Chapter 149: The Power of the Mind

I didn’t understand what Master and the others were talking about, but when they mentioned it, everyone who stood up looked serious.

“Master, who will come to pick us up?” I couldn’t imagine that someone would come to pick us up while we were stuck here. Wu Tian? I don’t think so.

“Let’s go. We’ll know when the time comes. Ling Qing, have you prepared clean clothes? You can’t go to see your ‘old friends’ and ‘elders’ without proper etiquette.” Master has always been like this with me. When I was little and asked him something, he always liked to keep things mysterious for me.

He thought it was a way to protect me and didn’t want me to be under too much pressure. I never thought that this habit would still be with him now.

After Grandmaster Ling Qing had given the order, Grandma Ling Qing took out the clean clothes that she had prepared long ago, which of course were also taken from the gods. After everyone had changed, Grandmaster Ling Qing walked in front with the Heavenly Pattern Stone in his hand, while the rest of us followed behind in silence.

I knew that this place was full of dangers, and that there were many things that did not exist in the outside world. I always thought of the absolute quietness of the space when I first entered, and I thought that there must be something hidden, but I didn’t expect that the whole way we walked, it was so quiet that it was unbelievable.

“Everything has its own heart, and that heart is the heart of the universe that wants to restore everything to its original state. Even the plants that dance in the wind have a heart-shaped aura… This is the Tao that I told you about when you were little, Chengyi, do you still remember it?” We had been walking for nearly two hours, and at this time we could already hear the sound of the babbling brook. It seemed that we were approaching the river that we had come from.

I don’t know why my master was talking to me so seriously. When he was serious, I naturally didn’t dare to make a joke, and quickly said in a serious tone, “Disciple dare not forget.”

“That’s good. I know you must have seen how vicious the natives here are, and I think you must also be wondering why we haven’t encountered any attacks from the natives along the way. This is actually their gratitude, you know?” The master looked at me.

I immediately thought of the fate of the gods at that time. The river of fate was drawing the power of the natives in this space, and then we destroyed the gods. Could it be that the natives here are grateful to us for this, so…

“I think I understand, Master,” I replied seriously.

Chengyi, you already have a faint aura of evil in you. You can’t feel it yourself, but I’ve sensed it since the first time I saw you. I think you haven’t had a peaceful life during the years I’ve been gone. There must have been a lot of fighting and killing, which is why you have this faint aura of evil in you. I’m just reminding you that even the fierce natives here occasionally show their true nature, and I don’t think I need to explain to you what that true nature is. As my disciple and a Taoist who values the cultivation of the heart, you must not forget that the heart is more important than technique. Don’t let fighting and killing blind you, and let your endless pursuit of higher techniques.” The master’s voice was calm, and I could see the great river in front of me.

Is there already a faint layer of evil energy surrounding me? I listened and couldn’t help but pause for a moment, then carefully thought back to what my master had said, and recalled the years that had passed. It seemed that, just as my master had said, in my heart, the more important place was taken by the techniques, and the dazzling array of secret techniques were the things that could really shock me. But had the power and emotion of the heart slowly faded?

If I hadn’t found my master again at this time, would I have followed a dark path in the future?

Seeing me in a daze, the master couldn’t help but gently place his hand on my shoulder and said, “Chengyi, your barrier to reincarnation has been broken. Even if the rules of this space are different from our world, it’s like things here won’t be recognized over there… and things over there won’t affect here. But under the law of heaven, different worlds have different rules, but there is a great law that covers all of them. That is called the original. It is difficult for me to understand the original, but I think that this kind of thing, such as the barrier of reincarnation, should be some kind of rule that is close to the original law of heaven. I think you have inadvertently drilled a loophole, but under the great law, there is always an impact.

“Master, perhaps you can just say it?” I don’t know why, but cold sweat began to cover my forehead.

Because, these days, the Taoist boy’s will has been too quiet, so much so that I almost forgot about this matter. When Master mentioned it, my psychological pressure suddenly increased.

