Chapter 98: A Voice Within the Heart, Unheard by the Ears, Moving as the Wind

Within the Zheyue Cave, Cao Kong submerged his consciousness into his Earth Mansion, setting out to seek the Yellow Matron.

The Wood Mansion supernatural power, which governs the eight winds of heaven and earth, had already provided immense benefits to his cultivation, leaving him eager to unlock the powers of the remaining four mansions. According to the "Five Mansion Supernatural Arts," diligent practice guaranteed the mastery of two powers within ten thousand years, so he did not slacken for a single day.

This time, Cao Kong’s consciousness traveled a hundred paces through the endless yellow sands, slew a ferocious beast that crossed his path, and advanced a few dozen more steps before a sudden premonition compelled him to withdraw.

Looking inward, he saw that his five internal organs were well-protected by his Golden Nature, showing no signs of depletion. Furthermore, his search for the Yellow Matron had aided in harmonizing the Kan and Li energies, thereby increasing his vital essence, energy, and spirit, which in turn slightly bolstered his magical power.

"Once the Golden Core is formed, the body becomes flawless—truly extraordinary. I need not worry about internal depletion henceforth." Cao Kong smiled. With the Golden Core complete, his body was practically without leaks; thus, the Yellow Matron could no longer harm his physical form, serving only to harmonize his inner energies.

However, he understood that "flawless" was merely a relative term. As things stood, if he encountered a powerful beast while exploring the Earth Mansion, he could venture at most another two hundred paces before his Golden Core’s perfection would be compromised.

"The Great Dao is boundless; I am always on the path," Cao Kong sighed lightly. Suddenly, his eyebrows lifted. He thought he heard a sound—ethereal and indistinct—but when he listened closely, it vanished into nothingness.

"Strange." In his current state, auditory hallucinations should be impossible, yet it had occurred. It was undoubtedly unusual. Cao Kong used his divine sense, which was intertwined with Hidden Mist Mountain, to scan for any anomalies, but he found nothing. He set the matter aside, though he kept it in his heart.

He turned his focus back to the three great supernatural arts: "Manifesting Heaven and Earth," "Five Elements Great Evasion," and the "Changes of Tiangang and Earthly Fiends," refining his spirit and techniques.

Among the three, he practiced the Changes of Tiangang and Earthly Fiends the most. Mastering this art of transformation to a high degree allowed one to alter their very foundation and escape catastrophe—it was truly profound. During his studies, Cao Kong even noticed his understanding of various Great Daos deepening. After all, to perform a fundamental transformation, one must understand the nature of things, much like the concept of "investigating things to extend knowledge." Cao Kong favored this path, as it allowed him to cultivate both his spiritual foundation and his supernatural powers simultaneously.

As for "Manifesting Heaven and Earth" and the "Five Elements Great Evasion," he focused primarily on the latter. The Five Elements Evasion—comprising the arts of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—not only served for combat and self-defense but also aided his comprehension of the Five Luminaries Sword. "Manifesting Heaven and Earth," however, had harsh requirements, was difficult to comprehend, and consumed vast amounts of energy, so Cao Kong temporarily set it aside. He compared the water evasion technique Ao You had previously taught him with the water evasion in the Five Elements Great Evasion and realized that the former was merely a single piece of the latter’s puzzle.

Nevertheless, it provided a solid foundation for his current study.

"Ding."

As Cao Kong contemplated the Five Elements Evasion, a flash of insight struck. He reached into the mountain mist, plucked a drop of water that formed at his fingertip, and flicked it. The droplet flew like an arrow, crossing the mountain peak and landing on the far side. In a blink, Cao Kong, who had been sitting there, vanished.

Observe the falling droplet. It reflected the world at an incredible speed: the mountain forests, the mist, the red sun, the blue sky—everything was captured within it. A crane soaring overhead glanced at the droplet, its eyes filled with confusion. Was it raining? It needed to return quickly to protect the weaker spirit herbs in the fields.

Suddenly, ripples spread across the water. The images of the world vanished from the droplet’s surface, replaced by the face of a Daoist. In an instant, the Daoist stepped out from the water, landing on the mist, as if riding the wind and standing apart from the mundane world.

The crane was startled, its wings stuttering as it struggled to regain its composure. "M-Mountain Lord," it stammered.

Cao Kong smiled. "I was practicing something interesting and startled you. Think nothing of it. You may go find Cao Xiang and collect a Soul-Nurturing Pill."

The crane was one of the two servants Cao Xiang had taken in; it usually assisted with the spirit fields or helped in the alchemical lab. These pills were routine rewards for their work and helped boost their cultivation. Overjoyed, the crane forgot its fright, chirped a thank you, and fluttered off to find Cao Xiang, its back looking quite cheerful.

Cao Kong found this amusing; it was a sign of a genuine passion for cultivation—a promising child.

A mountain breeze blew, and Cao Kong felt a sudden impulse. He had started with water evasion because of his prior foundation, but this breeze reminded him that his nature was most in harmony with Wood—and in the heavens, Wood manifests as the wind.

He channeled his divine energy, merged the Changes of Tiangang and Earthly Fiends with the Wood Evasion of the Five Elements, and hid himself within the breeze, drifting along with the mountain wind.

It was a peculiar perspective—indescribable, yet perfectly clear. His current of air drifted across Hidden Mist Mountain. He saw four little foxes meditating, so he did not disturb them. He circled a cave and caught sight of Cao Xiang alchemy-brewing, his head nodding off into a nap.

The crane at the entrance saw this and turned away, not wanting to disturb him. The breeze drifted on, wandering freely through the landscape. He watched an old ape picking peaches; when the ape stumbled and nearly fell, Cao Kong’s wind caught and steadied him. The ape looked around, bewildered, scratching its head at the empty air. He drifted to a stream where a fish was wedged between stones; with a flick of his will, the wind nudged it free. The fish dove back into the water, then leapt to the surface, blowing bubbles as if in thanks.

After some time, Cao Kong stepped out of the wind and laughed on the spot, "How delightful! How truly delightful!"

Transforming into the wind and pondering its nature was not only exhilarating but rewarding—no amount of meditation could compare to the depth of such an experience. Inside his Wood Mansion, the seed of his supernatural power grew slightly stronger.

He returned home with a smile, content with the day’s gains. He decided not to be greedy, setting his mind instead to brewing grain and preparing a new batch of fine wine.

...

A month passed in a blur. The resin of the Suhe trees had been mostly harvested—brownish-yellow in color with an intoxicating fragrance. Cao Kong sent Hu Yan and the others to Yuhua City with gold and silver from the mountain to trade for milk and other goods.

Hu Yan laughed, "Mountain Lord, over these years, the villages at the foot of our mountain have gradually gathered into a town. I can just go there."

Cao Kong smiled, "I have stayed in the mountains for so long that I’ve grown out of touch with the changes outside. This is good; it will be convenient for future procurements."

Hu Yan chuckled and called the other three foxes, who assumed human forms and headed down the mountain. They left at noon and returned by dusk, each carrying two enormous containers filled with milk. This was the key ingredient for making the Suhe incense oil. One simply poured the milk into a barrel, let it ferment, and then churned it nearly a thousand times to separate the oil from the milk. Once the oil was combined with the Suhe resin, the incense oil was complete.

Within a day or two, hundreds of pounds of Suhe incense oil were ready, costing only a small amount of gold and silver.

Cao Kong then summoned the Ape Lion. The beast was overjoyed and immediately escorted Cao Kong toward Green Dragon Mountain, chattering incessantly along the way about the abundance of spirit herbs and treasures to be found there.