Mystic Heaven Art

Picking up a Sacred Bone Slip, Xia Yu took a deep breath and pressed it against his forehead.

The next moment, his consciousness flowed into it.

When he opened his eyes, he found himself inside a space.

A stone path lay beneath his feet. He looked up to see a bamboo forest.

A rustling sound drifted through the air.

Xia Yu looked around and realized it was the wind stirring the bamboo leaves.

Each stalk of green bamboo was thick enough at its base to require both arms to encircle it, and stood over a hundred feet tall.

The canopy of the entire bamboo-covered mountain swayed gently in the breeze.

How could there be wind here?

Xia Yu was puzzled. He knew perfectly well that he had entered not with his physical body, but only with his consciousness.

In that case, this should also be a space of consciousness.

Could a space of consciousness really be this lifelike?

Although he had read about such things in a book, seeing it with his own eyes was still profoundly awe-inspiring.

Indeed, reading ten thousand books was no substitute for traveling ten thousand miles.

Books also said that reading ten thousand volumes could lead one to divine understanding, but to truly reach that understanding, one still had to walk the road, step by step.

Reading alone was merely theory.

Theory and practice were both indispensable.

Once he understood this, Xia Yu suddenly felt that even his consciousness had become considerably clearer.

He had no idea how profoundly the realization he had at this moment would affect his entire life.

Taking a deep breath, he followed the stone path forward.

The stone path stretched deep into the forest. Xia Yu kept his gaze straight ahead, walking neither hurriedly nor slowly, his steps firm.

At the end of the path, halfway up the mountain, stood a bamboo house.

The two-story bamboo house had been built atop a large rock.

With a single glance, Xia Yu knew that it offered the best view of the sea of bamboo.

Reaching the door, Xia Yu stopped and straightened his clothes.

"This junior, Xia Yu, pays his respects to you, Senior," Xia Yu said respectfully.

The rustling continued, but no one answered him.

After waiting a good while, Xia Yu bowed respectfully and said, "This junior, Xia Yu, pays his respects to you, Senior."

The rustling continued as before, and still no one acknowledged him.

A little later, Xia Yu bowed with utmost respect and said, "Since you have no intention of appearing, Senior, I apologize for the intrusion. I shall take my leave!"

With that, Xia Yu turned and walked away.

There was still no response from the bamboo house, and Xia Yu did not stop.

Maintaining the same unhurried pace as when he had arrived, he returned to where he had entered.

One more step forward would take him out of this space of consciousness. A gate of light stood there.

Without the slightest hesitation, Xia Yu stepped through.

The next moment, light flashed before his eyes, yet his consciousness did not return to his body.

Instead, the bamboo house stood before him.

"Boy, is your heart not sincere?" A leisurely, resonant voice rang out from inside the bamboo house.

"Senior, I know that sincerity brings results. My heart is utterly sincere!" Xia Yu said calmly.

"You, sincere? Utter nonsense!" The voice sounded somewhat angry as it said coldly, "Who seeks a master without either kneeling at the door for days or performing three kneelings and nine kowtows? Do you not understand that the Dao is not lightly imparted?"

"Senior, I read something in a book: people should respect one another. Respect is not merely something spoken aloud, nor is it shown by my kneeling before you for several days. It is held in the heart."

"If you are willing to teach me your arts, Senior, then you are my master. A master is a teacher who is like a father-that is what makes him a master. And so, I would respect you as I would my own father."

"If you have not taught me your arts, then you are not my master. To me, Senior, you are merely an elder I do not know. It is enough that I respect you in my heart as an unfamiliar elder. Nothing else is necessary."

"And since you did not appear for so long, I naturally ought to leave. Not disturbing you or pestering you unreasonably is also a matter of the most basic respect."

Xia Yu finished speaking, neither servile nor overbearing. For a long time, no sound came from within the bamboo house.

A long while later...

"You bookish types have so many damned twisted arguments. Come up here and brew me some tea!"

As the words were spoken, the scene before Xia Yu changed, and he was already on the second floor of the bamboo house.

Before him sat a middle-aged man in a blue robe, sporting a fine beard.

A bamboo table stood before the blue-robed man, with a tea set atop it.

"This junior, Xia Yu, pays his respects to you, Senior!" Xia Yu saluted respectfully.

"Brew the tea!" The man did not even lift his eyelids.

"Yes," Xia Yu answered.

He boiled the water, rinsed the cups, and brewed the tea...

After brewing a cup, he respectfully presented it to the blue-robed man with both hands.

The blue-robed man slowly picked up the cup and drained it in one gulp.

"You have no dantian, yet you can still cultivate, and there are other divine objects within your spiritual consciousness. You truly are a boy blessed with deep fortune."

Xia Yu remained silent.

"You have a fine physique. Since you have come, and I have drunk a cup of your tea, I will teach you one finger technique."

"Thank you, Master. Please rest assured, I will never disgrace your legacy."

Xia Yu immediately knelt.

The blue-robed man smiled and said, "You are far too shrewd, aren't you? My true self is already gone, and this is hardly my most treasured inheritance."

"A teacher for a day is a father for life! Proper respect must never be neglected. In my heart, you will always be my master."

Xia Yu's expression was solemn, his words ringing like stones striking the ground.

The blue-robed man smiled, then suddenly extended a finger and touched the space between Xia Yu's brows.

Boom...

Xia Yu felt a flood of memories enter his mind.

A cultivation art and a single finger technique.

"Mystic Heaven Art and Mystic Heaven Finger!"

Mystic Heaven Art was a method of circulating Origin Force, primarily by compressing it.

Origin Force could be compressed?

Xia Yu was inwardly astonished. The books outside at the Dao-Seeking Academy also contained all sorts of cultivation arts, but this was the first time he had heard of compressing Origin Force.

In truth, those tens of thousands of books outside had vastly broadened his horizons.

Yet this first Sacred Bone Slip had immediately brought him tremendous benefits.

Compressing Origin Force could make it purer, naturally increasing the power of every portion of it.

Just thinking about it was exciting!

But cultivating Mystic Heaven Art had one requirement: a powerful physique.

His physique was naturally no problem. The Ancestral Dragon's cultivation method began by strengthening the body.

Now, even a King Weapon striking his body would not break his skin.

One could imagine how tough it was.

Mystic Heaven Finger was, naturally, a finger technique. It gathered a vast amount of Origin Force compressed through Mystic Heaven Art at the fingertip, then detonated it in an instant.

It was like the instant a bamboo shoot broke through the earth after sprouting.

This finger technique likewise placed great demands on the body.

In theory, one could unleash as much compressed Origin Force as one's body could withstand.

If I compressed all the Origin Force in my body and gathered it into a single point, just how terrifying would the power of Mystic Heaven Finger become?

What if I applied Mystic Heaven Finger to the Sin Dragon Spear techniques?

That was the first question that came to Xia Yu's mind.

Heaven-Breaking, the first form of Heaven-Splitting, gathered Origin Force into a single point to pierce an entire surface.

If I used compressed Origin Force instead, then unleashed the spear technique, how powerful would it be?

The thought alone excited Xia Yu. This was entirely feasible.

If he compressed Origin Force and then used it with Ancestral Dragon Fist, its power would undoubtedly soar as well.

At this moment, Xia Yu finally understood how precious Mystic Heaven Art was.

This was worth it!

This was exactly what I needed most...