Chapter 20: Gold bones don’t appeal to the master, I want to refine into jade bones i

Li Xuan, unbeknownst to him, Xu Yan had already crafted the golden bone he had made up. Xu Yan was excited to share the news and hoped for praise and recognition. At this time, Li Xuan was playing with the last gift Xu Yan had given him, a golden sword and a Jade Ruyi. The gold sword, embedded with precious gems and forged entirely from gold, held great value. The Jade Ruyi was engraved with auspicious cloud patterns, flawless throughout. It was carved from the highest quality jade, and, in terms of value, it might even exceed the gold sword. "Although the value of this gold sword is not low, no matter how I look at it, I feel the Jade Ruyi is worth more; it’s rarer. I like this Jade Ruyi more than the gold sword. Its quality, flawless throughout and crystal clear, gives a warm and smooth feeling when held. "If I could pair this up as a family heirloom, that would be perfectly ideal. "Regardless of the deception, it wouldn’t hurt to cheat one more Jade Ruyi, right?” Li Xuan was toying with the Jade Ruyi; the more he looked at it, the more he liked it. He muttered in his heart for his naive disciple to find another Jade Ruyi to make a pair to keep as a family heirloom. Just then, Xu Yan came over. "My disciple, you’ve come at the right time.” Li Xuan thrust the gold sword aside as if it were an annoyance. Jade Ruyi in hand, his eyes shone with admiration for it. "Look at this Jade Ruyi, flawless throughout, nourishing one’s soul and mind. A gentleman loves jade, as do I. If I could pair this Jade Ruyi, that would be ideal.” He looked up at Xu Yan. “Do you understand, my disciple?” Li Xuan thought to himself, Go find another Jade Ruyi for me. Xu Yan had originally come, thrilled to announce to his master that he had crafted the golden bone, reaching the level of the giants of the past. Yet, seeing Li Xuan, with some disgust, thrust aside the gold sword and treat the Jade Ruyi with love. And, by the mouthful, expressing his love for jade and wishing he could pair the Jade Ruyi. Xu Yan thought to himself, Next time I go home, I’ll get another jade ruyi for my master. But suddenly, he had a thought: “Wait! Why would my master be talking about liking jade now?” "There must be a deeper meaning to my master’s words…” “I get it now; my master has high expectations of me. He hopes that I can craft the jade bone, hence the analogy with the Jade Ruyi. He must like the jade bone more than the gold bone!” "But my master also fears I might not be ready to undertake the challenge of crafting a jade bone, hence the subtle hint with the Jade Ruyi. If one can’t understand the hidden meaning in my master’s words, he wouldn’t persist…” "So, even though my master says nothing, he must be disappointed in me. If I can’t understand the hidden meaning in his words, his expectations of me would be reduced, believing that I lack the comprehension…” Xu Yan started imagining scenarios, convinced that his master wanted him to continuously craft bones, not to give up, to strive to craft jade bones. If Li Xuan knew about his wild fantasies, he would have been stunned. I was simply desiring another Jade Ruyi! After imagining these scenarios, Xu Yan now understood his master’s unspoken expectations and said with determination: “Master, I understand. I will not disappoint you!” Li Xuan gave a satisfied smile: “As long as you understand, that’s good. I believe in you!” Xu Yan was deeply moved. “My master has high hopes for me; he wants me to surpass the giants of the past!” "What does the golden bone amount to? I will craft the jade bone!” Xu Yan did not bring up his golden bone again. Master must have seen this coming; the golden bone means nothing to him! When he resumed his cultivation, striving to craft more bones, Xu Yan found that no matter how he circulated his energy, refining the bones had no effect. Golden bone seemed to be his limit. It was as though an insurmountable chasm loomed before him, barring him from further progress. "Master said that a jade skeleton cannot be refined with innate talent, tenacity, or persistence alone. Those who succeed either have great destinies, are favored by heaven and earth, or have exceptional enlightenment that leads to comprehension of the Dao…” Xu Yan pondered, “I don’t know if I have a great destiny, perhaps not. Favored by heaven and earth, even less likely. That leaves me only one path, my enlightenment…” "Master always emphasizes reverence and understanding. It seems he recognizes my ability to comprehend and reminds me of my strengths.” "If I want to refine my jade skeleton, I have no choice but to rely on my enlightenment.” After understanding this, Xu Yan’s mind was once again filled with two lines from the secret code. “Sharpen the mind to nurture the true intention, and like a dragon, build a golden body with blood and energy.” "I surely haven’t fully grasped the core of these two lines of secret code. If I could understand them, wouldn’t I be able to break the golden skeleton’s shackles and refine a jade skeleton?” Xu Yan poured his whole being into the secret code with a mind free from distractions. Discarding everything else and forgetting self and other, he strove to comprehend its profound meaning. "That’s it! Nurturing true intention. I was under the impression that to nurture the true intention is to foster blood and energy within the bones, within the bone marrow. But where exactly does this ‘intention’ lie? "The act of nurturing bone marrow—perhaps that is merely the beginning and does not truly cultivate ‘intention.’” All of a sudden, a flash appeared in Xu Yan’s mind. He realized that he had misinterpreted ‘nurturing true intentions’ in the secret code. He hadn’t cultivated any true intention at all. Furthermore, he didn’t even understand what was meant by ‘intention.’ "When I was refining the golden skeleton, was the circulation of blood and energy truly like a dragon? Is it something hollow, a mere appearance without substance? How can the blood and energy ‘dragon’ without nurturing ‘intention’ be considered a dragon?” In his daze, Xu Yan felt as if he was touching an invisible barrier. If he could break through this barrier, he would be able to completely understand the secret code, break the shackles of the golden skeleton, and advance to the jade skeleton stage. However, this barrier was always out of reach. Xu Yan was increasingly distressed. "Shall I consult Master?” "No, Master’s instruction has been extremely clear. ‘Intention’ can only be grasped by oneself. There must be something I overlooked…” For the next three days, Xu Yan sought to comprehend the secret code during his cultivation, trying to grasp the essence of the ‘true intention.’ But he always seemed to fall just short. He was unable to break through the barrier and understand its true essence. Li Xuan looked at his disciple with a touch of bemusement. For the past three days, his dull disciple had been somewhat absent-minded, occasionally appearing lost in thought. "It’s been so long without a breakthrough… is he feeling hopeless? Has he lost confidence?” "My Jade Ruyi is not yet in my possession! How can I retire so soon?” "Let me think… how can I create a profound statement to hoodwink him?” Li Xuan went into deep thought. One day, after their meal, Xu Yan was about to clean the dishes when Li Xuan spoke, “Persistence is crucial in cultivation. If you find yourself stuck at a bottleneck without progress, you can relax your spirits, clear your mind, and feel the life in a blade of grass or a piece of wood. "Try to understand the nature of heaven and earth, grasp the hidden Spirit Mechanism around you. If you can have a sudden realization, the gate of Martial Arts will open to you.” "Many through the ages, stuck at a bottleneck without a breakthrough in their cultivation, have broken their shackles from a sudden realization.” Unblinkingly, Li Xuan pulled his disciple into a ruse about perceiving hidden Spirit Mechanics and how a sudden realization could open the gate to Martial Arts. If enduring hardships doesn’t work, then a sudden understanding might.