bookbashuk Chapter 234 The Great Dream Ends, Jin Yucheng
Chapter 234 The Great Dream Ends, Jin Yucheng
An old man with white hair and a white beard suddenly appeared. His figure slowly emerged from the void, holding a whisk in one hand and stroking his beard with the other, smiling as he looked at Lü Qian, who was standing in front of the Jianmu tree.
"Traveler, what is the destiny of this Jianmu tree?"
Judging from his attire, this old man was a proper spiritual practitioner. Although he looked to be over a hundred years old, his every move was natural and graceful, showing no signs of old age.
He stepped onto the Jianmu tree in the center of the stone chamber, wearing straw sandals, and with a flick of his whisk, a gentle breeze was stirred up.
A gentle breeze rippled across the still water, causing waves to spread across the surrounding divine and magical landscape.
The surrounding light and power vanished into nothingness in the rippling waves, as if it had never existed from the beginning, merely an empty dream.
Lu Qian felt the gentle breeze flowing by, closed his eyes as the wind swayed, and then slowly opened them again.
"Tick-tock!"
It was as if a drop of water had fallen from a great height into Lü Qian's calm heart, causing ripples to spread across his once tranquil mind.
As his thoughts stirred, a familiar feeling arose spontaneously, and it seemed as if Lü Qian had once again entered the [Inner Realm].
This interior scene was also filled with boundless emptiness and desolation. Lü Qian and the old man stood facing each other, with the Jianmu tree, intertwined with green and red gold, between them.
The two stared at each other for a moment across the Jianmu tree. Lu Qian looked at the old man in front of him but did not rush to speak. Instead, he smiled slightly and reached out his hand to point in the void in front of him.
"Master Ziyang, the movement of your thoughts is not an illusion, but the reality I see."
That finger was unremarkable; it was simply a raised hand poking into the void, yet it stirred up several shimmering ripples in the air.
Ripples emanated from under Lü Qian's fingers, drifting along the void to infinity. Wherever the ripples passed, the previously empty void underwent new changes.
"Pop!"
A sound like a bubble bursting rang out, and the changing void ended its transformation with this slight sound, revealing a different scene once again.
However, this time the scenery was neither the initial pitch blackness nor the dazzling light that followed Lü Qian's arrival; instead, it was as ordinary as the rooms where cultivators lived in reality.
But this room was different; its environment and furnishings were not in the style of Lü Qian's era.
Those elegant, simple, and antique-style outfits are not products of later generations burying their heads in the sand or feigning elegance; they are naturally in line with the times.
However, it does not correspond to Lü Qian's era, but rather to the era of Zhang Boduan, the "Ziyang Zhenren," a thousand years ago.
The room was sparsely furnished, consisting of only a bed, a low table, a few cushions, and even some dust.
It doesn't resemble the legendary abode of immortals; rather, it looks like the humble dwelling of an ordinary person.
At this moment, the doors and windows of the humble room were tightly closed, and the sunlight outside shone in through the openwork patterns on the windows, casting a variety of light and shadow patterns on the ground.
The melodious chirping of birds could even be heard outside the doors and windows, and the delicate fragrance of flowers drifted into the room on a gentle breeze, making everything feel incredibly real.
Standing here, it felt as if Lü Qian had traveled through time and space to a thousand years ago, and stood before the Master Ziyang.
As the ripples in the void gradually faded away, Lü Qian stood in the center of the humble room, looking at the centenarian with white hair and beard before him, and respectfully bowed.
"Lu Qian, a disciple of Wudang, greets Patriarch Ziyang."
Standing opposite him, Master Ziyang chuckled and stroked his white beard, praising, "The dream of wealth and power has given you a good understanding of the difference between reality and illusion."
Looking into Lü Qian's eyes, which were filled with deep concentration but without a trace of brilliance, he affirmed Lü Qian's cultivation.
"But I wonder, along this journey, have you gained anything? Have you truly come to know yourself?"
The Master Ziyang put away his smile and looked at Lü Qian with a serious expression. He stared into Lü Qian's bright but dull eyes, as if he were testing Lü Qian's true nature.
See if that heart has truly been tempered by the world, and whether the monkey dwelling within has truly endured hardship.
Faced with Master Ziyang's question, Lü Qian calmly stood up.
He recalled his experience of the dream and answered slowly.
"There's no need to see the truth or falsehood with your eyes; it's the human heart that discerns reality from illusion."
"Gathering the past to create this world, the mind-monkey spirit transforms into the Great Sage!"
As he spoke, Lü Qian pointed to his eyes and then tapped his heart.
"This junior does not know what is real and what is false, but I know that I have earnestly walked the path of cultivation."
"It is to measure the world with your own two legs, to observe the mundane world with your own eyes, and to comprehend your own path and your own way with your own heart."
"I think, therefore I am!"
Lu Qian's eyes were blazing, and crimson-gold patterns intertwined and shimmered in his pupils, creating endless light and shadow, within which people, events, and objects appeared.
The years that had passed in that dream of wealth and glory were reduced to a fleeting moment in Lü Qian's eyes.
In the blink of an eye, the crimson flames faded from his eyes, and his jet-black pupils returned to their calm, still state, like two deep, dark pools of sea.
He took a step forward, and at this moment, Lü Qian regained his former tranquility and naturalness, but unlike before, it was mixed with the sedimentation of time.
This time, the transformation is different from the previous one where the young man pretended to be old. The one living beneath that youthful appearance is not Lü Qian from the previous life, but Xuan Yang from this life.
The past is the foundation of the present. The Lü Qian of the past life has been completely transformed into this life, becoming the premise of this moment.
During his trip to Baiyun Temple, Master Fang helped him open his heart, rediscover himself in this life, and unleash the mischievous little monkey within him.
Now, that mischievous little monkey, after going through trials and tribulations, has transformed back into the Golden Jade Sage!
"I'm really back."
"This disciple has nearly reached perfection; it is time to settle karmic debts and sever ties."
"I came from nothing, and I shall leave from nothing; all things in this world should come to an end."
Including the time spent in the dream of wealth and power, he has now cultivated for more than thirty years, and his cultivation has reached a critical point.
This threshold is called "Ascension," which is the state of returning to one's primordial energy.
"But I see no joy or sorrow on your face, so is it that the realm of ascension is not enough for you?"
Master Ziyang walked towards the bed in the room, sat cross-legged beside the low table, pointed at Lü Qian's overly calm face with his whisk, and teased him with a smile.
"Most people seek profound and mysterious methods, but what they attain is merely the three flowers on the crown of the head and the five vital energies in the chest. How come yours seems so ordinary?"
The distance between the two gradually closed as Master Ziyang made that joke. Lü Qian scratched his head, his humble demeanor fading, and said with an embarrassed smile.
"Master is joking. How could I possibly look down on [ascension to immortality]? I was just feeling a bit sentimental. It turns out I'm only one step away from my childhood dream."
He seemed to see his younger self reflected in his eyes.
That version of myself who clamored in Lüjia Village to become the next top expert and ascend to immortality.
That version of myself who made my first appearance outside the village at the Lu family's birthday banquet.
That monkey who knelt in the main hall of Wudang for two days, yearning to be accepted into the Taoist sect.
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I'm not in a good mood today. It seems I haven't gotten over the gloom yet, so I can't write anything satisfying. I need to let it settle down for a while.