dhibooks Chapter 340: Flame Venerable’s Return
Chapter 340: Flame Venerable’s Return
A strong Spirit nourishes the physical body in turn.
A strong physical body, in turn, provides a stable foundation for the Spirit.
This was a truly virtuous cycle.
This feeling became even more apparent when he practiced his Spear Technique.
With the long spear in hand, it felt like an extension of his body. When the tip thrust out, it carried not only Qi and Blood Power but also a sliver of his Spiritual Will.
The dark gold Undying Flame danced on the spear’s tip, as nimble as a living creature, looking as if it could transform into a pouncing Golden Crow at any moment.
Xu Wuyi did not get overly excited. He still completed all his training routines step by step.
Impatience was the greatest taboo in cultivation.
After a breakthrough, it was even more important to calm one’s heart and solidify one’s foundation.
At noon, when Yan Wu delivered lunch, she brought a message: "Master has sent word. He will return at noon tomorrow."
Xu Wuyi nodded. "Understood, thank you."
After Yan Wu left, Xu Wuyi ate and thought.
’When Flame Venerable returns, I’ll have to report my recent epiphany and the matter of creating my own Visualization Method.’
’This senior is easygoing, but he is extremely strict when it comes to Martial Arts. I wonder how he will evaluate my "Golden Crow Carrying the Earth Visualization".’
However, Xu Wuyi wasn’t worried.
He had forged this path himself, and every step was incredibly solid.
The life-and-death battles on the Star Realm Battlefield, the day-and-night observation of the Celestial Bird Bathing in Fire Painting, Flame Venerable’s guidance, his own insights... all of this accumulation had given birth to this Visualization Method.
It might not be perfect, and perhaps there was still room for improvement.
But it was right.
Xu Wuyi could feel that the state of body and mind in harmony, of Spirit and power intermingling, was the direction Martial Arts should take.
After eating, he once again walked over to the Celestial Bird Bathing in Fire Painting and sat down before it.
This time, the feeling he got from observing it was different.
The Divine Bird in the painting seemed to nod at him.
It wasn’t an illusion, but an acknowledgment on the level of the Mental Realm. This successor had finally found his own path and was no longer just imitating his predecessors.
Xu Wuyi smiled faintly, closed his eyes, and began to circulate the Golden Crow Carrying the Earth.
His consciousness sank into his sea of consciousness. The Golden Crow soared, and the Earth carried the light.
His Spiritual Power slowly grew within the flowing golden light. Although the speed wasn’t fast, every bit of growth was incredibly solid, without the slightest hint of being superficial.
Two hours later, Xu Wuyi withdrew from the Visualization.
On the Martial Arts Diligence Record, the Entry Level progress jumped from 13% to 14%.
A 1% increase in one day wasn’t fast, but Xu Wuyi was very satisfied.
A Visualization Method was not a Body Refining Technique; one could not rush for quick results. The tempering of the Spirit required patient, meticulous work. Impatience, on the contrary, would easily lead to problems.
He stood up, stretched his body, and walked out of the bamboo house.
The sunlight in the garden was just right, and the stream murmured gently.
Xu Wuyi strolled along the path, relaxing his mind and sorting through his gains from this period.
A moment later, he retracted his gaze and turned back to the bamboo house.
He still had training to do in the afternoon. He couldn’t slack off on his cultivation of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, his proficiency with the Instant Shadow Step needed to be improved, and his Spear Technique also required further polishing.
Time was tight; he couldn’t afford to waste it.
As he pushed open the door, Xu Wuyi suddenly remembered something.
When Flame Venerable returned, besides reporting on his Visualization Method, there was a question he wanted to ask—
"Is the fire me?"
He now had his own answer to this question.
The fire was not him, but he could become the "Earth" that carried the fire.
The fire burns upon the Earth, and the Earth glows because of the fire.
That was enough.
Xu Wuyi sat down in a chair and picked up the Crimson Jade Pendant that Flame Venerable had given him. The jade pendant was warm, its flame-like patterns seeming to flow slowly.
