Taoist Myth: I am the last true immortal in the world

Chapter 619: Entering the Void to Refine the Spirit
Chen Yun suddenly came to his senses.

He finally understood why he was unable to excite the spiritual light bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West to refine the Yang God.

It turned out that it was because he had overlooked the most important word in refining the Yang Shen: "Xu"!
Generally speaking, the stage of refining the Yang Spirit in inner alchemy is called refining the spirit and returning to emptiness.

The Zhonglu School's practice of refining the Yang Spirit is included in the realm of refining the spirit and merging with the Tao.

In fact, if we talk about them separately, they are actually two types: "refining the spirit and returning to emptiness" and "refining the emptiness and merging with the Tao".

Refining the spirit and returning to emptiness, also known as the upper level or the nine-year level, refers to a state of ecstasy.

It is the third stage of inner alchemy practice.

After passing the stage of refining Qi and transforming into spirit, one enters the advanced stage of Dandao practice.

This practice process is different from the "action" of the first level and the "intersection of existence and non-existence" of the middle level. Instead, it practices the method of inaction, enters into the state of great concentration, observes the inner mind, nourishes and nurtures, and cultivates a pure yang spirit.

In other words, the previous physical training is transformed into spiritual training.

That is, to turn from immortal skills to Taoist skills, to further warm and nourish one's yang spirit, so that the yang spirit can eventually leave the body.

According to the inner alchemy practice system, refining the Yang Shen will last for nine years.

The first three years are the nursing stage, while the last six years are the period of immersion, during which the baby gradually grows stronger and stronger.

Chen Yun ignored the trance-like state in the next six years, but instead pondered the practice during the breastfeeding stage.

For example, at this stage, whether it was the Zhonglu School or the later Wuliu School and Sanfeng School, they all mentioned an important concept, that is, the word "empty".

Chen Yun thought to himself, "For ordinary people, 'God' is something illusory. It is 'illusory' in itself. How can I cultivate it 'real'?"

So, how do we achieve the goal of refining the Yang Spirit in the state of "emptiness"?

The founder Zhang Sanfeng said: "At this point, you will reach the state of true emptiness and true tranquility. This may take one or two years, or even ten or a hundred years, to break through the void and become one with the void. This is the achievement of refining the spirit and returning to the void."

It can be seen that the skill of returning to emptiness is a state of alchemy of true tranquility, true emptiness, and true nothingness.

What is true stillness?

There is no distracting thought when refining the elixir, that is, the thought of no thought is true tranquility.

The "Classic of Purity and Tranquility" says: "When desires do not arise, the mind is naturally tranquil; when the mind is naturally tranquil, the spirit is free from disturbances; it is always pure and tranquil."

It can be seen that constant peace and tranquility is true tranquility.

What is vacuum?

Xiao Tingzhi of the Yuan Dynasty: "Returning to the origin is the true vacuum."

When refining the elixir, returning to the silent, invisible, and desireless state of alchemy is the true vacuum.

What is nothingness?

Lu Dongbin once said, "When there is nothing in your mind, it is empty."

This is a virtuality that is credible, feasible, and can be cultivated.

What is true nothingness?
Zhang Boduan said: "The golden elixir is nothing in nothingness, it is the true nothingness."

The true emptiness of nothingness is empty but not empty, nothing but not nothing, it is the alchemy state where there is no self and no things in the mind.

What is nothing?

Bai Yuchan said: "Forget your form to nourish your qi, forget your qi to nourish your spirit, forget your spirit to nourish your emptiness. With just this word "forget", you will be nothing."

This idea of ​​forgetting one's form, breath and spirit is credible, feasible and can be cultivated to produce results. It comes from Zhuangzi's theory of "Sitting and Forgetting".

Chen Yun knew very well that, normally, even if one tried to enter a state of meditation, one could not achieve the state of "emptiness".

Therefore, for ordinary people, if they want to enter the state of "voidness", they need to spend a lot of effort to try.

"I don't need to bother."

Chen Yun's eyes were filled with memories. "Before, my ancestors made me experience 'emptiness'. In that state, I couldn't feel anything in the world. It was as if I had a soul but no body or thoughts. I couldn't feel the existence of time and space. It was as if I had never existed."

It is a state of mind where the thoughts are still, the body is like a dead wood, the heart is like still water, the mind is like cold ashes, no thoughts arise, the mind is focused on the center, everything is silent, the body and mind are forgotten, in a trance, dark and far away, like a magical state of life and death.

"As long as I can do this, I will surely be able to truly refine the Yang God."

Chen Yun didn't know if his guess was correct, but after so many years of practice, based on his experience, his guess should be correct.

He decided to give it a try and put himself into a state of true "emptiness" to see if he could stimulate his spiritual light and thus succeed in refining the Yang God.

Thinking of this, Chen Yun closed his eyes and cleared his mind of all distracting thoughts.

This was easy for him to do and took almost no time.

