Chapter 1695: Soaring State of Mind

"The Mind-Heart Pavilion? Let's go take a look!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Since the Confucian Temple hadn't opened yet, and this place was said to help with state of mind, he decided to go.

All along, he had been waiting for the Heaven's Recognition of a Master Teacher to increase his state of mind. If there really was a cultivation technique, he could practice it instead of being so passive.

After walking for a short while, a building appeared before them. Entering it, a middle-aged man came forward to greet them.

"Are you here to temper your state of mind, or to test it?"

"Temper it," Zhang Xuan said.

"This way, please..." The middle-aged man smiled. "However, we don't accept treasures like spirit stones here. We only take top-grade saint artifacts. One top-grade saint artifact per hour."

"That's quite expensive..."

Zhang Xuan was taken aback.

Although top-grade saint artifacts were of no use to him, the preciousness of such treasures was still beyond what spirit stones could measure.

Many cultivators at the eighth or ninth level of the Saint Realm didn't even own one, yet here, one was consumed every hour.

"There's no helping it. State of mind involves too many factors. Setting up the arrays and spaces for tempering, and maintaining them, requires a huge cost..." The middle-aged man smiled wryly.

"That's true."

Zhang Xuan did not refute.

Those who could temper their state of mind here were probably all at the level of Nine-Star Master Teachers. At that point, their state of mind exceeded 27.0. Ordinary illusion arrays and mirage techniques were no longer effective. To exert pressure on them, the most valuable items had to be used, so it was only natural that the price was high.

"Here."

With a flick of his wrist, Zhang Xuan tossed out a top-grade saint artifact. "Let me first see the effect. If it's good, everyone can practice."

Having killed over a hundred thousand members of the Otherworldly Tribe and plundered all their military supplies, he had no fewer than a thousand top-grade saint artifacts in his storage ring, so he could afford to waste them.

Everyone nodded.

"This way, please..."

Soon, the middle-aged man led them into a hall.

In the center of the hall was a medium-sized crystal ball, standing on a platform, slowly rotating and emitting a mesmerizing light.

On the walls were carved many techniques and insights for improving state of mind, densely packed, countless in number.

"These are the insights left by strong cultivators who came here to temper their state of mind. We have tested them all, and they are all correct, all very helpful for improving state of mind. However... there are too many, and they are too chaotic, which can be somewhat distracting. If you can look at these, withstand the pressure, and still keep your mind firm, your state of mind will surely advance by leaps and bounds!"

The middle-aged man laughed.

The value of techniques lies in their quality, not quantity.

Sometimes, the more techniques there are, the more troublesome it becomes.

Everyone has a different cultivation method. The more one sees, the more confused one becomes. If one cannot keep a firm mind, progress will not only slow down but may even lead to deviation. For this reason, the Master Teacher Pavilion does not advocate master teachers learning multiple techniques.

Of course, every advantage has its disadvantage.

Faced with so many techniques, if one can still keep a firm mind and remain unbiased, one's state of mind will become increasingly solid and improve rapidly.

"To temper your state of mind, simply come before the crystal ball, place your palm on it, and focus your perception. The crystal ball will record the changes in your state of mind at all times. If you show signs of being unable to bear it, we will interrupt the array to ensure you are not injured."

Seeing that he understood, the middle-aged man said.

"Hmm!"

Nodding, Zhang Xuan stepped forward two paces and arrived before the crystal ball. He did not immediately place his hand on it but instead swept his eyes across the wall opposite.

Whoosh!

A new book appeared in the library.

Knowledge flowed into his mind, and his eyes gleamed.

Merging many cultivation techniques, it formed a method for cultivating the mind at the Heavenly Dao level.

Previously, he had not studied much nor collected related books. After reading the contents, he understood that the cultivation of mental calibration was no simpler than training in techniques; in fact, it was more profound and harder to grasp.

Normal cultivation required the aid of illusion arrays, undergoing various tribulations, until the heart became as firm as iron, slowly increasing the mental calibration.

This method was passive advancement, and its speed was predictable. Even if some techniques allowed progress using patterned stones and the like, the improvement was minimal.

The newly formed Heavenly Dao technique precisely solved this problem, allowing the mind, like true qi, to break through via cultivation.

"It's beginning..."

Turning the technique over in his mind, Zhang Xuan stretched his hand forward and placed it on the crystal ball.

Buzz!

A beam of light flashed, and a line of characters appeared in the air: 29.1.

As Zhang Xuan himself had perceived, his mental calibration had indeed reached the peak of a Nine-Star Master Teacher, exceeding 29.0.

"He is... a Nine-Star Master Teacher?"

The middle-aged man was startled.

He had thought that this young man, not old among the crowd, had the lowest mental calibration and had come to train, but unexpectedly it was so high... Such a value probably few in the entire Qufu could surpass.

"Hmm!" Seeing the other shocked by her son, Dream Swordsman beamed with delight and asked, "In your establishment, has anyone ever suddenly achieved enlightenment and broken through during training?"

"Yes! Master Yang, Yang Xuan, when he came here, his mental calibration was 28.2. During training, he suddenly achieved enlightenment and improved by 0.2, reaching 28.4, which became a much-told tale!" said the middle-aged man.

Once mental calibration exceeded 27, every increase of 0.1 required countless years of hard work. An enlightenment that broke through 0.2 in less than an hour was already astonishing and difficult for countless people to emulate.

"Master Yang is indeed impressive... What about the record here? What is the fastest improvement within an hour?" Dream Swordsman continued asking.

"As for the record, it was left by an Eight-Star Master Teacher. At that time, his mental calibration was 24.7. Just after one hour, it reached 25.7, an increase of exactly 1.0. However... it's not comparable; the lower the mental calibration, the easier the improvement!"

The middle-aged man explained.

Improving mental calibration was like stacking blocks: the lower it was, the easier; once it reached a certain height, every additional point became several times harder than before.

"A Meng, do you think Xuan'er can break the record?"

Seeing his wife ask repeatedly, Xing Swordsman turned his head.

"My son is a genius; breaking the record is only natural!" Dream Swordsman said confidently.

"You... you have too much faith in our son... The mind is not like other things; it cannot improve quickly..." Xing Swordsman shook his head.

The mind is not like cultivation; absorbing spiritual energy increases power... To improve, without enlightenment, how could it be possible?

"Look!"

Before he finished speaking, a sharp voice rang out. Xing Swordsman quickly looked up and saw the number 29.1 in the air flicker. In the blink of an eye, it became 29.2, then 29.3, 29.4...

"This..."

Xing Swordsman was stunned.