As the saying goes, in the mountains, there are no cycles of years; when the cold ends, one does not know the passage of time.
In the quiet room, Jiang Yuan merely held a fire date in his mouth, subduing the Heart Monkey, unaware that time flew like an arrow and the years wove like a shuttle, as he focused on comprehending a path.
After a long period of contemplation, he truly grasped a method.
The Heart Monkey resides in the Heart Palace, which is located at the center of the heart.
Jiang Yuan felt that the Heart Monkey was like his thoughts, entangled with various emotions.
In the back and forth of interactions, he realized that the Heart Monkey craved immortality, was unruly, and its emotions were restless.
This was precisely in line with what his heart desired.
When Jiang Yuan was four years old, he had a great dream, which led him to pursue the path of immortality, suppressing his emotions and not revealing himself before others.
Despite having the connection of the dream and awakening early, not drifting in the mortal world and wasting time, he was still an ordinary mortal; how could he not have unruly and restless emotions?
All these various aspects resided within the Heart Palace, under the control of the Heart Monkey.
Today, he saw the Heart Monkey, and all sorts of memories resurfaced.
How to subdue the Heart Monkey?
Jiang Yuan could not figure out a method.
He sat on the mat for a long time.
With his strength, if he wanted the Heart Monkey to obey, it was impossible; the Heart Monkey had vast supernatural powers, far beyond his ability to contend with.
The power of the Heart Monkey was merely a thread, yet he realized that its immense strength was hard to withstand.
“If not, should I learn from the Great Sage Equal to Heaven in my dreams? That Great Sage was also unruly and craved immortality, just like my Heart Monkey, and was later subdued by the Tathagata, confined under the Five Elements Mountain, journeying westward and achieving a true fruit.”
As Jiang Yuan thought of this, a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes, as if he had found a direction.
Throughout his journey, that great dream had helped him significantly; the various experiences within the dream were indeed a great opportunity for him.
The Heart Monkey was like that Great Sage.
If he could subdue it, he would need great magical power to suppress the Heart Monkey, stabilize its nature, and then slowly tame it, so that it could be used to protect his primordial spirit.
Where could he find an object with such great magical power to subdue the Heart Monkey?
Jiang Yuan touched the Yu Ding tied at his waist.
“Besides this ding, what other treasures do I have? The Yu Ding might assist me in subduing the Heart Monkey.”
Jiang Yuan held the small ding in both hands, preparing to test whether this method was feasible.
Divine objects have spirits, and it was quite agreeable; it trembled slightly in response to Jiang Yuan.
Jiang Yuan gently placed the small ding on his heart.
Dong!!
The Yu Ding lightly trembled, producing a ringing sound, and strands of divine light emerged from the ding, entering his heart.
In an instant, Jiang Yuan felt that the originally restless Heart Monkey, under his mental perception, sensed a crisis and began to jump rapidly.
Dong dong dong…
The Heart Palace trembled violently, and Jiang Yuan's face turned as pale as paper; the immense power brought by the Heart Monkey surged chaotically within him, turning everything upside down.
His primordial spirit faintly trembled, as if affected.
The divine light produced by the Yu Ding within his body
Should it stop?
It cannot stop!
Though he did not know how, he felt in his heart, as if guided by his primordial spirit, that this method was feasible!
Jiang Yuan let the sweat pour down his face, soaking his robes, gripping the Yu Ding tightly without letting go, entering a stalemate.
His consciousness, under the impact of the Heart Monkey's immense power, became hazy and unfocused, and suddenly a great golden light burst forth from his body, fleeing in all directions, like a restless monkey in the mountains.
As the golden light escaped, the Yu Ding erupted with beams of white light, converging towards it, attempting to capture this golden light.
The golden light fled for a long time, but was ultimately captured by the white light.
The Yu Ding swung horizontally, striking the golden light directly at the heavenly spirit, and when the golden light fell to the ground, it transformed into two fish, one black and one white; the black one was fierce and menacing, while the white one was filled with greed.
……
In the quiet room of the Master.
Sensing the commotion in Jiang Yuan's room, the Master slightly opened his eyes, glancing over, and was moved, saying, “In just two years, this child has actually comprehended how to subdue the Heart Monkey, as if there is a path for him to explore, following the traces, this child’s comprehension is remarkable.”
