Chapter 2: Cultivating Spiritual Awareness Suddenly Awakened to True Suchness Upon Encountering the Precious Tree of Innate Nature

  It's easy to think of, but hard to do. Chen Zhenyuan originally unintentionally absorbed a lot of spiritual energy, but now that he is seriously trying, it has no effect at all. The amount of spiritual energy he absorbs remains the same, not increasing or decreasing by even a bit, leaving him feeling stifled.

  According to Chen Zhenyuan's idea, he wanted to try to absorb more spiritual energy, first tempering his spiritual consciousness, expanding his primordial spirit, and then slowly exploring the method of cultivation to achieve a human form. He didn't ask for the kind of divine powers in myths that could move mountains and seas or chase the wind and moon, as long as he had hands and feet, could walk and jump, see and hear and speak, he would be satisfied. Who knew that what he did was completely useless? At this speed of passive absorption, it's unknown when he will achieve anything! More importantly, this complete loss of control over the situation gave him a deep sense of despair and powerlessness, which he hated very much, whether in his past life or now.

  But anyway, Chen Zhenyuan finally found something to do in this dull and uninteresting place. Although still feeling a bit dazed, he eventually calmed down because he had something to occupy himself with.

  In modern times, Chen Zhenyuan has a good understanding of supernatural and strange things through the internet, TV, etc., and he has read classic novels such as "The Investiture of the Gods" and "Journey to the West" countless times. However, he is an atheist who does not understand any martial arts secrets or Taoist cultivation techniques. In his nearly thirty years of life, diligently studying scientific and cultural knowledge and seriously researching theoretical technology have been the main theme of his life. It was precisely because of his down-to-earth learning attitude and diligent work style that he went from being a ordinary farm boy to becoming a Ph.D. in engineering at a famous university.

  It wasn't until much later that the environment around him seemed to have changed. However, Chen Zhenyuan gained something in the process of careful introspection. He found that the more he absorbed spiritual energy, the wider the range his spiritual consciousness could sense, and the stronger his absorption ability became. This formed a virtuous cycle, causing his spiritual consciousness to grow faster and faster.

  Chen Zhenyuan was a man of great willpower. After discovering this, he felt delighted in his heart and carefully comprehended the subtleties of absorbing spiritual energy and the laws contained within it. This comprehension allowed him to enter a state where he seemed to exist yet not exist, as if he were one with his surroundings yet separate from them; as if he were distinct yet merged like water, without boundaries between self and others. This feeling was extremely mystical, causing his mind to wander beyond the material world, leaving him dazed and confused, without a clear sense of reality. After a long while, he suddenly came back to himself, only to find that something seemed to have been added to his spiritual consciousness - though he couldn't quite put it into words or explain it clearly. Moreover, the speed at which he absorbed spiritual energy had also increased dramatically.

  Since it works for himself, Chen Zhenyuan simply let go of his worries and focused on cultivating. As for what the underlying principle is, he didn't bother to think about it either. This mindset, however, coincidentally conforms to the ultimate truth of the Taoist Dharma.

  However, fate seemed to be against him and did not allow him to cultivate in peace. Soon after Chen Zhenyuan's second entry into meditation, he suddenly discovered that the environment had changed and woke up abruptly.

  Chen Zhenyuan was originally like dust in the wind, drifting aimlessly with the chaotic air currents. All along, everything around him had been more or less the same, monotonous and ancient, without distinction between high and low, north and south, left and right, east and west. So he had always been indifferent, muddle-headed, going with the flow.

  But now, he suddenly found it was different.

  In front of him, he distinctly "saw" a patch of green, a plant's green.

  That's right, he didn't have a body or eyes, but the result of his spiritual perception told him that it was indeed green. This feeling is mysterious and cannot be described. Moreover, as he approached, this greenness grew larger in his spirit.

  Chen Zhenyuan was extremely excited, and if he still had a physical body, he would have almost shed tears. In this world without color, sound, or companions, it would be false to say that he didn't feel sad or lonely. He just deliberately tried to forget these feelings, avoiding letting these negative emotions make him even more despondent. Now, finally seeing the first color, and it being his favorite green from his past life, he felt an extraordinary sense of familiarity, as if he had returned to the familiar world of his past life.

  "If there are plants, then this world must still have other things!" This greenery ignited all his hopes. He was so excited that he wanted to shout towards the sky to vent out the long suppressed feelings.

  Closer, even closer. But he found it increasingly difficult to "see" the whole picture. If the distant view was because of a blurry target, then the close-up view was due to the grandeur of the target!

