?

  Xiaobai suddenly realized that he had been emotionally infected by Wu Tong and had become irritable, scaring Huang Jing. Looking at Huang Jing standing in front of him, not knowing what to do, with tears welling up in her eyes, Xiaobai also felt a pang of regret. He put the water bottle on the tea table, stood up, patted Huang Jing's shoulder and said: "I'm really sorry, I was thinking about something else just now and lost my mind. Are you okay?"

  "You scared me to death!" Huang Jing finally spoke out after taking a deep breath. The water bottle falling to the ground had indeed frightened her badly. She was trying to be kind and pour tea for him, but why did Xiao Bai suddenly become so fierce? Now that she heard Xiao Bai apologize, she finally came back to her senses, not crying anymore but tears still streaming down her face. Xiao Bai quickly stretched out his hand to hold Huang Jing's shoulder and patted it gently, speaking in a soothing tone like one would use to comfort a child: "Don't be angry, don't be afraid, it was my fault!"

  Qing Chen: "If you want to apologize, then apologize! Why are you hugging Huang sister? Your body is all covered in tea leaves and you're getting her clothes dirty too!"

  Zhuang Ru looked at Qing Chen and couldn't help but laugh, saying from the side: "Fortunately, Xiao Bai's hands were quick to catch the water bottle, otherwise it would have really scalded someone... It's just a small matter, no need to make such a fuss. Xiao Bai, go change your clothes quickly." The little commotion passed like this.

  That night, Xiaobai returned to his bedroom and sat there thinking about the incident with some trepidation. Fortunately, he had quick reflexes and knew magic, so the teapot didn't fall to the ground and the hot water didn't spill out. If a whole pot of hot water had fallen on Huang Jing's feet, it would have really hurt her. Xiaobai came to understand one thing, or rather, one principle - the two words "knowing what is constant" that Baimao had told him, which was perhaps called enlightenment.

  Any kind of cultivation is not just a moment of sitting meditation, but also in the midst of walking, sitting, and lying down. One must use determination to suppress Wu Tong's frenzy, yet at the same time be mindful of how this turmoil is dissipated within one's own mind, lest it taints oneself. Bai Shaofeng's temperament was good, and in his past cultivations, he had unknowingly reached a state of knowing constancy. However, this time was different; he could not help but passively accept Wu Tong's emotional influence.

  What is knowing the norm? It means to constantly reflect on oneself, making the mind clear and calm, not tainted by distractions, ultimately reaching a state of naturalness without any attachment. This is the sequence of "controlling desires and observing the mind": being able to enter, being able to guard, and being able to break free. Once this point is understood, Xiaobai's behavior will no longer be abnormal, but his anxious and depressed mood will not disappear either. People can't just calm down by wanting to; Xiaobai's efforts are not enough yet, he can only start from constantly reflecting on his words and actions.

  Xiao Bai remembered White Hair's reminder to practice "inner breath and outer sensation" at midnight and "outer environment and inner absorption" at noon, synchronizing and complementing each other. It seems that neither can be neglected. His cultivation started with Qingchen's teaching of unifying body and spirit, ultimately achieving a state of harmony between the two. In general, one must first calm the body to calm the mind, but if the mind is not ultimately calmed, the body will also find it difficult to settle. Now, White Hair requires Xiao Bai's cultivation to focus on the body at midnight and the mind at noon, using the body to stabilize and calm the mind.

  As soon as she understood, Xiaobai immediately got dressed and pushed the door to go out. Huang Jing had already gone downstairs to her own home. Qingchen and Zhuangru were still sitting in the living room talking. Seeing Xiaobai dressed up neatly was quite unexpected: "Are you going out? What's there to do so late?"

  "You all rest well at home, I'll go out to practice my skills at night and come back before dawn, no need to wait for me!" Xiaobai also had nothing to hide, speaking the truth as soon as he opened his mouth.

