Starting with The Eagle Shooting Heroes: I gain a year's worth of skill every day.

The back hall of Yuxu Palace was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.

The five Quanzhen disciples' excitement showed no signs of abating.

The sect leader, Ma Yu, personally led Shen Mo to a wall painted with the Three Pure Ones of Taoism.

He reached out and pressed nine times on an inconspicuous relief on the wall, following some mysterious pattern.

"Click...click click..."

With a dull thud as the mechanism turned, the wall caved in, revealing a hidden compartment just wide enough for one person to pass through.

The hidden compartment was completely empty.

Only a warm, smooth sandalwood box sat quietly in the center of the stone platform.

Ma Yu stepped forward, first solemnly straightening his Taoist robe, and then carrying the wooden box out with both hands.

The entire process was solemn and dignified, filled with a sense of ritual.

He turned around and solemnly handed the wooden box to Shen Mo.

"Junior Brother Xuanmo."

Even Qiu Chuji, known for his unyielding temper, slowed his breathing and tried his best to suppress the tremor in his voice.

"What is inside the box is a unique copy of the 'Xiantian Gong' handwritten by the patriarch Wang Chongyang."

He spoke each word clearly, as if afraid that Shen Mo might miss the slightest mistake.

"This skill is the most precious treasure of our Quanzhen Sect, the foundation upon which our sect is founded! Even those without a Daoist embryonic constitution could not possibly grasp even a fraction of its power in their entire lives!"

Liu Chuxuan, Wang Chuyi, and Hao Datong also nodded emphatically, their faces filled with excitement.

This is the highest core secret of the Quanzhen School.

It is their generation's greatest regret, and also their greatest hope.

Now, that hope is within reach.

Under five scorching gazes that seemed to melt one's soul, Shen Mo opened the wooden box.

A yellowed ancient book lay inside.

There were no earth-shattering phenomena or imposing aura; it simply looked like an old book that had been around for some years.

Shen Mo took it out; it felt slightly heavy in his hand.

He turned to the first page.

The elegant seal script characters, paired with extremely complex diagrams of the human body's meridians, come into view.

Each word seems to contain a kind of indescribable rhythm.

This is the "Innate Skill".

Shen Mo remained expressionless as he turned the pages one by one.

His pace was neither too fast nor too slow, maintaining a steady rhythm throughout.

I can't understand the first page.

I still can't understand the second page.

The third page was still full of scribbles.

Those so-called Daoist principles, those profound and mysterious secrets, were no different from the oracle bone script of his previous life to him.

He's not even as good as oracle bone script; at least he recognizes a few characters.

His heart remained completely unmoved.

He even began to consider whether the power he had gained that year, which had arrived in his account early this morning, had already perfectly merged with the power he already possessed.

That's right, that's the foundation of his livelihood.

It's not some kind of "Innate Skill".

Rather, it was the effort put into that year's worth of work: the money arriving precisely at midnight every day, never late or leaving early, rain or shine.

Having figured this out, his movements as he turned the pages became increasingly calm, even bordering on perfunctory.

However, in the eyes of the Five Masters of Quanzhen, this scene was a completely different and earth-shattering spectacle.

"He is resonating with the Great Way!"

Liu Chuxuan lowered his voice and transmitted it to his fellow disciples, his voice filled with uncontrollable shock.

"Look! Junior Brother Xuanmo's page-turning speed remains constant, but the time he spends on each page is precisely decreasing!"

"This shows... his comprehension speed is constantly accelerating!"

Wang Chuyi stared intently at Shen Mo's fingers, sweat already beading on his forehead.

"May Heaven bless my Quanzhen School! May Heaven bless my Taoist sect!"

Hao Datong was so excited that his whole body trembled slightly.

What did they see?

A living legend is drawing upon the supreme wisdom left by the patriarch in a way that they cannot comprehend!

That calm demeanor wasn't one of bewilderment, but rather one of deep immersion!

That indifferent expression wasn't ignorance, but rather a state of complete absorption in the world around us!

Ma Yu slowly made a shushing gesture to his four junior brothers.

Don't speak.

Be quiet.

Even breathing stopped.

They were afraid that the slightest movement would disturb this once-in-a-lifetime scene of enlightenment.

The entire rear hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Time flowed by in utter silence.

I don't know how much time passed.

"Smack."

A soft sound.

Shen Mo closed the book.

This startled the five masters who were lost in their own imaginations.

Qiu Chuji, who had the most impatient temper, could no longer hold back. He stepped forward, bowed, and spoke cautiously in an almost inquiring manner.

"Junior Brother Xuanmo...did...did you gain anything?"

Five pairs of eyes converged into ten gazes, all falling on Shen Mo.

Anticipation, nervousness, trepidation, and fervor.

Shen Mo met the ten gazes and slowly placed the ancient book back into the sandalwood box, then closed it.

Then, he calmly uttered four words.

"The Great Way is silent."

The four characters were spoken.

The room was deathly silent.

