Chapter 113

"In heaven and on earth, only I am supreme."

This sentence is not a domineering declaration, but a Buddhist verse. The key is not "supreme," but "only I."

Buddhism is all empty, and practice is to cultivate the "I"; this "I" refers to the true self, the original self, the self. Letting go of everything except the "I" is the essence of Buddhism.

Although this is said, these scriptures are essentially bragging and talking without back pain.

After all, the Buddha is a figure floating in the sky, who can go without eating or drinking, can reincarnate, and naturally can let go of everything. If a living person also cultivated to the point of not caring about anything, Li Miao wouldn't give him any good looks.

The Yijin Sutra, Xisui Sutra, and Great Return Pill are almost the most precious things in Shaolin's inheritance. Xingchi's light treatment of these three, saying "As long as people are alive, what is a dojo," is already an extraordinary state of mind.

Yongjie was silent and bowed his head to admit his mistake.

Xingchi then turned to look at Li Miao: "Lord Li, do you have anything else you want to ask?"

"Yes, it's just that I don't know if it's appropriate."

"Hahaha, just ask!" Xingchi laughed.

"I am a dying person; if Lord Li has anything inconvenient to ask others, just ask me, the monk will take it all into the soil!"

Li Miao thought for a while before speaking.

"In that case, junior will ask."

"In this Jianghu, the pinnacle is already the end. But junior checked ancient books, and in the previous dynasty, there were many 'Above Pinnacle' experts. In this dynasty, there has only been one Ji Tianrui in the past hundred years, and he was killed once."

"What is the reason for this?"

As soon as Li Miao said this, the atmosphere in the courtyard stagnated.

After a while, Xingchi smiled bitterly: "So that's how it is."

"I thought why Commander Zhu came to see me during the day, and Lord Li didn't come with his superior, but sneaked in at midnight to see me."

"This astonishing art of Lord Li was actually cultivated by yourself?"

Li Miao twisted his fingers and raised his eyebrows.

"Master really knows the reason."

"And, this reason is related to the imperial court."

Both were smart people, and without needing to make things clear, they had already guessed some things.

Li Miao's three paths returning to one, in this Jianghu where there isn't even one Above Pinnacle expert, can be called shocking. But as a Battalion Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he actually came to ask Xingchi this question, which exposed his martial arts progress, which had little to do with the imperial court.

And Xingchi's words also confirmed Li Miao's conjecture—the decline of martial arts in the Great Shuo compared to the previous dynasty originated from the imperial court.

Xingchi waved his hand and sighed: "Forgive the monk for not being able to tell you directly, Lord Li; as long as you are still in the imperial court, you will know sooner or later."

"It's just that these words shouldn't be told to Lord Li by a monk who is an outsider."

"Can't say, can't say."

Li Miao smiled: "It was junior who was abrupt and made it difficult for Master."

"No harm, no harm." Xingchi waved his hand.

"In that case, junior has one last question," Li Miao said.

"Shaolin has been inherited for a thousand years; after Bodhidharma passed away, are there any clues left on how to take the next step after three paths return to one?"

This question had troubled Li Miao for several years.

In terms of the progress of "Vajra," "Sumeru," and "Kshana," Li Miao was very certain that he had reached the end.

After fighting Yun Zelin on Mount Tai, he could perfect one path at any time and leave two paths incomplete. After doing things slowly, relying on the effort of grinding, he would sooner or later perfect all three paths in one body.

But, then what?

Perfecting all three paths, there is no path to go.

He faintly felt that he was still missing something to truly reach the realm of Master Sanfeng and Master Bodhidharma.

But he had no clue about this point.

The only ones in the world who might know where to find it are the imperial court, Wudang, and Shaolin.

The imperial court side was obviously a muddy water, and before figuring out the bottom line, Li Miao didn't want to wade into it rashly. So he could only seek Wudang and Shaolin.

At this moment, Li Miao finally asked this question to the person most likely to know the answer.

Xingchi nodded: "The monk knew Lord Li would ask this."

"It's just that my Shaolin inheritance has been long, and we have encountered several dangers of being almost destroyed, so many classics of predecessors have been lost."

"Moreover, although Master Bodhidharma had profound martial arts, he founded the sect with Buddhist studies, and he didn't leave a definitive statement on this matter."

"So the monk cannot give Lord Li a definitive answer."

Li Miao sighed: "Is that so."

Although he faintly felt that he might not get the answer he wanted, hearing Xingchi's answer, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Xingchi waved his hand: "Although I cannot give Lord Li a definitive answer, when the monk practiced martial arts back then, I also checked the classics in the temple about this matter and reached some conjectures."

"Later, during that disaster in Henan, the monk damaged his foundation while saving people and gave up the idea of going further in martial arts. This matter was also put down."

"Since Lord Li asked, the monk will tell Lord Li these conjectures, which can be considered throwing a brick to attract jade."

After saying this, Xingchi turned to look at Yongjie: "You come and listen too."

After waiting for Yongjie to sit down on the side, Xingchi slowly said to Li Miao.

"Lord Li, since you are not deeply involved with the imperial court and have already returned three paths to one."

"Have you tried to pass that step and then, through some method, self-incomplete your realm to avoid the 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man'?"

Shaolin really had a deep foundation; Xingchi's martial arts realm couldn't be said to be very high, but just from a few words with Li Miao, he had already guessed Li Miao's situation.

Li Miao nodded: "Master's words are correct."

"Back then, I first practiced 'Sumeru,' then 'Vajra.' With two paths in one body, I immediately fell into the 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man' and almost lost my life."

Xingchi nodded.

"Lord Li is indeed not an ordinary person, to be able to survive this."

"It's just, has Lord Li ever thought about what the term 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man' represents?"

"The predecessors who called this situation 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man' back then, did they just find a suitable term from my Buddhist classics and stick it on?"

"Is it just because the external manifestations of the two are similar?"

Li Miao's eyes lit up.

"Please enlighten me."

Xingchi nodded: "This term refers to the five strange phenomena that appear when a heavenly being's lifespan is about to end."

"The so-called heavenly beings refer to the divine beings living in the heavenly realm. From the beginning of existence, they have already transcended, enjoying all kinds of divine strangeness, and their state of mind doesn't need to be polished, naturally perfect."

"When these heavenly beings are about to die, five types of manifestations will appear, such as filthy clothes, withered flowers on the head, sweating under the armpits, foul-smelling body, and unhappiness in one's seat."

Speaking of this, Xingchi paused.

"But, thinking of this, the monk naturally had a question."

"Why would the perfect heavenly beings die?"

"Practice is enough, so how could they fall off the lotus platform?"

Li Miao was not very interested in religion and couldn't discuss it with Xingchi.

Xingchi also saw this and smiled, continuing to speak.

"Let's talk about this Above Pinnacle; in Shaolin's inheritance, this realm, whether it is one path, two paths, or three paths, is called the 'Heavenly Being Realm'."

"Because no matter how many paths, as long as it is cultivated, it is that practice is enough, it is already 'perfect'."