The author of this article

Chapter 205 Questioning the Heart
Amidst the intense clashes under the gloomy sky, Cao Jingsong couldn't help but look up and gaze for a long time, his expression subtly changing.

When Ji You broke through to the Tongxuan Upper Realm, his physical body restricted his connection with the heavens and man, and it took him longer than others to finally reach the other shore.

Because of this, the hospital held a special discussion about "physical restrictions".

The reason Cao Jingsong was so worried about his unrestrained body-training behavior stemmed from this concern.

Although the elders in the temple were often disliked, their insights into the matter of cultivation were convincing enough.

Especially since Tongxuan is only the first realm of the Upper Five Realms, and even cultivating a small realm is incredibly difficult, it goes without saying how much more difficult the other realms will be in the future.

The history of cultivation among humans spans thousands of years, during which countless individuals of extraordinary talent have emerged, but none have succeeded in challenging the consensus.

After all, how can one person's whim compare to the experience accumulated by countless geniuses of the past?

But at this moment, looking at the powerful sword energy under the rolling dark clouds and feeling the tearing heaviness, Cao Jingsong suddenly had a clearer understanding of its current combat strength.

He felt that Ji You's current combat strength was truly beyond his understanding of realms and techniques...

This intuitive feeling is actually clearer than the message from the Imperial Observatory that Ji You blocked the King of Soldiers' punch.

With a clang, the sound of the iron sword trembling suddenly rang out.

Suddenly, a simple Taoist sword flew out from the study hall and landed steadily in Cao Jingsong's hand with a "snap".

In an instant, a surge of powerful spiritual energy poured in, causing shimmering light to appear on the sword's surface, just like the clarity after water has washed away impurities.

"Come, let this old man take your sword."

"?"

Ji Youqing raised his sword high in the sky, his eyes slightly lifted: "Really?"

As Cao Jingsong looked at Ji You, he stood up from the stone bench and said, "I'm not very good as an instructor. I'm afraid I'll only ever reach the Fusion Realm. If I don't give you a sparring session, I'm afraid I'll never be qualified again."

"So I'm coming?"

"bring it on."

Under a gloomy sky, with a cool spring breeze, Cao Jingsong held his sword horizontally, the sword light revealing a Daoist charm like ripples.

His path differed from Ji You's; he was a pure and orthodox Daoist cultivator. Although he lacked the exquisite Daoist techniques of the Five Great Temples, his understanding of the Dao of Heaven was still quite strong.

In the outer courtyard of the Heavenly Academy, some people said he was poor, some said he had big breasts, but no one said he was unattractive.

After all, on that night at Night City Mountain, he had single-handedly held off three Dao-level cultivators who joined forces to surround him.

Seeing this, Ji You couldn't help but say, "Do you always feel like asking the world who is a hero when you have a long sword in your hand? To be honest, I feel like I could turn the sect leader into a client."

"You traitor, you'd better live a few more days!"

Cao Jingsong roared angrily, and instantly saw a bright light suddenly descend upon him.

The sword energy, heavy as a mountain, caused the rain and the raindrops to splash in all directions. The powerful aura then slashed fiercely down towards the academy, creating a magnificent sight that made it impossible for anyone to look up.

Ji You here, his sword strikes are filled with boiling sword intent.

Amidst the wind and waves, Cao Jingsong's beard and hair flew wildly. When he looked up, he saw even more dazzling golden eyes before him. He roared and drew his sword, his own energy surging forth. With a whoosh, he swung his sword and went.

The sword contained thunder, wind, the silky smoothness of falling rain, and the ethereal grace of drifting clouds, clashing fiercely with the mountain-like sword energy.

The sound of clashing weapons was deafening, and sparks flew everywhere in an instant.

At the same time, bursts of explosions continued.

The stone table in the training hall was located at the core of the clash between the two sword energies. It was instantly shattered into pieces by the overflowing aftershocks. One of the shards of stone, like an arrow released from a bow, pierced straight through the wall of the training hall with a "boom".

With a muffled thud, Cao Jingsong's boots shattered the bluestone floor tiles beneath his feet.

