Chapter Sixty-Three: This Is the Niwan

The third batch of spirit plants had been completely harvested. The spirit liquid no longer possessed the ability to further strengthen his physique; it could only serve as a tonic, restoring mental clarity and dispelling fatigue.

Both the Azure Spirit Root and the Divine Orchid Fruit had been packed into bags, ready to be taken down the mountain. The spirit liquid could not be openly displayed, but the spirit plants were different—there was no intense longing awakened by their presence.

As for the others, a single one or two did not have much effect, and could easily be explained away as “rare treasures.”

Taoists nowadays live quite simply and still maintain a hazy imagination about the vast world, always feeling there might be a hidden celestial herb growing in some remote, deserted corner—waiting to be discovered. As long as he didn’t present too many at once, this justification should suffice. There might be a few greedy or suspicious individuals, but their doubts would not extend further; at most, they’d suspect Chen Yu had stumbled upon a treasure trove and might even resort to some underhanded tricks.

But Chen Yu now had confidence—he was no longer afraid.

Because he had broken through.

From rigid force to supple force, he had finally achieved the minor mastery of flowing force.

In April, he had made a wish—to attain minor mastery while the peach blossoms were still vibrant. Now, he had finally succeeded.

It was impossible for Chen Yu not to be pleased. When he threw a punch, the air whistled sharply.

Unlike before, it no longer felt heavy; instead, it carried a hint of sharpness.

Supple force—soft as water, yet at times capable of being incomparably powerful and forceful.

With supple force as his foundation, Chen Yu would be much safer traveling below the mountain. Ninety-nine percent of martial artists are stuck outside the threshold, and his ability to master this force stemmed from his initial mastery of mental strength.

With mental strength, and as his manipulation grew more proficient, he focused more on applying it.

At present, the amount of mental strength he could summon was still quite limited. Each strand was impressive in quality, but compared to the silvery-white reserves yet to emerge from the light cluster, it was far too little.

“When will I be able to completely excavate the light cluster and freely command all the mental strength within it? Only then can I truly be considered a novice in the realm of the mind,” he mused.

Nevertheless, after some brief exploration, he managed to revise the Invocation Technique, adding new elements—mostly pertaining to the control of the mind.

Moreover, after encountering genuine mental strength rather than imagined, Chen Yu realized that many of his previous assumptions were lacking.

Mental strength was not illusory, nor as elusive as he had imagined.

At first, he even believed he was the only one in this world to possess mental strength, nearly proclaiming himself the first master of spirit refinement. But later events proved otherwise; mental strength was not rare—in fact, it was a force inherent to everyone.

As for why the Taoist sages had not truly touched upon it for nearly a thousand years, there was another force at play.

That secret power, stimulated by the spirit liquid, which he had been seeking but could never quite grasp.

...

The fourth batch of medicinal fields began selection.

Considering the remaining spirit liquid, Chen Yu decided to section off part of the fields for spring millet cultivated by spiritual energy.

Crossbreeding—just to see what wonders might arise.

Additionally, given the remarkable catalytic mutation effects of spiritual energy, and after three batches of trials informed by experience and insight, he thought it best to push further and accelerate the growth of the herbs.

The seeds in the clay jars by the temple wall had yet to sprout, and only drought celery remained. If the spring millet proved effective, perhaps he could try watering it with spirit liquid to see if it would be beneficial.

Finally, Chen Yu decided to plant herbs, mainly varieties including Treasure Heart Grass, purchased from the pharmacy—five common types.

But there was no rush; with his descent from the mountain imminent, he resolved to continue cultivation upon his return.

For now, Chen Yu needed to expand the chicken coop so the chicks could find enough insects and grass seeds during his absence.

The fence needed reinforcement as well—after all, bears and tigers could appear in these woods, and who knew what else.

Everything had to be prepared before descending the mountain. In the remaining free time, he continued testing his daily mental strength.

Regarding the cluster of light, Chen Yu had begun to form some theories.

The swelling between his brows could not help but prompt speculation—especially after the mental transformation, when the cluster fractured and tangible mental strength spilled forth. The sensation of fullness became more pronounced, yet once he controlled the mental strength, the symptoms seemed to ease.

By now, he could confirm that this site did possess something miraculous—but not as he had first thought; it certainly did not produce a celestial eye.

No impersonating the True Lord Erlang for him.

Chen Yu felt not the slightest disappointment. On the contrary, his interest heightened—for once the celestial eye was ruled out, the peculiarities between his brows became linked to another entity.

The Mud Pill Palace.

One of the Nine Palaces of the Celestial Gate, the residence of the primordial spirit. Regardless of past or present lives, Taoist doctrine holds this place to be incredibly mysterious and wondrous.

Unfortunately, few have ever truly seen it. Without the secret power to pry it open, a Taoist’s mental reserves, however vast, seldom stir, and cannot be converted into mental strength.

As for what the secret power was, or how it achieved this, Chen Yu was still unclear, still investigating.

Ever since spiritual energy had taken root in his mind, all manner of strange phenomena had arisen, greatly satisfying his curiosity.

On the other hand, though the Mud Pill Palace had appeared, this mud pill was quite different from the traditional concept—he had not found the so-called primordial spirit within it.

Nor had he encountered any entity called the Emperor Taiyi.

Taoist doctrine says: The head has nine palaces, corresponding to the nine heavens above. The central palace is called the Mud Pill.

It is also known as the Yellow Court, Kunlun, or Heavenly Valley.

In the Taoist scriptures, the nine palaces are significant. The other eight are located thus: one inch above the space between the brows is the Bright Hall Palace; two inches up is the Chamber Palace; three inches is the Elixir Field Palace; four inches is the Flowing Pearl Palace; five inches is the Jade Emperor Palace; one inch above the Bright Hall is the Heavenly Court Palace; one inch above the Chamber is the Ultimate True Palace; one inch above the Elixir Field is the Mysterious Elixir Palace; one inch above the Flowing Pearl is the Supreme Emperor Palace.

But Chen Yu found nothing in these eight palaces. His mind traversed the cerebral domain, covering the four sides of his head, but not a single abnormality was detected.

Even the mud pill was not at the center of his head, nor did it possess the function of projecting to the nine heavens. No matter how he stimulated the light cluster during this period, it remained inert—none of the legendary “mysterious heavens reflecting in the mind.”

“This mud pill has opened to nothing,” he sighed.

Shaking his head in resignation, perhaps what he had activated was not the Mud Pill Palace after all; but since it appeared within him, naming it was his prerogative. Others might grumble about his lack of understanding or study of the scriptures, but that was all.

By comparison, though the Mud Pill Palace’s use remained undiscovered, mental strength had indeed produced results.

First, the Invocation Technique had been greatly refined—from a patchwork phrase to a booklet spanning two pages.

Yet its essence remained the regulation of mental strength, so its name had not changed.

Second, combining the surging of supple force and the intangible quality of mental strength, he developed a defensive martial technique using the vibration of tongue and throat to produce a piercing sound wave.

It could cause a momentary daze in targets within a certain distance.

Moreover, Chen Yu discovered that when he used internal training to make his organs vibrate, the sound wave emitted from his mouth grew stronger and wider in range.

However, as his proficiency with supple force was still limited, this sonic technique could only manage two short bursts for now.