Chapter 410 - 388: The Heart, Master of the Body, Commander of the Hundred Spirits

In the Cultivation Room, Song Ciwan sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, her expression serene.

Streams of scripture washed over her, and countless profound mysteries surrounded and enveloped her.

It was the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting—the Third Layer of the Sutra of Sitting and Forgetting.

This time, however, was different. It was no longer like before, when receiving the scripture felt like being buffeted by a raging torrent, her heart needing to withstand immense shocks before she could finally etch the words within.

This time, the scripture descended from the void like a pool of gentle moonlight—calm, unhurried, and faint, it simply flowed into Song Ciwan’s Heart Soul.

The heart is the master of the body, the commander of all spirits.

In stillness, wisdom is born; in movement, confusion arises!

For a person in this world, the ability to be ’still’ is sometimes far more difficult than the ability to ’act’.

The body transcends life and death; the heart dwells within the ultimate Dao.

...

Therefore, to transcend life and death, to escape terror, to build a home of the Dao and let the heart dwell within—that is the true path.

In Song Ciwan’s Sea of Consciousness, the divinity that was once illusory began to solidify.

Her entire mind was immersed in a peaceful joy, as if she were attaining Enlightenment.

Every line of scripture brought her a wondrous feeling, as if she were hearing Celestial Sound, and upon careful contemplation, she experienced moments of sudden, profound realization.

The satisfaction of having the mysteries of the Dao revealed was countless times more gratifying than drinking iced water on a sweltering summer day or sipping warm porridge in the dead of winter.

Unconsciously, Song Ciwan listened to and recited the scripture, her spirit utterly entranced.

In a daze, she lost all track of time, and in a flash, ten days had passed.

A period of nine days, plus another ten—Song Ciwan had now been in seclusion for nineteen days.

Outside Han Guang Glaze Residence, the Big White Goose had already "conquered" all the Cyan Feathered Birds, bees, and butterflies in the cave mansion.

The Big White Goose was now the second-in-command of the cave mansion. As for who was number one?

That had to be Song Ciwan, of course!

The Big White Goose was very thoughtful, firmly reserving that top spot for its master.

With the boss in seclusion, the second-in-command was watching the house. The Big White Goose patrolled diligently every day, one moment chasing birds and butterflies, the next investigating a beehive, and the next diving into the water—

Unfortunately, there were no fish in the water, so the Big White Goose couldn’t enjoy the pleasure of fishing.

But while the thrill of the catch was absent, the joy of swimming was certainly not.

The Big White Goose loved splashing about in the water. After a good splash, it would burst into song, causing the Cyan Feathered Birds and the bees and butterflies by the water’s edge to flee in terror. It would then laugh gleefully, "GACK GACK!"

After it was done laughing, it would let out another squawk toward Song Ciwan’s Cultivation Room.

It was as if it were urging Song Ciwan to come out, and also as if it were saying: ’Look, Wanwan! I’m doing a great job watching the house, so you can just focus on your seclusion!’

When Song Ciwan awoke, the Heaven and Earth Scale appeared beside her. Spanning the distance of two cultivation rooms, it had collected a ball of energy from the Big White Goose. [Demon Heart. The longing, joy, and delight of a Spirit Communication Stage Goose Demon. Weight: one jin and two taels. Tradeable.]

The divinity in Song Ciwan’s Sea of Consciousness opened its eyes. In that instant, her vision crossed the barriers of space, traversed reality from the void, passed unseen through two cultivation rooms, and saw the Big White Goose splashing happily in the hot spring pool.

The Big White Goose was completely unaware that Song Ciwan was silently observing it from the void. It continued to play on its own, occasionally glancing into the distance, perfectly at ease.

Song Ciwan’s divine sight lingered for a moment before shifting its gaze to look even further away.

This time, her gaze easily penetrated the multiple array barriers of the Celestial Level Cave Mansion, Phoenix’s Cry at Dawn, silently locking onto a wisp of an aura that was both familiar and strange—

It was the aura of Liu Siye, the administrator of Cyan Feather Mountain.

