From Under One Person: Sincere Journey Through the Heavens

"Don't think you can kill me like this!"

Within the blood, a mass of black energy gathered, transforming into the form of a nine-headed worm. It manifested itself by harnessing the energy of the land, its eighteen eyes fixed on Jiang Liu, roaring, "Even if you destroy this energy field, I will not die! If you do not die, I will not perish! I manifested for your nine-aperture yin energy! We were originally one!"

"is it?"

Jiang Liu smiled slightly, and six beams of light burst forth from his chest and abdomen, binding the Nine-Headed Insect and slowly pulling it into his body. "If that's the case, then come back!"

If you are truly a part of me, then I bear responsibility for the sins you have committed. Watch as I suppress and refine you, returning you to your true nature, and restoring the yin and yang within me!

# Chapter 735 The Lion-like Monster, the Nine-Headed Insect, and the Nine-Spirited Primordial Saint are all human-bodied nine-insect creatures

"No!"

"I don't want to go back!"

The Nine-Headed Insect Zheng Zha and Roar, bound by the Six Paths of Reincarnation and originally part of Jiang Liu, could not escape. In the end, they entered Jiang Liu's chest and abdomen.

Yin energy enters the physical landscape, and spirituality enters the mental landscape.

The nine-headed insect entered the river's flow and transformed into nine insects, occupying the nine orifices. It took shape in the mind's vision and was about to disrupt the universe and contend with the river's spirit when it saw the Mind Monkey, the Will Horse, the Golden Duke, the Wooden Mother, and the Yellow Granny attacking it.

With the five elements gathered together, one refines one's life force, travels through the three passes and nine orifices, and becomes one with the river and the stream. How can one allow others to disrupt one's body and the world?

Three thousand six hundred pure yang thoughts manifested, with the Nine Luminaries as the main element, forming a grand celestial array that covered the three realms, leaving the Nine-Headed Insect nowhere to hide.

Then the Three Corpse Gods appeared: Peng Ju, Peng Zhi, and Peng Qiao, blocking the Nine-Headed Insect's path.

"You three corpses and I, the nine worms, are originally one, why do you block my way?"

Enraged, the Nine-Headed Insect charged toward the Three Corpse Gods, intending to fight them to the death. However, the three summoned Primordial Qi, Yuan Qi, and Xuan Qi respectively, which formed three streams of pure Qi. Together they transformed into the Three Pure Ones, engulfing the Nine-Headed Insect.

The five gods caught up, gathered invisible power, and internally refined the nine-headed worm, dividing it into nine parts and suppressing them between the nine orifices. They refined its evil nature, seeking to restore it to its original state, transforming it into pure yin qi, and integrating the principles of yin and yang of the nine orifices.

Jiang Liu practiced the Dharani Mantra of the Secret Relic Box of All Tathagatas and the Heart Sutra, resonating with the spiritual light of sincerity. Inside the twenty-four-story pagoda, lotus flowers bloomed, and he saw a scene within one of the 1,748 Dao patterns of the light of the mind - Huiyuan.

In the scene, a man who looks exactly like Jiang Liu is traveling west with the monk Xuanzang, discussing the Dao of Yin and Yang and expounding on the elixir of immortality.

An ancient saying goes: To cultivate the Golden Elixir method, one must have a body of pure Yang.

However, Jiang Liu felt that humans are inherently created by Yin and Yang. Seeking Yang by abandoning Yin is no different from those who make physical defects in order to cultivate themselves and abstain from desires. It is to abandon the grace of heaven and earth and cannot last long.

Therefore, by testing the law with one's own body and relying on the effect of innate supernatural abilities, one can achieve the principle of the cycle of Qi, transforming Yin and Yang. One cultivates pure Yang, while pure Yin transforms into a strange beast, which one can ride and become a mount!

Because the strange beast was born based on the principle of the nine orifices circulation and possessed pure Yin Qi, it could contend with the true self. However, when "Jiang Liu" and the great master Xuanzang painted the scene of the Heart Sutra together, they could suppress the nine-headed insect in the nine orifices and jointly paint the Yin-Yang scenery.

However, the beast refused to give up and took advantage of Jiang Liu's momentary lapse in attention to escape! Jiang Liu discovered this, cut off one of the beast's heads, and destroyed it!

However, the strange beast feigned death to escape, entering another person's nine orifices, leaving the land of China, and arriving on the African continent...

As the scene faded, Jiang Liu understood everything and realized that he had already reincarnated 1,748 times, and this was his 1,749th reincarnation.

The Nine-Headed Insect was indeed formed from the Yin Qi within his body, and was bestowed with a title. Because it originated from the nine orifices of the human body and formed its own cycle, it was quite special compared to other deities within the body, and could spontaneously leave the body.

If there is the slightest lapse in vigilance, the nine insects will escape and run rampant.

