Martial Saint!
Chapter 489 - 0318 Path of Ordeal (3k)

Chapter 489: 0318 Path of Ordeal (3k)

In the Inner Realm, Lu Chenzhou ascended step by step, reaching higher levels.

After completing today’s practice, it was already 11 PM.

He took out a brand new scripture:

"Three Worlds and Ten Directions Venerable Sutra."

"I’ve had this method for over a year and have read many Buddhist scriptures. I should be able to try cultivating it."

"Shakyamuni, enduring tribulations across lifetimes, advancing in power with each tribulation!"

Lu Chenzhou focused his mind, calmed his breath, joined his hands, and sat in a meditative posture like an old monk entering deep meditation.

Buddhist mental training and Po Suo’s meditation method have a mysterious similarity.

His consciousness descended into the Spiritual Ocean, diving deeper and deeper.

Silence, darkness, solitude, unease... various emotions intertwined and came upon him.

Gradually, fine beads of sweat appeared on Lu Chenzhou’s forehead.

His consciousness reached the deepest part of the Spiritual Ocean.

In front of him was a bizarre and splendid region of water, colorful and radiant.

"The Heart Sutra says that the deepest part of the Spiritual Ocean is the collective consciousness ocean of all beings."

Rashly entering the collective consciousness ocean is a dangerous action.

If one’s will is not strong enough, it is easy to get lost within.

Therefore, Master Hui Kong did not allow Shaolin monks who were not Martial Arts Masters to cultivate this method.

"With my spiritual power of 90 Prajnaparamita and a Fifth Realm Fist Theory, it’s more than enough!"

Taking a breath, Lu Chenzhou plunged into it.

His consciousness awakened, and he looked around:

A gloomy sky, with a blood-red moon hidden in the mist;

Far away, a broken-down Zen courtyard scattered in the mountain forest, shrouded in faint red light;

The eerie mountain gate in front of him;

By the mountain path, everywhere lay skeletons draped in monk robes, human-headed and beast-bodied, bizarre and terrifying;

On the collapsed archway’s plaque, three words were prominently written: [Lantuo Temple].

"Strange, I clearly don’t know these three words, yet I seem to automatically understand their meaning."

He stood in front of a pool of water, looking at his reflection.

A white-robed figure, hands joined in prayer, with an indistinct face.

After surveying his surroundings, he ascended the mountain path step by step.

A black shadow shot out from the dense forest.

With telekinetic perception, he had long sensed its presence.

His hand clawed like a tiger, veins bulging, and he grabbed the black shadow.

It was a monstrous snake about ten feet long, with a monk’s head and a snake’s body, easily slain by him.

"Could this be some monk’s nightmare? Lantuo Temple? Never heard of it."

Lu Chenzhou muttered to himself.

This Heart Sutra was not practiced by him alone.

Zen Ding, Mingxin, and Tuo Tian Head Monk, all eminent Buddhists, had started practicing it long ago.

Before practicing, Lu Chenzhou had also consulted them for tips.

They said that when cultivating the Heart Sutra and diving into the collective consciousness ocean, one would fall into a very realistic illusion.

As long as the key point of the illusion was found and shattered, one could wake up.

That would be considered the completion of a tribulation.

Illusions were most effective in mental training, so the monks of Gold Mountain Monastery practiced using the seductive illusions created by fox demons.

This principle was similar to that of the Heart Sutra.

Suddenly, a group of monk-headed, beast-bodied monsters appeared on the mountain path.

In the illusion, what mattered was spiritual power and other mental powers.

With telekinetic perception, he sensed that these monsters had about 5 Prajnaparamita spiritual power.

Converted to demons, they were of small demon caliber.

"Weaklings with a combat power of 5."

He swept them away, soon arriving in the Zen courtyard.

In the courtyard, a monk-headed, wolf-bodied, but upright-standing hunchbacked creature held a ten-foot-long iron staff, chanting a Buddhist mantra with one hand:

"Amitabha, the sea of suffering is boundless, turn back to shore..."

