The Eagle Shooting Heroes: From Golden-Knife Prince Consort to Emperor Guangwu of the Great Zhou Dyn

According to Xu Zhu, the Tianshan Child Granny's rejuvenation was probably a side effect of being ambushed by Li Qiushui when she was young and practicing martial arts.

In the practice of "Changchun Gong", the step of rejuvenating is not necessary.

"After creating the Everlasting Spring Technique, did Xiaoyaozi also cultivate it to rejuvenate?"

Guo Liqing asked the question that had been on his mind.

Xu Zhu hesitated.

Xiaoyaozi was the master of Wuyazi, Tianshan Tonglao, and Li Qiushui.

He was already a legendary figure in the era of "Tian Long".

Xu Zhu had never met him; he had only heard some scattered legends about him later.

Whether Xiaoyaozi would also regain his youth by practicing the "Eternal Spring Skill" was unknown to Xuzhu.

The only thing Xu Zhu could confirm was that he had not rejuvenated.

Guo Liqing pondered the matter alone to no avail, and his discussions with Xu Zhu also yielded no results. So he put down the "Eternal Spring Skill" and turned to study the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill".

Cultivating the "Northern Darkness Divine Art" requires dispersing one's own internal energy, so Guo Liqing cannot cultivate it directly; he is only studying the methods within it.

The most distinctive feature of the "Northern Darkness Divine Art" is its ability to absorb the internal energy of others.

If something can be transferred from one person to another, what is the essence of that thing?

With a modern mindset, Guo Liqing quickly realized that the so-called true qi and internal strength were more like energy!

Absorbing internal force is a form of energy transfer.

So he began to think divergently.

If there is an energy in this world that exists in humans, animals, and plants, what is this energy?

Humans are conscious and can absorb large amounts of this energy through cultivation, and unleash tremendous power from it.

Although animals lack consciousness, they naturally absorb energy, and as they age, the energy accumulated in their bodies increases.

As for plants, they are born in spring and die in autumn, with a lifespan of no more than one year, so they accumulate the least amount of energy.

How much energy can one absorb from food, that is, from plants and animals, using the methods of "Changchun Gong"?

Humans, as the most intelligent of all beings, have the most energy stored in their bodies.

Of course, this does not mean that people should be eaten.

Humans have consciousness and can cultivate, so why not just absorb their internal energy directly?

Thus, the "Northern Darkness Divine Art" came into being!

Guo Liqing exclaimed, "This logic is simply a perfect closed loop!"

But what exactly is this energy?

In Guo Liqing's mind, a word gradually emerged automatically—the spiritual energy of heaven and earth!

He could hardly believe it.

If it's the kind of energy that's spiritual energy from heaven and earth, then this should be a world of cultivation, not a world of martial arts!

Having experienced two lifetimes, Guo Liqing discovered that the martial arts prowess of humans in this martial arts world was much higher than that of humans in his modern world.

Could it be that spiritual energy has been thinning since ancient times?

Yes, that must be it.

In Guo Liqing's mind, logic once again formed a closed loop.

Whether a martial art is considered high-level or low-level depends entirely on the concentration of spiritual energy in that era.

Guo Liqing is now using the method of "boldly hypothesizing and carefully proving".

If this is true, then it can be understood that "Changchun Gong" is a method of refining essence into qi. If spiritual energy is insufficient, essence and blood can be used to make up for it, which is inherently a losing proposition.

Rejuvenation could very well be a warning sign that the body is not functioning properly!

As for the "Northern Darkness Divine Art," it allows one to absorb the spiritual energy that others have already absorbed when spiritual energy is insufficient.

However, the spiritual energy absorbed by others has already been transformed once and cannot be transformed again.

The fact that the internal energy of the Xiaoyao Sect can be passed around indicates that the Beiming internal energy is a special kind of existence.

It may lie somewhere between ordinary internal force and primordial true qi, which is why it cannot coexist with other internal forces.

