Wet viviparity

Chapter 705 Showdown, Breaking the Three Knots
At this moment, only the crackling sound of candlelight remained in the hall, sometimes long, sometimes short, and the light suddenly dimmed.

Beyond the flickering oil lamps, the tiger statues behind the altar seem to lurk in the shadows, sharpening their claws and lurking, holding their breath as they watch. Though they are fierce, they do not roar, yet their tiger-like power already permeates the incense-scented ancestral hall.

Jiang Shenhu and his descendants stared intently at the surroundings. One breath, two breaths, three breaths passed, but there was no movement in the hall.

"Is this blood cell... ruined?"

Someone muttered something under their breath, which sounded extremely jarring in the quiet hall.

Everyone remained silent, their expressions indifferent. Only a few, including Jiang Neng, showed reluctance, but they quickly composed themselves and even their breathing became lighter. Everyone knew that their father, Jiang Shenhu, had high expectations for this unborn child.

According to ancient texts, a fetus conceived by someone born with a precious appearance and immortal roots may inherit the precious appearance of their parents. Although it may not be as good as the original, it can still provide temporary relief for the Jiang family, which is currently facing a period of transition.

Jiang Shenhu's breathing was slightly heavy, and the lamplight in the hall flickered.

"Moved!"

Suddenly someone shouted.

All eyes turned to one place: a seated tiger—its golden eyes gleaming, its iron claws menacing, its forehead lines prominent, and its saw-like jaws seeming to whistle through the air. Its eyes were radiating golden light, piercing the darkness of the hall, and in the blink of an eye, the golden light shot out from the inner palace, heading towards the womb.

Ji Ming waited in the Divine Realm while simultaneously calculating the situation inside the ancestral hall.

Since this was the Jiang family ancestral hall, a place of great importance, his divination was unlikely to be accurate. He muttered to himself, "These twins are at least the offspring of that Jiang Divine Tiger. Even if they are incompetent, surely a spirit tiger wouldn't be unwilling to send down its response and send a servant!"

Just as he was thinking, he saw a pair of golden lights rushing in from outside the courtyard. Ji Ming hurriedly activated his divine energy, and suddenly a chaotic wind rose in the courtyard. Thousands of strands of chaotic wind met the golden lights and converged.

Within this golden light were two servants, who, though belonging to the Yin spirits, possessed no trace of ghostly aura. Both were about ten feet tall, clad in black helmets and robes, with yellow hair and blue eyes, and as imposing as generals. The two servants were instantly knocked unconscious by the divine force.

In the blink of an eye, the two ghosts awoke, but were unaware of what had just happened. They fell from the golden light, stretched out their arms and pulled the golden light into the woman's womb.

The golden light entered the womb, nourishing the fetus while also completing the spell of becoming the accomplice of the wicked. From then on, the two accomplices became the wicked spirits of this fetus.

Ji Ming watched the two accomplices' actions quietly. The instant the two accomplices descended with the golden light, he had already converted them in an instant and used an illusion spell to conceal their presence, so that they would not know that they were being affected.

When the ancestral hall was filled with a divine inspiration, the two accomplices would henceforth take the twins as their "tiger master," and would be inseparable from each other, serving as the tiger's accomplices. Since Ji Ming had already decided on the next life of this second primordial spirit, how could he allow such a yin creature to accompany him without any control?

The purpose of my visit today is to eliminate such hidden dangers.

"A spirit tiger's response is acceptable."

Ji Ming didn't care which ancestral master's remains in the ancestral hall might send down inspiration, as long as there wasn't any lack of response that could lead to the stillbirth of the fetus.

As for the fact that receiving the spirit tiger's senses would mean that the twins would be listed as a collateral branch and have forbidden spells planted on them after birth, Ji Ming was not in a hurry about this, as it was not a big problem for him.

The only problem is the duel with the Pleiades Star Lord and his three karmic connections with the "King of Wealth".

