Under One Person: Starting with the Dual Cultivation of Body and Soul.

"In this state, you can unleash 100% of your full potential."

"This power is enough to lift a cart even a woman who can't even kill a chicken."

"What if it's a strong man?"

"What if it were someone with supernatural abilities? Have you thought about how big the difference would be?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin suddenly realized, "During the previous competition, Senior Brother used this 'heart' to exert his strength, which is why I was powerless to fight back?"

Li Chang'an nodded: "That is indeed one aspect."

Chapter 60 Sermon

After calming herself down, Lu Lin asked, "Senior brother just said there are two sets of thinking, one is the mind, what about the other one?"

Li Chang'an said, "The other way of thinking is like a parasitic monster, but in reality, it is something you have always relied on because you are dominated by it."

“This kind of thinking that you cannot control but instead controls you, I call ‘delusion’.”

"Your thoughts are entirely your own; they are simply your own reflections and judgments about the world, your subjective consciousness."

"External thinking is actually the delusion imposed on you by the past, present, and future; it is the manipulation of you by the external world."

"These delusions will shape your values ​​and create a habit in your behavior. If you follow this habit, you will probably know the direction of your life."

"If you can find your own heart, you can break free from this external inertia and choose your own path."

"The cultivation of nature and life is what we practice in the practice of sexual cultivation. That's why there's a saying in Taoist internal alchemy: 'Once a golden pill is swallowed, one knows that one's fate is not determined by heaven.'"

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin suddenly realized, "So that's how it is!"

Li Chang'an gave an example: "There are some people in the circle who are good at manipulating this kind of thinking. For example, Gao Ning, the Thunder Smoke Cannon from Quanxing Demons, is very good at controlling this aspect. Once he controls your thinking, you will be in great danger."

"But if your body is not controlled by this external mindset, but by your mind, that is, your original mindset."

"Then Lei Yanpao's methods are not cannons to you, but farts, the kind that only make noise but don't stink, and have no effect other than making noise."

Upon hearing these words, Lu Jin couldn't help but glance at Li Chang'an in surprise.

Li Chang'an explained it very clearly, and he understood it completely.

But understanding something doesn't mean you can do it.

To be honest, he knew about Gao Ning, the "Thunder Smoke Cannon." He used to be called Monk Yongjue, but later he fell into the Quanxing sect and got the nickname "Thunder Smoke Cannon."

This person's method is called the Twelve Labors of Passion Formation, which is extremely cunning and insidious, and there are few ways to counter it in the entire martial arts world.

Even with his strength, he couldn't be guaranteed a win against Lei Yanpao.

How come in Li Chang'an's mouth, the Thunder Smoke Cannon became a worthless fart?

This kid is far too arrogant.

Compared to the pensive Lu Jin, Lu Lin listened with some excitement.

He wasn't completely ignorant of the industry; he had naturally heard of Lei Yanpao Gao Ning's reputation.

But such a person was regarded as nothing more than a clay chicken or a clay dog ​​by his senior brother.

Senior Brother Chang'an is amazing!

Lu Lin stared intently at Li Chang'an, and asked impatiently:

"Senior Brother Chang'an, how exactly do we find this 'heart' and let this mind, which is entirely my own, take control?"

Li Chang'an said, "That is indeed a problem, but in fact, a lot of your current training is about finding this heart, you just haven't realized it."

"What kind of exercises?" Lu Lin asked quickly.

Li Chang'an did not answer directly, but instead asked, "Why do so many people sleep in during the winter?"

Lu Lin said, "Because it's cold outside, but warm inside the blankets."

“Yes!” Li Chang’an nodded and said, “It’s because the body senses the warmth inside the blankets and the cold outside that it gives the brain the delusion of not wanting to get out of bed. This delusion affects your thinking, and you control it, so you stay in bed.”

"But if your mind overcomes this delusion, then you can rise up."