In contrast, Ji You's scorching aura caused the raindrops dripping onto him to sizzle as his sword struck down, his chest rising and falling slightly.

"Are you okay?"

"Of course it's alright. I am a master of the Upper Realm of Dao Integration and your mentor. My cultivation is profound. How could I be harmed by taking your sword?"

Cao Jingsong planted his longsword on the ground and casually commented, "That last sword strike was quite good."

Ji You weighed the sword in his hand, feeling the force he had used to wield it, and thought to himself, "My feeling was right after all."

Before breaking through to the Profound Realm, he completed the sixteenth Micro-Illumination. At that time, he felt extremely difficult, as if he had reached the end.

Therefore, when he broke through to the Profound Realm, he was truly restricted by his physical body from communicating with the heavens, unable to achieve harmony between his divine sense and the Heavenly Dao, and unable to receive feedback from the Heavenly Dao's profound light, thus advancing his realm.

At that time, he felt a suffocating sense of constraint, so he spent most of his time breaking free from that constraint, struggling until he was almost exhausted before he felt a sense of clarity.

At that moment, he felt as if something had been propelled forward.

He didn't think about it deeply at the time, but he had a vague feeling. It wasn't until the seventeenth micro-illumination a few days ago that he found the process went much more smoothly, and the tearing pain during body tempering had disappeared.

Now, when he sparred with Cao Jingsong, he felt a significant increase in his internal energy.

Therefore, it is not impossible for human cultivators to refine their bodies.

Ji You muttered to himself, looking at the veins that had bulged from using the sword.

The weakening of the connection between heaven and man cannot be simply attributed to physical limitations. One reason is the current lack of fortune in the heavenly realm, and another is that the physical body is approaching a critical threshold.

While an overly strong physical body can indeed restrict one's divine will, it is not necessarily a dead end.

Because body refinement... seems to also have different levels.

The improvement of one's realm will increase one's strength; this is something even a three-year-old child knows.

The advancement of a pure Daoist cultivator is closer to the Dao of Heaven, and at the same time, one can receive feedback from the Dao of Heaven, greatly increasing one's strength. This is a path of seeking externally.

Body refinement, on the other hand, seeks within, not the Dao of Heaven, but one's own being.

After the heavy snow before the new year, he not only broke through the Daoist cultivation realm, but also broke through the body refinement realm in order to break free from the constraints.

So his body gave him a positive feedback, which was an increase in strength.

To put it simply, their strength has become even greater.

During the winter, my son would often cuddle me until I broke out in a light sweat, saying that his body was so hot, like a furnace, and there was a reason for that.

That's because it's also a positive feedback loop for increased physical strength, since only with enough heat can a stronger physique maintain its proper activity.

Back in the snowy region, he struggled desperately to lift up forty-nine mountains; it shouldn't be that difficult now.

I'm a little worried about the young appraiser; I wonder if she can handle the workload...

Yan Shuyi's cultivation level is indeed high, but humans are ultimately physically weak and cannot withstand many blows.

Fortunately, she has her sisters.

Shocking! There's a heartwarming reason behind this scumbag's behavior, which moved over 100,000 people to tears.

Ji You quietly came to her senses, sheathed her sword, and bowed, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, instructor."

Cao Jingsong said in a calm tone, "It's just the way of a teacher, no need for formalities."

"I still need to go back and think about some things related to cultivation."

"Go on, you just had a sword fight with your master, which must have taken a toll on you. You should go back and rest."

Cao Jingsong watched him leave the hospital, his long sword clattering to the ground. He then collapsed to the ground, taking a deep breath before cold sweat poured down his forehead.

His prodigal disciple is truly formidable.

While it wouldn't kill him, it wouldn't be far off.

At this moment, Ji You strode towards the inner courtyard.

After that sword strike, the sword energy around him had not yet dissipated, and the raindrops that fell were sent flying far away by the shockwave around him.

At this moment, he was pondering, thinking that if body refinement and realm advancement went hand in hand, it would be very powerful, but he just didn't know what the final result of cultivation would be.

The most important thing right now is to maintain a balance between physical strength and mental focus.

One must not allow the physical body to completely restrict one's divine thoughts and sever the connection between heaven and man, but one must also maintain the progress of body refinement.

