Chapter 199: Empty Your Mind and Embrace…

“Huh…”

Hearing Fang Cun’s words, Ye Xuanzhen froze completely, utterly at a loss for how to respond.

“You’re too mechanical!”

Fang Cun, however, watched Ye Xuanzhen’s complicated expression, his own face growing calmer. His voice sounded friendly yet earnest as he looked Ye Xuanzhen straight in the eyes. “Your technique, so precise and perfect to the extreme… watching a single move, I could practically see how it’s explained in the Leshui Sect scriptures. I could see how you diligently studied every sentence, striving for absolute perfection until you made no mistakes at all. Yet, you still can’t break through the bottleneck, right?”

“Whoosh!”

Ye Xuanzhen’s eyes widened, his breathing turning heavier.

Fang Cun had struck right at his deepest pain. Long ago, he was considered Leshui Sect’s most promising disciple to reach the Condensed Radiance Realm. Two years later, the Elders still saw him as the likeliest to break through. But strangely, he hadn’t. Two junior disciples, once overlooked, had managed it. Only he remained stuck…

He sought help from the Elders. Even they, upon checking, said his cultivation foundation was rock-solid, without a single flaw.

But damn it! No flaws, yet he still couldn’t break through! How incredibly frustrating was that?

Fang Cun’s words hit home perfectly.

…

“Urk… Second Young Master Fang’s insight is unique, truly admirable. But, what do you propose these disciples do to improve?”

Within the somewhat heavy atmosphere, several Leshui Sect Elders exchanged uneasy glances.

Had Fang Cun spoken like this right from the start, the Elders wouldn’t have taken him seriously. They might even have scoffed. After all, Fang Cun himself was only at the Foundation Building Realm. In their eyes, or even compared to these three Leshui disciples, he was a junior. But Fang Cun had Yu Qingli demonstrate first—showcasting a technique with breathtaking, spiritual perfection. That made Fang Cun’s words impossible to ignore.

You might call him boastful, but he had genuinely guided a disciple, cultivated for only half a year, into such full spiritual mastery…

“I am merely a junior latecomer to the path, saying these things might seem rather presumptuous…”

Fang Cun smiled slightly, cupping his hands respectfully towards the Elders. His expression turned a touch more serious. “But since you asked, I shall be bold and show my ignorance. In my humble view, the Leshui Sect has deep heritage and exquisite traditions. These martial nephews also possess superb talent and train diligently. Yet, they often stumble on minute details. It sounds complicated, yet it’s also incredibly simple!”

Without waiting to see the Elders’ reactions, he turned to the first disciple who had performed, Ling Yin. “The Minor Fire Spirit Art is indeed mystically profound and uniquely potent. But when you cultivate it, young nephew, your mind is slightly divided. This art is meant to subdue enemies, its core pursuit being sheer power. If I cultivated it, I would first ensure the three main channels flow smoothly, my cultivation power pure, grinding away until I could achieve greater divine might. Only once this fire technique is truly perfected, why bother shaping it into bird forms? The bird shape would naturally emerge…”

He looked directly at Ling Yin. “When you reach that point, the very spirit of this divine ability will become yours to command.”

Ling Yin’s mouth hung open in astonishment.

Fang Cun suddenly added, “Oh, by the way, next time you practice, try channeling some power through the Renying and Yifeng channels.”

Ling Yin was flabbergasted. “What? Those… those pathways aren’t from our Leshui Sect’s Treasure Body cultivation method…”

“Just try it once. Guiding a small current of power through them won’t hurt!”

Fang Cun gave him a reassuring smile. “If you don’t see much improvement, you can stop right away!”

Before Ling Yin could fully process this, one of the Leshui Elders was silently examining Fang Cun’s suggestion. Gradually, the Elder’s eyes lit up. Connecting those two channels to the Minor Fire Spirit Art seemed to open a door to a whole new domain.

“Don’t just stand there! Thank Second Young Master Fang for his guidance!”

Seeing his disciple still stunned, that Elder snapped a sharp command.

Ling Yin jolted and quickly bowed deeply to Fang Cun.

Fang Cun acknowledged him with a nod and then turned to the disciple who had used the Guiding River Method. “Your cultivation power is deep, your foundation excellent. Cultivating water-elemental divine abilities truly suits you. However, if I were cultivating your Guiding River Method, I wouldn’t forcefully gather my full power every time to command the river flow. Water is the ultimate soft substance, yet it has the power to breach dikes and overturn mountains! By forcing it, you set yourself against the river itself…”

“If the mountain won’t come to me, I go to the mountain!”

“Since you study water-elemental arts, you must attune yourself to the river’s natural flow. Guide, don’t dominate! So, if I cultivated this, I’d use thirty percent less power and ten percent more spiritual sense. The savings in your own energy wouldn’t be small at all…”

The disciple’s face shifted dramatically as the logic sank in. Yet he hesitated. “But… my spiritual sense isn’t strong…”

“Then make it strong!” Fang Cun cut him off bluntly. “Do you think stubbornly continuing down the wrong path leads to success?”

