Hidden Moth-Chapter 463 - 262: Radiant Pearls in the Palm, Shrouded in Mist
There was no one named Wei present, but when Lin Qingshuang spoke, she included Wei Luo purely out of consideration for He Kao.
It seems her information network is quite extensive; not only does she know that Wei Luo visited Qi Yuan recently, but she also knows that she frequently dined at He Kao’s place, and their relationship is quite good.
Wei Luo, who is in seclusion at the Flower Shocking Grotto Heaven, could never have imagined that dining would lead to acquiring a Beauty Pill!
After the guests bid farewell, the two disciples and He Kao temporarily stayed behind. Lin Qingshuang called He Kao aside privately and asked, "Since you’ve obtained the Pearl Mother, have you discovered the existence of Xue Guanghan?"
She explained what Xue Guanghan was, and He Kao countered, "Obtaining the Pearl Mother doesn’t necessarily mean there’s Xue Guanghan, right?"
Lin Qingshuang replied, "Not necessarily! If there is Xue Guanghan, there must be a Pearl Mother, but having a Pearl Mother doesn’t guarantee the presence of Xue Guanghan. Pearl Mother clams, which have grown for over a hundred years and developed spiritual qualities, have shells that are the Pearl Mother.
Not every river clam forms pearls, and even if they do, it doesn’t mean they are Xue Guanghan. For instance, live clams don’t contain Xue Guanghan; even if you artificially open the shell to take pearls, you won’t obtain Xue Guanghan.
Only under natural conditions, when the Pearl Mother clam is frozen in ice and mud with a suitable pearl inside, does it have the possibility to form Xue Guanghan..."
He Kao understood; Elder Lin is knowledgeable, and the conditions for producing this item are quite demanding.
If it were someone else, He Kao might have hidden the truth, but before Lin Qingshuang, he didn’t conceal anything, and calmly admitted that he indeed acquired Xue Guanghan back then, and even consulted Elder Xiao Guangnian about it.
Lin Qingshuang somewhat embarrassedly asked him if, whenever convenient, he could lend her the Xue Guanghan for research purposes. She certainly wouldn’t take away He Kao’s Xue Guanghan but only wanted to borrow it for a period of time.
Such a precious thing can’t just be lent out without conditions; she could, like when she borrowed the Beast Claw Pendant, pay a hefty sum to "rent" it for a period, perhaps about half a year...
He Kao rarely saw Elder Lin with such an expression, seemingly nervous. He laughed and handed over the Xue Guanghan, saying, "What renting? If you need it, take it. Use it as long as you want!" 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖
Lin Qingshuang accepted the Xue Guanghan but was stunned, surprisedly asking, "You carry it with you, and I didn’t realize it until now. Could it be that you’ve personally refined it into a Magical Treasure?"
He Kao nodded: "Yes."
Lin Qingshuang hesitated, "In that case, you have already..."
He Kao: "Please help me keep it confidential for the time being."
What do these words mean? Carrying something with you should not escape detection by Lin Qingshuang’s Divine Sense, given her expertise. However, using Divine Sense to casually probe someone’s possessions is impolite and provocative behavior, which Lin Qingshuang wouldn’t do.
Such a treasure as Xue Guanghan possesses spiritual qualities; even without deliberate probing, she should sense it at such a close distance, yet she didn’t earlier.
This indicates that Xue Guanghan has already been refined into a true Magical Artifact, and He Kao has completely mastered its mystical uses, able to conceal its spirituality.
There might be an Elder supporting He Kao, helping in refining the artifact and teaching him related Heart Methods; it’s possible. Yet, He Kao needs to master the Artifact Control Technique himself first, which requires at least Tier Four Cultivation as a foundation.
So this means — He Kao has already broken through to Tier Four Cultivation.
Since Elder Lin realized this, He Kao also admitted it, also affirming that this Xue Guanghan was refined into a Magical Treasure by him personally, yet asked Lin Qingshuang to keep it secret for now.
Lin Qingshuang, being straightforward, didn’t further inquire why He Kao wanted to do this; perhaps he has his considerations, or maybe it’s a directive from an Elder. Keeping it confidential was just fine.
She stored the Xue Guanghan and said, "If you don’t want people to know, I naturally won’t tell anyone. I’ll only borrow this for half a year, and return it to you afterward."
Lending it to Lin Qingshuang wasn’t something He Kao felt reluctant about, and he indeed had two of them. After handling the various trivial matters of the festival, He Kao fasted for over three days, finally arriving at the Immortal Pot Residence in Floating Colors Grotto Heaven to enter long-term meditation.
Immortal Pot Residence refers to a natural cave mansion on a cliff wall, with interconnected cave halls and stone chambers inside. The real-world Phoenix Tail Town has a place called Immortal Pot Plateau, and the Eight Great Magic Sect Grotto Heavens each have corresponding locales.
Currently, only the Immortal Pot Residence in Floating Colors Grotto Heaven maintains its original natural state, without any artificial modifications, enabling He Kao to arrange it according to his preferences.
He virtually made no structural changes, merely bringing some items like a meditation mat, a tea set, and an incense burner.
Long-term meditation involves the strictest form of seclusion and should be free from any interference, usually requiring a protector of the ways.
He Kao didn’t find anyone to act as a protector; he examined every corner of the Immortal Pot Residence and then set up a simple array. Recently, he also utilized his carpentry skills to install a door at the entrance of the cave hall.
Before entering meditation, he lit three sticks of Awakening Incense to aid in calming and settling in meditation. Awakening Incense can only be burned for an hour, while his meditation lasted over three days and nights.
