"All right, now, everyone, sit down cross-legged and close your eyes."
Elder Gu’s voice seemed a bit louder than usual.
"Use your hearts to feel the tranquility, and imprint this tranquility vividly in your minds."
"Remember, this process is about feeling and exploring. If your mind is still enough, you will perceive the specific imagery within your heart."
Yuanchu frowned involuntarily upon hearing this. Imagery would emerge within the heart during tranquility?
Elder Gu said no more, and the surroundings fell silent. Tree leaves rustled in the wind, and occasionally a bird passed overhead, letting out a crisp chirp.
Yuanchu felt somewhat irritated. He couldn't find peace of mind; wasn't the prerequisite for peace of mind the complete absence of any sound?
How was he supposed to explore his own mind?
Think about nothing?
Empty oneself?
This old man wasn't explaining any methods at all, leaving everything up to them to figure out on their own.
Yuanchu started drawing circles in his mind once again.
Suddenly, an untimely sound drifted over. Although faint, Yuanchu caught it anyway. It wasn't birdsong, nor was it the wind rustling the leaves, but rather...
"Hoo... hoo..."
Was that snoring?
His mind was already quite agitated; who on earth had the leisure to snore and sleep right now?
A cross-shaped vein of anger popped up on Yuanchu's forehead.
Who else could it be?
Moran?
Impossible. That guy was usually careless, but he would never be sloppy at a time when he needed to be serious.
Gu Feng?
That was impossible too. Although this fellow didn't like to talk and was usually rather dull, he was generally quite earnest.
With all impossibilities ruled out, only one possibility remained...
Yuanchu quietly opened his eyes and saw a man sitting on a rocking chair, swaying back and forth, the bubble on his nose expanding and contracting with his breath.
Sure enough, it could only be this old man.
Yuanchu turned to look at the rock and saw Han Xinnian tilting her head with a puzzled look as she stared right at him.
Yuanchu made a "shh" gesture, signaling Han Xinnian to make no sound.
Han Xinnian nodded heavily.
Looking at the old man's slightly open mouth, a small idea formed in Yuanchu's mind.
Yuanchu quietly picked up a tiny pebble from the side and crept toward Elder Gu.
Han Xinnian, who didn't need to cultivate, kept tilting her head to the left, curiously watching what Yuanchu was about to do.
One step, two steps...
Closer and closer. It was time to exact a tiny bit of revenge on this old codger.
Just as Yuanchu was about to drop the pebble into that little opening, the bubble on Elder Gu's nose suddenly burst, and a pair of deep eyes stared straight at Yuanchu.
At that moment, Yuanchu finally understood what true stillness was; this silence that transcended time and space was the very essence of tranquility.
"What are you trying to do?"
A short while later, a miserable scream shattered the tranquility of the forest, and the surrounding birds hurried away from the place.
Han Xinnian yawned and went back to tinkering with her cane.
...
"You two continue your cultivation here. Yuanchu, you're training by yourself!"
With a wave of Elder Gu's hand, Yuanchu was whisked away to goodness knows where.
Gu Feng and Moran stared at each other in blank dismay, having no idea what had just happened, leaving only a sigh:
Poor Yuanchu had once again become a sacrificial lamb for Elder Gu to vent his anger on.
Yet they could only grumble inwardly, quickly closing their eyes to resume their cultivation lest they become Elder Gu's next punching bags.
...
"Not even using magic this time, huh? So you were just showing off for me before."
Yuanchu surveyed the scene before him: a massive waterfall plunged straight down from the sky, its source obscured by a layer of mist so high up that it couldn't be seen, while the river beneath the waterfall rushed off into the unknown distance.
Yuanchu looked around and spotted only a single-person rock suspended in mid-air right in the middle of the waterfall.
It wasn't high up; a person could easily hop onto it by standing on tiptoe.
Yuanchu clicked his tongue, thinking that Teacher Gu certainly knew how to put on a show. He must have wanted him to sit right up there; otherwise, such a turbulent waterfall would have long since washed that rock away.
Yuanchu took off his shirt, baring his upper body. Though he lacked the muscles of a bodybuilder, he at least had a lean physique, presumably built up from the physical training of the past few days.
Yuanchu sat upon the rock, feeling the rush of the water.
The turbulent water, driven by gravity, slammed mercilessly against every inch of skin on Yuanchu's upper body. Water from his hair streamed down his forehead and into his eyes, and the splashing droplets easily found their way into his nasal passages.
Cold. Extremely cold.
Wasn't he attuned to the water element? Why did he have zero affinity with it?
Moreover, he still couldn't breathe. Well, naturally; after all, he was human—how could anyone breathe underwater?
Yuanchu choked repeatedly, sticking his head out of the waterfall several times to gasp for fresh air, pressing his body further inward to keep the spray out of his nose as much as possible.
Cold, truly cold.
Yuanchu decided to distract himself and stop fixating on the cold. He closed his eyes and began listening to the roaring rush of the water with his ears.
Amidst such monotonous sound, it was very difficult for a person to perceive the passage of time.
How long had passed? Yuanchu had no idea. He only knew that he seemed unable to hear any sounds anymore, nor could he feel the cold. How had his surroundings... quietly grown so peaceful without him even noticing?
Yuanchu's consciousness gradually sank. What was contained within his own heart?
"Tap, tap, tap."
What sound was that? There didn't seem to be such a sound outside.
"Tap, tap, tap."
Yuanchu heard it clearly. It was a rhythmic sound, very light and very slow.
"Tap."
It sounded like a single droplet of water gathering into a bead, finally falling slowly onto a calm surface of water, causing it to indent briefly.
"Tap."
"Tap."
"Tap."
Was this what his inner self was like?
Was the process of a droplet falling into water the tranquility his heart yearned for?
Yuanchu attentively felt this process, attempting to imprint this imagery into his mind.
The background was so dark, yet the water surface below appeared so bright, glowing with a deep blue light. And the water droplet? How did the water droplet gather?
Was that a slightly drooping tree branch?
No, that wasn't it.
That was a person's hand. To be precise, a person's index finger.
Yuanchu suddenly noticed the water surface begin to vibrate. Immediately afterward, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, much like the pain of a heart condition.
Clutching his chest and gasping heavily for air, he suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be inside the waterfall.
Could he breathe underwater now?
Before Yuanchu could ponder further, he felt a tremor ripple through his surroundings—just like the water surface he had seen a moment ago—and his vision went black.
Opening his eyes once more, he saw Elder Gu supporting him with one hand. The other two cultivators had also opened their eyes, looking somewhat startled.
"Just then, it felt almost like an earthquake." Elder Gu looked at Yuanchu with a solemn expression.
"......?"
Yuanchu was somewhat baffled. Could it be that he had caused this commotion?
Realizing his expression, Elder Gu softened his tone slightly: "Ah, our island occasionally has earthquakes, you know. Don't worry, the two of you keep practicing."
"Yuanchu, you go back and rest today. I can already sense that you have practically mastered the training."
Yuanchu wanted to say something, but in the end, he simply nodded.
Elder Gu used his magic once more to teleport Yuanchu back.
None of them noticed that the young girl leaning on her cane atop the rock had somehow wandered off to somewhere else.