The Smiling, Proud Wanderer: From the Moment He Picked Up Qu Feiyan

It was dusk, and the setting sun was like blood.

This is the thirty-ninth day of Shen An's first phase of developing a marketing plan and spreading the story of "Dugu Qiubai".

It is the eighteenth day of the second phase of the marketing plan, using "K-On! Fairy's Sword" as a gimmick to warm up the sword-testing tournament.

It was also the third day of Shen An's seclusion after the "Fairy Remains" were stolen.

According to the original plan, today should have been the day when Hengyang City was the center of attention and Bailianfang became famous throughout the world.

Li Qingde stood before the quiet courtyard gate, his steps heavy as if filled with lead. The evening breeze, carrying the dampness of the Xiang River, brushed against his worried face, bringing a lingering chill.

Aside from Wang Xiaocao, who lives here and is responsible for delivering meals to Shen An, he is the only one who stays here every evening at dusk.

He took a deep breath; the hesitation and anxiety in his heart were beyond words.

Finally, he raised his hand and gently knocked twice on the door.

"Tap, tap."

"Come in."

A voice came from inside the door. The voice was so calm that it seemed inhuman, without the slightest fluctuation of emotion, as if it came from the clouds above the heavens, or as if it originated from an ancient well deep underground, causing Li Qingde's heart to sink suddenly.

He couldn't understand it.

He simply couldn't understand why Senior Brother Shen could remain so calm and composed at such a critical juncture.

He pushed open the heavy wooden door, and with a creak, the scene inside the courtyard came into view.

Just like the previous two days, the fallen leaves in the courtyard were left unswept, and a thin layer of dust covered the stone table. Only on the stone path leading to the main house were the clean footprints left by Wang Xiaocao not long ago.

These past few days, Wang Xiaocao hasn't even dared to clean the yard, for fear of disturbing Shen An's seclusion.

Li Qingde dared not delay and went straight through the courtyard to the door of the study.

The door was ajar. He pushed it open gently, and a heavier, more substantial aura rushed out, as if the air itself had thickened, making each step extremely difficult for him.

Was it because of his nervousness? Li Qingde wondered.

Shen An sat cross-legged on a futon in the center of the room, his eyes closed and his face calm and expressionless.

He was shirtless, his skin an unnatural bronze color, with a faint, shimmering glow. His breathing was long and deep, each exhale seeming to cause the air in the room to tremble slightly.

"Senior brother." Li Qingde bowed respectfully, not daring to get too close, and not even daring to raise his head too high.

The figure on the futon did not open its eyes, but only gave a faint "hmm" from its nose in response.

Suppressing the myriad thoughts in his mind, Li Qingde began to report the day's intelligence, his voice dry and tense:

"...Ninety percent of the inns in the city are full, and newcomers can only camp outside the city. The debate over the authenticity of the 'wreckage' is getting more and more intense. Yan Shiqi from Xiangtan has also arrived and has been secretly spreading rumors that are unfavorable to us. I have already sent people to keep an eye on him..."

Yan Shiqi? Shen An thought for a moment before remembering that it was another outer disciple. Why did all these clowns have to show up?

"...As for Junior Brother Feng, we have already spread the images and backstory of those ten 'restored' Light Sound Swords as you instructed, and the response has been excellent. More than a dozen wealthy merchants and patrons have sent people to inquire about the price, all expressing their determination to acquire them..."

Li Qingde reported the issues one by one, clearly and logically, but the worry on his face grew deeper and deeper.

After finishing his report, he looked at the motionless Shen An and finally couldn't hold back any longer. His expression was worried and almost pleading:

"Senior brother! The rumors outside are getting worse and worse. Many people believe that we staged this whole thing and are just trying to create a fuss! Today is the originally scheduled date for the sword-testing tournament. Although you have postponed the date by five days, if we cannot produce the remains or capture Tian Boguang in five days, then... then this tournament will become a laughing stock in the entire martial arts world! The reputation that our Hundred Refinements Workshop has painstakingly built up over the past two years will be completely ruined and plummet to its lowest point!"