  Qingchen stood up: "Going out to practice at night again, like before? Can't we do it at home?" What she meant by "like before" was that Xiaobai used to meditate on the seaside pier every night.

  Bai Shaoliu: "It's not working at home, I'm going to the bottom of the Yingliu River." Anyway, Zhuang Ru now also knows that Xiao Bai is an extraordinary person who cultivates all kinds of magical spells, so he no longer speaks in a reserved manner.

  "River bottom? You want to go to the river bottom in this freezing weather, and at midnight? Last time you went out at midnight and said it was winter swimming, but ended up getting sick for a week. This illness just got better and now you're going winter swimming again? Won't something happen again? Your mood wasn't right during dinner tonight either."

  "This is my training, nothing will happen again, I'll be careful, and from today on, I'm afraid I'll go out every night, you don't have to worry about me."

  Zhuang Ru: "Every night? You don't spend the night at home anymore?" As she said this, it was clear that she had other doubts in her mind.

  Qing Chen stood up and said, "Xiao Bai Ge, I'll go with you! ... You said you're going to practice your skills, we also want to know where you've gone so we can rest assured. Zhuang Jie, don't you think so?"

  Zhuang Ru looked at Qing Chen and then at Xiao Bai, nodded and said: "Going swimming in the middle of the night, someone has to keep an eye on you to feel at ease, otherwise I'll go with you too?"

  Bai Shaofeng smiled wryly: "Let Qingchen go and take a look, it's good to know what's going on. You don't have to follow along, Zhuang Jie. You still have work during the day, besides, running around in the wilderness at midnight, what kind of image is that? Who will make breakfast?"

  Zhuang Ru: "Then wait a minute, I'll prepare some things. You're going to drive all the way there? Put everything in the car." She ran into the house and prepared towels, blankets, a thermos of hot tea, white wine, a portable hair dryer, and other items, packing them into a large bag and handing it to Qing Chen. Qing Chen also took something from her bedroom - a wicker cushion for sitting meditation, apparently she hadn't forgotten about her nightly practice.

  The river still flows as usual, and there is no sign of the fierce battle that took place here. The first thing Xiaobai did when he dived to the bottom of the river was to feel for something, which was his small shovel stuck in the stone. He had left it at the bottom of the river that day and hadn't had time to retrieve it, but unfortunately, the hook was broken and couldn't be found again. When he went down to find the reef, he felt empty-handed, and the small shovel was gone!

  Bai Shaofeng was born with the ability to locate things in water, he wouldn't find the wrong place, and he even touched the gap left by the shovel inserted into the rock, but he couldn't find the small shovel. Was it lost? This small shovel was given by Luoshui Han, and later accompanied Xiaobai through thick and thin, although it's just an object, it also has emotions, and losing it is really a pity.

  Can't find a small shovel, still have to cultivate. Xiaobai sat cross-legged on a rocky outcropping at the bottom of the Yingliu River where the water flowed gently. The feeling of sitting in meditation in the water is completely different, because the buoyancy is almost equivalent to sitting in mid-air. When entering meditation, the whole body relaxes and cannot be tense, first requiring the spirit not to be tense, and only a few people can achieve this point underwater.

  Holding one's breath and focusing the mind, practicing the method of "observing the breath". But how can you observe your breath when submerged in water where breathing is impossible? This requires a deep understanding of what is meant by "inner breath". The phrase "the inner and outer are interconnected and mutually influential, heaven and man are open and unified" is extremely profound. To reach this state of self-awareness, the first step is to look inward, or you could say it's a kind of "inner vision". Little White sat underwater, sensing the vital energy flowing through his entire body, the five organs and six viscera and the meridians all seemed to be in a strange state where everything was clearly perceptible.

