Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself (Part 2)

"When I heard this, the Buddha told Subhuti: only after the Muscle Tendon Changing Skill is complete may one proceed with this... Remain calm for twelve years, and do not exceed this limit. Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself; go wherever you will."

Silently.

Lin Rong's Mind State entered meditation, and he himself entered an ethereal state of mind.

It was an indescribable, profoundly mysterious sensation.

His mind was empty and ethereal, free of desire and want, as though no change in the world could affect him.

Before this, although the realm of Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself was separated from him by only a single bottleneck, he had been unable to take even half a step forward.

Beyond that bottleneck, he had always been like someone viewing flowers through mist or gazing at the moon reflected in water. It was clearly within reach, yet he could never grasp it.

Now, in this ethereal state of mind, the clouds and mist dispersed, and his blurred vision became clear. At last, Lin Rong could see its true face.

Outside, in a desolate wilderness.

The driver guided the carriage southward.

Suddenly, all the Heaven and Earth Vital Energy within a mile began to gather endlessly toward the carriage.

In the end, it formed a milky-white vortex visible to the naked eye above the carriage compartment, its center directly over Lin Rong.

The sudden change left the driver at a loss, and he became flustered.

"Stop the carriage!"

Just as the driver had no idea what to do, the butler's voice sounded by his ear.

Years of obeying orders kept the driver from losing his composure even in his panic. He quickly brought the carriage to a halt.

Inside the carriage.

The Heaven and Earth Vital Energy had become so dense that it condensed into tiny droplets of liquid.

The mist formed by these droplets filled the entire compartment, obscuring all sight until one could not see their own fingers.

Even Old Butler Yu Yuan had to use his spiritual power to sense the young master's location.

Sensing that there was nothing wrong with the young master's condition, Old Butler silently thought:

"Did the nameless cultivation formula the young master practiced break through?"

"To cause such a huge commotion... Luckily, this place is uninhabited. If we were in a busy city, who knows how much trouble this would have caused."

Old Butler Yu Yuan knew that Lin Rong cultivated the Marrow Cleansing Scripture, but Lin Rong had told him that he had discovered it by chance in the family library.

Originally, after Lin Rong had sincerely accepted Old Butler, he had let him try cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture as well, but he had failed.

Only then did Lin Rong remember that cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture required a certain foundation in the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture.

The reason he had never cultivated the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture yet had successfully cultivated the Marrow Cleansing Scripture was because he had relied on the mysteries of innate fetal breathing.

At that time, he had still been a fetus in the womb, with his meridians not yet fully formed. Thus, he could cultivate the Marrow Cleansing Scripture without cultivating the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture.

As for the contents of the Muscle Tendon Changing Scripture, only fragments remained in the memories of his previous life, so there was no way to let others cultivate it.

As time passed.

The water mist inside the carriage grew increasingly dense. Old Butler kept watch over the young master at all times and had no mind to absorb this vital energy, leaving his clothes completely soaked.

But Lin Rong was different.

At this moment, his dantian was like a Black Hole, radiating infinite gravitational force as it devoured all the Heaven and Earth Vital Energy within an inch of his body.

Before the liquefied Heaven and Earth Vital Energy could touch Lin Rong's clothes, it had already been absorbed into his dantian.

After reaching his dantian, the vital energy spread through every inch of his flesh, blood, and meridians under the pull of some force, gradually cleansing the impurities within and expelling them from his body.

The heavenly phenomenon lasted for the time it took to burn an incense stick.

After that, the vortex above the carriage slowly dispersed. Before long, it merged back into heaven and earth, leaving no trace behind.

"So this is the first realm of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture: Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself?"

Lin Rong's consciousness returned to the outside world as he carefully felt the changes in himself.

"Since leaving my mother's womb, this is the first time I've felt so comfortable."

"My physical condition has improved, my spiritual power has increased, and even my Soul Power has risen by two levels, reaching level twenty-five."

The first realm of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture: Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself.

After cultivating to this realm, a practitioner could actively enter an ethereal state of mind.

In this state, no external force could disturb the practitioner's Mind State.

The practitioner could also change freely, instantly switching their emotions between joy, anger, sorrow, delight, and all other feelings at will.

After experiencing it for a moment, Lin Rong withdrew from the ethereal state of mind. A trace of reluctance immediately arose within him, and he wanted to enter that state again to experience that mysterious sensation.

This was craving meditation!

After tasting the joy of cultivation, one could no longer restrain oneself and wanted to remain immersed in that pleasure at every moment.

Before Lin Rong could suppress this thought, another, even stronger emotion took over.

Almost instinctively, Lin Rong held his breath, refusing to smell the utterly foul stench coming from his body.

"Damn, I've been cultivating the Marrow Cleansing Scripture since before I was born, and I can still undergo marrow cleansing and tendon reforging?"

At that moment, Lin Rong was covered from head to toe in sticky black grime. The clammy sensation all over his body made him extremely uncomfortable.

Fortunately, the carriage was spacious enough. He took out a wooden bathing tub from his Soul Tool, filled it with the drinking water he carried, then jumped in without bothering to heat it first and washed the filth from his body.

After changing the water five times in a row and scrubbing himself for a full half hour, Lin Rong finally felt clean again.

After taking the clothes Old Butler handed him and putting them on, Lin Rong leaned against the carriage window and looked back.

During the half hour he had spent bathing, the carriage had already traveled a considerable distance.

Although Lin Rong did not know how much of a commotion his breakthrough had caused, it definitely had not been small.

The Heaven and Earth Vital Energy had only been drawn in from within a radius of one li, but the heavenly phenomenon it created could be seen several li away.

The heavenly phenomenon had lasted for the time it took an incense stick to burn. Although Old Butler had not detected any outsiders nearby with his spiritual power during that time, it was never wrong to be cautious.

Therefore, once the heavenly phenomenon ended, the coachman had been ordered to drive the carriage away from that place as quickly as possible.

"This was a blessing in disguise, I suppose!"

"If I'd broken through the Marrow Cleansing Scripture's realm in Heaven Dou City, the commotion would've made everyone think some peerless treasure had appeared."

"It seems that when I break through the Marrow Cleansing Scripture's later realms in the future, I should find somewhere secluded unless I have enough confidence."

"I just wonder how much longer I'll need to cultivate before reaching the Perfect Wisdom and Self-Awareness realm of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture after this breakthrough into Mind Empty, Body Transforms Itself."

The essential teachings of the Marrow Cleansing Scripture recorded:

Once a cultivator reached the first realm, they could soon cultivate the second realm to completion as well.

The truly difficult parts were the third and fourth realms.

But Lin Rong had his doubts about that. The first realm alone had taken him nearly eight years. Who knew how long the "soon" recorded in the essential teachings actually was?