Li Qingshan stepped out of Heaven-Absolving Mountain, but instead of fleeing thousands of miles away, he followed a mysterious feeling and headed towards a place deeper in the Wild Continent, where the primordial energy was even more ancient and chaotic.
Just now, by drawing parallels from the " Present Tathagata Scripture," I was inspired to develop a preliminary understanding of the " Seven Seals of Yuanshi " and even the " Limitless " realm, the source of this enlightenment. This burgeoning inspiration for enlightenment needs a suitable place to quietly settle and organize.
The vast and boundless Wild Continent retains much of the primordial energy of the beginning of time, making it an ideal place to comprehend the principles related to "creation," "chaos," and " Yuanshi."
He did not deliberately seek out a cave dwelling; to him, the Void itself could become a dwelling, and heaven and earth were his training ground.
Finally, he stopped deep within an ancient mountain range where the earth, fire, wind, and water were subtly disordered, shrouded in a chaotic magnetic storm year-round.
The laws here are slightly disordered, and spacetime ripples gently. It would be a dead end for ordinary cultivators, but it has a unique reference value for him, who intends to comprehend the state before " Limitless " and when all things are in a state of uncertainty.
Li Qingshan sat cross-legged in the eye of the storm, his body forming a tranquil Dao Domain, impervious to the tearing of external magnetic fields, the eruption of earth fire, and the ravages of wind and water.
He slowly closed his eyes, his mind completely sinking into the enlightenment that had just begun to emerge.
" Limitless Seal!!" This derived name represents an ultimate state of "nothingness," without up, down, left, right, past, or future, without rules or order, yet capable of nurturing and encompassing all possibilities.
It does not deny the powerful principle of "seizing the Present Tathagata Scripture," but rather attempts to trace the more essential source from which this "present moment" is established and this "power" is manifested.
In his mind, the mysteries of the " Seven Seals of Yuanshi " began to slowly rotate, collide, and evolve around the hazy prototype of " Limitless ".
The Heaven-Opening Seal decisively opens up a new order; the Heaven-Overturning Seal overthrows the old world and recreates the universe; the Four Symbols Seal differentiates Yin-Yang.
The foundation is established by the earth, fire, wind, and water; the cyclical flow and transformation of the Void Seal -Yin-Yang Seal; the chaotic orientation of the Void seal, leading to the abyss; the central virtue of the Wuji Seal, steadfast and unshakeable; the direct pointing to the original intention of the Primordial Heart Seal, shaking the true spirit----
Each seal is like a concrete manifestation of a rule of "existence" derived from the "nothingness" of " the Limitless void".
The Ten Dharma Seals of the Present Tathagata Scripture Sutra, which pursues "grasping the present with supreme power and transcending to reach the Other Shore," seem to vaguely point to the need for a state that can temporarily integrate or even transcend these specific rules in terms of its source of power and spiritual realm.
Li Qingshan's primordial spirit seemed to have transformed into a void ocean, within which the Seven Seals of True Meaning flowed, intertwined, and collided like seven galaxies of different colors.
He did not seek to immediately condense a specific " Limitless Seal " supernatural power technique, as that was at the level of "technique"; what he sought at this moment was a more fundamental understanding of "Tao," a genuine touch upon that realm of "formless form, formless image."
Gradually, his mind seemed to detach from the specific seal, and even his perception of time and space became blurred.
Within the primordial spirit, the seemingly Tai Shang Limitless Yuanshi Auspicious Cloud sometimes expands, as if to encompass the entire universe of thought; at other times it contracts, returning to an ineffable singularity.
In this process, the chaotic magnetic field, earth fire, wind and water of the outside world seemed to become background noise reflecting the chaotic state before " Limitless ", which in turn nourished his understanding.
He seemed to "see" before the Heaven-Opening, before there was light and darkness, before there was sound, before there was matter, only the most primordial...
The "chaos" or " Limitless " contains infinite possibilities.
All the earth-shattering supernatural powers that followed, the rules that divided heaven and earth, and the power that now dominates all originated from this very first moment.
This kind of insight does not directly enhance combat power, but rather broadens and deepens one's understanding of the fundamental principles of Tao.
It is like laying an unprecedented foundation for a skyscraper, or uncovering a more distant source for a river.
In this profound and mysterious experience, his Dao heart became more harmonious, clear, and unfathomable. His understanding and control of his original supernatural powers also seemed to have been cleansed of dust, reaching a more subtle level.
Just as Li Qingshan's mind sank into the darkness and entered a deep state of enlightenment, the subtle ripples caused by his arrival had already begun to quietly spread throughout the long river of destiny in this world.
The most noticeable ripple fell upon Hong Yi, the young scholar who carried the " Past Amitabha Sutra " and had been personally guided and assisted by him in ascending to the realm of Ghost Immortal.
Now, let's talk about Hong Yi. He met Li Qingshan under the starry night at sea and was granted an unparalleled opportunity. Not only did he achieve the status of a ghost Ghost Immortal in the Yin Spirit realm, with a foundation far more solid than Tongji, but he also obtained the fundamental classic that points directly to the path of the Yang God, the " Past Amitabha Sutra ". From that moment on, his destiny had embarked on a more open and swift course.
