Chapter 17: The Dharma of Bodhi

  After leaving the auction house, Fang Li headed straight home. Now that he had a stable source of crystal stones, it was likely that within a month, he would be able to gather all six types of second-grade elixirs that enhanced his foundation and also purchase a better cultivation technique.

  "Brother!" Fang Li had just returned home when Fang Liu'er came over, excitedly saying: "The Supreme Elder sent someone to inform you that the clan meeting will be held three days from now, at which time Father's spirit tablet will be brought into the ancestral hall."

  "Family meeting?" Fang Li smiled lightly, not thinking that the elder would be so attentive. Yesterday, he had just agreed to place his father's memorial tablet in the ancestral temple, and today, a message came to convene a family meeting. It seems that he really values himself highly.

  But Fang Li knew that all of this was because he possessed immense potential, otherwise he wouldn't have even entered the eyes of the Taishang Elder, let alone be noticed.

  Only great strength is the sole guarantee of living in this world. Fang Li further solidified his conviction to become stronger.

  Back home, Fang Li had dinner with his mother and sister, then meditated again until the next morning.

  "The cultivation method of the Unparalleled Secret has been firmly etched in my mind. Now that a month has passed, it's time to return the secret manual." Fang Li stretched his limbs and thought about how a month had already gone by, so he immediately headed towards the Gongfa Pavilion. He didn't want to give the Pavilion Master an excuse to make things difficult for him because he exceeded the deadline.

  This was Fang Li's second visit to Gong Fa Tang, and he knew the way well. Before long, he arrived at the entrance of Gong Fa Tang.

  The elder of the Shouguan seemed to have a feeling, and hummed coldly, already welcoming him out.

  "It's been exactly a month, and the timing is quite accurate. Unfortunately, I've lost another excuse to kill you." The elder of the Guardian Pavilion's sunken eyes revealed a hint of a smile, as if narrating a very ordinary matter.

  "Minister Shou, you should take care of yourself and not worry so much. You look like a skeleton, I'm afraid you won't last two years before our next duel and will be the first to go to the Yellow Springs." Fang Li bowed his hands and smiled as he retorted.

  The old man's face was momentarily stunned, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes: "Rest assured, I will absolutely not die before you."

  Fang Li didn't bother to argue with him anymore, took out the "Wú Xiāng Jué" book and placed it in front of him. "I've returned the 'Wú Xiāng Jué', if the Guardian Elder has no other teachings to impart, I'll take my leave."

  The elder of the Guardian Pavilion picked up the Wu Xiang Jue, took a look, and after confirming that there was no mistake, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. It seemed that this hateful little brat had indeed cultivated the Wu Xiang Jue, so he could rest easy now, just waiting for two years later to openly and honorably strike him down.

  "By the way, two months later our Yan City will hold a four-clan grand competition, I suppose you'll be participating too?" The elder of Shou Gong suddenly asked out of nowhere.

  Fang Li sneered and said bluntly: "What if it is? What if it isn't? What business is it of yours?"

  "Hey!" The elder of the Guardian Pavilion's breath caught, and Fang Li's words made him feel extremely uncomfortable in his chest, as if he had swallowed a mouthful of anger that couldn't be vented. He coldly said: "I'm just kindly reminding you, if you participate in the Four Clans' Grand Competition two months from now, you might get beaten to death on the arena, and it won't look good then."

  The elder of the Guardian Pavilion spoke in a gloomy and mysterious tone, his eyes still filled with disdain. Fang Li didn't bother to respond to him, instead coldly saying: "Don't worry about my affairs, just focus on preparing for our duel two years from now."

  "Hmph, it seems a bit early to say this now. I forgot to tell you that thanks to you, my grandson Fang Yanhu has broken through to the fifth stage of Qi Refining, greatly increasing his strength. If we were to meet at the Four Clans' Grand Assembly, he might even accidentally kill you." The Guardian Elder let out a cold snort, somewhat pleased with himself, still unaware that Fang Li had long ago entered the fifth stage of Qi Refining and was already at its peak.

