One Thought Held Fast, Three Bodies Awakened
Buzz!
For a moment, Qiu Yan was in a daze. When his senses returned, he found himself standing alone in the empty space.
All around him was a vast expanse of white, as if nothing existed, and he was all alone in the world, where loneliness and solitude began to grow in his heart.
"Here it is..."
Qiu Yan silently recited the words in his heart and took a step forward. All he could see along the way was pure white, and a cold sensation rose from under his feet, slowly seeping into his heart.
After walking for a long time, not knowing whether it was several hours or several days, Qiu Yan suddenly remembered something and wanted to activate his strength, but as soon as he had this thought, he found that all his Divine Ability were gone.
"As expected, cultivation doesn't vanish without a reason. In that case, this place must be a labyrinth originating from State of Mind..."
Qiu Yan showed no sign of panic, as if he had expected it. He calmed his thoughts, stopped walking, and slowly explored the reason for the Mindscape Labyrinth in his mind.
Upon calm reflection, he quickly discovered the clue: his mind was subtly disconnected from the outside world, immersed in his own opinions and thoughts.
It turns out that, all along, although Qiu Yan had manifested in Three Bodies —a divine spirit enjoying incense offerings, a physical body experiencing the mortal world, and Heart Demon pervading people's hearts—he had always guarded one thought, not allowing external things to influence or taint him.
This fundamental point, at this moment, was triggered by an unknown force in the starry sky, expanding infinitely and constructing this Mindscape Labyrinth, trapping Qiu Yan's thoughts within it.
"Is this advising me not to Guarding the One thought, but to follow the will of heaven and earth and constantly change my mind?" Qiu Yan narrowed his eyes, not wavering because of the predicament. For him, it was about gaining insights from the starry sky. The current development was somewhat unexpected, but it was also a rare experience.
"In my past life, because I adhered to my principles and refused to follow the crowd, I experienced a lot. Now that I'm in a different world, will it be the same?" Thinking about this, Qiu Yan smiled and shook his head, already having made a plan. "Perhaps with a change of mindset, I can break free and gain some insights, but that's not what I'm seeking."
Thinking of this, he took another step. But as he took this step, he felt more at ease. The white surroundings also changed. The white faded and colorful colors came. Skyscrapers rose from the ground, streets were formed, and men and women hurried past Qiu Yan without making a sound. They didn't even look at him, just brushed past him.
"No, no," Qiu Yan shook his head and uttered.
His voice seemed to startle everyone along the way. People on the street stopped and turned to look at him. Each person had a mask covering their face, with wide, upturned smiles that concealed their true expressions.
"That's right. Could this be Mindscape Labyrinth wanted to tell me?" Despite seeing this strange scene, Qiu Yan remained calm and looked up to ask.
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding skyscrapers collapsed instantly, and the masked figures vanished.
Rumble.
Rocks pierced the sky, pebbles scattered everywhere, and the concrete jungle gradually disappeared, replaced by patches of emerald green—it was actually a forest.
Swish, swish, swish!
Several figures moved about among them.
Some drew their bows, others wielded their swords, and they fought fiercely in the Lin Zhong. Qiu Yan was one of them. With a thought, he recalled several memories and understood the cause and effect. He drew his long sword from his back, brandished it, and joined the battle.
The battle left him with many injuries, yet he laughed and joked with others. That night, he and a few others sang and drank wine in the Lin Zhong, eventually falling asleep with their heads resting on iron pillows. A sense of heroic spirit was brewing within him, making it impossible not to be drawn into the experience.
But a sliver of clarity remained in Qiu Yan's eyes.
As dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight shone through the sky, Qiu Yan opened his eyes again, his gaze clear once more, no longer allowing his State of Mind to linger on the heroic spirit of the martial world.
Then, the scenery changed again. The jungle receded, and the court, the wilderness, the chaotic world, the peaceful world, the affection, and the hatred flowed by like a fleeting glimpse... Qiu Yan was sometimes a worldly person, sometimes a steep peak, sometimes a solitary pine tree, and sometimes a clear stream... But he always Guarding the One thought. After countless changes, his mind became more and more steadfast, like a stubborn stone that, after being polished layer by layer, gradually revealed a little luster and became more and more concentrated and heavy.
Finally, after experiencing another change, my State of Mind became like a weight, fixing the root of the change and crushing it. Then, with a "whoosh," all the changes faded away, replaced by a vast starry sky.
Qiu Yan himself was not visible; he was merely a sense drifting through this starry sky.
If others were faced with such a scene, their State of Mind would inevitably be shaken, but Qiu Yan had already experienced the Heart Demon Body, so how could he be moved by what he saw before him?
"Break free from the cage with your heart, or change with the cage, or Guarding the One convictions. What you will face next, is it not the true essence of the starry sky?"
With a thought, Qiu Yan's senses expanded, enveloping the starry sky.
The boundless illusion made his mind even purer, more resilient, and more unyielding, and then it scattered across the starry sky like spring rain.
The starry sky was silent, seemingly unchanging through countless ages, possessing an eternal and unchanging atmosphere. However, after Qiu Yan's consciousness and perception merged into it, he discovered that beneath this seemingly unchanging surface, countless tiny things were rapidly changing—
One Continent after another is listed among them. The Continent is as heavy as virtue, bearing all things. All things in the vastness rise and fall in the cycle of the sun and moon, and there is the change of the four seasons of spring birth and autumn storage. The ignorant creatures gain wisdom in it, slowly reproduce, emerge from the water, the soil and the Lin Zhong, and finally return to the earth, turning into withered bones and dust.