Walking with two legs of equal length is much faster than walking with one leg longer than the other.

“I remember the last time we chopped off the lion’s head on the street, Ji You’s sword was about the same as Fang Jincheng’s cousin’s, not nearly as strong.”

“Brother Ji’s hands were crippled back then. You may think he’s fine, but during that time his hands were controlled by spiritual energy and he couldn’t wield the sword with his own hands at all.”

Bai Rulong, munching on an apple, couldn't help but reply when he heard Lu Qingqiu muttering to himself, "That's sword control, this is sword handling, so they're naturally different."

He was also attracted by Ji You's sword aura, but he didn't dare to show himself.

He's currently seducing Daoist partners everywhere, spending a fortune, and he's worried that Brother Ji might develop a professional habit and drain him dry.

After hearing this, Lu Qingqiu looked at the broken wall that had been pierced by the stone, and felt that the sword's cry from before still lingered.

They had already felt immense pressure when the sword was suspended in the void, but they never expected to see its true power after it landed. The hairs on their foreheads hadn't even softened yet.

It turns out that the power of Fang Jincheng's sword strike was only comparable to Wu Jiyou's sword control, and the number of swords he could control at most was fifty times that.

The next day, the wind and rain stopped.

As the sun rises in the east, the brilliant dawn begins to burst forth from the horizon, gradually spreading across Shengjing.

Ji You had just gotten out of his room when he heard a knock on the door. When he opened it, he found it was a disciple from the Head of the Affairs Department.

"Junior Brother Ji, your letter."

"Thank you."

Ji You opened the letters and read them. The first letter was signed by Kuang Cheng, informing him of the progress of the repairs on the official road in Fengzhou.

The second letter came from Yuan Caiwei, who had received the seeds sent by Ji You and immediately planted them.

In fact, this gift was indeed a perfect match for the daughter of the Dan Sect, because the Dan Master lineage deals not only with elixirs but also with medicinal herbs, so cultivating a wheat seedling from Fengzhou was naturally no problem for them.

Yuan Caiwei wrote to thank him, saying she really liked his gift and would take good care of it and wait for it to grow.

Yuan Chen also attached a letter, asking his brother-in-law what it meant that he only gave him a flowerpot.

Ji You recalled that she seemed to have forgotten to send Yuan Chen the seeds and soil. Oh well, that's no big deal.

When he was preparing the gift, he almost forgot Yuan Chen's name.

Zhuo Wanqiu also sent a letter, saying that her young apprentice was at the critical moment of breaking through the realm. After returning, he ordered the whole mountain not to disturb him. However, a few days ago, he received a gift and temporarily came out of seclusion. After reading it, he turned red with anger and scolded him as a lecher.

However, after she finished scolding him, she still carefully planted the wheat and carried the flowerpot into her secluded room.

Yan Shuyi is practically becoming a professional at temporarily leaving the pass.

The young appraiser, just beginning to experience romantic feelings, was truly finding it hard to resist the allure of good looks...

In fact, Ji You didn't want her to delay her cultivation because of him and regret it in the future, so he planned not to bother her for a while.

lecher?
Ji You frowned slightly, wondering why he called me a lecher after seeing my gift.

After thinking for a while, he suddenly remembered the word "seed" and couldn't help but widen his eyes.

When he gave her this gift, he never considered that giving her a seed might have any other hidden meaning, yet Yan Shuyi was already thinking about it herself.

It seems that when I asked her last time how many children she wanted, she probably really thought about it seriously, otherwise her reaction wouldn't have been so direct and quick.

“Miss Caiwei, it’s been a long time. What I’m giving to Yuan Chen is just a flowerpot.”

"Little appraiser, when I sent you the seeds, I didn't think about what you were thinking."

Ji You wrote a few simple lines in reply, then put the two letters away and looked up in the direction of the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest.

After the seventeenth body refinement, it's time to seek enlightenment in order to maintain balance between body and spirit.

After washing up, Ji You went to the head of the affairs office to mail two letters. Then she went to the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest, found a quiet place, and sat cross-legged.