"Therefore, whether it is spiritual practice or martial arts, it is important to practice in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer."

"This is actually about finding your heart by overcoming the body's instinctive desires, and thus gaining the power of your heart."

"And this kind of victory is not enough once; it must be won many times, continuously, until it is invincible."

"And this is only the first step. Even so, most people do not have this self-control, cannot overcome external thoughts, and are in a state of being manipulated."

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin suddenly realized: "So there's such profound knowledge hidden in our daily arduous practice!"

"Over the years, I have never been negligent in either my spiritual practice or my studies."

"In terms of academics, I am already first in my grade."

"I still feel lost in my spiritual practice."

Lu Lin looked at Li Chang'an: "If this is the first step in training the 'heart,' then what is the next step?"

"The next step..." Li Chang'an said, "You have only overcome this way of thinking, but every time you do something, you have to fight it again. Even if you can win every time, it is still your opponent, and you still have the possibility of failure."

"So the next step is to ignore it, surpass it, and make it disappear from your ranks of opponents, so that you will be completely unaffected by it."

Upon hearing this, Lu Lin quickly asked, "How can this be done?"

Li Chang'an said, "Let's take the example of feeling cold. Your body sends you cold, which then gives rise to the thought of not wanting to get out of bed. Feeling cold and not wanting to get out of bed are essentially both delusions."

"And you, don't think about defeating them, treat them as if they don't exist, and you'll move on to the next step."

"At this point, you can walk in the snow without wearing any clothes and not feel any cold."

Lu Lin looked puzzled and said, "How is that possible? Even if you subjectively ignore the cold, the cold is still an objective reality. Won't you freeze to death?"

“How could you freeze to death…” Li Chang’an laughed: “When you ignore your delusions and are no longer controlled by external thoughts, your true self, which is 100% yours, will manifest, occupy the high ground of consciousness, and thus take control of your body.”

"The more fully your id is manifested, the greater your control over yourself."

"When you are controlled by external thoughts, your temperature is determined by the outside world."

"You feel cold when it's cold, and you feel hot when you wear clothes; all your senses are passive receptors."

"But when your id takes control of you, you will have more control over yourself and you will be able to control your body's functions at will."

"When it's cold outside, you can go without clothes and directly mobilize your body's energy or accelerate blood circulation to warm your body."

"Similarly, in the sweltering heat, you can also cool yourself down instantly, thus achieving a state of immunity to heat and cold."

As he spoke, Li Chang'an extended his right hand, gesturing for Lu Lin to hold it.

Lu Lin's expression changed drastically as soon as she grasped it.

He was horrified to discover that Li Chang'an's palms were sometimes as hot as a branding iron and sometimes as cold as ice.

The two extreme temperatures switched wildly in an instant.

Li Chang'an calmly said, "I didn't use Qi. These are all natural reactions of the body. This is my way of controlling my body."

Lu Lin looked at Li Chang'an, utterly shocked: "This is amazing..."

Chapter 61 Guidance

"It's not amazing. Even ordinary people can do it under certain specific conditions."

Li Chang'an said, "People who suffer from hypothermia in extremely cold conditions often feel very hot and want to take off their clothes before they freeze to death. Why is that?"

"This is a kind of manipulation of the body by the mind. The mind can regulate the body's temperature, but the mind is not under your control."

"If something is out of control, it is easy to lose control. The mind instinctively preserves the temperature of the body surface, but fails to preserve the temperature inside the body."

"Therefore, even a fat person with a lot of fat reserves can freeze to death in such a state of alternating hot and cold."

"But if you discard this external thinking and let your id take control of your body."

"You can autonomously mobilize all available energy in your body, while simultaneously raising the temperature of your body surface and internal organs, thus surviving in extremely cold environments."

"This is why some ascetics don't wear clothes all year round but don't freeze to death; they cultivate this ability."

"Ascetic monks?" Lu Lin suddenly realized, "So that's what they practice."

