Chapter 114

At this moment, Li Miao finally knew the name of Above Pinnacle.

"Heavenly Being Realm."

To be honest, always calling it "above above," Li Miao also felt a bit awkward.

It was just that he had no foundation, and all his martial arts were cultivated by himself, and there was nowhere to ask.

Getting this answer today, Li Miao had already made the trip worthwhile.

Xingchi continued to speak.

"The monk guesses that the reason these heavenly beings fall off the lotus platform is not because their practice is not enough."

"But because their practice is too 'full'."

"Water overflows, leaking flaws."

"They can no longer contain their practice, so they can only wither and return this practice to heaven and earth."

"Therefore, the path after the Heavenly Being Realm should not be continued addition."

Li Miao nodded: "I also faintly have similar conjectures, it's just that I couldn't verify them for a while."

"Please enlighten me, Master."

Xingchi nodded: "Lord Li, no need to be polite; the monk is also just guessing, just discussing the Dao with Lord Li."

"In that case, the monk will continue."

Li Miao reached out and made a "please" gesture.

Xingchi nodded and said.

"The so-called 'heavenly beings,' in my Buddhist classics, are actually divided into three categories, living in the 'Desire Realm,' 'Form Realm,' and 'Formless Realm'."

"Among them, only heavenly beings in the Desire Realm and Form Realm will have the 'Five Decays of Heaven and Man'."

"Heavenly beings living in the Formless Realm only have 'consciousness' and no physical body, so they will never encounter death."

Li Miao noticed Xingchi's focus.

"Consciousness."

Li Miao had long had conjectures, and at this moment, they were finally verified.

Heavenly Being Realm's three paths: Vajra, Sumeru, Kshana.

Vajra is the body, Kshana is the technique, Sumeru is the Qi.

Only missing a "Spirit," or "Heart."

The Great Shuo's martial arts especially emphasize the state of mind. If the state of mind doesn't match, it's difficult to exert the power of martial arts.

Why, upon reaching the Heavenly Being Realm, is there no requirement for the state of mind instead?

Xingchi saw Li Miao's expression and laughed loudly: "Hahaha, the monk knew that Lord Li also had this conjecture long ago!"

"Corroborating the two, what the monk thought back then was probably not wrong!"

"A dying person, fulfilling another wish, is truly the Bodhisattva's protection!"

Li Miao smiled: "Master doesn't need to be so polite; if it weren't for Master's conjecture, I would have been hard-pressed to confirm it."

"I already know what Master wants to say."

Li Miao took over the conversation, looking at Xingchi, who was smiling and silent, and spoke eloquently.

"Heavenly beings in the Formless Realm have no physical body and no Five Decays of Heaven and Man. Heavenly beings in the Desire Realm and Form Realm have physical bodies and have the Five Decays of Heaven and Man."

"The difference lies in the connection between this physical body and consciousness."

Li Miao sighed.

"Cultivating life without cultivating nature is the first disease of practice. Cultivating nature without cultivating life, it is difficult for the yin spirit to become a saint in ten thousand kalpas."

"Nature does not leave life, life does not leave nature."

"It means preserving spirit and Qi, refining the wonderful in the existence, perfecting the form and entering the formless, so there is life without death, which is the heavenly god and immortal."

"I finally know what I'm missing."

Xingchi pretended to be angry and asked: "The monk talked to Lord Li for a long time about my Buddhist scriptures, but Lord Li used Taoist articles to conclude."

"Could it be that you look down on my Buddhism?"

Having talked with Xingchi for less than half an hour, Li Miao already knew his personality.

He was not a high monk in the traditional sense at all, but an open-minded, insightful, and cheerful old man.

Imagine, if someone else knew such secrets, they would definitely cherish them and hide them as treasures to be passed down. And Xingchi had only known Li Miao for less than half an hour, yet he poured everything out.

Such a state of mind is truly having understood the essence of Buddhism's "emptiness." It's not just treasures, dojos, or even life and death; Xingchi has probably already let go of everything.

But he let go of everything, yet he couldn't let go of other people's lives.

He had already understood the key to crossing the Heavenly Being Realm, but back then, he damaged his foundation to save people, and his whole life was trapped at the pinnacle, unable to make any progress.

He clearly had achieved perfection in merit, yet he was still willing to sacrifice his own life, forcibly piling up his realm, fighting with Ji Tianrui, and making himself have only three days to live, just so that more Shaolin disciples could survive.

Thinking of this, Li Miao stood up and bowed deeply to Xingchi.

"Master, Li's art was all self-realized, with no sect or faction."

"Today, discussing the Dao with Master, Li has benefited a lot and should perform the disciple's ceremony."

Xingchi hurriedly stood up and supported Li Miao's arms.

"Lord Li, no need for such courtesy. Discussing the Dao with Lord Li today is also fulfilling a wish of the monk."

"Moreover, my inferior disciple also listened on the side, which is also leaving an inheritance for my Shaolin."

"The monk should also bow to Lord Li."

The two pushed back and forth, and then sat down together.

Xingchi then said: "Lord Li, the monk has an uninvited request, hoping Lord Li can agree."

Li Miao was satisfied at this moment, feeling that this trip out of the capital had been very profitable, and he had even more respect for Xingchi, so he said directly.

"Master, just say it, I will agree to everything."

Xingchi nodded and pointed at Yongjie, who was still thinking on the side.

"The monk wants to pass on his power to this inferior disciple, so I trouble Lord Li to protect the Dharma."

Yongjie, who heard this, was stunned, and then stood up suddenly, waving his hands repeatedly.

"Master, absolutely not!"

"I, I can't do it, I became a monk halfway, and I still have blood debts to repay, how can I accept your power!"

"There are many senior brothers in the temple who are cleaner than me, why does Master have to find me."

"Absolutely not, absolutely not!"

Xingchi was kind and pleasant when talking to Li Miao, but he was very fierce to Yongjie. He raised his eyebrows and slapped Yongjie on the back of the head directly.

Slap!

Yongjie's bald head made a crisp sound when this slap hit it.

"Do you have a say in this? Shut up!"

Li Miao found it funny and didn't interrupt.

Xingchi only had three days to live, but those bones that were stronger than the perfect "Vajra" were still there. At this moment, his two arms were dancing like tigers, beating Yongjie until his nose was bruised and his face was swollen, and he was wailing incessantly.

After a while, Xingchi stopped without being flushed or out of breath, and turned to smile at Li Miao.

"Let Lord Li see a joke."

Li Miao waved his hand: "No harm, no harm."

"Back to business, Master, when are you going to pass on the power? I have something to do tonight, so I'm afraid I can't spare my hands for a while."

Xingchi nodded: "The monk also needs to prepare on this side."

"This Heavenly Being Realm of mine is piled up by secret methods in the sect, so it can't be passed down. But this Qi cultivated through hard practice cannot be wasted."

"In the temple now, there are no pinnacle experts. Only this inferior disciple was a pinnacle expert before turning to practice my Buddhist martial arts. His meridians and bones can hold my power."

"Three days later, the monk will invite some Jianghu comrades to witness this matter and incidentally pass the position of Abbot to this inferior disciple."

"At that time, I will have to trouble Lord Li to protect the Dharma for me."

Li Miao nodded, naturally having no objection.

With this matter settled, it was time to go outside the temple to see Zhu Zai.