From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

Outside the crowd, the disguised chameleon cursed under his breath, "Assassination, huh? Bah! Is that all you've got?"

Please have someone from the Tang Clan assassinate Jiang Liu.

It was the work of Chameleon, the lieutenant of the Smiling Tiger.

Since returning from the Jinhua area, Smiling Tiger has been living in constant fear and trepidation. Originally a devout Buddhist and Taoist, he now tends to chant scriptures every day, which has led to the fact that his deputy, Chameleon, now wields considerable power.

The Northern Expedition had already begun, and the provinces of Fujian and Jiangxi had been captured, but Chameleon believed that "internal pacification must precede external resistance," and that the Cultural Street and Confucian Association must be dealt with.

That is, the problem of the river's flow has been solved.

Without him.

This young superhuman's influence was so great that it was highly likely he used "sorcery" to bewitch Smiling Tiger and then joined forces with other superhumans to massacre nearly 20,000 people!

Don't stay!

He just hadn't expected that the expert sent by the Tang Clan, a sect specializing in assassination, would be so easily defeated by Jiang Liu.

"What a bunch of useless trash!"

But now that things have come to this, the chameleon doesn't have any good solutions. If it were to directly confront the Confucian Association—

Jiang Liu was not the kind of Taoist priest or Buddhist monk who would compromise with the government or soldiers due to various concerns. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was his stubborn nature.

If anyone dares to cause trouble for the Confucian Society, the Ghost Hand Wang Cai Opera Troupe, or the various vendors on Cultural Street without cause, Jiang Liu will retaliate, and in an unconventional way.

The destruction of the Qinglong Society in Yuhang City is a case in point!

Therefore.

Chameleon didn't dare to openly cause trouble for the Confucian Society, otherwise the "Blue and White Beauties" would have to give him a proper "visit" that night.

"However, since the Tang Clan has already accepted the money, they will definitely send someone to assassinate us again. Let's wait a while longer."

···

···

The sermon has ended.

Everyone suddenly understood and happily went home.

"Brother Jiang, how did you break the Dan Shi curse?" On the way back to the Caixi Opera Troupe, Lu Jin finally confirmed that Jiang Liu had not been affected at all, and his eyes were full of curiosity.

Wang Yaozu also asked, "Tell me, how exactly did you break the Dan Shi? Oh, I see! You've studied Miss Liu's 'Flash Time Technique,' did you avoid it?"

"Hmph, it seems my innate ability is quite powerful!" Miss Liu put her hands on her hips, her nose twitching with pride, and laughed heartily.

"To be honest, I could indeed avoid it..."

With only Miss Liu's "gathering form and dispersing energy" superposition state, it would be difficult for her to avoid the Dan Shi, which has a hint of "primordial chaos".

However, Jiang Liu's invulnerability to all laws, achieved through "dispersing qi," can indeed avoid the poison of dan.

"It must be thanks to that exquisite inner core of the relic, right?" Lu Jin asked.

"Not at all."

Jiang Liu shook his head.

The exquisite inner elixir of the sarira can detoxify the poisons of medicine and metals. If one tries to detoxify after being poisoned by the elixir, it is equivalent to making the five internal organs fight against the elixir to the end, which will eventually lead to the destruction of both body and spirit, and further damage to the meridians.

To break free from the Dan Shi (a type of internal energy), one must rely on the power of gathering and accumulating the five elements!

"I forcibly obliterated and refined that pill."

Afterwards, Jiang Liu explained the principles of Dan Shi cultivation that he had experienced through Dan Shi, as well as the way Dan Shi affects the human body's meridians: "Take the human body as a cauldron, transform the Qi poison into the mind monkey, and use the Qi circulation to circulate through the body as a metaphor for the Six Ding Divine Fire, slowly simmering it, turning the Qi poison into a part of one's own Qi circulation, in order to achieve perfection."

The method of dealing with enemies, Dan Shi, is to send the 'Qi Poison Heart Monkey' into another person's body and world to wreak havoc in the Heavenly Palace.

Therefore, resolving the Dan Shi (a type of internal alchemy) is also simple.

By gathering the five elements, clarifying the mind and seeing one's true nature, and transforming the will into the Tathagata, one can bind and suppress the mind-monkey that is Dan Shi, thus erasing and refining it.

"I see." Lu Jin suddenly realized.

"But why does it have to be Buddha? Why not Laozi?" Hong Guniang wondered, thinking of how Taishang was thrown headfirst by Sun Wukong.

"Leaving aside the dramatic aspects of the story, and considering that Sun Wukong's state of mind at this point is one of 'lack of virtue,' let's focus solely on his cultivation—"

Jiang Liu chuckled and explained to the group, "Cultivation has two levels: refining Qi and cultivating one's mind and nature."

Both Taoism and Buddhism emphasize this.

However, we all know that Taoism actually focuses more on the level of Qi cultivation. Therefore, for the sake of rationality, when defining the principles of cultivation contained in "Journey to the West", they often directly ignore the emotional expressions of the four masters and disciples in the text and simply force them into specific situations of Qi cultivation.

Buddhism, on the other hand, places greater emphasis on mind and character.

This doesn't mean that monks are more virtuous than Taoists, but rather that they have more insights into dealing with emotional issues.

Therefore, the image of the "monkey mind entering the Eight Trigrams Furnace" represents the Taoist approach: relentlessly refining and suppressing one's natural instincts in order to stabilize one's mind and resolve the problem.

The gist of it is that Laozi felt Sun Wukong's cultivation was not enough and he needed to be trained further.