He held the pendant in his palm, closed his eyes, and focused his Spirit on it, as if he was about to trigger something.
But his Spirit was not yet strong enough. The connection lasted for only an instant before quickly fading into silence.
...
「The next day at noon, Flame Venerable returned to the East Garden as promised.」
Xu Wuyi was already waiting outside the bamboo house.
As the simple, gray-robed figure slowly walked up the garden path, Xu Wuyi could clearly feel the faint "fire" Intention around him, seemingly resonating with the heat of the world.
"Senior," Xu Wuyi said, bowing in respect.
Flame Venerable waved his hand. His gaze lingered on Xu Wuyi for a moment, a trace of surprise flashing in his deep eyes before turning into a gratified smile.
"Let’s talk inside."
The two sat down inside the bamboo house. Flame Venerable didn’t rush to ask questions. Instead, he poured himself a glass of water, slowly drank it, and only then looked at Xu Wuyi.
"It seems you haven’t wasted your time."
Xu Wuyi knew he couldn’t hide anything from the Grandmaster’s eyes, so he recounted everything in detail: returning to the West Desert after the Star Realm mission, observing the Celestial Bird Painting, and the process of creating his own Visualization Method.
He didn’t hide the fact that he had killed Milo, but he omitted the specific numbers of his merit reward, saying only that the military had given him a commendation.
Teacher Han Mo and Flame Venerable had known about this matter long before he went on the mission, so there was nothing to hide.
Flame Venerable listened quietly, his fingers tapping lightly on the tabletop, his gaze focused.
When Xu Wuyi mentioned the great sun in his sea of consciousness transforming into a Golden Crow, the high mountains sinking to become the Earth, and the golden light spreading out to nourish his Spirit, a sharp glint flashed in Flame Venerable’s eyes.
"Golden Crow Carrying the Earth..." he repeated the name in a low voice and nodded. "A good name. The Golden Crow is the essence of fire, and the Earth is the foundation of bearing. Fire moves in the heavens, the Earth carries from below. They support and complement each other. This is indeed the path you should be walking now."
Xu Wuyi felt a sense of relief and immediately asked, "Senior, this Visualization Method of mine, does it count as..."
"As a Heart Image?" Flame Venerable finished his sentence with a smile. "No, but it’s already a prototype."
He put down his teacup and said seriously, "In a Martial Artist’s cultivation, Spirit and power are equally important. The essence of a Visualization Method is a technique to enhance Spiritual Power and temper the will. Creating your own Visualization Method is not a very rare thing among Innate Martial Artists and Grandmasters."
Xu Wuyi was slightly taken aback.
Flame Venerable saw his thoughts and shook his head with a laugh. "You thought creating your own Visualization Method was some earth-shattering event?"
"To put it bluntly, it’s just a technique that suits you and can effectively enhance your Spiritual Power. The stronger your Spiritual Power, the clearer your understanding of your own path becomes, and the easier it is to find a direction that suits you."
He paused for a moment before adding, "Even those powerful experts who haven’t created their own Visualization Methods have mostly modified existing techniques to better suit their own characteristics."
"You studied under Han Mo. Heart Fire Refining Spirit is the complementary Visualization Method for the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, but when Han Mo himself cultivated it, he certainly made adjustments."
Xu Wuyi became lost in thought.
He suddenly understood why, ever since he had learned the Mountain Shifting Technique, no one in the Federation’s education system had made him learn any other Visualization Methods.
Even Anna’s advice hadn’t included this step.
Perhaps in Spiritual Cultivation, beyond the most basic development, the goal was to find a path that suited oneself as much as possible.
Even for something like the Heart Fire Refining Spirit that came with the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, its principles were quite simple.
Flame Venerable continued, "Your ’Golden Crow Carrying the Earth’ is based on ’Heart Fire’, integrating your own comprehension of the Fire Realm, and combined with the foundation of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace to forge a new path."
"This is very good. It shows that you are truly thinking, walking your own path, and not just blindly imitating your predecessors."