Chapter 127: 《Past Amitabha Sutra》

"Found it!"

Yin Qi was overjoyed. He took a copper coin from his person and scraped it hard against the unusual cover; a flash of dark gold appeared where he had scratched it.

As he continued to tear through the cover, a sheet of paper with a slightly dark-gold hue was soon revealed.

It was densely packed with small script and illustrations.

It seemed to be gold leaf.

Yin Qi lifted the scripture and discovered that it was like a silk scroll, coming up in a large piece.

It was extremely thin, a full meter in length and width, and densely covered in text.

In the center was a golden Buddha statue, sitting cross-legged in the void, with countless suns, moons, and stars revolving around it.

Looking at this Buddha statue, Yin Qi felt as if he were looking at his own past life.

It seemed as if countless Buddhist principles were manifested upon this Buddha statue, making one unable to help but want to immerse oneself in it and develop the Buddha-nature deep within the heart.

"What incredible artistry; it is already close to the Dao."

Yin Qi was secretly startled.

To be able to express the Buddhist charm of the Buddha through painting—such artistry was simply inconceivable.

The Great Zen Temple possessed three supreme scriptures: the Past Amitabha Sutra, the Present Tathagata Sutra, and the Future No-Birth Sutra. Among them, the Past Amitabha Sutra and the Future No-Birth Sutra belonged to the methods of Daoism, while the Present Tathagata Sutra belonged to martial arts.

The "Past" is unchanging, therefore, by practicing the Past Amitabha Sutra, one's soul can remain immortal.

In the original work, Hong Yi's soul was scattered several times, and it was only because he had practiced the Past Amitabha Sutra that he was able to re-condense it.

For a practitioner of Daoism, this was simply a cheat code; it was equivalent to having N extra lives.

Spreading out the scripture, Yin Qi lowered his head to look closely.

Although the fly-head-sized regular script was small, it was very clear, as if carved by a knife, without a single point of blurriness.

Moreover, the font possessed a power that penetrated to the marrow, making one feel, after looking at it, that these small characters would move and fly away.

The Past Amitabha Sutra began with "Thus have I heard," just like a Buddhist scripture recording the words of the Buddha.

He read it very carefully and soon finished the general outline.

At the same time, from the general outline, he grasped the most fundamental visualization practice method of the Past Amitabha Sutra, which was also the reason why it could keep the soul from being extinguished.

Yin Qi folded the gold leaf back up and tucked it into his bosom.

He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and sat just like the Buddha in the middle of the Amitabha Sutra, holding his hands in front of his abdomen, thumbs touching, forming the Amitabha Seal.

Subsequently, he visualized the starry sky in his mind, with the light of countless stars falling down and pouring into the top of his head.

Inch by inch, it penetrated deep into his mind.

The foundation of Daoism is visualization, and the essence of visualization is to treat the false as true.

Visualizing the starlight of the heavens pouring into the top of the head is just like quenching thirst by looking at plums.

Although one has not eaten the plums, one's mouth will still produce saliva.

This is essentially using the spirit to stimulate the physical body, which is the same principle as stimulating mental power when practicing dark energy.

The soul cannot grow out of thin air; it needs to be nourished by the physical body.

Yin Qi was without thoughts or distractions, and he soon completely immersed himself in the state of visualization.

He imagined that the stars in the sky were all flickering, casting starlight from an infinite distance, all falling onto the top of his head and drilling in inch by inch.

As soon as the imagined starlight fell, he felt a coolness throughout his body.

It was as if he were bathing in a gentle breeze, and every pore of his body was breathing in pure Qi.

His whole person felt light and ethereal, incomparably comfortable, and intoxicating.

But at this moment, one must not be intoxicated.

Because once intoxicated, one will completely lose oneself.

As the saying goes, when the false is taken as true, the true also becomes false; when the true is taken as false, the false also becomes true.

In practicing soul visualization, the most important thing is to guard the heart and spirit.

One wrong move and one will be doomed forever; this is also the reason why there are far fewer Daoists than martial artists.

Without a certain amount of talent, one will only practice oneself to death.

Yin Qi woke up with a start, forcefully suppressing the sense of intoxication in his heart, and he visualized again; a golden Buddha appeared in the starry sky.

Kind and intimate.

It seemed to be his own past life from thousands of lifetimes ago.

