"I have long contended with myself, I'd rather just be me."
Facing Lu Yang's inquiring gaze, Pan Huang calmed his mind and slowly uttered this sentence. In an instant, it seemed to stir the meridians of heaven and earth.
Lu Yang abruptly froze.
To him, Pan Huang's seemingly light words struck his ears like the toll of a grand bell, instantly giving rise to endless insights in his heart.
However, just as these insights were about to burst forth, they crashed into a thick membrane, making it difficult to vent them. This caused him to feel anxious, wishing Pan Huang would continue. But seeing Pan Huang do that head-scratching motion unique to Dharma Body cultivators, Lu Yang knew there was no more to follow.
"Phew!"
After a long time, Lu Yang let out a long breath, suppressing the turbulent emotions caused by being stopped on the verge. He then began to sort out the true meaning within this sentence.
He had ultimately comprehended something.
This wasn't because he was incredibly smart, but because of the person who spoke this sentence. Lu Yang couldn't help but look at Pan Huang, doubt showing in the depths of his eyes.
"Impressive, right?"
Instead, Pan Huang, upon seeing this, seemed to see through Lu Yang's thoughts and grinned: "This is the exact quote from the teacher back then. The true, literal quote—not just the content, but even the voice is the same. The teacher used a great profundity to force me to memorize it, so that I could comprehend the Dao of the Primordial Spirit at all times."
In other words, the person who just spoke was not actually Pan Huang.
It was Sisui.
This was Sisui's lingering voice transmitted across 129,600 years. Just this single voice was actually able to induce a state of epiphany in him?
Thinking of this, Lu Yang's eyes turned red.
Damn second-generation immortals! What I hate most in my life are people like you who don't pay any price and easily reach the pinnacle of life by using cheats!
Taking a deep breath, the calmed Lu Yang then continued to sort out his thoughts:
"I have long contended with myself..."
This sentence, as the name implies, means a struggle with the "Self". But what is the "Self"? Whether one can comprehend this point is the crux of the Primordial Spirit.
"The second stage of the Dao Heart, Fasting of the Mind, is essentially obsession. But no matter how great the obsession, it ultimately cannot completely represent a person's entirety, just like a person's good and evil. But to attain the Primordial Spirit, one must struggle against obsession. I wrangle with the 'Self', and ultimately live out a true me."
"That's why the second stage of the Dao Heart is called Fasting of the Mind."
"To fast is to abstain, to build a house; it is protection, it is constraint. Only when the true self steps out of the Fasting of the Mind formed by obsession can the Primordial Spirit manifest!"
It sounded seemingly simple.
However, in reality, the difficulty of breaking through Fasting of the Mind and cultivating the Primordial Spirit far exceeded other cultivations, because this was an absolutely fair struggle.
"Because they are both the 'Self'."
"What the true self can do, the obsession can also do. What the true self possesses, the obsession also possesses. Even what the true self thinks, the obsession is also thinking. The two are originally the same existence."
"In a struggle under such circumstances, it's almost impossible to determine a victor. Unless one side voluntarily gives up, it is destined to result in mutual destruction."
Speaking up to here, Lu Yang's expression became increasingly ugly:
"The obsession will definitely not give up. The only one to give up can be the true self. But if the true self gives up and the obsession wins, is the 'Self' still considered the 'Self'?"
What was the difference between this and dying?
"Mutual destruction... the result is even worse."
"The true self and the obsession perish simultaneously, which is basically death. Even if the cultivation base remains unchanged, the consciousness is gone, and what is left behind is nothing but an empty shell."
—No wonder.
With a single thought, Lu Yang instantly associated it with the Great Sword Ancestor's cultivation. Weren't his good and evil consciousnesses precisely a form of struggle between the true self and obsession?
No wonder it was said he had hope of cultivating the Primordial Spirit.
He was indeed walking on the path... Unfortunately, his path was too extreme. Absolute good and absolute evil are neither suitable for me. I cannot walk this path.
"F*ck, is it a dead end?" Lu Yang couldn't help but click his tongue.
"Exactly!"
On the other side, Pan Huang also nodded: "This is also what I comprehended after hearing this sentence for the first time. So after that, I couldn't figure out anything anymore."
Hearing this, Lu Yang glanced at him.
Are you kidding? How could I be the same as a Dharma Body cultivator like you?
He continued to comprehend.
After a long time, Lu Yang opened his eyes, realization surfacing within: "It should be that the secret of the Primordial Spirit is [Sealed], causing me to also find it hard to comprehend the principles within."
It was absolutely not that he couldn't comprehend it.
[Supreme Dao Transformation]... Lu Yang shook his head. He had other major uses for this talent; he couldn't waste it here.
Moreover, [Supreme Dao Transformation] was not omnipotent. Currently, there was so little intelligence related to the Primordial Spirit that he suspected even if he activated it, he wouldn't be able to comprehend the solution.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang subconsciously scratched his head.
Following that, he looked at Pan Huang again: "When the true self and obsession clash to break through Fasting of the Mind, did Lord Sisui really not pass down specific methods?"
"Of course he did."
First, Pan Huang gave the answer without hesitation. Then, his expression changed from thoughtful, to doubtful, and finally to deep incredulity:
"The method?"
"No, the teacher definitely spoke of it back then... But why can't I remember? It's impossible for me to forget the teacher's words... What kind of method is this!?"
Great, it's totally ruined.
Lu Yang sighed in disappointment, then gritted his teeth: It's not just a [Seal]. The [Seal] merely prevents people from coming into contact with crucial knowledge related to thePrimordial Spirit.
What's even more formidable is the [Kill]!
All knowledge related to the Primordial Spirit was [Killed] once over. Unlike the [Seal], theinfluence of the [Kill] will not disappear even if one leaves the Light Sea.
Thinking of this, Lu Yang could even imagine the Dao Lords' thoughts back then—to prevent descendants from coming into contact with the Primordial Spirit, first [Kill] it once.
However, the Light Sea is too large, and there might be fish that slipped through the net. So, [Seal] it again. Using both together is what completely eradicated the path to the Primordial Spirit!
"Only Sisui left behind one sentence."
"Even this sentence, if I hadn't jumped out of the Light Sea, I probably wouldn't have been able to hear it... In this matter, the Variable has actually been suppressed to such an extent."
This was absolutely not the handiwork of the Primordial Saint alone.
Only the combined will of the entire [Paramita], with all the Dao Lords acting together, could possibly achieve this effect. It showed just how much the Dao Lords feared the Primordial Spirit.
Right at this moment.
Boom!
The [Heavenly Palace], which had just experienced turbulence and stabilized not long ago, shook once again. Two auras surfaced; it was Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon and Empress Xiao.
He directly skipped Empress Xiao.
Lu Yang's gaze landed straight on Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon. After observing for a moment, pleasant surprise surfaced in his eyes: "So fast! Master has come out of seclusion?"
With his cultivation, at this point, he actually didn't care what realm Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon broke through to. After all, no matter how strong he got, he couldn't possibly be stronger than him.
What truly pleasantly surprised him was that, unlike the others, Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's breakthrough this time actually brought him completely new feedback. His state, which was somewhat unstable due to Pan Huang's joining—almost causing him to get lost in the Dark Void—instantly recovered its stability, no longer harboring the previous hidden dangers!
(End of chapter)