There are many people in the Heavenly Academy who are preparing to participate in the Heavenly Dao Assembly. Some of them have already reached the Upper Realm for many years, and have been suppressing their realm recently in order to be on the safe side.

It would be safest for Ji You to participate in the Heavenly Dao Assembly as a cultivator at the Upper Realm of Profound Understanding, but there is no need to suppress his search for the opportunity to establish his Dao.

Everyone has a different personality, background, and life experiences, so the amount of distracting thoughts one has is uncertain. It's best to be well-prepared for this stage.

Fengzhou's outsider village won't be stable for long, and Ji You feels that time is extremely valuable right now.

Of course, not the kind where I call my brothers to come and chop me up.

Ji You sat idly on the mountaintop, closed his eyes, and began to introspect.

The step of establishing the Dao is somewhat similar to body refinement. It is not about seeking externally to find a connection with the heavens and man, but about seeking internally, eliminating distracting thoughts, and deeply exploring the Dao mind.

It took almost a whole day to see a hazy view, after which images of distracting thoughts began to appear before my eyes.

From the very beginning, her feet were snow-white, with round, pink toes that were as lovely and slender as jade beads.

The scene then shifts to the bedroom, where Ji You's mind is filled with images of Yan Shuyi's bright eyes, soft humming, and rosy cheeks after their verbal battle.

At the same time, there was also the jade-like, round face that I held in my arms by the stove, the face I had seen many times through the neckline but never dared to touch.

There are also some scenes in the medicine pool of the Dan Sect, where Yuan Caiwei is only wearing a bellyband and underpants, sitting delicately and fair-skinned in her lap, and there is another pair of feet after being washed in the water.

In addition, there is a great deal of unclaimed freedom.

For example, some magnificent, round, plump buttocks, I've forgotten where I saw them.

This wasn't Ji You's fault. It was mainly because at the time, rumors circulated in the Heavenly Academy that his physique could be passed down through generations. As a result, a large number of senior sisters were constantly appearing in front of him, some without any lining. Apart from being too big or too small, they didn't have any unique features that made them hard to distinguish.

This stems from lustful thoughts, the most primal impulses of men.

Once the thought arises, one can easily become deeply entangled and unable to extricate oneself.

A single touch will cause it to gush out uncontrollably.

In a daze, Ji You maintained a calm and collected demeanor, continuously browsing the images with her divine sense before reaching out to erase them.

But those feet, round and plump legs in front of us did not disappear; instead, they intensified, even giving rise to more peripheral stories that never actually happened...

Well, people really can't deceive themselves.

Cultivating Tao is truly wonderful; I'll watch it a billion more times.

After the rain, Shengjing was clear for many days. Ji You would arrive at dawn every day and return under the stars and moon, his eyes gradually becoming distorted.

This is the negative impact of deeply cultivating one's Dao heart. Cultivators at this stage cannot break free from it in a short period of time, and their mental state will be greatly affected, leading to a temporary imbalance in their Dao heart.

Ji You was somewhat relieved that he hadn't tried to delve deeper into the Daoist mind before and after the New Yuan era, otherwise he would have been even bolder towards Yan Shuyi.

If that's really the case, I estimate that the grass on my grave will sprout new buds just like the wheat seedlings in Fengzhou.

"Junior Brother Ji, your letter."

"Another letter?"

"It was sent by Junior Sister Lu from the outer courtyard, but she should be the youngest, since no matter how powerful a family is, it can't compare to an immortal sect."

As dusk fell, the disciple in charge of the academy found him on the west side of the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest and handed him Lu Qingqiu's letter.

The disciple in charge of the academy was named Wen Siyuan. He had sent letters to Ji You many times, and Ji You had already remembered his name.

That's how people are; once they get to know someone a little better, they tend to talk more.

Ji You glanced at him, thinking to herself, "Go ahead and guess," then took the letter, unfolded it, and read it.

The letter was written by Lu Qingqiu about her younger sister's entry into the inner courtyard.

The final battle in the Heavenly Academy is based on combat strength. Lu Qingqiu saw Ji You's swordsmanship at Biyue Lake that day, so he wanted his sister to learn swordsmanship from him.

Ji Youxin said no.

