Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi

In Mani Temple.

Zhang Yao and Monk Zhenhui bid farewell to Abbot Tongyuan, passed the Great Hero Hall, and headed towards the Great Awakening Hall.

As they went deeper, the surroundings became increasingly silent, even the resounding bell that could be heard for miles became faint and indistinct.

A moment later:

With Monk Zhenhui leading the way, Zhang Yao finally laid eyes on the Great Awakening Hall, reputed to be the foremost of the Twelve Halls.

"Hermit Qingxu."

Monk Zhenhui put his hands together, bowed his head, and said:

"The master is in the hall; I shall not disturb you and will take my leave now."

"Alright, thank you, Master."

Zhang Yao nodded slightly, politely returning the gesture.

After Zhenhui left, he retracted his gaze, looked up to examine the magnificent hall before him, then smiled and stepped forward.

"Dong, dong, dong..."

The floor of the Great Awakening Hall was an ancient gray, evoking a sense of desolate tranquility; each steady and powerful step felt like a hammer striking a heavy drum.

Upon entering the main hall, Zhang Yao’s eyes were immediately drawn to the enormous Jade Wall, seeing the shapes of mountains, rivers, and lands, witnessing the entwining of black qi and golden light, which sent a shock through his heart and mind.

He realized instantly — this Great Awakening Hall was the absolute core and hub of the Merit System.

Beneath the Jade Wall:

An elderly monk of slender build sat alone before the vast Jade Wall, leaving only his back visible.

"Master of Passage."

Zhang Yao halted in the hall, bowed, and said:

"I, Hermit Qingxu, have come as invited."

His voice echoed through the empty Great Awakening Hall:

The old monk before the Mani Jade Pendant finally stood up slowly, turned around to reveal an utterly ordinary face, clean-shaven with only two long white eyebrows.

"I, Passing Arhat, greet Hermit Qingxu."

After returning the greeting, Passing Arhat gestured:

"Come, please."

Zhang Yao nodded slightly, approached the futon opposite the Jade Pendant, and sat facing Passing Arhat.

The two exchanged glances:

Zhang Yao saw an unfathomable deep pool, Passing saw a whirlpool on a vast ocean.

"Hearing a hundred times is not as good as seeing once."

Zhang Yao respectfully lowered his head, saying:

"Having the chance to meet Passing Arhat today, I now understand why the saying ’Eight directions Pass, no barriers in Central Plains’ truly befits your reputation."

"It’s not worth mentioning those past feats."

Passing Arhat smiled slightly, saying:

"I am merely dried bones in a grave, yesterday’s flower, while you, Hermit Qingxu, are young with boundless potential; your future accomplishments will surely surpass mine."

"You flatter me, Master.

Zhang Yao humbly replied.

After some polite exchanges, Passing Arhat suddenly spoke:

"What do you think of the Merit System of our Mani Kingdom?"

"Hmm?"

Zhang Yao was taken aback, his mind churning with thoughts.

A bit unsure of the old monk’s intentions, he replied carefully:

"It is certainly excellent."

"Under the Merit System, all beings enjoy an era of peace, cultivators gain achievements, perfectly aligned with the Buddhist Sect’s philosophy of transcendence and worldliness, truly unparalleled."

If it weren’t for the discoveries in the Demon Cave, this evaluation wouldn’t be wrong.

On the surface, the Merit System indeed seemed perfect, facilitating Buddhist Cultivators’ practice of good deeds, accumulation of merit, and help in enlightenment and mental realm growth, laying a robust foundation for the strength of Mani Temple.

Without the Merit System’s existence, Mani Kingdom wouldn’t have produced so many Golden Body Arhats, thriving as it does today.

However, considering the discoveries in the Demon Cave and Zhang Yao’s subsequent secret investigation, the Merit System’s existence became highly questionable.

Yet, as Zhang Yao was unaware of the old monk’s true intention, he naturally wouldn’t reveal his secrets.

"Why not speak candidly, Hermit?"

Not satisfied with this answer, Passing Arhat shook his head and said:

"In the world, brightness comes with darkness, light with shadows."

"You only mention the bright side, ignoring the darkness; this is not forthright."

"Hmm?!"

Zhang Yao was suddenly startled, immediately realizing there was a deeper meaning to his words.

As thoughts rushed through his mind, his peripheral vision caught sight of the simulation Jade Wall beside him, making his heart skip a beat as he vaguely guessed something.

But he chose to feign ignorance, furrowing his brow, and asked:

"What does Master mean by this? What dark side could there be in the Merit System, how could I know?"

Passing Arhat smiled slightly, saying:

"Did you not personally witness the ’Black Prison’ scene beneath the Demon Cave of Changle Mountain?"

With these words, the Great Awakening Hall instantly fell into a profound silence.

"..."

Zhang Yao remained silent for a long time, his gaze turning indifferent, his tone slightly cold:

"In a moment of arrogance and oversight, combined with a wishful thinking, I ended up giving others leverage over me; I have nothing to say."

"However, if Master thinks leveraging this would make me succumb, then that would be gravely mistaken!"

Back in the days of upheaval, he sat quietly in the Changle Palace, already contemplating a fish-or-cut-bait, earth-shattering mindset.

He thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, the surveillance methods of Mani Temple were far more terrifying than he imagined, even able to clearly investigate the Demon Cave where muddy Qi ran rampant.

