Twin Dimension Yin-Yang Mirror: Attaining immortality through the martial path
Chapter 441 - 391 Freezing Moon Heart Sutra, Cultivating the Soul

Chapter 441: Chapter 391 Freezing Moon Heart Sutra, Cultivating the Soul

The old man carried boiling water and brewed another pot of tea.

This time, the fragrance of the tea was refreshing, making one feel as if all troubles had vanished with just a sniff.

However, after drinking a cup, Zhou Ping’an found that, although delicious, it lacked the soul-cleansing effect of the bland tea he had before.

Perhaps, that tea came from an extraordinary source, much like the old man in front of him, appearing ordinary but actually being quite remarkable.

"Human beings’ needs for survival are not high—they need only three meals a day and eight feet of space to sleep at night. I have served as the Town Defense Commander of the Southeastern Three Provinces for over twenty years. If I need anything, people will find ways to procure it as soon as I speak the word.

But I don’t feel happy. Do you know why?"

Chu Wenli suddenly said this, taking a sip of tea with a troubled expression, his tone filled with endless melancholy.

Initially, Zhou Ping’an knew nothing about this commander’s past and almost spat out his tea at these words. He covered his mouth and coughed lightly, deciding not to indulge the old man’s pretentiousness.

I am quite straightforward.

He thoughtfully asked, "Is it because desires are insatiable?"

Having cultivated the "Five Desires Evil Art" to completion, Zhou Ping’an had significant insight into controlling his emotions and desires.

"Cough cough, you are... quite interesting, young man."

Chu Wenli gave a rueful laugh, now it was his turn to feel awkward.

Then, he noticed that the young man in uniform sitting opposite him showed no restraint; instead, he seemed relaxed and at ease, with a broad and profound presence, almost as if he were the master of this place.

Impressive, truly impressive.

From this, one could perceive Zhou Ping’an’s strong, almost tangible self-confidence and his resilience, comparable to that of a King Level Ferocious Beast, exuding a life magnetic field that seemed to crush everything.

Such a formidable young man.

Chu Wenli, whose train of thought was almost interrupted by a single remark, hadn’t even spoken his second line.

When Zhou Ping’an cheerfully pulled a pristine white porcelain bottle from his bosom, "Seeing that you seem to love nurturing flowers and grains, mastering the subtle understanding of wood-element vitality in health preservation, perhaps you might want to try my ’Revitalizing Pill’ and see if it can be of any help to you."

After speaking, he passed the porcelain bottle over.

Seeing Zhou Ping’an’s casual demeanor, Chu Wenli’s white beard quivered slightly as if shaking his head—he did not believe that this youngster, who had recently risen to power in Dongjiang in an unorthodox manner, could possess anything worthwhile.

It seemed like he was just trying to save face after consuming two cups of good tea.

If the Revitalizing Pill proved ineffective later, he couldn’t demoralize the young man’s enthusiasm, he would have to generously praise it.

His own lifespan was nearing its end, with at best another ten to eight years left.

He could still maintain the situation in the Southeastern Three Provinces.

What about the future?

It would still depend on these young people.

If he could assist, he would lend a hand...

Just as he thought this, Chu Wenli opened the porcelain bottle, glanced inside casually, and smelled a faint fragrance of herbs and wood, which suddenly changed his expression.

"This..."

Even he couldn’t control his hands from trembling as he brought the bottle up to his nose and quickly poured out a green-ish elixir, scraping a bit of powder with his nail to taste.

"Life-extending... Elixir...!"

The power Chu Wenli perfectly controlled so as not to reveal any signs of, now trembled faintly.

As a breeze blew by.

The grass on the ground and the flowers burst into vigorous life, the freshly harvested rice roots sprouted anew and bore grains again.

Even the thatch on the roof took on a greener hue.

"I can impart vitality to all flora, but who can impart vitality to me?"

Chu Wenli sighed deeply and swallowed a Revitalizing Pill.

Then, Zhou Ping’an watched as the old man’s white hair and beard quickly turned dark and glossy.

The deeply lined face, as if gently smoothed, seemed to become more than a decade younger,

transforming from the look of an ordinary person in their seventies or eighties to that of someone in their fifties or sixties.

Without even needing to ask about the effects of the pill, Zhou Ping’an understood that Chu Wenli had maximized the potential of the Revitalizing Pill.

Originally, those top-grade Revitalizing Pills crafted by Elder Qing could extend life by about twelve to thirteen years each, but it appeared that Chu Wenli had maximized their effect to extend life by around twenty years.

"Life and cultivation, it seems many have chosen the wrong path before..."

"Twenty-one years, I feel I can live another twenty-one years."

As he looked at the remaining two green pills in the bottle, Chu Wenli forcefully controlled his fluctuating emotions and gave Zhou Ping’an a profoundly complicated look.

Suddenly, he burst out laughing.

"Fine young man, such a great gift, such a significant gift... You have truly presented an old man with a difficult problem."

He turned and entered the house, hastily picking up paper and pen, scribbling a voluminous, ink-drenched document.

