I changed the world.

"Okay, just have someone deliver it over. I'm at home."

"Um... okay, that's all, um... goodbye."

Zhang Jing put down his phone. Just now, he received a call from Jiang Shanlin. The three items he had instructed the foundation to purchase had been successfully bought and delivered to the foundation. Jiang Shanlin's call was to ask when it would be convenient for him to send someone over.

Zhang Jing knew perfectly well that this news had come at the perfect time—not too early, not too late—just after he had made his wish in the wishing book. It was too much of a coincidence, and it was very likely that the opportunity for his wish lay within it.

Without hesitation, he told Jiang Shanlin that he could send someone to deliver it directly. Jiang Shanlin had no objection and immediately said that he would send someone to deliver the items.

About half an hour later, the package arrived – a large cardboard box. Two respectful young men handed over the box and then took their leave after saying goodbye several times.

Zhang Jing had no intention of keeping the guest. After returning to his study, he opened the cardboard box and took out three cultural relics wrapped in layers of packaging.

The three items—two jade tablets and a ring—were each thoughtfully packaged in a brocade box, and each also came with an authentication report prepared by a professional appraiser from the foundation. It's clear that Jiang Shanlin put a lot of thought into this task he was entrusted with.

Zhang Jing first examined the three certificates of authenticity. As expected, all three artifacts dated to the Jian pottery period, and in the appraiser's opinion, they were all in relatively good condition. The ring, in particular, was of a rare type.

According to the appraiser, this ring is the most valuable of the three items, not so much because of the rarity of its materials, but because of its exquisite craftsmanship and design.

The final purchase prices proved this point: the two jade tablets were priced at 1100 yuan and 1250 yuan respectively, while the ring cost 17000 yuan to acquire. All three artifacts were purchased from different antique dealers.

Of course, regarding the possibility of kickbacks or other shady dealings in such acquisitions, Zhang Jing said that such things are unavoidable. As long as it's not excessive, he doesn't plan to investigate further. After all, money is no longer a scarce resource for him. He is aware that too much clarity leads to stagnation.

A glint of fire flashed in Zhang Jing's eyes as he used a secret technique to examine the three artifacts before him. One of the jade tablets shone with a red light, while the other shone with a rare yellowish-green light. Based on Zhang Jing's experience, this generally meant that if the latter jade tablet was a Dharma treasure, the contents recorded within should be of considerable value.

The last ring, in Zhang Jing's eyes, had an orange luster. Based on Zhang Jing's current experience, the colors of such extraordinary items, from low to high, should be roughly red, orange, yellow, green, and cyan. He guessed that there might be even higher-level colors, but he couldn't be sure yet.

From this perspective, the ring is less valuable than the jade tablet.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jing picked up the jade tablet that was glowing red and examined it. He found that the jade tablet described a technique called "The Way of the Locust Insect," which mainly focused on movement techniques. Compared to the "Earthly Fiend Forbidden Technique: Floating," which Zhang Jing had already mastered quite well, this movement technique did not rely on speed or agility, but rather on its ability to change within a small space. In other words, it could give people a strange sense of displacement, allowing them to avoid certain attacks that would normally hit within a small space.

Although this Qi-restriction technique was not of a high level, it was still useful to Zhang Jing, so he studied it quite seriously.

After learning this movement technique, Zhang Jing picked up another jade tablet and probed it with his divine sense. Suddenly, the scenery before his eyes changed...

....................................

This is a lush green world, with cascading waterfalls and misty clouds. A huge mountain stands out against the sky, like a pillar piercing the clouds.

Through the hazy clouds, rising hundreds of feet, one can suddenly see a huge platform above. The platform is abrupt and does not seem to be naturally formed, but rather as if it was carved out by a sword.

As you zoom in, you'll see that the platform is incredibly spacious, covered with hundreds of exotic flowers and plants. Some tall trees are adorned with golden fruits, and a rich, fragrant aroma permeates the entire platform. At a glance, the flowers are as colorful as a sea, vying for attention and dazzling the eye.

At the center of the platform, a warm spring seems to flow faintly through the sea of ​​flowers. The rising smoke, carrying the fragrance of flowers, turns into wisps of colorful mist. When the sunlight shines on it, it is like clouds and mist, rising straight into the heavenly palace, oblivious to the passing of time.

At the center stood a magnificent and luxurious palace, interspersed with exquisite gardens and surrounded by corridors. Upon entering, one could see that the ground was paved with white jade-like stone bricks.

In those gardens, exotic flowers and rare plants sway gracefully, and there are pavilions scattered throughout the gardens, with jade tables and stone benches in the pavilions, and even white jade wine cups and wine pots placed on them.

