Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi

Upon hearing Zhang Yao’s self-mocking words, the Passing Arhat shook his head and solemnly spoke:

"It’s not the layman’s fault."

"Without residing in the great marshes, one cannot discern the form of dragons and pythons; living long in deep mountains, one’s nature aligns with tigers and leopards."

"Since we cultivators have chosen the path of cultivation, it’s impossible to dwell within mundane, worldly affairs for long, so the layman need not feel guilty."

Zhang Yao nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"Master has enlightened me, revealing the fundamental issue inherent in the merit system."

"And I once heard rumors, saying the master struggled with mental knots for years, thus delaying ascendance to the realm of the Great Arhat. Could it be because of this?"

Imagine:

At the moment truth is unveiled, discovering the Mani Temple that nurtured and deeply bonded with oneself is actually a den of hypocrites and scoundrels, preaching one thing while practicing another.

The teachings received and life principles upheld all crumble completely, and the kindly mentors turn into grotesque monsters—who could bear such a thing?

Just thinking about it made Zhang Yao feel that many might collapse and suffer a mental breakdown on the spot; thus, it’s quite normal for the Passing Arhat to develop mental knots.

"Yes, and no."

Facing Zhang Yao’s question, the Passing Arhat first nodded, then shook his head, and sighed deeply, saying:

"If the truth was that simple, I wouldn’t have any mental knots at all."

"Considering my fiery temper back in the day, after managing the Great Awakening Hall and uncovering the truth, at worst, I would rebel against the Mani Temple and turn everything upside down, making sure these hypocrites and bald donkeys don’t get it easy!"

"If I could have had a decisive battle, I might have already attained the fruit of the Great Arhat and wouldn’t be entangled for so many years."

Hearing this, Zhang Yao laughed heartily and said:

"The master’s words truly resonate with my temperament, and make me see the master in a new light!"

As he spoke, his smile faded, displaying a hint of caution:

"Then, what is the truth the master speaks of?"

"Ah..."

The Passing Arhat sighed heavily before slowly revealing the truth from years ago:

"Back then, when demons wreaked havoc, the living beings suffered enormously, creating living imagery of purgatory."

"During the Demon Cultivators’ reign, common folks became as livestock to support cultivators’ livelihood, to serve their hedonistic desires, sometimes even sacrificing wives, children, and even their own flesh and soul..."

"In families, if anyone was born with a spirit root, they immediately elevated from a life akin to enslaved livestock to become predatory wolves and leopards, turning the entire territory into a never-ending hellish cycle of monstrous atrocities."

"Today, you kill me; tomorrow, I kill you. The common folk would resent not the high-standing Demon Cultivators, but blame themselves and their families for not having a spirit root, for failing to become Demon Cultivators."

Pausing for a moment, he showed a hint of reverence:

"Such cruel and terrifying purgatory continued for tens of thousands of years until a great man descended, the Ancestral Master Wuliang, who founded the lineage of our Mani Temple, arrived in the Mani Kingdom."

"Ancestral Master Wuliang possesses mighty divine power and boundless magical power; he subdued the five most formidable Demon Sects of the time, single-handedly pacifying the world and suppressing the demon calamity that reigned for thousands of years."

"Yet, despite the Master’s boundless Buddhist technique, human power has its limits, unable to stand alone against the grand forces of celestial nature."

"Unless the Earth’s muddy Qi accumulated beneath the Mani Temple for eons is dispelled, the demon calamity would never cease, rendering all efforts and sacrifices futile..."

Zhang Yao slowly nodded and pursued:

"And then? How did the Ancestral Master Wuliang resolve this issue?"

He was eager to know what power could confront the grand forces of celestial nature.

The answer was simple:

"Wish Power of All Living Beings!"

The Passing Arhat enunciated each word clearly:

"Indeed, as the saying goes, people united can overcome nature; only through the convergence of the faith of billions into a flood-like Wish Power of All Living Beings, along with the vast spiritual qi of the Mani Kingdom, can they combat and suppress the endless Earth’s muddy qi!"

"Celestial and Earthly Spiritual Qi is the foundation; Wish Power of All Living Beings is the beam."

"The rest—promoting Buddhist teachings, punishing evil and rewarding good, the Mani Temple’s legacy, planning the location and domain of the Demon Cave, the powerful arrays sealing and guiding demonic qi—these are the bricks and tiles, forming a framework."

"Ultimately, this entire organization constitutes one entity—the merit system!"

Only then did Zhang Yao fully comprehend.

The foundation of the merit system, including promoting Buddhist teachings and advocating good deeds, was to gather the Wish Power of All Living Beings, to guide and channel spiritual qi to suppress muddy qi.

Then why is there still something like the "Black Prison"? Why, even today, does the Mani Kingdom remain entangled in cycles of good and evil?

"Ah..."

Seemingly noticing the confusion in Zhang Yao’s eyes, the Passing Arhat sighed once more.

His three sighs today, each heavier than the last, now bearing a visage of poignant bitterness:

"Remember what I’ve said?"

"In this world, everything has light and dark, brightness and shadow."