Song Ciwan had only met this Liu Siye once, so she couldn’t claim to be familiar with his aura. At her current realm, however, even an unfamiliar aura, once memorized, would never be forgotten.

With her divine eye, her gaze swept out as if by chance, landing on the Steward Hall at the foot of Cyan Feather Mountain, which resembled a hot spring villa.

Prince Yun’s Chief Historian, Yun Chong, had come again, and Liu Siye was receiving her personally.

As Song Ciwan’s divine eye opened, she happened to see the scene of Yun Chong and Liu Siye’s conversation.

There was not only an image, but sound as well.

Yun Chong asked, "Liu Siye, it’s been nineteen days. Hasn’t Fairy Song come out of seclusion yet?"

Liu Siye remained calm and unhurried. He simply chuckled and replied, "It’s only been nineteen days. Coming out of seclusion isn’t so easy. Chief Historian Yun, don’t be hasty. This is not something that can be rushed!"

Yun Chong frowned slightly, paused for a moment, then asked, "I heard that Fairy Song’s original rental period for the cave mansion was one month?"

Liu Siye sighed, his smile fading slightly. "Chief Historian Yun, the rental period for a personal cave mansion is a private matter. According to the Court’s regulations, this information cannot be disclosed. For you to ask this... do you have some instruction for me?"

Rebuffed so politely, Yun Chong’s expression flickered with displeasure.

But she quickly composed herself, lifting her chin slightly. "My Crown Prince has said that no matter how long Fairy Song remains in seclusion, he and the Heir’s Consort will cover all subsequent rental fees!"

Then she scoffed, "You don’t need to keep going on about rules, Liu Siye. I am an official, not some villain. Do you think I’m just prying for fun? I only mentioned it in passing while conveying the Crown Prince’s orders. Liu Siye, here are three thousand Primordial Pearls..."

She placed a Storage Pouch directly on the nearby table, tapped her finger on it, then turned and walked away.

Throughout the entire exchange, neither Yun Chong nor Liu Siye detected that Song Ciwan’s divine sight was observing them from afar.

Compared to when her divinity was first born, when even the slightest use of her Divine Eye Opening would cause a backlash, Song Ciwan’s power had now progressed to a point that was simply incomparable to before.

This was especially true given the two people she was observing this time.

One was Yun Chong, a genuine Divinity Transformation Stage cultivator. The other was Liu Siye, who, although not at the Divinity Transformation Stage, still possessed the strength of the Vast Qi Realm.

Yes, Liu Siye was a Scholar of the Vast Qi Realm.

The Vast Qi Realm was equivalent to a Cultivator’s Qi Cultivation Stage, meaning his Cultivation was technically a level lower than Yun Chong’s.

But Liu Siye was a legitimate, court-appointed official. Even though he was only at the Vast Qi Realm, his strength could not be underestimated, as he was protected by his Official Position.

Song Ciwan withdrew her gaze, and her divine eye slowly closed once more.

Having witnessed that exchange between Yun Chong and Liu Siye, Song Ciwan was once again reminded of the intricate and complex web of factions within Guangling City.

Although Prince Yun’s Mansion was a royal residence, certain officials in Guangling City were backed by the Court and clearly did not fear it.

’It made sense,’ she thought. ’The current His Majesty the Emperor has reigned for 133 years and seems to be in his prime. He could probably rule for another two hundred years without a problem.’

’In that case, the situation for the Princes who have been granted fiefdoms throughout the Nine Provinces must be rather awkward.’

’As officials, their duty, both in sentiment and in principle, is to be loyal subjects of His Majesty the Emperor. If they become too sycophantic toward the local Vassal Kings, then whose subject are they truly—the Emperor’s, or the Vassal King’s?’

’Liu Siye wasn’t like Yun Chong, who was an official belonging to the Prince’s Mansion.’

’For someone like him in Guangling City, having an unclear stance would be courting death.’