The world changes, with its ups and downs, its joys and sorrows, and its fickle nature.
Life is but a fleeting moment, yet there are those who seek immortality, one after another, forging ahead. But some Sitting in Oblivion along the way, dynasties rise and fall, the victors become kings and the vanquished become villains, and in the end, they all become mere strokes in the pages of history.
The boundless starry sky is like a silent observer, watching the world change and witnessing the rotation of all things.
These scenes were reflected in Qiu Yan's heart, allowing him to gradually touch upon a grand and indescribable force, a force that distinguishes between purity and turbidity, movement and stillness, and gives rise to all things.
"Indescribable..."
With a shift in consciousness and a convergence of perception, Qiu Yan awoke from his state of observing the changes in time and space. A strange, inexplicable realization stirred within him; for some reason, he recalled a saying from an ancient sage—
"I do not know its name, so I call it the Way."
"Seeking the Dao, seeking the Dao, is this Dao something so elusive and indescribable? How can one even glimpse it without roaming the starry sky? Whether it's the Immortal Path, the Divine Path, the Heart Path, or the Dao of Human Path, they are all merely attempts to describe this 'Dao'."
As Qiu Yan pondered, he felt a sense of insignificance, yet also a touch of intoxication, which ignited a spark of ambition within him.
"Admitting weakness is not shameful; only with awe can one be cautious in solitude. Perhaps the power of the Three-Body Confluence could make my Divine Ability rival those of Star Lord, but there are many realms beyond that. The deepest depths still need to be explored. I should not be confined by barriers, because..."
"This path is eternal!"
As the final thought settled, Qiu Yan's consciousness suddenly trembled, and all his insights and experiences came to mind, causing his thoughts to undergo an instant transformation!
Boom!
A deafening roar of all five senses!
Buzz!
The Divine Spirit Body suddenly opened its eyes.
"The myriad changes and billions of transformations in my heart are but a fleeting thought. I have experienced much in the Mindscape Labyrinth, but in reality, it is but a blink of an eye."
As soon as he finished speaking, Qiu Yan reached out and grabbed the bead above his head. He flicked his fingers, and the bead trembled, causing several ethereal thoughts to rise up.
The Divine Eye perceives the subtle!
At this moment, the pearl was no longer just a simple pearl in Qiu Yan's eyes, but rather like a continent, seemingly unchanging throughout the ages, yet its subtle inner workings were constantly changing. He also extracted the hidden thoughts of the Eye-Bearing Star Lord on it.
In addition, many other thoughts arose and emerged, encompassing the past of this bead. In the shadows, Qiu Yan saw twenty-three lines of Karmic Thread appear.
"The mysteries of this pearl are as vast as the sea. It can be used to stabilize the sea, hence the name 'Suppressing the Sea-Quelling.' Twenty-four pearls make up a string. No wonder the one Chimu said that this pearl was the source of trouble. It is indeed of great significance. Zhao Wu was actually a manifestation of this place in this world. That is quite a stroke of luck."
Qiu Yan's eyes flickered, and a star seemed about to leap out from the depths of his eyes, but he suppressed it with his will. Just now, when he uttered the name "Chimu," there was Karma connection that allowed the other party to know.
"Very well, keep them by my side to help me seek the Dao. If they succeed, I will enlighten them." As soon as these words were spoken, the power of heaven and earth came forth, forming a promise.
Buzz!
On the other side, the Heart Demon Body also instantly regained consciousness.
It turned out that the starlight penetration was directly aimed at Qiu Yan's consciousness. Although it was only for a brief moment, Three Bodies were affected, including his Heart Demon Body.
However, once he regained consciousness and dealt with the matter of the Divine Spirit Body, the various experiences he had in the Mindscape Labyrinth immediately came back to him. This Heart Demon already had the level of Heavenly Demon and was in contact with the principles of heaven and earth. Now, it was expanding rapidly, and its perception instantly spread throughout the entire Land of the Divine Remains. One by one, people's hearts emerged, like ripples on water, fluctuating and influencing each other, all of which were clearly seen by the Heart Demon Body.
In the dim light, Qiu Yan could see a violent whirlpool forming on the opposite bank of the Lianxi.
"Oh? Is it finally starting? The Li Trigram once indicated that this change is unpredictable, and the key lies in my actions."
Buzz!
At the same time, Qiu Yan's Fleshly Body also woke up in the side room. He had been brought here to rest after finishing his lecture.
Now that I've awakened, I experience the changes in my other two bodies, and the insights flowing through my heart, so I chuckle softly.
"The earth is Thick Virtue, and this thought can enter the realm of the Life Cultivation and achieving a balance between life and nature." After saying this, Qiu Yan's Golden Core spun around with a "whoosh," and the Seven Souls' Divine Ability took shape and were imprinted on it, transforming into Dao Embryo patterns, like a relief on Pill Furnace. The heat within the core surged, and the Three Souls merged into it.
"Human Desires attain enlightenment, one must Nature-Life Dual Cultivation and spirit. However, human strength has its limits, and the lifespan of ordinary people is finite, making it difficult to progress simultaneously. This is why, in the Third Realm, one must distinguish between primary and secondary aspects. Although they cultivate together, one must be primary and the other secondary to ensure vigorous progress and compete with lifespan. Now, it is time for me to break through in my Life Cultivation!" (To be continued...)
P. S.: Thanks to "Wo Shi Xiao Hao" for the monthly vote!