However, this is not a question of whether Sun Wukong's cultivation is sufficient, but rather that he himself is completely unaware that his mind is harmed by the three poisons of greed, anger, and ignorance, and that there is a problem with his own nature.

In this situation where one is already harboring a lot of resentment, if one doesn't cultivate one's character and instead no one points out the problem at the level of one's temperament, but instead keeps demanding that one cultivate, then one can only increase one's cultivation and strength, but cannot truly eliminate the poison in one's heart. In fact, in this situation, the stronger one's cultivation, the more troublesome it becomes to deal with.

Therefore, Laozi failed.

The restless mind is the human heart. The human heart's will is so strong that it cannot be suppressed simply by force; one must yield to its desires, but not excessively, otherwise it will become its unchecked potential…

Therefore, the significance of him wearing the golden headband on his journey to the West lies in this: it is to achieve a state of being able to do as one pleases without overstepping the bounds. However, he himself has not yet been able to achieve this, and needs the golden headband to discipline him. Once he has achieved this, then the golden headband becomes useless and naturally disappears.

Of course, Jiang Liu also knew that the Mind Monkey entering the Eight Trigrams Furnace was an important part of cultivation.

reason?

Although this method cannot solve the problem of mindset, it does make Sun Wukong's indestructible body even stronger by cultivating his inner strength.

This refers to the idea that when one encounters problems in one's mind that are temporarily difficult to resolve or for which one does not know how to solve them, one can first strengthen one's resilience through spiritual practice, and then seek solutions in the future.

In short, it's a matter of the heart—

Taoism generally improves one's character through Qi cultivation, which means raising one's stress tolerance limit. As long as the limit is high enough, big problems will become small problems, until one finally sees through them, which is the so-called detachment from the world.

Buddhism, on the other hand, places more emphasis on enlightenment, and Zen practice directly points to one's true nature. Naturally, it is more adept than Taoism at guiding people to resolve their spiritual problems more quickly.

That is, to overcome inner demons.

Therefore!

Only Buddha could subdue Sun Wukong, not Laozi.

Without him.

It's just a matter of matching my major!

# Chapter 431 The Tang Clan's Ten Members

"You're really starting to sound like the Taoist patriarch or the Buddha preaching."

Wang Yaozu exclaimed in surprise, "How can someone come up with so many reasons?"

"Simple!"

Jiang Liu roused himself and said, “You should read through all the Taoist scriptures and Buddhist scrolls in your home, then compare them with your own practice. By verifying each other and combining them with reality, you can also have the same insights as me.”

"Then forget it!"

Upon hearing that he would have to read a huge pile of scriptures, Wang Yaozu felt a headache coming on. "I'm already so old, what am I supposed to learn?"

Learn what?!

"While we're still young, let's expand the Ghost Hand Wang Cai Opera Troupe further, so that Zhao Qian and the others can inherit it in the future. Who knows, we might even be able to establish our own school."

"Oh dear, I'm so heartbroken. Why isn't it me, the young master, who will inherit? At the very least, it should be Sister Hong, right?" Jiang Liu wiped away non-existent tears from the corner of his eye, his exaggerated acting making people both laugh and cry.

"Humph!"

Wang Yaozu scoffed, “With your abilities, a small opera troupe can’t hold you back, especially since you’ve already established the Confucian Society.”

My Ghost Hand King lineage has been transformed through your hands, and it's only a matter of time before it truly establishes its own school. I have nothing more to ask for.

And Red Girl—

But I want to develop my career in Shanghai!

"Actually, it would work in Yuhang as well."

Hong glanced at Jiang Liu without making a sound, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and smiled faintly.

“Alright, if Miss Hong is willing, the name of the opera troupe can be changed from ‘Ghost Hand King’ to ‘Moon Gate’.” Wang Yaozu laughed heartily.

He founded a school of thought, making it known to future generations that the techniques of reversing the eight directions and the methods created based on reversing the eight directions all originated from him, Wang Yaozu.

As for the Ghost Hand King's opera troupe, if it were truly passed down to Red Girl, and renamed "Moon Gate"—

Consider it a betrothal gift!

Jiang Liu thought the suggestion was feasible, since the only person in the magic troupe who could truly be considered a master of ancient magic tricks was Hong Guniang.

Even after cultivating to the eighth or ninth level, Hong Guniang combined the colorful opera techniques of the Moon Gate to create a supernatural ability called "Thousand-Hand Guanyin".

It would be perfect if the future opera troupe were managed by Hong Guniang, with Zhao Qian and others assisting.

Back at the opera troupe's courtyard.

The rest of the group went back to their rooms to rest, while Hong Guniang and Lu Jin went to Yuhang City to fight crime and uphold justice.

Jiang Liu went to the woodshed to interrogate Tang Jiaren and Li Ding.

Jiang Liu had placed talismans on the two people's nine orifices, making it impossible for them to circulate Qi or even sense Qi. They were no different from ordinary people, so all that was needed was to bind their joints with chains.

Why use chains?

After all, these two are from the Tang Clan. Even if they can't raise their Qi, they should still know some unlocking techniques. Using a hemp rope is not a safe option.

"Brother Zhao, Sister Chengzhen, could you please prepare two bowls of noodles? I reckon these two haven't had dinner yet." As soon as Jiang Liu entered the woodshed, he heard their stomachs rumbling loudly, so he instructed Zhao Xinchuan and Chengzhen, who were guarding outside the door.

The two nodded, went to the kitchen to start a fire and boil water, put out two bowls of pork and vermicelli, and brought them to Tang Jiaren and Li Ding.

"Eat."