At the very center of the palace was a spacious garden, and in the very center of the garden stood a large tree that shimmered with golden light. The tree trunk and branches were like jade, and the leaves were the size of a palm, each heart-shaped and a reddish-gold color. If you looked closely, you could also see purple fruits swaying in the wind among the leaves.

Beneath the tree, a specially drawn hot spring surrounds it, irrigating it, and strange fish swim happily in the hot spring.

Beside the hot spring, several futons were laid out on the ground, and two figures dressed in wide robes and tall hats sat facing each other, their postures relaxed.

For some reason, when others noticed the two people's faces, they always had a hazy, indistinct feeling.

Just then, one of them suddenly spoke up and asked, "What is the heart?"

The other man stroked his beard and then replied, "The heart is the abode of the spirit..."

..........................................

After that, the two began to talk back and forth, debating with each other, and the content of their conversation revolved around the theme of "mind and spirit".

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…………

The scene before him changed, and Zhang Jing returned to his desk, holding the jade tablet in his hand, silent, still savoring what he had seen and heard in the Dharma Treasury.

Although he didn't know the identities of the two people in the Dharma Treasury whose faces he couldn't even see clearly, nor did he know the location of that uniquely shaped mountain, he was certain that they were undoubtedly two powerful beings.

Throughout the entire discussion, these two powerful figures did not focus on any specific technique. Instead, they addressed conceptual and principle-based issues, and the language they used was an ancient and archaic tone, quite different from what we hear today.

Zhang Jing, who has deciphered more than one piece of the Dharma Treasury so far, can roughly tell that this tone should be a common language of that era. In fact, if it is spoken slowly, he can even understand some of the content.

However, understanding and comprehending are two different things. Originally, with Zhang Jing's current level of education, he shouldn't have been able to understand what they were saying. After all, the gap between his knowledge and cultivation was too great, and with Zhang Jing's current not-so-solid foundation, it was really asking too much of him to understand those metaphysical theories.

However, the Dharma Treasury's inherent function of transmitting thoughts from heart to heart has some flaws, which limit how much one can understand the original intention of the recorder. In fact, the great master who recorded this Dharma Treasury originally intended it for use in teaching his students.

This allowed Zhang Jing, with his current cultivation level, to gain some insights from it. Even this simple part was of great help to his current cultivation, especially in understanding the aspects of mind and spirit.

However, in general, to truly access the secrets of mind and spirit described in this Dharma treasure, Zhang Jing must first reach the third level. From this perspective, this Dharma treasure is somewhat beyond his current capabilities.

Chapter 180 Robbers

Zhang Jing solemnly put the jade tablet away, having already made up his mind to study it several times later. This was the advantage of the Dharma Treasury—it could be studied repeatedly.

He took an old-fashioned envelope, wrote the name "Mind and Spirit Discernment" on it, and then put the Dharma treasure inside.

Among the Dharma collections that Zhang Jing has collected, the content on mind, spirit, mind, and will is relatively scarce compared to the content on qi restriction, physical techniques, talisman arrays, etc., especially in the path of the Heavenly Venerable.

In contrast, the Vajrayana teachings contain relatively more descriptions of this aspect, which to some extent illustrates the differences between the two paths.

To date, this "Mind and Spirit Discernment" is the only one he has collected. Its description of knowledge about the mind and spirit is thorough and profound, truly deserving of its yellow-green luster.

After finishing interpreting the Dharma sutra, Zhang Jing looked up at the wall clock and was surprised to find that it was already 9:39 PM. In other words, he had unknowingly spent six hours interpreting the Dharma sutra.

He wasn't in a hurry to continue examining the artifacts, so he put on some casual clothes and left home. While deciphering the Buddhist scriptures for so long hadn't taken a toll on his body, it had been mentally exhausting, especially the second scripture. Because of the profound and complex knowledge it contained, Zhang Jing had been extremely focused while listening. So, as soon as he stopped deciphering the scripture, he actually felt a little hungry.

However, after eating frozen dumplings for so long, Zhang Jing finally got a little tired of them and wanted to try something different. He remembered a newly opened beef hoof shop near his home that he had recently seen, so he decided to give it a try.

It was already dark outside, and at this time, there were relatively few people on the streets; even those who went for a night run had already gone home.

In fact, the security situation in this world is not as good as in Zhang Jing's previous life. Robberies and rapes occur frequently, especially after 9 p.m. Some single women will consciously try not to go out alone.

Although Zhang Jing now lives in a typical wealthy area, not the slums he used to live in, the residents are still more cautious when going out late at night.

Of course, Zhang Jing no longer had this concern. He followed the path in his memory and found the shop called "Luoji Old Soup Beef Hoof".

