From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Jiang Liu, however, revealed Xuanzang's secular name.

“If you wish to address this humble monk in that way, that is fine too.” Master Xuanzang smiled slightly, sat cross-legged, and gestured for Jiang Liu to sit down as well.

Jiang Liu then sat cross-legged and asked, "Master, can you cultivate to the state of immortality?"

"Having cultivated the concept of 'emptiness' and refined a bit of spiritual light, one's physical body has already decayed, so it cannot be considered immortality."

Xuanzang replied, "If we are talking about who in the world can attain immortality, it is only you, benefactor."

"Does the Master recognize me?" Jiang Liu asked.

"Does it matter whether you recognize him or not?" Xuanzang smiled.

"Important or unimportant, do I know?" Jiang Liu retorted.

"Oh."

Xuanzang chuckled and said leisurely, "Benefactor, you have experienced countless cycles of reincarnation, yet your temperament remains unchanged, and you still retain your youthful spirit. You are admirable and worthy of respect."

“I understand, you really know me.” Jiang Liu recalled Liu Quan, whom he met at Ping Mountain, and realized that he might have really gone through the process of “rejuvenation”, and more than once.

at the moment.

Xuanzang was using Zen cryptic language with him, clearly not intending to tell him the truth, so Jiang Liu didn't ask any further questions on that point and changed the subject: "Is the Black Mountain Demon dead?"

"Dead, not dead..."

“Speak like a human being.” Before Xuanzang could finish speaking, Jiang Liu interrupted him, “Master, if you continue like this, I’ll take action.”

Don't assume you might know my 'past life'!

Don't think you're some kind of Buddhist master!

I wouldn't dare hit you!

Xuanzang was not annoyed. He chuckled and said, "You are still the same as before. Very well, then I will speak frankly. The Black Mountain Demon is not dead. The stars in the sky are its thoughts. I am left with only a little spiritual light in the world, which is not able to manifest. It is thanks to its thoughts that I can manifest."

in short.

The Black Mountain Demon is an individual, and also a collective, formed by these intertwined black and white thoughts and ideas.

In other words, it has no real soul.

According to the cultivation method of Quanzhen Yangshen, the Black Mountain Demon is a peculiar consciousness composed of individual thoughts.

According to the shamanic definition of the soul, the Black Mountain Demon is a floating soul, which does not have a life soul like a normal living being, nor does it have a reincarnation soul.

It is precisely because the Black Mountain Demon is just a series of thoughts that Xuanzang's spiritual light is equivalent to the dominant primordial spirit of these thoughts. By using the fluctuations of these thoughts to condense his thoughts and manifest a form, he was able to have a face-to-face communication with Jiang Liu on a conscious level.

"Will it affect me?" Jiang Liu asked.

"meeting."

Xuanzang replied, "Only by removing the impurities from its thoughts and transforming them with pure yang, making them extremely strong and yang, can they become an extension of your external will and be completely at your disposal."

exactly.

You recently acquired a method for cultivating the Yang Spirit, which can help it and these things to eliminate the impurities and retain the essence.

# Chapter 425 The Heart Sutra

"Then I'm really lucky!"

Jiang Liu's words seemed to be a complaint, but they also had another meaning.

"Why are you looking at me like that, benefactor? This humble monk is not one to scheme!" After saying that, Xuanzang laughed again, "One's own destiny is in one's own hands."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu nodded secretly and then asked, "Master, you and I have both cultivated a bit of spiritual light. Could you tell me how many wonderful uses this bit of spiritual light has?"

"You must explore this yourself to find out the truth."

Xuanzang smiled slightly, his figure gradually dissipating, and the spiritual light also gradually faded away, as if he was about to leave the special space inside the iron rod, leaving only a magnificent voice, as if reminding Jiang Liu, "This humble monk is leaving. I only hope that you will remember and not forget your original intention."

and also--

Immortality is the destiny of all sentient beings!

If we can get through this, we'll have everything we need!

If you can't overcome this, everything in this world will be in vain!

We, who have cultivated a little spiritual light to remain in this world, are all doing this!

Remember this! Remember this!

When Xuanzang's spiritual light completely disappeared into the void, Jiang Liu seemed to understand something. Cultivating a little spiritual light meant immortality. However, his own sincere spiritual light resided within the three realms of the human body, while Xuanzang resided between the natural world. This iron rod was the medium by which Xuanzang connected with reality!

Furthermore, if this iron rod had not incorporated the thoughts of the Black Mountain Demon, Xuanzang's limited spiritual insight would not have been able to communicate with him through thought.

Aura illuminates all life information, but if it is just a spark of aura without any other thoughts or ideas to manifest the information within, it is useless.

However, the river's flow is unclear, so why did Xuanzang say that immortality is a calamity for all sentient beings?

Immortality is a calamity—

Jiang Liu understood that if he achieved immortality, others would inevitably covet it, leading to endless troubles... However, he was confident that he could handle the petty villains and cultivate his mind and character after achieving immortality, ensuring the purity of his primordial spirit and preventing his will from being worn down and turning him into a madman over the long years.

Logically, this should be a tribulation for him alone, so why did Xuanzang say it was a tribulation for all living beings? Even to the point that if they couldn't overcome this tribulation, everything in the world would be reduced to nothing.

Could it be that if he attains immortality in the future, people will seek the secret to immortality from him, which could trigger a world-ending war?

I don't understand...

For a moment, Jiang Liu was filled with a myriad of thoughts, but he quickly calmed down.

When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it.

Life is never smooth sailing. When trouble comes, solve it. This is Jiang Liu's attitude towards self-cultivation: face difficulties head-on.