However, he found it difficult to clear his mind and enter a state of true emptiness.

"How can you possibly succeed on your first try? Don't be in a hurry. Take your time."

Chen Yun had a good attitude and continued to try to enter the "empty" kung fu.

The virtual realm is a state that transcends the body and mind, and is a feeling of being one with the universe.

When ordinary people practice the Kung Fu of Entering the Void, they often feel disturbed by various noises or their own thoughts.

Chen Yun knew how to deal with these "voices" and "thoughts". It was very simple: just ignore them.

In fact, many people understand this point, because as long as it involves meditation, the first thing to learn is cessation and contemplation.

At this moment, Chen Yun's behavior was like a little Taoist boy who had just started practicing meditation. His heart was as pure as a child's, and he had no thoughts at all.

Gradually, he felt his body become relaxed and comfortable, as if it were weightless.

Suddenly, Chen Yun, who was practicing the Kung Fu of Entering the Void, felt that his body seemed to float up involuntarily.

If it were an ordinary person, he would definitely think that he was really floating up, but when he opened his eyes, he would find that he was still sitting in the same place.

This is the first sign of entering the realm of emptiness, which is called the feeling of the body floating in the air.

This shows that the practitioner has transcended the constraints of the flesh and begun to reach a higher level.

Chen Yun did not feel any joy about this, and he did not even feel a single bit of emotion.

Because he knew very well that at the moment he still felt "floating".

I have not yet entered into the realm of emptiness, a magical state of life and death.

He continued to practice the art of entering the void.

As time went by, he developed more wonderful senses.

For example, Chen Yun felt as if he was standing in the universe, able to see countless stars shining and the trajectories of the planets moving.

For example, he later felt as if he had turned into a quantum and shrunk into the microscopic world, where he could see the existence of atoms and molecules.

All kinds of feelings, ever-changing.

He may feel that he is extremely tall, like a towering mountain.

Sometimes he felt that he was extremely small, as insignificant as a speck of dust.

Sometimes, Chen Yun could even feel that his limbs and facial features had moved, and he could not tell left from right, up from down.

These are not the factors that have the greatest impact on his entry into the void.

The most impactful thing is a sudden flash of light or a vibration in the silence, which can't help but make people feel shocked.

Most people will be disturbed to some extent.

Chen Yun didn't, because he knew that this was just a small scene in the void, not real, not normal, and not the goal.

In other words, these are the mind's reaction and adaptation to the virtual world, not the virtual world itself. Chen Yun has experienced the real virtual world and knows that it is a state without image, sound, direction, time, space, distinction, right or wrong, joy or anger, sadness or happiness, or you or him.

Emptiness, purity, freedom, inaction, selflessness and formlessness are the true state of emptiness.

If you want to truly enter the virtual world, you must let go of all obsessions and fascinations, and do not have any preference or aversion to any small scene. Just be still and watch with all your heart.

Chen Yun naturally understood all this, but he continued without distraction.

Gradually, he found that the small scenes became fewer and fewer, fainter and fainter, and finally disappeared completely.

……

Suddenly, Chen Yun "disappeared".

What "disappeared" with him was not only him, but also all matter in the heavens and the world.

For the second time, Chen Yun entered a state where he had no soul, no body, no thoughts, and could not feel the existence of time and space.

Everything in the heavens and earth ceases to exist.

The past and the future have never appeared.

Maybe a moment passed.

Or maybe thousands of years have passed.

One day, Chen Yun felt that he had "woken up" and dots of light appeared before his eyes.

At this moment, his mind was calm and his thoughts were still. His body was like a dead wood, his heart was like still water, and his mind was like cold ashes. Not a single thought arose in his mind, and he focused on the center. All sounds were silent, and he forgot both his body and mind. He was in a trance, in a state of darkness, as if he were alive or dead.

Suddenly, a magical light appeared out of nothingness.

This little light seemed to be guiding him, enveloping his body in a warm "energy".

When this warm "energy" enveloped him, Chen Yun felt like he was being electrocuted. His entire body felt numb, yet he felt comfortable and the sensation was indescribable.

Yes, he experienced "senses" in nothingness!
This is a very mysterious state.

Obviously, nothing existed, and logically there should be no "senses", but he just felt it.

Chen Yun had a feeling of "everyone is drunk but I am sober, the whole world is turbid but I am clear."

It seemed as if whether the world existed or not was not important to him at all.

The only thing that matters is that you are becoming “warmer” in the void.

It's like spring goes and summer comes, and the temperature gradually rises.

When the "temperature" reached a certain point, Chen Yun suddenly had a feeling of wanting to be free and happy in the void, flying thousands of miles, changing in a thousand ways, and doing whatever he wanted.

He instinctively wanted to "take off".

Fortunately, Chen Yun "woke up" at this moment and stopped the rise.

……

In the tent.

Chen Yun really woke up.

With his eyes closed, he again felt the signs of the existence of the universe.

