Chapter 117: Comprehending Samadhi and Awakening to the Mind’s Origin

Zhu Gang left, quietly and lightly, without taking a single cloud with him.

Having nearly been severely wounded by a single gust of wind from a yellow-haired sable, he truly felt he had no face to show anyone, and decided it would be better to return to the heavens sooner rather than later.

However, when Cao Kong returned to Hidden Mist Mountain, he discovered a small box placed before the Zheyue Cave, from which the sound of surging waves emanated.

"Very well, since he has left it behind, I shall accept it."

Cao Kong muttered to himself, opening it to find the essence of Ren Water. It was of little use to him, as what he currently lacked was the essence of Gui Water.

He then looked at the yellow-haired sable and asked, "What is your name, and where do you come from?"

"My name is Huang Feng, and I come from..."

Huang Feng stammered for a long time, refusing to say exactly where he was from.

Cao Kong clicked his tongue in wonder, having already guessed the answer in his heart. Seeing that the yellow-haired sable possessed an aura of purity, he chose not to press further.

He merely said, "The matter of the ritual oil is trivial, but theft is a grave offense. Tomorrow, you shall go to the True Monarch's Temple to admit your mistake, and I shall spare you this time."

Huang Feng nodded repeatedly, curling his front paws to kowtow to Cao Kong continuously. In his eyes, Cao Kong was now one of the most untouchable beings between heaven and earth.

After all, when listening to the teachings of the Bodhisattva before, he had been told that his "Samadhi Divine Wind" was something even those with far greater cultivation could hardly resist without special measures. Yet, Cao Kong had withstood it head-on without the slightest harm, which left the little mouse truly terrified.

Cao Kong thought for a moment and added, "You committed a wrong, yet I have spared you; by this, a causal bond is formed between us. You are not to do evil in the future. If I discover otherwise, I shall surely send your soul to the underworld to face the King of Hell."

Hearing these words, Huang Feng was so frightened that he bowed deeply, unable to raise his head for a long time.

Seeing this, Cao Kong returned to Zheyue Cave. He was not worried that Huang Feng would escape; under the two arts of "Breath-Manifesting Spirit" and "Storing Wind and Gathering Qi to Nourish the Spirit," Cao Kong was effectively the "Mountain God" of Hidden Mist Mountain. The entire mountain was his dojo and his eyes and ears. How could Huang Feng, who was already inferior to him, hope to escape?

Seeing that Cao Kong had disappeared, Huang Feng did not act rashly but remained slumped in place. However, after a while, his nose twitched as if he had thought of something. His eyes darted about, but in the end, he remained honestly crouched there.

...

The next day, Cao Kong emerged from Zheyue Cave and was met with a peculiar sight.

Huang Feng was sitting in the lotus position in the same spot as the night before, presenting an image of completeness and serene stillness.

In that moment, Cao Kong felt a sense of "stillness" and "stability" emanating from the sable. As the creature breathed in and out, it gathered the energy of heaven and earth. Internally, this should have been hard to perceive, but Cao Kong could distinctly feel the flow of energy within Huang Feng's body, because there was wind inside him!

The movement of his energy gave birth to the nature of wind, which originated from three points: the liver, the gallbladder, and the triple burner. Among them, the liver was the source of the wind, the gallbladder was the pivot for controlling it, and the triple burner was the path for its movement.

Huang Feng inhaled deeply, and the wind within his body circulated in a cycle, following the path of the heavenly orbit. It was not the scorching intensity of true fire, but rather the vigorous growth of spring wood; it broke through obstacles with resilience and reached the profound in the invisible.

"Samadhi..."

Cao Kong could not help but murmur.

It was this sound that startled Huang Feng, who immediately looked up in astonishment, his internal energy and wind coming to a sudden halt.

But then, he saw Cao Kong close his eyes and sit with his five hearts facing the sky. Though he was sitting on the ground, in Huang Feng’s eyes, he appeared to be seated upon a lotus throne, expounding the essence of purity.

In an instant, he attempted to touch upon Huang Feng's state. He did not seek to cultivate the Samadhi Divine Wind, but to reach the state of Samadhi itself. He already possessed the Eight Winds of Heaven and Earth; even if he learned the Samadhi Divine Wind, it would merely be an extra means of attack. He knew that whatever the Samadhi Divine Wind could achieve, the Eight Winds of Heaven and Earth could achieve as well.

