“Above the heavens and below, only I am supreme.”
This phrase is not an arrogant declaration, but a Buddhist verse. The key is not “supreme,” but “only I.”
Buddhism emphasizes that the four great elements are empty, and cultivation is about cultivating the “self.” This “self” refers to the true self, the original self, the ego. To let go of everything except the “self” is the essence of Buddhism.
Although that is said, scriptures, by their very nature, are essentially boastful and spoken without consequence.
After all, the Buddha is a figure who floats in the heavens, can go without food or drink, and can reincarnate; naturally, he can let go of everything. If a living person were to cultivate to the point of not caring about anything, Li Miao would certainly not give him a good look.
The Muscle Tendon Changing Sutra, the Marrow Cleansing Sutra, and the Great Rejuvenation Pill are almost the most valuable items in Shaolin’s heritage. Xing Chi’s casual dismissal of these three, with his line, “As long as a person is still alive, what is a dojo?” already showed an extraordinary state of mind.
Yongjie remained silent, bowing his head in apology.
Only then did Xing Chi turn to Li Miao: “Lord Li, is there anything else you wish to ask?”
“Yes, but I’m not sure if it’s appropriate.”
“Hahahaha, ask away!” Xing Chi laughed loudly.
“This monk is a dying man, so anything Lord Li finds inconvenient to ask others, just ask me. This monk will take it to his grave!”
Li Miao pondered for a moment before speaking.
“In that case, this junior will ask.”
“In this martial world, the Grandmaster Realm is already the peak. However, this junior has examined ancient texts, and during the previous dynasty, there were many more appearances of realms above the Grandmaster Realm. Yet, in our current dynasty, for nearly a hundred years, there has only been one Ji Tianrui, and he was even killed once.”
“What is the reason for this?”
As soon as Li Miao spoke, the atmosphere in the courtyard immediately became tense.
After a long pause, Xing Chi said with a bitter smile: “So that’s it.”
“I was wondering why Commander Zhu came to see me during the day, and Lord Li didn’t come with his superior, but instead snuck over in the middle of the night.”
“Is Lord Li’s astonishing skill purely self-cultivated?”
Li Miao twirled his fingers and raised an eyebrow.
“Master indeed knows the reason.”
“Moreover, this reason is related to the imperial court.”
Both were intelligent individuals, and they had already guessed some things without needing to explicitly state them.
Li Miao’s three paths converging into one, in a martial world where even a single path to the Grandmaster Realm is rare, was truly astonishing. But for him, a Jinyiwei Commander, to come and ask Xing Chi this question, it exposed that his martial arts progress had little to do with the imperial court.
And Xing Chi’s words confirmed Li Miao’s conjecture—the martial arts of Great Shuo had declined significantly compared to the previous dynasty, and the root cause lay with the imperial court.
Xing Chi waved his hand and sighed deeply: “This monk cannot tell you directly, Lord Li. As long as you remain in the imperial court, you will know one day.”
“However, these words should not be spoken by an outsider like this monk to Lord Li.”
“I cannot speak of it, I truly cannot.”
Li Miao smiled: “This junior was presumptuous, causing Master trouble.”
“No matter, no matter.” Xing Chi waved his hand.
“In that case, this junior has one last question.” Li Miao said.
“Shaolin has been passed down for a thousand years. After Patriarch Damo passed away, did he leave any clues on how to take the next step after the three paths converge into one?”
This question had troubled Li Miao for several years.
Regarding the progress of “Vajra,” “Mount Sumeru,” and “"Jiezi",” Li Miao was certain that he had reached the limit.
After fighting Yun Zelin on Mount Tai, he could now perfect one path at any time and have two paths incomplete. Afterwards, by slowly working and relying on persistent effort, he would eventually be able to perfect all three paths within himself.
But then what?
With all three paths perfected, there would be no road left to travel.
He vaguely felt that he was still missing something to truly reach the realm of Sanfeng Zhenren and Patriarch Damo.
