Chapter 69: What One Holds in the Heart Is True Immortality

"I have something for you as well."

Ye Xiaoniang half propped herself up and took out a thin sheet of letter paper from her sleeve.

Her sharp face looked unwell—pale and bloodless. Even a single cough made one worry for her. Yet she seemed in good spirits as she spoke slowly, "The Third Princess has already written to me, saying she intends to recommend you as the next master of the Ascendant Immortal Tower. But this is no small matter. When you made your breakthrough, the Third Princess's petition met with resistance, so she advised that we need not be too anxious."

"The Third Princess has treated us well. Since my illness worsened, she has also been searching for renowned physicians everywhere. I haven't told her that this is due to the spiritual energy at the Ten Bends of Clear Water..."

Gu Yi pressed his lips together slightly. "Thank you for thinking of me. I will consider the matter of becoming the master of the Ascendant Immortal Tower. For now, let's talk about us."

"Brother," Ye Xiaoniang grasped his hand in slight agitation, "since you are the heir of Xiaoyuan Mountain, how can the mastership of the Ascendant Immortal Tower be given to someone else? Do you know what this position means to the State of Xu? Once you become the master, none in Xu will dare to bully you again."

Gu Yi was somewhat baffled. "All I did was recite a line—‘let the long night of the world be swept away with light’—is that enough for you to treat me so well?"

"After I began to cultivate, it became impossible for me to marry. In this lifetime, you are my only family."

"If you die, I die; if you live, I live too."

Ye Xiaoniang's voice was quiet, but it carried great strength.

Perhaps when one is ill, thoughts grow more somber and emotions more intense.

"In truth, I'm really not your brother, but that hardly matters anymore."

~~

Gu Yi was not a physician, but he could sense that the time Ye Xiaoniang had left was not enough for him to fetch Xiao Yiyi back.

Once time ran out—

Even if that person was as powerful as a cheat in a game, the dead could not be revived. Then, it would truly be beyond saving.

"Ma Yuan!"

This shout was full of vigor.

The moment Ma Yuan entered, he sensed something was amiss and dared not act frivolously. "Master, what's the matter?"

At this moment, Xiaoniang was unusually calm—a kind of tragic composure that seemed at odds with her usual frailty.

The matters they discussed on their very first day at Yu Zhen Pavilion had finally come to this.

Gu Yi could not bear to look at her. "Move the screen over here. Go up to the roof and do not let anyone near this room! You are not to look either, or I'll gouge out your eyes!"

The bald man hesitated, mouth agape. "Master..."

"Enough talking!"

"...All right," he was a bit cowed. "I'll go right away."

Ye Xiaoniang opened her palm, starting with her hair, then her face, neck... and continued downward...

"What use is the screen?" she asked quietly.

Clang!

Gu Yi stomped his right foot sharply on the floor. From his position, strange symbols snaked outward, crawling over the floor, walls, wooden pillars, bed, and ceiling.

At the center of these concentric circles, Gu Yi's body gave off a faint, flickering glow, as if spiritual energy wound around his fingertips.

"The Ten Bends of Clear Water Sun is a technique that weaves together yin and yang energies. It's extremely difficult and requires great sensitivity to spiritual energy. Clothing interferes with your ability to merge with nature."

At this point, there was no room for shyness.

After all, who would say which of them was more of a man in the end?

"This array can activate spiritual energy to help you get started, but once you truly begin to practice, I cannot help you any further, Xiaoniang..." Gu Yi still had to warn her. "You're not a cultivator, but having grown up in Luyang, you should know how dangerous this path is."

Ye Xiaoniang only nodded.

"The Ten Bends of Clear Water Sun is a top-tier technique; the risks are even greater."

"In other words, if you don't learn, you die; if you do learn, you may not live."

"Exactly."

"Teach me."

"Do you remember what I said when I entered meditation?"

Gu Yi brought his hands together in a cross, squatting slightly. He did not know the Ten Bends of Clear Water Sun, but Xiaoniang had to sense qi first.

