Inside the quiet room.
Chen Yun is holding the soul-preserving staff, preparing to condense jade-like body, thus achieving immortality.
Instead of immediately running his martial arts techniques, he activated the qi inside his body and injected it into this treasure.
Under his manipulation, the Spiritual staff of Determination immediately released a cloud of black gas, enveloping himself layer by layer.
Chen Yun released all his mental focus, allowing the black gas to so-called "suppress the Yin soul".
In normal circumstances, if a person has a Yin spirit inside their body and is suppressed by this black gas, they would fall into a strange state.
For instance, although one's consciousness is clear, they are unable to control their own body.
The stronger the Yin spirit, the more likely it is that one will fall into this strange state.
On the contrary, this black gas has no effect on an ordinary person who has only opened half of his/her spiritual functions.
The key point lies in the Yin spirit.
It is well-known that Yang spirits and Yin spirits are actually both Jade Psyche, just in different forms.
In Daoist philosophy, the Jade Psyche is possessed since one's birth.
The Jade Psyche generally refers to a person's subconscious mind, serving as the foundation of their personality.
The so-called "consciousness circuit", is a way to gradually awaken the Jade Psyche, and release the "true self" from the constraints of superficial consciousness in an extremely inefficient manner.
In a narrower sense, the Jade Psyche specifically refers to the unique sense of perception of the world that a Daoist practitioner generates when reaching the "refine qi into spirit" realm.
This sense is one that humans are born with and is a characteristic of intelligent life.
This sense comes from the Jade Psyche, which is one of the most basic instincts of humans.
To awaken the Jade Psyche and regain this sense, one must improve their moral cultivation and overall education.
Therefore, from ancient times to the present, all successful practitioners, whether in Taoism, Buddhism, or Confucianism, possess great wisdom, which makes them seem very extraordinary yet approachable.
These cultivation-successful individuals, through their Jade Psyche, can intuitively perceive the vast majority of things around them, thus affecting others.
For example, Buddhism aims to cultivate "five eyes" and "six senses" through the awakening of the Jade Psyche.
Ordinary people who have not awakened their Jade Psyche cannot allow the Jade Psyche to affect themselves.
Of course, if this Spiritual staff of Determination is used on a normal person, it will have no effect at all.
Chen Yun is not an ordinary person, but even though he has awakened his Jade Psyche, the Yin aspect within his Jade Psyche has already been shattered. The black gas cannot affect him as a result.
Why does he think that this Spiritual staff of Determination can help him refine the Golden Pill?
The answer is very simple.
For instance, at this moment, when Chen Yun searches for the Yin spirit within his Jade Psyche while the black gas invades his consciousness, the Jade Psyche becomes exceptionally active as if trying to resist the black gas. However, he lacks a Yin spirit, and the black gas cannot affect him in any way. The Jade Psyche also remains unharmed without even suffering the slightest damage.
Then, a remarkable scene unfolded.
The black gas continued to attempt to sweep the rivers and churn the oceans to find traces of the Yin spirit.
The awakened Jade Psyche, however, was becoming increasingly active in its attempt to repel the black gas.
This made Chen Yun's perception of the Jade Psyche particularly clear.
He can sense the location of the Jade Psyche and its every move.
Chen Yun tried to merge all of his intentions with the Jade Psyche in an attempt to control it.
Unfortunately, despite sensing the Jade Psyche's extreme activity, he was unable to achieve this.
"I'm not in a hurry. I've been sensing the Jade Psyche for days, and now that my perception is so clear, I believe it won't take as much time as before. As long as I focus on perceiving and controlling it, it will be fine."
Chen Yun felt no discouragement at all and continued to sense the Jade Psyche.
Practitioners in the early stages of their cultivation may have an urgent mindset.
For example, wanting to cultivate quickly to become immortal.
This is a normal phenomenon.
Any person aspiring to attain enlightenment and become a immortal will have such a sense of urgency.
Just as the cultivation practitioners gradually understand many previously unfamiliar concepts as they cultivate their minds and nurture their characters.
At this time, the practitioners will feel how insignificant they are.
They also know how much effort and what kind of experiences are required to attain enlightenment and become an immortal.
Characteristics, naturally cultivated, will no longer lack "patience."
Chen Yun was impatient when he first completed the 100-day foundation construction, eager to become a true Taoist as soon as possible because he realized too little.
Now, after several decades of cultivation, he has learned many things and is no longer as anxious.
Each attempt at sensing and controlling the Jade Psyche ended in failure.
To control the Spiritual staff of Determination, continuous "Qi" needs to be injected.
Therefore, as the internal jade Qi was about to be depleted, he stopped.
Chen Yun did not use martial arts to restore the internal jade Qi, instead, he allowed nature to recover it.
He sat there, lost in thought, "Previously, I felt the presence of the Jade Psyche and its every move with utmost clarity, but still could not fully merge my intentions with it. What might have been overlooked?"
He carefully recalled all the information related to the Yang spirit, hoping to find his mistakes.
The reason the Jade Psyche is discussed in detail in Daoist books is because ancient Taoist alchemists experienced and summarized it in their practices of cultivation and nurturing.
The Jade Psyche is the inherent nature, also known as "primal nature" or "true nature", because it is not the God of thinking, i.e., not the activity of intention, so it manifests like a baby who is unaware and unaware but possesses the ability to perceive and move.
In a state of meditation, a person is in a realm of tranquility and emptiness, where the breathing is gentle and seemingly continuous or intermittent, with no thoughts or worries, floating like a fairy, bewildered and confused. This state is the manifestation of the Jade Psyche.
