Chapter Fourteen: The Realm of No Self

  Ji Wanyun was overjoyed that Ji Changkong could possess the Heavenly Earth Origin Power, and with a happy smile on her face, she slowly savored a piece of braised beef. Only then did she hastily get up, eager to take Ji Changkong back to the Ji residence to share the good news with his concerned grandfather, Ji Yusheng.

  She knew better than anyone how much hope Ji Yu Sheng had placed in Ji Chang Kong, and over the years, he had been quietly watching Ji Chang Kong from behind the scenes, hoping that one day Ji Chang Kong would possess the Tian Di Yuan Force, just like his father, and bring glory to the Ji family.

  However, for over a decade, he watched with his own eyes as Jī Chángkōng, in whom he had placed high hopes, remained ordinary and was unable to gather the fundamental energy. This dealt a huge blow to him. He was originally not very good at expressing his emotions. Since learning that Jī Chángkōng could not become a Tiān Shì, his heart has been filled with disappointment. Due to the unclear circumstances of his son Jī Huà's death, he felt sorrowful and even more depressed in the Jī family.

  ……

  Just as she stood up and was about to shout for Ji Changkong to ride together, Ji Wanyun froze again.

  In front of her, Ji Changkong sat cross-legged on the ground, motionless, as if there was nothing unusual about it.

  However, when Ji Wanyun looked at him, she was shocked to find that although Ji Changkong was right there, he gave her a kind of ethereal and elusive feeling that was hard to grasp.

  Ji Changkong sat there, motionless, without a hint of life, as if merged with the universe, like a boulder, a giant tree, or perhaps the air that can be seen but not touched...

  It gives people an unreal feeling.

  The girl seemed to be right in front of her, but it was as if she had vanished from this world!

  Ji Wanyun was greatly shocked, stunned by the eerie Ji Changkong before her. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and tried to sense Ji Changkong with her divine soul.

  Nothing! Absolutely nothing!

  With her eyes closed, Ji Wanyun used her divine soul to sense everything around her, but found that except for herself, the surroundings were empty and desolate, without even a hint of life fluctuations!

  Greatly shocked and losing color, Ji Wanyun hastily opened her eyes and looked forward in alarm.

  The lady is still in the sky!

  ……

  Ji Wanyun was thoroughly flustered, she closed her eyes once more and tried to sense everything around her with her divine soul.

  That place was clearly devoid of any signs of life, empty and desolate with nothing in sight. But when she opened her eyes, she found that Ji Changkong had been standing there all along, not having moved an inch!

  Heavens, what's going on here?

  Ji Wanyun's face was filled with shock and she couldn't believe the incredibly bizarre scene that had just unfolded before her eyes. She stood there, momentarily stunned and at a loss for what to do, her mind reeling in astonishment!

  With the cultivation of Xi Yun's Four Symbols Heavenly Boundary, her divine soul had become extremely wondrous. Using her divine soul's sensory abilities, she could easily detect any anomalies in her surroundings. As long as it was a living being within a certain range, it would be impossible for them to escape her divine soul's senses.

  Unless it was those powerful Tian Shi who were much stronger than her, they could use their divine soul to form a consciousness obstruction and conceal the aura on their body.

  Ji Changkong was obviously not in this situation.

  He had just possessed the Heavenly Earth Yuan Power, no matter how deep his internal yuan power was, he was only a First Heaven Yuan Master!

  No matter how you look at it, Ji Changkong would never be able to escape her spiritual sense, but the unbelievable fact was right in front of her, forcing Ji Wanyun to accept this extremely bizarre scene.

  ……

  Ji Wanyun stared blankly at Ji Changkong for a long time before suddenly reacting, hastily calling out: "Changkong! Changkong!"

  A strange wave of aura suddenly emerged from Kijiro's body, and in that instant, Kijiro, who had not shown any signs of "life" just a moment ago, suddenly burst forth with vigorous vitality!

  At this moment, Ji Wanyun finally felt that the Ji Changkong in front of her was a living person! ——Not a boulder, not empty air.

  He seemed to be slowly waking up from a strange state, his eyes gradually clearing up from confusion, and suddenly radiating an ethereal quality that gave people a feeling of wanting to drift away with the wind.

  After a while, Ji Changkong seemed to have realized something and suddenly exclaimed: "Auntie, the yuan force on my body can actually circulate to the bone marrow of my waist and legs, how can it be so fast!?"

  Ji Wanyun was completely stunned, staring at him with a gaze as if looking at a monster, speechless for half a moment.

