The Dao Heart's Turmoil, Stirred by the Clang of Arms

Tai Yuan's appearance upon his return startled Lin Ping Zhi and Himura Kenshin.

In their hearts, their Master (Teacher) was always a transcendent and otherworldly being, but at this moment, Tai Yuan's face was pale, his aura chaotic, clearly indicating he had suffered a severe injury.

Lin Ping Zhi's heart was filled with shock. "Could there be someone in this world even more powerful than Master?"

He meticulously observed Tai Yuan, only to find that his Master's clothes were still neat and undamaged, his shoes clean and tidy, completely unlike someone who had just engaged in combat. This made him even more perplexed, but he dared not ask too many questions.

Tai Yuan offered no explanation, merely saying softly, "Help me guard and protect, and don't let anyone disturb me."

With that, he sat down cross-legged, his eyes gently closed, and swiftly entered a state of profound mental tranquility.

The two exchanged glances. Without words, they understood each other implicitly, and tacitly retreated to a position more than two zhang away from Tai Yuan, standing on his left and right sides, protecting him in the center.

Himura Kenshin's expression was cold, his blade "Zan" sliding out of its sheath by an inch with a "clang." His eyelids were slightly lowered, and an invisible aura emanated from his body; Lin Ping Zhi stood upright, his long spear resting on his back, employing his "Listening Force" to its utmost, detecting all movements in the surroundings.

For a moment, there was complete silence, even the chirping of insects vanished.

"The Spirit of the Valley never dies; it is called the Mysterious Female. The gate of the Mysterious Female is called the root of Heaven and Earth. It is continuous, as if existing, and in its use, it is inexhaustible..."

In his mind, the Daoist scripture's mental mantra flowed like a clear spring, slowly coursing through his spiritual essence. The scriptures echoed repeatedly, each character transforming into a mysterious power, soothing his injured, parched, and stinging mind and spirit. As the scriptures were chanted in his consciousness, Tai Yuan felt his mind and spirit finally recovering somewhat, no longer stinging and burning as before...

The moon hung above the willows, its light casting upon the earth.

"Hoo—" Tai Yuan exhaled a mouthful of turbid qi, but still did not open his eyes. His mind and spirit could only be said to have generally recovered; to fully heal, he feared he would have to rely on slow cultivation and recuperation, which Tai Yuan estimated would take at least three or four months.

However, this injury to his mind and spirit was worthwhile, for it had resolved some of his long-standing doubts.

Tai Yuan was currently at the Internal Realm level, equivalent to the Innate Grandmaster realm in martial dao. Martial dao at the Innate stage focused on condensing martial dao truths, enhancing destructive power and lethality, but the Daoist school emphasized cultivating health and longevity.

Tai Yuan was now slowly strengthening his body, healing imperceptible minor ailments. Tai Yuan realized that if his Internal Realm reached perfection, his lifespan would also reach 150 years; when he reached the External Realm Great Grandmaster stage, his lifespan could reach two hundred years, and with spiritual medicine supplements, it might even be extended by several decades.

Therefore, Tai Yuan had long harbored a question: where were those renowned ancients?

Tai Yuan never believed his talent was the greatest under heaven from ancient times to the present. If he himself could cultivate to such a state, where were those mighty figures of ancient times? Especially the predecessors of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.

The Daoist school had Pure Yang Sword Ancestor Lu Dong Bin, Master Tong Xuan Zhang Guo Lao, the manifesting Zhang San Feng, the great Daoist scholar Zhang Yu Chu, the diviner Yuan Tian Gang, the Grand Historian Li Chun Feng, Xi Yi Zi Chen Tuan, True Man Zi Yang Zhang Bo Duan, True Man Luo Fu Ye Fa Shan, and so on;

The Buddhist school had Chan Sect Patriarch Bodhidharma, the enlightened Sixth Patriarch Cao Xi Hui Neng, Tripitaka Master Kumarajiva, Great Master Zhi Zhe of Tiantai, the Esoteric Buddhism sects that measured the world, and so on;

The Confucian school had Shao Kang Jie of Huang Ji Jing Shi, Zhang Heng Qu of Tai Xu Xi Qi, Zhou Dun Yi of Wuji and Taiji, and so on.

