Chapter 247: The Heart of Seeking the Dao, Awakening the Original Nature

"It's fake, it's all fake."

Although it was a fast-forwarded experience of four lifetimes, the two of them had still gone through the three barriers of "Ignorance," "Greed," and "Desire."

The ignorance of Longevity.

The greed for power.

The desire for beauty.

At this moment, returning to this steamed bun stall, the two still felt as if a lifetime had passed, yet their stomachs were still rumbling.

All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows; like dew and like lightning; they should be viewed as such.

The Illusion Technique Xu Jia used was merely at the level of Hu Jinhua and had not yet reached the level of a Heavenly Demon; it was nothing more than magnifying the desires within their own hearts.

To be honest, if one truly has a heart that seeks the Dao, seeing through the illusion and perceiving one's original nature is actually not difficult.

Many illusions are Demonic Obstacles; if one cannot see through these, how can one cultivate?

Failing to hold onto one's original nature and falling into an illusion is like falling into the demonic path.

The two only thought it was fake, so they had the intention of seeking the "true," and began to ponder ways to break through the illusion.

"In the first life, that old man directed us to chop wood, but we ended up meeting a River Deity, and the River Deity sent us to an Immortal mountain where we drank a cup of tea and gained eight hundred years of lifespan."

"In the second life, this old man gave us steamed buns to eat, granting us Nine Bulls and Two Tigers Strength, so we vied for supremacy over the world, but we did not obtain Longevity."

"In the third life, we sought out an Immortal mountain to pay respects to the Ancestor, but we were driven out because we were aiming too high and were unwilling to learn this or that."

"In the fourth life, we were recruited as sons-in-law of the Great Joy Kingdom, enjoying countless concubines, only to end up dying from exhaustion..."

"These all started from one place, and that is this old man at the steamed bun stall; he is the key to breaking it."

Thinking of this, the older brother developed a murderous intent and suddenly lashed out, killing the steamed bun old man with three punches.

"Ah? Big brother, didn't you say this was a test from an Immortal? Why did you kill him?"

"It's fake, these are all fake, he's playing us for fools!" After killing the old man, the older brother grabbed the steamed buns and started eating.

Things having reached this point, the younger brother also started eating.

After the two ate the steamed buns, they did not gain Nine Bulls and Two Tigers Strength again, and for a moment they panicked: "Could this time be real? Did we really kill someone?"

At this time, voices came from not far away; it was the voices of the villagers, and they were still discussing the matter of the Water Deity's magical battle.

The two turned deathly pale and dragged the old man's corpse away to hide it.

Neither of them dared to go home, thinking only of how to flee for their lives.

"How about we go rob someone again, seize some money and goods... and flee to a distant land, hiding our names."

The two men's evil thoughts were stirred up.

Just then, an old woman leaning on a cane suddenly appeared, calling out: "Old man, old man, where have you gone?"

Before long, the old woman reached the two of them: "Two heroes, have you seen my old man? He said he was going out to sell buns and steamed buns this morning and would be back by noon, but it's already evening and he hasn't returned..."

The two realized the victim had come, and were instantly filled with infinite regret.

The older brother said: "Old lady, we were chasing an Immortal and encountered your old man, and we accidentally killed him."

"Ah? My old man had no grudges or enmity with you, yet you actually killed him; I'll fight you to the death!"

Having said that, the old woman swung her cane and struck at the two.

The two pushed her, and the old woman fell to the ground, her head broken and bleeding...

"Ah? I didn't use any force, how did she die?"

"We can't stay in this place, let's run! This is evil!"

The younger brother suddenly said: "Big brother, do you think this might still be an illusion?"

The older one was also somewhat suspicious, so the two of them checked the corpse, dipping their hands in the blood and putting it in their mouths to taste.

Then they disemboweled the two old people, but saw no internal organs...

"It's fake, it really is fake!"

Their expressions were full of Madness, their bodies covered in blood, looking terrifying.

Not long after, a little girl appeared, shouting loudly: "Grandpa, Grandma, where are you?"

She soon discovered the two of them, her face turning pale with fright: "You killed my grandpa, you killed my grandma! I'll fight you to the death."

This time the two did not move at all, completely refusing to fight back, having neither murderous intent nor the will to live.

They just sat cross-legged on the ground; after an unknown amount of time, a group of Military Officials arrived to arrest them, but they kept their eyes closed, neither listening, seeing, nor responding.

These hallucinations could do nothing to them; after an unknown amount of time, the scene suddenly changed to an execution ground.

The two heard familiar voices—it was their father, mother, grandfather, and grandmother.

They cursed: "We never gave birth to or raised these two beasts; for the sake of a few steamed buns, they could kill people; it is only right for the official to kill them and rid the people of a scourge!" The two were slightly moved, and as soon as they were moved, they felt the execution ground become more real.

So they closed their eyes: "It's fake, it's all fake!"

"The hour of noon has arrived, execute them!"

A cold light flashed, and the two only felt a whiteness before their eyes; when they opened their eyes again, they were no longer in front of the steamed bun stall.

Instead, there was a young Daoist with a smile on his face.

Only, for some reason, looking at this smile, the two felt extremely annoyed: "You evil Daoist! We kindly wanted to find you to become your disciples, why are you playing us for fools?"

Xu Jia said: "What is it you seek in asking for the Dao? This poor Daoist was merely letting you search for your original nature within the illusion."