He Kao had never attempted such a meditation session; put aside everything else, merely achieving it already exemplified extraordinary willpower.
Time swiftly arrived at the morning of the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, where He Kao remained seated motionlessly. Yet, he gave the impression that he was moving; his eyes did not open, but it seemed as though he was gazing at the Celestial Palace Curtain hanging outside the cave... his whole being gently revitalizing.
This time, his seclusion cultivation was still centered around the Fundamental Heart Method of the Insect Concealment Skill—Observing Me as Such, a realm of comprehension that is difficult to articulate.
In fact, much of the content within cultivation techniques cannot be expressed with complete accuracy, yet practitioners find it quite challenging to grasp their essence. As mentioned previously, like the simplest "Meditating on the Dantian," the specifics of how to meditate remain elusive.
From a literal standpoint, it means focusing attention on the position of the Dantian, but if one has not truly entered the state, the concept of the Dantian does not exist.
Techniques have varying emphases; some lineages add a line of Heart Method, often not written in the technique but passed orally by the master, interpreting "Meditating on the Dantian" as "I am at the Dantian."
The words "I am at the Dantian" seem more difficult to understand, yet in terms of realm, they are easier to grasp, highlighting how to utilize "intention."
Some techniques use diagrams, drawing a small person identical to oneself at the Dantian location, essentially conveying this idea.
Here’s another example: when Yi Yangsheng activates Gathering Herbs and Returning to the Pot, as True Qi ascends the Celestial Ladder along the Du Meridian, is it guided by intention or does intention guide Qi? In fact, neither; instead, it’s governed by the principle: wherever True Qi reaches, there am I.
The so-called "I am," after passing through the tribulation of fire and breaking into Tier Three, transforms into the Primordial Spirit, eliminating the concept of meditating. When intention remains still, it is "Spirit resides."
He Kao is cultivating the Insect Concealment Skill, not the Alchemy Cauldron Skill, belonging to a type of Observation Method, emphasizing appearance through observation. Now his practice still aims for the realm of "Spirit resides."
Reaching Fourth Realm Cultivation, one must understand the unity of Spirit and Qi, followed by the unity of form and spirit.
The step of "appearance through observation" he has already achieved, his consciousness can travel outside the body, as if the soul has freed itself from the physical body’s constraints.
To quote a cross-disciplinary term, regarding the relationship between consciousness and body, is there a superimposed state of "both leaving and not leaving"?
During these three days of long-term meditation, He Kao was in this state.
His Primordial Spirit could both leave the body and remain within, with spirit residing in the body, conjoined with the form, all seated motionlessly... as if his Primordial Spirit also had form, his entire being became a so-called Spirit Pill.
Perhaps due to the cultivation of Ice Skin Jade Bone, at the moment he exited seclusion and left meditation, in the darkness, his whole being faintly glowed. As the light gradually faded, the Communication Skill he had been cultivating seamlessly completed.
The seamless completion of the Communication Skill meant that the five senses truly connected; for example, upon hearing a sound, an image, color, taste, and texture would all appear in the heart.
The fusion of Primordial Spirit and body also meant every part of the body could have complete perception; for instance, touching something with a finger was equivalent to seeing or hearing it...
Isn’t that mysterious? There’s even more mystery! Since Magical Artifacts can unite with body and mind, when controlling artifacts, they equate to a part of oneself, and with exploratory magical treasures, they can also become a special sense for the Artifact Master.
If it’s an unfamiliar Magical Artifact, desiring to comprehend its wondrous uses requires experiencing such a process, and one can nurture its spiritual nature during this period.
He Kao had not yet opened his eyes; on his left and right, two harmonious glows appeared from front to back, where lamps were placed, each lamp’s wick being a Xue Guanghan.
The light gradually brightened; he had refined these two Treasure Beads into Magical Artifacts, and after injecting Mana, they no longer required attention, and could glow on their own.
With the Mana he had injected at the time, they were estimated to glow continuously for about twelve hours.
Next, he waved his hand, and the Xue Guanghan on the right flew into his palm. The light suddenly altered, illuminating his body, causing even his body to emit a faint glow, presenting a semi-transparent state.
Not only the body, even the clothes became transparent, with light penetrating the clothes and skin, faintly revealing bones and internal organs. This is also one of the wondrous uses of Xue Guanghan, which He Kao had just mastered, somewhat resembling "naked-eye perspective."
During this seclusion, he successfully attempted long-term meditation, signifying his Fourth Tier Cultivation advanced from "Entry Level" to "Zhi Chang" realm. Many spell techniques require this realm as a foundation for successful casting.
The spell casting took only a few magical moments, and then he put away the Xue Guanghan and opened his eyes. The door of the cave hall opened automatically, and the morning light from outside shone through the gaps in the Celestial Palace Curtain.
The Celestial Palace Curtain was a vine growing on the cliff wall, withered and yellow in winter. He Kao noticed an ancient vine among them, seemingly undergoing some mysterious transformation through his seclusion.
It was a sense of vitality being invigorated; although it hadn’t germinated out of season, the bud tips hidden within the vine joints became livelier, as if they could sense the rhythmic breathing of heaven and earth.
So-called Spirit Plants often have similar characteristics, but at this moment, this particular Celestial Palace Curtain was especially vivid to him. He took out a Spirit Awakening Pill, placed it in his palm to refine, and locked onto that Celestial Palace Curtain with his Divine Sense.
A thread of glowing mist rose from the Spirit Awakening Pill, drifting towards the Celestial Palace Curtain, then burrowed into the vine... and as the last wisp of mist entered the vine, the Spirit Awakening Pill in his hand completely disappeared!
**