I must admit that I am nostalgic. I don’t want to disappear completely at this time. I can’t bear to disappear like this when I see that the older generation has found each other. I haven’t waited for everyone to be reunited.

“To put it simply, it is inevitable that your barrier to reincarnation will become weaker. I don’t know what kind of impact it will have on you in the years to come, but you must remember that there is really nothing in this life that you can rely on. Just as money may disappear, it cannot bring warmth, and it cannot prevent death, just as others will always leave, just as many… So the only thing you can rely on is the ideal of your own heart! A crystal clear heart is the best, an unattainable height in this life. So, what you have to do is to approach it infinitely, and it will become your ultimate reliance, belonging only to your will. The master’s voice was particularly serious. Perhaps because he was too concerned, the hand that was holding my shoulder also became a little tighter, and it hurt my shoulder a little.

The existence of the Taoist disciple’s will is something that the master cannot possibly not care about, because if it really happened, the master’s pain would probably be roughly the same as Lin Xiaohua’s pain, that is, I was in front of him, and I was no longer me.

The power of the mind? I believed every word the master said, but at the time I had no way of grasping what the power of the mind was. But as long as there was a way to rely on it, it gave me a huge amount of confidence. In fact, I could touch a little clue, which was the firm will of Chen Chengyi.

“Well, if your spiritual power can assimilate me, or completely isolate me, then my life will not have been in vain.” At the moment I was full of confidence, the Dao Tongzi’s will, which had been dormant for a long time, suddenly appeared, which scared me.

Fortunately, I had already become somewhat accustomed to this mode of dialogue with myself during the war. After calming down, I found it quite interesting. When one is alone, is one not lonely? However, I did not know that this was a dangerous way of existing.

We had already reached the bank of the calm river. After a brief discussion with the master, we walked in silence all the way north. The place where the gods are is always south. If we keep going north, will we be close to the exit where we are?

Or is there no exit in this world, and that space is the only node?

I followed my master in silence. The further north we walked, the more familiar the scenery became… Gradually, I saw the small forest where I and Ling Qing’s grandmother had once stayed, and even faintly saw the shadow of a boat.

The bloody boat was still there!

I looked at the quiet river and couldn’t help but think of someone. I was originally very quiet, but I couldn’t help but speak up and called out to my master.

The master turned his head in surprise and looked at me, his eyebrows slightly raised, and asked, “What is it?”

“Master, if… I’m just saying if it’s possible, would you take another disciple?” Yes, I remembered Ji Qing. That day, he let me escape, but he was dragged into the water by some unknown monster.

After that, the river returned to its quiet state. I didn’t see what happened in the end, so I kept self-deluding myself into thinking that Ji Qing was still alive. But as time passed, I definitely gave up on that hope. However, in this place where he died, I felt the need to ask Master and give him an explanation.

“Me? I don’t think so… Our lineage follows fate, but my discipleship is weak. Apart from you, I have a little bit of a disciple-master relationship with that little girl from the Yuan family, but I don’t feel like I have any more disciple-master relationships.” The master replied very briefly.

I looked at the master with a desire to speak, then remained silent for a few seconds before saying to the master, “Master, I want to tell you something. Can you talk to me alone here?”

The master looked at me strangely, then nodded and said, “Okay! Let everyone wait for us on the boat. We always have to take that boat out.”

Soon, it was just me and the master left alone on the quiet riverbank. I finally spoke to the master, “Master, when I first came here, I was almost killed by a monster in the water. The reason I wasn’t killed was because a person saved me, someone who wanted to be your disciple.”

“Ah?” Master’s expression revealed surprise.

“His name is Ji Qing, Master. Let me tell you the story of this person.” At this point, I told Master Ji Qing’s story in full.

During the story, the river was calm, but when I got to the moment when Ji Qing died, a slight breeze blew up, blowing the sleeves of my master and I.

Could it be that he was comforting Ji Qing? Or could it be that he was aware of it? Could it be that his soul still exists here?