Chapter 4: The Secret of the Unity of Mind and Zen A few days passed in the blink of an eye. At night, Gu Yuanqing sat cross-legged quietly, and his clothes suddenly fluttered. An invisible breath swept over, sweeping up the light objects around him. In his body, thirty-six acupoints flickered with light, responding to each other, and with the vital energy pushing forward, a formation was formed! "I have finally reached the ninth level of Yuanshi. The thirty-six acupoints of Xuantian Gong have been tempered and formed into the Xuantian Formation. As long as I open the secret treasures of martial arts, I can achieve true martial arts." Gu Yuanqing quietly practiced his skills to consolidate his realm. After half an hour, he let out a long breath. "I have read a lot of books these days and have gained a lot of insights into cultivation, but I still have only a vague idea of how to start practicing Zhenwu. At this moment, I am like a blind man touching an elephant, unable to see the whole picture." "I still have to find a way to get a real cultivation secret book. Otherwise, even if I have extraordinary understanding, I can't make a meal without rice." With all these thoughts in mind, he entered the state of watching the mountain again. Seeing that the old servant was no longer in the house, he guessed that he must have gone into the crack to dig a hole again. "There must be some hidden secrets underground in Beiquan Mountain, but I am not yet a spiritual master, so I cannot sense it." Gu Yuanqing observes the mountain every day, and his connection with Beiquan Mountain becomes closer and closer. When he calms down, he seems to be able to vaguely feel the rhythm of the entire mountain, expanding and contracting like its breathing.
The shadow in his mind became clearer and clearer, like a mirror reflecting the entire Beiquan Mountain, and the range of his perception gradually spread to the foot of the mountain. "The so-called mountain-watching means that my consciousness is constantly blending with Beiquan Mountain. If one day, Beiquan Mountain and I become one, and I can control it as I wish, then Beiquan Mountain will no longer be just a base, but... a training ground!" An hour later, Gu Yuanqing "saw" the old man again with a crack without gaining anything. "It's time to go to bed. We need to send some stuff up from the mountain tomorrow. I hope there will be some useful books there." The next day, after practicing, Gu Yuanqing looked at the intersection leading up the mountain from afar. When he saw the young eunuch, he walked over quickly. Before Gu Yuanqing could say anything, the eunuch waved his hand and a soldier took out a large stack of books from a basket. "Thank you, thank you very much. Unfortunately, I am in this mountain and have nothing, so I cannot repay you, eunuch and the soldiers." Gu Yuanqing took it with a smile on his face. The young eunuch was about to smile, but he immediately stopped smiling. Then he turned around and winked at the soldiers, and the group hurried down the mountain again. Gu Yuanqing looked a little embarrassed, thinking to himself: "Even if you are worried about what I will say, it shouldn't be this serious, right?" As usual, Gu Yuanqing brought the books back to the study and put them on the bookshelf according to categories. But when he picked up a book, his movements suddenly froze. "The Secret of the Unity of Mind and Zen?" Gu Yuanqing picked it up and looked through it, and found that it was actually a book on cultivation methods! It includes methods from the Yuanshi realm to the Zhenwu realm, and even the methods to break through to the Grandmaster level. The words in the book were not printed but hand-copied. The handwriting was beautiful and judging from the color of the ink, it was clearly written recently. If you look further back, you will find explanations and notes, which explain the points that require attention in each minor realm. "This seems to be written for me. Who is it? The handwriting is clearly written by a woman. Could it be Yuan Ying?" Gu Yuanying was also a concubine of the royal family and had a close relationship with Gu Yuanqing. "It shouldn't be. Only the legitimate son can practice the complete cultivation method that leads to the Grandmaster in the palace. The Heart Zen Unity Secret has never been heard of in the palace. And judging from these notes, it is definitely not something that a Yuanshi can write. What's more, a concubine's daughter of the Gu family can't bring this thing up the mountain!" "Could it be..." A thought flashed through Gu Yuanqing's mind, and then he shook his head to deny it. He had never met her, and for something like this to happen, he was already showing mercy by not killing her.