If this is true, then the fact that Xu Zhu neither absorbs true qi through food nor through others proves something.

He absorbed enough spiritual energy!

Xu Zhu said that he gradually mastered the "Eternal Spring Skill" after arriving at this cave, and also integrated the internal energies of the three schools.

The key to the problem lies in this cave.

Guo Liqing stepped out of the cave and looked at the entire Tianshan mountain range, which was majestic and undulating.

Since ancient times, these sects have preferred to establish their schools in famous mountains and rivers.

One theory is that these famous mountains and rivers are places where spiritual energy gathers.

Is this the reason why Lingjiu Palace was located here?

But why didn't the Heavenly Child Granny master it back then?

Xu Zhu said that this cave was only found after he took over the position.

Perhaps the Heavenly Child Granny did not discover this place where spiritual energy gathers.

Guo Liqing immediately stopped thinking about it and sat down cross-legged.

They stopped thinking about the "Eternal Spring Skill" and the "Northern Darkness Divine Skill" and instead practiced the "Nine Yin Manual" according to the inherent operational path of the skills in their body's memory.

Seeing Guo Liqing's change in demeanor, Xu Zhu was slightly taken aback, but did not disturb him.

After a few days, Guo Liqing felt that cultivating here was indeed twice as effective with half the effort.

However, there was still a layer of fog before his eyes that he had not yet seen through.

He then sought out Xu Zhu for a discussion, but Xu Zhu stated that he was of average talent and could not answer Guo Liqing's question regarding martial arts.

If you really want to talk, we can talk about Buddhism.

Guo Liqing thought to himself, "Buddhism it is then!"

"Mr. Guo, what is your understanding of Buddhism?"

"I don't know much about it; I've only read the Diamond Sutra!"

"The Diamond Sutra? That's right. The Diamond Sutra is a classic of Zen Buddhism. If one can understand even one level of it, one has reached the level of a high monk."

"Even if you understand the meaning, it's hard to fathom the level of understanding," Guo Liqing said with a smile. "For example, the line 'All forms are illusions'—I understand the meaning of this line, but I can't comprehend that everything in this world is 'illusory'."

"Then you don't really understand!"

Guo Liqing looked at Xuzhu and asked, "Is Shaolin Buddhism also part of the Chan (Zen) school?"

"That's right. Bodhidharma, the founder of Shaolin, was also the founder of Zen Buddhism."

Guo Liqing shook his head and said, "Zen koans rely solely on sudden enlightenment! Can't we analyze them rationally and dialectically?"

"Zen Buddhism talks about 'breaking through appearances.' If you are not attached to 'breaking through appearances,' you can't break through anything."

Guo Liqing immediately voiced his conjecture, employing comparative analysis, making bold assumptions, and carefully verifying them.

Xu Zhu said, "I don't know anything about spiritual energy, but cultivating in this blessed land is indeed twice as effective with half the effort."

Guo Liqing then asked, "During your cultivation process, did you sense anything similar to the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?"

Xu Zhu also shook his head.

"Perhaps you don't call it 'Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy,' but rather 'True Qi' or 'Internal Force.' The names may differ, but it's something similar. Have you sensed it?"

Xu Zhu said, "The Buddha said that 'spiritual energy' is not actually 'spiritual energy,' but it is called 'spiritual energy'! You don't need to worry about it; you should look at its essence."

Guo Liqing nodded. What this sentence means is that the name of a thing does not represent its essence. We call it that way just to make it easier to convey its meaning.

Xu Zhu then said, "I left the word 'emptiness' in the manual, but if you cling to emptiness, you are falling into 'attachment to self'."

Guo Liqing murmured, "Dependent origination leads to emptiness, breaking through all appearances..."

All forms are illusory. If one sees all forms as non-forms, then one sees the Tathagata…

All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows, dew, and lightning; thus should they be viewed…

Guo Liqing seemed to have realized something. Without looking back, he walked out of the cave, sat cross-legged on the mountainside, and watched the clouds drift and gather in the mountains...