Chapter 35: The Heart Flies

Watching Senior Brother Woodcutter leave, Ji Ning grew even more puzzled: "The arrow flies, I understand. But what does 'the heart flies' mean?"

Twang! Twang! Twang!

Ji Ning drew his bow and shot a few arrows, but only became more confused.

"Young master." The black-robed youth appeared beside him, excitement on his face. "I think I understand a bit about what your senior brother said—'the arrow flies, the heart flies.'"

"Oh?" Ji Ning looked expectant.

The black-robed youth quickly continued: "I've served several masters and watched them practice archery and instruct their juniors. I remember they often said, 'Use your heart; let your heart be on the arrow.' When I was instructing you earlier, I didn't think much of it—just thought it was a casual remark. But now that I recall it, it must have a special meaning."

Ji Ning was extremely intelligent. The black-robed youth only hinted at it without even stating his guess, yet Ji Ning already had an idea in his mind.

Use the heart?

Heart on the arrow?

Arrow flies? Heart flies?

"I guess 'the heart flies' means the heart flies together with the arrow," the black-robed youth said quickly. "The heart might be a formless power."

Listening to the black-robed youth, Ji Ning also had his own thoughts. After all, for nearly three years, he had shot arrows by the tens of thousands daily. As practice makes perfect, Ji Ning had already vaguely touched the artistic conception of 'the arrow flies, the heart flies,' but no one had pierced that thin membrane before.

Ji Ning immediately drew the bowstring again and nocked an arrow.

"Void..."

"Wind..."

At this moment, heaven and earth were all contained in his heart. Ji Ning began to pour his entire mind into the arrow.

Soon, Ji Ning reached a vague state of 'self-forgetfulness.' Though heaven and earth were in his heart, everything around him became blurred; only the arrow in his hand remained in his mind.

"Twang!"

The bowstring let out a loud sound.

The arrow shot through the air swiftly. Ji Ning's formless mind merged with the arrow, and he felt a strange sensation—as if his entire being had transformed into an arrow! The arrow pierced through the air, and when it shot through a tree, it felt as if he himself had pierced the tree. This feeling of unity between heart and arrow was very mysterious...

But when the arrow flew a hundred miles, the formless mind dispersed, and he could no longer maintain that mysterious feeling of 'being an arrow.'

"Whoosh!"

This arrow finally struck a target ten thousand miles away, though it was still a considerable distance from the bullseye.

"That's the feeling! Yes, that's it!" Ji Ning laughed excitedly, raising his great bow in exhilaration. "Yes, the arrow flies, and the heart flies too. I felt as if I had become an arrow... What a wonderful feeling! And in that state, I could even control the arrow's direction."

"Let me try again."

Ji Ning drew and shot again. Twang! The arrow shot through the air, and Ji Ning felt he was that arrow, his heart entirely attached to it.

Change direction! Change direction!

As the arrow flew, it began to change direction, though only slightly. Ji Ning tried his best to alter its course, and the arrow traced an arc before flying into the distance, eventually missing the target by thousands of miles.

"The arrow flies, the heart flies..."

"That's the feeling. But I can only maintain it for a hundred miles; beyond that, my mind disperses and can no longer attach to the arrow." Ji Ning nodded to himself. This formless mind was indeed mysterious, but the power of 'mind' did exist—for example, the corpse of that ancient god, the previous owner of the Luohou Bow.

Though that god had been dead for so long, the residual formless thought of 'kill, kill, kill' still made Ji Ning's heart tremble.

Strictly speaking, that ancient god had long since been annihilated, soul and all. So why did that formless thought still exist?

That is 'mind.'

A formless power! The power of the heart! It differs from divine power, elemental power, or soul power—it is an ethereal yet real force. A true divine archer must master this power of the heart. Only by mastering it can one become a truly formidable archer in the Three Realms, and this is merely the beginning!

"Use the heart."

"Heart."

"Heart on the arrow!"

Ji Ning began to practice again and again.

He understood clearly: his Dao-heart was so firm that, in theory, his 'heart power' should be strong. Yet his mind could only attach to the arrow for a hundred miles. The reason was that his heart was not sincere enough. He had a sincere heart toward the 'Dao of the Sword,' but not toward the 'Dao of Archery.'

Only with utmost sincerity can the heart's power be truly strong!

Fortunately, after nearly three years of hard training, his foundation was solid. As Ji Ning's attitude changed, his mind grew stronger, and his heart toward the 'Dao of Archery' became more steadfast. Legend says that truly remarkable figures, no matter what they cultivate, can maintain a sincere heart as long as they focus on one thing. With a sincere heart, progress becomes astonishing.

The power of the heart is sometimes even more important than 'talent and comprehension.'

"A thousand miles."

"Two thousand miles."

"Three thousand miles."

As days passed, the mind attached to Ji Ning's arrows grew stronger.

"Wow, young master. When you draw and shoot now, there's a certain flavor—the flavor of a divine archer from the ancient world!" The black-robed youth watched excitedly.