The scripture says that visualizing this Amitabha Buddha can suppress all kinds of Heart Demons and help one understand one's original face from thousands of lifetimes ago.

Sure enough, as the Buddha was visualized, the previous feeling immediately dissipated.

"Should I try to leave the body?"

Suddenly, a thought stirred in Yin Qi's mind.

The first step of Daoism is to stabilize the spirit; only by stabilizing the heart and spirit can the soul leave the body.

Stabilizing the spirit is a threshold, and the vast majority of people cannot even cross this hurdle.

But for Yin Qi, this was merely a small problem.

Although the Minguo martial arts were low-level, it was precisely because they were low-level that they developed "mental power."

Using "mental power" to make up for various deficiencies and push the development of one's realm.

Striking someone like a fire burning the body; the cicada sensing the autumn wind before it moves; fists without fists, intent without intent, and the true intent within the unintentional—these were all abilities and manifestations at the spiritual level.

Therefore, for Yin Qi, stabilizing the spirit was a piece of cake.

Logically speaking, for him to stabilize his spirit and leave his body, he would need to light incense to protect his body, because the soul is fragile at the beginning and cannot withstand the night wind.

But Yin Qi thought about it and decided not to go find Tu Lao to borrow incense, because the strength of the soul essentially depends on individual willpower, and it is precisely because of this that martial artists who switch to Daoism progress very quickly.

Those old scholars who have spent their lives poring over scriptures are even able to achieve the state of a Ghost Immortal overnight.

The ancient philosophers were even more formidable; once they cultivated, they would instantly become sages, passing the Seven Tribulations of Thunder to become a Creator.

Yin Qi believed that with his own foundation, even if he could not become a Ghost Immortal, he would not be blown away by the night wind the moment he exited his shell.

Thinking of this, the visualization in his mind shifted, and a seven-story pagoda appeared.

This was precisely the Pagoda Visualization Shell-Exit Method recorded in the Dao Scripture.

This Pagoda Visualization Shell-Exit Method requires one to visualize a seven-story tower of extreme height, then climb it step by step, and finally leap with all one's might from the highest level, thereby causing the soul to exit the shell.

As Yin Qi visualized, the pagoda became extremely clear.

Then, he visualized his own figure within the pagoda, climbing step by step to the Top.

Finally, he leaped with all his might, instantly feeling the scenery before his eyes shift, while his body felt light and airy, as if it had no weight.

He fixed his gaze on his surroundings and discovered that he was sitting cross-legged amidst a pile of books.

This was a very novel feeling, as if in a dream, yet incomparably real.

At the same time, there was an incomparably intense sense of freedom.

This sense of freedom came from being liberated from the shackles of the body, allowing him to fly freely in the Heaven, completely lacking the feeling of being plunged into a vast ocean that those who had just exited their shells usually experienced.

"I don't know what level I have reached; I will go out and try it to find out!"

Yin Qi turned around, and his soul walked toward the cave entrance.

Just at this moment, a gust of night wind blew in, making Yin Qi feel slightly uncomfortable, as if he were wearing only a Single garment on an early autumn morning, but it was entirely within a tolerable range.

He continued to walk outward and soon arrived outside the cave; the feeling of discomfort grew heavier, as if he had entered winter wearing only a Single garment, but there was still no major harm.

He looked up at the Heaven and gazed around the valley, feeling that the world was so clear.

"It seems my limit is Night Wandering!"

Settling the Spirit, Exiting Shell, Night Wandering, Day Wandering, and Object Manipulation Realm are the first five realms of Daoism.

Yin Qi skipped the first two directly and reached the Night Wandering level.

This was still due to his physical body; if he were visualizing with a body from the Fengshen World, he could at least have entered the Object Manipulation Realm directly.

Although the soul and the physical body are two separate existences, they are closely connected.

Without the nourishment of the physical body, the soul would immediately dissipate.

At the same time, if the physical body is strong, the soul will naturally be strong as well; this is the reason why martial artists make rapid progress when they switch to cultivating Daoism.

"Young Master Yin, you have actually started cultivating Daoism as well?"

Just at this moment, a clear, aged voice came from the side.

Yin Qi turned his head to look; this was an old man dressed in Confucian robes, with his hands behind his back, walking like an old scholar, his eyes filled with astonishment as he looked at him.

"Tu Lao!"