“That is—Stillness?”
Yang Lizhang watched Emperor Jianwen flash, disappearing into the dense forest outside the imperial mausoleum. Then he looked at Zhu Shoujing, whose face was like gold paper, held in his subordinate's arms, his face filled with fear and hesitation, and slowly said.
“Yes, this is ‘Stillness’.”
Ji Tianrui said.
“As it says in The Great Vehicle Unborn Convenient Gate: ‘Stillness manifests from nature; illuminating Stillness returns form to nature.’”
“The external manifestation of the mind's image, imprinting my mind onto another's mind. In Taoism, it is called ‘Stillness’; in Buddhism, it is called ‘Mind-Reading Telepathy’.”
“Legend has it that when Damo Patriarch converted evil people, he only looked at them once, and they experienced ten cycles of reincarnation, enduring countless sufferings. When that person woke up, tears streamed down their face, but they found themselves still standing in the same spot, the tea in their hand still warm. After that, they achieved great enlightenment, realizing that cause and effect were all empty, and finally turned back to the shore.”
“It is the divine power of the mind state—‘Stillness’—among the three paths of nature: mind, spirit, and will.”
Ji Tianrui spoke eloquently.
“Celestial Humans should originally have six realms, with three paths each for nature and life. However, the three paths of nature have long lost their inheritance. All the inheritances in the martial world now only have the three paths of life—that is, Adamant, "Jiezi", and Sumeru.”
At this point, Ji Tianrui sighed softly.
“As the saying goes, ‘Only cultivating nature, not cultivating life, is the first illness of cultivation since ancient times. Only cultivating ancestral nature without cultivating elixirs, yin spirits will be difficult to enter sainthood for myriad eons.’”
“’Celestial Human Five Declines’ is merely the consequence of us, the descendants, taking the wrong path, focusing solely on cultivating life skills and completely neglecting the cultivation of nature. If it’s one path, it’s fine; two paths are too much to bear, and naturally, one must suffer the consequences.”
Yang Lizhang pondered for a long time, then frowned and asked.
“What realm is Emperor Jianwen in? Four paths in one? Five paths? Or has he already reached the realm of Damo Patriarch and Sanfeng Zhenren?”
Ji Tianrui chuckled softly and waved her hand.
“Heh, not that far.”
“If he were that formidable, he wouldn't have been forced to abdicate by Emperor Chengzu and buried alive in a tomb for over a hundred years.”
“Roughly, he's probably at three paths in one: Stillness, Adamant, and Sumeru. With his comprehension, he can't cultivate "Jiezi" yet.”
“How could that be?”
Yang Lizhang asked, surprised.
“Yin Ruihua is three paths in one, and that Xiaoling Guard Commander is not a weak opponent. Yet, they were so easily killed and wounded by him. Is he only three paths in one?”
“Nature and life should be equal. Can the divine power of just one path, ‘Stillness,’ make Yin Ruihua, who is also three paths in one, wait for death?”
Ji Tianrui covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
“Of course not. Without Sumeru, even if he exhausted his mental energy, he couldn't break through Yin Ruihua’s Adamant. Dual cultivation of nature and life is naturally superior to cultivating only life skills; there’s no need to say more.”
“However, the most important thing is impression, or rather, emotion.”
Ji Tianrui pointed at Zhu Shoujing.
“Did you see? Emperor Jianwen didn't directly attack him just now; instead, he pulled him into the mind's image twice. The first time only confused him for a moment; the second time was the real killing move.”
“If he were truly that powerful, wouldn’t it be easier to suppress him directly, like he did with Yin Ruihua, and then do as he pleased? Why bother with the extra step?”
Before Yang Lizhang could answer, Ji Tianrui spoke to herself.
“Because he didn't know Emperor Jianwen at all, had no impression of him, and certainly no fear.”
“So, Emperor Jianwen could only suppress him for a brief moment the first time, planting seeds of doubt and fear in his heart. Only then could he truly suppress him the second time.”
“And his injuries weren't from Emperor Jianwen, but from his own vital energy going astray in his panic, injuring his meridians.”
“Stillness manifests from nature and is determined by the mind. This is a realm where the stronger you perceive your opponent to be, the stronger they truly become.”
Yang Lizhang suddenly understood.
“So that’s it.”
“Therefore, the reason Yin Ruihua appeared so vulnerable before him wasn’t because he was too weak, but because he ‘felt’ Emperor Jianwen was too strong?”
Ji Tianrui nodded.
“Exactly.”
“Back then, the Yang Family ancestors had already been harmed, and the Yang Family had fled into the martial world, unaware of the secret palace affairs of that time.”
“Back then, Emperor Jianwen killed most of the Zhu Family and over ten Celestial Humans who had followed the Grand Ancestor Emperor in conquering the world. Yin Ruihua was just one of the lucky survivors, and his fear of Emperor Jianwen had long been ingrained in his bones.”
“More importantly—”
Ji Tianrui pointed to the open tomb.
“After Emperor Jianwen was sealed here, Yin Ruihua guarded this place for over a hundred years.”
“For over a hundred years, he stood guard here, outside the cage of a beast that could break free at any moment.”
“Every year he guarded it, his fear increased. Every time he looked there, his resolve weakened.”
“Thus, when he suddenly heard Emperor Jianwen's voice, over a hundred years of fear surged into his heart all at once. How could he not be terrified to the extreme? Naturally, he was instantly suppressed by ‘Stillness,’ which is why he died so easily.”
Yang Lizhang understood clearly and finally let out a long breath.
“So that’s it—this makes sense.”
“But even knowing its divine power, the inheritance of nature cultivation has long been lost, and without the means to counter it, I fear no one in the world can survive under Emperor Jianwen.”
Ji Tianrui smiled faintly.
“Then, you are mistaken.”
“As far as I know, in this Shuntian Prefecture, there are currently three people who can withstand ‘Stillness’ and contend with Emperor Jianwen.”
“Oh? Three people?”
Yang Lizhang asked, surprised.
“The Emperor has been cultivating with the ‘Cauldron’ for many years, taking from the world to serve one person. His martial arts have reached an unfathomable level. I'm not surprised that he can contend with Emperor Jianwen.”
“But other Celestial Humans of one or two paths, even if I knew the secrets of ‘Stillness,’ I wouldn’t be confident enough to last ten rounds against him.”
“Are there two other people in Shuntian Prefecture who can contend with Emperor Jianwen?”
“Of course.”
Ji Tianrui chuckled softly, pointing to herself.
“The first, is me.”
Yang Lizhang snorted coldly at her words.
“You?”
“Two of your three paths are evil paths; you even struggle to defeat a Celestial Human at two paths perfected, only bullying those at one path. And you dare to contend with Emperor Jianwen?”
“There’s not a single honest word from you Jies.”
Ji Tianrui did not retort, only smiled without speaking.
“And the other one?”
Yang Lizhang finally couldn't resist and asked proactively.
Ji Tianrui looked up at the night sky, then looked towards the distant dense forest, and chuckled softly.
“Naturally, it’s Lord Li Miao.”
“Him?”
Yang Lizhang thought for a moment, then shook his head.
“His skills are indeed astonishing and defy logic; I don’t know what kind of immortal he is reincarnated from, and he has no known master. Yet, relying on those fragmented texts collected by the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), he has quietly cultivated to such a level.”
“But he is still revolving within the three paths of life. Even if he actively enters that strange state, with three paths in one and two paths perfected, he probably still can’t avoid Emperor Jianwen’s ‘Stillness.’”
Ji Tianrui shook her head, smiling sweetly.
“Then, you underestimate Lord Li.”