She had to feel the world's spiritual energy.

"Rivers and mountains form through qi, all beings thrive by qi. Cultivation begins with qi, phenomena arise from qi, rain and wind have their causes, the Yangtze rolls on for a reason... Spiritual energy moves through heaven and earth, ethereal and untouchable..."

Ye Xiaoniang squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm so cold, numb with chill—I can't feel anything at all."

"First look, then listen, then touch, finally call to them."

Beneath his hovering hands, spiritual energy gathered from every direction. At a certain moment, as if sensing his will, it suddenly burst outwards.

The currents floated in the air, carrying the screen to stand between the two of them.

Then Xiaoniang's clothing slipped from her, one piece after another. When Gu Yi opened himself to the world, his senses became immeasurably sharp.

Of course, this was not seeing—he simply knew.

Now the true beginning commenced. Gu Yi drove the array to emit an even stronger glow, the spiritual energy growing livelier.

"What should I do?" Ye Xiaoniang still made no progress.

Gu Yi was just on the other side of the screen.

"Relax. Imagine your happiest moment, perhaps cooking a dish—your favorite dish."

"...Forget about Luyang's rules. Xiaoyuan Mountain never believed that cultivating immortality required following the rigid steps of techniques—condensing qi, refining qi, learning the sword, wielding the sword..."

"...The immortal never had a fixed form. No one knows what it truly is. Xiaoyuan Mountain doesn't know either. But it exists in each of our hearts. What you seek in your heart—that is your immortal."

"...Xiaoyuan Mountain holds that so-called sensitivity to spiritual energy is but a foolish standard set by the world. If you are far from the immortal, you have no affinity with qi. If you approach the immortal, you grow ever more attuned."

"...Xiaoyuan Mountain is barren and desolate, sparsely inhabited, lacking the abundance of spiritual talismans found elsewhere. The path of cultivation is not about drawing in qi to approach the immortal, but about drawing near to the immortal, and then the qi comes to you."

...

"What I seek in my heart—that is my immortal."

Gu Yi closed his eyes as well, knowing that Xiaoniang could see his every move.

Just like when Xiao Yiyi once sat beside him, letting him feel every subtle change in the air.

"A mountain need not be high; it is famous if an immortal dwells there. Likewise, this room is but a simple room, but you are not simple, so it is no longer simple. Most seek spiritual energy from the outside, but Xiaoyuan Mountain teaches us to turn within and express our true hearts."

Ye Xiaoniang murmured, "Because what I seek in my heart is my immortal."

Buzz!

A brief, low hum rang out from the contour of her body.

Gu Yi opened his eyes and smiled. In the end, our Xiaoyuan Mountain is truly formidable—none of the other sects' cultivators show such profound insight into the immortal.

Xiaoniang slowly opened her eyes, gazing at her own palm. "These—are they spiritual energy?"

"The people at Luyang Institute have always wondered how I can borrow spiritual energy around me in battle. It's just as I said before—seeking spiritual energy from without puts you in a passive position, surrendering everything to the energy. Seeking from within, expressing your heart, draws forth the immortal energy—everything returns to the immortal within your heart."

"I wasn't sure before, but after my time at Luyang Institute, I saw that people in the past used spiritual energy this way too. Xiaoniang, try calling to them."

"Does this mean I've succeeded?"

"Not yet." Gu Yi withdrew his spiritual energy and disengaged the array.

In an instant, Ye Xiaoniang could sense nothing at all.

All the wonders vanished without a trace.

"You succeeded just now because I was helping you. I call this the Xiaoyuan Mountain experiential teaching method. Next, you need to remember that feeling and practice diligently."

"Xiaoyuan Mountain..." Ye Xiaoniang was shaken. "So this is why everyone seeks out Xiaoyuan Mountain."

"Yes, it is respected by all for a reason. Xiaoniang, welcome to Xiaoyuan Mountain."

Gu Yi turned and walked out, opening the door as he left.