All physical senses also returned to consciousness at this moment.

Chen Yun closed his eyes and thought secretly, "Just now I almost lost my spirit. This is the worst method. My master once said that when the cultivation realm reaches a certain level, some practitioners will stop there and enjoy themselves in space, flying thousands of miles, stepping on the clouds, overlooking the mountains and the sea. Or playing in the human world, changing in a thousand ways, as they please. They don't care about the corpse, regard it as dirt, and abandon it as much as they want, or throw the corpse in a hut or a culvert, or abandon the corpse in the wilderness, and fly away. This is a quick method. Most people who learn to be immortal are satisfied with this. But this method is still the worst method. Although they have achieved the Tao, they have not realized the Great Dao."

This explains that abandoning the physical body without achieving Yang Shen is an inferior method.

The real way to prove the Great Dao is to be a person with aspirations, not seek quick results, and voluntarily do slow work.

The Yang Spirit can be released but not released. When the Yin is exhausted and the Yang is pure, the Yang Spirit will be healthy and then lead the practice of releasing.

The body can be discarded but it is not. The primordial spirit is preserved and burned and refined thousands of times. It is forgotten as if it were the void and is cooked with pure fire. The skeleton, bones and flesh are transformed along with it, and the body and spirit are reunited as one again.

This is the way of refining the void and merging with the Tao. Both the body and the spirit are perfect, and they are in harmony with the Tao that pervades all things and is omnipresent. Hundreds of billions of incarnations appear, with great supernatural powers, able to clear away the clouds and fog, move mountains and fill the sea. Only then can one be said to have achieved the Tao.

What Chen Yun pursues is the fruit of the great transcendence, so naturally he will not learn quick methods.

As he checked his own condition, he thought of a famous Buddhist saying about spiritual practice.

It is called: "Form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form, form is emptiness, emptiness is form."

Tangible and tangible things are collectively called "color", and things in the spiritual realm are called "mind".

"Form is emptiness" means that "matter" is empty.

Because of this, after reaching a certain level of Buddhist practice, one will abandon the "stinking skin".

In the Buddhist practice concept, form is emptiness.

Anyway, it doesn’t matter whether “God” abandons the physical body or not, so why do we need a “physical body” to encumber us?

When he thought of this, Chen Yun chuckled, "It's just a small method. Madam, your body has the principles of heaven and earth. How can the 'spirit' alone create heaven and earth? How can it clarify the great way?"

After pondering for a moment, he turned his attention to himself.

Just now he truly entered into a state of emptiness, and the spiritual light bestowed by the Queen Mother of the West excited him, so he practiced on his own.

Naturally, Chen Yun wanted to check the "progress" of his practice.

What surprised him was that just by using the "spiritual light" to practice this time, his original basic progress of "one quarter" was actually advanced to "one half"!
"The results of one training session are actually comparable to those of the previous ten days?"

Chen Yun slowly opened his eyes, looking very moved, "The spiritual light bestowed by our ancestors has really helped me a lot in refining my Yang Spirit!"

He couldn't help but sense the condition of his own soul.

The next moment, he "saw" his soul turn red, as if a lot of evil impurities had been refined away.

Chen Yun's expression turned strange. "According to the current progress, I can complete the three-year effort of others to refine Yin dregs and nourish Yang spirits in three months, and then spend another six months to complete the nine-year level."

As stated in Zhonghe Collection: "Nine or three years will always be constant." This is the way to become a god.

As long as he could complete the nine-year test and refine the Yang God, he would be able to truly break through to become a god.

It takes an ordinary person nine years to practice, but it only takes nine months for me?
At this moment, Chen Yun finally understood how earth-shattering the Queen Mother of the West's cultivation was!
The ancestor only gave me a little spiritual light to help me cultivate the Yang Spirit, but it could shorten the process by ten times. You can imagine how boundless Dafa is.

Chen Yun couldn't help but sigh in his heart, "I have always thought that I have cultivated to the brink of the immortal realm. This high level of inner alchemy cultivation is already considered a very high level of cultivation. Today I know that even if I am on the verge of the immortal realm, I can't glimpse the unfathomable realm of my ancestor."

He knew that he was getting closer and closer to the fairyland.

It’s just that Chen Yun is now encountering a trouble that is not really a trouble.

That is, he is on the verge of becoming a god, and needs ample time to meditate and practice.

And now the Khitan army is fighting a great battle with the Later Jin army.

I simply can't calm down enough to reach the immortal realm.

If an ordinary practitioner encountered such a situation, the worst that could happen was that he would tell the Khitan emperor and then fly away to practice in peace.

This cannot be the case with me.

Because it was he who instigated the Khitan's southward march to launch a war against the Later Jin Dynasty, and even the Jade Emperor was ready to participate in it.

If I leave now, the consequences will be disastrous.

Chen Yun frowned and thought hard: "How can I get enough time to practice quietly?"

(End of this chapter)