This nine-headed worm can be considered the embodiment of Jiang Liu!

and so--

The Nine-Headed Insect was not something that "Jiang Liu" actively eliminated in the past. Rather, he wanted to use the effects of the Heart Sutra to suppress and control it, and to integrate the Yin and Yang of the nine orifices to complete the work of creation.

It was only because the Nine-Headed Insect ran away that he was discovered by Jiang Liu and lost one of his heads!

Now that he has returned to Jiang Liu's body, he can no longer escape. This is because Jiang Liu's physical and mental landscape systems are more complete than those of the past "Jiang Liu". He has also received the light of the two great spiritual realms of heaven and earth, and was granted the titles of Huangtian and Houtu to monitor the three realms at all times. In addition, he has the cultivation of the five gods and the blessing of three thousand six hundred pure yang thoughts. Even if Jiang Liu's true self-awareness is lax, there are other pure yang thoughts silently reciting the Heart Sutra to educate the nine insects!

Having gone through this ordeal, Jiang Liu revisited the mounts of immortals and Buddhas such as the Nine-Headed Lion and the Lion Demon in "Journey to the West," and roughly understood why these mounts descended to the mortal realm to wreak havoc.

The Nine-Headed Lion is probably an incarnation of the Great Sage Who Saves from Suffering!

The Taiyi Salvation and Protection Scripture states: The Heavenly Venerable is the essence of the Nine Yangs, extremely powerful and efficacious.

It is also said that the primordial energy of the origin transforms into the essence of the nine yang.

All of the above proves that the Nine-Headed Lion is an incarnation of a divine power.

Just as the Journey to the West describes the Nine-Headed Lion as: "He communicates with the Three Sages above and penetrates the Nine Springs below!"

Such supernatural powers could only be possessed by the Celestial Venerable himself. How could a lion that has not even attained human form possess such supernatural powers? It could only be the Celestial Venerable himself!

Furthermore, the phrase "reaching the three sages above and penetrating the nine springs below" can also refer to the three gates and nine orifices of the human body.

The same reason.

The lion-like monster is an incarnation of Manjushri Bodhisattva.

You want evidence?

You have to look at the lion-like monster's appearance:

Eyes like crystal goblets, head like a cauldron for refining oil. Body indigo in the sweltering heat of summer, four paws frosty in the autumn. Two drooping ears, a broom-like tail. Blue fur exudes sharpness, red eyes gleam with golden light. Flat fangs like jade tablets, round whiskers like hard spears. Looking at the true form in the mirror, it is indeed Manjushri, a lion king.

One of the lines reads: "His whole body is indigo in the sweltering heat of summer, and his four claws are frosty in the late autumn."

The numbers three and nine, whenever they appear in "Journey to the West" and are mentioned together in a single sentence, can be used to broadly refer to the three gates and nine orifices, as well as the cultivation of the related Qi circulation.

In addition, the full name of Manjushri Bodhisattva is Manjushri Bodhisattva.

Adding the radical for beast to the characters "师利" creates the character "狮猁".

Just like the "Sun" in Sun Wukong's name, which comes from the character "狲" (sun) without the animal radical, it means that one must first obtain a human body in order to cultivate immortality, become a Buddha, and transform into a deity.

The metaphor of cultivating Qi and practicing self-cultivation is to attain pure Yang.

However, to obtain the power of creation, one must also obtain pure Yin Qi. Only when Yin and Yang are combined can one obtain the primordial Dao. Therefore, the mounts of Bodhisattvas and immortals are mostly ferocious beasts.

Why?

One purpose is to suppress evil and promote good.

The second is to cultivate to attain Hunyuan (primordial chaos).

Immortals and Buddhas are all virtuous beings who cultivate their own minds and view all living beings as equal. How could they possibly use other living beings as mounts to ride on?

Their mounts—

Perhaps they are all part of themselves!

It could be the Three Corpses, the Six Thieves, or the Nine Insects!

They are the embodiment of the yin energy within them and the darkness in their hearts!

Therefore, they must be suppressed and subdued, so as to achieve harmony of Yin and Yang, cultivate the Great Dao together, and ultimately return to their original state and attain Hunyuan!

Throughout the hundred chapters of Journey to the West, the Lion Demon, the Nine-Headed Insect, and the Nine-Spirited Sage appear in turn, respectively in Wuji Kingdom, Jisa Kingdom, and Yuhua County, which correspond to the early, middle, and late stages of the journey of cultivation.

Stripping away all other metaphors, discarding legends related to reality, and removing the identities of immortals and Buddhas, let us simply observe it as a person's journey of seeing the nine insects, eliminating the nine insects, refining the nine insects, and harmonizing yin and yang with them—

In Wuji Kingdom, Tang Sanzang saw for the first time the form transformed from the Yin Qi of his nine orifices. Even Sun Wukong could not tell the difference between the real Tang Sanzang and the one transformed by the lion monster.

Why?

