This humble Taoist priest wants to take the college entrance exam.

Chapter 35 Diligent people can also cultivate in the classroom (Thanks to XuxiaJL for the patronage)
Chen Shi'an and Wen Zhixia went for their lunch break.

He went back to Class 5, and she went back to Class 11.

Looking at the time, it was already 12:45, and there were only 45 minutes left before the afternoon class.

He didn't know if Wen Zhixia took a nap at noon, but he figured the girl must have gone back to the classroom to study as usual, otherwise she wouldn't look a little feverish due to lack of sleep.

Just as Wen Zhixia said, although he was the only day student in the class, there were still seven students studying in the classroom at noon.

The students who came to the classroom to study outside of the school's designated time were highly self-disciplined. All seven students sat quietly in their seats reading or doing papers, and no one made a sound. Five of them were girls.

When Chen Shi'an first arrived at the class, he was not familiar with his classmates, mainly because there was no list to match them up. Apart from a few monkeys whose names he knew, he could not recall the names of many of his classmates, but he remembered their faces.

Of the seven people present, he could only name the vice class monitor, Qiu Yufu. He had seen Qiu Yufu's name when he looked at the honor roll that morning; she was ranked 27th in the science stream with a total score of 656.

Such a score would be more than enough to be in the top three of a grade in an ordinary county high school, but in Class 5, it wouldn't even rank in the top ten, let alone match Lin Mengqiu's score of over 700.

Chen Shi'an walked quietly into the classroom.

Four of the seven students studying looked up at him, while the remaining three only noticed the extra person in the classroom a while later.

Unlike when there are many people, there was no commotion. After the lack of a group atmosphere and the jeers, the seven students all appeared very polite and quiet, finally conforming to the stereotype of top students.

No wonder schools have so many classes; the atmosphere is really important.

Chen Shi'an sat down in his seat. Lin Mengqiu's seat was empty, and he felt a little uncomfortable—this was the opposite of her situation, as she was uncomfortable because she had an extra deskmate.

With only about forty minutes left, Chen Shi'an decided not to take a nap.

He sat comfortably in the chair, his legs naturally apart, his hands hanging down and resting naturally on his knees, and began to meditate.

He didn't use the cross-legged posture, mainly because the chair was small and the space between the table and chairs was cramped. In fact, for meditation, posture is not important. Whether you are cross-legged, standing, or lying down, as long as you can calm your mind and body and enter a state of practice, that's fine.

Sitting meditation is the first lesson in spiritual practice and an important method of spiritual practice. Chen Shi'an has been learning it since he can remember. No matter how busy he is every day, he always makes time to sit meditation.

There is no distinction between realms in cultivation. However, in order to make it easier for Chen Shi'an to have a concept, his master divided him into several realms.

The first level is physical tranquility; at the beginning of cultivation, the primary task is to achieve a state of physical tranquility by adjusting breathing, relaxing muscles, and so on, to get rid of external disturbances.

The second level is the stillness of the conscious mind; the conscious mind is the most active part of daily life. People process various information, make decisions, and interact with the outside world through the conscious mind. However, during spiritual practice, it is necessary to quiet the conscious mind so that the voice deep within the heart can be revealed.

The third level is mental tranquility; mental tranquility is the innate consciousness, belonging to the subconscious. It contains people's deep emotions and memories, which are often beyond the control of individual will. Many people never reach this level in their entire lives. It is a talent, and it is also related to each person's life and growth environment. It is a process of starting from scratch.

The fourth level is the stillness of body and mind; it is a further sublimation combining the first three levels. After entering this realm, one can feel the unity of body and mind, experience a deep tranquility of body and mind, but the mind is exceptionally clear, as if one can see through all things in the world and begin to feel the wonderful spiritual charm of the world.

The fifth level is entering a state of tranquility and stepping into emptiness; upon reaching this state, the practitioner can absorb the spiritual essence of the ethereal world into their body and nourish their spirit, resulting in indescribable and wondrous changes from body to mind. Only then can one be considered to have entered the Dao.

The sixth level is the unity of heaven and man; after reaching this realm, the boundaries of the individual's body and mind are broken, and one can merge and resonate with the original energy and natural laws of the universe, and then borrow that mysterious spiritual charm. This is the way of the Tao. When sitting in meditation, one can even project one's thoughts outward and break through the boundaries of the individual's sight and hearing.

This realm is too vast, like rising from a depression, walking and walking, and discovering that there are even larger ones called ponds, walking and walking, and discovering that there are also moats, then lakes, and finally discovering that the end is a vast ocean.

Supernatural abilities such as astral projection and telepathic communication can be manifested at this level, but the intensity of these abilities varies depending on the practitioner's level of cultivation.

Chen Shi'an asked his master if there were any other realms after the sixth level.

The master said he didn't know, but that was a realm he himself had drawn up to make it easier for his disciple to understand.