The disciple jolted like struck by lightning and bowed urgently to Fang Cun.

“As for your Flowing Cloud Sleeves…”

Fang Cun finally looked at Ye Xuanzhen, smiling. “To capture its intrinsic spirit, first you must immerse your own spirit. When the heart sinks in deeply, all becomes clear. In such a state, only this art exists; everything else is illusion. Yet you constantly worry about where you might stumble, what part isn’t perfect enough. Your practice seems meticulous, but your mind and spirit are focused elsewhere! How can you capture the true art’s spirit?”

Ye Xuanzhen felt Fang Cun was unfathomably deep. His words sounded profound, yet Ye Xuanzhen, filled with innate pride, struggled to accept he was fundamentally wrong. He dared not be rude but couldn’t help asking, “Then… what should I do?”

Fang Cun answered instantly, grinning. “Forget about it!”

Ye Xuanzhen’s face twisted strangely. “F-forget?”

“Exactly!”

Fang Cun nodded firmly. “Forget every Elder’s advice! Forget every word of the scriptures! Cultivate solely by your own understanding, your own insight! Ignore the thousand rules and ten thousand regulations! Only a devoted heart invites the spirit! Forget all that messy nonsense! Cultivate yourself. Train yourself!”

His gaze on Ye Xuanzhen became intensely focused. “Only by emptying yourself can you embrace heaven and earth!”

He barely suppressed a laugh while saying this.

“Empty yourself? Embrace heaven and earth?”

These words struck Ye Xuanzhen like a physical blow. His lips trembled. It felt like a brand new door had just been kicked open inside his heart.

Empty himself. Forget everything.

Forget…

The very divine ability he’d honed for years—the key he desperately hoped would unlock the Condensed Radiance Realm—he was supposed to forget?

Ignore the thousand rules and ten thousand regulations! Only a devoted heart invites the spirit!

Cultivate yourself. Train yourself. Everything else is nonsense…

This single sentence hit Ye Xuanzhen, who had trained rigorously for two years, never daring a misstep, with unimaginable impact.

Truthfully, had Fang Cun not first showcased Yu Qingli’s divine ability—creating the impression he could guide Qi Refiners—Ye Xuanzhen probably wouldn’t have listened. Even if he had, he wouldn’t have considered it so seriously.

But precisely because Ye Xuanzhen did take it seriously, really pondered it, the effect was profound.

Instantly, every moment of those two years of grueling cultivation flooded his mind. The familiar ache and exhaustion of seeming so close to breaking through, yet remaining stuck. The bitter taste of secretly watching juniors he’d once surpassed overtake him…

How to describe this feeling?

The more he failed to break through, the more frantically he cultivated, terrified of any tiny error!

And the harder he fought, the more convinced he became that not breaking through was preordained…

Was he truly without the gift for it?

What mistake was he making, getting trapped here?

He had pondered these questions endlessly. Now they surfaced again, but differently. Previously, they only brought deeper torment. Now, they had an answer.

“Oh? Forget? Ha ha…”

Ye Xuanzhen mulled it over, his expression shifting from shock to one increasingly strange. His brow furrowed tightly. Inside his head, it felt like things were simply vanishing—things he couldn’t, and more importantly, didn’t want to grasp anymore. He focused only on what he should do, what he wanted to do. As if everything was emptied out, leaving only his single thought…

His expression kept changing. Finally, he suddenly burst into loud laughter.

With a clap, he flung both his wide sleeves out wildly. Utterly formless, clumsy, and awkward. His footwork was chaotic—one step forward, one step back. He didn’t look like a shaman dancing, more like someone clumsily performing a yangko dance…

“What is this…?”

The Leshui Elders had also been intently digesting Fang Cun’s words. Seeing Ye Xuanzhen’s bizarre dance abruptly, they were startled. For a moment, they feared he’d gone mad from Fang Cun’s lecture. One jumped to his feet, shouting, “Ye—!”

“Don’t disturb him!”

Elder Chen’s low but sharp command cut him off.

His eyes shone fiercely, fixed unwaveringly on Ye Xuanzhen.

The other Elders also sensed something was wrong. Alarmed, they all turned their focus to Ye Xuanzhen.

He continued jerking his sleeves in that clumsy, messy way. Yet, gradually, a certain fluid grace began to flicker within his awkward movements. His face still held a trace of wildness, yet beneath it shimmered an unmistakable clarity. Even the flow of his cultivation power seemed to shift subtly around him, resonating with a newfound understanding.

“Could he… break through?” One Elder blurted out, before hastily covering his mouth.

Their gazes, filled with unconcealable shock, snapped towards Fang Cun, sitting peacefully nearby.

Fang Cun watched Ye Xuanzhen, a faint smile of approval on his face.

Inwardly, he thought: Wow…