Neji felt himself floating in a void, his consciousness soaking in warm spiritual fluid as it slowly revived.
At last, his consciousness awakened once more in the Sea of Consciousness. The first thing he sensed was the sound of liquid energy flowing.
He opened his "eyes"—if they could still be called "eyes" in this chaotic Sea of Consciousness—and saw a several-zhang-tall Thousand-Handed Dharma Form sitting cross-legged.
Nine hundred and ninety-nine arms spread out like peacock feathers. Each palm bore a different Sage Art rune: some burned like flames, some flowed like water, some crackled with lightning, while others condensed into ice crystals.
Above the Dharma Form's head, the unfurled Primordial Bagua Diagram rotated slowly. Qian, Zhen, Dui, Ze... the eight trigrams glittered like stars, refining the Evil God's residual spiritual energy bit by bit into pure mental power. Every so often, energy was cast out with each inhalation and exhalation.
The scattered Evil God energy turned into golden streams, forming eight whirlpools around the Thousand-Armed Statue. They slowly nourished it, seeping into its body in fine threads. Mysterious golden lines immediately appeared across its skin, flashing with enigmatic radiance.
"So this is... my Dharma Form..." Neji murmured, his voice echoing through the Sea of Consciousness.
He tried to move his body, only to discover that his physical form was still unconscious. Only his consciousness remained awake in this spiritual world.
"So that's how it is. My physical injuries are too severe, but my mental power has instead benefited from the disaster. It was tempered by the Evil God's energy and became even stronger."
Neji looked at the Primordial Bagua Diagram still devouring and releasing energy, secretly amused. It should be full now, right?
He looked up at the Thousand-Handed Dharma Form, and an inexplicable sense of intimacy welled up within him.
He reached out, and the instant his consciousness touched the Dharma Form, the entire Sea of Consciousness suddenly flipped upside down. Countless fragments of memory fell like a meteor shower.
As Neji sank his consciousness into the Dharma Form's core, the suddenly appearing memory fragments slowly unfolded before him.
He saw planets erupt from the heart of cosmic explosions; he saw the Three Great Sage Regions stabilize earth, fire, water, and wind; he saw beings from beyond the heavens swallow the fruits of planets; he saw war, famine, and desolation.
He saw the Sage of Six Paths create the Tailed Beasts with Yin-Yang Release from beginning to end. He also saw Hashirama Senju during the Battle of the Valley of the End, with a faint, incomplete Dharma Form looming behind him.
"This is..." Neji clutched his head, swollen with pain from the flood of information, and formed a vague guess.
"Historical nodes imprinted by space... What a pity. I can only see shadows, not any deeper knowledge." Neji sighed regretfully.
"Wood Release... so a Dharma Form needs a vessel..." As stars drifted past, Neji suddenly understood. "Senior Hashirama forcibly completed his Dharma Form with extreme Yang Release and learned Sage Art, but every use inevitably consumed his vitality. That was why he died so young."
"The Thousand-Handed Dharma Form manifests outwardly as extreme Yang Release, but constructing the Dharma Form itself requires enormous Yin Release—that is, mental power. If not for the Primordial Bagua Diagram, I truly would have been unable to complete this Dharma Form even in death. Yin and Yang truly are an indivisible power."
"If Senior Hashirama had transplanted the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, could he have united Yin and Yang and gained the power of All Creation? What a pity..."
A storm of thoughts passed through Neji's mind—understanding, relief, and even regret.
Just as Neji continued peering at the figures of the ancients, another stream of information suddenly flooded into his mind—
"Sage Art: Domain Profound Meaning!"
"Sage Art: Ninjutsu Profound Meaning!"
"Sage Art: Statue Profound Meaning!"
One Sage Art profound meaning after another unfolded in his mind, as though they were powers he had long mastered. Amid the clash of supreme knowledge, even his very level of life seemed to rise.
