That evening, Zhaang Ye did not sit cross-legged in cultivation. Instead, he lay in bed, silently organizing the memories that had suddenly awakened.
These memories from Earth contained an entire lifetime, filled with truly spectacular experiences. As Zhaang Ye silently processed them, he felt his own perspective broadening considerably.
'So Earth is a giant sphere made of rock and soil! And beyond it are countless stars and an endless void!'
'So the sun in the sky is also a star, a celestial body constantly radiating light and heat…'
'So that's how airplanes fly!'
'So ships made of steel can actually float effortlessly on the ocean!'
…
Zhaang Ye slowly sifted through the memories when one, in particular, caught his attention: 'The Chinese classic—the *Tao Te Ching*!'
The *Tao Te Ching* was a book. Zhaang Ye had only read the book's first two verses: "The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name." He immediately realized this book was anything but simple.
"The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name. The nameless is the beginning of heaven and earth. The named is the Mother of All Things. Ever desireless, one can see the mystery. Ever desiring, one can see the manifestations. These two spring from the same source but differ in name; this appears as darkness. Darkness within darkness. The gate to all mystery."
Such a short opening passage pointed directly to the essence of the Great Dao, unveiling the very origin of heaven and earth. Reading this discourse on the Great Dao, feeling the profound mystery, the vast and ancient aura that nonetheless cut straight to the core, Zhaang Ye trembled from head to toe.
'The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao. The name that can be named is not the eternal name... What an incredible book! To think such a wondrous text exists in the world!' This mysterious classic from a distant world had shaken Zhaang Ye to his core from its very first lines, causing him to lose his composure.
If the opening chapter had been a great shock, then the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth chapters that followed left Zhaang Ye gasping for air, nearly breathless—
"Heaven and Earth are not benevolent; they treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs. The Saint is not benevolent; he treats the people as straw dogs. Is not the space between Heaven and Earth like a bellows? It is empty, yet inexhaustible. The more it works, the more it produces. Much talk is exhausting. Better to remain centered."
"Chapter Six: The valley spirit never dies; it is called the mysterious female. The gate of the mysterious female is the root of heaven and earth. It is gossamer-thin, yet seems to exist. Use it, and it will never fail."
"Chapter Seven: Heaven is eternal, Earth endures. The reason Heaven and Earth can be eternal and enduring is that they do not live for themselves. Therefore they can long endure. Thus the Saint puts himself last, and finds himself in the lead; he stands apart, and finds himself preserved. Is it not because he is unselfish that he can fulfill himself?"
"Chapter Eight: The highest virtue is like water. Water benefits all things without contention. It settles in the places that people disdain, and so it is near the Dao. In dwelling, be close to the land. In meditation, go deep in the heart. In dealing with others, be gentle and kind. In speech, be true. In ruling, be just. In business, be competent. In action, watch the timing. Because it does not contend, it is without fault."
…
Brilliant!
Simply brilliant!
It was utterly, exquisitely brilliant!
Zhaang Ye could never have dreamed that such brilliant discourse existed in the world! His own Barbaric World had many classics, but those so-called masterpieces were not even worth mentioning in the face of the mysterious *Tao Te Ching*!
After reading just eight short chapters, Zhaang Ye's Heart Spirit was in turmoil, and a titanic wave crashed through his mind. He could no longer lie in bed. He leaped up and began pacing back and forth in his room, savoring the words of the *Tao Te Ching*. The more he contemplated them, the more profound and mysterious they became. He felt a mystical, unfathomable gate slowly swinging open. The ancient aura of the Great Dao rushed toward him, and the mysteries of heaven and earth seemed suddenly within his grasp!
Zhaang Ye paced his room, his entire body and mind immersed in the *Tao Te Ching*. Without realizing it, he walked through the entire night. Only when the morning sun rose did he awaken from the wondrous state of contemplating the scripture.
Zhaang Ye's cultivation was still shallow; a single night of contemplation didn't allow him to grasp any profound mysteries of the universe. But the discourse in the first eight chapters of the *Tao Te Ching* had deeply shaken his soul, giving him a completely new understanding of the essence of cultivation. Several problems he'd had with his Martial Arts were also effortlessly resolved during this session.
For the next two days, Zhaang Ye was in a state of near-fasting and sleeplessness, repeatedly reciting and contemplating this incredibly mysterious Dao Scripture. On the third day, when he read the twenty-fifth chapter of the *Tao Te Ching*, he froze completely.
"There is something formlessly fashioned, born before Heaven and Earth. Silent and void, it stands alone and does not change. It goes everywhere and is never exhausted. It can be regarded as the Mother of All Things. I do not know its name; I call it the Dao. If forced to give it a name, I call it the Great. Being great, it flows. It flows far away. Having gone far, it returns. Therefore, the Dao is great; Heaven is great; Earth is great; the king is also great. Within the realm there are four great things, and the king is one of them. Man follows Earth; Earth follows Heaven; Heaven follows the Dao; the Dao follows what is natural."
After reading the twenty-fifth chapter of the *Tao Te Ching*, Zhaang Ye felt as if he had been struck by lightning. The fourteen words, "Man follows Earth; Earth follows Heaven; Heaven follows the Dao; the Dao follows what is natural," danced endlessly in his mind. He vaguely felt a sudden enlightenment, and the True Qi throughout his body began to circulate on its own, full of life.
True Qi flowed endlessly from his Dantian into the various Meridians within his body. This stream of True Qi was lively and vibrant. As it passed through his Meridians, its inherent life and vitality slowly nourished Zhaang Ye's entire being, seeping into his acupoints and continuously refining his body.
An unknown amount of time passed before Zhaang Ye suddenly felt a jolt in all his acupoints. The True Qi flowed slowly back into his Dantian, and his mind cleared.
Zhaang Ye subconsciously checked his body and was shocked to find a black, foul-smelling substance oozing from his arms and face, his entire body reeking of a rancid odor. Astonished, he circulated his internal True Qi and froze in place. He had just realized that he had broken through from the Martial Arts First Layer, True Qi Entering the Body, to the Martial Arts Second Layer, True Qi Body Refining!
On the Desolate Continent, a Martial Artist's level of cultivation was divided into nine layers based on their True Qi, known as the Martial Arts Ninth Layer Heaven. Each layer had a specific standard: the First Layer was True Qi Entering the Body; the Second Layer was True Qi Body Refining; the Third Layer was True Qi Detachment; the Fourth Layer was True Qi Transformation; the Fifth Layer was Transforming Flow into Rod; the Sixth Layer was Gathering Qi into Wall; the Seventh Layer was Binding Qi into Thunder; the Eighth Layer was Qi Refining and Liquid Transformation; and the Ninth Layer was Refining Liquid into Truth.
Advancing a single layer within the Martial Arts Ninth Layer Heaven was an extremely difficult task. For instance, the few so-called geniuses of the Zhaang Family were merely at the peak of the Second Layer Heaven of Martial Arts. Even the Zhaang Family Patriarch, Zhaang Chengtian, had only reached the Martial Arts Fifth Layer Late Stage after cultivating for more than forty years. This alone showed how arduous cultivation truly was.
Zhaang Ye's aptitude was mediocre, even poor. With his level of talent, it should have taken him at least a decade to advance to the Second Layer Heaven of Martial Arts. However, he had just unintentionally entered a state akin to sudden enlightenment. Driven by the True Qi in his body, Zhaang Ye had effortlessly broken through from the Martial Arts First Layer to the Second Layer. Moreover, the flow of his True Qi was stable and full of life, with none of the hidden dangers of an unstable foundation!
It was truly a miracle!