Divine Doctor from the Start of the Eye Mutation

Chapter 1902 - 1903: Wuliang Heart Sutra

This Liu Zhi is evidently an ancient sage of the Wuliang Mountain, and he dissected every sentence of the "Wuliang Heart Sutra," sharing his own insights and reflections on each.

It can be seen that Liu Zhi's cultivation is extremely high, exactly how high Ling Zhenfei is not clear, but his understanding of cultivation is exceptionally thorough.

Although the Wuliang Heart Sutra doesn't have much use for Ling Zhenfei, reading this elder's experiences greatly expands one's knowledge.

Liu Zhi seems to be a man of deep feelings, but he likes to obsess over details; otherwise, he wouldn't have researched the "Wuliang Heart Sutra" for thirty years.

Among Liu Zhi's writings are some interesting things, such as how Liu Zhi initially treated the Wuliang Heart Sutra as a Dharma Gate for mind cultivation—because why else would it be called a Heart Sutra?

Yet after several years of cultivation, he discovered the Heart Sutra turned out to be a method for body cultivation.

After a few more years of cultivation, he then realized the Heart Sutra contained insights into various techniques, including Fist Techniques, Sword Techniques, and Staff Techniques, among others.

Finally, Liu Zhi said he had cultivated the Heart Sutra for thirty years, learned many different techniques, yet never seemed to run out of things to learn.

Ling Zhenfei felt he'd truly found a treasure.

The treasure wasn't the "Wuliang Heart Sutra" itself but the annotations by later generations on it.

These annotations allow Ling Zhenfei to glimpse the strength of ancient cultivators.

Upon thinking about this, Ling Zhenfei completely abandoned studying the "Wuliang Heart Sutra" and instead focused on the annotations and reflections of previous generations, finding a unique enjoyment in it.

But after reading a few volumes, Ling Zhenfei noticed that each record had a different viewpoint.

Everyone's thoughts and perspectives differed.

Just as Liu Zhi said, there is so much to learn from this text. Some claim it's dense with techniques, others insist it's about cultivating mental methods, while still others argue it's about body cultivation.

In any case, opinions vary, but they all highlight one issue: no one can truly comprehend what the Wuliang Heart Sutra ultimately means.

Ling Zhenfei sighed, thinking to himself that he mustn't be foolish and try to understand what couldn't be understood; after all, Liu Zhi studied it for thirty years, and the thought of it is daunting.

Just as Ling Zhenfei sighed, he suddenly heard someone speaking.

"Why are you sighing, young man?"

Ling Zhenfei froze upon hearing this; his Divine Sense and senses were already quite powerful, yet he hadn't noticed anyone entering the cave.

The fact that another person could enter this small cave unnoticed showed how silent this person was.

Ling Zhenfei hastily looked toward the voice and saw a person appearing at the direction of the cave entrance.

This person was an elderly man dressed in white clothes, with hair and beard that were flecked with white, clearly showing his age, but his mental state seemed quite good.

Ling Zhenfei quickly saluted and said, "Greetings, elder, I'm simply amazed by the annotations written by previous generations."

The elderly man took two steps toward Ling Zhenfei. Although there was no fluctuation of Northern Spiritual Energy from him, Ling Zhenfei knew anyone who could come to this cave was definitely remarkable.

This individual must be someone of very high status in Wuliang Mountain, so Ling Zhenfei was very respectful towards such an elder.

"Then tell me, what are your impressions?" the elderly man continued to ask.

Ling Zhenfei said, "My impression is that while the Wuliang Heart Sutra is a wonderful thing, it can only be bestowed upon those with fate; it cannot be forced."

The elderly man chuckled and said, "Why do you say that?"

Ling Zhenfei replied, "Look how so many sages have studied it for decades without producing clear results. Ordinary people might as well not think about it."

The elderly man laughed heartily and said, "There's some truth in what you say, but since you are in this specialized cave, tell me, did you choose the 'Wuliang Heart Sutra,' or did the 'Wuliang Heart Sutra' choose you?"

Ling Zhenfei was stunned after hearing this. Indeed, he had exerted tremendous effort to climb up here.

But if this wasn't the 'Wuliang Heart Sutra' choosing him, could he really have made it here? The elder's simple question was quite sharp.

Ling Zhenfei thought for a moment and said honestly, "I guess I chose the Heart Sutra. However, at that time, I wasn't aware of what was in the cave; I just felt that the things at the top would be better."

The elderly man said, "Since you've chosen the 'Wuliang Heart Sutra,' study it seriously. Don't think you've made the wrong choice. Look at the large pile of books on the bookshelf.

The people who wrote these books were the successive Palace Masters of the Wuliang Immortal Palace. Even they studied it earnestly, so do you really think you made the wrong choice?"

Ling Zhenfei was shocked upon hearing this. No wonder the insights of these authors were so sharp; it turns out they were all Palace Masters of the Wuliang Immortal Palace.

Ling Zhenfei said, "Elder, I never thought my choice was wrong; it's just that it doesn't suit my current cultivation."

The elderly man was slightly surprised and asked, "Oh, why would you say that? Why does it not suit you now?"

Ling Zhenfei said, "Elder, you must be someone from Wuliang Mountain, and you probably know that I'm merely a Guest Elder here, and in a month's time, the Foreign Land Space will open. By then we will all head to the Foreign Land.

The Foreign Land Space is treacherous, and I may very well perish there. Regardless of how powerful the classics are that are left to me, they won't be of any use, right?"

The elderly man nodded and said, "You're correct, but you're somewhat too pessimistic. How do you know you'll surely die?"

Ling Zhenfei replied, "Elder, you're right, I should have some confidence, yet somehow I feel that this time is truly fraught with danger."

The elderly man said, "Indeed, this action involves the fate of our entire Cultivator's World, but the cultivators from the Foreign Land aren't really that fearful."

Ling Zhenfei was very surprised and asked, "Elder, you've surely been to the Foreign Land, and if you say there's nothing to fear, that's because you're very powerful.

But you also know that the cultivators on our side are generally quite weak now, and I truly don't know if our collective strength can resist those cultivators."

The elderly man laughed and said, "Young brother, you can be smart, but you have your moments of confusion."

Ling Zhenfei was a little unclear and asked, "Elder, what do you mean by saying this?"

The elderly man replied, "Regardless of whether today's cultivators are truly worse off than before, the lowest level of strength of those entering the Foreign Land Space has always been the Dawen Realm, which remains unchanged."

Ling Zhenfei was once again astonished; indeed, no matter how fast or slow cultivation progresses now, everyone who enters the Foreign Land Space, from before to now, is at the Dawen Realm.

This detail had not crossed Ling Zhenfei's mind.

Ling Zhenfei just considered that since cultivators and Northern Spiritual Energy have decreased now, naturally their strength would also decline.