Regarding the transfer of the three karmic connections on Chi Shenzi, he ultimately decided to adopt the safest method: Buddhist initiation. This method has no threshold; as long as one's Buddhist knowledge is profound, one can perform it. In Ji Ming's understanding, the specific standard for this profound Buddhist knowledge is attaining the first stage of Arhatship—the Stream-Enterer (Sotapanna).

After Ji Ming refined this second primordial spirit and allowed it to reincarnate so that it could enter the Dao, he once hoped that he could sit back and enjoy the fruits of the second primordial spirit's cultivation.

However, this is ultimately just wishful thinking. The cultivation of the second primordial spirit body is like a flower in a mirror; it can reflect one's realm and allow one to feel it, but it cannot be directly plucked.

Ji Ming's original plan was to wait for the second primordial spirit, Chi Shenzi, to sever the three fetters and establish the correct understanding of suffering, emptiness, impermanence, and non-self in the Locked Sin Well, and then to attain the first fruit of Stream-entry, before performing the initiation ceremony.

Over the years, when Ji Ming was refining treasures at Cifeng, his mind often descended to Chi Shenzi, personally experiencing his cultivation and enlightenment process. However, he discovered a paradox in it—the paradoxical conflict between the first fruit of Buddhism and the second primordial spirit.

Of the three fetters that must be severed to attain the first stage of enlightenment, the fetters of attachment and doubt are the easiest for Chi Shenzi to break.

The practice of abandoning precepts and prohibitions refers to relinquishing useless precepts and prohibitions, and no longer blindly believing in useless rituals, taboos, and rules. For Chi Shenzi, who has already attained enlightenment, this is as simple as sweeping fallen leaves or dusting off clothes.

The absence of doubt means having no doubt about the Three Jewels. Whether it is the Buddha, the Buddha's teachings, or the monks who practice according to the Buddha's teachings, practitioners must have no doubt about these three.

Chi Shenzi can also sever this knot.

Ultimately, Chi Shenzi was a reflection of Ji Ming's mind and nature, and his foundation in spiritual cultivation was not weak. Therefore, the final body-seeing knot should not have been too difficult for him.

In Ji Ming's view, the first stage of enlightenment in Buddhism is within the Taoist realm, corresponding to the four stages of the Golden Elixir. Even though the two cannot be simply compared, they still have similarities. Ji Ming is already in the late stage of the Golden Elixir and has entered the initial stage of cultivating his inner nature.

Even though Chi Shenzi's second primordial spirit body is only one step away, with his main body's help, it can still give it a final push.

In fact, he oversimplified things. The fetter of self-view is clinging to "self," which gives rise to "what belongs to me," and then to greed and hatred, no longer regarding the body and mind as constant and unchanging entities.

"What I possess" represents my cultivation, resources, status, relationships, and so on. So, is the second primordial spirit "me," or "what I possess" in relation to Ji Ming?

Without a doubt, it is a refining artifact belonging to me and Ji Ming.

In this way, since the second primordial spirit does not contain "me," how can he sever his attachment to self, let alone seek to attain the first stage of enlightenment, Stream-entry, in Buddhism?

Now, Ji Ming only has two paths to choose from.

The first option is to completely relinquish control over the second primordial spirit, allowing it complete autonomy to break free from "what I possess" and become the true "me." Obviously, this is a dead end, and Ji Ming would never take it.

The second path was for him to personally seek the first stage of enlightenment within his second primordial spirit.

Over the years, he personally experienced the various cultivation and enlightenment processes within his second primordial spirit, all in preparation for this path.

Unexpectedly, after all the twists and turns, he still had to personally attain the first stage of enlightenment in Buddhism, which truly shows that he was practicing both Taoism and Buddhism.

Once he attains the first stage of enlightenment, he can perform the empowerment ritual on the fetus before the second primordial spirit body passes away, thus truly setting the stage for the duel. This also indicates that he and the forces represented by the "Deputy Commander of Shenxiao" will engage in a second contest based on karmic connections.

(End of this chapter)