  The unique property of Fang Li's cultivation made it so that if he didn't actively circulate his energy, it would remain stagnant in his dantian like dead water, making it difficult for others to detect. This was why the Elder of the Guardian Pavilion couldn't see through Fang Li's true abilities and thought he was still at the same level as a month ago, stuck in the fourth realm of Qi Refining.

  Fang Li furrowed his brow, and Fang Yan's sudden breakthrough to the fifth level of Qi Refining was somewhat beyond his expectations. This man looked like a cow, but he was actually cultivating the extremely fierce and powerful Blazing Sword Technique. However, if he didn't have any other trump cards, then in Fang Li's eyes, he still wasn't anything special.

  "Fang Yanhu is just a defeated general under me. I'm looking forward to fighting him again." Fang Li smiled slightly and ignored him, turning around and walking away.

  "Haha, pretending to be confident. A month ago, you defeated my grandson with nothing but a powerful fake artifact. Now that fake artifact has been detonated by you and no longer exists. Moreover, my grandson's strength has also increased. If you were to face him again, there would only be one outcome: defeat."

  Fang Li stopped in his tracks and didn't turn around, calmly saying: "If I really encounter him at the Four Clans' Grand Competition, even without using a weapon, I'll still defeat him."

  After finishing speaking, he didn't stay and left behind a silhouette.

  ……

  In the back mountain of Fang's family, a delicate young man sat cross-legged on the waist of the half-mountain, his clothes fluttering without wind.

  "The Teng grass is in trouble, it's activated!" The young man's eyes suddenly opened wide, a green light flashed by, and with a loud "whooshing" sound, twelve emerald-green vines burst out of his body in an instant, like the tentacles of an octopus flailing about everywhere. Wherever they struck, there was a deafening explosion, whether it was trees or boulders, all were shattered in one hit.

  With palms clasped together in a gesture of respect, an aura emanates from him, like the Buddha receiving incense offerings, dignified and solemn.

  "No form, no self; no self, no form. I am all forms, and all forms are me!" Fang Li suddenly shouted loudly, and then his body actually emitted a thread of golden light. Under the illumination of the golden light, the flowers, grass, and trees all revealed a harmonious atmosphere.

  As this strange phenomenon appeared, Fang Li's mind suddenly rang with a loud noise, his consciousness fell into a brief blankness, and then a sharp pain came from the center of his eyebrows, as if a confused and obscure thing was broken open, and a narrow space actually appeared.

  Fang Li was shocked in his heart, this was the first time he had encountered such a situation, but it was just that he had cultivated a special method of law, and actually opened up a clear space at the brow! If Fang Li remembered correctly, this should be the consciousness space recorded in ancient books, also known as Niwan Palace or Upper Dan Tian.

  "Could this be the Buddhist cultivation method?" A thought flashed through Fang Li's mind, and the more he thought about it, the more possible it seemed. Usually, cultivators would take the lower dantian as the foundation to nurture the golden elixir, first cultivating "life" and then "nature". Only Buddhist cultivation takes the upper dantian as the foundation to nurture the sarira, first cultivating "nature" and then "life".

  Even with a thousand doubts in his heart, Fang Li still didn't understand. At this moment, he felt that as the conscious space took shape, the Teng grass array within him began to stir, and clusters of emerald green true energy rose up, shooting straight towards his forehead.

  Fang Li was greatly shocked and didn't know what was happening. He hastily calmed his mind, wanting to stop it, but unfortunately, no matter how he guided it, the true energy in his body continued to gather towards the conscious space. Fang Li only felt a severe headache, as if his head was about to burst open.

  "Amitabha Buddha, with form and without form, adhere to the original mind, thoughts of compassion, all phenomena are not invaded."