As stated in the "Yellow Courts External Scroll" by Shi Heiyang: "The Jade Psyche is the intention in one's heart, the lively and vivid state when it is not still and not moving."
In the "Vein of Vision" of medical texts, it is said: "Inner thoughts do not emerge, outer thoughts do not enter, only I am independent, which is called the Jade Psyche."
Recalling these pieces of information, Chen Yun gradually seemed to have a moment of enlightenment, "The 'Laozi' says: 'To carry the spirit and consciousness, hold one thing together without separation; to focus the breath and become soft as an infant; to purify the soul's vision without blemishes; to love the people and govern the state without doing anything; to open and close the gate of heaven without femininity; to be clear and reach everywhere without knowledge.' Isn't this describing the state of activity under the control of the Jade Psyche?"
Chen Yun finally understood that trying to merge his intentions with the Jade Psyche before was a mistake.
As Zeng Bo's said: "The spirit, there is the Jade Psyche, and there is the desire spirit. The Jade Psyche is a spark of spiritual light that has been there since birth; the desire spirit is the nature inherited from later generations due to their immersion in air and blood."
I want to let the nature of the air and blood I've been contaminated with influence the innate Jade Psyche. How is that possible!
Generally speaking, most people's innate Jade Psyche is obscured by the later acquired Desire Spirit, with day thoughts and night dreams like clouds covering the moon. As a result, the Jade Psyche retreats, and the Desire Spirit reigns supreme every day.
If one can achieve tranquility, unity, and free oneself from thought and desire, the Desire Spirit will naturally recede, and the true nature of the Jade Psyche will manifest. This is what Buddhism and Taoism refer to as seeing one's nature.
The spirit is originated from the heart. When the heart is empty, the nature of the Jade Psyche appears; when the heart is active, the nature of the desire spirit appears.
Chen Yun suddenly recalled a profound statement from the Daoxuan: "Emptyness gives birth to nature, which is called the Jade Psyche."
He suddenly broke into a ecstatic expression like Fan Jin after his success in the imperial examination, "Hahaha, hahaha, I get it, I finally understand!"
Chen Yun finally understood and knew what to do.
The Jade Psyche is not an object to be controlled; it is the true ruler!
Chen Yun didn't ponder any further.
He began to close his eyes and cultivate to restore the internal jade Qi.
An hour and a half later, the internal jade Qi was restored to its peak.
He once again infused the jade Qi into the Spiritual staff of Determination, releasing the black gas to envelop himself.
The next moment, Chen Yun released all his thoughts and forgot about everything that had ever happened in the world.
He seemed to have forgotten who he was, forgotten everything related to him, leaving only a pure heart as simple and innocent as that of a child.
In that instant, Chen Yun seemed to have reverted to an infant state, with its purity and innocence gradually blooming in his heart.
At this time, Chen Yun has no thoughts or awareness, and is in an absolute state of "vacuum."
It seemed as though he could see the Jade Psyche illuminating within.
Chen Yun felt a strange sensation in his heart: the five aggregates are empty, the four bodies are false, and there is a true self within me.
He felt as if he had controlled his own destiny, and his consciousness and thoughts transcended time and space, soaring to a wonderful world.
Before his eyes, everything was muddled and vague, as if he had been shown scenes of chaos before the creation of the universe by his future disciples.
In this world of muddled and vague confusion, there is no time, no space, no sound, no color, and nothing... anything.
Here, this is the true emptiness.
But in the void, only the Jade Psyche eternally exists, hanging and shining ceaselessly!
Chen Yun's Jade Psyche slowly awakened.
It's like Pan Gu waking up in the chaos.
He had a feeling of being bound, desperately wanting to break free from this void.
In the moment when the entire thought was born.
The surroundings suddenly shone brightly, becoming clear and bright.
It was as if opening the heavens and cleaving the earth, gradually separating the chaos.
This gave Chen Yun a feeling as if he were pushing away the clouds to see the blue sky.
In this moment, he "sees" that "blue sky" seems to be full of endless future.
It seems that as long as he can see clearly the specific appearance of "blue sky", he can dominate the future.
Unfortunately, no matter how hard Chen Yun tries to observe, he cannot see the "blue sky" clearly.
Chen Yun didn't care about these things. He tried to use his Jade Psyche to control his body.
As expected, when in a state of "vacuum," the Jade Psyche had already replaced consciousness and truly controlled his entire body.
Although Chen Yun still felt that he could not get the Jade Psyche to leave his body, he had now gained the ability to have the Jade Psyche roam freely within this "microcosm" inside his body.
He didn't even have thoughts, and the Jade Psyche automatically, slowly sank downward.
At this time, the Jade Psyche was just like a newborn baby, and it actually did not possess any "strength".
Chen Yun sensed that there was an infinite and boundless power stored in the central palace below.
As if, as long as his Jade Psyche immersed itself inside the central palace, it could become stronger.
Chen Yun suddenly woke up, a thought flitted across his mind, "I have finally managed to let the Jade Psyche sink and merge with the internal jade Qi."
That means, once this step is completed, he would be able to condense the Golden Elixir, thereby attaining immortality and becoming a celestial being!
For a moment, he became excited.
Then...
Um, it seems the Desire Spirit has taken over once more.
Chen Yun chuckled, "As expected, any distractions are not allowed."
It's alright, I'll try again. This time, I definitely will achieve immortality and become a celestial being!
(The chapter ends)