"Get lost!"

Lu Chenzhou moved.

Like a Mountain God patrolling the mountains, he floated in front of the creature and punched, the wind whistling.

The monk-headed wolf had a strength of about 10 Prajnaparamita, already at the level of a Martial Artist.

But in front of Lu Chenzhou, it was like a lone boat hit by a giant wave, crashing into the red wall of the monastery, its body shattered.

The monk’s head rolled to the ground, still chanting:

"The sea of suffering is limitless, turn back to shore~"

With a squelch, Lu Chenzhou stomped and crushed it.

The monk-headed wolf’s body turned to ash, swept away by the wind.

A golden item remained in its place.

Lu Chenzhou picked it up and mused:

"A monk’s relic..."

The golden relic turned into a warm golden flow, pouring into his body.

He felt his body become more solid and his spiritual power also increased.

"So this is what tribulation is... I understand now."

After the monk-headed wolf died, the surrounding space twisted and deformed like ocean waves.

Obviously, it was the key point of this illusion.

"Hoohoohoo... Benefactor, where are you going!"

With strange howls, the door of the Scripture Hall suddenly opened.

A towering figure draped in a kasaya, with a monk’s head and a pig’s body, holding a massive Great Vow Blade, charged wildly.

Lu Chenzhou frowned slightly; this creature’s strength was around 12 Prajnaparamita.

If not for the illusion about to dissipate, he could have destroyed it with a single punch.

In the end, the creature’s blade slashed through the air, splitting the blue bricks on the ground!

"I, the old monk, will eat you, eat you!"

...

The antique clock’s pointer pointed to midnight.

In the practice room.

Lu Chenzhou woke up, looking at the time.

"Has an hour passed already?"

He quickly looked towards the Martial Arts Tree.

[Three Worlds and Ten Directions Venerable Sutra: First Layer (1%) → First Layer (2%)]

"This has increased by 1%. It doesn’t seem too difficult, probably because my spiritual power is already high."

He used telekinesis to activate the Meditation Pearl, which rotated slowly.

[Current Spiritual Power: 91 Prajnaparamita]

"It has increased by 1 Prajnaparamita. If each 1% increase enhances by 1 Prajnaparamita, then by the time the Heart Sutra reaches the Second Layer, my spiritual power will match my Qi-Blood level, wouldn’t that be a sure ascension to Spiritual Great Emperor in ten years? No, it can’t be that simple." Lu Chenzhou rubbed his temples, feeling an invisible strain in his mind.

Each mental training session also consumed a considerable amount of his spirit, requiring a period of rest.

In the meantime, it wouldn’t affect his stance practice.

He left a message for Tuo Tian Head Monk.

Shortly after, a video call came through.

"Little friend Lu, what is it?"

"Senior, may I ask how far you have progressed in the Heart Sutra?"

"Sixth Layer, have you also started practicing?"

"I just completed a tribulation, and my spiritual power increased by 1 Prajnaparamita."

"That’s normal. The first tribulation is like the body experiencing gravity training for the first time, it undergoes a significant transformation. Based on my experience, completing the First Layer of the Heart Sutra increases spiritual power by a total of 7-10 Prajnaparamita, so don’t get your hopes too high. Consider the Heart Sutra as the spiritual version of the ’Tiger Demon Tai Sui Technique,’ and it will be easy to understand. The first three layers of the Heart Sutra correspond to the First Realm Spiritual Practitioner. Your spiritual power, comparable to the Second Realm, makes tribulations in the first three layers akin to a dimensional reduction attack."

After listening to Tuo Tian Head Monk’s words, Lu Chenzhou was even more convinced.

This Heart Sutra is like playing a game!

The illusions are like instances.

Completing a tribulation in an instance results in spiritual growth.

When the game is completed, after overcoming eighty-one difficulties and countless tribulations, the Heart Sutra will be fully mastered.