The Five Masters of Quanzhen, five top masters of the Taoist sect in this era, were struck dumb at this moment, as if by lightning.

The Great Dao... is silent?

What does this mean?

Did you not understand it? Or...?

The next moment, Sect Leader Ma Yu's body trembled violently!

A complex light, a mixture of admiration, realization, and shame, burst forth in his deep eyes!

He "got it"!

The Great Way is silent!

Wonderful!

What a realm of understanding! What profound enlightenment!

What Junior Brother Xuanmo means is that the true Dao is already clear in one's heart, so how could it be described even a fraction of it by mere words and writing?

The moment he closed the book, the "method" of the Innate Skill was no longer important.

Because he himself is the "Tao"!

He has... completely "realized" it!

Ma Yu's breathing suddenly quickened. He looked around at his four fellow disciples, who were also in a daze, and nodded heavily.

"We've become attached to appearances!"

A single word awakened me from my dream!

Qiu Chuji and the other three were shaken to their core, and their faces simultaneously showed the same look of realization and ecstasy as Ma Yu's!

Yes!

The Great Way is silent!

While they were still debating "how much they understood," Junior Brother Xuanmo had already transcended the limitations of words and pointed directly to the origin!

This is the embryo of the Dao!

This is a born cultivator!

The gap between them and him is immeasurable!

For a moment, the five masters stared at Shenmo, feeling a sense of reverence and self-abasement as if they were facing the portrait of their patriarch.

"Although my junior brother's Dao embryo has awakened, his mind and nature are still like a piece of uncut jade."

Ma Yu quickly calmed down from his excitement and regained his composure as the sect leader.

"A rough gem needs to be carved, and a Dao heart needs to be polished by the mortal world. I believe that rather than letting my junior brother sit idly in the mountains, it would be better to let him go down the mountain to experience some trials, so that he can truly integrate his original Dao body with the acquired world and reach the state of 'enlightenment'."

This suggestion was immediately approved by the other four.

"What my senior brother, the sect leader, says is absolutely right!"

"Reinventing the wheel will never lead to the true path. Only by engaging with the world can one transcend it!"

And that was the end of it.

……

A month later.

Shen Mo's internal energy has accumulated from "two years" to "thirty-two years".

Every day at dawn, that immense power arises out of nowhere and permeates every part of the body.

From its humble beginnings as a stream, it has flowed into rivers, and now it is a vast, surging ocean.

With over thirty years of accumulated skill within him, he exuded a profound and imposing presence simply by standing still.

Zhongnan Mountain, in front of the mountain gate.

Clouds drift and swirl, pine trees rustle in the breeze.

Ma Yu personally adjusted Shen Mo's brand-new dark blue Taoist robe, her movements meticulous.

"The world below the mountain is a turbulent place, and people's hearts are treacherous; be careful in everything you do."

He took out a heavy money bag and stuffed it into Shen Mo's hand.

"This money is enough for your needs. Also..."

Ma Yu then handed over a long sword with its sheath still attached.

The scabbard is simple and unadorned, and two characters are clearly engraved in small seal script on the hilt.

Silence.

"This sword, 'Azure Azure,' is forged from cold iron found in the mountains; it can cut a hair with a single blow. From this day forward, it will be your sword."

Yin Zhiping stood far away, watching this scene with a mixture of envy, respect, and deep reluctance.

For the past month, he had been paying his respects to his Uncle Xuanmo every day. Although he dared not ask him for any profound Taoist teachings, he felt peaceful and benefited greatly simply by staying by his Uncle's side.

Now that his uncle is about to leave the mountain, he feels empty inside.

He finally mustered his courage, stepped forward, and bowed deeply to Shen Mo.

"Uncle-Master, your journey is long. If you need anything, just send a letter, and Zhiping... will gladly die for you!"

Shen Mo took the longsword and weighed it in his hand.

Then, he looked at his sincere-looking junior apprentice.

"it is good."

One word.

No further words were said.

He turned around without a trace of lingering affection and walked alone down the long stone steps leading to the world below the mountain.

The blue figure gradually disappeared into the clouds and mist.

Yin Zhiping stood there until the figure completely disappeared around the bend in the mountain path before slowly straightening up.

For some reason, he felt that the person who came down the mountain today was not just a junior martial uncle.

It is also a peerless divine weapon about to be unsheathed.

This journey into the mortal world will surely stir up a storm!

Shen Mo walked down the stone steps one by one down Zhongnan Mountain.

A mountain breeze swept by, fluttering his clothes.

He didn't turn around.

He didn't stop until his feet touched the flat ground at the foot of the mountain.

He glanced back at the mountain peak, shrouded in mist and resembling a fairyland.

The Quanzhen Sect treated him well, and he remembered that kindness.

Then, he turned around and faced the vast, bustling world of martial arts below the mountain.

For the first time, his eyes showed a slight change.

"Thirty-two years of training."

He muttered to himself as he gripped the hilt of the "Qinghong" sword at his waist.

"It's time to test just how strong this skill really is."