Hidden moth

Chapter 262: The Pearl in the Palm Smokes

There was no one with the surname Wei present, but Lin Qingshuang mentioned Wei Luo when she spoke, purely out of consideration for He Kao's face.

It seems that she is well-informed. Not only does she know that Wei Luo came to Qiyuan some time ago, she also knows that she often goes to He Kao's place for free meals, and the two have a good relationship.

Wei Luo, who was in seclusion in Jinghua Cave, probably never dreamed that he could get a beauty pill by eating for free!
After the guests left, the two disciples and He Kao stayed for a while. Lin Qingshuang called He Kao aside and asked privately, "Now that you have obtained the mother-of-pearl, have you discovered Xue Guanghan?"

She explained what Xue Guanghan was, and He Kao asked, "If I get the mother-of-pearl, will I definitely get Xue Guanghan?"

Lin Qingshuang replied, "That's not necessarily true! If there's Xue Guanghan, there must be Mother of Pearl, but if there's Mother of Pearl, there's not necessarily Xue Guanghan. Mother of Pearl oysters that have grown for over a hundred years and have developed spirituality, their shells are Mother of Pearl.

Not all clams produce pearls, and even if they do, they may not necessarily be of the Snow Light Cold variety. For example, there is no Snow Light Cold variety in live clams, and even if you manually cut open the shells to extract the pearls, you won't get any.

Only under natural conditions, when pearl oysters are frozen in the mud and sand by ice, and happen to have the right pearls in their bodies, can the Snow Light Cold be formed in this slow process..."

He Kao understood that Senior Lin was an expert and the conditions for producing this thing were quite harsh.

If it were someone else, He Kao might have set an ambush, but he did not hide it in front of Lin Qingshuang, and frankly admitted that he had indeed obtained Xue Guanghan at that time, and even took it out to ask the second uncle Xiao Guangnian for advice.

Lin Qingshuang asked him rather embarrassedly, if it would be convenient for him to lend her the Han Guanghan for research? Of course, she couldn't take He Kao's Xue Guanghan away, she just wanted to borrow it for a while.

Such a precious thing couldn't just be borrowed. She could pay a large sum to "rent" it for a period of time, like she had done with the beast claw pendant, perhaps only about half a year...

He Kao rarely saw Senior Lin with this expression, as if he was very nervous. He smiled and took out the Xue Guanghan and handed it over, saying, "What are you talking about renting? Take it if you need it. You can use it for as long as you want!"

Lin Qingshuang took Xue Guanghan's hand and was stunned. She asked in surprise, "You carried it with you, and I didn't even notice it. Could it be that you personally refined it into a magic weapon?"

He Kao nodded: "Yes."

Lin Qingshuang hesitated to speak: "So, you have already..."

He Kao: "Please keep it a secret for me for now."

What did these words mean? Anything carried on one's person wouldn't escape the divine sense of a master like Lin Qingshuang. However, arbitrarily using divine sense to search someone else's belongings was a highly impolite and provocative act, and Lin Qingshuang wouldn't do it.

Treasures like Xue Guanghan have their own spirituality. Even if she didn't deliberately use her spiritual sense to investigate, she should have been able to vaguely sense it at such a close distance, but she didn't feel it just now.

This shows one thing, that Xue Guanghan has been refined into a real magic weapon, and He Kao has fully mastered its magical uses and can restrain its spirituality.

There is an elder standing behind He Kao. It is not impossible for an elder to help him refine the weapon and then pass on the relevant mental skills to him. However, the prerequisite is that He Kao himself must master the method of controlling the weapon, which requires at least the fourth level of cultivation.

So this means that He Kao has broken through the fourth level of cultivation.

Since Senior Lin had seen through it, He Kao admitted it. He also admitted that this Xue Guanghan was a magic weapon that he had personally refined, but asked Lin Qingshuang to keep it secret for the time being.

Lin Qingshuang was a straightforward person and did not ask He Kao why he did this. Perhaps he had his own considerations, or perhaps it was the instruction of an elder. In any case, she helped to keep it a secret.

She put away her snow-white glow and said coldly, "If you don't want others to know, I won't tell anyone. I'll only borrow this for half a year and will return it to you after half a year."

He Kao had no regrets about lending it to Lin Qingshuang, as he still had two. After finishing various New Year's chores, He Kao had been fasting for more than three days and finally arrived at the Fairy Pot Residence in Piaocai Cave Heaven to sit in meditation.

The so-called Xianhuju is a natural cave dwelling on the cliff, with a connected cave hall and stone chamber. This place is similar to the Xianhuping in Fengwei Township, and there are corresponding places in the eight major magic sects.

Today, only the Xianhu Residence in Piaocai Cave has not been artificially built or renovated, and still maintains its original natural appearance. He Kao can arrange it according to his own preferences.

He hardly made any changes, but just brought some supplies, such as a meditation cushion, a set of tea sets and an incense burner.

Sitting in long-term meditation is the most strict form of retreat, which should be free from any disturbance as much as possible and usually requires protection.

He Kao did not ask anyone to protect him. He checked every corner of Xianhuju and then set up a simple formation. Some time ago, he also used his carpentry skills to install a door at the entrance of the cave hall.

Before sitting down, he lit three incense sticks to help calm his mind and enter a state of meditation. The incense sticks can only be lit for one hour, but he sat there for more than three days and three nights.

He Kao had never tried to sit still like this before. Apart from anything else, just being able to do it showed his extraordinary concentration.