"In the first life, you obtained an Immortal affinity, yet you developed a heart of regret, becoming a wealthy man, unable to let go of worldly ties, marrying and having children, only to watch your wife die one by one before your eyes... and then you blamed others for letting you have Longevity... this was what you sought in the first place."

"In the second life, you were even more greedy for the red dust; after possessing power, you acted recklessly, vying for supremacy over the world; after becoming emperor, you again thought of the benefits of Longevity, and in your later years you sought the Dao everywhere, which was nothing more than being unable to let go of power."

"In the third life, I gave you another chance to visit the Immortal mountain, Xieyue Sanxing Dong, which was manifested from your own original nature; the Ancestor taught you the introductory methods of cultivation, yet you treated them with disdain, unwilling to learn this or that."

"In the fourth life, encountering the temptation of the Joyous Kingdom, you could have rejected the temptation and passed through safely, yet you indulged in it, unable to extricate yourselves."

"The fifth life was even worse; you developed murderous intent, sharpening your blades to attack those even weaker than yourselves..."

The two were rendered speechless, and only the older brother knelt on the ground and said: "Is it that we are unable to cultivate like this?"

"You have yet to subdue your own desires, nor have you subdued your own original heart; you are always fickle, obsessed with this and obsessed with that, and you lack a strong moral sense, therefore you cannot be this poor Daoist's disciples."

"The first principle for this poor Daoist in accepting disciples is to have moral character. You should go back, be filial to your grandparents, read more books, increase your wisdom, and do not repeat the mistakes you made in the illusion."

The older one, knowing there was no hope for an Immortal connection, knelt and kowtowed, sobbing: "Our family is poor, we have no money for school, and our parents passed away early. No one has ever taught us what is right or what is wrong, and we do not know what moral character is. Today at the Dharma assembly, we heard what the Immortal said, and we felt it made great sense, so we developed a heart of reverence. Now we do not ask the Immortal to teach us the art of Longevity, we only ask the Immortal to teach us how to restrain ourselves, cultivate moral character, and understand our original heart, so that we may know what is wrong and what is right."

The second brother also said: "That's right, they all curse us as having mothers but no one to raise us. We are just like that, and no one has ever taught us."

Xu Jia heard this and knew they already had a "heart for Hearing the Dao" and an "intention toward goodness," having awakened to what they sought and no longer being muddled.

"You are just like the water ghosts this poor Daoist converted today; the only thing missing is someone to give you a hand. How about this: this poor Daoist will give you two a chance. You may start as laborers, and in the future, it is not impossible to become formal disciples. Are you willing?"

Xu Jia tempering these two was also a form of serious cultivation.

The two human disciples before, Xiaopangdun and Chen Gongming, could not be considered serious cultivation.

Hearing that the situation had taken a turn for the better, the two immediately cherished this opportunity. They were no longer arrogant or fastidious, nor did they say they wouldn't learn this or that; their attitudes became much more humble, and they no longer spouted wild words.

They said repeatedly: "The disciples are willing to start as laboring disciples."

Xu Jia nodded and conjured two steamed buns from his hand, injecting them with the True Qi of the Heavenly Dipper he had cultivated: "Are you hungry? Eat these buns, one for each of you."

The two ate the buns and suddenly felt their bodies grow warm, followed by the sensation of having inexhaustible ox-like strength.

"These buns have increased your strength by the power of one ox. This poor Daoist will also teach you a set of Old Farmer Stake. Go back, provide for your grandparents, and till the fields. When you have free time, go to the mountain to help build the Daoist temple. There, food and drink are provided, and Daoist scriptures are recited; you can follow along and chant. Remember, remember: do not rely on your strength to do anything untoward."

"By the way, do you two have formal names?"

"My name is Jiang Qi."

"My name is Shen Bao."

"Good names," Xu Jia praised: "Since you two have set your hearts and natures to change, you have already changed your fate. Do not let down this poor Daoist's expectations."

After saying this, Xu Jia vanished.

Jiang Qi and Shen Bao stood up after a long while, looked at each other, and then began to test their ox-like strength.

Finding a large rock, they gave it a slight hug and actually lifted it up. A tree by the road as thick as a neck was pulled up by the roots when they tugged with force.

"What great strength!" The two became excited, but remembering what Xu Jia had said, they obediently went back.

From then on, the two seemed like different people; they no longer went out to mess around, but helped their family clean, chop wood, fetch water, plow fields, and farm. In their spare time, they learned a few characters and went to the mountain to help build the Daoist temple...

Xu Jia enlightening these two naughty boys was merely an interlude.

Soon, it was night.

Xu Jia was in his own courtyard, where Sheng Ying was playing a combo skill with Xun Taizi, one breathing fire and the other blowing wind.

At this moment, wind suddenly rose, clouds gathered, and then there were several rumbles of thunder and flashes of lightning.

Xu Jia looked up and saw two people in the clouds: one was Turtle General, and the other was Ao Jin.

Turtle General struck his two Pear Melon Hammers together, producing thunder and lightning.

Ao Jin gathered the cloud Qi, struggling to make it rub together to generate natural thunder and lightning.

Both of them were having a very hard time.

The precision Xu Jia had set required the two of them to cooperate with each other to complete the rainfall.

If they could not let go of their pride, both would fail.

(End of chapter)