Here ends the review.
Ning Zhuo summoned the old cook and gave him the Ghost Dao Golden Core, instructing him to go out and purchase pine trees as well as related cultivation materials and tools.
"Literary Style is so important, it is essential for my future cultivation."
"Why not directly choose an empty cabin in the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon and plant the pine trees there."
After several months, Ning Zhuo, following the Spirit Hidden Willow, once again began the construction of the Ten-Thousand-Li Travelling Dragon.
Ning Zhuo took out the Jade Slip for the Pine Wave Energy Cultivation Technique.
"Without a doubt, this is a reward custom-made for me by the Confucian cultivator community. However, my performance this time should not have troubled them."
This was also Ning Zhuo subtly expressing his sincerity in cooperation!
Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged like a pine tree.
On the table before him, the Ideograph Brush lay still as if a dragon in slumber, and in the inkstone, the Bitter Ink was deep and dark like the solidified night. Inside the Shuyu Pavilion, Sun Lingtong sat before the Water Vortex Array, her eyes emitting Spirit Light, seeing the Luoshu Book Pages, allowing Ning Zhuo to share in the mysterious power of the Taoist Artifact.
He took a deep breath, his gaze steady as an ancient pond.
"Head suspended by a beam!"
His Sea of Consciousness quaked, a hemp rope noosed his hair, his scalp tightened, and all sorts of distracting thoughts in the Divine Sea were swept clean like dust.
"Thorns on the hip!"
A wooden awl pierced into his thigh, the sharp pain like a heated iron rod stabbing into his bone marrow!
His spirit was instantly like a bowstring pulled taut.
Keen thoughts arose one after another, emerging continuously.
Ning Zhuo slowly stretched out his arm, reaching for the brush.
The Ideograph Brush touched the Bitter Ink, its warm radiance intertwined with the ink’s deep darkness.
The tip of the brush dipped into the heavy ink as dense as mercury, and as Ning Zhuo wrote, it descended heavily onto the paper.
Ning Zhuo first wrote the fundamental principles of the Pine Wave Energy Cultivation Technique.
"Between heaven and earth lies righteous energy, chaotic forms are borne. Pines and cypresses embody resilience, thriving in cold to reveal their spirit..."
The brush tip moved with difficulty across the paper surface.
For Ning Zhuo, the style of Confucian cultivation techniques was unfamiliar, and being a novice, it was as challenging as a lame man climbing a mountain.
The words and phrases were profound and obscure, the prose ancient and difficult. "Righteous energy," "shapes," "resilience"... these scattered pieces of information were chaotic and jumbled, overwhelming Ning Zhuo, making it difficult for him to grasp the focus.
Yet the ideograph conveyed to his heart an inherent meaning, forming a stark contrast with Ning Zhuo’s comprehension.
It was continuous, but overall vague.
Ning Zhuo sensed something indistinct, but was not in a hurry, understanding well that this was just the beginning of accumulation.
This was only the first attempt at copying.
The sticky sensation of the Bitter Ink was particularly strong, each character written consumed immense mental effort, feeling like trudging through a quagmire, the spirit weighed down by the heavy "bitter meaning" to the point of breathlessness.
Fortunately, Ning Zhuo excelled in enduring hardship, and with remarkable tenacity, he forcefully memorized the characters and their forms, exhausting all his strength.
The word count of Pine Wave Energy Cultivation Technique was not extensive. After completing the first copying, Ning Zhuo gained much but was also deeply fatigued.
He closed his eyes to meditate, resting for a long while, before slowly opening his eyes to begin the second attempt.
Writing to a section of the Text of Pine Chapter: "Pines emit clear sounds, like reciting the sages’ scriptures. Its energy swells, bright as jade..." In Ning Zhuo’s heart, the accumulated meaning reached a qualitative transformation from quantitative change.
The Ideograph Brush became somewhat "clear and sonorous," the heaviness of the Bitter Ink persisted, but the firmness of the brush strokes strengthened.
Ning Zhuo’s understanding advanced a level: "The so-called Pine Waves’ Wind is a mixture and rhythm of energy."
When he wrote to a passage in the Wu Song Chapter: "Wu Song strikes gold and iron, as if hearing war drum sounds. Its energy fiercely alive, appearing deep iron blue..."
The Ideograph Brush clearly transmitted a distinctly different "meaning," making Ning Zhuo seem to see pine branches wildly dancing like warriors wielding spears in the sound of the wind! An image of furious Pine Waves, iron horses and soldiers emerged.
His understanding deepened again: "Literary Energy, Martial Energy... Arts and Martial share the same origin but flow differently!"