  Actually, he had been able to do this for a long time, but he had never deliberately cultivated this mental state. At this moment, while observing his breath in the water, his mind was clearer and more transparent than ever before. Xiaobai felt that his "perception" was expanding underwater, and everything around him, including the flowing water, rocks, and even Qingchen sitting quietly on the shore, could be "observed" in a strange state. This was an extremely quiet, extremely transparent, and extremely subtle state, a wakefulness he had never experienced before, as if everything within the range of his mind's extension could communicate with his body and mind through a strange breathing.

  This feeling is very strange, he has had it since childhood, for example, he can feel the flow of water and the position of reefs and riverbanks underwater, which is an intuition that does not need to be seen with his eyes. However, this cultivation allows this innate talent to be fully developed, from instinct to self-awareness, and it is completely another realm. No wonder Bai Mao once praised his roots and blessings, this is indeed a suitable method for him since birth.

  If a Qigong practitioner were to hear this description, he would smile and say: "Yes, yes, the spirit transforms into spiritual awareness. Everyone has this spiritual awareness, but only through practice can one refine it into such a free and easy body and mind." If a Western magician were to hear about this, he would also exclaim in admiration: "What a wonderful technique of clairvoyance!"

  But Xiao Bai is not possible to have these distracting thoughts when practicing "inner breath and outer sensation" underwater, he simply enters this state, in the extreme quietness, he adjusts and captures the mysterious self-body and mind. Getting this self-body and mind is called the emergence of Yuanshen in Dan Dao, the word "Yuan" in Yuanshen refers to the beginning of human consciousness and the origin of body and mind. In this state, all the worries and oppressions of Xiao Bai's day are forgotten and dissolved.

  The clear dust on the shore saw Xiao Bai enter the water and then disappeared without a sound, nor was there any surprise. If she said that she could dive underwater for a long time, she herself could also persist for a very long time. She found a sheltered spot on the shore, put down her cushion, sat cross-legged, and continued to practice her own spiritual cultivation. However, Clear Dust had just sat down when she immediately stood up and looked into the distance.

  Qing Chen's current situation is quite special, her cultivation realm is still there but she can't use even half of her internal energy, however her spiritual awareness is still sharp, in terms of cultivation she should be above Xiao Bai. From a distance someone is walking over, one mile away and she already discovered it, this place doesn't have many people coming during the day, who would run here at midnight? While she was wondering, a white figure appeared from the darkness, it's a woman wearing a pure white windbreaker, seeing her figure from afar Qing Chen let out a sigh of relief while also feeling a bit of inexplicable tension, this person is Gu Ying!

  "It's you!" Qing Chen said in a low voice.

  "Miss Qingchen, it's great to see you're doing well! Last time you saved us, I didn't have the chance to thank you for your lifesaving kindness. Today, I can finally say thank you in person!"

  She thanked Qingchen as soon as they met, and Qingchen didn't want to be too blunt with her either. He said lightly: "Actually, you don't have to thank me, I should be thanking you instead. It was my own decision to go kill Honghequan, and you even got hurt helping me out voluntarily."

  Gu Ying: "My injury is nothing, it's been fine for a long time. I heard from Xiao Bai that you were also injured, now looking at your injury, it seems to have healed?"

  Qingchen's injury or her current special situation is not visible on the surface, and Qingchen is also unwilling to admit to Gu Ying that she has already lost her strength. She nodded and said, "Thank you for your concern, I'm fine now."

  He glanced back at the white sedan parked on the distant riverbank, smiled slightly, and then pointed to the English River: "Is Xiao Bai down there? Are you protecting him?"

  "Qing Chen: 'He is cultivating at the bottom of the water, you'd better not disturb him.'"

  Gu Ying: "Of course I won't disturb his cultivation, let's wait for him together."

  Just as they were talking, a wave splashed in the Yingliu River, and a person jumped out of the water and landed on the shore, standing in front of the two and saying: "Gushi, how did you get here? Qingchen, give me my bath towel!"