“Let me take a look; what kind of divine object is this child's Heart Monkey?”
The Heart Monkey is formless yet has form; every being's Heart Monkey is different.
The form of the Heart Monkey represents its future cultivation path, which may be fraught with difficulties or smooth sailing.
In ancient times, the form of the Yellow Emperor's Heart Monkey was a heavenly turtle, while the Flame Emperor's was a divine ox.
The Master’s eyes glimmered with divine light as he gazed into Jiang Yuan's quiet room, seeing the black and white fish captured by the Yu Ding.
This child's Heart Monkey form…
Could it be the Taiji?
The black and white fish formed the Taiji.
The form of Taiji, in the Southern Zhanbu Continent, was only seen in the person of the Emperor Fuxi, who had a similar form, but his Taiji form was not complete; later, he created the Eight Trigrams, a remarkable figure who stirred the winds and clouds.
This child is likely to be restless in the future.
Alas, alas!
After all, he is just a child!
What if he is restless?
The Master said, “My disciple Guangxin, today you subdue the Heart Monkey, lacking a method; I will now impart to you a Buddhist method, so you can restrain the Heart Monkey.”
He understood the intentions of both schools; as the Daoist is strong and profound, the Buddhist is gentle and focuses on subduing—one is strong, the other soft.
Yet this child used the Buddhist method more skillfully.
The Master murmured to himself, and the incantation flowed from his mouth, ringing in Jiang Yuan's ears, unbeknownst to the Six-Eared.
……
In the quiet room.
The dazed Jiang Yuan received the Master’s incantation, which he began to chant.
The black and white fish captured by the Yu Ding were like being fitted with a tight band, returned to the Heart Palace, the light of the Yu Ding receded, transforming back into a small ding, hanging at his waist.
Jiang Yuan slowly awakened, exhaling a breath of turbid air, feeling as if he had truly undergone a transformation.
When he looked again into the Heart Palace, he saw a small well had been constructed inside, with two locks of gold and iron, trapping the black and white fish, preventing them from moving.
“Yin Yang Fish? Taiji? Is this my Heart Monkey?”
Jiang Yuan was secretly astonished.
How could he not know what Taiji is?
Taiji is referred to as the state before the heavens and earth opened, the chaos before the division of yin and yang.
The Book of Changes states: “There is Taiji in the changes, which produces the two forms; the two forms produce the four images; the four images produce the eight trigrams; the eight trigrams determine good fortune and misfortune; good fortune and misfortune give rise to great enterprises.”
Taiji is also known as the beginning of all things, from which everything is born.
The form of his Heart Monkey was actually a Yin Yang Fish.
He still felt that his Heart Monkey was in the form of a monkey, which was indeed an attachment.
Jiang Yuan stood up from the mat, feeling refreshed and healthy; he felt much lighter, walked out of the quiet room, and lightly leaped two zhang high.
He then pulled his body, leaving the ground by three zhang, but did not ascend further, landing back on the ground.
Three zhang!
One hundred zhang is the threshold to entering the Dao!
He was now closer to entering the Dao!
“As I emerge, I see this child jumping high; little did I know, you are soaring through the clouds.”
The Master's laughter echoed in his ears.
Jiang Yuan adjusted his attire and approached the quiet room, bowing in gratitude, saying, “Disciple thanks Master for the assistance.”
Without the Master’s incantation, he would have needed more time to deal with the Yin Yang Fish.
The Master stepped out of the quiet room, in a good mood, saying, “Child, you should strive; although you have subdued the Heart Monkey, you must wait until the Heart Monkey stabilizes and returns to its heart before you can truly consider it subdued. You need to chant the incantation daily and gather spiritual energy for it to be effective; do you understand?”
Jiang Yuan replied, “Master, I will certainly understand; the day I achieve success will be the day I enter the Dao.”
He had only just confined the Heart Monkey at three zhang high; if the Heart Monkey stabilizes and protects his primordial spirit, he could enter the Dao and leap to one hundred zhang.
This was what the Master had said; how could he forget…
(End of Chapter)