44 The Way of True Meditation

*Just a side note. I know that 'the Dao' and 'the Way' can be used interchangeably, but my intent is to use them to portray slightly different things. So, when you see 'way' instead of 'dao' know that it is referring to something else that will be explained. Thanks for reading!*

Ji Haogui stood on the tile, his expression serious. Behind him, fearful and awed, Ling Qi watched as he grew frustrated and stepped off of the tiles. He was trying to, but could not seem to figure out how to silence his existence.

Jiji was speaking to him, encouraging him, but the emblem spirit could not defy the will of the hall. As such, Ji Haogui was forced to try repeatedly. With each attempt, he would hold his breath and remain perfectly still, yet he was never able to achieve the level of silence required to remain on the tile.

Eventually, once Ling Qi had gotten over the shock of it all, she called out to him in a weak voice, "E-excuse me..."

"Hm?" He turned around to look at her, sweaty and annoyed. His smile then returned and he tilted his head, "Oh, hi. I'm sorry, I was just so focused on this."

"Ah- It's okay..."

"I'm Ji Haogui. What's your name?"

Ling Qi answered and Ji Haogui nodded, then turned around and continued to try. There were a few moments where he very nearly managed to last a few seconds more than usual, but he ultimately made no progress in the way of true meditation. More and more time passed, but it seemed hopeless.

Ling Qi mentally cleared her throat, then reached out to him again.

"Sir Haogui-"

"Just Ji Haogui! 'Sir' this and 'Esteemed' that- please! It's Ji Haogui! Ji! Haogui!"

Evidently, his inability to make progress was getting to him. More and more, the side of him that better resembled his sister was showing itself. Jiji continued to coach him on, but the endless repetitions of 'You got this' and 'Put your back into it' were becoming unbearable.

Ling Qi swiftly, as if her life depended on it, fell to her knees and kowtowed, transmitting her voice in apology. Ji Haogui realized he was being rude, and apologized.

"Sister Qi, forgive Haogui. I'm just mad that I can't seem to grasp this at all."

"To be fair, you don't seem to really have an idea of what it is you are trying to grasp. Do you?"

Ji Haogui froze, thinking a bit before smiling wryly. "Is it not true meditation? Silencing your own existence?"

"Yes," Ling Qi nodded, "but do you know what that means?"

After promptly shaking his head, Ji Haogui walked over to Ling Qi and sat on the steps, motioning for her to join him. Begrudgingly, she walked over and sat a few feet away from him on the step, breathing deeply.

"Well, my master told me that true meditation is just a fancy term for it. It inspires you to think that its way more grand and amazing than it actually is."

Seeing that Ji Haogui was immediately invested, Ling Qi breathed a secret sigh of relief.

"All you have to do is look inside of you. Look inside of you and listen. If all of you is listening, no sound can be made. That is why Tranquility Hall provides you with an enhanced sense of hearing. Some people are fooled into thinking it is meant to help you identify the parts of you that are still too noisy, but it is not so."

"It is a hint, given by Tranquility Hall in order to help you realize the truth."

Ji Haogui's brows furrowed at first, but they slowly rose and his eyes widened. He immediately turned around to stare at the tiled floor, solid determination returning to his eyes. Nodding and expressing his thanks, he then returned to the tiles immediately.

'Listen... listen... listen. Okay!'

His foot touched down on the tile, his eyes shut and his breathing halted. The thoughts in his mind were all the same; his heart quickened yet its pace was not felt. All he could think about was a single word and a single action.

He listened.

Even so, all he heard was the drum of his heart. Just the same as before, he was unable to remain standing on the tile. However, he was anything but discouraged. On the contrary, he had never been more motivated to continue.

His mind and soul were set, and so he carried on. Ling Qi watched, remarking in her mind that he would have to keep at it for at least a few days.

'He's spirited, but he'll tire before that and give up. I just hope he'll let the others go before he returns to whatever master he hails from.'

Jiji had gone quiet by now. He watched from a void, within the space of Tranquility Hall, as Ji Haogui tried to forcefully achieve true meditation. In some way he was reminded of something set deep within his memories, and as he watched Ji Haogui he reminisced.

'Jiji...'

'Yes, my master.'

'Do you know why silence exists?'

'For a type of peace, maybe? Or perhaps due to a kind of law?'

'Jiji, you are thinking about it too narrowly.'

'Do enlighten me, my master.'

'Silence is more than a concept. It is a result of concepts. It is more than a law, for it exists beyond even the presence of any law. It is more than a Dao, for even the Dao-less find peace in it. Unending Silence is one of The Principles. Beyond all existence in the multiverse, somewhere within the even greater Omniverse, exists a number of everlasting truths. They stand on even ground with the Grand Dao, and are capable of touching every corner of every universe simultaneously.'

'Unending Silence is one of those truths, Jiji. It is a key to the lock that seals the Impending Doom.'

'Impending Doom? Another one of The Principles?'