With the help of the lotus platform treasure bestowed upon him by Li Qingshan, which could calm his Calming the Mind, he made rapid progress in his cultivation of the " Past Amitabha Sutra ".
The Past Amitabha is Eternal unmoved, and the true nature of reality is ever-present.
This supreme classic not only endowed his soul with unprecedented resilience and resilience, but also made his mind more exquisite and insightful, giving him a more detached perspective on the warmth and coldness of human relationships, and the Cause and Effect grudges and entanglements he had Past Sutra.
Time flows silently, never pausing for anyone's secluded practice.
Between sunrise and sunset, Hong Yi embarked on his first solo campaign, leading troops to quell the pirates ravaging the coast.
Hong Yi was cautious yet decisive in his military campaigns, and his army was invincible.
He not only directly defeated several lines of defense of the pirates, but also, with his keen insight, repeatedly saw through and thwarted numerous conspiracies against him and successive attacks from various forces.
After successfully traversing the treacherous canyon, teeming with venomous snakes and treacherous shoals, Hong Yi's fleet, like a sword drawn from its sheath, reached the heart of the pirate stronghold.
In the battle to land, Hong Yi took the lead, personally leading his elite troops in a fierce battle against the ferocious Shanghai.
Although there were many martial arts experts among the pirates, none of them could withstand a single blow from Hong Yi, who had already reached the Ghost Immortal realm.
In the fierce battle, Hong Yi easily killed a pirate leader named " Lü Mei ".
As the fighting subsided, while examining Lü Mei' body, Hong Yi's gaze was suddenly drawn to a small, inconspicuous patch of dark gold fabric on his inner garment.
The fabric had a unique texture, shimmering faintly in the dim light, clearly indicating it was no ordinary item.
Chi Zhuiyang pulled it out and unfolded it; it turned out to be a robe woven with black gold secret thread. After being scorched by fierce fire and washed by stream water, it instead shimmered with a precious light and was exceptionally tough.
At the center of the robe was not a martial arts manual or a Daoist practice manual, but rather an ancient scripture titled " On Discourse on Merit and Virtue " embroidered in long-lost seal script.
The opening few words were like a thunderclap, completely overturning Hong Yi's lifelong understanding of "merit and virtue".
The text is recorded in a question-and-answer format. The Buddha said, "When one's thoughts are unobstructed, one can always see one's true nature and its wondrous function. This is merit." The core of its meaning is to uproot the concept of "merit" from the worldly notion of "accumulating good deeds and practicing virtue," and to completely separate it from the necessary connection between what the world calls "good deeds" and "virtue."
It points directly to one's true nature, discerning and grasping the reality of one's own essence—this is "merit"; following this essence, allowing the mind to be unobstructed and thoughts to flow freely, this is "virtue".
What shocked Hong Yi the most was that the scripture went on to say that even a demon whose nature is purely evil can, if he can recognize this murderous nature and use it to run rampant in the world, allowing his demonic thoughts to run wild, he can also prove the great merit of a "free demon". The power of his achievement is no less than that of an enlightened Buddha.
"Merit, is it really unrelated to good or evil?" Hong Yi's mind was in turmoil, as if he were in the eye of a storm.
This is completely contrary to the principles of benevolence and kindness taught in the classics and the doctrines of blessings promoted in the Buddhist and Daoist scriptures he was familiar with, and is almost considered "heretical".
A chill instinctively rose from my spine, but what followed was an uncontrollable, stern questioning of my own nature: What is my true nature? Is it the "goodness" prescribed by Confucian rites, or the unspoken surge of truth deep within my heart? Have the "principles of heaven" and "reason" I once firmly believed in, unknowingly, become a suppression and imprisonment of some more essential part of myself?
This scripture, which seemed like heresy, was like an invisible yet incredibly sharp chisel, striking heavily against the mental defenses that Hong Yi Neo-Confucianism.
This theory of merit, if placed in secular society or mainstream society, would certainly be criticized and considered to violate morality. However, upon closer examination, it does have some merit.
Hong Yi was also pondering. He realized that his skills were insufficient to see his own true nature.
If one cannot even see one's own true nature, then there is no way one can talk about virtue.
A tiny yet incredibly clear crack appeared in response.
Through this crack, he glimpsed for the first time that, beyond the majestic and solemn hall of "preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires," there might be another path of cultivation in the world. It was not a mechanical adherence to external ethical norms, but an inward exploration, confronting the deepest truth of one's own heart, and drawing immense power from it.
The battle was far from over, and Hong Yi led the Sea-Pacifying Army forward.
Facing the formidable Lei Lie, he subdued him and brought him under his command with a single palm strike.
With his Ghost Immortal cultivation, Hong Yi wielded the Peach God Sword, becoming invincible among the palaces and halls of Giant Whale Island. Wherever his sword light pointed, no one could seize its edge.
It was during this journey that Hong Yi, by chance, obtained a copy of " The Battle Buddha's Notes ".