The Lord of the Laws of Heaven

Chapter 343 Humanity in the Epoch, Great Zen Academy

The Primordial Dao has always existed; it is the principle of heaven and earth. It was only discovered and observed by Xiao Jun.

Then Xiao Jun spread this principle so that others could believe in and practice it. This is equivalent to all living beings observing this principle and projecting their thoughts onto the primordial chaos.

Observing this behavior itself is actually interference. Thus, the thoughts of all beings interfere with the primordial chaos. Xiao Jun observed the essence of this interference and gathered together to become the primordial chaos god.

The Primordial Dao is the principle of heaven and earth, a part of the Dao. The True Spirit is the Dao, which is why the True Spirit is eternal and indestructible. The True Spirit may fall into darkness or become confused, but it cannot be destroyed.

The Primordial Dao is also part of Xiao Jun's true spirit.

Therefore, the state of the Primordial God is like the shadow projected by Xiao Jun's Dao onto heaven and earth. The Primordial God seems to have different thoughts from Xiao Jun, but it is also a projection of the same true spirit.

It is neither him nor me.

The ideal state of the Primordial God is to be born alongside the Primordial Dao, reaching a state where in the beginning there was the Dao, and the God and the Dao were one, no longer relying on external existence to maintain their own innate divinity. They no longer depend on faith, primordial energy, time and space... they don't even need the support of heaven and earth, yet they become, in turn, the foundation that nurtures and carries heaven and earth.

This is the ultimate state of the divine path, the realm of innate divinity, but it is the same as the other shore realm that Xiao Jun is now discussing; in essence, it is still about merging with the Dao.

The process of cultivating in this way is no simpler than cultivating in this world to reach the other shore; in fact, it is just as complex.

However, if Xiao Jun can attain the Other Shore Realm, the Primordial God can also become a Primordial Saint.

If the Primordial God achieved the realm of innate divinity, then Xiao Jun has essentially already attained the other shore of this world.

The Primordial God has no fixed form; the current Primordial God is merely a wisp of primordial energy circulating within him.

Observing the expansion of the Primordial God, Xiao Jun's attention began to shift, and a thought fell directly on the room where Jing Ren was.

At this moment, Jingren was sitting cross-legged in the room, with profound characters constantly floating around his Prajna kasaya. As these profound characters flowed on the surface of the kasaya, they also emitted a chanting sound filled with Taoist energy.

The true meaning contained in this chanting is being comprehended by Jingren. The will of the immortal is constantly absorbing the true meaning and wisdom contained in this chanting.

Meanwhile, the immortal's body pierced through layers of void, drawing endless power from them and absorbing primordial magnetic power. Streams of primordial magnetic true energy surged into the immortal's body, refining it at an extremely subtle level.

This is Jingren's daily practice. Although Xiao Jun taught Jingren the Maha Vajra Prajna Paramita, allowing Jingren to break free from the mental tribulation caused by the destruction of the Great Zen Temple, he directly achieved the Human Immortal realm from the peak of Martial Saint.

But the greater one's supernatural powers, the greater one's troubles.

After Jingren obtained the power belonging to the immortals, his mental tribulation became even more severe. He still faced two choices: one was to possess extremely high wisdom, practice the Maha Vajra Prajna Paramita, break through all the ignorance and darkness in his heart, and completely eliminate the mental tribulation in order to advance further.

Another way is to directly seek revenge and avenge the Great Zen Temple, thereby ending the mental tribulation.

The cultivation of human immortals is like this: as long as the mental tribulation is overcome, the human immortal realm can be directly improved, just like a ghost immortal overcoming a lightning tribulation. Human immortals also have corresponding mental tribulations.

The former method relies on the wisdom of comprehending the Mahayana Prajnaparamita to directly break through the mental tribulations. If Jingren can truly accomplish this, then Jingren's future achievements will be simply incredible, because at that time Jingren will have already learned to seek power within himself and seek power from the Tao.

With such perseverance, even shattering the vacuum is within reach.

Unfortunately, after Jingren achieved the status of a human immortal by relying on the wisdom of the Vajra Prajna Paramita, he seems to have reached the limit. Now, Jingren's mental tribulations are incredibly great, and he probably no longer has the ability to operate the Vajra Prajna Paramita to break through his own mental tribulations.

Xiao Jun looked at Jing Ren, who was cultivating, and shook his head inwardly with a sigh.

Suddenly, during his cultivation, Jingren felt a sudden surge of inspiration. He immediately dispersed all the surrounding magnetic energy, and the Prajna Kasaya around him began to calm all the mystical phenomena. Jingren was pondering the reason for this sudden surge of inspiration.

The "spiritual impulse" of a Human Immortal is equivalent to the "spiritual impulse" ability of a Fifth Tribulation Ghost Immortal. It allows for a limited perception of future events, possessing a precognitive power akin to a cicada sensing the autumn wind before it even stirs. In essence, a Human Immortal's "spiritual impulse" foreshadows an event related to themselves that is about to occur.