  Xiao Bai was underwater, his internal energy circulating within him, just reaching the state of inner and outer harmony. As soon as Gu Ying appeared, he also "knew" it, immediately withdrawing his energy and shooting out from the bottom of the water. Gu Ying saw Xiao Bai about to speak, but suddenly turned red in the face and turned around, originally Xiao Bai's current attire was very indecent, barefoot and only wearing a pair of underwear, this underwear was wet and stuck to his body, basically everything could be seen clearly.

  Xiao Bai definitely wouldn't wear clothes to get in the water. If Qingchen hadn't accompanied him, he would have probably gone into the river stark naked without even wearing underwear. It was convenient and hassle-free, but he didn't expect to jump out of the water and land right in front of Gu Ying. He only realized his appearance was indecent when he saw Gu Ying's reaction. Qingchen glared at him with a red face and went to get a large bath towel from the car, tossing it to him while saying, "Gu Ying has something to discuss with you!"

  Xiao Bai randomly wiped a few times, threw the towel over his body and asked: "Miss Gu, what's the urgent matter that brought you here in the middle of the night?"

  "Gu Ying: 'Why are you calling me Miss Gu again?'"

  "Sorry about that, I forgot. I should be calling you Gu Ying. Is there something I can help you with?"

  At this time, Qingchen's soft and cold hum could be heard not far away. Gu Ying pretended not to hear it and asked with a smile: "Did you leave something at the bottom of the Yingliu River?"

  "Right, did you take away my little shovel?"

  "It was I who took it away; I knew you would come back for it, so I'm telling you."

  Bai Shaoliu: "Thanks a lot! Where's Little Shovel?"

  "Gu Ying: 'The hook on the back of that shovel is broken and needs to be repaired, but I don't know how. The shovel was specially made for you by Mr. Luo, so only he can find someone to fix it. That's why I'll take it to him. It should be fixed in a few days, and Mr. Luo will personally return it to you.'"

  "Did he give it to me personally?"

  Gu Ying: "Yes, Xiao Xiang invites you to visit Luo Garden for a family dinner party. I'm here specifically to deliver the invitation."

  Bai Shaoliu: "You delivered the invitation to the riverbank in the middle of the night, you really are interesting! What family dinner, how did you suddenly think of inviting me? Do I need an invitation just for a meal?"

  "Please, it's not just you, there are also my teacher Miss Vina, Marquis Lington from the Kingdom of Spia, and Mr. Feng Junzi who has a good relationship with you. Although it's just dinner, it's not an ordinary dinner, it should be some kind of social or diplomatic occasion, only in the form of a private dinner party. Xiaohui really hopes you can go, I also hope you can attend, you won't still be holding a grudge against Mr. Luo and refuse to come, will you?"

  "Remember hatred? I've never remembered hatred towards Mr. Luo, it's a good thing he invited me to dinner... I know the Marquis of Lingdun, and Miss Weina and Mr. Feng want to sit at the same table for dinner? How interesting! I'll definitely go, thank you for the invitation."

  Gu Ying took out an invitation from his pocket and handed it to Bai Shaoliu, saying: "This is a handwritten invitation by Xiao Xi. The time is this Saturday evening. You'd better go early, in the afternoon. Mr. Luo has something else to discuss with you."

  A hand stretched out from beside him and took the invitation away. Qing Chen had already walked over and said, "I'll take it, his hands are wet."

  Gu Ying didn't say anything and handed the invitation to Qing Chen, nodding politely at her before turning around and saying, "Then I'll take my leave. I'll see you in Luo Garden over the weekend."

  Gu Ying left, this was the first time she saw Qing Chen's strange face, and she was also very surprised but didn't show any loss of composure. After she left, Qing Chen held the invitation and puffed out his cheeks saying: "Luo Xue is inviting you to dinner, can I go with you?"

  Xiaobai rubbed his wet hair: "If you must go, then let's go together. It's just a meal, adding an extra seat is no big deal."

  "Never mind, since no one invited me anyway. Your words are enough, I wasn't really going to go... It's quite interesting that Mr. Feng and Aphrodite are meeting, you can go take a look. Actually, I've never met the legendary Wind Gentleman before, I'm curious too."

