Suddenly, the Baihui Cave above the head opened, and a drop of nectar fell from the sky, dripping on the lotus. The lotus pod quickly absorbed it and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
After absorbing the nectar, the nine petals bloomed with gleaming light. The brilliance circulated and became crystal clear. After a while, the brilliance slowly dissipated and returned to normal.
The nine petals have undergone slight changes, making the texture stronger and more realistic.
I don't know when, the sun in the sky turned into a waxing moon, the clear light shone down, the lotus flowers became brighter and flawless, the lake surface sparkled, and the lake water became clearer.
At this moment, his body seemed to have turned into lake water, and his heart seemed to have turned into a lotus, bathed in the silver moonlight, so peaceful and gentle that he wished he could stay here forever.
I don't know how long it took, but suddenly there was a light in front of my eyes. The peaceful scene turned into fragments and dissipated, and darkness returned to my eyes again.
He slowly opened his eyes, his eyes were clear and soft, similar to the waxing moon in the sky. After a while, the light slowly faded and returned to normal.
Li Muchan took a long breath, untied his fingerprints, looked up at the sky, and remained motionless.
The moonlight is like water, and it feels cool and comfortable when it shines on the body, as if it has turned into substance, and it has indeed turned into clear water.
The gentle breeze blows slowly over the skin, and every pore expands. The turbid air comes out and the fresh air comes in. It feels indescribably comfortable. The breeze also carries the smell of green grass.
The surroundings were quiet and peaceful, and the insects seemed to have fallen asleep, no longer chirping, and there was no sound except the sound of the breeze passing through the grass.
There was silence and peace in his heart, and he felt that everything around him became exceptionally clear and vivid, as if a layer of window paper had been pierced, and everything became real.
He looked at himself silently and suddenly understood his own changes.
My five senses have become sharper and my mind has become clearer, like glass being washed in water, or like dusty leaves being washed by clean water.
His thinking was unusually agile, as fast as lightning, and he instantly thought of the lake in his imagination. It was clear and bright, just like the water of Meifu Ming Lake. His mind now was like lake water, clear and flawless.
In the morning, I felt that I had become smarter. It was indeed due to the divine revelation of the scriptures. It seemed that I was on the right path.
He took a long breath and felt a little excited. From this point of view, this method of observing the sky, humans and gods, and illuminating the scriptures is a method of refining the gods. I don’t know what it will become if you continue to practice it.
Unfortunately, you can only practice once a day. At that time, nectar fell from the sky. After the nectar, the visualization will soon be broken, making it impossible to continue practicing.
He was inspired by a spring, and suddenly thought, since nectar can drop at midnight and nourish the lotus, what will happen at noon?
Is it possible that nectar also falls at noon and then condenses into heavenly beings? One yin and one yang make up this picture of heavenly beings and gods?
This thought made his heart beat fast all his life, and he felt that it was very possible.
He couldn't wait for time to fly by, and it would be dawn soon. At noon, he would try his guess, take a deep breath, suppress his anxiety, calm his mind, and continue practicing his sword.
It's a pity that having sharp facial features and a clear mind does not help with agility. It still requires hard practice to make it instinctive.
Early the next morning, he went home, had dinner, and went to Mei Mansion. In Tianshu Courtyard, He Nanshan and three others were practicing swordplay in the courtyard. When they saw him coming, they all stopped.
In their eyes, Li Muchan is his junior brother and should be taken care of, but in Li Muchan's eyes, they are just children who find it fun and interesting.
Putting the two lives together, he lived for more than fifty years, during which he experienced life and death, reincarnation and rebirth. He experienced all kinds of things that ordinary people would find unbelievable. He also had to keep the secret of reincarnation, and he unconsciously became deeper.
After being reborn in the world, he looks at everything differently from ordinary people. He finds trivial things interesting to ordinary people, and laughs at big things to ordinary people.
His mind often stood on a high place unconsciously, looking down at everything around him, like looking in a mirror. Such a detached mentality made him progress very quickly in practicing meditation. He had already reached the first level of Zen at a young age, which was astonishing to the world.
People like Snow Seal God Nun are also admired and admired.
Li Muchan has been trying hard to suppress this condescending mentality, knowing that it is just an illusion. In this world, he is no stronger than others. He has always tried to be like the light and look ordinary.
Li Muchan was very grateful to He Nanshan and the other two people for treating him like this, allowing him to appreciate the beauty of human nature and the joy of living.
According to usual habits, they all went out to practice at this time, obviously waiting for him, so he didn't refuse, he just drew his sword out of its sheath and practiced for a while.
The moves were of precise standard without any mistakes. The three of them were surprised and praised them one after another.
If an ordinary person could practice this sword technique like this in one day, it would not be surprising, but for Li Muchan, it would be surprising.