Just as Jingren was pondering, Xiao Jun's thoughts broke through the void and appeared directly in front of Jingren.

Upon seeing Xiao Jun's appearance, Jing Ren immediately became solemn, stood up, and kowtowed to Xiao Jun: "Abbot, may I ask what brings you here?"

"Jingren, you have made progress in your cultivation! You have reached the level of Doufo Yinyue!" Xiao Jun said to Jingren.

Jingren stood up, clasped his hands together, shook his head and said, "Although I have now reached the Human Immortal realm where my martial uncle is, the hatred for my Great Zen Temple and the many wronged souls of my Great Zen Temple are still beyond redemption!"

Although his words were calm, they contained an unparalleled anger, like a raging storm lurking beneath the abyss!
This is the tribulation of the mind of Jingren, the inner demon that Jingren cannot resolve using the wisdom of the Mahayana Prajnaparamita path!

The hatred for the destruction of Dachan Temple was already etched in the heart of Abbot Jingren, and it seemed that even if the sea dried up and the rocks crumbled, it would never be erased.

Xiao Jun nodded outwardly, but sighed inwardly, because Jing Ren had absolutely no hope of revenge on his own. First of all, he was facing Yang Pan and Hong Xuanji. Yang Pan was the protagonist when he destroyed the Great Zen Temple, and Hong Xuanji was the Great Thousand World's Chosen One, whose fortune had been condensed. Both of them were beings with overwhelming fortune, and their cultivation was not weak. Moreover, they possessed the King of Divine Artifacts.

Xiao Jun has now accumulated enough power to deal with Yang Pan and Hong Xuanji head-on.

Recently, Yang Pan has been preparing to do something big: "officials and gentry pay taxes together." If Yang Pan succeeds in this, he will gain tremendous merit, enough to elevate his cultivation to an extremely high level.

This is a massive fluctuation and change in the human fortune of the Great Thousand Worlds. Although the current progress of the Great Thousand Worlds is merely the same human progress that the Outer Heavens have already experienced, the changes in the human fortune of the Great Thousand Worlds are still an incomparably powerful force. This time, Emperor Yang Pan intends to select suitable talents through this imperial examination to serve him and thoroughly implement his ideas. If this is truly successful, then imperial power will surpass the power of aristocratic families, and it will also have the effect of promoting cultivation, allowing Yang Pan's cultivation to reach a higher level, perhaps even restoring the prestige of the ancient holy emperors.

Xiao Jun, however, saw the general trend. If Yang Pan succeeded in this matter, the imperial power would directly reach a peak, but it would soon decline. If Yang Pan reached the realm of Yang God and truly became a saintly emperor like in ancient times, then the power of all aristocratic families would soon erupt, and the fortunes of all aristocratic families, commoners, and humanity would once again drive the development of the trend.

From the medieval period onwards, after the era of the Hundred Schools of Thought, the power of aristocratic families began to grow steadily. The emperor and scholar-officials began to rule the country together, which was precisely due to the role of these aristocratic families! Because the power of aristocratic families was so great, they were even able to suppress the power of the emperor. Among them, the sage families left behind by the Hundred Schools of Thought were the most prosperous.

This time, Yang Pan's actions were essentially aimed at weakening the aristocratic families, with his target being the so-called "sage families." He wanted to bring these families down and place them under the rule of the emperor.

However, over the thousands of years since the time of the Hundred Schools of Thought, aristocratic families have accumulated immense power. Their greatest enemy is true power, which in this vast world is perhaps imperial power.

If Yang Pan truly succeeds in implementing the "officials and gentry paying taxes together" policy this time, and the imperial power governs the aristocratic families, thus truly creating an ancient sage emperor, then the aristocratic families will retaliate. The various forces accumulated by the aristocratic families over thousands of years will erupt at that time.

This might give rise to new thinkers, perhaps not called "the Hundred Schools of Thought," but with other names. It would be a reenactment of the ancient philosophical tales of the medieval period!

Therefore, Yang Pan's time to savor the taste of the throne is essentially over. Moreover, this struggle between imperial power and aristocratic families will inevitably lead to the decline of both, ushering in a new era of human development. In that era, aristocratic families may still wield considerable power, but they will no longer treat commoners like pigs and dogs, as they do now.

At the very least, there will be a semblance of equality.

Moreover, there is the existence of the outer world, an external enemy, especially the most powerful outer world, the Central World, which is where the Pan Emperor's Dao lineage is passed down. It is the outer world where Pan Emperor placed his dreams of humanity. Although Pan Emperor's dream was later distorted and his successors possessed unparalleled greed, invading and seizing everything they could, the Pan Emperor's Central World still possesses incomparably powerful strength and an unparalleled and vigorous aggressive mentality. It is an existence that wants to seize everything and is eyeing the Great Thousand World.

