Chapter 23

Reading a book a hundred times, its meaning will naturally become clear. Some people only need ten days, while others might need half a year. For such differences, there is indeed nothing to say, just as Tang Sanshi once said, that young lady often leaves people speechless. Chen Changsheng naturally had no choice but to remain silent.

But for some reason, Shuang'er felt unhappy when she saw Chen Changsheng's silent and almost wooden expression. Perhaps she always thought that since he had a marriage contract with the young miss, even if their strength was vastly different, he should at least show some resolve or ambition?

Moreover, in her view, if it weren't for the letter the young miss wrote from Nanshixi, Chen Changsheng might already be dead or missing, and how could he have the chance to enter the National Teaching Academy, sitting on the clean floor to read and cultivate? She didn't expect him to be grateful, but he shouldn't be so silent, as if nothing had happened.

Shuang'er shook her head as she looked at him, took out a thin piece of paper from her bosom, and handed it to him.

"Since you now have a rare opportunity to cultivate, you should cherish it more. Start from the basics, be down-to-earth, and don't always think of shortcuts or place your hopes on others, especially women." She said sternly, perhaps thinking of something. "Cultivation isn't that simple. Even if there's no hope, I hope you don't give up. Do you understand what I mean?"

Chen Changsheng took the paper, paused, and didn't understand what she meant. He thought to himself that if he had retreated into this academy, which was like a cemetery, and was silently reading and cultivating, could the Shen family and that Xu young miss still find him a nuisance?

The sun was high in the sky outside the library, and the leaves rustled, scattering the direct sunlight into many spots. Fortunately, it was still early spring, and the weather wasn't too hot. The paper carried a faint fragrance of a woman, but there was no sweat.

Chen Changsheng looked at the four characters on the paper and remained silent for a long time.

"Take care of yourself."

The handwriting on the paper was relatively neat but not particularly impressive. The strokes were very straight, looking somewhat naive and cute. He guessed that these four characters were written by the Xu family's young miss from the distant south, but he couldn't connect the naive handwriting with the talented young lady in the rumors.

He understood the meaning of these four characters and could almost see the expression of the Xu young miss when she wrote them. She must have had a distant look in her eyes, slightly furrowed brows, a bit of impatience, and some displeasure, but mostly indifference.

She wrote him four characters, but the key was just one character: "self."

Self, meaning himself.

Live by yourself.

Read by yourself.

Cultivate by yourself.

Eat and drink well by yourself.

Chen Changsheng thought quietly for a while, then stopped thinking, put the note in his sleeve, stood up, and walked to the bookshelf to start looking for the forty-nine books listed on the back cover of the "Washing Marrow Treatise." As he searched, he thought about what Shuang'er had said, his brows furrowed, and his fingers moved more slowly among the books—could someone really read so many books a hundred times in just ten days? How did they do it?

The "Washing Marrow Treatise" is a general treatise on cultivation, but the forty-nine books listed on the back cover are the true subjects of study. Students use the knowledge and wisdom in these books to open their minds, solidify their understanding of the world, and thus strengthen their spiritual essence.

This is purely mental cultivation. Since the descent of the Heavenly Books, humans began to cultivate, and the initial step of focusing the mind was always done this way. Perhaps it was because countless predecessors had concluded that this method was the most efficient and had the highest success rate, or perhaps it was because words are the only medium of thought, so to use the thoughts of predecessors to help one's own thoughts become powerful, one must naturally use words as a bridge.

Since this method is used, the forty-nine books noted in the "Washing Marrow Treatise" are naturally the forty-nine books recognized by human society as the most helpful in solidifying spiritual essence. Since 1582, when the National Teaching reviewed the specific titles, they have never changed.

Chen Changsheng walked around the bookshelves, and even though he was very familiar with the book sequence, it still took him half an hour to find all forty-nine books. He then moved them to the floor by the window and arranged them in order.

He didn't start reading immediately but went to Baihua Lane for a bowl of rice with vegetable soup and rested for half an hour on the grass by the lake, surrounded by dense trees. Only after feeling satisfied did he return to the library and pick up the first book to start reading.

When he was searching for the books, he had already determined that he had not read them before. He felt a bit regretful but also curious about what these books contained, as they could help humans solidify their spiritual essence.

The first book he picked up was called "Preliminary Explanation of the Puhuamen." He confirmed that he had not read this book, so when he opened it and saw some familiar sentences, he thought his eyes might be deceiving him, just like during the Tian Dao Academy entrance exam.

