Chapter 199: Jizhao

"That is... Jizhao?"

Yang Lizhang watched the Jianwen Emperor flash and disappear into the dense forest outside the imperial mausoleum. Then he looked at Zhu Shoujing, who was as pale as gold paper, held in the arms of his subordinate, with a face full of horror and hesitation, and said slowly.

"Yes, this is 'Jizhao'."

Ji Tianrui said.

"As the 'Great Vehicle Non-Birth Convenient Gate' says: 'Jizhao, arises from nature; Zhao-Ji, gathers appearance back to nature.'"

"The heart's image manifests externally, using my heart to imprint his heart. In the Daoist school, it is called 'Jizhao'; in the Buddhist school, it is called 'All-Knowing Heart'."

"Legend has it that when the Bodhidharma Patriarch converted an evil person, he only looked at the other party, letting him experience ten lifetimes of reincarnation, tasting countless sufferings. When that person woke up, he was tearful, but found himself still standing in place, the tea in his hand still warm. Then he had a great awakening, realizing that cause and effect are all empty, and finally turned back to the shore."

"This is the miraculous nature of the 'Heart Realm'—'Jizhao'—among the three paths of nature: Heart, Spirit, and Intention."

Ji Tianrui narrated.

"Heaven-Man experts should have six realms, three paths for nature and three for life. It's just that the inheritance of the three paths of nature has long been lost, and all the inheritances in the Jianghu now only have the three paths of life—that is, Jin Gang, Jiezi, and Sumeru."

Speaking of this, Ji Tianrui sighed lightly.

"As the saying goes, 'Only cultivate nature, not life, the first disease of cultivation since ancient times. Only cultivate ancestral nature, not the elixir, ten thousand kalpas of yin spirits are hard to become saints.'"

"'Heaven-Man Five Decays' is just the consequence of us juniors taking the wrong path, only focusing on life cultivation and not cultivating nature at all. If it's one path, it's fine; two paths are too full, and if one cannot bear it, one will naturally eat one's own bitter fruit."

Yang Lizhang pondered for a long while, but frowned and asked.

"What realm is the Jianwen Emperor? Four paths combined? Five paths? Or has he reached the realm of Bodhidharma Patriarch and Sanfeng Zhenren?"

Ji Tianrui chuckled and waved her hand.

"Heh, not quite."

"If he were that powerful, he wouldn't have been forced to abdicate by Chengzu and buried in a tomb for over a hundred years."

"Probably, just three paths combined. Jizhao, Jin Gang, Sumeru. With his comprehension, he couldn't cultivate Jiezi."

"How could that be?"

Yang Lizhang said in surprise.

"Yin Ruihua is three paths combined, and that Xiaoling Guard Commander is not a weak hand, yet they were so easily made dead or injured by him; only three paths combined?"

"Nature and life should be equal. Is the miraculous nature of just one path of 'Jizhao' enough to make Yin Ruihua, who is also three paths combined, wait for death?"

Ji Tianrui covered her mouth and chuckled.

"Of course not; without Sumeru, even if he exhausted his heart's strength, he couldn't break Yin Ruihua's Jin Gang. Cultivating both nature and life is naturally more brilliant than only cultivating life, this goes without saying."

"However, the most important thing is impression, or emotion."

Ji Tianrui pointed at Zhu Shoujing.

"Did you see? Just now, the Jianwen Emperor did not strike him directly, but pulled him into the heart's image twice. The first time was just to make him confused, and the second time was the real killing move."

"If he were really that powerful, wouldn't it be the same to suppress him like killing Yin Ruihua and let him be slaughtered? Why do it twice?"

Before Yang Lizhang could answer, Ji Tianrui said to herself.

"Because he didn't know the Jianwen Emperor at all, had no impression of him, and couldn't talk about any fear."

"So the Jianwen Emperor could only suppress him for a short breath the first time, leaving seeds of doubt and fear in his heart. Only the second time could he truly suppress him."

"And the injuries he suffered were not from the Jianwen Emperor, but from his true energy going astray in panic, injuring his own meridians."

"'Jizhao' arises from nature, determined by the heart. This is a realm where the stronger you think the other party is, the stronger they truly are."

Yang Lizhang suddenly realized.

"So that's it."

"So, the reason Yin Ruihua performed so poorly in front of him was not because he was too weak, but because he... 'felt' the Jianwen Emperor was too strong?"

Ji Tianrui nodded.

"Exactly."

"Back then, the Yang family ancestor had already been murdered, and the Yang family fled into the Jianghu, unaware of the palace secrets back then."

"Back then, the Jianwen Emperor killed most of the Zhu family, and also killed over ten Heaven-Man experts who followed the founding Emperor to conquer the world. Yin Ruihua was just one of the few who luckily survived, and his fear of the Jianwen Emperor had long been deep in his marrow."

"More importantly—"

Ji Tianrui pointed to the open tomb.

"After the Jianwen Emperor was sealed here back then, Yin Ruihua guarded here for over a hundred years."

"For over a hundred years, he had been guarding here, guarding outside the cage of a beast that could break free at any time."

"For every year he guarded, his fear increased by a point. For every look he took at that place, his heart became a little weaker."

"Like this, he suddenly heard the Jianwen Emperor's voice, a hundred years of fear surged into his heart together, so how could he not be terrified to the extreme? Naturally, he was suppressed to death by 'Jizhao' in an instant, which is why he died so easily."

Yang Lizhang understood, and only then did he let out a long breath.

"So that's it... this makes sense."

"But even if one knows its miraculous nature, the inheritance of nature cultivation has long been lost, and without means to deal with it, I fear no one in the world can survive under the Jianwen Emperor."

Ji Tianrui smiled beautifully.

"Then, you are wrong."

"As far as I know, in this Shuntian Prefecture, there are three people who can resist 'Jizhao' and compete with the Jianwen Emperor."

"Oh? Three people?"

Yang Lizhang said in surprise.

"The Emperor has used 'furnace cauldrons' to cultivate for many years, taking the world to serve one person; I don't know what level his martial arts have reached, it is unfathomable. I am not surprised that he can compete with the Jianwen Emperor."

"But other one-path or two-path Heaven-Man experts, even if I knew the secrets of 'Jizhao', I wouldn't have the confidence to go ten rounds in his hands."

"Are there two other people in Shuntian Prefecture who can compete with the Jianwen Emperor?"

"Of course."

Ji Tianrui chuckled and pointed at herself.

"The first one is me."

Yang Lizhang snorted coldly upon hearing this.

"You?"

"Two of the three paths are evil paths, and you even struggle to fight a two-path perfected Heaven-Man expert expert; you can only bully one-path Heaven-Man experts. And you dare to compete with the Jianwen Emperor?"

"There isn't a single true word in the mouths of you Ji people."

Ji Tianrui did not refute, smiling without a word.

"And the other one?"

Yang Lizhang finally couldn't help but ask.

Ji Tianrui looked up at the night sky, then looked toward the distant dense forest, and chuckled.

"Naturally, it is Li Miao, Lord Li."

"Him?"

Yang Lizhang thought for a while and shook his head.

"His martial arts are indeed shocking and beyond reason, and I don't know which god he is the reincarnation of; he has no master, just relying on those remnants collected by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, he could cultivate to this state without a sound."

"But he is ultimately still spinning in the three paths of life. Even if he actively enters that strange state, three paths combined, two paths perfected, I fear it is difficult to avoid the Jianwen Emperor's 'Jizhao'."

Ji Tianrui shook her head and smiled beautifully.

"Then, you have underestimated Lord Li."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 200 =====