Time flew by, and it was the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year. He Kao remained seated, yet he seemed to be moving. He didn't open his eyes, yet he seemed to be gazing at the falling celestial curtain outside the cave... His entire being seemed to be slowly waking up. His current retreat was still focused on the fundamental principle of the Hidden Moth Technique—"See me, I see you this way." The state of mind he grasped was difficult to describe.

In fact, although many of the contents of the cultivation techniques cannot be expressed inaccurately, it is difficult for practitioners to grasp their essence. As mentioned above, for example, the simplest "concentrating the mind on the Dantian" is difficult to understand in detail.

From a literal meaning, it means focusing your attention on the Dantian position, but if you don't really enter the state, the concept of the Dantian does not exist.

The techniques vary from one school to another. Some schools of tradition add a key point, which is often not written in the techniques but passed down orally by the master, and annotates "focusing the mind on the dantian" as "I am in the dantian".

The four words "I am in Dantian" seem more difficult to understand, but the artistic conception is easier to comprehend, and they point out the way to use "intention".

Some spells use diagrams, drawing a little man exactly the same as the original body at the position of the dantian, which actually conveys this meaning.

Let me give you another example. When the Yang is born and the herbs are collected and returned to the pot, and the Qi ascends along the Governor Vessel as it ascends the ladder to heaven, is it the mind that leads the Qi or the Qi that leads the mind? In fact, it is neither. Rather, it is the Governor Vessel that leads the meridian. Wherever the Qi goes, I am there.

The so-called "I am here" turns into the primordial spirit after going through the Danhuo Tribulation and breaking through the third level. From then on, there is no concept of focusing the mind. If the mind is not moved, it means "the spirit is here".

He Kao was practicing the art of concealment rather than the art of alchemy, which was a kind of observation method that emphasized manifestation through observation. Now he was still cultivating the realm of "the presence of the spirit".

When one reaches the fourth realm of cultivation, one must comprehend the unity of spirit and energy, and then the unity of body and spirit.

He has already achieved the step of "from observation to manifestation", and his consciousness can travel out of the body, as if the soul has broken free from the constraints of the flesh.

Then, to quote a cross-disciplinary term, in the relationship between consciousness and the body, is there a superposition state of "both leaving and not leaving"?

He Kao was in this state during the three days of long meditation.

His primordial spirit can leave the body, but it has not actually left the body. The spirit is in the body, integrated with the form, sitting upright and motionless... It is as if the primordial spirit also has a form, and the whole person is a so-called elixir.

Perhaps because of his cultivation of icy skin and jade bones, when he came out of meditation, his whole body was glowing faintly in the darkness. When the light gradually disappeared, the telepathy technique he had practiced for a long time was finally perfected.

The art of telepathy is perfect and unobstructed, which means that the five senses are truly connected. For example, when you hear a sound, it has shape, color, taste and touch in your mind.

The fusion of the soul and the body also means that any part of the body can have a sense of the whole body. For example, if a finger touches something, it is equivalent to seeing and hearing...

Is that so mysterious? There's something even more mysterious! Because magical instruments can be integrated with the body and mind, when controlling an instrument, they become a part of the body. Therefore, magical instruments with ingenious detection functions can also become the special senses of the instrument user.

If it is an unfamiliar magical instrument, in order to comprehend its miraculous use, one needs to go through such a process, and one can also nurture its spirituality in the process.

Before He Kao opened his eyes, two balls of soft light appeared on his left and right sides. There were lamps there, and the wick on each lamp was a piece of Xue Guanghan.

The light gradually brightened. He had refined the two gems into magic tools respectively. After injecting magic power into them, he could ignore them and let them glow on their own.

According to the magic power he injected at this time, it can continue to glow for about twelve hours.

Then he waved his hand again, and the Snow Light on the right flew into his palm. The light suddenly changed, shining on his body, and his body also glowed slightly, appearing translucent.

Not only his body, but even his clothes became transparent, allowing light to pass through his clothes and skin, revealing his bones, tendons, and internal organs. This was also one of the magical effects of Xue Guanghan, which He Kao had just mastered. The effect was a bit like "naked eye perspective."

During this retreat, he successfully attempted to sit in long-term meditation, which meant that his fourth-level cultivation had reached the "knowing the constant" realm from "entry level". Many magic methods must be based on this realm in order to be successfully performed.

The spell only took a few seconds, and then he put away Xue Guanghan and opened his eyes. The door of the cave hall opened automatically, and the morning light outside shone in through the gaps in the heavenly palace curtain.

The Heavenly Palace Curtains were vines growing on the cliffs, their leaves withered and yellow in winter. He Kao noticed that one of the ancient vines seemed to have undergone some mysterious transformation during his retreat.

It is a feeling of vitality and moisture. Although there is no out-of-season sprouting, the bud tips hidden in the vine nodes are more vivid, and it seems that one can perceive the rhythm of heaven and earth like breathing.

So-called spiritual plants all have similar characteristics, but this Heavenly Palace Curtain felt particularly vivid to him at the moment. He took out a Spirit-Awakening Pill, held it in his palm, and refined it, locking onto the Heavenly Palace Curtain with his spiritual sense.

Wisps of glowing mist rose from the Qi Ling Pill, floated towards the Tiangong Curtain, and then penetrated into the vines... When the last wisp of mist penetrated into the vines, the Qi Ling Pill in his hand completely disappeared!

**
(End of this chapter)