Heart Zen Unity Art

Several days passed in the blink of an eye.

That night, Gu Yuanqing sat cross-legged in meditation. His clothes suddenly billowed as an invisible aura swept outward, sending the light objects around him fluttering through the air.

Inside his body, thirty-six Acupoints shimmered with light, echoing one another. Vital Energy surged, and a formation formed naturally!

"Finally, Origin Warrior Ninth Level. The thirty-six Acupoints of the Profound Heaven Art have all been tempered, forming the Profound Heaven Formation. As long as I open a martial Secret Treasury, I can achieve the Profound Martial Realm."

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

"Over these days, I've read quite a few books and gained many insights into cultivation, yet I still only have a hazy understanding of how to begin Profound Martial cultivation. Right now, I'm like a blind man feeling an elephant—I cannot glimpse the whole of it."

"I still need to find a genuine cultivation manual. Otherwise, no matter how outstanding my Comprehension may be, even the cleverest housewife cannot cook without rice."

With all manner of thoughts in his mind, he entered the Mountain Observation state once more. Seeing that the old servant was no longer in the room, he guessed that the man had gone into the fissure to dig another hole.

"There must be hidden mysteries beneath North Spring Mountain, but my Spirit Imbuing is not yet complete, so I cannot sense them."

As Gu Yuanqing observed the mountain every day, his connection with North Spring Mountain grew ever closer. Whenever he calmed his mind, he could vaguely sense the rhythm of the entire mountain, expanding and contracting like breathing.

The phantom image in his mind also became clearer and clearer, like a mirror reflecting the entirety of North Spring Mountain. The range of his perception gradually spread toward the foot of the mountain as well.

"So-called Mountain Observation is the continual merging of my consciousness with North Spring Mountain. If one day I become one with North Spring Mountain and can wield it as I please, then North Spring Mountain will no longer be merely a residence—it will be... a Dao field!"

An hour passed, and Gu Yuanqing "saw" the old man emerge from the fissure empty-handed once more.

"It's time to sleep. They'll be sending things up the mountain again tomorrow. I hope there will be some useful books."

The next day, after cultivating, Gu Yuanqing looked toward the mountain path from afar. The moment he spotted the young eunuch, he hurried over.

Before Gu Yuanqing could speak, the eunuch waved a hand. One of the soldiers lifted a large stack of books from a basket.

"Thank you, thank you. It is a pity that I have nothing of value here on the mountain and cannot repay you, Eunuch, or all the soldiers." Gu Yuanqing accepted them with a beaming smile.

The young eunuch had just begun to smile when it vanished at once. He then turned and gave the soldier a look, and the group hurried down the mountain again.

Gu Yuanqing looked slightly embarrassed. Even if he's worried I might say something, there's no need to act like this, is there?

As usual, he carried the books back to the study and sorted them into categories on the shelves.

But when he picked up a thin booklet, his movements suddenly froze.

"Heart Zen Unity Art?"

Gu Yuanqing picked it up and flipped through it, only to discover that it was actually a cultivation method!

It contained methods from the Origin Scholar Realm all the way to the Profound Martial Realm, even including the path to breaking through to Grandmaster.

The words in the booklet were not printed, but handwritten. The handwriting was elegant and delicate, and judging by the color of the ink, it had clearly been written only recently.

Further on, there were explanatory notes that listed every matter requiring attention for each minor realm.

"This seems to have been written for me. Who could it be? These are clearly a woman's handwriting. Could it be Yuan Ying?"

Gu Yuanying was also a concubine-born daughter of the royal residence and had been rather close to Gu Yuanqing.

"Probably not. Even in the royal residence, only legitimate sons can fully cultivate a method that leads directly to Grandmaster. I've never heard of the Heart Zen Unity Art in the royal residence, and judging by these notes, they absolutely could not have been written by an Origin Scholar. Besides, a concubine-born daughter of the Gu Family would have no way of sending this thing up the mountain!"

"Could it be..." A thought flashed through Gu Yuanqing's mind, but he immediately shook his head and rejected it. He had never known her. Given what had happened, the fact that she had not killed him already counted as mercy.

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

"Never mind. This cultivation method has resolved my pressing need. If I learn who it was in the future, I will express my gratitude then."