"Without slaughter and cruelty, where does compassion come from? Without grave sins, how can there be boundless Buddhist techniques?"

"Without evil, there is no good!"

Hearing this, Zhang Yao paused in silence before nodding slightly and said:

"I cultivate the Daoist Profound Skill and know that all things in the world can be divided into Yin and Yang, interdependent and opposing each other. Everything exists in the change and conflict between Yin and Yang."

"Without short, there is no long; without high, there is no low. If not for mutual opposition, many things would lose their meaning."

"The initial attempt of Ancestral Master Wuliang, to abandon evil and embrace good, was perhaps a failure, wasn’t it?"

Hearing his words, the Passing Arhat looked at him deeply before speaking in a somber voice:

"Yes, he failed."

"As you anticipated, after the first few generations, Mani Kingdom became a Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss of good deeds, and the Muddy Qi was almost completely suppressed."

"But the good times didn’t last long; in just a hundred years, things gradually got out of control."

"A simple truth: a person who is full to bursting finds delicacies tasteless, almost to the point of nausea; but a person who has starved for three days finds even chaff and husk delicious and devours them eagerly."

"Ancestral Master Wuliang suddenly found that because no one was committing evil, many good deeds disappeared."

"Without thieves, there are no officers to catch them; without robbers, there are no roaming heroes; if no one abuses violence, there won’t be anyone showing courage for a just cause."

He took a deep breath, then continued slowly:

"Not only that, a one-sided abandonment of evil and embrace of good brought even more terrifying consequences."

"The empire that initially ruled Mani Kingdom was vast and prosperous with the support of Ancestral Master Wuliang, but barely a hundred years later, everything changed."

"The Emperor, the Imperial Family, the ministers, the noble families... because everyone had to do good deeds, chaos ensued, and the empire was nearly on the brink of collapse, with the mundane world’s order almost disintegrating."

"Finally, upon deep reflection, Ancestral Master Wuliang realized that good and evil are indispensable."

"To maintain a continuous flow of the Wish Power of All Living Beings to forever suppress the Muddy Qi of Mani Kingdom, there was no choice but to actively create evil acts and villains to nurture good acts and virtuous people."

Hearing this, Zhang Yao’s eyes deepened greatly, and he said:

"Is this the source of those ’Black Prisons’ among the twenty-four Demon Caves?"

"Yes."

The Passing Arhat lowered his gaze and said:

"The Wish Power of All Living Beings can actually be divided into two parts: imaginary and real."

"The imaginary part of the wish power lies in upholding grand ambitions, being an unattainable ideal, unchangeable and unalterable by oneself, thus needing to worship gods, Buddhas, and Bodhisattvas, seeking mighty power for protection."

"This part of the wish power is collectively captured by Mani Temple and used as the main force against the Muddy Qi."

"The real part of the wish power lies in the desire to change reality, self-action taking the lead, and this part is usually placed on those around whom such change can affect one’s circumstances."

"Most of them are people of high prestige, revered status, and great influence, capable of changing the fate of many, thus they carry a lot of wish power."

Zhang Yao understood and said:

"And these people, under the merit system of Mani Kingdom, are usually great benevolent figures and good people."

"Correct."

The face of the Passing Arhat was filled with grief and suffering:

"Therefore, after these great benevolent figures and good people die, their souls are harvested to strip the wish power vested in them."

"This part of the wish power is used to influence the Muddy Qi and incite evil thoughts in people’s hearts."

"You must know that the Muddy Qi itself doesn’t impact mortals; it only seduces cultivators with magical power into becoming demons. Even after implementing the merit system for thousands of years, the existence of evil acts and evil people is due to the influence of wish power!"

"To achieve this goal, these great benevolent figures, who did all the good deeds in life thinking they could ascend to the Western Paradise, actually endure endless torture, thereby guiding their evil thoughts to use the Muddy Qi to spread across the nation."

"One could say that the more the merit system is promoted in Mani Kingdom, the more one does good deeds and acts as a virtuous person, the more miserable the end will be!!"

He raised his head, his face already covered in tears:

"Yet ironically, the source of all these sins is meant to end even greater sins!"

"The struggle between good and evil never ends; Mani Temple has endless Wish Power of All Living Beings to always suppress the Muddy Qi, preventing demonic calamities from resurfacing, allowing most common folk to live safe and prosperous lives."

"And the cost of this is borne by those virtuous people."

"Furthermore, after Ancestral Master Wuliang achieved Perfection and ascended to the Upper Realm, for thousands of years, the temple has been secretly spreading demonic teachings, creating small Demon Caves to spawn demons, guiding Earth’s Muddy Qi to rampage through cities, and even actively causing natural calamities..."

"Thus, we have endless demon cultivators to hunt, demons to exterminate, evil people to punish, and good deeds to perform!"

"One part causing harm while another part protecting; one part killing while another part saving."

"As it was in the past, so it will be in the future; lifetime after lifetime, with no redemption."

The Passing Arhat clasped his hands together, his face now devoid of sorrow or joy, a picture of numbness:

"This is the knot in my heart."

"This is the root of Mani Kingdom’s illness."