37: Chapter 37 Viewing the Manual at Jian Ge

The Qingcheng Sword Pavilion is located within a natural grotto halfway up the mountain, its entrance hidden behind a waterfall. Lu Mingyuan passed through the water curtain, and his vision suddenly broadened—the grotto was a hundred feet high and its depths were unfathomable. On both stone walls, countless niches had been carved, each housing a volume of sword manuals. Ever-burning lamps hung from the dome, their light refracting through the water curtain to cast shimmering ripples inside the cave, as if one were in an underwater Dragon Palace.

"The Sword Pavilion houses a total of 3,700 volumes of sword manuals." The guiding Taoist—whose Taoist name was "Jingming" and who served as the Sword Pavilion's deacon—pointed at those stone niches. "Everything from the original manuscript of the Ancestral Master's 'Qingcheng Sword Scripture' to the practice insights of Outer Sect Disciples is kept here. You may read them at your leisure, but there are three rules."

Jingming held up three fingers: "First, you must not damage the sword manuals; second, you must not make private copies; third, there are annotations from predecessors beside each manual—they may be observed, but not altered."

Lu Mingyuan solemnly agreed.

After Jingming left, Lu Mingyuan stood in the center of the grotto, momentarily unsure of where to begin. With 3,700 volumes, even if he didn't sleep for three months, it would be difficult to read them all. After some thought, he walked to the stone niche closest to the entrance.

Inside the niche was a volume titled "Thirteen Basic Sword Techniques." The paper was yellowed, and on the cover was small, elegant script: "Outer Sect Disciple Li Qingyang, Qi Refinement Stage sword practice insights." Opening the inner pages, the handwriting was immature, recording in detail the practice method, difficulties, and realizations for each style. There were few annotations, only two sentences: "Diligence can make up for lack of talent" and "The sword values perseverance."

Lu Mingyuan put down the sword manual and continued forward.

The next few volumes were all insights from Outer Sect Disciples, their contents largely similar. It wasn't until the seventh niche that he saw a volume titled "Detailed Explanation of Qingcheng Introductory Swordplay," written by a Foundation Establishment Elder a hundred years ago. Its analysis of the four basic movements—"stabbing, lifting, chopping, and wiping"—was extremely profound, and the annotations became more frequent:

"Stabbing like lightning, lifting like the moon, chopping like a mountain, wiping like a cloud—the form is easily attained, but the Concept is hard to grasp."

"The sword follows the body, the body moves with the mind, the mind turns with the intent—these three realms took this old man fifty years to even glimpse the threshold."

Lu Mingyuan was enthralled. Though these annotations were brief, they were the crystallization of the predecessors' lifelong realizations. He took out paper and brush and recorded the essential points.

In this way, for three days, he read a hundred volumes of introductory sword manuals. He gradually discovered that the core of Qingcheng swordplay lay in four words: "Light, Nimble, Fast, and Changing"—the exact opposite of Wudang Mountain's "Heavy, Stable, Solid, and Defensive." Yet the two seemed to share common ground: Wudang Mountain swordplay emphasizes "Momentum," while Qingcheng swordplay emphasizes "Sword Intent." Both use the sword to carry the Dao, only the medium is different.

On the fourth day, he walked toward the depths of the grotto.

The further in he went, the more ancient the sword manuals became and the more profound the annotations. In front of a volume titled "Qingcheng Sword Scripture: Incomplete Manual," he stopped for a long time. This manual had only three pages left, but it was densely covered with annotations in various handwritings, evidently passed through many generations.

The first page recorded a style called "Green Pine Welcoming a Guest," with an annotation saying: "The pine welcomes the guest, the sword welcomes the enemy. Welcoming is not retreating; it is using softness to neutralize hardness."

The second page was "White Clouds Emerging from the Peaks," with an annotation: "Clouds emerge from the peaks without intent; the sword strikes the enemy without intent. No style surpasses having a style."

The third page had only half a style, "Purple Qi Coming from the East," with the most numerous and profound annotations: "Purple Qi is the Qi of the world's first light. The sword draws the Purple Qi not for slaughter, but for vitality. At its peak, this style can make withered wood encounter spring and bring the dead back to life—yet this old man has practiced the sword for a hundred years without glimpsing its mystery."

