. Few people came this way; he saw only the occasional traces left by hunters or herb gatherers.

For dozens of miles around, there was no sign of habitation. This was no dangerous place like last night's mass grave, and there was water nearby...

Best of all, Tang Changsheng found a natural cave nearby.

That would even spare him the trouble of building a hut...

The only problem was that the cave might be a resting place used by mountain folk when they came to hunt.

Its entrance had been closed off and concealed. Inside, someone had spread dry grass on the ground and hung up dried meat, rice, and other provisions.

Tang Changsheng knew that in his own world, people in some remote mountain regions had once observed similarly simple customs.

Hunters and herb gatherers would build huts in the mountains, leaving firewood, food, and other supplies for those who came after them.

In turn, anyone who stayed there would replenish the firewood and food before leaving...

Tang Changsheng lived on Yin-Yang Mountain and was rather old-fashioned. Hunting was not unfamiliar to him.

He knew that mountain hunters generally chose to hunt in autumn.

For one thing, food was plentiful then, and the animals were fat and strong. For another, such hunters often had other work and went into the mountains only when farm work was slack...

It was now spring or summer. Even if he stayed for ten days or half a month—perhaps even a month or two—he might not meet a single hunter.

And if he did, so what? Mountain folk were generally plain and hospitable. Besides, Tang Changsheng could fight. What did he have to fear?

In short, Tang Changsheng soon decided to stay.

Each morning he gathered the sun's essence, and each night the moon's. Otherwise, he sat quietly and honed his Heavenly Heart. The spiritual energy here truly was far more abundant than in his own world; he even felt as though his cultivation advanced a thousand miles a day.

What Tang Changsheng did not know was that, on the night he practiced Preserving the Spirit and visualized the Protector King Divine General, a subtle change occurred in the General's Temple!

As Tang Changsheng practiced Preserving the Spirit, a layer of spiritual light flickered over the Deity Statue.

The entire Deity Statue took on a different quality, as though it had come alive...

The Soul Jade beneath the altar withdrew its light even further, not daring to reveal the slightest sign of anything unusual!

The first step in cultivation was kindling the Heavenly Heart. In the General's Temple's own mnemonic, it was described thus: "The Heavenly Heart holds a true aperture, like a spark among the stars. Hold that light steady, and set foot on the road to immortality!"

That showed how difficult and important this step was!

Yet important though kindling the light of the Heavenly Heart was, it was only the beginning. The next step was the Spirit Terrace.

The General's Temple's mnemonic said: "The Heavenly Heart turns without cease; the Spirit Terrace stands unmoved. Of thirty-six thousand arts, this is the foundation of them all."

Only by keeping the Heavenly Heart ever bright, forging the Spirit Terrace, and illuminating the Sea of Consciousness could one establish the true foundation of cultivation.

Otherwise, Tang Changsheng would have to wait until he had kindled his Heavenly Heart whenever he wanted to use a spell. Drawing Talismans that did not need to be activated on the spot was one thing, but if he needed to cast a spell immediately, who would give him half an hour or an hour to sit and meditate?