As for the game server, it is the Spiritual Ocean.

And the illusions come from the collective subconscious of all beings.

However, if it is a game, aren’t the illusions too real?

Thinking of this, Lu Chenzhou asked:

"Senior, the collective subconscious of all beings must reflect certain realities they’ve experienced, right?"

"Yes, the subconscious isn’t baseless, similar to dreams. No matter how bizarre things in dreams are, they have a basis in reality."

"The tribulation illusion I experienced was set in a monastery."

"Which monastery?"

"Lantuo Temple."

"Lantuo Temple? Are you sure?"

"What’s the matter? Could it be, senior as well?"

"I’m not in Lantuo Temple. I am on a solitary island in the sea, surrounded by demons."

"Alright."

"However, yesterday in the illusion, I killed a demon with a monk’s head and a fish’s body. Before it died, it looked west and said... Lantuo Temple."

At this moment, both the elder and the young man fell silent.

Moments later, Tuo Tian Head Monk called for Mingxin.

"Mingxin, what was the illusion you experienced during Heart Sutra practice?"

Mingxin answered without thinking:

"I was in a snow mountain monastery, chanting, reciting sutras, cooking... It felt like I was experiencing cultivation all over again."

"And then?"

"Nothing more. I couldn’t leave the monastery. Master said my cultivation wasn’t enough to leave the mountain."

"No demons?"

"Yes, occasionally they’d fly over, but the old monks in our monastery were very skilled, and the demons dared not approach."

"Which monastery exactly?"

"Sajia Temple."

"Have you heard of Lantuo Temple?"

"No..."

Tuo Tian Head Monk then asked:

"What’s Zen Ding’s situation? Do you know?"

"Unclear, I haven’t asked."

Soon, the muscular Martial Monk Zen Ding came stepping in. He said:

"Heart Sutra? I haven’t practiced it for a while, recently been focused on mastering Cross Training Martial Arts."

"What level are you on now?"

"First Layer."

Tuo Tian Head Monk’s face darkened, and he couldn’t help but say:

"With your realm, practicing normally, you should at least be on the Third Layer by now?"

Shaolin Temple doesn’t force Grandmaster Experts to practice certain martial arts; it’s all voluntary.

Master Hui Kong previously mentioned those who are able should practice the Heart Sutra a bit.

Zen Ding, being a true martial monk, prefers Body Refinement, neglecting mental training.

Zen Ding said helplessly:

"I’d like to, but I truly lack the gift for mental training.

I was trapped in a cave, the entrance guarded by a monk with a bear’s head, dressed in a kasaya.

I wondered if the first layer of the Heart Sutra was that hard to practice?

Although I don’t focus on mental training, being a Grandmaster, my spiritual power should at least be at the Second Realm of Po Suo Spiritual Martial Arts, right?

I figured the monk must be the key to the tribulation, so each training session, I fought with it.

Then, after three months of fighting, I still couldn’t get out, so I gave up strategically, planning to tackle it after becoming a Great Grandmaster."

Lu Chenzhou asked: "Senior Zen Ding, where is that cave located?"

Zen Ding recalled, frowning: "I really didn’t pay attention, why don’t I practice Heart Sutra now and have a look?"

Tuo Tian Head Monk said: "You practice, and I’ll protect."

Zen Ding sat cross-legged in meditation, hands joined, starting the tribulation.

After just a few minutes, he stood up, pale-faced, having seemingly failed again.

Looking pained, he said: "That monk, he claimed to be... the Abbot of Lantuo Temple."

(ps: This book doesn’t follow the Infinite Genre, this Chapter mainly explains the principle of tribulations in the Heart Sutra. The main maps in this book are the human world and the void realm, so consider the tribulations in the illusions as like single-player game levels providing fragmented mainline information. All fragments combine to gradually reveal the main storyline and hidden plot. Future everyday Heart Sutra practices will be briefly covered, only key plot points will be detailed.)

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