When he came out again, Zhou Ping’an noticed that Chu Wenli appeared slightly fatigued, but his eyes conveyed a sense of relief.

He took the paper filled with ink characters, and his eyebrows quivered upon reading the headline.

[Heart Sutra of Vast Cold]

What is this?

Clearly, it’s a cultivation technique.

He wasn’t without knowledge anymore, especially after seeing various secret manuals in Another World; he knew that any cultivation technique with the title "scripture" was never simple.

Just like the Immortal Scripture of the Cloud Water Heavenly Sect called the "Cloud Water Sutra" and the supreme cultivation technique of the Three Sects of the Demonic Path in the Subduing Demon Sect called the "Suppression Prison Subduing Demon Scripture."

Could this "Heart Sutra of Vast Cold" also be a technique of the same level?

Where did the old man get it?

Could it be cultivated?

A myriad of thoughts swept through his mind.

Zhou Ping’an had only burned ten Wish Power Threads and studied the first three sentences when he felt his spiritual power surge wildly like oil being poured on a fire, drawing in an invisible and intangible energy from all directions, making his spirit grow stronger bit by bit.

At the same time, deep in his heart, tranquility reached its extreme, as if he had transformed into a cold moon, surrounded by the boundless void, with a sense of eternal, indestructible essence imprinted deep within his soul.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the sun had already declined to the west, and he had been sitting beside the desk for nearly an hour.

He could clearly sense the massive essence and energy subdued within his bones and blood, now more smoothly controlled.

He gently squeezed his hand.

The evening’s twilight seemed to be squeezed by a tremendous strength into a five-colored light bead, formed solidly.

With a thought, the light bead turned into a faint flow of air and dispersed in all directions, vanishing without a trace.

"This is actually a scripture specialized in cultivating the soul, enabling the spiritual power to grow stronger,"

Zhou Ping’an turned his head toward Chu Wenli, who was sitting beside the desk, enjoying the cool breeze and lightly fanning himself, and asked in astonishment.

"That’s right, I came back from afar just in time to see your slash. I must say, your attack was incredibly powerful, splitting the sky and breaking the earth with supreme dominance and sharpness unmatched by others.

But compared to your formidable body and sword intent, your spirit seems rather lacking. This is not to say that your cultivation of spiritual power is insufficient, but rather that you probably haven’t specifically cultivated a secret technique for the divine soul, causing an imbalance where your spiritual strength is overshadowed by your physical strength."

Chu Wenli’s explanation wasn’t very clear.

But Zhou Ping’an understood what he meant.

His spiritual power was indeed exceptionally pure, but that was a side effect of the "Five Desires Demonic Scripture" and the "Karmic Fire Red Lotus Visualization Method."

"Five Desires" refined the heart; "Karmic Fire" forged the soul.

Both focused on improving "quality."

They had forged Zhou Ping’an’s spiritual power into something as resilient and concentrated as steel wire.

But as the saying goes, even the most skilled cook can’t prepare a meal without rice.

Truly speaking, his soul strength, or spirit, had only grown stronger with his physical body.

Compared to his formidable physique, his soul power was significantly weaker.

In other words, his spiritual strength was weaker than his physical strength, suppressed and out of balance.

Before, when he hadn’t developed the "Starry Bone," and his physique hadn’t reached its current extreme level, this issue wasn’t so apparent.

Once he cultivated the "Starry Bone" in his limbs, with his physique becoming somewhat monstrous, his spiritual power couldn’t completely control this force, and no amount of skill could help.

This was evident from his slash that overflowed with sword qi, resembling a celestial collapse.

It not only killed the Wolf King but also rocked a large building, causing the nearby people to be thrown off their feet, injuring seven or eight.

If he could fully control the strength of his body, he could sever the Wolf King’s head without harming the ground, let alone causing collateral damage to buildings and other people.

Having just tried cultivating the "Freezing Moon Heart Sutra," Zhou Ping’an felt as if he had transformed into a bright moon, illuminating all around.

His soul naturally absorbed free-floating energy and gradually grew stronger.

Although the effect wasn’t very noticeable in the short term,

Considering this was only his first cultivation attempt and it wasn’t yet profound, the results already made it hard for even his calm and collected nature to keep emotions from showing on his face.

If given time and continued cultivation, wouldn’t his soul grow to an incredible extent?

Coupled with the "Karmic Fire Soul Forging," after numerous refinements, having both quantity and quality, might one day his spirit interfere with the material world, condensing a spiritual energy body?

Wouldn’t this achieve what legends describe as "Astral Projection," "Spiritual Travel," and "Nascent Soul," "Primordial Spirit" and such?

"This..."

"Don’t ask about the origin, and after leaving here, don’t tell anyone about this Heart Sutra. Anyway, even if you do tell, I won’t acknowledge it..."

Chu Wenli blinked, having guessed what Zhou Ping’an wanted to say.

Anyone who had gotten this far had their indefinable chances and secrets.

Zhou Ping’an had them, and naturally, so did Chu Wenli.

This world was already falling apart, with beasts growing stronger day by day, seemingly without limit.

On the human side, it was naturally impossible to stop progressing.

If they fell behind, they would perish.

...