After he finished speaking, he let out a long sigh, his face full of sorrow.

This was a huge gamble, an gamble that was far too risky.

Moreover, he couldn't see any way to win.

However, Shen An on the prayer mat still did not react.

He was like an old monk in deep meditation, oblivious to everything around him, without worry, fear, joy, or sorrow.

Just as Li Qingde was about to say something more, Shen An finally spoke.

"We need to carefully review the procedures for the Sword Testing Tournament to prevent any further mishaps."

Li Qingde was stunned and subconsciously replied, "Yes." He wanted to ask how to deal with the most crucial "remains," but he saw Shen An tilt his head slightly, his intention to see him out was all too clear.

He could only bow again, filled with worry and confusion, and slowly retreat from the study, gently closing the door behind him.

The moment the door closed, it shut out all the noise from the outside world.

Shen An remained seated cross-legged, his mind already immersed in a boundless and clear state of mind.

Li Qingde was well aware of the changing circumstances in the outside world and his deep concerns. He had several ways to deal with the situation, but which one to use depended on how far he could go in this seclusion.

"A pure heart remains unperturbed even when the sky falls."

During his three days of seclusion, he recited the Ice Heart Mantra almost constantly when he was awake, maintaining that state of clarity, but he only flipped through the incomplete "Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill" and did not start practicing it at all.

That incomplete scroll was riddled with errors and incoherent. If he forced himself to cultivate it, the only outcome would be demonic possession. Becoming a madman like the Six Immortals of Peach Valley would be considered lucky.

However, these two books, the Mahavairocana Sutra and the Vajrasekhara Sutra, allowed him to re-examine the essence of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Kung Fu from an unprecedented, overarching perspective.

"What is Bodhi? It is knowing one's own mind in its true sense."

"All sentient beings inherently possess Buddha-nature."

These two sentences are like the evening drum and the morning bell.

Power is never something to be sought externally. It exists inherently between heaven and earth, within the bodies of every living being. The reason why mortals cannot control it is not that "power" does not exist, but that their "mind" is obscured by afflictions such as greed, anger, ignorance, pride, and doubt, preventing the manifestation of "wisdom" (prajna) that sees through the true nature of the universe.

Having figured this out, Shen An completely abandoned his obsession with the strange cultivation routes and body-refining methods on the incomplete scroll. Those were merely "techniques," superficial appearances, "convenient methods" that different people had explored in different environments. What he needed to do was to go straight to the core, discard the dross and retain the essence, and use the "Dao" of the two fundamental scriptures to govern the "techniques" of the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill.

To put it dramatically, he's going to combine these elements to create a new martial art.

Not long ago, the time was almost right. After waiting for a while and seeing Li Qingde off, Shen An began to comprehend it.

He used the "Ice Heart Manual" as a guardian, making his mind as clear as the moon, eliminating all distracting thoughts, and entering a deep state of meditation where he "forgot himself and guarded the one, and the six senses were greatly settled."

Then, he began to visualize.

This is not the Taoist meditation, but a Tantric practice—the correspondence of the three secrets.

Form mudras with your body, recite mantras, and visualize with your mind.

He places his hands together in front of his abdomen, left hand on top and right hand on the bottom, with the tips of his thumbs touching, forming the "Dharmakaya Mudra" from the Mahavairocana Sutra. This image symbolizes that all things in the universe, the six elements, are unobstructed and reside entirely in the heart of the practitioner.

What he was reciting was not some profound or complicated incantation.

"Om... Mani... Padme... Hum..."

The Six-Syllable Mantra of Avalokiteshvara, the heart mantra of Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, contains the great wisdom and compassion of the universe. Each syllable evokes a specific resonance within him, cleansing the defilements of body and mind.

What he observed was not a concrete dragon or elephant, but the "Five Aspects of Body Contemplation" described in the Vajrasekhara Sutra.