From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

In an instant, the mirror shattered, and the girl in the mirror arrived in this space. The originally blank void emitted a dazzling light, engulfing the girl and Zhao Yingkong. Endless fantasies followed, enveloping the two of them respectively.

The girl returned to the day her inner demons went on a killing spree, witnessing Zhao Ruikong, through her mental power investigating the family's experiments, absorb too much violent consciousness, causing her inner demons to erupt and leading to a massacre of several of her companions. Zhao Zhuikong, left with no other choice, cooperated with her to kill Zhao Ruikong...

"No! That's not how it is! It shouldn't be like this!" The girl tried to escape, hiding in a corner, but the scene kept playing over and over again, plunging her into deep fear.

"But that's the truth."

Hearing an unfamiliar voice, the girl looked up and saw a strange boy. Inexplicably, she asked, "Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important. What's important is that you should grow up, Miss Sakura." The boy extended his hand.

The girl wanted to reach out, but hesitated. After three seconds, her arm remained raised in mid-air, and she did not grab the boy's hand.

Snapped!

The boy bowed slightly, grabbed her hand, pulled her up from the corner, then released her and said slowly, "Come with me."

"No...no way!"

The road ahead was littered with the corpses of her former companions. Scenes of Zhao Zhuikong and Zhao Yingkong killing Zhao Ruikong were scattered on both sides of the road. Red blood flowed from the chests of Zhao Ruikongs, converging into a river and covering the entire road.

The girl's eyes trembled, and she kept backing away, only to see Jiang Liu extend another hand.

She looked up and saw the boy's gentle gaze, like that of a kind father or elder brother she had only ever seen in books.

He spoke gently, saying slowly, "Be brave, hold my hand, hand in hand, don't be afraid, let's walk together."

For some reason, the girl felt that the boy in front of her had a strange magic, and that she... seemed to know him.

Or perhaps she is no longer hiding in the corner, but has stood up.

So, she actually took a step.

Snapped!

This time!

She didn't need the boy in front of her to bow again; instead, she took the initiative to place her hand on his.

Big hand holding little hand, boy leading girl, together they embarked on a path paved with Zhao Ruikong's blood—

As she moved forward, the shouts of Zhao Zhuikong, the pitiful cries of Zhao Ruikong, and her own sobs rose and fell in her imagination, infecting the girl, who also cried out, tears streaming down her face.

The boy offered no comfort, but simply let her hold his large hand tightly and continue walking forward!

As her sobs subsided, the illusions on both sides of the road gradually faded, revealing a brightly lit study ahead. Another girl, identical to her, sat elegantly by the window, reading a book. Seeing someone approach, she slightly raised her head and said, "You can still face the past, can't you...?"

Upon recognizing the person, she paused, then stood up, walked to the boy, and questioned, "How did you get into the depths of my consciousness?"

"How dare you speak to your master like that?"

# Chapter 526 Facing the Truth, Cultivating Oneself

The girl looked at Jiang Liu, who was sitting at the desk with Zhao Yingkong, hesitated, and wanted to say something but stopped. However, when she saw him beckon, she walked over and slowly sat down.

"Do you know?"

"He is the one who taught me to face my inner self." Zhao Yingkong crossed her legs and flipped through a book titled "Psychology Series: 24 Personalities".

As a personality formed later in life, Zhao Yingkong has an emptiness in her subconscious and will keep trying to fill the void. Reading is her usual and instinctive method.

It wasn't until she met Jiang Liu that she realized that to fill that void in her heart and transform the false into the true, the most important thing was to grow through various life experiences, rather than reading books, which, apart from giving her more knowledge, did not serve much purpose.

As the ancients said, "Read ten thousand books and travel ten thousand miles."

This is the epitome of the unity of knowledge and action!

Both of Zhao Yingkong's main and secondary personalities face the same difficulty: they dare not confront reality.

The main personality is afraid to face the truth of that tragedy and the complex emotions it feels towards Zhao Zhuikong.

Before meeting Jiang Liu, the alternate personality had already begun to doubt the meaning of her own existence, but unlike the master, she had no choice.

That is, they cannot hide deep within their own hearts like the main personality.

But precisely because of this, Zhao Yingkong, who forcibly walks through reality, is actually stronger than the original personality.

And now!

Jiang Liu had already seen through Zhao Yingkong's false identity, and she gradually grew stronger, with a much richer sense of self than her original personality.

The only thing the main personality can compare to Zhao Yingkong in is that it has lived a few more years and has a much stronger control over its own mental power than Zhao Yingkong. That's all.

Now that Zhao Yingkong has accepted the falsehood of her past and is able to face the truth, she has easily overcome most of her inner demons.

With Jiang Liu's help, the main personality has come halfway through the ordeal and is able to confront the truth of the past.

To overcome inner demons, one must essentially recognize their nature, which stems from inner fears, weaknesses, guilt, and so on. Once this is recognized, even if it cannot be completely eliminated, one can at least ensure that one's consciousness is no longer affected by the illusions of inner demons.

However, to completely overcome inner demons, one must build a completely new understanding, forge a belief, and use it as an anchor to acknowledge everything in the past and move towards the future.

Of course, there is another way, which is to completely accept the influence of one's inner demons and fall into demonic ways, but most of those who fall into demonic ways have their potential wasted.

Zhao Zhuikong was just like that.

"Why would I have this inexplicable trust in you?" The dominant personality remained silent for a while, quite puzzled by this.

"Because Zhao Yingkong trusts me."

Jiang Liu said calmly, "In the end, you are still one person, just divided into two parts. Your memories are not connected, but you will still have some connection in the deep communication within your inner world."