All of this has propelled the tide of humanitarian development, and this is how the future should be; this is essentially the general trend of humanitarian development.

However, Yang Pan did not expect that the humanistic trend he was operating would collide with the trend of the era. The world was about to reach the end of the era, and the humanistic trend of this era would inevitably give birth to the existence of "Yi".

The humanitarian momentum that Yang Pan stirred up was insignificant compared to the humanitarian momentum that swept across the entire era. The appearance of "Yi" was as unbelievable as a meteorite falling from the sky during a battle between two mortal armies. All humanitarian schemes were worthless in the face of the humanitarian momentum of "Yi"!
The existence of "Yi" embodies the dreams of countless sage emperors, yang gods, and even philosophers, and reflects the yearning for transcending life and death throughout countless eras. It is not only the general trend of humanity, but also the general trend of the heavenly way.

The era of "Yi" is about to arrive, and all human schemes and calculations are only meant to hasten the birth of "Yi"!

Xiao Jun naturally knew that Yang Pan was at the height of his power, and also knew that Yang Pan was nearing the end of his life.

Looking at the monk Jingren, Xiao Jun said, "Now that you have achieved some success in your cultivation, I am going to take you to the Great Qian Dynasty."

"What does the abbot intend to do for this humble monk?"

"I want you... to open an academy in the Great Qian Dynasty!" Xiao Jun said to Jing Ren.

"Open an academy?" Monk Jingren frowned slightly, then nodded and said, "I see. Is the abbot planning to use this method to spread the lineage of the Great Zen Temple again?"

“That’s right, but it can only be an academy, not the Great Zen Temple!” Xiao Jun said to Jing Ren, “It can only spread the thoughts and wisdom of the Holy Emperor Yuan, and absolutely must not actually rebuild the Great Zen Temple!”

Jing Ren remained silent for a long time. As a martial artist at the Human Immortal realm, he was naturally exceptionally wise and immediately understood what Xiao Jun was talking about, as well as why Xiao Jun said that it was only permissible to open an academy, but not to rebuild the Great Zen Temple.

“Buddha himself is an enlightened being, and the essence of Buddhism is the propagation of wisdom, not some clay idol!” Jingren pondered for a moment and said to Xiao Jun, “Abbot, please do not worry, this humble monk will certainly follow your instructions.”

“After you open that academy, there’s one thing you need to do!” Xiao Jun said again.

Jingren listened intently, awaiting Xiao Jun's instructions.

"You must spread the teachings of the Maha Vajra Prajnaparamita without reservation!" Xiao Jun said to Jing Ren. "There must be absolutely no secrets or reservations. Can you do that?"

His tone was somewhat stern!
Jingren immediately felt troubled, because the Maha Vajra Prajna Paramita is not just simple wisdom; it contains the ideas of Taoist arts, which still exist even if they are not written down on the surface.

Xiao Jun saw Jingren's predicament, so he said to the monk Jingren, "Don't worry too much. I have revised and improved the Prajnaparamita Sutra, and I will teach it to you now!"

After saying that, a stream of light was projected directly from Xiao Jun's palm into the eyes of Monk Jingren. Monk Jingren's eyes immediately began to be filled with golden light. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that the golden light was composed of countless golden characters.

Profound and mysterious truths flowed from the golden light in the eyes of the monk Jingren. Before that truth, it seemed that heaven and earth were nothing but illusions, and only that truth was real and true!
This is a scripture that Xiao Jun has been studying for a long time, constantly drawing inspiration from the Tao Te Ching of the Longevity Emperor and the scriptures of the Holy Emperor Yuan, and then sublimating his own primordial Tao. It is called the Prajna Sutra Collection.

It was directly passed on to Jingren, and what Jingren had to do was to spread the Prajnaparamita Sutra thoroughly, as the Prajnaparamita Sutra contains all the mysteries of the Maha Vajra Prajnaparamita!

After a long time, Jingren finally felt a wave of comfort, but at the same time, he felt his spirit swelling up, and this swelling filled every thought of his with unparalleled power.

Although Jingren is merely a martial artist who does not cultivate his mind, he still practices martial arts willpower and can feel the strength of his thoughts in his mind, as well as the vast and profound scripture he has just read.

This sutra contains no mysterious or profound secrets, nor any secret techniques. It contains only the simplest words, yet it conveys the most profound truths. It seems to encompass all the mysteries of Buddhism and almost integrates all the wisdom and power of Buddhism.

Jingren felt that Xiao Jun in front of him was like the Holy Emperor Yuan reborn, and countless feelings of respect welled up in his heart once again.

"Abbot, spreading this Prajna Sutra is truly a meritorious deed! I wonder what the name of the academy you asked me to establish is?"

"Let's call it the Great Zen Academy!"

(End of this chapter)