34: Chapter 34 True Martial Inheritance
The next day at the hour of chen, deep within Zixiao Palace, in the Zhenwu Hall.
Lu Mingyuan followed Zhao Shouzhen through three sets of vermilion gates and stepped into the oldest hall on Wudang Mountain. The hall had no windows, and thirty-six ever-burning lamps hung from the beams, illuminating the four walls. In the center was a bronze statue of Great Emperor Zhenwu, over thirty feet tall, with disheveled hair and bare feet, standing with a sword in hand, exactly as depicted in the 'demon suppression map.' However, the eyes were inlaid with obsidian, which seemed to shimmer with divine light under the lamplight.
On a prayer mat in front of the bronze statue sat an old Daoist priest.
The old Daoist's hair and beard were completely white, his face lean and gaunt like an ancient pine, and he wore a faded blue Daoist robe. He sat in meditation with his eyes closed, his breath so faint it was as if he had merged with the incense smoke, the bronze statue, and even the entire mountain range.
"Sect Leader Immortal Master," Zhao Shouzhen bowed and said, "Lu Mingyuan has arrived."
The old Daoist slowly opened his eyes.
At that moment, what Lu Mingyuan felt was not pressure, but 'heaviness'—as if the weight of the entire Wudang Mountain was concentrated in those eyes. Yet, this weight was not oppressive; instead, it possessed a steady calmness that embraced all things.
"Sit," Daoist Master Qingxu said, pointing to a prayer mat beside him.
Lu Mingyuan sat down as instructed. Zhao Shouzhen quietly retreated to the hall entrance and stood in attendance with his hands down.
"A month of bitter cultivation, and you have passed all three trials," Daoist Master Qingxu's voice was steady, like a stone dropped into a deep pool. "Do you know why Wudang sets these three trials?"
Lu Mingyuan thought for a moment. "The Sword Gall Pass tests courage and fortitude, the Comprehension Ability Trial tests the roots of wisdom, and the Path-Walking Trial tests the original heart."
"Correct, but not entirely," Daoist Master Qingxu raised his hand and pointed at the bronze statue of Zhenwu. "When Ancestral Master Zhenwu established the Dao, the first words he passed down were: 'The martial way is not an art of slaughter, but a heart for protecting the Dao.' Sword gall is the courage to protect the Dao, comprehension is the wisdom to protect the Dao, and walking the path is the sincerity to protect the Dao. Only with all three is one qualified to inherit our Zhenwu lineage."
He paused. "Yesterday at the Needle-Grinding Cave, I felt that sword strike of yours from within the mountain. Though immature, it showed three parts of 'Sword Heart Clarity'—the sword Moves with the heart, and the heart intends to protect the Dao. This is the Foundation of the Zhenwu Legacy."
Lu Mingyuan was shaken. So everything yesterday had been under the Sect Leader's gaze.
"You have Foundations from three lineages within you," Daoist Master Qingxu changed the subject. "The Daoist Foundation of purity is like an abyss, the Confucian Noble Qi is like a mountain, and our Wudang Pure Yang Blood is like a furnace. Cultivating three systems simultaneously usually causes conflict, yet over the past month, you have managed to make each perform its duty. This is talent, and also an Opportunity."
From his sleeve, he took out a Jade Slip, its color as warm and smooth as mutton-fat jade. "This is the first volume of the 'Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Sword Scripture,' containing nine Moves. It is not to be taught to anyone but a True Disciple of Wudang. You are not a member of Wudang, so by the rules, it should not be passed to you. However, Immortal Master Yushu sent a letter via Flying Sword, stating you are the 'Person of Destiny'; Senior Xuanweizi also sent a letter, instructing me to 'pass on the techniques as appropriate.' Today, I shall make an exception."
Lu Mingyuan stood up and gave a solemn bow. "This Junior will not fail what is passed down."
"Don't be in such a hurry to thank me," Daoist Master Qingxu handed over the Jade Slip. "The Zhenwu Sword Scripture is different from other sword arts. It does not emphasize the exquisiteness of Moves, but the cultivation of 'Sword Intent.' The nine sword Moves are merely vessels, carrying the 'Demon-Vanquishing Intent' that Ancestral Master Zhenwu realized while guarding the North Sea for ten thousand years. If you do not have this intent in your heart, even if you learn all nine Moves, they will be empty shells."