  "Aunt, what are you calling me for?" With a stretch of her long body, Ji Changkong happily moved around, and a crisp and pleasant "crackling" sound came from the joints in her body. Along with that crackling sound, Ji Changkong felt refreshed and invigorated, as if she could freely roam the world.

  For over a decade, every time he gathered yuan energy, it was accompanied by a sharp pain, as if it would forever leave him and never return.

  ……

  It took a long time for Ji Wanyun to react, looking at Ji Changkong who was jumping around with joy. She smiled wryly: "Changkong, what just happened? I couldn't feel any human life energy from you... It's as if you had disappeared from this world forever, or completely merged into the universe, becoming a blade of grass, a tree, or even empty air."

  When Ji Wan Yun said that, Ji Chang Kong suddenly remembered the process of cultivating according to the Tai Xu Secret Record before entering that state.

  The Tai Xu Secret Record starts from the third page, which records the secrets of Tian Shi's cultivation. From the third page to the last page, there are detailed steps for cultivation from Yi Yuan Tian to Qi Xing Tian. Jia Chang Kong was just following the secret of Yi Yuan Tian's cultivation when he suddenly reached the state of "No Self".

  "The state of no self" is a wonderful realm of cultivation, where one must be without ego during practice, forget everything, and become one with the vast emptiness, merging with heaven and earth. In this realm, oneself is heaven and earth, is the vast emptiness.

  Ji Changkong didn't know how he had fallen into this state, in the "State of No Self" he forgot about himself, and instinctively followed the methods on the Tai Xu Secret Records to manipulate the yuan force inside his body, unknowingly, he actually managed to circulate the yuan force down to the bone marrow of his legs.

  If it hadn't been for Ji Wanyun's sudden soft shout, he might have continued to sink into this "state of nothingness".

  "Aunt, I have a scripture in my mind called 'Tai Xu Secret Record'. I don't know why it exists in my mind, but when I want to cultivate the Tian Shi Secret Technique, it will automatically appear. Just now, I was cultivating according to the 'Tai Xu Secret Record' and entered that wonderful state." Ji Changkong looked puzzled as he told Ji Yuanyun the truth.

  "What?" Ji Wanyun exclaimed in surprise, going up to touch Ji Changkong's head, her face filled with incredulity. "Changkong, you can't have any problems, can you? How is it possible for a Buddhist scripture to exist inside your brain?"

  "It's really true!" Ji Changkong smiled wryly and spread his hands, indicating that he didn't understand what was going on either.

  She hesitated for a moment, then explained to Ji Wanyun: "I don't know what's going on either. In short, it's in my mind. As long as I want to practice the Tian Shi Secret, it will appear. I feel that the Tai Xuan Secret Record is far more profound than the so-called Tian Shi Secret recorded in our Zang Jing Lou, with ancient texts that are difficult to understand and absolutely cannot be compared to those Tian Shi Secrets."

  "How is this possible?" Ji Wenyun's face was full of doubt, hesitated for a moment, before her expression changed slightly, and she whispered: "Could it be that your father back then..."

  "What?" Ji Changkong was extremely sensitive to the two words "father", and immediately became alert.

  All these years, he had a deep-seated resentment. Others had loving parents, but he hadn't even seen his parents' faces. The disdain, ridicule, and harsh words he suffered in the Ji household seemed to be largely due to this "father" he had never met!

  "There's nothing." Ji Wanyun stopped talking, and immediately became serious, saying to Ji Changkong: "If it's really like you said, and there's a scripture in your mind, then cultivate the Tian Shi secret technique. However, remember that this matter absolutely cannot be told to anyone else, not even the closest person! From today on, keep everything about the scripture hidden in your heart, don't say another word, not even to me!"

  "Why?" Ji Changkong furrowed his brow and asked.

  "Don't ask so much, I'm not very clear about the details either. Maybe when you're strong enough, you'll be able to find the answers yourself." Ji Wanyun sighed softly, her face full of helplessness.

  "I understand." Ji Changkong could ignore anyone's words, but he would definitely listen to Ji Yuanyun's. He knew better than anyone how much heartache Ji Yuanyun had endured for him!

  "Let's go, we're going back. If your Third Grandfather knew you had obtained the yuan power and even reached the point of yuan power entering the bone marrow, that old man would be excited to what extent!" Seeing him nodding in agreement, Ji Wanyun smiled sweetly, just thinking about Ji Yusheng's shocked and ecstatic expression made her feel comfortable.

  "Alright, let's head back to Ji's house first!" Ji Changkong nodded, then gazed at the towering Wu Shan mountain and muttered in a low voice: "Wu Shan Old Mother... Lu Yun..., you two wait, one day I will make you pay back tenfold for the humiliation my aunt suffered yesterday!"

  ……