Yu Chiming returned his long sword to its sheath and took Li Muchan to the verandah to sit down: "Come on, Fifth Junior Brother, tell me, did you suddenly become enlightened? When you woke up, your hands and feet became more dexterous?"
Li Muchan sat on the porch, smiled and shook his head: "I didn't sleep, I practiced all night."
Suddenly a gust of wind blew, causing the lake surface to ripple, rolling up a wave. The three people's sapphire blue robes were fluttering, and Li Muchan's gray monk robes were fluttering. They were all in high spirits.
"You practiced all night and didn't sleep?" Yuchi Mingzhi asked.
He Nanshan chuckled and said: "Fifth Junior Brother, are you kidding? You are in high spirits, more energetic than us. It doesn't look like you stayed up all night!"
Li Muchan said: "I can take the place of sleeping by entering samadhi. Sitting for an hour is enough."
Yu Chiming's eyes widened: "Meditating for an hour, is it worth sleeping all night?"
Li Muchan nodded.
"So magical?" Cheng Xiaofeng raised his eyebrows.
Li Muchan said: "Entering samadhi is a great rest, which is better than sleeping."
Yuchi Ming's head was like a rattle and he kept shaking: "No! No! Practicing internal strength can be regarded as entering samadhi. Why do I get more and more tired as I practice?"
Li Muchan smiled and shook his head: "Fourth Senior Brother, internal strength cultivation is different from entering concentration."
"How is it different? Aren't they all sitting there motionless!" Yu Chiming snorted, disapprovingly.
Li Muchan smiled.
"What's the difference? Fifth Junior Brother, please tell me." He Nanshan said with a smile.
The three of them stared at his face, pretending to be attentive.
Li Muchan had no choice but to talk briefly. The three of them couldn't help but be curious about his meditation skills and wanted him to teach them.
Li Muchan did not hide his secrets. He talked about how to get started with meditation and finally said: "Cultivation of concentration is to train the mind. The mind is like a monkey and the mind is like a horse. It is formless and unpredictable. Internal strength is to train Qi, but it is much simpler... Think about meditation.
If you lower your mind, there is no other way. You have to spend a lot of time meditating. After your mind is completely calm, it will be like the water of this bright lake, seeing everything, and it feels wonderful."
Yu Chiming interrupted him: "How long have you been practicing, Fifth Junior Brother, before you can use trance instead of sleeping?"
Li Muchan thought for a moment and said, "It took me thirteen years from the time I practiced samadhi at the age of four to reaching the realm of desire."
"Thirteen years?!" Yu Chiming yelled.
Li Muchan smiled and nodded: "I don't have much talent in practicing swordsmanship, but my talent in practicing Buddhism is pretty good."
The three of He Nanshan looked at each other, smiled bitterly and shook their heads.
Yuchi Ming hummed: "Forget it!... If you have this time, you might as well practice your internal skills. After practicing hard for thirteen years, you can become a martial arts master!"
Li Muchan smiled and said nothing more.
It is difficult for outsiders to understand the beauty of practicing Zen. The physical and mental pleasure is better than the pleasure of men and women. Of course, it is painful, boring, and boring at the beginning, but as long as you grit your teeth and hold on, you can practice to a certain level.
All the hardships will come to an end.
But these wonderful points are beyond words, and language is too pale and poor to fully describe them.
"It seems we should just sleep peacefully." He Nanshan chuckled and touched his beard: "Fifth Junior Brother has a bright future, so congratulations!"
"I'll take the good advice from my second senior brother," Li Muchan said with a smile.
Cheng Xiaofeng nodded slowly, thoughtfully.
Others have to sleep for three or four hours a day, but the fifth junior brother only has one hour, and the remaining two or three hours can be used for practicing.
In a day, excluding eating, sleeping, and some trivial matters, only four or five hours can be really used to practice. The fifth junior brother has almost twice as much time as ordinary people. One year of practice is worth two years for others.
Now he is just a beginner, so he is very weak, but in seven or eight years, the fifth junior brother will be able to catch up with him.
"Haha, Fifth Junior Brother, you have to take care of me in the future!" Yu Chiming laughed, extremely happy.
Li Muchan laughed: "With my qualifications, if I want to take care of Fourth Senior Brother, I'm very suspicious!"
He Nanshan chuckled and said: "Don't be in a hurry, take your time!"
The four of them were chatting and joking when suddenly a man came in, carrying a long sword that was almost as tall as the body. It was Master Cheng from the Sword Forging Hall.
As soon as he came in, he ignored He Nanshan and the others, went directly to Li Muchan, handed over the long sword: "Come on, Zhan Ran, you try the sword!"
Li Muchan took it with a smile and looked at the scabbard. The dark gray scabbard blended in with his monk's robe, making it easy for people to ignore it.
Look at the scabbards of the three men. They are all dark green and are not the same.
Just from the color of the scabbard, Li Muchan could feel Master Cheng's attentiveness.
"Choke..." The long sword was unsheathed, and the voice was clear and crisp.
