Chapter 279: Why Cultivate?

Hua Changxi had already experienced the stagnation of cultivation several times. Based on past experience, she could roughly guess the reason.

In short, it was insufficient tempering; her state of mind could not keep up with the speed of her cultivation.

Even she herself felt that the speed of her cultivation had been truly too fast during this period.

Regarding how to improve her state of mind, Hua Changxi only knew one method: going out for tempering. Beyond that, she knew no other way.

And as for where to go for tempering, she only knew of the Nine Nether.

Looking at this point alone, it exposed a serious shortcoming Hua Changxi had always had. Clearly, she was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, and logically speaking, she could be considered a powerhouse among cultivators, yet the world of cultivators she had stepped into and come into contact with was pitifully small.

It could be said that this was a serious lack of tempering.

Hua Changxi also realized her own problem, but compared to the past, she now knew a few more cultivators.

Like Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen, with whom she had cooperated several times, she felt they were still worth maintaining long-term contact with.

"Perhaps, I could find Tong Yao and the others to exchange cultivation insights?"

Thinking this, Hua Changxi sent a message to Tong Yao, inquiring about the progress of the display spiritual artifacts and whether they had time to meet.

Soon, Tong Yao sent a reply, agreeing to meet on the first day of the eighth month at the restaurant they often frequented.

Time flew by, and it was already the eighth month.

On the first day of the eighth month, Hua Changxi arrived early at the restaurant where she often met Tong Yao. She originally thought she had arrived early enough, but she didn't expect that Tong Yao, Jing Le, and Yan Zhenzhen were already waiting there.

"Benefactor Hua, it has been several months, and you are becoming increasingly unfathomable."

As soon as Hua Changxi entered the room, Jing Le felt a burst of heat in his eyes. He hadn't activated his Rune Eyes, but the sensitivity of his strange eyes still made him feel something unusual.

At this moment, Hua Changxi appeared to him like a volcano about to erupt.

Hearing this, Hua Changxi looked at Jing Le. Seeing his eyes were clear and his expression earnest, merely stating what he saw without any intention of probing, she smiled.

"My cultivation is currently stagnant, a tangled mess and chaotic; isn't that exactly what 'unfathomable' means?"

As she spoke, she looked at Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen.

"Have you ever encountered this situation?"

Tong Yao heard this: "You have reached a bottleneck period in your cultivation."

Hua Changxi walked to the three of them and sat down: "How do I break through the bottleneck?"

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her in surprise, somewhat astonished that she didn't even know this: "The simplest method is to take a Mirror-Breaking Pill."

Jing Le shook his head and interrupted: "This monk believes this is the least advisable method."

Yan Zhenzhen looked over: "Do you think all cultivators have high talent and comprehension like you? If ordinary cultivators don't take a Mirror-Breaking Pill, they will never think of breaking through the bottleneck in their entire lives."

Jing Le did not argue with Yan Zhenzhen, but looked at Hua Changxi: "The reason cultivators encounter bottlenecks is mostly because their accumulation is insufficient."

"A cultivator's accumulation consists of, firstly, long-term cultivation, and secondly, the realization and improvement of their state of mind."

"Observing Fellow Daoist Hua's situation, it is mostly because your state of mind cannot keep up with your cultivation speed."

This point was the same as Hua Changxi's guess, so she hurriedly asked: "How do you all improve your state of mind?"

Tong Yao spoke up: "The fastest way to improve one's state of mind is sudden enlightenment, but sudden enlightenment relies on opportunity; it is something to be encountered, not sought."

Jing Le nodded: "The improvement of one's state of mind ultimately must be grounded in the bits and pieces of daily life. The solidity of life is not elsewhere, but in every present moment."

Seeing Hua Changxi's confused expression, Tong Yao smiled: "Jing Le means that we need to go out for more tempering."

Hua Changxi thought for a moment and asked a question she had always been unable to understand: "Why does more tempering improve one's state of mind?"

Yan Zhenzhen: "With more tempering, you experience more things. Once you have experienced more, your horizons naturally broaden; once a person's horizons are broadened, a sense of perspective will arise; once your perspective is large, your state of mind will naturally improve along with it."

Tong Yao looked in agreement: "That is how it is."

Seeing that Hua Changxi's brows were still not relaxed, Jing Le also shared his own views.

"Going out for tempering is to let yourself feel this world, and in the collision with the world, continuously recognize people and distinguish objects."

"Through continuous contact with people and things, examine what you want, what you can obtain, and what you can control, thereby understanding where your own limitations lie."

"Only when a person knows where their limitations lie can they find their own way of existence. Between doing and not doing, find a place to stand."

"Once a person has a foothold, they will know how to get along with the world, and everything encountered afterward will be used by me."

Jing Le's explanation was more accessible than Yan Zhenzhen's. Hua Changxi felt she had gained a lot and hurriedly asked: "Then how can one quickly recognize one's own limitations?"