Of course, Confucianism focused more on wisdom, unlike Buddhism and Daoism which both sought self-cultivation. Their lifespans might not have been extended, but they left their principles in the world, like the lingering thoughts of Zhu Xi that Tai Yuan had encountered in Ziyang Academy before.

Yet, there were so many illustrious figures in Buddhism and Daoism, some even founding patriarchs. Even if they weren't External Realm Great Grandmasters, they were certainly Internal Realm Grandmasters! But none of them had records of ascending at that time.

Tai Yuan had always wondered, 'Could it be that they all achieved nirvana and passed away?'

Therefore, this time he went to investigate the Sixth Patriarch's true body, hoping to gain some guidance. Unexpectedly, by some strange twist of fate, he managed to uncover a bit of the world's truth.

Regarding the Sixth Patriarch's true body, his perception was not mistaken. The Sixth Patriarch's body had indeed completely lost its essence, not even comparable to an ordinary person's body. However, when Tai Yuan used his mental power to scan it, he perceived a Bodhi Heart of great compassion and great wisdom.

The Buddhist scripture *Da Zhi Du Lun* states: "A Bodhisattva who first gives rise to the Bodhi Heart, aspiring to the unsurpassed Dao, regards all beings as Buddhas; this is called the Bodhi Heart."

Tai Yuan was injured by the immeasurable innate power emanating from that Bodhi Heart. That was not the Bodhi Heart's original intent, but Tai Yuan himself had intruded upon it, so he could not blame anyone for the backlash.

It was like a moth flying into a flame, knowing the danger ahead, yet still bravely approaching.

But in that brief moment, Tai Yuan clearly understood his doubts. This was the wonder of the spiritual world, requiring no language, only direct mental realization.

The Sixth Patriarch's thoughts condensed into a Bodhi Heart, and in the process of condensation, it shattered the essence of his physical body, which is why his body died. The body is a precious raft to cross the sea of suffering; if not for the utmost necessity, why would the Sixth Patriarch abandon his raft?

It turned out that when the Sixth Patriarch condensed his Bodhi Heart, he realized the restrictions of heaven and earth. This world was hindering him. But what kind of person was the Sixth Patriarch, how resolute was his will? He directly burned his potential, refined his essence, and finally condensed the Bodhi Heart before his physical body disintegrated.

However, a problem arose: he could not leave his body. A feeling from the netherworld told him that once he left his body, he would face great terror. Therefore, the Sixth Patriarch's Bodhi Heart could only remain deeply hidden within his body, existing between being and non-being.

But as time passed, without the body's continuous replenishment, the Sixth Patriarch's Bodhi Heart was still slowly dissipating. After persisting for nearly a hundred years, the Bodhi Heart was like a flickering candle in the wind, on the verge of extinction.

Yet, at that moment of life and death, the Sixth Patriarch perceived thousands of mental thoughts rushing towards him, some seeking blessings, some pleading, some worshipping, some envious, some angrily cursing. The Sixth Patriarch realized that his destiny should not end, that he had once glimpsed fragmented images of the future, concerning the prosperity of the Chan Sect.

He annihilated all these thoughts, including both positive and negative emotions, retaining only the most essential spiritual power and absorbing it.

Although these mental thoughts came from ordinary beings who had never cultivated, they were mixed and weak. After refinement, the remaining spiritual power was less than one percent, but it was better than nothing. Relying on these negligible small spiritual powers, the Sixth Patriarch's Bodhi Heart was able to continue its existence, enduring to this very day, eight hundred years later.

However, to prevent unnecessary depletion, the Sixth Patriarch's Bodhi Heart, apart from retaining this instinct to annihilate emotions, maintained a spiritual state of "Forgetting achievement is achievement, tranquility is the constant Dao; emerging from the Boundless, entering the endless void."

Tai Yuan suddenly opened his eyes in the dark night, his tone distant.

