RPAGF Chapter 81 Seeking One's True Nature, Hearing the Dao in the Morning
Chapter 81 Seeking One's True Nature, Hearing the Dao in the Morning
Chapter 81 Seeking One's True Nature, Hearing the Dao in the Morning
The valley was completely silent at night.
The moonlight, clear as water, illuminated Lin Zhuo's stance. He gently waved his palm towards the sky, and the surging air around him grew even larger.
The tenth move, the ninth layer of hidden dragon.
This is his limit under normal circumstances.
But now it's different.
A luminous divine vein grew from Lin Zhuo's spine at the Zhiyang acupoint, outlining the [Bearing] talisman in the air. With the blessing of this extraordinary power, this divine vein could contain even more powerful hidden dragon energy without breaking.
So he unleashed his eleventh palm strike, adding another layer to the Hidden Dragon buff.
The divine veins continued to outline more [bearing] runes. From a distance, a circle of glowing characters floated behind Lin Zhuo, like a hazy halo.
Each additional rune allows Lin Zhuo to stack another layer of buffs. At the same time, the runes' corrosive power on his divine veins becomes more pronounced, requiring him to consume more mental energy to resist this erosion.
Currently, a single talisman is not enough to construct the martial arts technique that Lin Zhuo envisions, which can store the hidden dragon's energy in advance. He needs to comprehend more, allowing the talisman characters to form talisman phrases and create a complete restriction.
Lin Zhuo didn't know how long it would take him to complete this idea; he just wanted to improve his strength as soon as possible.
So he worked tirelessly in the fields, constantly trying to comprehend the runes. However, even after working until midnight and cultivating over a hundred acres of virgin land, he still couldn't comprehend the second rune.
Not only did he end up with nothing, but he also became mentally exhausted due to overworking his brain.
The excessive consumption of mental energy left me physically and mentally exhausted, comparable to fighting a hundred Earth-Ranked Grandmasters.
Finally, he collapsed from exhaustion, lying in the soft soil, breathing heavily, and gazing up at the bright moon in the purplish-gray sky.
The lonely night breeze slowly dried the sweat on Lin Zhuo's body.
He pondered quietly.
Lin Zhuo actually knew that he had always been very anxious.
He doesn't seem like a typical citizen of a human community.
To the inhabitants of other planets in the real world, the members of the human community are like a group of wealthy young people who have no worries about food and clothing. They always have a lazy temperament that they have never been bullied by society, which arouses envy.
But Lin Zhuo was not a sociable person from a young age and could never relax. He felt that he was carrying too many burdens: his parents' expectations for their eldest son to succeed, the martyrs' expectations for their descendants to be self-reliant, and the expectations of the community for its citizens to help and love each other.
Everyone else takes these things for granted, like air, requiring no special thanks. But Lin Zhuo can't be so heartless.
He loved all those who loved him and always thought of using his limited life to make an immortal contribution, as if in doing so he could repay his debt to his parents, martyrs and the community.
Therefore, Lin Zhuo is always anxious, tense, and full of energy.
When I was studying, I wished I could finish all my courses in a single day; when I joined the army, I wished I could become the champion of the entire army's skills competition in a single day.
After obtaining the profession of Qigong Master, he wished he could master ten years' worth of martial arts in a single day, and become an invincible powerhouse in a week, so that he could immediately devote himself to the cause of saving all mankind.
But comprehending the laws and studying talismans cannot be rushed, and it just so happens that the most suitable elemental energy for someone as fiery as him is dull and sluggish earth and dust, which he himself finds incredible.
Perhaps this is the way of heaven and earth telling him: you are not the person you think you are; the real you is not a flame, but a stubborn rock.
"So I am a stone after all." Lin Zhuo smiled.
He thought that many years later, all his dreams would be realized, all the favors would be repaid, and the golden rope and jade lock would break.
On that day, I can truly relax, no longer be entangled by worldly affairs, and become a carefree and content Lin Zhuo.
But if that time really comes, what will he want to do?
Lin Zhuo lay in the mud, contemplating this momentous question.
There was no one around to answer his questions. The giant panda Zhu Baixuan was far away, and the team channel was silent. Nearby was only an old Taoist priest who spoke haltingly, indifferent to everyone and everything, and certainly wouldn't answer Lin Zhuo's questions.
Only the bright moon and stars in the sky, and the earth and wet mud beneath him, kept him company as he pondered.
Lin Zhuo recalled many past events and thought of many old friends.
This even includes Chang Xi, the master of Yaoxiang Palace, who had recently died at his hands.
This martial artist possessed the most selfish and petty fighting spirit, yet in his confrontation with Lin Zhuo, he was able to remain unbroken by his will and unaffected by his ego.
Chang Xi holds the answers Lin Zhuo needs.
All of that person's will was concentrated in two words—hope.
The sole meaning of a free life is simply to live. As long as he lives, the future Lin Zhuo can do anything. Save people, help people, kill people, and when he gets tired, he can find a place to live in seclusion, farm, read books, daydream, or single-mindedly pursue the limits of martial arts, the pinnacle of Qigong, the end of the Great Dao.
Lin Zhuo despised Chang Xi's character, but even as a negative example, he could still learn a lesson from him.