Upon hearing this, the main personality finally understood why Jiang Liu had been able to find him—

It was Zhao Yingkong's subconscious that she had the idea of ​​giving herself a hand.

"Thank you."

The girl thanked Zhao Yingkong.

"Humph!"

Zhao Yingkong merely snorted coldly, offering no response, and instead asked Jiang Liu, "We need to merge to overcome our inner demons together, right?"

"almost."

Jiang Liu nodded, raised his hand, and from within his ancestral aperture, a bright light shone forth, causing the bookshelves, desks, books, and other objects to transform into specks of starlight and vanish.

The interior was once again completely blank.

"But you're still quite inexperienced. Let's talk about it after you've grown a bit more." The light fell into Jiang Liu's palm, reflecting a passage of text.

Then, Jiang Liu chanted: "Gate! Gate! Paragate! Parasamgate! Bodhi Svaha!"

This is the Heart Sutra!

Immediately, Jiang Liu's physical and mental landscapes merged. Within his spine, twenty-four golden lights trembled slightly, invisible to ordinary people. Within the twenty-four-layered pagoda of his mental landscape, golden lotuses bloomed, their fragrance entering his ancestral aperture. Through the light of his sincere spirit, it reached the light point, blooming from Jiang Liu's consciousness and surrounding the consciousness of Zhao Yingkong's main and secondary personalities.

In an instant, both of them felt something, and a passage of scripture appeared in their minds. As they recited it, golden light bloomed, transforming into a twenty-four-story pagoda that reached the heavens and the earth, with each floor containing an illusory flower bud.

Jiang Liu raised his hand, and the point of light in his palm slowly rose to the top of the tower, shining brightly and illuminating Zhao Yingkong's main and secondary personalities, causing their distracting thoughts to disappear, leaving only unparalleled peace.

"Humans have two kinds of scenery. One is the physical scenery, which is the circulation of the flesh, bones, organs and other organs of the human body. The other is the mental scenery, which is what people usually call the inner scenery, the spiritual world. The circulation of Qi is the key to connecting the physical scenery and the mental scenery."

Jiang Liu said, “Ordinary people’s mental landscape is like a dream, a bubble, and a shadow, and cannot be permanent. But if you cultivate the method of forming the elixir from the five aggregates and maintain the circulation of Qi throughout the body at all times, I will use the Heart Sutra to build a tower of twenty-four heavens in your inner landscape, which corresponds to the spine in your physical landscape. The point of spiritual light at the top corresponds to the ancestral aperture, Niwan, in your physical landscape.”

It can help you cultivate both your physical and spiritual well-being.

When the golden lotuses bloom in the Twenty-Four Heavens Tower, that will be the moment when you two become one and return to your true selves.

If you awaken to this truth, in the blink of an eye, the golden lotuses of the twenty-four heavens will bloom simultaneously.

If you are slow-witted, then proceed step by step, climbing steadily, reciting the Heart Sutra to purify your mind; eventually, you will find your way back to normalcy.

Upon hearing this, the girl remained silent for a long time before finally walking to the first floor, entering it, and reciting the Heart Sutra to cultivate her mind.

Seeing this, Zhao Yingkong suddenly asked, "Will she forget everything from the past once she reaches the twenty-fourth floor?"

"What? No way!"

Jiang Liu rolled his eyes. "She is, after all, a part of you, even the main body. If you forget everything, you'll become a fool too!"

The method of the Heart Sutra is to erect a tower of gods within the human body. Through practice, one can purify the primordial spirit and enjoy peace.

Buddhism emphasizes the concept of Nirvana; when the mind arises, all kinds of demons arise; when the mind ceases, all kinds of demons cease.

Taoist practice emphasizes the body, while Buddhist practice focuses on the mind. Therefore, Buddhist theories and practices do have unique advantages in overcoming inner demons.

She enters the Lingshan Pagoda to practice the Heart Sutra, constantly confronting all her past memories until she finally opens her eyes and lets go. At that time, her consciousness will be purified, and she will merge with you, becoming one with you...

But there is a prerequisite: your consciousness must have grown to the point where you can face all kinds of challenges without wavering!

Therefore, you yourself must also cultivate yourself, otherwise, it's uncertain who will be in control at that time!

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yingkong was speechless: "Couldn't you just kill her directly?"

"I've already said it, she is a part of you, even the foundation of your strong character. Without her, your personality would change drastically."

Jiang Liu, however, remained patient. "She is your past, and you are her present and future. What you need to do in the future is to completely integrate her real past into your false past, thus achieving a complete state..."

Besides, if you wanted to kill her, your subconscious wouldn't have led me into the inner demonic illusion she was in.

# Chapter 527 The Light of the Soul: Cherry Blossom

Zhao Yingkong doesn't admit that she subconsciously wants to save her main personality.

But Jiang Liu didn't care whether she admitted it or not, and continued, "You also understand the impact of the aura on a person's aura. If you lose the 'past,' how can you talk about the present and the future?"

On a smaller scale, this applies to a person's personality and consciousness.

Past memories form the foundation of present consciousness and personality. If we lose the past, the present and future are nothing but castles in the air, which may collapse at any time.

You're only able to maintain a relatively normal state because you're supported by a false memory.

Zhao Yingkong snorted coldly, which was taken as an admission of this.

"We'll see."

Jiang Liu looked at the twenty-fourth floor of the Tower of All Heavens and said calmly, "She, or rather, the past you, did want to fulfill the present you. From the moment she chose to escape, she never thought of going out again, and you were her only support."

Compared to you now—