Lu Mingyuan received the Jade Slip with both hands; it felt slightly heavy. There were no words on the surface, but when he probed it with his Divine Sense, nine images of Sword Intent flooded into his mind like a tide—
The first Move: Suppressing the Mountain. The sword falls like a mountain, heavy as a thousand tons.
The second Move: Parting the Sea. The sword light is like a thread, splitting waves and severing surges.
The third Move: Hanging Star. Sword Qi transforms into the Big Dipper, sealing and suppressing the eight directions.
...
The ninth Move: Returning to Truth. Ten thousand swords become one, returning to simplicity and truth.
Each Move was accompanied by fragments of the intent Ancestral Master Zhenwu had when he created them: the raging waves of the North Sea, the surging tide of demons, the resolution of guarding alone, the steadfastness of ten thousand years... It was not a simple inheritance of sword techniques, but a master using the sword as a brush to carve his ten-thousand-year heart for protecting the Dao into the brand of time.
When Lu Mingyuan's Divine Sense withdrew, beads of sweat had already formed on his forehead. Merely 'watching' had consumed thirty percent of his mental energy.
"How was it?" Daoist Master Qingxu asked.
"Heavy as a mountain, vast as the sea," Lu Mingyuan took a deep breath. "This Junior... needs time to digest it."
"Naturally." Daoist Master Qingxu took out another ancient book. The paper was pale yellow, and the cover had 'Xuanwu Mountain-Suppressing Art' written in ancient seal script. "The Sword Scripture is the application; this art is the Foundation. The 'Xuanwu Mountain-Suppressing Art' was created by Ancestral Master Zhenwu after observing the Xuanwu Divine Beast of the North Sea. It involves Body Refining and Qi Refining, consolidating the Foundation and nurturing the origin. Upon reaching Major Achievement, one's body is like the Xuanwu carrying a mountain, impervious to all evils and indestructible through a thousand tribulations."
Lu Mingyuan took the ancient book and opened the first page, seeing a small note: 'Suppressing the Mountain is not for crushing others, but for bearing weight. A cultivator should emulate the mountains, bearing the weight of heaven and earth, and shouldering the responsibility for all living beings.'
He suddenly understood why Wudang's Cultivation Techniques all carried the intent of 'mountains'—it was not to show off power, but to learn how to 'bear responsibility.'
"You may stay on Wudang Mountain for another two months," Daoist Master Qingxu said. "The first month was for learning the basics; the next two months are for practicing the true Legacy. If you have difficulties, you may ask Shouzhen, or come here to ask me. Only one thing—"
The old Daoist's gaze was like lightning. "The Zhenwu Legacy must not be used for showing off, personal grudges, or vengeful killing. If you violate this oath, even if I am ten thousand miles away, I will take back what you have learned."
"This Junior will keep it in mind," Lu Mingyuan solemnly promised.
---
In the following days, Lu Mingyuan's life became simpler, yet also more difficult.
Every day at the Hour of Yin, he climbed to the top of Tianzhu Peak alone, stood facing east, and practiced the 'Xuanwu Mountain-Suppressing Art.' This method emphasized 'collecting the Purple Qi of the morning sun and refining the True Form of the Xuanwu.' At first, it was just standing still to collect Qi. Three days later, he had to place a fifty-pound bluestone on his back; seven days later, it increased to a hundred pounds; after half a month, it had reached three hundred pounds.
Standing in a stake posture while carrying heavy stones was no easy task. At first, Lu Mingyuan could barely last half a stick of incense before his legs began to tremble, but he gritted his teeth and endured, using the Mind-Cultivation Technique of the 'Classic of Purity and Tranquility' to dissolve painful and distracting thoughts, and using Noble Qi to strengthen his resolve. After twenty days, he could stand for two full hours under the three-hundred-pound weight, his breathing steady, rooted to the peak like a real mountain stone.
At the same time, he began to practice the 'Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Sword Scripture.'
He practiced the first Move, 'Suppressing the Mountain,' under the waterfall behind Zixiao Palace. Standing on a rock washed by the rushing current, he swung his sword downward. Every strike had to sever the flow of water and leave a sword mark on the rock. The impact of the waterfall was more than a thousand pounds. For the first three days, he struck a hundred times, but not once could he completely sever the water; instead, he was knocked askew by the current.
On the evening of the fourth day, he sat exhausted on the rock, staring blankly at the rushing waterfall.
The water was so powerful; how could human strength sever it?
He remembered Daoist Master Qingxu's words: 'The Sword Scripture does not emphasize Moves, but Sword Intent.' The intent of Suppressing the Mountain was not about severing the water, but about 'stillness'—like a mountain anchoring the earth; no matter how the rivers surge, I remain unmoved.