The second copying concluded, Ning Zhuo needed much less time to rest compared to before.
The third attempt at copying.
Writing a passage: "Literary nourishes the mind, Martial refines the form. Mind and form support each other, the Dao can thus be achieved."
At that moment, in the distant Shuyu Pavilion, Sun Lingtong seemed to see the Luoshu Book Pages lightly tremble!
The Luoshu provided Ning Zhuo with the most accurate insight, allowing him to deepen his understanding again: "Bold strength needs a gentle heart to steer, and a gentle heart needs bold will to support! Like the pine and cypress, branches strong enough to withstand wind and snow (Martial), pine needles supple but evergreen through seasons (Literary)!"
"So, the mutual support of mind and form is the core true intent of this cultivation technique!!"
At this point, Ning Zhuo finally had his first personal, albeit vague, insight into the fundamental essence of the Pine Wave Energy Cultivation Technique.
The brush tip halted painfully at "Righteous energy within fears not the vanity of life."
The third copying concluded!
Ning Zhuo slowly put the brush down, his face pale, body and mind both utterly exhausted, the stabbing pain in his leg only now clearly surfacing, drenched in cold sweat.
The Literary Style that once pervaded his entire body had already completely depleted during the second copying.
The paper was soaked with Bitter Ink, most of it ruined.
His thigh was bloody and mangled.
His scalp was aching, with many broken strands of hair scattered around.
"The ’moisture’ of Literary Energy, the ’sharpness’ of Martial Energy, the ’calm’ of spirit, the ’movement’ of form... It turns out that these Pine Waves, this world, this human being, all circulate unceasingly following the principle of the interdependence of hard and soft in the word ’nurturing energy’."
Ning Zhuo closed his eyes, as if hearing the sound of Pine Waves on that mountain day.
This sound of waves was already different in his heart. It was no longer just a sound, but contained a lively breath, heralding a majestic symphony of the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.
With a feeling of contentment, Ning Zhuo directly fell asleep this time.
Once he awoke, he was once again full of spirit.
"Such a learning method is not something an ordinary person can bear."
"Fortunately, my foundation is strong enough!"
"The paper is inadequate, it’s a shortcoming. Otherwise, the Ideograph Brush and Bitter Ink could have provided more assistance."
Ning Zhuo did not solve this problem himself.
He had a feeling—the Confucian cultivators of the Myriad Images Sect might likely address this in the next trial.
He had an inkling that the Pine Wave Energy Cultivation Technique was perhaps a spontaneous, additional gift from Song Taosheng.
Brush, ink, paper, inkstone... it’s likely they’re coming in that order."
Ning Zhuo got up, left the Cave Mansion, and proceeded to the previous Songshan Confucian Temple.
This mountain peak had long activated its Array, and inside the temple, there was no one.
Ning Zhuo sat in his previous position, attempting to perform Pine Wave Energy Cultivation Technique.
The great atmospheric energies were drawn into Ning Zhuo, empowering his body.
This time, his Five Elements Mana did not suffice for this cultivation technique, more was needed to achieve the corresponding power for a Confucian Cultivator.
"Fortunately, this Confucian Temple also provides support when performing Confucian cultivation techniques."
Ning Zhuo discovered this secret, realizing then that the convenience given by Song Taosheng was much more than he initially perceived.
He quietly tucked this gratitude away in his heart.
"If I study here, will I also get the benefit of additional support for Literary Energy cultivation."
"However, when he tried, he felt a gentle force pushing him out of the temple."
"Although this force was light and small, Ning Zhuo still complied with it and walked out of the temple."
The moment he left, the large door of the temple closed behind him.
"Ning Zhuo is definitely not the Silk Lady. From an early age, he has always been a righteous person, instantly understanding the limit."
"It seems that granting me access to collect Pine Wind was already beyond the limit, pulling the Confucian cultivators into this."
"Since they don’t want this, I cannot force it."
Now, the cooperation between Ning Zhuo and the Myriad Images Sect’s Confucian cultivator community was quite harmonious, with mutual goodwill not to be damaged and this understanding was to be preserved."
Ning Zhuo left this mountain peak and returned to his Cave Mansion, where he received the latest news."
"I should prepare the Vowel Bamboo Puppet in advance for the next Xingyun Trial by Qing Huangzi."
"Each kind of reed component in the Vowel Reeds Book needs to be crafted."
"There is no doubt that Xingyun values",
He added: "The Xingyun Trial hosted by Qinghuangzi is certainly different from others. With the purpose of legacy, its value is undoubtedly the highest at present."
"""