First Arrival in the Desolate Land

  First Arrival in the Desolate Wilderness

  A great mountain, towering into the clouds, several thousand miles in circumference. Huge rocks stand upright, ancient trees twine with vines, waterfalls cascade, pool shadows are clear and bright, clouds and mist appear and disappear, birds dance in the air, beasts roam freely.

  Near the top of the mountain, there is a flat area of several dozen square meters. In the center of this area stands a strange black rock that resembles a person sitting cross-legged on the ground, facing south. It's truly an extraordinary sight.

  The sun rises and the moon sets, the cold and heat change seasons, I don't know how many days have passed, a consciousness in the strange stone slowly awakens.

  It was unclear how many days had passed when this consciousness finally cleared up.

  This consciousness habitually opened its "eyes" to find itself in total darkness, with no idea where it was. It tried to move but couldn't budge an inch. The consciousness tried again, still without any result, and instead felt wave after wave of drowsiness, forcing it to give up trying.

  When this consciousness regained its energy, it no longer tried to struggle but instead turned into contemplation. It turned out that this consciousness or soul had a name called Sheng Tian. Originally, he was a teacher at a rural middle school, introverted in personality, with some bookish air and a bit of arrogance, without the ability to fawn or flatter, nor did he have the demeanor of a servant. Fortunately, he was in school; if he were in officialdom or business, someone like him would likely have been severely injured long ago. In his mid-years, he had an intact family: a wife who ran a small business, a lovely daughter, and a mother nearing her sixties. If nothing unexpected happened, this life would pass by uneventfully.

  But heaven did not let him spend his days like this. After an examination, it was found that he had been suffering from cancer and it was already in the late stage, which was a heavy blow to this family.

  At this time, the consciousness in the strange stone - Sheng Tian - was thinking: Is this hell or the underworld? How can there be nothing at all, not even a movement, is this what it's like after death? Without light, without sound, in a state of complete nothingness, the memories of one's life, especially the last days, would naturally come flooding back. Sheng Tian didn't feel sad about losing his life, but thought about whether his aged mother could bear the pain of losing her son, whether his lovely daughter would lose her cheerful smile, and how heavy the burden on his wife's shoulders was.

  Unable to move, trapped in a sea of darkness, the hardest thing to bear is the endless loneliness. All I can do is constantly reminisce about the past, trying to pass the time, without knowing how many days have passed. It's a miracle that my sanity hasn't collapsed yet. Of course, this is also thanks to my introverted personality and lack of social interactions in the past, which made me someone who could endure loneliness.

  As time passed, Sheng Tian's consciousness grew stronger and began to cultivate. Yes, it was cultivating. When Sheng Tian learned that he had cancer, he did not complain or give up. Instead, he actively cooperated with the treatment, learned Tai Chi, practiced qigong, just to be able to spend more time with his family. Even so, this only prolonged his life for two years, of course, these last two years were also the most fulfilling two years. Now, in order to pass the lonely time, Sheng Tian's consciousness treated himself as a human and began to cultivate the skills he had learned before.

  In the darkness, I am unaware of the passage of time. Only by immersing myself in cultivation can I slightly alleviate my loneliness. Moreover, this cultivation has indeed accelerated the expansion of my consciousness.

  It was unknown how much time had passed, but suddenly, Sheng Tian's consciousness felt less dark, and he vaguely sensed a glimmer of light.

  Now, Sheng Tian (let's just call him Sheng Tian) suddenly became excited, feeling that his cultivation had achieved results, and the lonely situation finally changed. This time, his cultivation was full of motivation.

  As time passed, his consciousness grew stronger and clearer, the light and shadows in his senses gradually became distinct, like a holographic movie from science fiction. Although the range was still very small, less than one meter, it made Sheng Tian extremely excited. Despite being unable to move, he was no longer in complete darkness and could clearly "see" the surrounding area of about one meter, even if everything else was foggy. This was enough to make him ecstatic, making his determination to practice unstoppable. Thanks to the environment, Sheng Tian used recalling past events to pass the time, but ended up remembering all the books he had read seriously before and all the things he had done seriously, which were deeply imprinted in his consciousness like a branding iron.