  At this time, a kind and peaceful voice came, like the sound of a great bell, piercing through the soul. At the same time, the Sanskrit chanting sounded as if hundreds of monks were striking wooden fish by his ear. Fang Li only felt a cool sensation entering his mind, and his emotions immediately calmed down. However, the narrow Upper Dan Tian was still filled with emerald green true energy, which was very uncomfortable.

  That gentle and peaceful voice beside the ear paused for a moment, then suddenly sounded again: "When entering wood, it becomes Bodhi; when Bodhi emerges, all phenomena return to emptiness."

  As the sound fell, a golden light suddenly rushed into Fang Li's mind, and the emerald green that filled his conscious space suddenly churned up like clouds and mist, gathering together in an instant. In the blink of an eye, it condensed into an emerald green seed. The seed was somewhat unreal, hovering between reality and illusion.

  Fang Liman wiped the sweat from his forehead, and his frightened heart finally calmed down. He hurriedly opened his eyes to find a monk standing in front of him in the empty space.

  The monk had a smile on his face, seemingly only in his forties or fifties. On the top of his head were clear twelve-pointed scars from his tonsure, but his clothes were tattered and worn out. Only a pair of hand-woven straw sandals was still intact. The earth-yellow monk's robe he wore was already torn and tattered, revealing his dry, dark, and emaciated skin underneath. At first glance, it was clear that he was an ascetic monk.

  "How wonderful! The great universe is indeed full of wonders. Without realizing the Buddha or participating in Tao, I didn't expect that a small donor like you could transform into a Dharma body. Could it be that you were born with a great wisdom root?" The ascetic monk looked at Fang Li, clicking his tongue in amazement, but his facial expression didn't change much, as if he was talking about a very ordinary thing, making people feel no sense of surprise.

  Fang Li looked around and saw the mountain peaks rising one after another, with mist still shrouding some of the summits. He couldn't help but wonder where this monk had come from. However, he knew that his internal energy had just gone out of control, and it was definitely this monk who had helped him turn danger into safety. Not daring to hesitate, he cupped his hands and said: "I am Fang Li, thank you, Master, for your help."

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, not worth mentioning. I have something unclear and would like to ask for your guidance, may I ask if the practice you cultivate is the Buddhist Dharma of Golden Body and Formless?" The ascetic monk joined his palms together, slightly bowed his head, with an extremely humble attitude.

  Fang Lizhen was shocked, could it be that this Wuxiang Jue is really a Buddhist Dharma method? But why does it start from the lower dantian like other methods?

  "Is it that the Buddhist Dharma practitioners don't know, but this Dharma is called Wú Xiàng Jué, not Jīn Shēn Wú Xiàng Jué. The cultivation method also starts from the lower abdomen, not from the Buddha's relics."

  "Absolutely impossible!" The ascetic monk's eyes widened in shock as he stared at Fang Li, this was the first time he had ever lost his composure like that.

  A monk spent half his life traveling, with broad knowledge of the natural world. He had heard of a certain good deed and decided to reform it according to Buddhist teachings. However, he distorted it so much that it became unrecognizable, forcibly turning a Buddhist practice into a Taoist one, losing its original essence in the process. This incident caused some turmoil.

  Unexpectedly, this ordinary-looking young man was able to comprehend the Dharma aspect from this completely unrecognizable Wu Xiang Jue, and it's even the highest level of Bodhi Dharma aspect. What kind of affinity is this!

  Fang Li saw the ascetic monk's face change greatly, and his heart seemed to have a clear understanding. He thought of the Upper Dantian that had opened up in his mind without any reason, and the seed that had formed inside it. Suddenly, he felt a surge of blood, feeling that a great opportunity was right in front of him, waiting for him to seize it.

  Fang Li was shocked and uncertain, and didn't know if this feeling was right or wrong. Without saying another word, he immediately clasped his fists and said: "I'm being reckless, please Master, enlighten me!"

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