Introspecting Within to Clear the Mind

Seeing that Daoist Priest Huang Shizhen had recovered significantly, Chen Jue ended his cultivation session and handed the remaining medicinal ointment and wine back to Liu Shiqing.

"Daoist Priest Huang, judging by how long you seem to have run this clinic, you must be exceptionally skilled in medicine and the healing arts."

"I am quite new to this path and would like to stay here to study for a period of time. Would that be acceptable?" Chen Jue cupped his hands in a polite salute, his expression sincere.

Although Chen Jue had previously browsed through various medical texts and knowledge online, gaining a deeper understanding of human anatomy, medicine is not something one can master purely through reading—it requires practical, hands-on experience.

Much like martial arts, no matter how much one reads or contemplates, it cannot compare to actually practicing and embodying the techniques through physical exertion.

"You wish to study medicine, Master Chen Jue?"

"I am merely an orthopedic doctor, perfectly capable of treating fractures, setting bones, managing colds and infections, and regulating the body's constitution. However, when it comes to profoundly complex and obscure maladies, I am afraid I would be quite helpless," Huang Shizhen said, his brows furrowing slightly.

"That is more than enough. I only intend to observe and learn for a few days; I will not take up too much of your time," Chen Jue replied with a nod.

Huang Shizhen was slightly startled upon hearing this, not expecting that Chen Jue, a genuine master who had forged the Golden Elixir, would take an interest in medicine.

Upon second thought, however, medicine and martial arts have always been inseparably linked. Furthermore, having just received guidance from Chen Jue, Huang Shizhen readily agreed to the request.

...

Taking advantage of the clinic's closed hours, Chen Jue engaged the Daoist priest in a discussion regarding their experiences in the practice of Daoist Internal Elixir cultivation.

Upon learning that Chen Jue had forged his Golden Elixir through the external conditioning of the Wudang Taihe Sect’s Tiger Roaring Golden Bell Shield and Dragon Singing Iron Cloth Shirt, Huang Shizhen was immensely astonished. "The convergence of Dragon and Tiger, the harmonious balance of Water and Fire! I never expected that you, Master Chen Jue, had also received the true teachings of Wudang."

"My master inherited the tradition of the Wudang Golden Toad School, which includes the secret method of 'swallowing the sun and moon to nourish the elixir' within the Golden Toad Art. Unfortunately, my mastery was not deep enough, and I have yet to reach that stage."

"However, my Uncle-Master Luo chose a completely different path. Decades ago, he attained the Dao and became a realized master, just as you have, Master Chen Jue."

Hearing this, Chen Jue paused in surprise and eagerly pursued the matter. "Daoist Priest Huang, is your Uncle-Master Luo still living? Although I have achieved the Golden Elixir, I still harbor many doubts regarding my cultivation and was hoping to seek out a kindred spirit of high attainment for guidance and exchange."

Previously, upon hearing that Huang Shizhen’s master had passed away at the age of 116, Chen Jue had instinctively assumed that his Uncle-Master was likewise a centenarian who had long since ascended to immortality.

Yet, judging by the priest’s words, this Uncle-Master who had forged the Golden Elixir was seemingly still alive in the mortal world! This revelation caused a great stir within Chen Jue's heart.

One had to understand that ever since Chen Jue experienced a profound awakening about life, he had chosen to measure the earth with his footsteps and temper his mind in the bustling, mundane world. His goal was to comprehend his own path of cultivation through the method of observing others to reflect upon himself.

This path of enlightenment he walked was akin to that of the great sages and philosophers of antiquity.

After wandering the four directions, Laozi left behind the *Tao Te Ching* at Hangu Pass, establishing the foundation of Daoist thought before ultimately retiring into seclusion on Mount Laojun, leaving a legacy that endured through the ages.

After traveling through various states and observing their respective conditions, Confucius ultimately founded the Confucian school of thought, becoming a sage for generations to come.

In the Buddhist tradition, Siddhartha Gautama also made four excursions outside the palace walls before his sudden enlightenment beneath the Bodhi tree. He ultimately experienced the sufferings of the mortal world, renounced his royal throne to attain supreme awakening, and transformed into the figure we recognize as Shakyamuni, the Buddha.

Setting out from Beidu, Chen Jue had spent most of his journey forming connections with extraordinary individuals and martial arts masters. This was because figures such as Huang Shizhen, Li Xiang, Li Wei, and Master Jiande possessed spiritual imprints far more profound and intense than those of ordinary people.

Through observing these individuals and reflecting upon himself, Chen Jue had gained immense emotional resonance and reaped countless insights.

Now, upon learning that there was still a living Daoist master of the Golden Elixir realm in existence, how could Chen Jue fail to feel deeply moved?

"My Uncle-Master Luo is thirty-six years younger than my late master, and he should currently be in secluded cultivation on Mount Hua."

"If you wish to visit him, Master Chen Jue, I can offer an introduction on your behalf... However, my Uncle-Master possesses a rather eccentric temperament. I fear that upon meeting him, you may find yourself greatly disappointed," Huang Shizhen explained, a somewhat unnatural expression crossing his face as he mentioned his senior's reputation.

"Then I thank you in advance, Daoist Priest Huang!" Chen Jue was greatly excited by the news. As for the eccentric temperament mentioned, he did not take it to heart.

