The myth begins with the Lotus Lantern

Chapter 234 Seeing One's True Nature

Later, after leaving Mount Hua, he fell into the hands of Princess Wansheng. Although his life was precarious and he could face danger at any time, he never lacked the resources for cultivation.

Finally, he even had the opportunity to drink the blood of a dragon and seize its core. It was through such accumulation that Ding Lin was finally able to achieve the form of a dragon on Snake-Entwined Peak.

The four characters '法财侣地' (Dharma, Wealth, Companion, Land).

Spiritual practice should never be a solitary endeavor.

In the wilderness, there are indeed ancient trees reaching the sky, but what is buried even more are those messy shrubs. In such a wild growth environment, compared with the huge number of trees, how many of them can truly become useful timber?

Most of them are specific tree species like pine and cypress.

Pine and cypress trees are evergreen.

Their ability to grow is largely due to the characteristics of their species; if they were moved from the wilderness into a courtyard, they would only grow faster.

The peach trees in the Peach Orchard are managed by specialized people. They may not be as tall and straight as pine and cypress trees, but very few of them fail to grow into trees. Compared to the extremely low survival rate in the wilderness, almost all of them can grow into trees.

Can I compare to pine and cypress?

After transforming into a dragon at the Snake-Entwined Peak, it entered the Heavenly Court.

With the help of the Five Fairy Maidens, he obtained the "Celestial Immortal Manual," which enabled him to switch to cultivating the fundamental technique, transforming the scripture into a manual. Following a series of other assistance, he finally achieved his current status as a Celestial Immortal.

Looking back on my journey, I realize that I received help at every crucial juncture. I had already enjoyed the benefits, but I forgot about it all, greedily claiming credit for myself, becoming complacent and self-satisfied.

Ding Lin raised his head slightly and looked up at the sky.

The sun was high in the sky, casting golden rays that created a strange and beautiful scene.

This is the scenery in the garden.

But in the wilderness, such intense sunlight could be a calamity that could end the lives of seedlings.

In the vast wilderness of Peach Garden, everyone has their own way of living, with varying degrees of difficulty, but that is determined by their respective environments, and there is no distinction between those who are superior and inferior in terms of survival.

And no matter what, we should never forget how we grew up. We should not grow in a garden, enjoy the benefits, and then consider ourselves a plant from the wilderness.

Ding Lin twitched his lips, a strange sense of shame welling up inside him. The sunlight was a bit dazzling, so he lowered his head.

My gaze swept over the peach grove again, and I inadvertently spotted the peach tree that had been pruned the day before.

The roots of heaven and earth grow differently from ordinary trees, and the wound healed in just a few days.

However, no matter how extraordinary one's spiritual roots may be, one is still a tree and cannot escape the nature of a forest.

Before the pruning wound, the bark bulged ugly, crowding and closing the wound, like a small burl on an ordinary tree.

It's ugly.

Given Ding Lin's previous situation, he could barely be considered to have grown up in a garden, but it was just an ordinary garden. It wasn't until recently that he was moved into the Peach Garden.

For cultivators of the Three Realms, being registered in the Heavenly Register is like entering the garden, joining the system. At this point, it's just an ordinary garden; only by truly reaching Heaven and serving in the Heavenly Court can one be considered to have entered the 'Peach Garden'. Now, thanks to his relationship with the Five Fairies, Ding Lin could easily remain in the Heavenly Court long-term—something countless cultivators strive for their entire lives for. For the demon race, it's even more difficult. Forget about serving in the Heavenly Court; even the mere opportunity to be registered in the Heavenly Register is enough to make them risk everything.

Ding Lin withdrew his gaze, his mind clear and lucid. Having cleared away the illusions and gained clarity of mind, he understood himself better, but he did not feel joy.

This is only natural. Even if one understands oneself, the obstacles still stand in one's way. One cannot even enter the ninth stage of the "Celestial Immortal Technique," and ultimately there is no hope of reaching the Great Rank.

Ding Lin walked back to the meditation cushion, intending to continue his contemplation. In any case, spiritual practice should not be put on hold.

He may truly lack natural talent, and even if he manages to reach the cultivation threshold of the "Great Celestial Immortal Technique" through trickery, he will still find it difficult to grasp and enter the field.

Although ascending to immortality with the eighth stage of the "Celestial Immortal Technique" is not the end, cutting your losses in time is a sign of wisdom.

But having narrowly escaped death and sacrificed over eight thousand years of lifespan to obtain this opportunity for advanced cultivation, even now that I understand it's like a flower in the water or the moon in a mirror—visible but unattainable—I still can't bear to give it up.

Knowing is easy, doing is hard. Understanding is one thing, but actually doing it is another.

Ding Lin wasn't truly a tree; he still harbored his own thoughts, secretly hoping for that unrealistic "what if." He had already given so much; if he didn't persevere to the very end, he would ultimately...

I am unwilling.

……

Time marches on, and three months have passed in the blink of an eye.

Imperial Horse Stables.

After receiving the teachings of the Seven Fairy Maidens and returning from beyond the heavens, the Stone Monkey couldn't wait to put them into practice. After he stopped being so arrogant, although the high-ranking celestial officials still looked down on him as always, the low-ranking celestial officials, like the Keeper of the Heavenly Horses, were willing to accept him.

At least, in the Stone Monkey's perception, it was no longer the case that he was polite on the surface but full of malice inside. In fact, some Star Lords who started their careers in martial arts, with their forthright personalities, were willing to occasionally associate with the Stone Monkey because of his extraordinary abilities.

While the Imperial Stables and livestock were indispensable in the Heavenly Court, horse breeding was considered a lowly occupation and not a particularly vital position, at least in the eyes of those powerful figures. Which great deity didn't have his own special mount? Heavenly horses were merely for feeding ordinary heavenly soldiers and generals. In this mythical world where great power resided within oneself, even the combined strength of hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals was no match for the flick of a great being's finger.

So the stone monkey handed over the task of feeding the horses entirely to his two subordinate officers, and no one questioned his arbitrary actions.

With his free time, the stone monkey would call on his friends and companions every day, going to the east house for a drink one day and the west house for a banquet the next. Occasionally, he would return the invitation, turning the main hall of the Imperial Stables into a banquet hall for entertaining guests, creating a chaotic and noisy atmosphere. Apart from occasionally riding his heavenly horse to graze his livestock by the Milky Way when he was in the mood, he did nothing else.

It was so much fun!

This time, it was Stone Monkey's turn to host a feast, and a group of minor officials gathered at the Imperial Stables for a joyous banquet.

The stone monkey still acted like a demon king from the mortal realm, calling everyone brothers at the banquet, behaving unrestrainedly, and drinking to the last drop of wine—how hearty!

The celestial wine had some effect even on immortals. Since the stone monkey didn't use his magic to dispel the wine's aroma, by the time the banquet ended, the wine's aroma had already reached him, making him feel slightly tipsy.

So the stone monkey simply stopped going back to the back office.

After seeing off the last guest, he let out a long, contented burp, then leaped to the head seat, casually leaned back, wrapped his green official robe around himself, propped his feet up on the table, and, in the midst of his drunken revelry, drifted off to sleep.

(End of this chapter)