Li Muchan lowered his head to look at the long sword. The sword was dull and plain. If he looked carefully, the sword had faint patterns. From the sword to the tip, it looked like a wisteria wrapping around the sword.
"Ding..." He flicked the sword with one finger, a look of admiration on his face.
Master Cheng's tense face revealed a smile: "I forged this sword myself. It took me an entire night, but my efforts were not in vain!"
"Thank you so much, Master Cheng." Li Muchan tithes.
Master Cheng waved his hand and sighed: "You are a monk, I hope this sword can be stained with less blood."
After that, without waiting for Li Muchan to speak, he shook his head, sighed, turned around and left.
He Nanshan and the others watched him leave, and the smiles on their faces slowly faded away. Although Master Cheng's face was tense and he ignored the three of them, they still had smiles on their faces.
Yu Chiming hurriedly came over: "Let's take a look, let's take a look!... When will Master Cheng be able to use this beginner's Qingfeng Sword himself!"
Li Muchan handed over the sword, and the three of them took turns to look at it. They all praised it. It was much stronger than theirs. It was indeed a master's handiwork.
Later, Jin Kaitai came over and took him out of Tianshu Courtyard and to the willow tree by the lake. In the gentle breeze, he practiced the first move of the Twelve Plum Blossom Swords.
Seeing that Li Muchan had practiced skillfully, Jin Kaitai was very satisfied and then passed on the second move.
This time, as before, Li Muchan's hands and feet were still clumsy. It took him more than an hour to finally correct his movements, which were considered standard.
Li Muchan returned to Tianshu Academy, and He Nanshan and the other three were practicing their swordsmanship, still waiting for him to come back.
"Fifth Junior Brother, have you learned the second move?" He Nanshan was practicing sword practice under the big locust tree. When he saw him coming in, he put away his sword and asked with a smile.
Li Muchan nodded and said with a smile: "Yes...Second Senior Brother, I was too exhausted just now and want to meditate for a while. Is there any good place to go?"
Yu Chiming came over and said: "Then let's go to Jingyuan!"
"Jingyuan?" Li Muchan said.
He Nanshan smiled and said: "There is a small garden behind us. It belongs to our Tianshu Academy. No one else can enter. It is best to practice internal energy in it without anyone disturbing it."
"Okay!" Li Muchan nodded.
"Let's go, I'll take you there!" Yuchi Ming said, turned around and left.
Li Muchan smiled at He Nanshan and Cheng Xiaofeng, followed Yu Chiming, left Tianshu Courtyard, and walked about a hundred meters to a garden in the west.
At this time, the two yellow wooden doors of the garden were closed tightly, and a large copper lock, the size of two palms, was hung on it, shining brightly in the sun.
Yu Chiming took out a key from his arms, opened the copper lock, opened the door and walked in. He turned around and said: "Fifth Junior Brother, the key to this yard is in your house... You haven't entered the house to take a look, right?"
?”
Li Muchan smiled and nodded. He had been very busy in the past two days, focusing on practicing his sword and had no time for anything else. He hadn't even stepped into his house yet.
It is said to be a small garden, but after entering, I realized that this garden is very big, four or five times the size of Tianshu Yuan. It is full of rockeries, lush trees, winding paths, and a gurgling stream at the foot, clear and bright, with the sound of clangs.
This quiet garden is very similar to the style of Suzhou gardens of later generations and is extremely elegantly arranged.
Yuchi Ming said: "How is this garden?...This is the handiwork of the third girl!"
"The handwriting of the third girl?" Li Muchan was surprised and looked around.
Regarding the people in the Mei Mansion and their relationships, he was already very familiar with them before entering the Mei Mansion. To make suggestions for his eldest brother, he needed to know the details of the first person. He knew that the third girl, Mei Songwan, was the sister of the head of the Mei Mansion.
She wanted to marry into the famous Penglai royal family, but she was left as a widower.
The three girls, Mei Songwan, are astonishingly talented. They are the best in Meifu. They are good at playing music, chess, calligraphy and painting. No one can match them. They are just not very interested in martial arts.
Yu Chiming chuckled and said: "Fifth Junior Brother, you can take your time and watch for yourself. Find a place to meditate by yourself. I won't disturb you. Let's go!"
Saying that, he waved his hands and left with a long stride.
Li Muchan looked at the sky. The sun was about to reach the middle. He had no time to enjoy the scenery of the quiet garden, so he went up to a rockery and sat in the five-cornered pavilion on the top of the mountain.
He wanted to practice the Observation of Heaven, Humans and Gods, and confirm his conjecture.
The small pavilion is supported by three vermilion pillars. Standing on it, you can overlook the entire quiet garden. The lush greenery in front of you, the gentle breeze blowing, and your heart feel comfortable.
There are several futons on the benches of the small pavilion. Apparently people from Tianshu Academy often come here.