The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 199: The One Who is Silent and Illuminated, the Forms Occur Due to Nature

"That is... Ji Zhao?"

Yang Lizhang watched as Emperor Jianwen disappeared into the dense forest outside the imperial mausoleum. He then looked at Zhu Shoujing, whose face was as pale as gold paper and who was held in the arms of his subordinates, with a look of fear and hesitation, and spoke slowly.

"Yes, this is 'Silent Illumination'."

Ji Tianrui said.

"As the Mahayana Sutra of No-birth says: 'The one who is silent and enlightened, the appearance arises from the nature; the one who is enlightened and silent, the appearance is returned to the nature.'"

"The mind is manifested externally, and my mind is used to imprint other people's minds. In Taoism, it is called 'silent illumination', and in Buddhism, it is called 'other people's mind communication'."

"Legend has it that when Bodhidharma was trying to convert a wicked man, he only looked at him once, and then made him go through ten reincarnations and suffer countless hardships. When the man woke up, he burst into tears, but found himself still standing there, with the tea in his hand still warm. Then he had a great enlightenment, realizing that cause and effect are empty, and finally turned back."

"It is the three paths of nature, the state of mind in the heart, spirit, and intention - the wonder of 'silent illumination'."

Ji Tianrui told the story slowly and leisurely.

"The celestial beings are supposed to have six realms, with three paths to nature and life. But the three paths to nature have long been lost, and now all the inheritance in the martial arts world is left with only the three paths to life - namely, Vajra, Jiezi, and Xumi."

At this point, Ji Tianrui sighed softly.

"As the saying goes, 'Only cultivating one's nature without cultivating one's destiny has always been the biggest problem in cultivation. Only cultivating one's ancestral nature without cultivating the elixir will make it difficult for one's soul to become a saint.'"

"'The Five Decays of Heaven' is the result of us younger generations taking the wrong path, focusing only on life cultivation and ignoring the cultivation of the spirit. If it were one path, it would be fine, but if it were two paths, it would be too full and we would not be able to bear it, so we would naturally suffer the consequences."

Yang Lizhang pondered for a while, then frowned and asked.

"What realm is Emperor Jianwen in? Four paths combined into one? Five paths? Or has he already reached the realm of Bodhidharma and Sanfeng Zhenren?"

Ji Tianrui chuckled and waved her hand.

"Oh, not really."

"If he was so capable, he wouldn't have been forced to abdicate by Emperor Chengzu and buried in a tomb for more than a hundred years."

"Roughly speaking, it's a combination of three paths. Ji Zhao, Vajra, and Xumi. With his level of understanding, he can't become Jie Zi."

"how come?"

Yang Lizhang was surprised.

"Yin Ruihua's three routes are combined into one. The Xiaoling Guard Commander is no weakling either. He was killed or injured so easily. Is it just the combination of three routes?"

"The lives should be equal. Just because of the magical power of 'Silent Illumination', can Yin Ruihua, who also has three paths combined, be helpless and wait for death?"

Ji Tianrui covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Of course not. Without Xumi, he would not be able to break Yin Ruihua's Vajra even if he exhausted all his energy. Practicing both sex and life is naturally better than practicing only life skills. There is no need to explain this."

"But the most important thing is the impression, or the emotion."

Ji Tianrui pointed at Zhu Shoujing.

"Did you see that? Just now, Emperor Jianwen did not attack him directly, but pulled him into his mind twice. The first time only made him dazed for a while, and the second time was the real killing move."

"If he is really that powerful, why not just suppress him like we did when we killed Yin Ruihua? Isn't that the same as letting him be slaughtered? Why bother with this?"

Before Yang Lizhang could answer, Ji Tianrui started talking.

"Because he didn't know Emperor Jianwen at all, and had no impression of him, nor did he have the slightest fear of him."

"So the first time, Emperor Jianwen could only suppress him for a short time, leaving seeds of doubt and fear in his heart. Only the second time could he be truly suppressed."

"And the injury he received was not from Emperor Jianwen, but because his true energy went astray in panic and injured his own meridians."

"The one who is silent and enlightened, the appearance arises from the nature, and is determined by the mind. This is the state where the stronger you think the opponent is, the stronger he really is."

Yang Lizhang suddenly understood.

"I see."

"So, the reason why Yin Ruihua behaved so badly in front of him was not because he was too weak, but because he..."felt" that Emperor Jianwen was too strong?"

Ji Tianrui nodded.

"That's right." "The ancestor of the Yang family was killed, and the Yang family members fled into the underworld. They don't know the secrets of the palace back then."

"Back then, Emperor Jianwen killed almost all of the Zhu family, and also killed more than a dozen of the immortals who followed Emperor Taizu to conquer the world. Yin Ruihua was just one of the lucky survivors, and his fear of Emperor Jianwen had already penetrated into his bones."

"more importantly--"

Ji Tianrui pointed to the open tomb.

"After enfeoffing Emperor Jianwen here, Yin Ruihua guarded here for more than a hundred years."

"For more than a hundred years, he has been guarding here, outside the cage of a ferocious beast that could escape at any time."

"With every extra year he guarded, his fear grew. With every glance he took there, his heart weakened a little."

"So, when he suddenly heard the voice of Emperor Jianwen, the fear of more than a hundred years surged into his heart. How could he not be extremely frightened? Naturally, he was suppressed by 'Silence' in an instant, and that's why he died so easily."

Yang Lizhang understood and breathed a sigh of relief.

"I see... that makes sense."

“But even if we know its miraculous power, the inheritance of the power of sexual energy has long been lost. Without the means to deal with it, I’m afraid no one in the world can survive under Emperor Jianwen.”

Ji Tianrui smiled sweetly.

"Then you are wrong."

"As far as I know, there are three people in Shuntian Prefecture who can resist 'Ji Zhao' and compete with Emperor Jianwen."

"Oh? Three people?"

Yang Lizhang was surprised.

"The emperor has been using the furnace to cultivate for many years. He has conquered the world to serve one person. His martial arts skills are unfathomable. I am not surprised that he can fight against Emperor Jianwen."

"But the other celestial beings of the first and second paths, even if I know the secrets of Silence, don't have the confidence to survive ten rounds at his hands."

"Are there two other people in Shuntian Prefecture who can compete with Emperor Jianwen?"

"of course."

Ji Tianrui chuckled and pointed at herself.

"The first one is me."

Yang Lizhang snorted coldly when he heard this.

"just you?"

"Two of the three paths are evil paths. It's hard to even defeat the perfect heavenly beings in two paths, so you can only bully the heavenly beings in one path. Do you dare to go against Emperor Jianwen?"

"No one among you Ji speaks the truth."

Ji Tianrui did not refute, just smiled and said nothing.

"Where's the other one?"

Yang Lizhang couldn't help it after all and took the initiative to ask.

Ji Tianrui looked up at the night sky, then looked towards the dense forest in the distance and chuckled.

"Of course it's Li Miao, Lord Li."

"he?"

Yang Lizhang thought about it and shook his head.

"His skills are truly astonishing and beyond common sense. I don't know which god he is the reincarnation of. He doesn't have a master, but he has quietly cultivated to this level relying on the fragments collected by the Jinyiwei."

"But he is still stuck in the three paths of fate. Even if he takes the initiative to enter that strange state, with the three paths combined into one and two paths complete, it is probably difficult to avoid Emperor Jianwen's 'Silent Illumination'."

Ji Tianrui shook her head and smiled sweetly.

"Then you underestimate Lord Li."

(End of this chapter)