After thinking for a long time, Gu Yuanqing was still not sure who sent it. "Well, this method of cultivation has solved my urgent problem. If I learn more about it in the future, I will express my gratitude." After hurriedly putting all the other books on the bookshelf, Gu Yuanqing picked up the secret book again and studied it carefully. The book only has tens of thousands of words, but after reading a few sentences, Gu Yuanqing would turn to the back to check the notes and explanations. Around 5 ., Gu Yuanqing finally saw the end of the volume. "Fortunately, there are annotations. If I were only given a copy of the secret book, I would probably be confused. There are all kinds of metaphors, code words, and false words in the book. Ordinary people can't understand it at all." Putting the book down, Gu Yuanqing took out the notes he had sorted out some time ago, and compared them with the secret book he read today. Gradually, he had an idea of the future path of cultivation. "The Heart Zen Unity Technique is obviously a level higher than the Xuan Tian Gong that I practiced. It requires the refinement of seventy-two acupoints to reach the ninth level of Yuanshi." "The Zhenwu secret collection is divided into six categories, namely, the human martial arts, earth martial arts, heaven martial arts, black martial arts, holy martial arts, and divine martial arts secret collection. The Xuantian Gong tempering thirty-six acupoints can at most open the Tianwu secret collection, while the Heart and Soul Returning Oneness Technique has the possibility of opening the Xuanwu secret collection!" Gu Yuanqing's eyes narrowed slightly and his fingers tapped lightly on the table. "I currently have three choices. This Heart Zen Unity Technique contains methods of refining the spirit and techniques of finding acupoints and sensing secret treasures. I only need to learn a few of them, and I can use Xuantian Gong as the foundation to open the Tianwu secret treasure." "The second option is to practice the Heart Zen Unity Technique and refine the acupoints again, which may open the Xuanwu secret treasure." "As for the third one... Above the Xuanwu secret treasure are the legendary Shengwu and Shenwu!" Gu Yuanqing carefully thought about his own path of cultivation, and after a moment he whispered to himself: "Using Xuantian Gong as the foundation to open the Tianwu Secret Treasure is ruled out first, the possibility of becoming a master through this path is too low! I am imprisoned here now, and there is no danger for the time being, so I am not in a hurry to become a true warrior. With the help of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, with my current qualifications, it will be very fast to re-refine the acupoints! When my cultivation aptitude and understanding are further improved in the future, I may not be able to do it... Then I will keep the second place and strive for the third place!" After making the decision, Gu Yuanqing started to study the secret of unity of mind and Zen again. "There are eighteen of these seventy-two acupoints that overlap with the thirty-six acupoints I tempered before, which means I still have to temper fifty-four acupoints. It's a long journey, but it's worth it!" …… The world outside is calm and the years in the mountains are long. Several months passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Yuan stood on the edge of the cliff and stretched out his hand. A few birds jumped on his hand, flew up and circled around him from time to time, and then landed on his shoulders and head, pecking at his hair. He looked relaxed and contented, elegant and ethereal, and was in perfect harmony with the green mountains. You can read, practice, practice swordsmanship, and watch the mountains. You can also do nothing all day long and just lie on the cliff to look at the scenery, the sky, and daydream. "It's nice to be in this mountain, with the mountain as my companion, with the birds, away from the hustle and bustle of the world, without having to worry about being cheated or deceived." "No worries about food and clothing, no worries, I am living a more comfortable life than in the palace, right?" Gu Yuanqing smiled and looked down at a pine tree growing horizontally on the cliff. That was the location of the newly dug cave. This was the third one he had seen. With a thought, he turned around and looked back, and the old man's figure appeared in his sight. At this moment, he was carrying water, but his eyes were looking towards where Gu Yuanqing was. Gu Yuanqing smiled slightly, perhaps he was worried whether I would discover the mystery below. With a gentle wave of his hand, the birds around him flew away. Gu Yuanqing closed his eyes, and the entire scene of Beiquan Mountain came into view. Compared with a few months ago, his soul was more integrated with Beiquan Mountain, and it seemed that he only needed an opportunity to become one with the mountain.
In his body, the seventy-two acupoints of the Heart-Zen Return to Oneness Technique had already been tempered. However, he was not in a hurry to become a Zhenwu. His understanding of the way of cultivation was no longer the same as before. Many of his insights gathered in his heart, and a method of cultivation that was most suitable for him had taken shape! (End of this chapter)