"Giving rise to the Bodhi Heart, ah..."

The *Hua Yan Jing* states: "One who possesses the Bodhi Heart is the seed of all Buddhas, capable of giving rise to all Buddhist Dharma; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is fertile ground, nurturing all sentient beings' good Dharma; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is the great earth, capable of holding all the world; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is pure water, washing away all afflictions and defilements; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is a great wind, unobstructed by anything in the world; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is a raging fire, capable of burning away all wrong views; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is a pure sun, illuminating all sentient beings; one who possesses the Bodhi Heart is a bright moon, perfecting all good Dharma..."

Knowing that the Bodhi Heart is the source of all righteous vows, the root of Bodhi, the foundation of Great Compassion and the Bodhisattva stages. To give rise to the Bodhi Heart is to give rise to the Anuttara-samyak-sambodhi Heart, which is to give rise to the unsurpassed, perfect enlightenment, the aspiration to seek the Buddha Dao above and save sentient beings below.

Tai Yuan himself had also researched Buddhist theories and summarized them. According to Tai Yuan's understanding, the Bodhi Heart refers to the aspiration to explore the truth of life in the deepest subconscious of humanity. In the later three-layered personality classification, including conscious awareness, subconscious, and collective subconscious, the Bodhi Heart belongs to the third layer, the collective subconscious.

Compared to the Buddhist Yogacara classification, the collective subconscious refers to the seventh consciousness, the Manas-vijnana. In Buddhist studies, the Manas-vijnana is created and produced by the eighth consciousness, the Alaya-vijnana. Within the Alaya-vijnana are the Aspect Division, the Principle Division, the Self-Witnessing Division, and the Witnessing-Self-Witnessing Division. The Bodhi Heart is essentially the manifestation of the Witnessing-Self-Witnessing Division in the seventh consciousness.

According to Tai Yuan's comparison with Daoist realms, this already belonged to the category of "Human Immortal."

However, the Sixth Patriarch's encounter was clearly limited by the world itself. Otherwise, his body would not have completely lost its vitality. Simply put, heaven and earth did not allow him to become an immortal. Therefore, the Sixth Patriarch's current state could only be called a "Quasi-Immortal" or "Quasi-Arhat."

This brought Tai Yuan the greatest warning, as well as reverence, but also distress.

The warning was because he realized that he could no longer arbitrarily use his mental power to investigate those mysterious figures. Previously, on Zhu Zi's hand-scroll, he had fallen into a mental illusion due to his mental power, but that time it had not caused substantial harm, so he hadn't paid much attention.

But this lesson was much deeper. Tai Yuan secretly reminded himself that if he were to use his mental power again in the future, he must be careful, absolutely not reckless.

"The world often says: ignorance is bliss! The ancients truly did not deceive me!" Tai Yuan smiled bitterly in his heart. This time, he had to pay a heavy price for his carelessness.

The reverence and distress stemmed from Tai Yuan's understanding of the restrictions of heaven and earth.

For ordinary people, such a matter would be completely unwarranted worry. They might not even know if they could break through to the Innate stage in their lifetime, let alone touch upon the restrictions of heaven and earth.

However, for Tai Yuan, this was an unavoidable problem. In the future, when he found the ceiling of the world, he would also, like the Sixth Patriarch, face the restrictions of heaven and earth. If he were to experiment rashly without preparation, he might fall into the same trap as the Sixth Patriarch, or even worse.

Therefore, he had to consider how to break through the restrictions of heaven and earth.

At the same time, he couldn't help but ask himself: Why does heaven and earth impose restrictions on the power of cultivation? Is it because Human Immortals or Arhats contain excessively vast energy, which, once released, would cause destructive devastation to the world?

Tai Yuan carefully considered this, but his inner self did not support this speculation.

How could a single person's energy compare to the vast and boundless power of natural heaven and earth?

Take the ocean, for instance. Each time it boils violently, with surging waves, the power it carries is not just millions of tons! The collision, compression, and fracturing of continental plates—any random crustal movement can change heaven and earth, reshape the landscape—yet the world remains peaceful and unharmed, not destroyed by these immense powers.