'No, Jiji. Someone like myself can still at least understand one of The Principles; the Impending Doom is beyond even my understanding. Without people like me, who wholeheartedly seek the knowledge of The Principles, the Impending Doom will soon shatter that lock. That is why I will build my Tranquility Hall, Jiji.'

'I understand, Master!'

'Good. When the day comes that someone learns my Law of Unending Silence, you must pass this memory on to them.'

'..and also... you must then swiftly destroy... Tranquility Hall.'

Jiji twitched as it awoke from the trance. For the shortest of moments, it felt as if a hand was touching its head, petting it. No matter how Jiji looked around though, it saw no one near. It was as if the ghost of its master had been beside it, helping it to remember.

Refocusing on Ji Haogui, Jiji was given the shock of its life.

Standing at attention, ramrod straight, Ling Qi was also terrified of the sight before her. Having overlooked the most important factor, she was forced to remind herself of the fact that the boy standing before her was anything but normal.

Who besides him could ever cause the emblem spirit of Tranquility Hall to act? Was there ever even a case of the emblem spirit showing itself?

She did not even know!

As she watched Ji Haogui walk past the second pillar with his eyes closed, she took a step back and slowly shook her head. This was not supposed to be possible.

What kind of insanity was this, that a child with no cultivation or prior knowledge could comprehend the secrets of true meditation? Surely it could not be true, and it was simply the emblem spirit come to torment her out of boredom.

Surely that was the case! Surely!

Ji Haogui was the epitome of calm, the very picture of serenity- the essence of tranquility. He listened, not to himself, but everything else. Thus, the necessity for his own sounds faded and he entered an even deeper state of silence.

Guided by nothing but the inklings in his mind, he advanced step by step, slightly slower than Senior Brother Li who had been duped. Something like this took more focus than ever before, but a part of it almost seemed natural to him. The more he lost his previous feelings of annoyance and returned to his state of calm, the easier it all was.

The more he stopped acting like his sister, the more naturally he was able to comprehend true meditation.

Even though he was advancing toward the third pillar in record time, there were still seventeen of them after that one. If he made even the slightest mistake, he would be forced to return to the beginning.

It had to be known that advancing along the tiles did not mean that one was meditating in the true sense. All it meant was that one had taken the right steps on the path toward true meditation. In other words, it was all guesswork.

Maybe you could figure out the first few steps and maybe you remembered the process perfectly afterward, but it would all be up to chance. There was no plausible explanation for the fact that Ji Haogui seemed to be guessing with 100% accuracy each time. How was this even considered learning?

This was like a common toad approaching a bird and asking the bird to teach it to fly. Then, when the bird took the toad to the edge of the cliff and was about to show it how to fly, the toad sprouted wings and started to soar perfectly- or perhaps even better than the bird.

Surely you can see how that would be mind-blowing!

Ling Qi and Jiji were reduced to shocked spectators at this point. Both of them were speechless before Ji Haogui's ability.

Even more time passed, but his speed slowed. He was stuck at the fifth pillar and had not taken even a single step in the last few hours. Ling Qi exhaled, finding this to be within the realm of common sense. If Ji Haogui had been able to keep up his earlier speed, she would have crippled her cultivation and devoted her life to being his servant girl.

She would have done anything for the chance of being able to understand how he was able to so perfectly conquer Tranquility Hall. Luckily for her, and her pride, he had halted.

At this time, somewhere within the folds of space, an astral Logean Wuji was looking on with a smile. Logean Wuji was standing just beside Jiji, but Jiji did not seem to notice. He watched Ji Haogui and nodded.

'Good thing I stopped suppressing my perception. I would have missed something so important. Haogui is fated to have his Dao attached to Unending Silence, one of The Nine Principles. It also seems that Father kept this a secret from me, knowing that I would eventually find out. Perhaps I actually do need to consider healing the Lines of Time. Sigh... How boring that all is...'

Looking at his student, Logean Wuji shook his head and banished all other thoughts. All that mattered in that moment was his student. With a thought, he sent a message to the tattle stone in Ji Haogui's spatial ring and then vanished from the space of Tranquility Hall.

Jiji's head cocked the moment Logean Wuji left, and it looked around in confusion for a while before continued to wait for Ji Haogui to take his next step.

Instead, Ji Haogui opened his eyes and accessed his ring's storage space. He withdrew and violently shook the tattle stone, after which it answered in an obnoxious voice, "Boing! Boing! Ten minutes remain before class! Use your Return Crystal now! Return to the Dormitory! Class! Class!"

Ling Qi was dumbfounded at the fact that this item was permitted to make sounds within Tranquility Hall; Jiji was horrified as he thought of Ji Haogui's master, who had given him the item in question.

Ji Haogui nodded, walked back to the stairs, then took out his return crystal.

"Jiji," he transmitted his voice via spirit link to the emblem spirit.

"Please return Sister Qi's friends... when you feel up to it." After that, he smiled and waved to Ling Qi, then activated his return crystal.