Today, the mishap occurred, equivalent to his life and death hinging on a single thought of this Passing Arhat, which made him regret secretly, while the remaining was only a firm resolution, a desperate fight.

Compromise was impossible; rather be shattered than not breaking completely, he had enough capital to rise again.

Yet, something unexpected happened:

"You misunderstand, Hermit."

Passing Arhat stood up and bowed deeply, filled with a sense of guilt:

"Previously, I had never met you, Hermit, nor had any relationship, and today was just a brief meeting opportunity."

"I had no choice but to use this matter to test your intentions, but I had no intention of blackmailing, Tathagata can witness this heart!"

"Oh?"

Zhang Yao raised an eyebrow, hearing the sincerity in his words, his expression eased slightly, and he said:

"If that is the case, then please, Master, sit down and we can continue talking."

"Good, thank you for your understanding, Hermit."

Passing Arhat joined his palms in a salute before sitting down again.

Just as he sat down, Zhang Yao straightforwardly asked:

"Regarding the matters on Changle Mountain, it was a momentary lapse of selfishness and confusion on my part that inadvertently offended Mani Temple’s taboo, I willingly accept punishment."

"I wonder how Mani Temple intends to deal with my misconduct?"

The matter of the Earth Soul Crystal must not be exposed, so he could only take the blame upon himself, while checking what medicine the old monk was selling in his gourd.

What occurred was again unexpected:

"You have misunderstood, Hermit."

Passing Arhat slowly spoke:

"Mani Temple does not know about your matters, only I do."

"At that time, your actions were indeed somewhat reckless, nearly triggering the alert mechanism of the Great Awakening Hall, but I stopped it."

At this point, he paused, seemingly worried about Zhang Yao being apprehensive, and pointed to the Jade Pendant beside him:

"Hermit need not worry, we are under the Mani Jade Pendant, in the central location where endless muddy Qi and Wish Power of All Living Beings converge, no one can spy on our communication. Even Lord Nascent Soul or Great Arhat are no exception."

"So, in the upcoming exchange, Hermit can speak freely, there is no need for apprehension."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao gave him a deep look, momentarily silent.

He couldn’t imagine:

This person hailed as the first in Buddhist Technique and Divine Techniques in Mani Temple for five hundred years, the future Great Arhat, was not aligned with the upper echelons of Mani Temple.

What was his true purpose? And why did he conceal the matter of the Demon Cave on Changle Mountain for him? Because he had use value?

Various thoughts fluctuated in Zhang Yao’s mind, before he spoke:

"What is it that Master wishes to say?"

Passing Arhat did not directly answer, instead changing the topic and said:

"Hermit, have you ever known that people can be ’domesticated’?"

"Domesticated?"

Zhang Yao squinted and replied indifferently:

"Master, do you mean..."

"My meaning is very simple."

Passing Arhat spoke leisurely:

"Just as people breed pigs and sheep, selecting the robust ones for breeding, after several generations, or even dozens or hundreds of generations, the breed becomes much different from its ancestors."

"Pigs and sheep are like this, humans are also like this, they must follow this rule, and are not more noble than livestock, vegetables, or grains."

"But the ordinary people in Mani Kingdom clearly violate this rule, don’t you, Hermit, see this? Don’t you find it peculiar?"

Hearing this, Zhang Yao also understood Passing Arhat’s meaning.

People can be domesticated, and the rules, rites, systems, even culture, customs, and habits, passed down from generation to generation, can change and constrain people.

According to this theory:

The Merit System in Mani Kingdom has been implemented for thousands of years; by now there should no longer be ’evildoers’.

Consider this, if a young boy grows up in a world without females, he could never fully understand the entire concept of ’female’.

And the guiding generations to abandon evil for good and punishing evil-doers promoting good-deeds, is a highly efficient domestication process, more critical is the change of the entire environment.

In Mani Kingdom, evildoers genuinely suffer punishment and pursuit by Buddhist Cultivators, paying a great price, unworthy; whereas the benevolent who do good will be praised, rewarded, gaining tangible benefits and reputation.

If this continues for several generations, the concept of ’evildoers’ would swiftly vanish from the land, perhaps never to appear again.

If every household’s children receive education preaching goodness from a young age, and all the people they interact with are actively helping those in distress and practicing benevolence, how could there still be ’evildoers’ existence?

Perhaps mistakes will be made inadvertently, perhaps malice will arise in the heart, but objective and voluntary evil deeds like stealing, robbing, murdering, or arson should not exist in such an environment and cannot be continued.

Yet this is evidently not the case in Mani Kingdom today; good actions dominate, but evil has not disappeared, the struggle between good and evil remains as an eternal theme.

"... I understand Master’s intent."

Zhang Yao slowly spoke, his tone subdued:

"If the Merit System has no flaws, then Mani Temple long ago should have become the true Earthly Buddha Kingdom, Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss."

"Yet it inexplicably hasn’t, and remains trapped in the cycle of good versus evil, showing that the Merit System is fundamentally flawed, not genuinely pushing righteousness..."

"Hermit indeed grasps it instantly!"

Passing Arhat’s face revealed a genuine smile.

"Grasp it instantly? I only blame myself for being dull."

Zhang Yao chuckled self-deprecatingly, and said:

"Years ago, I also mingled in the mortal world for many years, never expecting the high-flying life for so long, to have forgotten the form of the human realm."

"Had it not been for Master’s enlightenment, I wouldn’t have noticed any issues within Mani Kingdom..."

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