But he had no clue what this something was.
In the world, the only possible places to find out were the imperial court, Wudang, and Shaolin.
The imperial court was clearly a murky mess, and Li Miao did not want to rashly get involved before understanding its depths. So, he could only seek out Wudang and Shaolin.
Now, Li Miao finally asked this question to the person most likely to know the answer.
Xing Chi nodded: “This monk knew Lord Li would have this question.”
“However, our Shaolin heritage is ancient, and it has also faced near-extinction several times in between, so many ancient texts have been lost.”
“Moreover, although Patriarch Damo’s martial arts were profound, he founded the sect based on Buddhist studies, and he did not leave any definitive statements regarding this matter.”
“Therefore, this monk cannot give Lord Li a definitive answer.”
Li Miao sighed: “Is that so?”
Although he vaguely felt that he might not get the answer he wanted, he couldn’t help but feel a little disappointed upon hearing Xing Chi’s reply.
Xing Chi, however, waved his hand: “Although I cannot give Lord Li a definitive answer, when this monk achieved success in martial arts back then, I also looked into this matter in the temple’s texts and came up with some conjectures.”
“Later, during the great disaster in Henan, this monk damaged his foundation while saving people, and gave up the idea of further progress in martial arts. This matter was then set aside.”
In the version where not a single mistake was found!
“Since Lord Li has asked, this monk will share these conjectures with Lord Li, as a way to ‘cast a brick to attract jade.’”
After saying that, Xing Chi turned to Yongjie: “You listen too.”
After Yongjie responded and sat down beside him, Xing Chi slowly spoke to Li Miao.
“Lord Li, since you are not deeply involved with the imperial court, and you have already achieved the convergence of the three paths.”
“Have you perhaps tried to cross that step, and then, through some method, deliberately incomplete your realm to avoid the ‘Celestial Human Five Declines’?”
Shaolin indeed had profound foundations. Xing Chi’s martial arts realm might not be exceedingly high, but merely from a few words with Li Miao, he had already guessed Li Miao’s situation.
Li Miao nodded: “Master’s words are correct.”
“Back then, I first cultivated ‘Mount Sumeru,’ then ‘Vajra.’ When both paths converged within me, I immediately fell into the ‘Celestial Human Five Declines’ and nearly lost my life.”
Xing Chi nodded.
“Lord Li is indeed no ordinary person, to have survived such an ordeal.”
“However, has Lord Li ever considered what the term ‘Celestial Human Five Declines’ represents?”
“Did the seniors who named this situation ‘Celestial Human Five Declines’ merely find a suitable term from our Buddhist scriptures and affix it?”
“Was it simply because their outward manifestations were similar?”
Li Miao’s eyes lit up.
“Please enlighten me.”
Xing Chi nodded: “This term refers to the five abnormal phenomena exhibited by a celestial human when their lifespan is nearing its end.”
“A so-called celestial human refers to a divine being living in the heavenly realm. From the moment of their existence, they are already transcendent, possessing various divine abilities, and their mind and nature need no refinement, being naturally complete.”
“When these celestial humans are about to die, five manifestations will appear: their clothes become soiled, the flowers on their heads wither, sweat flows from their armpits, their bodies emit a foul odor, and they no longer enjoy their original seats.”
At this point, Xing Chi paused.
“But, thinking of this, a question naturally arose for this monk.”
“Why do already complete celestial humans die?”
“If their cultivation is already sufficient, how can they fall from the lotus platform?”
Li Miao wasn’t very interested in religious matters, so he couldn’t discuss it with Xing Chi.
Xing Chi also noticed this, smiled, and continued to speak.
“Furthermore, above the Grandmaster Realm, in Shaolin’s heritage, this realm, whether it be one path, two paths, or three paths, is called the ‘Celestial Human Realm.’”
“Because no matter how many paths, as long as one cultivates them, their cultivation is already sufficient, already ‘complete.’”