Chapter 24

"Thump thump thump!" After returning to Fangcun Mountain, Yang Zhen eagerly went to the door of Patriarch Subhuti, knocked, and softly called out, "Master!"

"Come in!" Patriarch Subhuti's calm voice came from inside the room.

Yang Zhen gently pushed the door open and stepped into the room. Entering Patriarch Subhuti's room again, Yang Zhen had a different feeling. In the past, he came here to learn Daoist magic, but this time, he came to seek answers to his inner doubts.

Coming to the same place with different intentions could indeed result in different feelings.

After performing the disciple's salute to Patriarch Subhuti, Yang Zhen respectfully sat on a mat and said to Patriarch Subhuti, "Master, I have gained much from my recent journey, but I also have many doubts. I don't know the answers, so I humbly ask for your guidance."

"What are your doubts?" Patriarch Subhuti asked calmly.

Closing his eyes, Yang Zhen recalled his recent experiences and organized his thoughts before speaking, "In my daily practice, I have never forgotten to cultivate my mind, and I always keep your teachings in mind. However, on this journey, I found that my desire to kill seems too strong..."

Pausing for a moment, he continued, "In recent years, whenever I encounter problems, I always want to solve them through killing. Master, am I encountering a heart demon?"

"Cultivating the mind in Daoism emphasizes blending with nature. They call it refining the mind, with the key being in the word 'refining.' It is divided into six methods: broad mind, upright mind, calm mind, stable mind, tranquil mind, and peaceful mind. In short, it can be summarized as 'tranquility and emptiness.' The cultivation of the mind in Buddhism is about seeking within one's nature, not seeking outside the mind," Patriarch Subhuti explained slowly. "As long as you follow nature, understand nature, and eventually transcend nature, one day, when heaven and human will align, all burdens will be cleared, and your body and mind will be unobstructed. Only then can you be considered to have achieved the right path. Dao is the process, the origin, the law, and the rule. In summary, there are three thousand great paths, and each can lead to the ultimate. Choose one to cultivate and the rest to reflect upon."

Patriarch Subhuti opened his eyes and looked at Yang Zhen with a gaze filled with expectation, a look Yang Zhen had never understood before.

"Master...?" Yang Zhen called softly.

"You and Wukong are both exceptionally talented and have great opportunities. Therefore, your cultivation is different from ordinary people. In just a hundred years, you have reached a realm that others take a thousand years to barely touch. But in the world, opportunities and crises always coexist. As your cultivation rapidly improves, your mind can also be confused by the rapidly growing power," Patriarch Subhuti said. "Your eyes will be blinded by power, and your body will be controlled by power, and in the end..."

Hearing this, Yang Zhen asked, "Master, what should I do?"

"Follow nature!" Patriarch Subhuti said.

"Follow nature?" Yang Zhen asked, puzzled.

Patriarch Subhuti looked at his valued disciple for a long time, then casually waved his hand and said, "In the past, Wukong has always been ahead of you, but this time, he has fallen behind you."

"Master..." Yang Zhen asked, confused, "Master, does following nature mean following one's heart?"

Shaking his head, Patriarch Subhuti smiled and said, "Following nature means following nature. As long as you continue to understand the Dao, you will eventually understand."

"Does it mean doing nothing?" Yang Zhen murmured.

"Ha ha!" Patriarch Subhuti laughed lightly and said to Yang Zhen, "Don't rush. You have only been cultivating for a hundred years, and your understanding of the Dao is not deep. There's no need to understand everything right away. When you need to understand, you will naturally understand."

After speaking, Patriarch Subhuti conjured a lotus flower and placed it in Yang Zhen's hands, then said, "Wuzhi, when you return, open a pond in your courtyard and plant this lotus flower in it. When this lotus flower blooms, you will be ready to leave."

Yang Zhen respectfully took the lotus flower and replied, "Yes!"

"Wuzhi, remember, since the beginning of the Dragon Han era, countless talented individuals have been born in the world, but very few have survived to this day. A few hundred years ago, the截教 (Jie Jiao) sect, which once had thousands of immortals, was defeated and destroyed. Do you know why?" Patriarch Subhuti suddenly asked.

Yang Zhen was about to leave but stopped when he heard Patriarch Subhuti's words. Before Yang Zhen could answer, Patriarch Subhuti continued, "It's because they all forgot that 'cultivation is also cultivating the mind.' Since you have remembered this, don't forget it again. If one day you really forget, then... return to Fangcun Mountain."

Returning to his residence, Yang Zhen planted the lotus flower and stared at it in a daze. Although Patriarch Subhuti always emphasized that 'cultivation is also cultivating the mind,' Yang Zhen understood that people change all the time. So, is 'cultivating the mind' about maintaining one's original heart, or is it about refining the mind to a state of supreme emptiness? Yang Zhen couldn't figure it out and didn't even know how to cultivate his mind anymore.

After talking with Patriarch Subhuti, Yang Zhen found that his doubts not only remained unresolved but also gave rise to new ones.

"Why did Patriarch Subhuti mention the great calamity at the end? What is he trying to tell me?" Yang Zhen speculated. Indeed, in his previous life, Yang Zhen had researched some information about the great calamity, and he knew how terrifying it was. But were those who died in the calamity really just because they forgot about 'the mind'?

As the sun set and the evening breeze blew, Yang Zhen suddenly turned and walked in the moonlight through the darkness. In the night wind, a low chant echoed, "Since I can't figure it out, I'll just follow nature. No matter how time passes or how my mindset changes, I am still me, I am Yang Zhen."

The moon was high, and the moonlight cast a slanted shadow, projecting into the depths of the forest, making it seem somewhat desolate. Thinking about everything 'following nature,' Yang Zhen felt his heart, which had been tightly constricted, finally relax. "Yang Zhen! The path ahead still needs you to explore it slowly. The supreme position of a sage awaits you to climb. The secrets of this world, the secrets of the Dao, the secrets of the great path, and the secrets of Pangu. All of these await you to discover. Don't be easily defeated."

After circling around the 斜月三星洞 (Xieyue Sanxing Dong), Yang Zhen returned to his small courtyard.

The night wind blew, and the water rippled. The lotus flower in the pond, not yet blooming, oscillated between reality and illusion, swaying gently in the breeze. The moonlight was as usual, calm and still, everything like a dream.

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