Celestial Human Diagram

After listening to Teacher Xue, Chen Chuan glanced at the bowl of living water. He noticed that wherever his gaze fell, faint ripples would appear on its surface.

He retracted his Domain, but found it had no effect. He then tried altering his Domain’s fluctuations, but the result remained the same.

He began to think of a solution.

He remembered that when Teacher Xue had first placed the bowl of living water before him, its surface had been perfectly still.

Yet, Teacher Xue had specifically asked him to sense it with his Domain. That must have been the action that stimulated the living water, causing it to become hostile and wary of him.

In other words, the water had "remembered" him.

This had likely formed some kind of spiritual link, which would be difficult to sever. ’Perhaps as long as I’m physically here,’ he thought, ’it will be impossible to do.’

’Actually, if I just wanted to pass the test, the simplest method would be to use my Second Self to block all external disturbances. The living water wouldn’t be able to detect my presence, and I’d pass in an instant.’

’But I’m here to learn how to master my own spirit. That approach would do nothing to train my skills. This isn’t a life-and-death battle, so there’s no need.’

So, he slowly began to rein in his thoughts. This step wasn’t actually that difficult. After all, practicing the Breathing Technique required one to focus the mind and quiet the breath, which was in itself a form of spiritual control.

Furthermore, with the reference object right in front of him, he could tell at a glance whether he was succeeding.

However, after giving it a try, he found it wasn’t very effective. The ripples had indeed become fainter, but they hadn’t disappeared.

He was certain that without the proper technique, he couldn’t do any better, no matter how long he tried. ’Maybe with a few days, I could weaken the effect a little more, but this alone will never be enough to sever our spiritual link.’

He thought about it again. Teacher Xue had told him to restrain his own thoughts, and it seemed like simply following that instruction would be enough. But he had a feeling it wasn’t that simple.

’Teacher Xue speaks casually and seems easy-going, but his words are full of traps. If I follow them to the letter, I’m guaranteed to fall into a snare he’s already set. I already fell for it once; I can’t make the same mistake again.’

He considered it carefully. Restraining his thoughts was only part of the solution; there must be something else he needed to pay attention to.

’Teacher Xue specifically mentioned Domain techniques earlier,’ he mused. ’That couldn’t have been for nothing.’

Altering the Domain was a form of applying Spiritual Power. Since altering his Domain wasn’t working now, it might be because the Domain was an expression of multiple types of information. ’Perhaps I can only succeed by stripping away those other expressions, focusing purely on the spiritual, and then making my restrained spirit undergo a similar change.’

’Whether that’s the right approach or not, I can at least give it a try.’

This was the kind of thing that was nearly impossible to do on the first try without prior practice. But fortunately, the bowl of living water before him served as the most direct reference, allowing him to constantly correct his approach.

Teacher Xue observed him from the side, his fingers tapping slowly on his knee. His gaze was full of interest, tinged with a hint of anticipation, as if he were waiting for something.

After a few minutes of careful effort, the ripples in the living water suddenly vanished. But just a breath later, they returned.

He then realized how difficult it was to maintain that state. Just as Teacher Xue had said, someone without practice could hardly control their own spirit.

’I can indeed simulate and change it, but it’s only easy when I’m using my complete Domain. With pure spirit, it’s incredibly hard to control.’

’There must be a specific technique to do this. It’s not something I can figure out on my own from thin air.’

Yet he had a vague feeling there might be another way.

Xue Shou smiled. In truth, Chen had already barely qualified by this point. He had only asked Chen to make the ripples disappear, without specifying for how long. Even a single instant would have been acceptable.

But it seemed Chen wanted to keep going. If so, he was willing to wait and see just how far this student could push himself.

Chen Chuan pondered for a moment. ’If I can’t restrain it, then maybe I shouldn’t try. I don’t need to maintain one single state.’

’Using the changing nature of the Domain as a reference, I can try to constantly change the outward form of my spirit. If I change it enough, the living water won’t recognize me, and I’ll become a ’stranger’ to it.’

’No matter how a stranger changes, they shouldn’t trigger a reaction.’

With this in mind, he immediately began to experiment, gradually correcting his approach as he went.

The hardest part about some things in this world is not knowing what you’re doing wrong or where to direct your efforts. Having this object before him was like having a compass pointing the way, and he intended to make full use of it.

Xue Shou then watched as the ripples on the living water’s surface fluctuated endlessly. At times they were strong, at others extremely faint, and sometimes they would vanish for a short period.

After this process repeated many times, as nearly an Hour passed, the water finally became completely still. It remained that way until the time was up.

Teacher Xue smiled and looked at Chen Chuan. "Chen, you met the requirement within one Hour. Well done. You’re not bound by convention and actively search for solutions, which is excellent."