"A Dharma Form... the manifestation of rules, the embodiment of Sage Art. Once I take this first step of condensing a Dharma Form, later cultivation will naturally fall into place. As expected of Sage Art from the sage regions—the secrets of the Three Great Sage Regions cannot be underestimated!"
Neji pondered silently.
"Sage Art needs a vessel to unleash its full power, just like Hashirama Senju's Wood Release. Otherwise, it merely enhances ninjutsu. Like Jiraiya and Naruto Uzumaki, they simply made their Rasengan bigger!"
"Fortunately, I long ago figured out the path I want to take—Crystal Release. If there is any tangible chakra in the Ninja World capable of carrying a Dharma Form, it must be Crystal Release. Formed from the nature transformations of Fire Release and Earth Release, it happens to suit my chakra attributes..."
As Neji spoke to himself, a determined gleam flashed in his eyes.
A Dharma Form was a creation of the spirit, and the vessel it required was also closely tied to one's physique. Hashirama possessed a powerful Sage Body, so he could use Wood Release as his vessel.
Although the Hyuga Clan also possessed the Ōtsutsuki Bloodline, what Hamura Ōtsutsuki passed down were Sage Eyes, not a Sage Body at the Six Paths Tier. Thus, Neji had no chance of using Wood Release. Even if he transplanted First Hokage Cells, he would only obtain lifeless Wood Release like Yamato's.
"Crystal Release—a fusion of Water and Earth nature transformations that solidifies chakra into crystals." A sharp light flashed in his eyes.
"If I can master Crystal Release and use crystals to carry the Dharma Form!"
He imagined it—
A Thousand-Handed Dharma Form a thousand zhang tall, its entire body the color of glazed crystal. Its nine hundred and ninety-nine arms would shine like diamonds, every strike carrying Crystal Release's sharpness and durability, even reflecting enemy ninjutsu.
"Simply perfect!" Neji could not help grinning.
"However, Crystal Release is not easy to cultivate. It requires specific chakra nature transformations and is a Kekkei Genkai. Perhaps even its user does not know the principles behind this release. I wonder if I can reverse-engineer a cultivation method..."
"Crystal Release... I remember that its user is Guren, one of Orochimaru's subordinates. Should I approach Orochimaru, or go directly after Guren? If it's Orochimaru, what price would I have to pay? Intelligence, ninjutsu, or something else..."
Neji sank into thought.
Just as he racked his brains and calculated, a thought suddenly surfaced at a certain moment—
"Have I become too unscrupulous in my pursuit of strength?"
Neji was startled, frightened by the thought that had suddenly appeared in his mind. He did not understand why he would think such a thing. In his usual beliefs, wasn't transcendence worth abandoning everything for?
"Could this be a heart demon..."
Neji wavered uncertainly. "Is there a conflict between my actions and my values?"
"No, I shouldn't doubt myself like this. Orochimaru... Hahaha... Orochimaru... unity of knowledge and action. As expected of you, Orochimaru. Only today do I finally understand you."
Neji suddenly laughed, because he had abruptly recalled a school of philosophy he had studied in his previous life.
"Unity of knowledge and action!"
"So this is how unity of knowledge and action should be understood. If I know something benefits me, I should do it decisively. If it harms me, then I should not do it. What words of a sage—solving the confusion that has troubled me for years. Hahaha..."
"Orochimaru pursues truth and does not care about worldly judgment. Even if he becomes a rogue ninja, he still walks his own path without hesitation."
"And what about me? I have always been torn over who I am—a Taoist priest from my previous life, or Hyuga Neji in this one?"
He looked up at the Primordial Bagua Diagram in his Sea of Consciousness, and suddenly understood.
"I am myself."
"Whether the little Taoist priest of my previous life or Hyuga Neji of this life, both are merely parts of 'me.'"
"The True Self is the self."
"There is no need for restraint."
The moment his thoughts became clear, Neji suddenly felt something. Countless gods and Buddhas flashed through his mind—compassion, saving the world, relieving suffering, delivering others...
"Compassion is merely a means. Transcendence is eternal!"
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