Because the shop was open for late-night snacks, it was still open when Zhang Jing arrived. When he walked in, there was only one table of people inside, and there was a huge iron pot at the entrance, with milky white beef hoof soup bubbling inside.

The soup in the big pot is what is called the old soup. The main ingredient is stewed until tender white beef hoof, and it is accompanied by red carrots, snow-white yams, brown black beans, and even sliced ​​angelica. You can smell a rich aroma from afar.

The shop owner was a typical northerner, with a robust build. He came up to greet Zhang Jing as he entered.

Zhang Jing inquired about the price: a beef hoof hot pot cost fifteen yuan, rice was included, and dipping sauces, pickles, and everything else were free.

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Jing ordered a double portion. The owner was quick and efficient when serving the food, bringing out a red clay pot with the beef hoof. This clay pot was not the small pot that Zhang Jing used to eat braised chicken rice in his previous life; its size was almost the size of a small washbasin, which showed that the double portion of beef hoof was indeed very generous.

Besides the beef hooves, the casserole was filled with tender and fragrant side dishes. In addition, it had a faint medicinal flavor from angelica root, and the snow-white soup was so thick that it almost formed threads.

Zhang Jing didn't say much, but lowered his head, picked up a piece of snow-white beef hoof, and put it in his mouth. It must be said that the owner of this shop was indeed very skilled. He handled beef hoof, a rare ingredient in the south, very well. There was no fishy smell, the hair on it was cleaned off, and the texture was soft, tender, and elastic.

Zhang Jing had excellent teeth; he didn't discard the beef hooves, but even the beef bones in the pot. He chewed them up in a few bites and swallowed them like biscuits.

About fifteen minutes later, he had finished most of the large pot of beef hoof casserole. As the feeling of fullness in his stomach gradually rose, the heat began to penetrate into his limbs and bones, making him feel extremely comfortable.

Although Zhang Jing's cultivation has reached a level where he has gradually moved beyond primarily obtaining nutrition from food and is now utilizing energy from the void, humans are not purely energy-based life forms. Therefore, certain essential nutrients for building the body still need to be obtained from food. Due to the significant adjustments Zhang Jing is making to his body at this stage of cultivation, his appetite remains quite robust.

After getting a large bowl of rice, Zhang Jing used the remaining ingredients in the casserole to get some kimchi. The kimchi here mainly consisted of cucumbers, white radishes, and chopped bok choy, with distinct colors and a crisp, slightly spicy taste that was very appetizing and helped cut through the greasiness of the rice.

Feeling that he was in that "I want to take on ten" state again, Zhang Jing stood up, wiped his mouth, walked to the counter, paid the bill with the owner, and then walked out of the store with his hands behind his back.

Taking a deep breath of the slightly damp, cool night air, Zhang Jing decided to go straight home and open the remaining ring.

As Zhang Jing was walking leisurely towards home, a two-wheeled electric vehicle turned out from a corner about a hundred meters behind him.

This electric scooter had clearly been modified, especially the frame, motor, and battery pack. Two people were riding on it, both wearing helmets, obscuring their faces. One was driving, and the other was in the back. The scooter was moving slowly, and upon closer inspection, the two riders appeared to be constantly looking around, as if searching for something.

The two men saw Zhang Jing walking out of the restaurant almost at the same time. Then, the man in the back seat immediately noticed the "Hengxing 3" phone on Zhang Jing's left wrist, which was currently being worn as a bracelet.

This discovery immediately made the person sitting in the back seat sit up straight, pat the back of their companion in the front seat, lean over and point at Zhang Jing and say a few words.

After that, the electric vehicle began to accelerate slowly, and at the same time, the person sitting in the back seat pulled out a black rubber stick more than 50 centimeters long from a specially made bracket on the frame.

The electric scooter accelerated while hugging the sidewalk, moving towards Zhang Jing's side and rear...

As the electric scooter closed the distance to Zhang Jing, the rider sitting on the back of the vehicle slowly raised the rubber baton in his hand.

In the blink of an eye, the electric scooter accelerated from a slow speed to over 20 kilometers per hour in just a few seconds. In those few seconds, the scooter had already arrived behind Zhang Jing...

The rider sitting on the back of the vehicle had his face completely obscured by his helmet, but at that moment, the rubber baton he held horizontally in his hand had already been fully drawn back before he lashed out at Zhang Jing's head...

At that speed, if the blow had landed, Zhang Jing, if he were an ordinary person, would undoubtedly have been knocked to the ground, and would have suffered a concussion afterward.

What they didn't know was that Zhang Jing was no ordinary person. With his keen senses, although he didn't look behind him once from beginning to end, he noticed every move the two people behind him made. He even overheard their whispered conversation.