He stood up, no longer seeking to 'sever,' but slowly raised his sword, his mind sinking into the Concept of the 'mountain.' He imagined he was not a person wielding a sword, but a mountain; the sword was the ridge, and the sword momentum was the crushing weight of the mountain.
The sword fell.
There was no earth-shattering sound, but where the sword edge passed, the waterfall's flow actually split to both sides, revealing a gap about a foot wide that lasted for three breaths before closing again.
He had succeeded.
Lu Mingyuan did not feel joy; instead, he fell into deep thought. The success of this strike was not due to overpowering force, but due to the resonance of 'Concept'—he used the mountain intent to trigger the natural law of 'water bypasses mountains' inherent in the waterfall's flow.
This was the essence of the Zhenwu Sword Intent: not to oppose heaven and earth, but to follow the laws of heaven and earth and perform acts of protection.
That night, he spread out talisman paper under the lamp. This time, what he visualized was not a poem, nor a boundary of protection, but the intent of 'Mountain Guardianship.'
The brush fell, and the talisman was completed.
A 'Mountain-Suppressing Talisman' lay quietly on the table. The talisman patterns were as simple as a few strokes outlining a mountain range, yet they emitted a deep and heavy aura. Although it was only a Low Grade spiritual talisman, it was the first result of his successful integration of martial intent into the Way of Talismans.
---
A month and a half later, Lu Mingyuan had preliminary mastery over the first three layers of the 'Xuanwu Mountain-Suppressing Art' and could stand in a stake posture for half a day under five hundred pounds of pressure; he also practiced the first three Moves of the 'Zhenwu Demon-Slaying Sword Scripture' decently. More importantly, he began to attempt the true Fusion of the three cultivation systems.
In the meditation room, he closed his eyes to regulate his breathing. The Classic of Purity Mind-Cultivation Technique operated, his mind as clear as a mirror; Noble Qi flowed through his Meridians, warm and upright; the Pure Yang technique stimulated his blood, like a roaring furnace. At first, the three currents went their separate ways, but as he sank his mind into the intent of 'Mountain Guardianship,' the three Qis actually began to slowly merge—
Purity as the Foundation, anchoring the mind so it does not waver;
Noble Qi as the bones, supporting the Concept so it does not dissipate;
Pure Yang as the blood, granting power that does not fade.
At the point of Fusion, a wisp of Chaos-colored Qi quietly emerged, thin as a hair, yet containing a heaviness and agility far exceeding any single Cultivation Technique.
Lu Mingyuan's heart stirred: "Is this... the prototype of the three-system Fusion?"
He tried to guide this wisp of Qi to circulate through his Microcosmic Orbit. Wherever it passed, his Meridians felt a faint heat, and the speed of spiritual power circulation actually increased by thirty percent. However, this Qi was extremely unstable; after running nine small cycles, it dissipated on its own, returning to the state of three separate systems.
"Something is still missing," Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes, lost in thought.
He took out the dark red demon crystal from his robe. Over the past month, he had studied it several times and found that although the Devilish Qi within it was sinister, it possessed a peculiar 'purity'—a pure desire for destruction and devouring, without any distracting thoughts.
Could pure evil and pure good be consistent on some level?
This thought gave him a start, yet he couldn't help but think deeper. Ancestral Master Zhenwu had suppressed demons for ten thousand years; his understanding of 'demons' was likely deeper than anyone else's. The 'compassion' within the Demon-Vanquishing Sword Intent might precisely stem from the realization that 'demons are also sentient beings who have lost their way.'
He pressed the demon crystal to his forehead and carefully probed it with his Divine Sense.
In the dark red world, countless fragmented images flashed by: roaring demon tides, shattered mountains and rivers, greedy devouring... But deep within this Chaos, he captured a very subtle 'longing'—not a longing for destruction, but a longing for 'existence.' Demons devoured everything perhaps only because their own existence was extremely empty and needed constant filling.
When Lu Mingyuan withdrew his Divine Sense, his back was soaked with cold sweat.
He suddenly had a premonition: what he would face in the future might not be a simple 'battle between good and evil,' but a more complex and fundamental conflict.
The sound of a bell came from outside; the twilight was deep.
The two-month period was drawing to a close, and his cultivation on Wudang Mountain was about to come to an end. But Lu Mingyuan knew that the true path had only just begun.