Published at 3rd of December 2024 9:16 am

Chapter 297: The Map of Visualization

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Mo Hua couldn’t help but gape.

He hadn’t expected that in such a vast Cultivation World, with so many cultivators, he himself would have the fortune to be the first one to “eat a crab”.

Mo Hua was conflicted; he didn’t want to “eat a crab”. Without any precedent to follow, if he got the method wrong, it could lead to a upset stomach.

“What should I do then?” Mo Hua asked, “Won’t there be a day when my Sea of Consciousness is eroded by evil thoughts, and I lose my true nature, truly becoming a man-eating little ghost?”

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua, “There’s no need to worry needlessly. You’ve already consumed living little ghosts; what would some residual wandering thoughts amount to?”

“What you’re experiencing could at most be called…” Mr. Zhuang paused thoughtfully and found the words, “indigestion.”

“Indigestion…” Mo Hua pondered for a moment and then understood.

“Poor digestion?”

Mr. Zhuang nodded, “That’s one way to put it.”

Mo Hua was reassured and began chattering away with other questions:

“Gentleman, where exactly do these Contemplation Maps come from? Also, you mentioned that the Contemplation Maps harbor dangers, does this little ghost count as one of those dangers? Is it the ‘Non-Human’ path you spoke of? Do all Contemplation Maps contain these kinds of little ghosts? If I encounter them again, what should I do?”

Mo Hua’s voice was crisp, as he asked a long string of questions in one breath.

Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but rub his forehead.

Having a clever disciple was also somewhat troublesome; their quick minds led to many questions, making them exhausting to answer.

Mr. Zhuang thought for a moment and decided to start with the basics, so he asked Mo Hua:

“All the extraordinary powers of a cultivator rely on three things. Do you know what these three are?”

“Are they Divine Sense, Spiritual Power, and the physical body?” Mo Hua answered.

Mr. Zhuang nodded, “Correct. Every ability of a cultivator is founded upon Divine Sense, Spiritual Power, and the physical body.”

“Martial Arts involve stimulating the physical body with Spiritual Power, Spells congeal Spiritual Power with Divine Thought; Formations connect to the Heavenly Dao with Divine Sense, transmitting Spiritual Power through Formation Patterns. Other methods of Tao Cultivation are similar, though their emphasis may vary.”

“In the future, if you come across anything bizarre or strange in the Cultivation World, and if you cannot grasp it or find a lead, you can consider these three aspects.”

Mo Hua had an epiphany.

“So the little ghosts in the Contemplation Maps, having no physical bodies or Spiritual Power, are purely Divine Thoughts, just pure force of Divine Sense?”

“Exactly,” Mr. Zhuang said, “In other words, the so-called Contemplation Maps are just mediums that carry Divine Sense, which in the maps are remnants of Divine Sense left by certain cultivators due to coincidences, or Divine Thoughts born from some Non-Human entities due to fortuitous opportunities.”

“These Divine Senses or Divine Thoughts are often referred to as evil beings or ghosts by cultivators.”

Mo Hua asked, “Are all these evil beings and ghosts edible?”

Mr. Zhuang tapped Mo Hua’s little head, “Don’t be greedy, always thinking about eating.”

Mo Hua smiled sheepishly.

Mr. Zhuang warned, “These evil beings and ghosts vary in strength. The little green-faced ghost you encountered was relatively weak and you were able to consume it. If you encounter something stronger, who knows who will consume whom.”

“How strong can they become?” Mo Hua was curious.

Mr. Zhuang’s eyes flashed with deep wariness and he spoke with a grave tone:

“Terrifyingly strong.”

Mo Hua’s expression also became serious.

Something that even the unfathomable Mr. Zhuang found terrifying?

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and, after a moment’s thought, still felt it better to give him a warning.

Originally, Mo Hua’s realm was too low to come into contact with such things, but now he unexpectedly found a Contemplation Map and consumed the ghost within, who knows what he might encounter in the future.

Mr. Zhuang was quite fond of this little disciple and didn’t want him to fall into an unescapable predicament due to ignorance and fearlessness.

“There are dangers in this world that you cannot see,” Mr. Zhuang said.

“Wild mountains, ancient temples, sealed caves, and underground tombs often harbor indescribable evil beings or ghosts. They feed on human Divine Sense and are adept at polluting the heart.”

“Cultivators with weaker Divine Sense, when encountering these entities, can’t see or touch them; they might be on the verge of death without knowing how they are dying. Either their Divine Sense is completely devoured, or their Sea of Consciousness is occupied by an evil being, being manipulated unknowingly, turning into a puppet-like living dead.”

“Then there are some entities that have lived even longer, with overwhelming Divine Thoughts, nearly indestructible, and with a Divine Sense that cultivators can’t even glimpse. Some cultivators revere them as ‘Ghost Gods’ or ‘Evil Gods’, worshipping them devoutly.”

“But these Ghost Gods and Evil Gods are mostly evil-natured, with insidious Divine Thoughts. Cultivators who worship them usually do not come to good ends…”

“Whether weaker ghosts and evil beings, or supremely powerful Ghost Gods and Evil Gods, in order to exist in the world, they must have something to inhabit. That thing is the Contemplation Map.”

“That’s why I told you that Contemplation Maps harbor dangers, containing Non-Human paths…”

Mo Hua listened with growing fear, but also voiced his confusion:

“Do they all hide in maps?”

Could such a large being really fit into something so small?

Mr. Zhuang shook his head, “Although they are called Contemplation Maps, they are not necessarily just maps. Some murals, statues, strange patterns, etc., could all be objects of contemplation. It’s just that cultivators are accustomed to collectively referring to them as ‘Contemplation Maps’.”

