Heart Zen Unity Art

Several more days passed in the blink of an eye.

At night, Gu Yuanqing sat cross-legged in meditation. His robes suddenly billowed, and an invisible aura swept outward, sending the light objects around him flying.

Within his body, thirty-six acupoints shone in resonance with one another. Driven by vital energy, a formation took shape on its own!

"I've finally reached the Origin Scholar Ninth Level. All thirty-six acupoints of the Profound Heaven Art have been tempered, forming the Profound Heaven Formation. Once I open the Martial Dao Secret Treasury, I can attain the True Martial Realm."

Gu Yuanqing quietly circulated his cultivation art to consolidate his realm. Only after an hour did he let out a long breath.

"I've read quite a few more books lately and gained considerable insight into cultivation, but I still have only a hazy understanding of how to begin cultivating toward the True Martial Realm. Right now, I'm like a blind man feeling an elephant, unable to glimpse the whole."

"I still need to find a way to obtain a genuine cultivation manual. Otherwise, even with extraordinary comprehension, the cleverest cook cannot make a meal without rice."

With these thoughts on his mind, he entered the state of Mountain Observation again. Seeing that the Old Servant was no longer in his room, he guessed the man had gone into the fissure to dig again.

"There must be some hidden mystery beneath Within North Spring Mountain. It's just that I haven't completed Spirit Imbuing, so I can't sense it."

Gu Yuanqing practiced Mountain Observation every day, and his connection with North Spring Mountain grew ever closer. When he quieted his mind, he seemed able to faintly sense the rhythm of the entire mountain, expanding and contracting as though it were breathing.

The phantom image in his mind grew clearer as well, like a mirror reflecting the whole of North Spring Mountain, while the range of his perception gradually extended toward its foot.

"So-called Mountain Observation is the constant blending of my consciousness with North Spring Mountain. If one day the mountain and I become as one, and I can command it at will, then North Spring Mountain will no longer be merely a Residence, but... a Dao sanctuary!"

Two hours passed, and Gu Yuanqing once again "saw" the old man emerge from the fissure empty-handed.

"Time to sleep. More supplies will be brought up from below tomorrow. Hopefully there'll be some useful books."

The next day, after cultivating, Gu Yuanqing watched the distant entrance to the mountain path. When he spotted the young eunuch, he strode over.

Before Gu Yuanqing could speak, the eunuch waved a hand, and a soldier lifted a thick stack of books from a wicker basket.

"Thank you, thank you. Unfortunately, I have nothing to my name up here on the mountain, so I have no way to repay you or these soldiers." Gu Yuanqing accepted them with a broad smile.

The young eunuch was just about to smile, but instantly suppressed it. He then turned and gave the Soldiers a meaningful look, and the group hurried back down the mountain.

Gu Yuanqing looked slightly embarrassed. Even if he's worried about what I might say, surely there's no need to go this far?

As usual, he took the books back to his study and sorted them onto the shelves.

But when he picked up one booklet, his hands abruptly froze.

"Heart Zen Unity Art?"

Gu Yuanqing opened it and discovered that it was actually a cultivation manual!

It contained methods spanning from the Origin Scholar Realm to the True Martial Realm, and even for breaking through to Grandmaster.

The words in the booklet were handwritten rather than printed. The handwriting was graceful, and judging by the color of the ink, it had clearly been written recently.

At the back were explanatory notes, detailing every point that required attention in each minor cultivation level.

"This seems to have been written for me. Who could it be? The handwriting clearly belongs to a woman. Could it be Yuan Ying?"

Gu Yuanying was also a daughter of a concubine in the Prince's Manor, and she was quite close to Gu Yuanqing.

"Probably not. Even in the Prince's Manor, only sons of the principal wife are allowed to learn the entirety of a cultivation method that leads directly to Grandmaster. I've never heard of the Heart Zen Unity Art in the Prince's Manor, either. And judging by these notes, they certainly couldn't have been written by an Origin Scholar. Besides, a daughter of a concubine from the Gu Family wouldn't have any way to send this up the mountain!"

"Could it be..." A thought flashed through Gu Yuanqing's mind, but he immediately shook his head and dismissed it. He had never known her, and after what had happened, her sparing his life was already an act of mercy.

Even after pondering for a long time, Gu Yuanqing could not determine who had sent it.

"Never mind. This cultivation method has put out the fire at my brows. If I learn who it was someday, I'll express my gratitude then."