Lu Mingyuan's heart stirred. The Concept of this "Purple Qi Coming from the East" actually shared common ground with his daily practice of absorbing the morning sun's Purple Qi to cultivate the Xuanwu Mountain-Suppressing Art. He closed his eyes to reminisce, attempting to integrate the Qi-gathering method into his Sword Intent.

His fingers moved unconsciously in the air.

At first it was stagnant, but it gradually became fluid. A wisp of Chaos aura circulated at his fingertips, simulating the trajectory of Sword Qi. He felt this sword style seemed naturally compatible with the Pure Yang Art in his body. If he could fuse the "Uprightness" of the Noble Spirit with the "Clarity" of the Serene Mind-Cultivation Technique, perhaps...

"Are you comprehending the sword?"

A voice came from behind him. Lu Mingyuan opened his eyes and turned back to see a green-robed old man with white hair hanging to his shoulders, a lean face, and eyes as sharp as swords.

"Junior Lu Mingyuan greets the Senior."

The old man walked to the stone niche, glanced at the "Qingcheng Sword Scripture: Incomplete Manual," and then looked at Lu Mingyuan: "You are not a Qingcheng Disciple."

"This Junior comes from Zhongnan Mountain, traveling to learn and seek the Dao."

"Zhongnan Mountain..." the old man said thoughtfully, "What relation is Xuanweizi to you?"

Lu Mingyuan was startled: "He is this Junior's enlightenment teacher."

The old man laughed: "That old fellow is still alive? Thirty years ago during a discussion of the Dao, he couldn't out-argue me and said he was going to the mortal world to find the 'True Dao,' never to return." He paused, "My Taoist name is 'Qingxuan,' the Pavilion Keeper of the Sword Pavilion. Your simulation of Sword Qi just now already had three parts of the flavor of 'Purple Qi Coming from the East,' but your direction was wrong."

"Please guide me, Senior."

"Purple Qi Coming from the East draws upon the 'vitality' of the world's first light, not the 'intensity' of Pure Yang." Qingxuan extended his right index finger, and a wisp of pale purple Sword Qi condensed at his fingertip. "Watch closely."

The Sword Qi whirled slightly, turning into a purple lotus flower that slowly bloomed. As the petals unfolded, several sprigs of tender green moss actually sprouted from the cracks in the grotto's stones, growing and spreading at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Making withered wood encounter spring is an exaggeration." Qingxuan dispersed the Sword Qi. "But using Sword Intent to trigger the vitality of plants can indeed be done. Your Chaos Sword Qi is overly fierce but lacks gentleness. Hardness is easily broken while softness endures; the combination of hardness and softness is the true Righteous Path."

Lu Mingyuan fell into thought. Previously, when he performed Fusion of the three systems, he emphasized "Power" over "Concept" and "Hardness" over "Softness." Qingcheng swordplay excelled in nimbleness, which might compensate for his deficiencies.

Qingxuan spoke again: "Do you know why the Qingcheng Sword Pavilion collects so many sword manuals, not even sparing the insights of Outer Sect Disciples?"

"To gather the strengths of a hundred schools?"

"Yes, and no." Qingxuan pointed to the stone niches filling the grotto. "Every volume of sword manuals is a path of cultivation. Observing the paths of others is to reflect upon oneself. The more you see, the more you know the breadth of the world's sword Dao, and the more you know where you should go—this is the first step of 'Sword Heart Clarity': knowing oneself."

Lu Mingyuan was suddenly enlightened. On the Wenjian Cliff, it was said his "Sword Intent was cluttered" precisely because he had learned too much without truly "digesting" it. One must observe a thousand swords before recognizing a weapon; he needed to first "recognize" the swords of a hundred schools before he could "clarify" his own path.

For the next half month, he immersed himself in the Sword Pavilion.

Observing manuals by day, comprehending the sword by night. He categorized the manuals he had read: those emphasizing offense, defense, speed, change, intent, form... He took the essence of each category to corroborate with his own learning.