Mo Hua nodded his head, feeling as if his eyes had been opened.

Without Mr. Zhuang’s guidance, he would never have known these Tao Cultivation knowledge, and had he really encountered a powerful ghost, he probably would indeed die without knowing how he died.

Mo Hua asked, “Does this knowledge also belong to the common sense of Tao cultivation?”

“This is not common sense of Tao cultivation,” Mr. Zhuang said, “but the secrets of Tao cultivation. They are the arcane knowledge known only by some Ancient Noble Clans who are well-versed in Divine Sense, or the Ancient Sects that inherit Formation knowledge. Ordinary cultivators would not have access to such secrets.”

Mo Hua nodded repeatedly, seriously committing these rare secrets of Tao cultivation to memory.

Apart from Mr. Zhuang, there was no one else who could talk to him about these things.

“Do you understand now?”

“I understand,” Mo Hua said, and then something else occurred to him, “But…”

Seeing Mo Hua’s hesitant expression, Mr. Zhuang, somewhat helplessly, said, “If you want to ask, just ask. Don’t keep it bottled up inside.”

Mo Hua beamed a candid smile and said, “Thank you, Gentleman!”

Then he began to ask, “When I look at the Contemplation Map, at first I see a Taoist Child, but as I continue to observe, the Taoist Child turns into a Little Green-faced Ghost. Why is that? Do all Contemplation Maps have two such appearances?”

Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua with surprise.

Such a subtle detail—he had not mentioned it, yet Mo Hua had figured it out on his own; indeed, he had a sharp mind and high comprehension.

Mr. Zhuang smiled slightly, his face showing approval as he said:

“Everything in the world has both an apparent form and a true form, and so it is with the Contemplation Maps. The various scenes within the map are its apparent forms. Beneath these apparent forms, there exist the true forms made of Divine Thoughts.”

Mo Hua thought about Mr. Zhuang’s words and said:

“So, the little Taoist Child in the Contemplation Map is the apparent form, and the Little Green-faced Ghost is the true form?”

Mr. Zhuang nodded. “Correct.”

“Do all Contemplation Maps divide between apparent and true forms?”

“Yes, but it’s not so simple to distinguish them,” Mr. Zhuang patiently explained:

“In some maps, the apparent form is the true form, while in others, the true form is just a more deeply concealed apparent form.”

“Apparent form, true form; true form, apparent form…”

Mo Hua thought for a while, a bit dizzy from the circular reasoning, then asked:

“How can I distinguish between them?”

Mr. Zhuang raised his slender finger and slowly said:

“First, it depends on Divine Sense. If your Divine Sense is strong, stronger than the Divine Thoughts of the ghosts or evil beings within the Contemplation Map, then you can perceive their reality.”

“Second, it relies on experience. As you see more Contemplation Maps, you will naturally develop an intuition to discern truth from false, to see through some apparent forms.”

“Third, it is based on your enlightenment of the Heavenly Dao. The deeper your understanding of the Heavenly Dao, closer to the essence of the Great Dao, the more you will be able to see the true forms hidden beneath the apparent ones.”

“Of these three aspects, the first is the most direct, the second takes time, and the third is the most difficult.”

“Enlightenment of the Heavenly Dao…” Mo Hua pondered for a moment, then doubtfully said, “How can I enhance my enlightenment of the Heavenly Dao?”

Mr. Zhuang said, “One depends on the temperament, and the other on tempering.”

Mo Hua furrowed his brow, thinking carefully for a moment, then his eyes brightened as he said:

“Meditation improves temperament, while Formation tempering enhances comprehension?”

Mr. Zhuang did not expect him to grasp the concept so quickly and nodded, “Yes.”

Mo Hua thought it through from the beginning to the end and gradually understood:

“My Divine Sense is strong, and because I meditate and practice Drawing Formation every day, my understanding of the Heavenly Dao is also profound. Hence, without realizing it, I saw through the true form of the Little Green-faced Ghost. The Little Green-faced Ghost then penetrated into my Sea of Consciousness, attempting to devour my Divine Sense…”

“But…” Mo Hua looked puzzled, “The Householder also has a strong Divine Sense, so why didn’t he see through the true form of the Contemplation Map?”

Mr. Zhuang said indifferently, “While his Divine Sense may be strong, his temperament is too greedy, clouded by personal desires. His enlightenment of the Heavenly Dao is too poor, naturally preventing him from seeing through it.”

Mo Hua understood.

It seemed that temperament was very important; otherwise one could easily be clouded by greed, blinded by the apparent forms, failing to see through the true nature of things, and thus straying from the Heavenly Dao.

From this conversation with Mr. Zhuang, Mo Hua learned a great deal and sincerely said, “Thank you, Gentleman!”

Mr. Zhuang’s gaze went deep as he asked, “Do you know why I’m telling you so much now?”

“Because I asked you…”

Mo Hua thought silently, but he knew that since Mr. Zhuang had asked this way, there must be more to it than that.

He could ask, and Mr. Zhuang could choose to answer or not.

How much Mr. Zhuang answered and what he chose to explain could all be very telling.

Mo Hua reviewed Mr. Zhuang’s answers in his mind once again, realizing that everything Mr. Zhuang had explained related to ‘Divine Sense’ and ‘Heavenly Dao.’

But why Mr. Zhuang spoke of these things was not immediately clear to Mo Hua.

Seeing Mo Hua deep in thought, his small eyebrows knitted tightly, his expression somewhat puzzled, Mr. Zhuang did not keep him guessing any longer but asked meaningfully:

“Foundation Establishment is about laying the Foundation of the Great Dao…”

“Have you decided what kind of Taoist Foundation you want to establish?”

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