Jing Le shook his head: "Benefactor Hua, there are no shortcuts in cultivation, and there are no shortcuts to understanding oneself. However, you can discover your limitations more from the obstacles in the outside world."

Hearing this, Hua Changxi suddenly felt a sense of sudden enlightenment.

In the joint resistance and targeting by Prince Shou and others, her limitations were indeed exposed completely. Compared to the large numbers and influence of Prince Shou and others, she was isolated and helpless.

Jing Le looked at the back of Hua Changxi's right hand and reminded her: "The function of the Awakening Mark is not for anything else, but for a warning."

"In the future, when the Awakening Mark appears, Benefactor Hua can carefully feel your state of mind at that time. Only where the heart stops does the true self appear."

Seeing Hua Changxi lost in thought, Tong Yao also added: "Tempering is very important; it is an indispensable process for understanding oneself."

Jing Le: "The primary matter in life is to have self-knowledge, and only then can there be anything else."

Yan Zhenzhen interjected: "Actually, it's not that complicated. It's just that during training, it's easier to figure out what one should and shouldn't do, and why one makes such choices."

Jing Le looked in agreement: "Cultivators value cause and effect. Things have roots and branches, events have beginnings and ends. Know what comes first and what comes last, and cause and effect will be clear. Bear what should be borne, and do not fail the Tathagata or yourself."

Hua Changxi understood the meaning of the three. To summarize in one sentence, tempering is actually the process of investigating things to extend knowledge; it is actually the process of letting people break away from chaos and become clear.

In the past, she was narrow-minded, thinking that painstaking cultivation and raising her cultivation level would make everything fine.

Now, her cultivation is no longer low, but she is restricted everywhere in the Medical Department. She had been unable to understand why before, but now, she knew a little of the inner reason.

She had her limitations: physical limitations, mental limitations, and limitations on her influence on others. The most direct manifestation was: it was not that if she was powerful, others would listen to her or like her.

Unless she used force to beat people into submission.

But acting in a tyrannical way and being a tyrannical person was not what she wanted.

Perhaps, she did not know herself as well as she imagined. The definition she gave herself now might just be wishful self-imagination?

Jing Le looked at Hua Changxi and reminded her again: "People are very prone to self-deception and arrogance. Going out for tempering is a process of correcting oneself."

Hua Changxi nodded. Regardless, she really had to go out for more tempering in the future. Then, she looked at the three of them and thanked them sincerely: "Thank you, three fellow daoists, for clearing up my confusion."

Tong Yao smiled: "If we can help you, we are also very happy."

Yan Zhenzhen: "Discussing the Dao among cultivators is still very necessary. It is easy to fall into a dead end when cultivating alone. We should communicate more in the future."

Hua Changxi smiled and agreed: "By the way, where do you usually go for tempering?"

The expressions of the three froze, and after a moment of silence, Tong Yao spoke: "Fellow Daoist Hua, every holy land has its own exclusive tempering secret realm. Does the Pill Saint Hall not have one?"

Hua Changxi widened her eyes: "An exclusive tempering secret realm?"

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her suspiciously: "Yes, the successors of the holy lands can all enter and leave the holy land secret realms for tempering by relying on tokens."

Hua Changxi was silent for a moment: "I really don't know if the Pill Saint Hall has such a secret realm."

Yan Zhenzhen confirmed again: "Are you really not a successor of the Pill Saint Hall?"

Hua Changxi: "....... I'm not quite sure."

Yan Zhenzhen was speechless: "Do you know, now all the major holy lands are secretly spreading the word that you are the number one person in the Pill Saint Hall? You actually say you are not a successor of the holy land now, this is really......"

Tong Yao looked at Hua Changxi: "Successors of holy lands have tokens."

Hua Changxi hurriedly asked: "What kind of token?"

Tong Yao hesitated for a moment, looked at Jing Le and Yan Zhenzhen, and finally, the three of them simultaneously took out a small wooden sword the length of a palm.

Tong Yao's sword was a fiery red small sword, Jing Le's was a golden small sword, and Yan Zhenzhen's was a black small sword.

Yan Zhenzhen: "As long as one is a successor of a holy land, one will receive such a Divine Wood Sword. The Central Holy Land's is earthy yellow, and the Pill Saint Hall's is green."

Hua Changxi was very certain she did not have such a small sword.

Seeing her reaction, the three of them were very perceptive and didn't ask more, but their eyes were full of confusion.

Hua Changxi was actually not a successor of the Pill Saint Hall, yet almost all the big movements of the Pill Saint Hall were caused by her. What was the reason for this?

Seeing that everyone had stopped talking, Yan Zhenzhen hurriedly spoke to break the silence: "By the way, Tong Yao, how is the refining of the display spiritual artifacts going?"

Speaking of this, a smile appeared on Tong Yao's face: "It's almost finished. Before the fifteenth of the eighth month, we will be able to deploy the display spiritual artifacts to various places." ===== CHAPTER 280 =====