61 - A Sect Leader’s Ascension

"Pitiful as he may be, there's surely something detestable about him. If not for him, Master Kan wouldn't have faced such a disaster." Suddenly, mid-flight, He Yu blurted out this seemingly random comment. Having just witnessed that bloody scene, the group was disheartened, and a subtle sympathy for Bai Xiaosheng had begun to emerge in their hearts, so no one responded to He Yu's remark. Only Wang Guan seemed to be in a good mood. "Kan Lin really had some rotten luck this time. Heh, he'll owe me a big favor for sure." Qi Xiu could only force a wry smile at the old prankster’s peculiar enthusiasm. A large group of them returned to the mountain. He Yu took Wang Guan to check on Kan Lin, while the others busied themselves with repairing the damaged mountain gates. Zhan Yuan approached Qi Xiu and suggested, "Shall I buy more 'Craftsmen Warriors' again? The Tibetan-style roof of the Chu-Qin View was ill-suited to our Daoist sect anyway. Now that it's damaged, we might as well take this chance to replace it." Qi Xiu nodded in agreement. "Go ahead, but for now, avoid visiting Black River Street. It seems Chu Youguang was also implicated this time; be wary of his retaliation." Zhan Yuan agreed and went about his tasks. Qi Xiu's own quarters had also suffered damage, filled with debris from the fallen roof. As he wandered around, he awkwardly realized that he was the only one left without a place to stay, feeling both mentally and physically exhausted. He decided to head to the pavilion for a short rest. From a distance, he saw a familiar figure standing within the pavilion. As Qi Xiu drew closer and recognized the visitor, his heart was shaken. At first, he thought he was hallucinating—wasn't this the Golden Core Ancestor Chu Duo from the Southern Chu Sect? Approaching closer, it indeed was him, with the same sinister expression and serpent-like gaze. Yet, there was not a hint of the formidable pressure typical of a Golden Core Ancestor, presenting himself like an ordinary mortal. "Why would he be here? Does this mean the affair isn't over yet?" Qi Xiu felt a chill run down his spine but forced himself to maintain his composure, suppressing his inner fear as he stepped forward to pay his respects. "You are the one with the 'Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey' spiritual root?" Surprisingly, Chu Duo did not appear as harsh as before but looked at Qi Xiu with interest. He casually released a strand of spiritual energy, which swirled within Qi Xiu's sea of consciousness. "Sure enough, it's the 'Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey.' No wonder the Ancestor instructed me to entrust 'that matter' to you." "Why couldn't Chu Hongshang succeed in searching my soul's memories? Why did her attitude shift upon discovering my true nature as the 'Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey'? Why is Chu Duo here? What kind of secretive and crucial matter makes the Golden Core warrior of the Southern Chu Sect personally intervene?" Though Qi Xiu's mind was filled with questions, he knew that the Southern Chu Sect was his guiding star, from principles to power, leaving him no choice but to accept what was asked. "The Southern Chu Sect has shown me great kindness beyond measure. Whatever you command, I will dedicate myself entirely, even at the cost of my life." "Good! You understand the virtue of gratitude." Chu Duo tossed two items into Qi Xiu's arms. "However, we at the Southern Chu Sect never let our soldiers starve. These two items should help you advance your cultivation and might even pave a broader path for you. Take them." "What are these?" Having been stuck at the same level of cultivation for over twenty years, Chu Duo suddenly offering him a path to further progression thrilled Qi Xiu immensely. He looked down at the two items—a jade slip with the title 'The Clear Heart Technique, Revised by Chu Huixin,' and a tiny colored tower, likely a primary-grade magical artifact with an unknown function. After ensuring Qi Xiu had received the items, Chu Duo explained 'that matter' in detail, leaving the stunned Qi Xiu as he disappeared. "Master Qi!" Gu Ji came running over excitedly. "Senior Wang took action, and Senior Kan has indeed awoken." "Oh... oh..." Qi Xiu snapped out of the shock from hearing about 'that matter,' responded absentmindedly, and proceeded to visit Kan Lin. Kan Lin had merely had his essence suppressed by Chu Hongshang, with his spiritual energy unable to circulate. With a little guidance from Wang Guan, he recovered without any residual effects. After sleepily thanking Wang Guan, Qi Xiu instructed careful arrangements for Kan Lin's rest in the sect, disregarding the curious glances from his disciples. He retreated alone to a small, vacant courtyard in the back mountain, locking the gate behind him before taking out the jade slip and mini-tower for closer inspection. 'The Clear Heart Technique, Revised by Chu Huixin'—it had a peculiar name. Qi Xiu hesitated only slightly before placing the jade slip against his forehead, allowing himself to delve into its contents. Long after, the jade slip dissolved into points of light, and Qi Xiu exhaled a long sigh, finally understanding the content and the reason behind Chu Duo's confident claim that this technique would significantly aid his path to enlightenment. The Clear Heart Technique was a primary-grade Daoist method, not particularly rare. The 'Clear Heart' aspect focused on how cultivators could shed the worldly attachments and better understand their true selves, reflecting this understanding onto their cultivation. The 'Seeing Nature' part, when combined with 'Clear Heart,' involved how one could apply their self-exploration techniques when interacting with others—asserting that one must first understand their own heart to perceive human nature. However, these aspects bore no relation to Qi Xiu's 'Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey,' a spiritual root seemingly unsuited for cultivation. The crux lay in the 'Revised by Chu Huixin'—the key to its significance. Chu Huixin was an ancestor of the Chu family who had also possessed a similar unusable spiritual root. Through her lifetime of research into cultivation methods, she discovered a unique path specifically addressing her circumstances. Ordinarily, in cultivating the Clear Heart Technique, a practitioner would reflect upon their true self. But Chu Huixin altered it, having practitioners reflect upon their spiritual root. One might question how an unusable spiritual root could be cultivated? True, it couldn't be cultivated in the traditional sense, but this modified technique involved constructing a false spiritual root—a construct drawn from certain commonalities with one’s actual unusable spiritual root. Using this surrogate method, the practitioner continually reflected upon and illustrated the false spiritual root through the Clear Heart Technique, simultaneously linking common aspects of the false and actual root to achieve cultivation, thus crossing the thresholds of cultivation. Though seemingly profound, an example tied to Qi Xiu might simplify it. Qi Xiu’s spiritual root, the 'Red-Bottomed Horse Monkey,' bestowed abilities like discerning yin and yang, understanding human affairs, and manipulating life and death. Following Chu Huixin’s method, the surrogate spiritual root would be the 'Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart,' which shared common abilities and could be cultivated using the primary-grade 'Exquisite Tower' as a reference. Thus, Qi Xiu would use the 'Exquisite Tower' in tandem with the surrogate 'Seven Aperture Exquisite Heart,' ultimately strengthening his own cultivation through these shared traits. "What ingenuity! This Chu Huixin ancestor, truly a maverick in thought and action!" Qi Xiu marveled at the 'Exquisite Tower,' filled with admiration. "Although our sect suffered this unforeseen calamity, personally, I’ve gained an immense fortune... But," his expression darkened, "the price is having to undertake 'that matter.' By doing so, I've sown the seeds of catastrophe for the sect—a burden that can never be shed!"