The book was thin, but it felt heavy. He stared at the content, bewildered, and realized that he had already read this content when he was four years old, and more accurately, he had memorized it.

But in the old temple in Xining Town, this book was called "The Baopu Jing."

He was a bit surprised because it felt like he was back at the Tian Dao Academy entrance exam. He thought such good fortune couldn't happen again, but it did, leaving him dazed for a while before he came to his senses.

After regaining his composure, he quickly opened the second book.

The name of this book was "Collection of Praises and Poems of the Heavenly Book Mound."

He flipped through the pages quickly, like a gentle breeze, and soon confirmed that he had read this book before. The praise poems and verses written by predecessors after visiting the Heavenly Book Mound were already in his mind. When he read these poems and verses at the age of five in the old temple in Xining Town, the collection was called "Poetry Anthology."

Chen Changsheng was silent for a moment, then opened the third book.

It was the same.

He had read this book before, just under a different name when he was a child.

The fourth book, the fifth book... he quickly skimmed through all forty-nine books and confirmed that he had read them all.

Is it like this again?

Is this still a surprise? Chen Changsheng picked up the "Washing Marrow Treatise" again and remained silent for a long time. A smile slowly spread across his lips, and his eyes narrowed, as if a river of stars was flowing, filled with joy.

He remembered what Shuang'er said when she left.

"Cultivation isn't that simple."

He looked up and saw the dappled light and shadows at the library entrance, the gentle breeze, but no one was there. He felt a bit disappointed—had that little girl been there, he really wanted to tell her that he might indeed be able to solidify his spiritual essence faster than her young miss.

But he immediately thought that Xu Yourong had read the forty-nine books a hundred times and successfully solidified her spiritual essence at the age of four. The pride he had just felt quickly dissipated, and he laughed at himself, thinking it was meaningless.

The next step was to use the method in the "Washing Marrow Treatise" to convert the words and the information they carried in his mind into nutrients for his powerful spiritual essence, and then solidify his spiritual essence.

Anyone in such a critical moment would likely continue, but Chen Changsheng glanced at the sky, saw the sun had moved west, and the dusk was deepening. He put down the "Washing Marrow Treatise," tidied up the books on the floor, and left the library.

It was time for dinner.

...

...

Because it was time for dinner, he could ignore the opportunity to change his fate that was right in front of him. If this is called self-discipline, it is indeed too strict and cruel, almost self-torture, but it can also be seen as confidence, because he believed the opportunity wouldn't slip away.

From the Tian Dao Academy entrance exam to the rediscovery of these forty-nine books in his mind today, Chen Changsheng had already confirmed some things—his master had long laid the foundation for his cultivation, and his master was indeed not an ordinary Daoist.

The path of cultivation is long and arduous, but he and his senior brother Yu Ren had read the Daoist scriptures since childhood, with ten thousand books in their minds, giving him a significant head start. He had already walked a long distance, so it was only natural that he would reach the destination before others.

Chen Changsheng has always been very confident. Now that he had confirmed these things, he was even more confident. As the dusk deepened and the sunset faded, a red sun was rising in his broadened heart. How could he worry about the darkness ahead?

After dinner, he returned to the library, boiled a pot of water, and made a cup of flower tea he bought in Baihua Lane. He sat cross-legged, calmed his mind for a moment, and his gaze slowly swept over the neatly arranged forty-nine books, finally resting on the "Washing Marrow Treatise."

The words in the book floated up from the deepest part of his mind, returning from his childhood memories, becoming exceptionally vivid, and gradually releasing a certain aura. Following the method in the first chapter of the "Washing Marrow Treatise," they continuously blended in his mental world.

Many years ago in the old temple, he had already completed the enlightenment of his mind. Now, he needed to solidify his spiritual essence.

He closed his eyes, thought quietly, and then gradually forgot to think.

What is called "clarifying the mind and seeing the nature" is not so complicated.

It is just the integration and comprehension of the four characters.

Time gradually passed, and the wetlands outside the library began to echo with the croaking of frogs.

It was still early spring.

The night grew darker, the stars brighter, and the city was filled with the sounds of people.

The National Teaching Academy remained quiet.

The oil lamp in the library was very dim but seemed to never go out.

Suddenly, a light hum echoed in the library.

The sound came from the heavens and earth.

A breeze swirled around the building.

Chen Changsheng opened his eyes, his gaze bewildered, then gradually calmed, and finally filled with joy.

In one day and one night, he successfully solidified his spiritual essence.

Cultivation, it turns out, is this simple.