  Bai Shaoliu: "What's so strange about him, he looks no different from others, but I feel like there's something extraordinary about him. How to describe it? It should be 'unstained', yes! That's the word, 'unstained'. Many of my divine powers are useless against him." His behavior was unconsciously influenced by Wu Tong's emotions, and he regained his composure after practicing in the riverbed. Only then did he mention Mr. Feng, suddenly thinking of the two words "unstained", it seems that this is indeed a transcendent state.

  "Is it really that amazing?"

  Bai Shaoliu: "It's hard to describe, if you want to see him it's simple, one day I'll find an opportunity and take you there, he often hangs out with Senior Xiao Zhengrong. You know Senior Xiao, the naval officer who fought against you in Yingliu River Valley, the sword he used back then was borrowed from Mr. Feng."

  Qing Chen: "That sword has a sharp and fierce killing aura, and it also has a special spiritual energy. It's simply a legendary divine weapon, which is like both a magic tool and a martial arts equipment, but different from my Violet Gold Spear. Mr. Feng has such a sword, is he also a high-ranking master of the martial arts world?"

  Bai Shaofeng smiled: "No, he isn't. Mr. Feng is not very good at martial arts. You'll see when you meet him."

  The day after Xiaobai received the invitation, at around 8 pm, a car stopped by the roadside under a residential building in Qixian Ridge, Wuyi City. The driver got out of the car, opened the rear door with his left hand and supported himself on the door frame with his right hand, standing up straight with his legs together. From his standard movements, it was clear that he had received professional training. A blonde-haired, blue-eyed beauty emerged from the car, took a glance at the residential area, walked into a unit, and went upstairs without anyone opening or closing the stairwell door for her.

  Xiao Yunyi had just finished washing the dishes in the kitchen and was about to go into the house to watch TV when she suddenly heard a knock at the door. The person knocking on the door had a rhythmic and pleasant knock, not too light or too heavy, just like playing the piano keys. She ran to open the door but was stunned, outside the door stood a blonde-haired blue-eyed foreign woman.

  Aphrodite saw that the one who opened the door was a woman, about twenty-seven or eight years old, with an egg-shaped face and a slightly pointed chin, big eyes shining brightly, looking at her curiously. The two of them locked eyes and Aphrodite also froze.

  No one had time to speak when a very unhappy shout came from the study: "Who moved my bookshelf again!"

  The voice startled both of them, and Xiao Yunyi turned her head and shouted loudly: "Husband, what's going on?"

  Feng Junzi was sitting in front of the computer in his study, writing an article. Suddenly, he wanted to look up some information and, without getting up from his chair with wheels, slid backwards to the bookshelf behind him. He stretched out his hand without turning around and pulled out a book from the shelf. His movements were quite smooth, but originally he had intended to pull out "A New Account of the Tales of the World", yet when he looked at it in his hand, it was actually "A Brief History of Time". Since he must have grabbed the wrong book from his own bookshelf, he was very dissatisfied and shouted loudly.

  Upon hearing Xiang Yunyi's words, Feng Junzi, wearing his home clothes and barefoot without even putting on slippers, rushed out of the study room, tapping the book in his hand: "Is your mother here to clean up again? Why do you want to tidy up the bookshelf?!... Eh, Miss Vina, how did you end up at my place?" His words had just been spoken halfway when he saw Aphrodite standing at the door.

  Aphrodite secretly sighed, feeling like she had knocked over a five-flavor bottle with all sorts of emotions inside. On the surface, she remained polite and said: "Hello Mr. Feng, I'm here to visit you on purpose. Is this your wife?"

  Feng Junzi was stunned for a second before answering, "This is my wife, Xiao Yunyi." He then turned to Xiao Yunyi and said, "This is Miss Vina, the investment director of the Roba Alliance Financial Group. You should have seen her in the newspapers."