He discovered that although his Chaos Sword Qi was strong, it was too coarse. The "Nimbleness" of Qingcheng swordplay could compensate for his "Clumsiness"; the "Changeability" of the Longhu Mountain Talisman Arts could compensate for his "Directness"; the "Stability" of Wudang Mountain swordplay could compensate for his "Impatience."

He began to attempt improvements.

Using Chaos aura as the Foundation, he integrated the nimble trajectories of Qingcheng swords, supplemented them with the intent of talismanic changes, and then stabilized the core with the Wudang Mountain Suppressing the Mountain momentum. Once, ten times, a hundred times... the Sword Qi circulated at his fingertips, gradually separating the clear from the turbid from within the Chaos—the clear rose to become the "Heaven Sword," nimble and ever-changing; the turbid sank to become the "Earth Sword," heavy and steady.

On this day, he was practicing his newly realized swordplay in the depths of the grotto.

With the Heaven Sword in his right hand, moving like floating clouds and flowing water, the Sword Qi was as fine as silk, carving crisscrossing trajectories on the stone walls; with the Earth Sword in his left, moving like a mountain range crushing down, every strike carried a heavy, profound force that made the grotto tremble slightly.

The two swords moving in tandem faintly showed the phenomenon of Yin and Yang generating each other.

Qingxuan appeared at the side at some unknown point, watched silently for a long while, and suddenly spoke: "That is enough."

Lu Mingyuan withdrew his sword, his breathing slightly labored.

"Two months of observing manuals and you have this realization; your Aptitude is acceptable." Qingxuan walked in front of him. "But do you know what your biggest problem is?"

"Please enlighten me, Senior."

"You want to 'fuse' too much," Qingxuan said calmly. "You want to fuse the three systems, fuse the hundred schools, fuse hardness and softness—Fusion is certainly good, but forced Fusion is an attachment. True 'Sword Heart Clarity' is not about kneading everything into a single ball, but letting them each return to their place and perform their duty."

He raised his hand, and three wisps of Sword Qi appeared in his palm: one green as a pine, one white as a cloud, and one purple as the sunset glow.

The three strands of Sword Qi circulated independently without interfering with each other, yet they faintly formed a whole.

"You see, Qingcheng Sword Intent, White Cloud Sword Intent, and Purple Sunset Sword Intent are originally unrelated. But with a single thought from me—" Qingxuan's mind shifted slightly, and the three strands of Sword Qi suddenly intertwined, turning into a three-colored sword rainbow, "they can unite."

"Unification is the result, not the purpose." Qingxuan dispersed the Sword Qi. "You are always thinking about how to 'unite,' but you forget where they 'should' originally be. When you no longer force a Fusion, but instead let every Sword Intent naturally return to its place, your sword heart will be clear."

Lu Mingyuan felt as if struck by lightning.

Yes, he had been forcing it. Forcing the three systems into one, forcing the hundred schools into one, forcing the combination of hardness and softness. But the true Dao should be a natural progression, not something done intentionally.

He closed his eyes and looked within himself.

The Chaos aura, Serene Foundation, Noble Spirit, Pure Yang Qi and blood, Wudang Mountain Concept, Qingcheng sword spirit, talismanic transformations... these diverse "intents" circulated within his body like a cluster of stars.

He did not force the Fusion, but simply watched quietly.

As he watched, those "intents" actually began to arrange themselves—Serenity became the sky, guarding the Spirit Terrace; the Noble Spirit became the earth, stabilizing the Foundation; Pure Yang became the sun, nourishing the Qi and blood; Chaos became the sea, embracing all things; the Wudang Mountain Concept sank to the feet, the Qingcheng sword spirit roamed the arms, and the talismanic transformations were hidden in the fingers...

Each returned to its place, each performing its duty.

And he was merely the "observer" watching it all happen.

At a certain moment, he suddenly realized: Sword Heart Clarity clarifies not the sword, but the heart; it illuminates not the Dao, but the self.

He opened his eyes, the starlight in them swirling before returning to tranquility.

Qingxuan smiled: "Good. You have glimpsed the threshold. What remains is to use the sword to verify this heart—tomorrow, go to the 'Sword Testing Platform'."