Chapter 94

"Before the storm, the wind fills the tower." After listening to Lin Fan's report, San San Zhenren pondered for a moment and said, "Lin Fan, when you went to Jiaodong Island in the East Sea to meet Zhenren Chengfeng, did you visit a place called Longmen Island?"

Lin Fan was taken aback, wondering why he was asked this. He replied, "Zhenren Chengfeng mentioned it, but it's a thousand miles away from Jiaodong Island. It's said that the climate on the island is mild, and there are many spiritual beasts living there. There are also volcanic hot springs on the island."

San San Zhenren asked, "Is there anyone living there?"

Lin Fan shook his head, "Zhenren Chengfeng said he originally planned to go to Longmen Island, but after observing, he found that the volcano on the island was dormant, so he didn't go."

"Lin Fan, I will be away for a few months. Take this and play with it." San San Zhenren tossed a package to Lin Fan.

Lin Fan opened the cloth bag and was exasperated, "Needles again?"

"These are small needles," San San Zhenren said. "Practice, don't be lazy."

Lin Fan smiled bitterly, "Master, this time in the Northern Continent, I fought with Yu Fengtang and had nothing to show for it. Still practicing with needles?"

San San Zhenren looked at Lin Fan for a moment and said, "Lin Fan, it's the time when the Nine Yang Flower is in full bloom. Go to Taiqing Mountain and find me a ten-petaled Nine Yang Flower. Go at midnight, and you have two hours."

"Master, the Nine Yang Flower is called so because it has nine petals. Also, the Nine Yang Flower blooms during the day and closes at night, which is why it has the character 'yang' in its name."

San San Zhenren ignored him and said, "Remember, do not touch the petals. If you touch them, you must pick the flower. You only have one chance."

"Why?" Lin Fan asked.

San San Zhenren flew to the kitchen beside the hall and soon returned, throwing ten grains of rice on the table. "Which grain is damaged?"

Lin Fan pointed, "This one." It was the only half-grain.

San San Zhenren nodded, used his left hand to suck the rice grains onto his palm, then threw another handful of rice on the table and swept them with his hand. "Which grain is damaged?"

Lin Fan used his true qi to enhance his vision and quickly pointed, "This one."

San San Zhenren spread the rice grains on the stone table. "Which one?"

Lin Fan circulated his true qi, observing closely, but all he saw was a white expanse. San San Zhenren said, "Too slow. Use the Tianmang Heart Method to focus your mind and toss the rice grains up."

Lin Fan was puzzled, grabbed a handful of rice and threw it up, but nothing happened. He tried again and again, and finally, with one hand, he caught the half-grain.

San San Zhenren nodded, "The Tianmang Heart Method allows you to see the whole picture and observe the details. At your current level, you won't be able to find the ten-petaled Nine Yang Flower. When you can find it on Taiqing Mountain at night within two hours, you won't need to practice with the needles anymore."

"What if I find it today?" Lin Fan asked.

"You can try," San San Zhenren replied.

Lin Fan said, "What if there is no ten-petaled Nine Yang Flower on Taiqing Mountain?"

"Taiqing Mountain has one ten-petaled Nine Yang Flower every year. If someone else picks it, it's your bad luck. Then you'll have to practice with the needles for another year and try again next year."

Lin Fan was doubtful, "Master, you haven't practiced the Tianmang Heart Method. How do you know the key is to see the whole picture and observe the details?"

"It's written on the cloth bag your grandfather gave you."

"It's not written. I can only observe the details, not see the whole picture. How do you know...?"

San San Zhenren waved his hand impatiently, "Your master is a once-in-a-millennium genius. It's none of your business. I'm preparing things and will leave the day after tomorrow. You have only two nights."

The characteristic of the Tianmang Heart Method is that the more you use it, the stronger it becomes, but the difficulty of control also increases. Using it for multiple tasks at once, such as two, four, or eight tasks, is impossible with the method of divided attention. So Lin Fan understood the first characteristic of the Tianmang Heart Method: observing the details. He could feel every change in the needles. The next step was to see the whole picture.

...

At night, Lin Fan hovered above Taiqing Mountain, looking at the sea of white flowers. The Nine Yang Flowers close their petals at night, and they are just wildflowers, blooming in abundance during this season. Taiqing Mountain is quite large. Using his mind to scan, he saw nine, nine, and nine... After half an hour, Lin Fan had observed a hundred flowers, all with nine petals. But a hundred flowers were only a fraction of the Nine Yang Flowers on Taiqing Mountain.

It was impossible to find the ten-petaled flower without cheating, and it was uncertain whether such a flower even existed. Lin Fan thought for a moment and flew to Qingyuan Mountain. He was familiar with the gatekeeper, and after a few quiet words, the gatekeeper brought out Bai Mu.

Bai Mu and Lin Fan flew to Taiqing Mountain. After understanding the situation, Bai Mu nodded, "In Qingyuan Sect's array formation, the first principle is to see the whole picture. The array eye, array shape, array position, and array foot, etc. For example, the array on Taiqing Mountain cannot be fully understood by one person's naked eye. If we can see three parts, and the unseen seven parts move, the three parts will change. We observe the three parts to understand the whole. Observing one point to know the surface, observing the array position to know the entire array. But the Nine Yang Flower is a lifeless object. If one part changes, the others do not, making it difficult to infer the whole from one part."

"Is there a way?"

"Yes, by setting up an array." As they spoke, they arrived above Taiqing Mountain. Bai Mu flew nine Xuanhuang Cold Ice Flags to nine positions. The flags unfolded, and a gentle breeze blew over the Nine Yang Flowers.

Lin Fan watched and gained some insights, recalling Gu Yan's enlightenment in the Bamboo Grove, using the momentum to move. Bai Mu was using the wind to probe. The wind blowing on a ten-petaled flower and a nine-petaled flower is slightly different, but this required the assistance of the Xuanhuang Cold Ice Flags to feedback the regional information to Bai Mu. After half an hour, Bai Mu retracted the Xuanhuang Cold Ice Flags and said, "Close your eyes, no cheating."

Lin Fan closed his eyes.

Bai Mu flew to three areas based on his previous perception, searched for a while, and returned to Lin Fan's side. "It's not just one. There are three ten-petaled Nine Yang Flowers on Taiqing Mountain."

"Three?"

Bai Mu held one in each hand, "I picked two for you to compare."

"..." Lin Fan looked at the smiling Bai Mu, exasperated, "So there's only one left?"

Bai Mu frowned, "Three, I picked two, so there should be five."

"Bai Mu, you're not being honest. I pulled you out in the middle of the night because you can see the whole picture with array formations and teach me some insights."

Bai Mu smiled and then looked puzzled, "The Tianmang Heart Method seems to be tailored for a specific weapon. For sword control, you first have the sword, then you understand the method to control it. You said this Tianmang Heart Method might be left by your parents. In that case, your parents might have already passed away, leaving a weapon and recording the method to use it on the cloth. In the other case, San San Zhenren might know the location of the weapon and might even know your parents, or even the Tianmang Heart Method."

"Yes, that's what I thought. My master is just making things up. Even if he knows I don't believe him, he still insists on making things up, just to mess with me." Lin Fan said, "Also, thank you, Bai Mu, for telling me the bad news about my parents' death."

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