This is because the two are essentially one, just one yin and one yang.

The name "Wuji Kingdom" also serves as a hint, as Wuji refers to the black-boned chicken, whose feathers are of various colors, but whose body bones are uniformly black.

By the time Tang Sanzang arrived in Jisaguo, he had become fully aware of the existence of the nine worms in his body. His journey to sweep the pagoda from bottom to top was also a way of trying to cleanse the yin energy in his body and cultivate a bit of pure yang.

However, he himself could not achieve success; he still needed the help of his inner demons.

In the end, even with the combined efforts of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven and Erlang Shen, they could have completely eliminated the Nine-Headed Insect, but the Monkey King advised Erlang Shen to give up.

Why?

Leaving aside the real-life historical allusions, it is probably because the Monkey King had already realized that as long as one is alive, the Qi within one's body will naturally manifest Yin and Yang, which cannot be completely eliminated. Moreover, if one were to truly refine all the Yin Qi within one's body, only pure Yang would remain. Tang Sanzang might gain some supernatural powers, but he would have to wait until his next life to become a Buddha!

Therefore, by temporarily breaking off one of the nine insects' heads so that they can no longer affect one's own mind, one can continue to cultivate and gradually experience the true power of creation on the path of cultivation.

The phrase "祭赛" (jisai) signifies that to achieve enlightenment through spiritual practice, one must persevere and be sincerely devout.

Finally arriving at Yuhua County in Tianzhu (India), Yuhua can also refer to the clarity of one's primordial spirit. At this point, Tang Sanzang had grasped some of the principles of creation and no longer sought to refine all Yin energy, but rather to integrate Yin and Yang. Therefore, the nine insects manifested as the "Nine-Spirit Primordial Saint," a form different from the previous nine-headed insect…

It is only slightly better than the Nine-Headed Insect, as it can be educated, be taught, and receive instruction.

This ordeal also proves that Tang Sanzang has been able to understand the true nature of the nine worms in his body, and realize that what cultivation should remove is the evil thoughts of the nine worms' minds, rather than the yin energy of the nine worms' physical appearance.

# Chapter 736 Harmonizing Yin and Yang to Achieve Creation

After subduing the Nine-Headed Insect and restoring his nine orifices, Jiang Liu, relying on the power of numerous deities in the three realms, regulated Yin and Yang, further enhancing the harmony between his physical and mental states. Moreover, the progress of the Qi Source Flow method he obtained from Zhang Chulan also increased significantly.

Without him.

Zhang Chulan cultivates the Qi Body Source Flow, following the method of Qi Infant Enhancement, while Jiang Liu follows the principle of "spiritual root nurturing the source flow," aiming to cultivate two spiritual roots.

The first is the body's cyclical system, which is the foundation for creating a ginseng fruit tree. This also confirms a line in the Inner Canon: "My family cultivates our own fields, which can nurture spiritual seedlings that live for ten thousand years."

That is, by consistently practicing the circulatory cycle, one can naturally cultivate a pill in the lower field.

The second is the innate ape of the mind and vision.

The mind-monkey, having attained innate essence, transforms into the mind-spirit, which is also known as the elixir essence.

Once both are conceived and can teach the elixir to be made, in the book "Journey to the West", it is like the Monkey King stealing the ginseng fruit, and the celestial immortal Wukong becoming sworn brothers with the earth immortal Zhenyuan. Wukong is the Monkey King and also the Golden Lord. The human body's spiritual seed is originally wood. When metal and wood are combined, their natures are in harmony, and cultivating the golden elixir is just a matter of course.

This time, the flow of the river caused the Yin of the nine insects to return to the nine orifices, completely harmonizing Yin and Yang. Naturally, the body-scene grass returned to the elixir, and the mind-scene innate ape also received the power of creation.

Jiang Liu also sensed that the nine-headed worm's will had not been completely eliminated; it was still lurking within its nine orifices, waiting for him to relax so that it could emerge and disrupt the world.

They may detach themselves from human form and live a carefree and wicked life in the world; or they may turn the world upside down and try to take over human form and become the master of that body.

But what is there to fear from the flowing river?

By gathering the five elements, one can teach the five gods to protect one's heart.

Furthermore, with the Heavenly Emperor overseeing the Three Realms above and the Earth Goddess ruling the Six Paths below, no matter how powerful the Nine Insects may be, as long as they persevere, they will eventually be able to completely refine their evil desires, regulate the Yin and Yang of their nine orifices, and achieve the state of Hunyuan.

With this in mind, Jiang Liu cultivated the perfect unity of exoteric and esoteric practices, refining his Qi and preserving his spirit. After nine cycles, he completely suppressed the nine insects' thoughts, and his eyes became clear and bright.

Meanwhile, inside Green Wave Pool, the remaining bandits, seeing their leader dead and losing their backbone, panicked and became ferocious, creating chaos as some fled and others escaped.

"Don't let them escape!"