He had met the ascetics, and at the time he asked his grandfather why they did this.

Grandpa said this was to toughen his body and starve him, to temper his will.

At that time, he only felt that these people had a really strong will.

Unexpectedly, there was so much knowledge hidden behind this unwavering will.

If it weren't for Senior Brother Chang'an pointing it out, he might have remained ignorant of the reasons behind it his entire life.

Seeing that Lu Lin was sometimes deep in thought and sometimes lost in thought, looking as if she only half understood, Li Chang'an continued:

"You might think the idea of ​​an ascetic is too far-fetched, cousin, but you've met a madman, haven't you?"

Lu Lin nodded: "I've seen him. I often run into a madman on my way to school. He's always gesturing wildly and muttering to himself."

"Sometimes he would wear a thick cotton-padded coat in the summer and go shirtless in the winter, but strangely enough, he was always very energetic and I never saw him get sick."

Li Chang'an said, "Do you know why this is? It's because he's gone mad. His thinking is chaotic, and his external thoughts can't be effectively controlled."

"In this chaotic state, his id will unconsciously make some adjustments to his current situation."

"So even though he wears a cotton-padded coat in the summer and no clothes in the winter, he is not prone to getting sick and still has plenty of energy. Some of them are even incredibly strong."

"I read a report from abroad about a person called the Balcony Killer. This killer was an ordinary person, not a superhuman."

"He just has schizophrenia. He's a normal person during the day, but he has an episode at night."

“When he has an attack, he can climb up an apartment building more than 30 meters high without any protective gear, climb onto the balcony, kill the person, and then climb down.”

"Under normal circumstances, he would feel his legs trembling just looking down from the apartment building."

Hearing this, Lu Jin was deeply moved and interjected:

"Yes, that's true. Those madmen in the martial arts world who have gone mad from their cultivation often have greatly increased strength, making them much more difficult to deal with than usual."

Li Chang'an nodded and said, "In this chaotic state, one's conscious thoughts are also chaotic and easily lose control."

"Therefore, the id state of mind of a madman is often only temporary and cannot last. So they may be very energetic one second and suddenly become unwell the next."

"Our spiritual practice is about keeping our true self constantly in our minds and letting our mind control our body."

"If your body is controlled by your own will, and your mind is controlled by your own will, then you will be free and at ease."

After listening, Lu Lin remained silent for a long time before saying:

"Senior Brother Chang'an, I understand how to cultivate from now on."

"What's most important to me now is to analyze which thoughts are entirely my own, which thoughts are bodily delusions, and which thoughts are delusions caused by external factors."

"Then defeat them one by one, and surpass them one by one."

“That’s right,” Li Chang’an nodded.

“When my great-grandfather arranged the competition, he said he would treat you as my opponent. I told him that I had never considered you as my opponent.”

"Because our only opponent should be ourselves."

Li Chang'an looked at Lu Lin again, his tone becoming extremely serious:

"Although I beat you today, I don't want you to see me as an opponent. You need to find your own target."

This is also the purpose of Li Chang'an's words.

With the awareness of being in the intermediate state (bardo), Li Chang'an was very clear about his current state.

He didn't want Lu Lin to treat him as a rival, which would only waste his time.

This isn't him bragging or praising his own wares; rather, there's a precedent to follow, like Zhang Huaiyi.

Zhang Zhiwei was first among his peers, while Zhang Huaiyi was clearly second, but he preferred to play dumb rather than reveal any of his skills.

In his view, if he couldn't beat Zhang Zhiwei, there was no difference between second place and last place.

Zhang Zhiwei's golden light is powerful.

Zhang Huaiyi painstakingly crafted a sharp golden light capable of cutting through Zhang Zhiwei's golden light.

When his cultivation level couldn't keep up with Zhang Zhiwei's, he went down the mountain and used Wugensheng's methods to improve himself.