This was the kind of student he liked best: one who had already mastered the necessary fundamentals and could find their own way forward with just a small hint, rather than stubbornly bashing their head against a wall. Teaching a student like that was a genuine pleasure.

He continued, "Chen, you must have noticed that the spirit is inherently active and fluid, making it very difficult to control. Even if you can restrain your innermost core, you can’t gather everything that scatters. It is, by contrast, relatively easy to encourage it to change."

Chen Chuan nodded.

Teacher Xue said, "This is difficult to avoid. As long as a person is alive, their spirit will possess this activity. However, to advance further, you must learn to condense your spirit.

"The more condensed the spirit, the more resilient it becomes, and only then can it possess true power. It’s like how scattered streams of water amount to nothing until they converge into a vast ocean. Now, I will teach you the technique to do this.

"The first step is called ’Heart Stabilizing,’ which means to steady your own mind and thoughts.

"However, Spiritual Techniques are difficult to convey with words alone, so I will use a method to help you experience it directly.

"No, not with a Domain technique. Using a Domain to transmit Spiritual Techniques is actually inappropriate. The information is too messy and impure. It would create unnecessary interference, and sometimes even contaminate the spirit. So, we’ll use another method."

He extended a hand and said solemnly, "Chen, grab my wrist."

Chen Chuan did as he was told and reached out. The instant he gripped Teacher Xue’s wrist, he felt a sudden sense of weightlessness, as if his entire consciousness had detached from his physical body. His surroundings fell silent. Everything related to his physical senses seemed to vanish, leaving him immersed in a vast emptiness.

Then, he heard Teacher Xue’s voice, "Let me demonstrate for you."

In reality, Teacher Xue hadn’t spoken those words. Chen hadn’t heard them with his ears; they resonated directly within his Spiritual Consciousness.

"To achieve stability, you must first find stillness. The first step is to clear the space and guard the void. Your thoughts are a tangled mess, leaping about like monkeys. It is difficult to catch them one by one, but once they quiet down, you can easily bind them. Thus, this practice is also called ’Binding Heart Monkey.’

"When this step is complete, you are not yet done. The heart monkey can still struggle free. Therefore, you must focus your intent on a single point and use visualization of an object to guard that initial thought."

As the voice echoed, a mass of brilliant light suddenly materialized in the void, resembling a piece of luminous jade. The instant it appeared, it seemed to capture his entire focus, leaving room for nothing else.

The voice continued, "Once your spirit is gathered, your Heart Thought and intellect, your past memories, your Divine Thought and temperament—all of it will be drawn together into a single, solid mass, making you impregnable to outside invasion.

"But by that same token, if this spirit shatters, a person could lose their self, becoming at best a walking corpse. The dangers of spiritual offense and defense are no less than those of physical combat—in some ways, they are even greater.

"Therefore, after mastering this guard, you must repeatedly hone it. Over time, you can temper away the impurities, leaving only the pure essence, until it becomes like a crystal—a luminous, colored glaze."

As these words were spoken, Chen Chuan saw the luminous jade grow increasingly clear and transparent, shining with a brilliant light that seemed to illuminate everything around it.

At that moment, he felt a jolt and was wrenched from that state. It felt as if he had plummeted from the clouds, his consciousness slamming back into his body. Immediately, a torrent of miscellaneous thoughts flooded in from every corner.

A moment ago, in that state of quiet stability, his thoughts had been like the silent moon hanging high in the night sky. Now, it was as if he had been thrust into a bustling street, a cacophony of noise with nowhere to find peace. The contrast was jarring. It took a moment for him to return to his usual state.

Teacher Xue waited for his Divine Thought to settle before smiling. "That’s as far as I’ll guide you for today. It’s not that I’m unwilling to continue, but this kind of guidance also gathers your spirit. Although it’s a gentle process, someone who has never tempered their spirit can’t endure it for long.

"If we were to continue, it would inevitably start to consume your Divine Constant. Once your Divine Constant is depleted, the process doesn’t stop. It will extend further, consuming your Primordial Qi and Essence Blood. If you still don’t break free, it will exhaust your entire life force, leading to your demise."

Chen Chuan nodded in understanding. After Teacher Xue’s explanation, he had a much clearer idea of why Jian Chengsheng had been defeated and died that day.

’He must have risked everything on a purely spiritual attack. If you can’t destroy your enemy’s spirit with such a move, the backlash shatters your own. It’s an incredibly extreme method.’

Teacher Xue said, "I have now shown you how to perform the Heart Stabilizing Method. Once you have a preliminary grasp of it, I will guide you on the next step of the Refining Method."

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