With a sincere heart toward archery,

Even if the same drawing and shooting motion were magnified ten thousand times, it would be hard to tell any difference from before. But the intangible 'charm' was different. At least the Luohou Bow, which had witnessed several divine archer masters, noticed it.

"Twang!"

Whoosh!

The arrow struck the bullseye of the target.

But Ji Ning calmly continued shooting. Now he could hit the bullseye from time to time, and even when he missed, the arrow still landed on the target. To hit a target ten thousand miles away, through trees and rocks, purely by brute force, was already astonishing. Unfortunately, the test required ten consecutive hits on the bullseye.

Five thousand miles, six thousand miles...

The distance Ji Ning's mind could attach to the arrow grew longer. Through this tempering, his Dao-heart became even stronger, and his eyes grew brighter. Especially when he drew and shot, anyone he fixed his gaze upon felt as if stared at by death itself. It even inspired a formless fear!

This is the 'threat' to the mind that a true divine archer exerts on an enemy.

Ji Ning's heart seemed to transform into an arrow, ready to pierce the enemy's heart.

The enemy would feel fear in the depths of their soul!

Eight thousand miles, nine thousand miles...

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One arrow struck the bullseye, then a second, third, fourth... all in succession. Ji Ning shot a hundred arrows in one breath, all hitting the bullseye. The inch-wide bullseye was densely packed with arrows.

"Phew." Ji Ning, ten thousand miles from the target, exhaled.

Attaching his mind to each arrow consumed a great deal of mental energy. Shooting a hundred consecutive arrows left him with an unpleasant fatigue. If he shot without attaching his mind, even ten thousand arrows would not tire him. But 'the arrow flies, the heart flies' was exhausting—the heart tired!

Yet the arrows were also far more powerful and extremely accurate!

"Young master, you've done it! You've done it!" The black-robed youth was thrilled.

"Luohou Bow, thank you." Ji Ning smiled gratefully.

Over the past three years, though he had archery manuals from the Immortal Palace, the most important guidance came from the Luohou Bow. The bow had witnessed the growth of several divine archers; though it was not a divine archer itself, its guidance had been astonishingly helpful.

Without the Luohou Bow, even ten years might not have been enough to complete the test.

"Hehe, young master, now that you've become a true divine archer, I, the Luohou Bow, can shine again!" the black-robed youth said excitedly. "If you're really grateful, get me a better bowstring."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded with a smile. "Of course."

He had some inferior bowstrings.

For instance, the bowstring on the purple great bow in his hand could be removed, but that was too poor. The Luohou Bow was a high-grade先天 spiritual treasure; it needed a good bowstring!

...

At the gate of the three-story pavilion 'Three Realms Palace' in the Crescent Moon Cave on Mount Fangcun, Senior Brother Jidian still lay snoring.

"Second Senior Brother." Ji Ning approached.

Jidian didn't even open his eyes. "The complete 'Houyi Archery Art' is on the desk. Take it yourself."

"Thank you, Second Senior Brother."

Ji Ning stepped inside. Among the bamboo slips on the desk, a rolled one stood out—the complete Houyi Archery Art. Ji Ning walked over and immediately extended his divine sense into it.

Boom~~~

A flood of information surged into his soul.

After a long, long time, as the sun rose and set, and the sky grew light again with the Golden Crow half-visible in the distance, Ji Ning finally awoke.

"Such powerful archery."

Ji Ning murmured to himself.

Shocked.

Completely shocked. According to the 'Houyi Archery Art,' if one cultivated it to the utmost, reaching the level of the ancient god Houyi who created this peerless divine art, the arrows shot would be terrifying—even surpassing the power of the 'Sixth Revolution of the Star-Picking Hand'!

If a Celestial Immortal cultivated it to the utmost, a single arrow could severely wound or even kill a True Immortal!

The reason the 'Houyi Archery Art' was so exaggerated in power when mastered was twofold.

First, this peerless archery art consumed immense mental energy. Even a Celestial Immortal who had mastered it might only shoot three to five arrows before becoming mentally exhausted and unable to shoot another. In contrast, Ji Ning's 'Star-Picking Hand' allowed him to fight freely without consuming any mental energy.

Second, this art demanded high-quality bows and arrows, especially arrows. For instance, the most terrifying arrow of the Houyi Archery Art could even kill a True Immortal. Such power was imparted to a single arrow; if the arrow's material was insufficient, the arrow would shatter under the strain.

Thus, to unleash such archery, one needed a good bow and specially crafted powerful arrows!

A bow and arrows.

And one could only shoot a few such arrows. Lesser versions could shoot a hundred, and even lesser ones thousands. In short, the more advanced the archery, the greater the consumption of 'mental energy.'

"Such archery, though usable only a few times, is well-deserving of being ranked among the top ten divine abilities since Pangu created heaven and earth!" Ji Ning admired it deeply, and also admired Houyi, the number one divine archer of the Three Realms.

Then Ji Ning stepped forward and picked up the bamboo slip for 'Candle Dragon's Eye.'

...