Return to the End of the Yuan

Returning to reality.

Fourth year of Zhizheng, autumn, Imperial Awakening Temple.

It was still the crude stable, but outside the window, the patrolling monk holding a lantern had already walked away.

Zhu Yuanzhang sat up from the pile of hay.

He began to take stock of his gains from this trip.

The complete sets of the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique, the Mountain-Shrinking Fist, and the Great Wisdom Zen Technique.

The power of the white-bone dharma image that Mingde transformed into after losing control was inconceivable.

With just one glance, Zhu Yuanzhang could determine that he was no match for it.

To stand a chance, he would at least need to cultivate the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique to the same level as Mingguang, with all four true fires perfected.

"I must increase my combat power... only then will I have a chance to survive the opening kill of the second act."

Zhu Yuanzhang's expression was grave.

"Lock in the Great Wisdom Zen Technique."

Yes, Zhu Yuanzhang chose the Great Wisdom Zen Technique.

It was not just because this was the safest technique currently available.

It was because, if he wanted to increase his combat power within the Secret History, this was his fastest path.

"In the Secret History, because of the conflict between techniques and starting his cultivation too late, it will likely be extremely difficult for Minghe to survive the second act."

Recalling the scene at the start of the second act where his internal organs were crushed in a single encounter, Zhu Yuanzhang sighed.

Only by mastering the Great Wisdom Zen Technique could Zhu Yuanzhang possibly survive the first wave of the crisis following Monk Mingde's loss of control, using the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique and the Mountain-Shrinking Fist.

[All cultivation of Minghe's Great Wisdom Zen Technique has been locked in.]

In a trance, Zhu Yuanzhang seemed to see a giant hand in the void reaching out to grab him.

Accompanied by thick white mist, it gripped the top of Zhu Yuanzhang's head.

[Empowerment]

Infinite white energy surged toward Zhu Yuanzhang from all directions.

In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang gained all the cultivation and insights Minghe had acquired from twenty years of practicing the Great Wisdom Zen Technique.

In the depths of his consciousness, a voice echoed beside Zhu Yuanzhang's ear.

"Only through discipline and meditation can one hold wisdom."

Only then can one attain the [Wish-Fulfillment Insight].

Eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

[Nengdao], [Transformation], [Holy Wish-Fulfillment].

Attaining any one of these three inconceivable arts allows one to realize the [Wish-Fulfillment Insight].

Mastering all three completes the [Wish-Fulfillment Insight], allowing one to attempt the "Emptiness Realization" fruit position.

A vast amount of information flowed into Zhu Yuanzhang's mind along with the white energy.

It made Zhu Yuanzhang's spiritual platform increasingly clear.

[Nengdao] is an escape art, [Transformation] is a refining art that can turn stone into gold when practiced to a high level.

Only [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] purifies perception and offsets the negative effects of any technique.

Of course, that was not entirely absolute.

For different arts, the purification effect of [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] varies.

For instance, with the Mountain-Shrinking Fist and the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique.

The purification effect of [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] on the transformation caused by the Mountain-Shrinking Fist was far better than its effect on the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique.

Through the white mist, Zhu Yuanzhang "saw" the Pure Land Lotus Throne deep within the fog.

On the lotus throne, the Buddha's face remained serene and peaceful, radiating a glowing white Buddhist light.

Yet, the lower half of the body was nothing but white bone, with countless snow-white insects crawling and gnawing upon it.

In an instant, Zhu Yuanzhang understood in his heart.

This was the reason why the Great Wisdom Zen Technique could offset the negative effects of the True Technique!

If the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique showed people how a human becomes the Dingguang Buddha.

Then the Great Wisdom Zen Technique showed people the process of how an ancient Buddha transforms back into a human form.

And the moment Zhu Yuanzhang saw those thousands of worms.

The thousands of worms also noticed him.

Following that, the snow-white worm with thirteen crystalline segments turned into a ball of white light and charged toward him.

"Ah!"

Sitting on a pile of hay, Zhu Yuanzhang, who was sitting cross-legged and holding the Fearless Seal, let out a low groan of pain.

The moment the Snow-White Worm entered his brain, it felt as if his scalp had been sliced open with a blade and then stitched back together. The alternating sensations of pain, numbness, and itching caused Zhu Yuanzhang to lose his focus several times.

However, under the mighty power of the system, every time he lost his focus, Zhu Yuanzhang was pulled back from the jaws of the worm, allowing him to continue the domestication process of "feeding the worm with his own essence."

"The probability of success is one hundred percent!"

