Chapter 279: Why Undergo Trials?

Hua Changxi had experienced the stagnation of her cultivation several times before. Based on past experience, she could roughly guess the reason.

In short, it was insufficient experience—her mental state could not keep up with the speed of her cultivation.

Even she herself felt that the speed of her cultivation had indeed increased a bit too quickly during this period.

Regarding how to improve her mental state, Hua Changxi knew only one method: going out to gain experience. Aside from that, she had no idea about other methods.

And as for a place to go for experience, she only knew one: the Nine Nether.

From this point alone, it revealed a serious shortcoming that Hua Changxi had always had: although she was a peak Nascent Soul cultivator, which theoretically made her one of the strong among cultivators, the cultivator world she had set foot in and encountered was pitifully small.

It could be said that this was a severe lack of experience.

Hua Changxi was also aware of her own problem. However, compared to the past, she had at least gotten to know a few more cultivators now.

For example, Tong Yao, Jingliao, and Yan Zhenzhen, with whom she had cooperated several times, she felt they were people she could maintain long-term relationships with.

"Maybe I could exchange cultivation insights with Tong Yao and the others?"

Thinking this, Hua Changxi sent a message to Tong Yao, asking about the refining progress of the display spirit tool and whether he had time to meet.

Soon, Tong Yao replied, arranging to meet on the first day of the eighth month at the tavern they usually frequented.

Before they knew it, the time entered the eighth month.

On the first day of the eighth month, Hua Changxi arrived early at the tavern where she usually met Tong Yao. She thought she had come early enough, but unexpectedly, Tong Yao, Jingliao, and Yan Zhenzhen were already waiting at the tavern.

"Benefactor Hua, after not seeing you for a few months, you have become even more unfathomable."

As soon as Hua Changxi entered the room, Jingliao felt a burning sensation in his eyes. He had not activated his talisman eyes, yet the sensitivity of his strange eyes still made him sense something unusual.

At that moment, Hua Changxi appeared to him like a volcano about to erupt.

Hua Changxi heard this and looked at Jingliao. Seeing that his eyes were clear and his expression earnest, simply stating what he saw with no intention of probing, she smiled.

"My cultivation is currently stagnant, a tangled mess and a chaotic blur—so of course I'm unfathomable."

As she spoke, she glanced at Tong Yao and Yan Zhenzhen.

"Have you ever encountered this situation?"

Tong Yao replied, "You've reached a bottleneck in your cultivation."

Hua Changxi walked over, sat down in front of the three, and asked, "How do I break through the bottleneck?"

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her with surprise, somewhat astonished that she didn't even know this: "The simplest method is to take a Bottleneck-Breaking Pill."

Jingliao shook his head and interrupted, "This humble monk believes that this is the least advisable method."

Yan Zhenzhen looked at him and said, "Do you think all cultivators have the same high talent and comprehension as you? If an ordinary cultivator doesn't take a Bottleneck-Breaking Pill, they'll never break through the bottleneck in their lifetime."

Jingliao did not argue with Yan Zhenzhen and looked at Hua Changxi: "The main reason cultivators encounter bottlenecks is mostly due to insufficient accumulation."

"A cultivator's accumulation consists of two things: first, the daily, gradual accumulation of cultivation; second, the perception and elevation of the mental state."

"Observing Fellow Daoist Hua's situation, it is mostly that your mental state cannot keep up with the speed of your cultivation."

This point matched Hua Changxi's speculation, so she quickly asked, "How do all of you elevate your mental state?"

Tong Yao spoke up: "The fastest way to elevate the mental state is enlightenment, but enlightenment depends on fate—it can be encountered but not sought."

Jingliao nodded, "The elevation of the mental state ultimately must be grounded in the bits and pieces of daily life. The solidity of life is not elsewhere; it is in every present moment."

Seeing Hua Changxi's confused expression, Tong Yao smiled and said, "What Jingliao means is that we need to go out and gain more experience."

Hua Changxi thought for a moment and asked a question she had never been able to understand: "Why does more experience elevate the mental state?"

Yan Zhenzhen said, "With more experience, you encounter more things. With more experiences, your horizons naturally broaden; once a person broadens their horizons, they develop a broader perspective; with a broader perspective, the mental state naturally elevates along with it."

Tong Yao showed agreement and said, "That's right."

Seeing that Hua Changxi's brow had not relaxed, Jingliao also offered his own view.

"Going out to gain experience is to let oneself feel this world, and through collisions with the world, continuously recognize people and discern things."

"Through constant contact with people, events, and objects, you examine what you want, what you can obtain, what you can control, and thereby understand where your own limitations lie."

"Only when a person knows where their limitations lie can they find the way of their own existence. Amidst acting and not acting, they find their footing."

"Once people have a foothold, they know how to get along with the world, and everything that happens afterward will be used by me."

Jingliao’s explanation was easier to understand than Yan Zhenzhen’s. Hua Changxi felt she had gained a lot and quickly asked, "So how can we quickly understand our own limitations?"

