Thought

"The relationship between the innate primordial spirit and the acquired conscious mind is one of opposition yet unity; that is to say, 'as the primordial nature grows subtle, the physical nature becomes manifest.'

As a person progresses from youth to adulthood, maturity, and old age, their physical nature becomes increasingly manifest while their primordial nature fades. Consequently, the desire-driven mind obscures the primordial spirit; this is 'the nature of temperament overcoming the nature of the origin.' If chaotic thoughts proliferate, the primordial spirit retreats; if one discards these thoughts, the primordial spirit emerges. This is 'when thoughts cease, the spirit arrives; when thoughts stir, the spirit departs.'

For the average person, the innate primordial spirit is veiled by the acquired conscious mind, much like clouds obscuring the moon during the day and dreams at night. Thus, the primordial spirit remains in retreat while the conscious mind governs daily affairs. If one can achieve stillness and unity, free from thought and deliberation, the conscious mind naturally retreats, allowing the true nature of the primordial spirit to manifest. This is what we call 'seeing one's nature.'

The state of entry you mentioned earlier, to me, is 'the conscious mind abdicating, the primordial spirit taking command.' This is the work of reversing the innate."

The old man listened, closed his eyes, and pondered. Although he had never encountered Bai Sui's system before, the more he reflected upon it—combining it with his own experiences over the past seventy years—the more logical and profound he found it to be.

"Marvelous, truly marvelous. I have scoured the classics of swordsmanship, yet I have never seen such exquisite insights. It forms a complete system, yet it encompasses all things.

It takes the human body as its foundation, exhausts its roots, grows a trunk from those roots, sprouts branches, blossoms, and finally bears fruit.

This is using the human body as nourishment to produce the fruit that is the primordial spirit."

Bai Sui was pleased. "You see it clearly, sir."

The old man thought for a moment. "I observe that your words seem incomplete. Could you enlighten me as to what lies beyond the primordial spirit? Ah, please forgive my intrusion if this is improper."

"Haha, no trouble at all." Bai Sui did not demur.

"To explain this, I must introduce another concept: the Immortal. It is different from the legends of the Sages in the Ninja World. The Zhong and Lu Ancestors divided them into five ranks: Heaven, Spirit, Earth, Human, and Ghost.

Among them, the Ghost Immortal is the path most easily achieved after one has cultivated the primordial spirit. It can also be called the 'Liberated Immortal,' or achieving Buddhahood, and so on.

Its essence lies in continuing to strengthen the primordial spirit so that when the physical body decays, the true spirit remains undying.

At that point, whether one chooses to possess another body or reincarnate, both are options, though there is some risk of damage or memory loss.

Of course, if one does not wish to lose their memories, one may also transition into a deity of incense and offerings to protect a region; that is also a valid choice."

The old man keenly grasped the core point. "May I ask who these Zhong and Lu Ancestors are? Such great masters should not be unknown, yet I have traveled the Ninja World and never heard of them."

Bai Sui organized his thoughts. "That is a long story, so I will keep it brief.

Our pursuit of the Dao is divided into five sects: the Accumulated Goodness Sect, the Classic Sect, the Talisman Sect, the Alchemy Sect, and the Divination Sect. The Zhong and Lu Ancestors are the founders of the Alchemy Sect, having passed down the Golden Elixir Great Dao that leads directly to the Celestial Immortal."

Afterward, the two continued to discuss the primordial spirit until the snow reached their knees. Bai Sui watched the old man depart, feeling a sense of regret in his heart.

Yes, in their previous conversation, although Bai Sui had not stated it explicitly, he had intended to impart his knowledge. Yet, until the very moment of departure, the other party had not asked, so Bai Sui could only lament that this person lacked the affinity for it.

Bai Sui understood that the man might have felt he had already gained enough and was too embarrassed to ask for more, but regardless of his reasoning, the opportunity had been missed.

However, in the end, Bai Sui also realized that even if he had imparted a portion of the method, the man might not have truly grasped it.

This was because there were differences in cultural philosophy; for the man to understand, it would be an arduous task indeed.

To make him understand those methods, one would have to make him understand not just the Dao, but also Confucianism.

After all, through thousands of years of development in his previous life, the two had long since been integrated into the marrow of his people.

One speaks of the ideals of life, while the other speaks of the ideal life.

Confucianism speaks of classics and emphasizes principles; Daoism speaks of adaptability and emphasizes flexibility.

The mutual complementation of Confucianism and Daoism over these thousands of years has made the people of his past life both principled and flexible—a high degree of unity between principle and flexibility—which has caused their character to manifest as 'round on the outside, square on the inside.'

Even the Zen Buddhism of his past life injected the Buddha-nature of enlightenment into everyone's daily life.

The people of this Ninja World, however, have thoughts born from a blend of Shinto and Buddhist ideas.

Shinto is derived from the belief that all things have spirits; whether it be birds, beasts, mountains, or rivers, everything can be a god.

This Shinto thought successfully helped the people of the Ninja World develop civilization, but the primitive worship within it is rooted in everyone's mind.

Although there is Buddhist thought as a complement, in Bai Sui's view, the people of the Ninja World mostly see the Buddha as just another means of sacrifice, and they remain largely assimilated by Shinto thought.

The complementary philosophy of Confucianism and Daoism does not align with this. Even if he were to pass on the methods, it is highly likely that the recipient would practice out of worship for the creator rather than for their own transcendence, which would easily lead them astray.

All these thoughts occurred to Bai Sui as he watched the old man leave. His mind was operating rapidly now; he did not need much time to integrate the ideas in his head and innovate upon them.

This conversation and self-reflection also made Bai Sui realize that it would likely be extremely difficult for him to discuss the Dao with others in this world.

After all, according to the old man, he had searched the entire Ninja World and only found Bai Sui; how could he expect to communicate with others?

Of course, by recalling the original work, Bai Sui suspected that Senju Hashirama might have entered the Dao, as his Wood Release, in Bai Sui's view, possessed a hint of the 'spirit of the law.'

Even Hatake Kakashi had a slight possibility. Through Bai Sui's observation, his Earth Release defense was significantly stronger than others, even though he himself was proficient in Lightning Release.

Thus, Bai Sui had reason to suspect that the reason his Earth Release defense was so effective was because of the dog heads carved into it.

Bai Sui suspected that due to the pressure of losing his father at a young age, his heart had closed off, and after experiencing numerous subsequent blows, the one who truly accompanied him was his summoning dog.

Later, when he rebuilt his heart, which had been shattered by the death of his companions, he subconsciously used the summoning dog that comforted his soul as the core. Consequently, his rebuilt inner self took on the appearance of the summoning dog.

Because chakra is a combination of mental and physical energy, it is influenced by the heart and spirit. Other ninjutsu manifest as energy states, so it might not be obvious, but his Earth Release was a manifestation, which is why those dog heads appeared.

Those capable of reconstructing their own shattered hearts are all outstanding individuals. Although Bai Sui suspected the Mangekyo might have helped, that reconstructed heart likely brought him more tenacious mental energy, which was why his Earth Release defense was so much stronger.