As Zhuangzi said, "Heaven and earth and I were born together, and all things and I are one." Perhaps there is no such thing as a certain realm in cultivating the Tao. The true meaning is to "be one with the Tao" and ultimately return to "perfect enlightenment".

In fact, Chen Shi'an didn't quite agree with his master's division of these realms. His master said that reaching the fifth level was considered entering the Dao, but he felt that only reaching the sixth level was considered true entry into the Dao. The further one went in each level, the deeper one understood the boundless nature of the Dharma, and the lack of prior experience; everything had to be understood and explored by oneself.

The pursuit of truth, in essence, is a process of seeking knowledge.

The essence of spirituality is drawn from heaven and earth and used within oneself. If one does not know the sun, moon, stars, heaven and earth, and the myriad living beings in the human world, how can one seek knowledge and the Dao?

Therefore, the master traveled down the mountain three times in his life, each time taking twenty years, until the last time he found Chen Shi'an and inherited his mantle.

If we were to pinpoint the biggest difference between Master and Chen Shi'an, it would be their talent.

[Hehe, although I failed to attain enlightenment, I have still surpassed my teacher.]
[What do you mean? Master, your cultivation is even higher than Grandmaster's?]
[No, I merely taught a disciple who is more capable than his own.]
[......]
Secondly, it's probably because the master and disciple had different mindsets.

Chen Shi'an reached the sixth level at a young age, while his master only reached this level when he was over sixty. Facing the vast ocean of this level, the old Taoist priest and his young disciple naturally had different mindsets.

Whether there were any predecessors before him or not, Chen Shi'an did not know, but it was true that there was no road ahead of him. Everything had to be explored by himself, and he actually enjoyed the fun of the unknown.

The so-called enlightenment has never referred to a result, but a process. How far one can go depends entirely on oneself.

There is no essential difference between using Taoist principles to analyze the world and using mathematics, physics, and chemistry to analyze the world; the only difference is the method of finding the solution. This trip down the mountain to study and travel is a rare opportunity for Chen Shi'an to broaden his horizons and open his mind. The longer he travels outside, the more he can appreciate his master's good intentions.

Other students were focused on getting into university, while he was seeking enlightenment. Their paths were different, yet they conspired together!

……

Chen Shi'an sat upright in his seat, closed his eyes, and entered a state of meditation in less than ten breaths.

The faint yet mysterious spiritual energy between heaven and earth began to merge and resonate with him, and an indescribable stillness and movement began to emanate from him.

The classroom was quiet at noon, with only the sounds of writing, turning pages, and the fan spinning.

The air conditioning is managed by the school and the on/off times are set by the school. During lunch break, there is no air conditioning, only fans, so it is inevitably a bit hot.

For some reason, the seven students studying in the classroom all felt a cool sensation.

Unlike the coolness of air conditioning blowing on you from the outside in, this coolness emanates from the inside out. Not only does it sweep away the original heat, but it also brings peace to your mind and body.

This coolness didn't come suddenly, but rather gradually occurred, so much so that some students who were engrossed in their studies didn't even notice it, while others who couldn't concentrate due to the earlier heat did notice it, but they just couldn't figure out why it suddenly wasn't so hot anymore...

Occasionally, classmates would glance at Chen Shi'an.

Daoist Master truly lives up to his name! Even his afternoon nap is different from others—he sleeps sitting up?!
At this moment, Chen Shi'an's consciousness had already been projected outwards. Although he had not yet reached the level of astral projection, he could still break through his own visual and auditory boundaries while meditating.

Look, some things are still unclear. Only some blurry light and shadow can be observed in the sea of ​​consciousness.

But when he listens, he can hear things with exceptional clarity. Within a radius of about two kilometers, he can hear every subtle sound, if he so chooses.

The blurry light and shadow formed the outline of the campus in his mind. He transformed into a butterfly and merged with nature, drifting out of the classroom and out of the campus. Outside was a noisy street, with clusters of rapidly moving light and shadow...

[Meow.]
[Hey, where did this stray cat come from? We're closing for lunch now, so we don't have anything for you to eat.]
[Meow……]
[Okay, okay, I'll cut you a piece...]
Seeing the cat shape, the small ball, the blindingly bright light and shadow, and that familiar meow, Chen Shi'an's face twitched.

You fat mole, I put you in charge of the house, and all you do is wander around the streets, freeloading!

The glory I've brought to Jingchen Temple isn't even enough to tarnish your reputation!
The black cat, who was squatting in front of the fast food restaurant waiting for its food, sensed something, turned its head and glanced in the direction of the school. As soon as the chicken was in its mouth, it quickly ran away...

[Oh dear, this naughty cat! It ate the food but won't even let me touch it!]
(Thank you so much, XuxiaJL, for being the patron! You're so generous! May you prosper! Thank you so much for supporting my new book!)
　Thank you to Yunchen Xiatian, Cephalosporin Rum, Kalu, Earth Hurricane Organization, and other students for their generous donations!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)