The line between the most selfish and petty fighting spirit and the most magnificent and sublime fighting spirit may be very thin, and the two can even coexist in one person.
"I shouldn't choose to help people to make up for what I've done wrong, but rather to make myself happy." Lin Zhuo said thoughtfully, "I will save those I want to save, help those I want to help, and kill those I want to kill. Even if my existence distorts and changes the world, I should stick to my beliefs."
Taking pleasure in the happiness of the world, who can say that this is not a matter of public interest?
To eliminate evil and promote good with a self-centered mindset is also the greatest selfishness in the world.
Upon realizing this, Lin Zhuo suddenly cast aside the heavy burden that had been weighing on his heart for many years, and all the pent-up emotions in his chest vanished, leaving him feeling completely at ease.
He doesn't want to practice martial arts or seek enlightenment right now; he just wants to lie here.
The soil was soft and cool, very comfortable. The starry night sky was also beautiful. All sounds were present, and the world was at peace.
Lin Zhu buried himself in the ground.
Unbeknownst to him, a talisman symbolizing the "Stone Form" rippled from his forgotten memories. He didn't rush to pursue it, remaining lazy and carefree, feeling the earth enveloping him and the star frost flowing over his skin.
Unconsciously, the memory of the talisman became clearer and clearer until it quietly reflected in the lake of my heart.
The irony of life lies in this: some people, burdened by selfish desires, cannot let go of their attachments and need to hone their character by engaging in collective endeavors; while others, on the contrary, can only shed their shackles by becoming selfish.
To comprehend the Dao through divination, one needs to align one's mind with nature and be completely selfless, but one cannot completely abandon the ego; otherwise, one cannot understand and experience the primordial energy and spiritual essence. The subtle balance in this process lies entirely in a single thought.
Lin Zhuo only vaguely understood this, and didn't want to delve into it tonight, so he simply closed his eyes. After many days, he finally had a good night's sleep, continuing his deep dialogue with the runes he had comprehended that day in his dreams.
The next morning, Qinghong once again traversed the dense vines and arrived at this secluded valley.
When he saw Lin Zhuo again, the young master whom he admired and respected was lying in the soil.
With the earth as its bed and the sky as its curtain, it sleeps soundly, accompanied by insects, birds, field mice, wild foxes, and the green seedlings of vegetables that were just planted yesterday.
The sun had risen, illuminating Lin Zhuo's solemn and serene face.
When Qinghong saw this face, he experienced a distinct visual hallucination, perceiving it as an ancient and desolate granite. Even though he could discern Lin Zhuo's facial features, he still couldn't distinguish this face from the scattered stones on the ridge of the field.
A strange magical power was continuously emanating from Lin Zhuo, interfering with Qing Hong's sensory perception and causing his eyes to...
What you see is a rock, but what you're thinking is "a person," and the two don't match up.
Moreover, not only him, but probably even the wild animals around him couldn't tell that a white egret that had flown to the edge of the field to dig for insects and earthworms had landed gracefully on Lin Zhuo's forehead to rest for a while.
Qinghong came over and chased away the egrets. He wanted to wake up the stone, but he didn't understand why he wanted to try to wake up a stone.
"Purity is the source of turbidity, movement is the foundation of stillness; if one can always be pure and still, all things in heaven and earth will return to their source—" The Taoist priest softly chanted the "Qingjing Jing" (Scripture of Purity and Stillness), using profound true energy to subdue his mind and spirit, and to eliminate external interference.
Gradually, the illusion in his eyes dissipated, and he was finally able to see Lin Zhuo's true face clearly. He also noticed that a bright divine vein was growing between Lin Zhuo's eyebrows, outlining a strange pattern in the air, which looked like some kind of talisman.
Qinghong's gaze was deeply drawn to it, and he stared at the talisman for a long time, but found that he could not remember it no matter what.
"Hoo—" Lin Zhuo, who had been dormant with his eyes closed, suddenly exhaled a long breath, as if an inanimate object had come to life.
He opened his eyes, slowly sat up from the soil, shook off the dust, and the spider and millipede fled in panic.
"You've arrived." Lin Zhuo looked at this uninvited visitor and nodded with a smile.
"Master Lin, I wish to cultivate alongside you, and I am willing to serve you faithfully and at your beck and call."
The Taoist Qinghong was fascinated by the celestial runes he saw, and he had a vague feeling that they were the Great Dao he had believed in and pursued all his life. So he straightened his clothes, bowed and prostrated himself before Lin Zhuo, and did not rise.
"If you want to learn, I can teach you. Don't lie down like that, it looks bad."
From that day on, when Lin Zhuo was drawing talismans, there was a Taoist priest observing him intently beside him. Qing Hong would occasionally offer his insights and understandings, which greatly benefited Lin Zhuo, making him realize that "among three people walking together, there must be one who can teach me."
Chang Mingzi often asked Qinghong what he had learned.
"I can't explain it, Master."
"Do you still want to continue learning?"
"Master Lin has shown me the true nature of the universe. If I hear the Dao in the morning, I can die content in the evening." The determination in Qinghong's eyes made the sect leader vaguely worry that this eldest disciple might switch sides to another sect.
Chang Mingzi therefore became more cautious and planned to secretly follow and observe.
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