You've only been cultivating for a few years, and you're already talking about cultivating

His senior fellow disciple, "Zen Neng," asked, "All phenomena arise from the mind; does that mean 'oneself' is also a manifestation of the mind?"

Zen Energy's voice was flat and indifferent, completely unlike his usual tone, which made Zen Kong's hair stand on end.

Upon hearing this, Chan Kong's eyes turned bloodshot: "You possessed my senior brother!"

"No, it's not possession, it's salvation." "Zen Energy" smiled slightly, with a hint of sarcasm: "All phenomena arise from the mind, everything is empty. How do you know your senior brother isn't 'empty'?"

"If it is 'emptiness,' how can there be 'possession'?"

The Zen energy that Zen Kong sees is merely a "form." Since it is a "form," how can one judge the true thoughts of Zen energy?

"Monk!"

Zen Kong's body surged with golden light, which condensed into a giant staff between his hands.

The staff was as thick as a roof beam, its entire body shimmering with golden light, and densely packed characters appeared on its surface, moving and flickering like living things.

The top of the staff shone with such intense golden light that it was almost white, like a small sun held in the palm of one's hand.

This blow is a "wake-up call," a sudden and sharp rebuke to break free from preconceived notions and fixed mindsets.

Therefore, this blow naturally strikes between "appearance" and "reality".

Looking at the colossal staff, "Zen Energy" said, "Junior Brother Zen Kong, since you can't understand words, then your senior brother knows a little bit of martial arts!"

The nameless fire surrounding him suddenly surged, transforming into a colossal fist that rose from below to meet this sudden, devastating blow!

Whether it's a fist or a staff, both are manifestations of "magic power," and are forms of "magic power."

To use one's inner understanding to encompass the real "world"—this is the "Dharma".

When fists and sticks clash, there is no sound or sound at the level of "form" and "reality".

The giant club shattered into pieces, golden fragments fluttering like snowflakes. The fist pierced through the golden light and slammed heavily into Zen Kong's protective golden aura.

The feeling of Zen emptiness is not pain, but burning! It's a burning sensation that comes from the very bones and the very internal organs!

The protective golden light trembled violently, emitting a fine, cracking sound, like porcelain breaking, which only he could hear.

He knew that the one who had possessed his senior brother's body was far more powerful than him.

go!

He used the force of his punch to retreat violently, his feet plowing through the ground, sending pebbles flying. Each step was a golden refining process, and after a few steps, countless golden lotuses bloomed simultaneously, layer upon layer, enveloping him in a radiant glow.

This is precisely the life-saving method of Chanxin Temple, "Lotus Blossoms with Every Step." One step, one lotus blossom; one flower, one world.

A flash of golden light, and Zenkong's figure vanished.

"Zen Energy" withdrew his fist, saying expressionlessly, "A fine 'lotus step' indeed. But where are you going?"

He took a step, and a golden lotus flower appeared beneath his feet, then his figure vanished.

He walks with lotus blossoms on every step; as Chan Kong's senior brother, he naturally can do it too.

After he left, the small temple finally couldn't hold on any longer.

The walls cracked, the roof collapsed, and the mountaintop crumbled. Boulders rolled into the valley, and the ground split open into abyss-like fissures, as mudslides carrying rubble and broken wood swept down.

When everything quieted down, the small temple was gone, and the hilltop was gone too. Only scorched earth remained, along with the lingering heat in the air.

The aftershocks of the cultivators' battle spread from the level of "cognition" to the level of reality, completely changing the appearance of this land.

-----------------

On the other side, after bidding farewell to Chan Kong, Qi Fei continued his journey south.

The "sword" was rambling in Qi Fei's mind. It didn't know what "complaining" meant, but it was definitely complaining.

"Does hair really affect the brain? Why did that monk talk so strangely?"

When we were in Nanshan, the "sword" was only used by cultivators to understand the world within the "Seven Illusions Sword Formation," but there were very few monks in the "Seven Illusions Sword Formation."

Zen Kong was the first monk it encountered after leaving Nanshan, and this subject of observation was completely beyond all the cognitive templates it had previously accumulated about "human beings".

It spoke shamelessly, acted unconventionally, and was incredibly persistent. It found this both novel and perplexing.

"Human, will you become like this someday?" it asked again.

Qi Fei walked along the forest path without turning his head: "No."

"Sword" paused for a moment, seemingly deep in thought, before uttering, "If you cut your hair, would you look like this too?"

Qi Fei: "...No, it won't. Hair doesn't affect thinking."

Just as he was about to say something more, the canopy above his head suddenly swayed violently.

Something seemed to have crashed into the branches from above, breaking several twigs with a loud rustling sound.

Then, a figure fell from the leaves and landed heavily two or three steps in front of Qi Fei, raising a cloud of dust.

Qi Fei looked down.

It is Zen emptiness.

Not long ago, the monk who was hanging upside down in the tree and jokingly teasing him was now like a bird shot down by a hunter, falling straight down from the sky.

His monk's robe was covered in mud and fallen leaves, making him look quite disheveled.

Qi Fei was taken aback for a moment, then said speechlessly, "Didn't I say goodbye? Why did you come after me again?"

Zenkong scrambled to his feet, his movements unsteady, like a drunkard unable to stand, and said, "Let's go!"

Qi Fei looked at him, somewhat puzzled: "Isn't this what walking is like? If you hadn't stopped me, I might have walked even faster."

He was indeed walking; his steps never stopped. It was Zenkong himself who fell from the sky and blocked his way.

"Hurry... or not..."

Zenkong didn't finish his sentence.

A scorching heat surged from behind him, as imposing as a mountain, overwhelming everything.

It wasn't just ordinary burning flames; it was as if someone had smashed an entire volcano directly into reality from the realm of cognition.

The scalding magma surged and roared in places unseen by the naked eye, threatening to incinerate everything in its path—all perceptions, all thoughts, all "forms"—into ashes.

Qi Fei did not hesitate.

He pulled Chan Kong behind him and felt the strange temperature emanating from Chan Kong's body. He raised his right hand, and the light of "Discerning Shadows" in his palm lit up.

A faint halo spread out, shining on the invisible heat, but the effect was not obvious.

The heatwave paused only slightly before continuing its advance.

Qi Fei immediately realized it.

This is the "true Dharma" of the monks.

It is not the kind of messy pseudo-methods like those of Zhu Yixin, Hebo, and Ruyan, but a cultivation method that is gradually developed from "observing the true realm".

It is rooted between "name" and "reality", and grows between "appearance" and "knowledge", and cannot be easily penetrated by the light of "discerning shadows".

With a thought, his magical power surged through his body, like a rushing river or the ebb and flow of the tide.

A sword light appeared out of thin air.

This sword strike, shining through the distinction between "name" and "reality," was unlike the one he used to slay Ruyan in Nanshan; it was upright, dignified, and magnificent.

Like a white rainbow descending from the heavens, it swept down with unstoppable momentum, slashing down at the scorching heat that pressed down like a mountain.

Wherever the sword light passed, an invisible wave of heat was torn open, like a white dragon splitting open a volcano.