Not to mention when volcanoes erupt with scorching lava, their majestic momentum surging like wind sweeping clouds. How could the stored energy of nature be comparable to a tiny human body?

"So, why exactly does heaven and earth not allow one to become an immortal?" Tai Yuan secretly wondered in his heart.

He could not find an answer to this question for the time being.

At this moment, he suddenly realized how narrow his perception of the world was, as if he knew nothing about it.

Tai Yuan's heart was filled with bitterness as he looked back at his 27 years of painstaking cultivation and overcoming countless obstacles on his path. What he had learned and comprehended was by no means small.

But today, it seemed that the knowledge and experience he had once been proud of were merely symbols intentionally displayed by the world, having flowers but no fruit, useless.

"What is the meaning of my desperate cultivation, after all?"

This question lingered in Tai Yuan's heart like an inner demon, impossible to dispel.

Gradually, a thought arose and grew strong in his heart—perhaps he should just give up, return to the Daoist temple, and spend the rest of his life peacefully by the green lamp and incense.

This thought slowly took hold of Tai Yuan's heart.

In a spiritual space that ordinary people could not perceive, his originally clear, radiant, and brilliant Dao Heart was visibly becoming dim, sluggish, and sinking. On the Dao Heart, small, spiderweb-like cracks silently spread, growing more numerous and dense, as if unable to bear the weight, threatening to shatter in the next second.

Danger! Great danger! Once the Dao Heart wavered and shattered, for Tai Yuan, it would not only mean his cultivation realm plummeting uncontrollably but also a complete declaration of the end of his path to the Dao. Even if he were fortunate enough to retain some martial arts, he would merely fade into obscurity, becoming an ordinary, mundane, and inactive mortal.

And to reforge the Dao Heart again, the difficulty would be tens of thousands of times greater than establishing it for the first time.

Just as Tai Yuan was about to sink into despair, a resounding echo came from the void.

"Clang!" The sound of weapons clashing, clear and powerful, like a flash of lightning cutting through the darkness.

It turned out that Lin Ping Zhi and Himura Kenshin noticed their Master's (Teacher's) face suddenly turning dark and pale, knowing that something was wrong.

But despite their strenuous efforts, they couldn't wake him. Shouting and pushing had no effect.

It was Lin Ping Zhi, who had followed Tai Yuan for a long time, who vaguely speculated that his Master might have fallen into his own spiritual world, lost within it, unable to control himself.

But the next problem was, what could they do to wake their Master?

Lin Ping Zhi and Himura Kenshin were only Post-celestial martial artists; they could barely perceive even the most basic mental power, let alone utilize it to save someone.

Just as the two were at their wits' end, Himura Kenshin had a flash of inspiration. "Let's concentrate our spirits and fight with all our might. Perhaps the clashing sound of our sabers and spears can transmit spiritual waves and bring Master back to consciousness."

Lin Ping Zhi heard this. Although he didn't know if it would be effective, he had no other better plan, so he nodded in agreement.

"Clang!" A loud sound. The saber and spear clashed fiercely for the first time, metal striking sparks.

With this strike, both exerted all their mental energy, once, twice, thrice... After hundreds of clashes between saber and spear, their arms ached, their physical energy was almost completely depleted, and their mental energy was on the verge of collapse.

Finally, after nearly a hundred clashes of saber and spear, one of the echoes pierced through the void and reached Tai Yuan's ears.

"Clang!——" This resounding echo was like a Divine Bell and Evening Drum, instantly awakening Tai Yuan's consciousness.

His consciousness suddenly returned, and he immediately realized his own abnormality. Tai Yuan swiftly gathered his scattered mental thoughts and stabilized his Dao Heart.

Outside, Lin Ping Zhi and Himura Kenshin saw Tai Yuan's complexion gradually improve, and the tense bowstring in their hearts finally relaxed. Both immediately collapsed to the ground.

The nearly hundred clashes of saber and spear just now had each consumed a great deal of mental energy, leaving them utterly exhausted long ago.