He hurriedly shelved the other books, then picked up the manual again and studied it carefully.

The book contained only a few tens of thousands of words, but every few sentences, Gu Yuanqing had to flip to the back to consult the explanatory notes.

Around dusk, Gu Yuanqing finally reached the end.

"Fortunately, there are annotations. If I'd really been given only a manual, I'd probably still be lost in clouds and fog. These texts contain all sorts of metaphors, coded phrases, and borrowed characters. An ordinary person wouldn't understand them at all."

Setting down the booklet, Gu Yuanqing retrieved the notes he had organized over the past few days. Comparing them with the manual he had read that day, he gradually began to see the shape of his future cultivation path.

"The Heart Zen Unity Art is clearly a grade above the Profound Heaven Art I cultivate. It requires tempering seventy-two acupoints to reach the Origin Scholar Ninth Level."

"Profound Martial Secret Treasures are divided into six grades: Human Martial, Earth Martial, heavenly martial, mysterious martial, sacred martial, and divine martial secret treasures. Tempering thirty-six acupoints with the Profound Heaven Art can open a heavenly martial secret treasure at most, whereas the Heart Zen Unity Art offers a chance of opening a Mysterious Martial Secret Treasure!"

Gu Yuanqing's gaze sharpened slightly, and his fingers tapped lightly against the desk.

"I currently have three choices. The Heart Zen Unity Art contains a Spirit Refining Method, as well as techniques for locating acupoints and sensing secret treasures. By borrowing a little from it, I can use the Profound Heaven Art as my foundation to open a heavenly martial secret treasure."

"The second choice is to switch to the Heart Zen Unity Art and temper my acupoints anew. Perhaps I could open a Mysterious Martial Secret Treasure."

"As for the third... above the Black Tortoise Secret Treasure are the legendary sacred martial and divine martial!"

Gu Yuanqing carefully considered his cultivation path. After a while, he murmured, "First, I can rule out opening a heavenly martial secret treasure with the Profound Heaven Art as my foundation. The chance of becoming a Grandmaster through that path is too low!

"I'm imprisoned here now, but I'm in no danger for the time being, so there's no hurry to reach the True Martial Realm. With the aid of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi and my current aptitude, tempering my acupoints anew will be quick!"

"Once my cultivation aptitude and comprehension improve again in the future, it might not be beyond me... Then I'll secure the second option while striving for the third!"

Having made his decision, Gu Yuanqing began studying the Heart Zen Unity Art again.

"Of these seventy-two acupoints, eighteen overlap with the thirty-six I've already tempered. That means I still need to temper fifty-four acupoints. It's a long road, but worth it!"

Beyond worldly affairs, the winds and clouds were mild; within the mountains, the days stretched long.

Several more months passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu Yuan stood at the edge of a cliff with his hand extended. A few small birds hopped about on it, occasionally taking flight to circle him before landing on his shoulders or head and gently pecking at his hair.

He looked relaxed and content, his bearing serene and ethereal, growing ever more in harmony with the verdant mountain.

He read, cultivated, practiced his sword, and performed Mountain Observation. He could also spend an entire day doing nothing, lying on the rocks by the cliff, watching the scenery and the sky, and letting his mind wander.

"Life on this mountain is rather nice. With the mountain as my companion and birds by my side, I'm far from the clamor of the human world, with no need to worry about scheming and deceit."

"With food and clothing taken care of and not a care in the world, haven't I taken lying flat even further than I did in the Prince's Manor?"

Gu Yuanqing smiled, then lowered his gaze toward a pine tree growing sideways from the cliff. Beneath it was a newly dug cave—the third he had seen.

With a stir of thought, he turned to look behind him, and the old man's figure appeared in his perception. The man was carrying water, but his gaze was directed toward Gu Yuanqing.

Gu Yuanqing smiled faintly. Perhaps he's worried I'll discover the mystery down below.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the birds around him scattered into the air.

Gu Yuanqing closed his eyes, and the entirety of North Spring Mountain appeared before him. Compared with several months ago, his mind had blended more closely with the mountain, their harmony deepening. It seemed that only a single opportunity was needed for him to become one with it.

Within his body, all seventy-two acupoints of the Heart Zen Unity Art had long since been fully tempered. Yet he was in no hurry to reach the True Martial Realm. His understanding of cultivation was no longer what it once had been. Numerous insights gathered in his heart, and a method best suited to his own cultivation had already begun to take shape!