Chapter 11 Liusha River

Just beneath this cliffside waterfall, an imposing monkey was engaged in conversation with a Bodhisattva enveloped in Buddha's Light.

"I won't go! I won't go! The Western Road is so treacherous, protecting this mere monk, when will we ever arrive? With such endless trials and tribulations, even Old Sun's life can hardly remain intact, how can I achieve any success? I won't go! I won't go!" The monkey shouted loudly, grabbing hold of the Bodhisattva, preventing her from leaving.

The Bodhisattva said, "Back when you weren't yet part of mankind, you were willing to wholeheartedly practice and comprehend; now that you have escaped celestial disasters, how can you suddenly become lazy? Our sect achieves truth through stillness and extinction, one must have faith in the true fruits."

"Should you arrive at a place where your body suffers and is worn down, I'll allow you to cry to the heavens and they will respond, cry to the earth and it will answer. When you reach a point of inescapable difficulty, I myself will come to rescue you. Come here, I will bestow upon you one more ability." The Bodhisattva plucked three willow leaves and placed them behind the Traveler's head, shouting "Transform!"

And they turned into three life-saving fine hairs, instructing him, "Should you reach a time of utter despair and helplessness, these will enable you to respond flexibly and save you from your dire straits."

This was the scene from Journey to the West where Sun Wukong received the life-saving fine hairs, but at this moment, the mist gradually enveloped everything and Lin Fang suddenly returned to his original location, looking up at the moonlight. All that had happened seemed to have been an illusion, and time in reality seemed to have stopped.

"What's the use, just to let me see this plot?" Lin Fang looked sullen.

However, he saw a willow leaf suddenly fly out of the book, shimmering with light and carrying a mysterious force.

It was indeed a leaf from the willow branch held by Guanyin. Lin Fang was overjoyed to see it, for it was a rare treasure. He knew that the three life-saving fine hairs had played an extremely important role in many situations, and he never imagined that he too would obtain them through this mysterious Journey to the West.

The willow leaf flew out from the book, floating gently down into Lin Fang's hand, transforming into a clear and sparkling jade pendant, lying quietly in the palm of his hand.

Lin Fang breathed a sigh of relief, glad that unlike the monkey, he was not turned into fine hairs, because he certainly did not desire to pluck his own hair when idle like the monkey.

He hung the jade pendant around his waist and felt exceedingly happy inside; the pendant was capable of countless transformations, finally giving him some means to counter enemies at this stage, but to use it as proficiently as the Monkey would require considerable effort.

Returning to the cave, the Little Fox was sleeping soundly, exhausted from the roller coaster of emotions experienced during the day. Lin Fang, however, sat cross-legged on the ground and began his daily practice of cultivation.

By now, he could substitute practice for sleep. In order to survive in this perilous world, he would not miss a moment of cultivation time; whenever he had the chance, he would meditate and practice.

The way of cultivation in this world could not escape the major phases of Refining essence to transform qi, Refining qi to transform the spirit, Refining the spirit to revert to the void, and Refining the void to unite with the Tao. Although the wondrous methods from various traditions appear different, they all lead to the same destination.

The key to the Leakless method lies in its ability to lock in the Vital Essence, Qi, and Spirit within the human body, making these phases of cultivation progress faster.

At this moment, Lin Fang gradually refined the abundant essence in his body, turning it into the purest Spiritual Energy stored within his Dantian. People often say that the practice of cultivation is to absorb the Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, yet they do not realize that this Spiritual Energy is impure and chaotic; direct absorption by all living things would be no different from suicide, thus the need for the Refining essence to transform qi method arose.

Through this Dharma Technique, the refined Spiritual Energy, being compatible with the body, would not cause harm. However, the measure of this process is difficult to grasp; if one refines too intensely, the resulting deficiency of essence-blood could leave a person weakened before achieving success, as the human body is the foundation of existence. A deficiency is akin to a collapsing foundation, and any hopes of climbing the peak of cultivation become delusions. Conversely, if one continuously fears refining too much and barely dares to increase the effort day by day, cultivation progress will be slow. This is why those who cultivate must continuously maintain a clear and alert mind.

Knowing the decree of Heaven and knowing when to advance or retreat is the wonderful method of cultivation, which is what the Bodhi Patriarch referred to as the tranquillity gained by eliminating desires.

Lin Fang, having transformed from a monster, naturally had strong essence-blood, and having previously consumed a Golden Core, his accumulated Mana was substantial. He had thus reached the final stages of Refining qi to transform the spirit, with his Soul being able to leave the body to absorb the Spirit Light of the sun and the moon and temper the Soul.

But this did not mean he did not need to Refine essence to transform qi, as the four stages of cultivation complement each other and must be carried out daily.

The excess essence-blood within his body was refined into Spiritual Energy, which then surged upward to the Purple Mansion, strengthening the Soul with the nourishment of that Spiritual Energy.

When the moonlight was at its brightest, the Soul leaped upwards from the Purple Mansion, appearing above Lin Fang's head. His mouth opened slightly and, astonishingly, the moonlight, like flowing water, gradually entered his mouth. His Soul emitted a bright radiance, and it seemed to grow a bit larger.

However, the Soul outside the body, without its protection, naturally became frail; prolonged exposure could damage it, and carelessness could lead to listlessness and debilitation, requiring a protracted rest to recover.

Therefore, feeling fatigue transmitting from the Soul, Lin Fang sensibly halted his cultivation, allowing the Soul to return to its place. He exhaled a breath of turbid air and completed the day's practice. The way of cultivation was such that it could not be relaxed even for a moment.

Early the next morning, Lin Fang and the Little Fox resumed their Journey to the West.

"Little Fox, do you know where we are now?" Lin Fang asked with a smile.

"Um, if those Little Monsters didn't lie to me, we should have reached the borders of Liusha River." The Little Fox considered before answering. However, this was gathered from hearsay, as having lived in the big mountains all his life, he had never ventured far and was unable to verify the truth of this information.