  He started practicing the Small and Large Heavenly Circulation Technique with great enthusiasm, although he had practiced it before but felt nothing. This was a technique recorded in a book called "72 Qigong Methods of Famous Masters" that Sheng Tian had bought during his martial arts craze when he was young and reckless. He had practiced all the techniques in the book for a period of time without any effect, and as he grew older, he naturally abandoned them until he fell ill, when he picked them up again in the hope of a miracle, although no miracle occurred, it left a deep impression. This time, however, he found it familiar and easy to practice.

  Sheng Tian's practice was indeed effective, as he guided his thoughts and led the flow of energy along the meridians in his memory. He couldn't tell if there was any actual energy flowing or not, but he felt like there was. First, he ran the Small Heavenly Cycle, and after thinking that it was complete, he began running the Large Heavenly Cycle. As Sheng Tian practiced day after day, month after month, year after year, his consciousness merged with the mysterious stone more and more. At first, the stone was like a box containing his consciousness, but gradually, his consciousness began to blend into the stone. Eventually, his consciousness became one with the stone, and the stone gained consciousness, becoming indistinguishable from him. The stone even started to resemble a person, with something similar to human meridians appearing inside it, making it seem like a living being.

  When his consciousness and the strange stone had completely merged, Sheng Tian only then realized that he had become a stone. The range of what he could "see" around him also expanded significantly, with everything within a radius of about one zhang (ten feet) being reflected in his consciousness without any concealment.

  For himself turning into a stone, Sheng Tian was also stunned and surprised, after which he had all sorts of speculations. Had he crossed over? This seemed to be acceptable as well (thanks to the many crossovers). However, being completely ignorant of his surroundings left him somewhat at a loss. He didn't know what environment he was in or what his identity was. His speculation about his identity included that famous monkey, but it was just baseless speculation. Speculation had no effect on Sheng Tian's current situation; what was important now was to figure out the environment he was currently in, and only then could he plan his next move.

  Cultivation, cultivation, in the process of cultivation, I feel that my perceptual range is expanding bit by bit. Every gain has turned into a driving force for my cultivation. Feeling that the range of what I can perceive is expanding bit by bit, Sheng Tian is overjoyed.

  After a big week of practicing, Sheng Tian tried to cultivate the "Wudang Mingmu Gong" from the "72 Qigong Methods of Famous Families". After finishing the practice, he suddenly felt that his eyes were brighter and his perception of space seemed much clearer.

  Afterwards, Sheng Tian added Mingmu Gong to his practice after running the Zhoutian Gong. The range of Sheng Tian's perception also expanded significantly compared to before, reaching a radius of over 10 zhang, and sparse vegetation began to appear on the ground. This was an extraordinary change, no longer monotonous, but full of vitality. For Sheng Tian, who had been in solitude for a long time, this was a tremendous encouragement.

  Days are passing by, and Sheng Tian's perception is also expanding. At this time, Sheng Tian's perceptual range has reached dozens of miles, and he can clearly 'see' the forest, gullies, waterfalls, deep pools, walking beasts, flying birds, seen or unseen, full of vitality, but there is no sound at all. No matter how the walking beasts roar, the flying birds chirp, the waterfalls crash, or the giant trees sway, it's all just a silence, without a single thread of sound.

  In his later practice, Sheng Tian added the method of practicing ears, thanks to the blessing of that famous qigong master, which included many aspects of practice.

  In the following dull and tedious months of cultivation, it was unknown how much time had passed again.

  That day, Sheng Tian woke up from his cultivation, as usual preparing to take a look at the scenery. Suddenly, he seemed to hear a faint sound. Sheng Tian was stunned for a moment, it really was a sound, the sound of the wind blowing by.

  After countless dark and gloomy days, through tireless efforts, I can finally feel a silent world, and it's enough to make me ecstatic. Now, I can hear the sound, which makes me extremely happy, although without tears.

  In the following days, Sheng Tian was still unable to move, but he was no longer bored. Every day after finishing his exercises, he would look at the scenery in the mountains, watch the fierce battles of various powerful creatures, and listen to the roars of beasts and the rumble of thunder. But as I watched the clouds roll by, I remained motionless, feeling extremely comfortable.

  One day, a powerful aura descended from the sky. If it weren't for the fact that Shi Tian was made of stone, he would have been crushed to the ground. A voice echoed from his heart: "I, Hong Jun Dao Ren, have now attained enlightenment and will lecture on the Tao of all living beings at the Zi Xuan Palace a thousand years later. Those who are destined may come to the Zi Xuan Palace to listen."