Xiao Yan thought for a moment before beginning, "A long, long time ago..."
Yun Yun couldn't help but giggle after hearing just the first line. "Such a clichéd opening."
"As long as the content is fresh, who cares?" Xiao Yan coughed dryly and continued, "A long, long time ago, an old monk wanted to choose a successor among his disciples. He asked them to compose a gatha (a Buddhist verse) and present it in three days for evaluation. But when the time came, only one disciple, Shen Xiu, submitted his verse."
Hearing Xiao Yan talk about Buddhist matters, Yun Yun couldn't help but chide him, "You're eating such harmful stuff, yet you have the nerve to tell stories about monks?"
"This medicine was originally meant for me alone. You should know—what's honey to me might be poison to you. You were the one who insisted on buying it." Xiao Yan leaned back against the stone wall, exhaling a soft breath of heat.
Yun Yun pursed her lips, rubbing her thighs together lightly to ease the rising tingling sensation. "Eating that medicine like it's food—you're probably no good person to begin with."
As streams of Dou Qi passed through the invisible flames, Xiao Yan's body felt like a massive furnace, his head still foggy with heat. His temper flared, and he growled fiercely, "Fine! If that's how it is, I might as well play the villain!"
As he spoke, he reached out and grasped Yun Yun's plump calf. The skin was as smooth as fine jade, the sensation truly astonishing.
"You—!" Yun Yun let out a sharp cry as another wave of heat surged from her Dou Qi vortex, spreading through her limbs.
The medicine's effects are flaring up again! Her jade-like hands trembled as she clenched them, her eyes even beginning to redden slightly.
After being suppressed briefly, the medicinal energy erupted again like a flood, unstoppable this time.
Yet, at that very moment, the cluster of invisible flames in Xiao Yan's heart trembled violently. Then, the flames' temperature dropped rapidly before dissipating completely without a sound.
Xiao Yan exhaled deeply, thinking to himself, Five streams of Dou Qi! This dose of medicinal powder withstood the impact of five Dou Qi streams.
As the invisible flames vanished, the temperature inside his body gradually began to cool.
Just then, a burning heat pressed into his embrace—Yun Yun had thrown herself against him, her arms looping around his neck.
Looking at the breathtakingly beautiful woman before him, Xiao Yan felt a headache coming on. Just when I was starting to recover, she loses control.
Patting Yun Yun's scorching-hot cheeks, he coaxed, "Wake up. Let's continue the story."
"Story?" Yun Yun rubbed her forehead, and with great effort, she managed to distract herself slightly. "Out of all those disciples, only Shen Xiu composed a gatha? There must be a twist later, right?"
Holding Yun Yun—who was dressed in nothing but a sea-blue undergarment—Xiao Yan felt more surprise than desire. "You're sharp."
Yun Yun closed her eyes, her delicate brows furrowing. "There has to be a twist. Otherwise, your story would be too short."
Xiao Yan continued slowly, "After Shen Xiu presented his gatha, his master was unsatisfied and asked him to reflect further. Shen Xiu unintentionally told his verse to a junior disciple named Hui Neng. Upon hearing it, Hui Neng had a sudden realization and composed his own gatha."
"Who is this Hui Neng? Some kind of genius? His comprehension sounds impressive. Did his gatha contain some mystical cultivation technique?" Leaning against Xiao Yan, Yun Yun felt a glimmer of hope.
Though Buddhist practitioners were rare in the Jia Ma Empire, their cultivation methods often specialized in controlling one's mind and desires.
Xiao Yan chuckled and shook his head. "Hui Neng was illiterate—he couldn't even write doggerel. He merely improvised his verse after hearing his senior's."
Holding Yun Yun's wandering hands in place, Xiao Yan recited thoughtfully:
"Bodhi is fundamentally without any tree;
The bright mirror is also not a stand.
Originally there is not a single thing—
Where could any dust be attracted?"
Xiao Yan had known this story before, but he'd only ever treated it as a tale. Now, with his mind boiling over, reflecting on it gave him a completely different understanding.
Yun Yun lazily tugged at Xiao Yan's belt, murmuring, "The Bodhi tree would be nice for shade… We're so hot right now… If only there was a giant tree… Dust? Just wash it off..."
"Wash it off? Where's the water here?! It's so hot even the stones are about to crack." Xiao Yan humored her delirious rambling.
Yun Yun had completely succumbed to desire, her breath hot as she murmured incoherently.
Looking down at her, Xiao Yan saw her face like a blooming peach blossom, faintly pink, exuding a delicate yet serene beauty. Her clear eyes shimmered like rippling lake water, crystalline and pure.
Her figure was graceful, every movement brimming with feminine softness and elegance.
Xiao Yan simply watched her, emotions surging like tidal waves within him.
But now that the medicinal effects in his body had faded, and with the Buddhist story sparking sudden enlightenment, he only felt that Yun Yun was truly breathtakingly beautiful at this moment.
Without speaking further, Xiao Yan sat cross-legged and began chanting:
"Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva,
when deeply practicing prajna paramita,
clearly saw that all five aggregates are empty
and transcended all suffering..."
Gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā.
[You used your cultivation experience and Buddhist scriptures to deduce—you attained sudden enlightenment. You comprehended the secret technique Three Realizations of Bodhi.]
[Three Realizations of Bodhi: All conditioned phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows. Only by relinquishing delusions and attachments can one perceive their true nature and attain Bodhi.]
[Techniques: Bodhi's Bright Mirror, No Tree Nor Stand, Whence Comes the Dust.]
Having reached the Dou Huang level, Xiao Yan was no longer the greenhorn he once was. His cultivation experience was vast, and he had created numerous techniques and skills.
With such rich experience supporting him, this new enlightenment allowed him to master this secret technique and its accompanying moves in one go.
Feeling something like a kitten's playful bites and licks on his neck, Xiao Yan abruptly opened his eyes.
Seeing Yun Yun lost in desire, her delicate tongue flicking out, the wet heat of her movements sending shivers through him, Xiao Yan said solemnly, "Continue assisting my cultivation."
With that, he closed his eyes again and began practicing Three Realizations of Bodhi, a technique that greatly strengthened one's mental fortitude.
This secret technique did nothing for Dou Qi strength, soul power, or physical prowess—it only stabilized the mind, shielding it from external corruptions.
Through this ordeal, Xiao Yan realized he had somewhat overestimated his mental resilience. It needed reinforcement.
Faced with a peerless beauty like Yun Yun, he had nearly lost control several times.
But then again, he was just an ordinary man at heart—power, status, wealth, and alluring women were all things he desired.
Maintaining clarity while trying to condense something as volatile as the Fallen Heart Flame was understandably difficult.
Though his first attempt to condense the Fallen Heart Flame wasn't a complete success, he had attained enlightenment in a secret technique and gained invaluable experience.
For the creation of this exceptionally unique Heavenly Flame, Xiao Yan now had a far more refined plan.
(End of Chapter)
────────────────────────────────────
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [One Piece: General Blue]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Naruto: Starting with Tsunade-san]."
"If you're interested, please support me in my other novel [Soul Land 2: Golden Dragon King]."
"If you want early access to nearly 35+ chapters, join my patreon:- patreon.com/BaDwYGaMeR"