But the state of Samadhi was different. To Cao Kong, the state of Samadhi was the true marvelous state, the foundation, far exceeding the Samadhi Divine Wind.

Samadhi, in Buddhism, is known as "Dhyana" (meditative stability), and in Taoism, it is known as "Guarding the One" or "Sitting in Oblivion." It means eliminating all distracting thoughts to calm the mind and fix it upon a single point without scattering. It is a spiritual realm of "clearing the mind to savor the image," "harmonizing with nature," and "letting the heart embrace all things."

This state is the most compatible; when the heart is unmoved, the energy solidifies and the fire returns to the origin. While "fire returning to the origin" does not necessarily mean one has reached this state, reaching "Samadhi" certainly guarantees that the fire will return to the origin!

Following this intent, Cao Kong fell into a dark and mysterious state. The aura emanating from his body began to spread involuntarily, as if everything around him had become one with him.

Huang Feng was stunned, exclaiming, "The mind is one with the realm; the void is manifested."

He could not help but look on with reverence. This was truly a high-level master! The Bodhisattva had said he was a natural seed of Samadhi, possessing the "innate stability" of the majority, and through diligent effort, he had achieved "acquired stability." Combining the two, it had taken him over ten years to enter Dhyana with his mind. Yet even so, he could only attain Samadhi within himself and could not influence the outside world.

But the one before him, who had broken his Samadhi Divine Wind, was merely sitting casually before a cave, yet he was influencing the environment and others in an invisible way. What a profound realm this was! Perhaps only the Bodhisattva could achieve such a feat.

Little did Huang Feng know, this was merely because Cao Kong had lived on Hidden Mist Mountain for a long time and possessed two marvelous arts, allowing him to achieve a harmony of form and spirit with the mountain, creating the illusion that he was influencing the surrounding objects.

Even so, the range of this influence did not exceed three feet from his body.

But that did not stop Huang Feng from revering Cao Kong as a celestial being. A thought suddenly occurred to him: "The True Monarch spoke of Samadhi just now, and then demonstrated the state of Samadhi for me. It means my own cultivation is not yet refined, and he is guiding me."

Immediately, he knelt and kowtowed deeply to the ground, performing a grand salute. Afterward, he moved within three feet of Cao Kong to sense his aura and contemplate his meaning.

...

When Cao Kong opened his eyes again, his gaze was as calm as water. His heart could now dwell in one place without moving. He felt he could reach the state of "fire returning to the origin" in less than twenty years. He gained a deeper understanding of the connection between cultivation and the refinement of the heart.

He whispered lightly, "The Way is wondrous beyond words."

He then looked at Huang Feng within his three-foot radius, thinking to himself, "Come to think of it, if not for watching his cultivation, I would not have had the opportunity to reach this state of mind."

Just as Cao Kong was pondering how to deal with Huang Feng, the sable woke up and once again performed a grand salute to Cao Kong.

"Little demon Huang Feng, I am grateful for the True Monarch's grace in imparting the Way. If the True Monarch has any commands in the future, this small one will not hesitate to die for you."

Cao Kong was slightly stunned at first, but in an instant, he understood Huang Feng's meaning and could not help but smile at the irony. He had gained the Samadhi state by watching Huang Feng cultivate, while Huang Feng had gained insight because of him and assumed he was deliberately teaching him.

How marvelous, how truly marvelous! For one person to gain is good, but how much better when both gain? However, this misunderstanding was not something he could easily clarify.

Therefore, Cao Kong smiled slightly: "By passing a light to other lights, eventually, all lights will shine."

As these words fell, Huang Feng chewed on them in his heart, feeling that the words contained profound wisdom, and he was filled with admiration. It made the mouse feel a sense of overwhelming awe and respect.

"The True Monarch is kind, virtuous, and possesses great wisdom. Huang Feng is full of admiration!"

The True Monarch, who was supposedly "saving the world with a merciful heart," felt a twinge of guilt, turned his head to look at the sky, and offered no reply.

"..."

May I ask for a monthly ticket? Please.