Given my current condition, your sister is unlikely to learn swordsmanship, but she might learn a lot of the techniques.

He replied to Lu Qingqiu, explaining that it was common knowledge that the swordsmanship of Lingjian Mountain could not be passed on to outsiders. Lingjian Mountain had never said that cultivators from outside the sect could not trespass in order to demonstrate the exquisite nature of their swordsmanship, which was why he was able to learn the swordsmanship legitimately.

But if he were to pass it on to others, it wouldn't be a good idea in the end.

However, Ji You still wrote down some of his understanding of martial arts, methods of sword control, ways to better use spiritual energy to complement swordsmanship, and the process of training divine sense. He handed these down to the disciples of the academy in charge to pass on, and said that he could provide guidance if there were any problems in a few days.

These things originally belonged to him, so it's not exactly a case of betraying his own people.

After seeing off the disciples of the head of the academy, Ji You looked outwards, gazing at the clouds drifting across the sky.

In fact, he knew how to use simple and clever methods to temporarily get rid of these distracting thoughts, but he always felt that it wasn't his skill.

He always had extremely high standards for himself; otherwise, he would have lacked a lot of moral principles.

Such days continued until one clear, bright night when Ji You's divine sense once again questioned his heart, and soon it shone brightly, erasing all these images in a saintly manner.

It's only short-lived, so be it. One shouldn't have too high expectations of oneself.

After all, he had no desire to ascend, nor did he need to fight his nature so strongly.

The only thing that made him feel a little sorry for them was the somewhat tragic image of the young appraiser of Lingjian Mountain and Yuan Caiwei in his mind...

As Ji You murmured to himself, a golden light appeared before his eyes, with yellow and white energy surging continuously.

After lust comes professionalism?

Ji You sat on the mountaintop for a long time until dawn broke, then walked down the mountain with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Instructor Cao."

"Why are you here again? How's the opportunity you're looking for?"

"Rob some money to spend."

"?"

"You unfilial disciple, do you have a regional accent?"

Ji You quickly made him realize that it wasn't a dialect issue, but a comprehension issue. Afterwards, he wandered around the outer courtyard with a money bag in his hand, seemingly looking for something.

Bai Rulong was about to leave the men's quarters when he suddenly felt a chill in his chest and couldn't help but reach out and flip through the almanac.

In the afternoon, Ji You drifted down the mountain and went to Kuang Cheng's residence...

Lust, professionalism.

After that, vanity, competitiveness, pride and complacency... all emerged.

But compared to the former, these distracting thoughts are much easier to suppress. The most dangerous thing is when pride and complacency arise, like the time he went to the Heavenly Book Hall alone, intending to develop the sect leader into a client.

The Heavenly Book Hall was empty; the old man was gone, and only Ji You's soft whisper remained in the gentle breeze that surrounded the hall.

"Luckily you ran fast."

Then he saw the old man's pavilion in Fengzhou, the ancient locust tree where many old farmers had hanged themselves on a bright autumn day, the skeletons of people who had died of hunger and cold under the heavy snow, and the emaciated children.

This was the reason he chose to cultivate himself; it was his original intention.

Can one's original aspiration be considered the heart of the Tao?

Ji You muttered something, but soon felt a surge of anger affecting her mood, so she quickly wiped it away.

Just then, a river bend appeared in the haze of his Dao heart.

Green willows, white embankment, river surface.

Upon seeing this, Ji You's smile froze instantly, and her face gradually turned pale.

Then, countless splashes of water appeared in his vision, constantly erupting from the lake's surface, with one splash after another, one in the east and one in the west.

A boy who bore a resemblance to him slumped down on the road, then got up, pale-faced, and ran frantically along the riverbank.

Asking one's heart is a form of introspection, even more vivid than recalling memories.

He could see the panic and helplessness on the boy's face, his fists gradually clenching into a fist.

After the Dan Sect bestowed its elixirs, more and more people came to the Purple Bamboo Zen Forest to study Taoism. Most of them were refining elixirs, but at this moment, many people couldn't help but open their eyes.

This attention stemmed from the moment they noticed a strong, menacing aura emanating from the depths of the bamboo forest.

(End of this chapter)