"An ordinary person would die after a single lapse in focus!"

"Yet I have countless chances!"

With hope in sight, Zhu Yuanzhang gritted his teeth, and after countless attempts, he finally subdued this [Snow-White Worm].

A night passed.

[Holy Wish-Fulfillment]! It is done!

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a cry of pain, but when he opened his eyes, they were filled with joy.

"Twenty years of enlightenment from Minghe have actually allowed my [Great Wisdom Zen Technique] to reach Great Completion... It can now directly accommodate two techniques and negate the side effects of one."

"But, in truth, there is nothing strange about this."

"It was no accident that Minghe was chosen to be the life-extending material for Crown Prince Zhenjin; he was a genius at cultivating the Great Wisdom Zen Technique himself."

"The fact that his Great Wisdom Zen Technique reached Great Completion was the result of Minghui's secret machinations."

"If the accumulated efforts of such a genius after twenty years of bitter cultivation couldn't achieve this, that would be the truly strange thing."

"It just goes to show that the Great Wisdom Zen Technique is truly sinister beyond measure."

Thinking of this, Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the Imperial Awakening Temple outside the stable.

The sky was already beginning to brighten.

Although it was not yet time for the temple acolytes to wake up and sweep the courtyards, it was close.

Under the influence of his Great Completion [Great Wisdom Zen Technique].

The originally majestic and magnificent Imperial Awakening Temple radiated a chilling, ghostly aura in Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes.

Under the shroud of this yin energy, everything seemed to become dark and blurred.

Zhu Yuanzhang was no stranger to all of this.

Because he had seen a similar scene in the Mahavira Hall.

"Is it Minghui... or some other Zen master who has cultivated Minghui's legacy?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes revealed a sense of horror.

The current year is the fourth year of Zhizheng, which is 1344 AD.

Although Emperor Huizong of Yuan, the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, had just seized power back from the Chancellor Bayan and was determined to forge ahead, striving to reform the new government and revitalize the Great Yuan.

However, the signs of a chaotic era had already appeared.

First, a minor official from Henan, Fan Mengduan, rebelled and devised a plan to slaughter all the civil and military officials in Jiangbei in one fell swoop.

Then, in the first month, the cultist Peng Yingyu led the followers of the White Lotus Sect to rise up in Yuanzhou, breaking through government forces one after another.

In the fifth month, the Yellow River burst its banks, and out of a million households in Henan and Shandong, not even one in ten survived.

This left the imperial court overwhelmed and struggling to cope.

But in reality, only 73 years had passed since Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, established the Great Yuan.

Any figure from the early Yuan period who possessed a method for extending their lifespan.

In reality, it was entirely possible for them to have survived until now.

It is truly sinister beyond measure!

"I cannot wait any longer!"

Zhu Yuanzhang, who had originally wanted to play it safe, made up his mind.

"Taking this opportunity, I will first use [Holy Wish-Fulfillment] as a foundation to master the Mountain-Shrinking Fist. Once the Mountain-Shrinking Fist reaches Great Completion, I will then experiment with dual-cultivating the Dingguang Demon-Subduing True Technique within the secret history."

"This is the most perfect plan at present."

With the experience from the secret history, Zhu Yuanzhang found a flat spot in the stable.

After letting his body familiarize itself with the moves of the Mountain-Shrinking Fist, he began to visualize the Dharma image of Dagon (Great Ocean Water) out of thin air.

The world spun!

It was the familiar reef again.

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang was quite composed. While waiting for Dagon to emerge, he simply sat cross-legged on the reef, held the Fearless Seal, and calmly faced the incoming giant waves.

Boom!

Heavenly thunder exploded!

A bolt of lightning flashed across the gray sky, illuminating a massive black shadow swimming toward the reef in the sea.

However, contrary to Zhu Yuanzhang's expectations.

The direction in which the giant shadow in the sea was swimming seemed to have a slight discrepancy with his current position.

"ROAR!"

Accompanied by the massive roar emitted by the seabed behemoth, a pitch-black arm, dozens of meters high, reached into the sky.

Zhu Yuanzhang's vision went black once again.

He had been ejected from that sea area.

If it were not for the Great Wisdom Zen Technique strengthening his divine sense, he would have likely been driven insane by the image of Dagon long ago.

Sitting on a pile of hay, Zhu Yuanzhang adjusted his somewhat chaotic breathing and began to review the situation.

"It is different from the Sutra of Subduing Demons with Fixed Light."

"I must use the original text of the Mountain-Shrinking Fist to land at a specific location, thereby capturing the complete image of Dagon the moment it emerges."