Immediately, Jiang Liu pondered the Yang Shen method of Qingwei Zhenren, but then discovered another method in his mind: the Heart Sutra.

Jiang Liu was very familiar with the Heart Sutra. If he only considered the words, the Heart Sutra in his mind was no different from the one he knew. However, when he looked at it with his heart, he found the sutra to be extremely profound. He silently recited it once, chanting the mantra: "Gate! Gate! Paragate! Parasamgate! Bodhi Svaha!"

In an instant, the words dissipated, drawing upon the innate Qi within his body, transforming into golden flower buds, each with a unique fragrance, not for the nose but for the heart. They then transformed into twenty-four streams of light, each settling into the vertebrae of Jiang Liu's body.

Afterwards, in the mental landscape, between heaven and earth, a pagoda appeared, with twenty-four stories, connecting the heavenly court above and the earthly palace below. It was the pillar of heaven and earth, and the root of the earth, corresponding to the twenty-four vertebrae in the physical landscape!

"Everyone has a Lingshan Pagoda, so that they can cultivate themselves beneath it... Venerable Xuanzang, although I do not know your purpose, I still thank you."

Jiang Liuxin entered the inner realm and saw the towering twenty-four-story pagoda. He sighed inwardly, held the iron rod, connected his Qi with the surroundings, silently recited the Heart Sutra, and practiced the Yang God Method of the Jade Emperor Palace. While cleansing his body and mind, he also cleansed the black mountain demon's thoughts of the iron rod, transforming it into pure Yang.

Before long, in the physical landscape, golden buds bloomed on the fifth lumbar vertebra, releasing a fragrant aroma that reached the primordial spirit; in the mental landscape, the first level of the twenty-four-story pagoda shone brightly with golden light, drawing thousands of auspicious energies and countless rays of light.

Within the iron rod, the Black Mountain Demon's thoughts were also refined by him, with one-twenty-fourth of their yin essence being completely eliminated, achieving a state of pure yang in his thoughts.

But when Jiang Liu put down the iron rod in his hand, the golden flowers in his body closed up and turned back into flower buds; the golden light of the first level of the Heartscape Pagoda disappeared and the auspiciousness vanished.

The many thoughts that had turned pure white within the iron rod were influenced by the other thoughts containing malice, and wisps of black reappeared.

no doubt.

Whether it's the Heart Sutra or the Yang Shen (spirit of the mind), giving up before achieving success will render all previous efforts futile.

"From now on, I'll have to carry this iron rod with me at all times... Seriously, why can't this rod be the size I want? If I have to carry around a rod with dragon patterns on both ends with gold hoops every day, I might really be mistaken for a 'charlatan'!"

Jiang Liu muttered a complaint to himself, but then he heard the Angry Sun Chicken emerge from the small house in the corner of the courtyard. It spread its wings, leaped onto the roof, and stood tall with its chest out and head held high.

"Giggle!"

When the rooster crows, the world turns white.

In an instant.

A red sun rose in the east, casting a golden glow upon Jiang Liu, bringing him a moment of peace. He then smiled and said, "Indeed! Cultivation is still in progress. It's just a matter of carrying this staff with me from now on. Compared to cultivation, what is this 'unconventional' trouble?"

"Mao Ri, thank you." Jiang Liu, holding a steel rod, came to the roof where the Angry Rooster stood and pinched its fiery red comb.

"Cluck cluck?"

The Angry Rooster's eyes revealed a human-like confusion, but its thoughts were ultimately less complex than those of a human, and it quickly regained its clarity, gazing at the river and clucking.

This means it's hungry.

"Alright, I'll prepare some fine food for you right away!" Jiang Liu smiled, jumped off the roof, went to the warehouse, took out a bag of rice, and fed it.

As for the Earth Dragon King's dried meat—

It has long been exhausted.

Nowadays, these angry-sun chickens can only eat fine grains or forage in the forest.

"Brother Jiang, are you practicing your staff techniques?" Lu Jin got up early and had just stepped out when she saw Jiang Liu holding a steel staff in one hand and feeding the Angry Sun Chicken with the other. She couldn't help but ask.

"You definitely need to practice."

Jiang Liu tucked the iron rod behind his back, using his magnetic field to bind it, maintaining a constant connection with his Qi. "I have practiced Bajiquan, which allows me to manifest my strength. If I were to wield a spear or staff, my combat power would undoubtedly be even greater."

But the most crucial thing is that I realized the principle of using acquired means to supplement innate ones—”

Afterwards, Jiang Liu explained his understanding of magical artifacts, leaving Lu Jin speechless. But upon closer reflection:

Ritual implements.

The law comes first, the tools follow.

In cultivation, as long as the Qi circulates throughout the body, it is all about practicing the innate methods, but the innate methods are bound to have shortcomings.

Without him.

This is because heaven and earth are flawed.

The Way of Heaven nurtures humankind, or perhaps it uses humans to create things that the Way of Heaven itself cannot directly create, thereby completing the Great Way.

The same reason.

Humans are born with complete abilities to circulate energy throughout the body, but they are also deficient and need to rely on external means to compensate for their inability to do so on their own.

This is the significance of the existence of magical artifacts!

"As the ancients said, 'If you understand one thing, you understand everything!' How true that is! Brother Jiang, you haven't even visited the Heavenly Crafts Hall, yet you've already figured out the principles of weapon crafting!" Lu Jin's eyes were full of admiration.

"Compared to the weapon-refining methods of the Heavenly Craft Hall, I am far inferior. It's just that the iron rod itself is the staff of the nine-ringed tin staff of the monk Xuanzang, which contains the principle of the nine-turn alchemy. My cultivation method just happens to match it."

Only family members know their own affairs.