After all, the man was a living master of the Golden Elixir; what did a slightly peculiar personality matter?

To be able to converse and debate the Dao with such a figure was Chen Jue's good fortune, and minor details of temperament were hardly worth worrying about.

...

Over the next few days, Chen Jue remained at Huang Shizhen’s orthopedic clinic. He rented a room at a nearby inn for his nighttime rest, while spending his days at the clinic following Huang Shizhen to learn the art of diagnosis.

Traditional Chinese medicine emphasizes looking, listening, inquiring, and feeling the pulse, and an orthopedic physician differs somewhat from a general practitioner, though Huang Shizhen was well-versed in both.

The proprietors of the nearby restaurants and inns frequently dropped by to have him prescribe remedies to regulate their constitutions.

However, Huang Shizhen’s greatest expertise remained bone-setting, bone-alignment, and the treatment of traumatic injuries. With the abilities of a Huajin Grandmaster, his internal force could permeate the entire skeletal structure. Combined with the Golden Toad Art, which allowed his vital energy to circulate freely through the internal organs, he possessed an exhaustive understanding of human anatomy, enabling him to treat such patients with effortless mastery.

In addition, Huang Shizhen was exceptionally skilled in the study of acupuncture points, and his mastery of acupuncture left Chen Jue in absolute awe.

Naturally, many of those who came to the clinic for treatment were students learning martial arts at Wudang, among whom were even a few foreigners.

Several foreign students wearing plaster casts and bandages who returned for follow-up examinations would bow deeply and kowtow in respect upon seeing Huang Shizhen, likely aware that the clinic harbored a Wudang master of extraordinarily high seniority and deeply admiring his medical skills.

After all, the practice of martial arts inevitably involves bumps, bruises, sprained limbs, joint dislocations, and fractures.

As long as the injuries did not involve severe comminuted fractures, a gentle touch from Huang Shizhen was enough to diagnose the root cause, followed by the appropriate prescription and hands-on treatment.

Chen Jue had also been quite mischievous in his childhood, running wild across the mountains with his village companions and frequently suffering similar traumatic injuries when leaping across field ridges. In the end, his grandfather would always lead him to the neighboring village of the Lin family to have an old Chinese medicine practitioner set his bones.

In Chen Jue's eyes, Daoist Priest Huang Shizhen’s techniques were vastly superior to the skills of that old country doctor from his childhood memories.

...

Staying at the orthopedic clinic for five days, Chen Jue divided his time between studying medical knowledge and exchanging insights on the Dao with Huang Shizhen.

From Daoist scriptures and the healing arts to martial arts, after days of close association, both men benefited immensely.

Furthermore, given that Chen Jue was a realized master who had forged the elixir, he appeared to Huang Shizhen as a senior walking the path in the flesh, naturally inspiring a desire to learn elixir-related cultivation methods from him.

Chen Jue held nothing back, imparting everything from the internal-cleansing and marrow-washing methods of the Tiger Roaring and Dragon Singing techniques to the circulation of vital energy through the Greater and Lesser Heavenly Orbits.

Even Liu Shiqing, who frequently dropped by for visits, managed to learn the Wudang Tiger Claw technique—a skill that allowed one to channel the spirit of a tiger—directly from Chen Jue.

Though Liu Shiqing’s martial arts had only reached the Mingjin stage, she was nonetheless a steadfast guardian figure stationed at the Wudang temple and was deeply read in Daoist knowledge and classics. She occasionally joined their discussions, providing Chen Jue with insight into many hidden, non-public aspects of Daoist tradition.

Naturally, seeing Chen Jue share his knowledge so sincerely and unreservedly, Huang Shizhen also produced the foundational techniques of the Golden Toad School, teaching Chen Jue the internal-cleansing breath-swallowing secret method of the Golden Toad Art.

Deeply moved by this generosity, Chen Jue felt that his trip to Wudang had truly been well worth the journey.

In addition to mastering the force-generating techniques of the Great Toad Breath within the Golden Toad Art, several days of observing clinical diagnoses granted Chen Jue an increasingly profound understanding of human anatomy.

From bones and muscles to meridians and internal organs, obscure and difficult concepts began to crystallize under Huang Shizhen’s guidance.

Aside from the brain—the most complex part of the human body—Chen Jue found that he was beginning to vaguely experience what Daoist legends referred to as "inner vision."

Though still exceedingly hazy, whenever he circulated his vital energy to a designated location, he could roughly visualize a corresponding scene of inner vision within his mind.

Presumably due to the deepening of his cultivation, his growing comprehension of human anatomy, and the attainment of a physical vessel made sacred by the Golden Elixir, Chen Jue had begun to manifest various extraordinary Daoist "divine abilities."

This precisely echoed the passage from the *Scripture of Inner Observation by Supreme Lord Lao*: "Observe the inner self to clarify the mind."

Measuring the earth with his footsteps and tempering his mind in the mundane world, Chen Jue's mind grew ever more lucid, and even his physical body began to appear transparent before his awareness, discarding the ignorance he had once possessed.

Today marks the third chapter released!
This author will continue writing~

& Note: The protagonist's cultivation is a progressive, step-by-step process. Moving from initial ignorance to vague comprehension, and finally to a profound understanding of the body, is a long journey rather than something achieved overnight.