He hurriedly placed the other books onto the shelves, then picked up the secret manual again and studied it carefully.

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

Around the hour of the Rooster in the afternoon, Gu Yuanqing finally reached the end of the volume.

"Luckily, there are annotations. If I had truly been given only a secret manual, I would probably still be lost in clouds and mist. The various metaphors, coded phrases, and false characters in these texts are things ordinary people would never be able to make sense of."

Setting down the booklet, Gu Yuanqing brought over the notes he had organized some days ago. Comparing them with the secret manual he had read today, the road ahead in his cultivation gradually became clear in his mind.

"The Heart Zen Unity Art is clearly a tier above the Profound Heaven Art I cultivated. It requires tempering seventy-two Acupoints to reach Origin Warrior Ninth Level."

"Profound Martial Secret Treasuries are divided into six grades: Human Martial, Earth Martial, Heavenly Martial, Mysterious Martial, Saint Martial, and Divine Martial Secret Treasuries. The Profound Heaven Art tempers thirty-six Acupoints and can at most open a Heavenly Martial Secret Treasure, while the Heart Zen Unity Art has the potential to open a Mysterious Martial Secret Treasure!"

Gu Yuanqing's gaze narrowed slightly as his fingers lightly tapped the tabletop.

"I currently have three choices. The Heart Zen Unity Art contains a Spirit Refining Method, as well as techniques for locating Acupoints, determining their positions, and sensing Secret Treasuries. I only need to draw on part of it to open a Heavenly Martial Secret Treasure with the Profound Heaven Art as my foundation."

"The second choice is to switch to the Heart Zen Unity Art and temper my Acupoints anew, perhaps opening a Mysterious Martial Secret Treasure."

"As for the third... above the Mysterious Martial Secret Treasure, there are still the legendary Saint Martial and Divine Martial Secret Treasuries!"

Gu Yuanqing carefully considered his cultivation path. After a moment, he murmured softly, "Opening a Heavenly Martial Secret Treasure with the Profound Heaven Art as my foundation is the first option to eliminate. The possibility of becoming a Grandmaster on that path is far too low!

I am imprisoned here for now, but there is no immediate danger, so I am in no hurry to become Profound Martial. With the aid of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, and with my current aptitude, tempering my Acupoints anew will be quick as well!

Once my cultivation aptitude and Comprehension improve again in the future, I may not be unable to... Then I'll secure the second and strive for the third!"

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

"Of these seventy-two Acupoints, eighteen overlap with the thirty-six Acupoints I have already tempered. That means I still need to temper fifty-four Acupoints. The road is long, but it is worth it!"

Beyond worldly things, the winds and clouds were tranquil; within the mountains, the years stretched long.

Several more months passed in the blink of an eye.

Gu Yuan stood beside a sheer cliff and extended his hand. Several small birds hopped about on it, occasionally taking flight to circle around him before landing on his shoulders and head, gently pecking at his hair.

His manner was relaxed and content, ethereal and refined, growing ever more in harmony with the Green Mountain.

Reading, cultivating, practicing swordsmanship, observing the mountain—or doing nothing at all for an entire day, lying upon a cliffside rock to admire the scenery, watch the sky, and stare blankly into space.

"Life on this mountain is quite good too. Keeping the mountain for company, walking alongside birds and sparrows, far from the clamor of the mortal world, free from worrying over your schemes and mine."

"No need to worry about food or clothing, carefree and without concern. Am I lying flatter here than I ever did in the royal residence?"

Gu Yuanqing smiled, then lowered his head to look beneath a pine tree jutting out from the cliff. That was the site of a newly dug hole, already the third such place he had seen.

With a thought, he turned his head back. The old man's figure entered his sight. At that moment, the man was carrying water, but his gaze was fixed on where Gu Yuanqing stood.

Gu Yuanqing smiled faintly. Perhaps he was worried that I would discover the mystery below.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the birds scattered.

Gu Yuanqing closed his eyes, and the image of all North Spring Mountain entered his sight. Compared with several months ago, his mind had merged more deeply with North Spring Mountain, becoming more compatible with it. It seemed that he needed only a single opportunity to become one with the mountain.

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 become Profound Martial. His understanding of the path of cultivation was no longer what it had once been. Countless insights gathered within his heart, and the outline of a method most suited to his own cultivation had already taken shape!