Jingliao shook his head: "Benefactor Hua, there are no shortcuts in cultivation, and there are no shortcuts in understanding yourself. However, you can discover your limitations through the obstacles you encounter from the outside world."

When Hua Changxi heard this, she suddenly felt a sense of enlightenment.

In the joint resistance and opposition from Prince Shou and the others, her limitations had indeed been fully exposed. Compared to Prince Shou and the others, who had many allies, she was isolated and helpless.

Jingliao looked at the back of Hua Changxi’s right hand and reminded her: "The function of the awareness mark is nothing else—it simply serves to remind and warn."

"In the future, when the awareness mark appears, Benefactor Hua can carefully feel your state of mind at that moment. Where the mind rests, the true self appears."

Seeing Hua Changxi lost in thought, Tong Yao also added: "Experience is very important—it is an indispensable process for understanding yourself."

Jingliao: "The most important thing in life is to have self-awareness; only then can everything else follow."

Yan Zhenzhen interjected: "Actually, it’s not that complicated. It’s just that during experience, it’s easier to figure out what you should do, what you shouldn’t do, and why you make such choices."

Jingliao nodded in agreement: "Cultivators value cause and effect. Things have their roots and branches, events have their beginnings and ends. Knowing the order, clarifying cause and effect, bearing what should be borne—neither failing the Tathagata nor failing oneself."

Hua Changxi understood the meaning of the three people’s words and summed them up in one sentence: experience is actually the process of investigating things to acquire knowledge; it is the process of lifting people out of chaos and making them clear.

In the past, she had been narrow-minded, thinking that as long as she diligently cultivated and raised her cultivation level, everything would be fine.

Now, her cultivation level was no longer low, but in the Medicine Department, she was constrained everywhere. She had been completely puzzled before, but now she understood some of the underlying reasons.

She had her limitations—limitations of the body, limitations of the mind, limitations in her influence on others. The most direct manifestation was: just because she was powerful didn’t mean others would listen to her or like her.

Unless she used force to beat people into fear.

But walking the path of tyranny and being a tyrant—that wasn’t what she wanted.

Perhaps she didn’t understand herself as well as she thought. Was the definition she gave herself now just a wishful self-image?

Jingliao looked at Hua Changxi and reminded her again: "People are prone to self-deception and arrogance. Going out for experience is a process of correcting oneself."

Hua Changxi nodded. No matter what, she really needed to go out and gain more experience in the future. Then she looked at Jingliao, Tong Yao, and Yan Zhenzhen and sincerely thanked them: "Thank you, three fellow Daoists, for resolving my doubts."

Tong Yao smiled: "If we can help you, we’re happy too."

Yan Zhenzhen: "Exchanging Dao insights among cultivators is still very necessary. Cultivating alone easily leads to dead ends. In the future, we should communicate more often."

Hua Changxi smiled and agreed: "By the way, where do you usually go for experience?"

The three of them paused for a moment, silent for a while. Then Tong Yao spoke: "Fellow Daoist Hua, every holy land has its own exclusive training secret realm. Doesn’t the Dan Saint Hall have one?"

Hua Changxi’s eyes widened: "An exclusive training secret realm?"

Yan Zhenzhen looked at her suspiciously: "Yes, the disciples of holy lands can enter their corresponding secret realms for training using a token."

Hua Changxi was silent for a moment: "I really don’t know if the Dan Saint Hall has such a secret realm."

Yan Zhenzhen confirmed again: "So you really aren’t a disciple of the Dan Saint Hall?"

Hua Changxi: "......I’m not entirely sure."

Yan Zhenzhen was speechless: "Do you know? Right now, all the holy lands are quietly spreading the word that you are the number one person of the Dan Saint Hall. And now you say you’re not even a disciple—really..."

Tong Yao looked at Hua Changxi: "Disciples of holy lands have tokens."

Hua Changxi quickly asked: "What token?"

Tong Yao hesitated for a moment, looked at Jingliao and Yan Zhenzhen, and finally the three of them simultaneously took out a small wooden sword the length of a palm.

Tong Yao’s sword was a fiery red small sword, Jingliao’s was a gold small sword, and Yan Zhenzhen’s was a black small sword.

Yan Zhenzhen: "As long as one is a disciple of a holy land, they receive such a divine wood sword. The Central Holy Land’s is ochre yellow, and the Dan Saint Hall’s is green."

Hua Changxi was certain she did not have such a small sword.

Seeing her reaction, Tong Yao and the others tactfully did not ask further, but their eyes were full of confusion.

Hua Changxi was not a disciple of the Dan Saint Hall after all? But almost all the major disturbances in the Dan Saint Hall were caused by her. What was the reason for that?

Yan Zhenzhen saw that no one was speaking and quickly broke the silence: "By the way, Tong Yao, how is the display spirit device coming along?"

Mentioning this, Tong Yao beamed: "It’s almost finished. Before the Mid-Autumn Festival on the fifteenth of August, we can deploy the display spirit devices to various places."