  What a magnificent tree! The trunk is like bronze, the roots are like boulders; the dark green color has no bounds, with mist and cloud entwined. The branches on the tree are thick and lush, without any withering or decay; they fork out in layers, neither too simple nor too complex, arranged in an extremely orderly manner, as if secretly containing some of the world's operating principles. The leaves are both thick and large, resembling banana leaves, yet also like small boats that can hold several people. Between the leaves, fruit is faintly visible, some resembling upside-down children with tails, but actually just stems, their faces still somewhat blurry. Clearly these fruits are still unripe and immature. Even more astonishing is: those gray cloud vapors, as long as they pass by this tree, will be absorbed by it; even the air currents a bit further away seem to be pulled over by some force. After absorbing these air currents, the leaves become even more crisp and refreshing.

  What a huge tree! Roughly estimated, it's probably tens of thousands of feet tall! Standing alone in the world, proudly independent, magnificent and extraordinary, shining brightly!

  Chen Zhenyuan "looked" at this big tree, its branches, leaves, and fruits, and felt a sense of familiarity in his heart. However, for the time being, he couldn't quite recall what it was, as if something was stuck. Looking at how this tree absorbed spiritual energy, it was truly like a whale swallowing the ocean, incomparable to Chen Zhenyuan's slow speed of eating, like a turtle.

  "I absorbed just a little bit and the effect is already so obvious. This tree has absorbed so much, and who knows for how long, it won't become a tree demon or something?"

  "What if it's really a tree demon, what if it eats me? I don't have any abilities now." Chen Zhenyuan suddenly remembered the story of demons eating people in his previous life, he had watched many such movies.

  What's feared often happens. No matter what he thought, the trajectory of the airflow was beyond his control. As he got closer and closer to the big tree, he was surprised to find that if there were no accidents, the air mass wrapped around his soul would hit the tree head-on without any deviation.

  Chen Zhenyuan couldn't help but feel a little flustered. Although there were many things more frightening than death, such as the dullness and boredom when he first arrived in this world. But facing death head-on, it was impossible not to be afraid, especially since he had just become familiar with the environment here and had grasped the cultivation method, and would eventually have a chance to transform. If he were to be absorbed by this giant tree this time, what awaited him might be the complete dispersal of his spiritual consciousness.

  "Ah……" Chen Zhenyuan struggled desperately, if he could still make a sound, he would have let out a loud roar to vent the fear in his heart. He tried to escape from this vortex, but it was like being in a massive rolling current, where any struggle was doomed to be futile. He was like a drowning person on their last breath, unable to grab onto a lifesaving straw. Moreover, there was also a huge whirlpool beside him, and he had already entered its rotating orbit.

  Faster, even faster... As the distance drew closer, the speed at which the air was being sucked in also grew faster. Chen Zhenyuan could already clearly "see" every single vein on the leaves. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but he discovered that the leaves seemed to be waving at him, and the fruit that looked like a child's head was shaking back and forth, making a "hee hee hee" laughing sound.

  "Is it really going to end like this? This world, has it truly been a waste of time, without leaving behind even the slightest mark?" Chen Zhenyuan thought regretfully in that instant. At this moment, his thoughts were racing at an incredible speed, so much so that many past events flashed by like lightning, all crystal clear. In the end, only a faint sense of sorrow remained, and he even recalled with some boredom a line from a poet's poem: "The sky has no marks of wings, yet the bird has flown."

  With a loud "boom", Chen Zhenyuan's consciousness was suddenly shaken, and he abruptly felt that he had arrived in a new world. This world was exactly the world of trees, where every leaf and every fruit were crystal clear.

  Chen Zhenyuan's spirit was sucked in and did not stay on the leaves, but was passively rushed to the roots of the big tree.

  As he approached the base of the large tree, he suddenly discovered that at the junction of the roots and trunk, there was already a cluster of spiritual consciousness. The cluster of spiritual consciousness may have formed not long ago, and it was still extremely weak and small, feeling rather vague.

  This was the first person Chen Zhenyuan discovered after coming to this world. In his excitement, he couldn't help but lose himself a bit, and didn't feel anything out of place as he floated towards that mass of spiritual awareness, even feeling an urge to hug him.

  Just as Chen Zhenyuan let go of his defenses and resistance, the two spiritual consciousnesses collided violently, then merged like water, never to be separated again.

  In this brief moment, Chen Zhenyuan's mind was a complete blank, yet it seemed to be filled with things - colors, sounds, people, objects, events, and logic all flashed by in an instant. Then, the Ginseng Fruit Tree from Journey to the West, the strange tree on Qingcheng Mountain, and the giant tree before his eyes merged into one. His past life, present life, and the tree spirit's life merged into one. He suddenly understood!

  "Ah, I see! The world of Hongmeng! The Ginseng fruit tree! Zhenyuanzi! I am Zhenyuanzi, hahaha!" Life's encounters are so wondrous, he couldn't help but burst out laughing loudly in his mind.

  It is indeed:

  There is great fate between life and death.

  The fish and dragon leap in vain.

  One morning, I chanced upon the Linggen Tree

  The vast wilderness is once again shrouded in wind and smoke.