296: The Map of Visualization_1
Mo Hua couldn’t help but gape.
He hadn’t expected that in such a vast Cultivation World, with so many cultivators, he himself would have the fortune to be the first one to “eat a crab”.
Mo Hua was conflicted; he didn’t want to “eat a crab”. Without any precedent to follow, if he got the method wrong, it could lead to a upset stomach.
“What should I do then?” Mo Hua asked, “Won’t there be a day when my Sea of Consciousness is eroded by evil thoughts, and I lose my true nature, truly becoming a man-eating little ghost?”
Mr. Zhuang glanced at Mo Hua, “There’s no need to worry needlessly. You’ve already consumed living little ghosts; what would some residual wandering thoughts amount to?”
“What you’re experiencing could at most be called…” Mr. Zhuang paused thoughtfully and found the words, “indigestion.”
“Indigestion…” Mo Hua pondered for a moment and then understood.
“Poor digestion?”
Mr. Zhuang nodded, “That’s one way to put it.”
Mo Hua was reassured and began chattering away with other questions:
“Gentleman, where exactly do these Contemplation Maps come from? Also, you mentioned that the Contemplation Maps harbor dangers, does this little ghost count as one of those dangers? Is it the ‘Non-Human’ path you spoke of? Do all Contemplation Maps contain these kinds of little ghosts? If I encounter them again, what should I do?”
Mo Hua’s voice was crisp, as he asked a long string of questions in one breath.
Mr. Zhuang couldn’t help but rub his forehead.
Having a clever disciple was also somewhat troublesome; their quick minds led to many questions, making them exhausting to answer.
Mr. Zhuang thought for a moment and decided to start with the basics, so he asked Mo Hua:
“All the extraordinary powers of a cultivator rely on three things. Do you know what these three are?”
“Are they Divine Sense, Spiritual Power, and the physical body?” Mo Hua answered.
Mr. Zhuang nodded, “Correct. Every ability of a cultivator is founded upon Divine Sense, Spiritual Power, and the physical body.”
“Martial Arts involve stimulating the physical body with Spiritual Power, Spells congeal Spiritual Power with Divine Thought; Formations connect to the Heavenly Dao with Divine Sense, transmitting Spiritual Power through Formation Patterns. Other methods of Tao Cultivation are similar, though their emphasis may vary.”
“In the future, if you come across anything bizarre or strange in the Cultivation World, and if you cannot grasp it or find a lead, you can consider these three aspects.”
Mo Hua had an epiphany.
“So the little ghosts in the Contemplation Maps, having no physical bodies or Spiritual Power, are purely Divine Thoughts, just pure force of Divine Sense?”
“Exactly,” Mr. Zhuang said, “In other words, the so-called Contemplation Maps are just mediums that carry Divine Sense, which in the maps are remnants of Divine Sense left by certain cultivators due to coincidences, or Divine Thoughts born from some Non-Human entities due to fortuitous opportunities.”
“These Divine Senses or Divine Thoughts are often referred to as evil beings or ghosts by cultivators.”
Mo Hua asked, “Are all these evil beings and ghosts edible?”
Mr. Zhuang tapped Mo Hua’s little head, “Don’t be greedy, always thinking about eating.”
Mo Hua smiled sheepishly.
Mr. Zhuang warned, “These evil beings and ghosts vary in strength. The little green-faced ghost you encountered was relatively weak and you were able to consume it. If you encounter something stronger, who knows who will consume whom.”
“How strong can they become?” Mo Hua was curious.
Mr. Zhuang’s eyes flashed with deep wariness and he spoke with a grave tone:
“Terrifyingly strong.”
Mo Hua’s expression also became serious.
Something that even the unfathomable Mr. Zhuang found terrifying?
Mr. Zhuang looked at Mo Hua and, after a moment’s thought, still felt it better to give him a warning.
Originally, Mo Hua’s realm was too low to come into contact with such things, but now he unexpectedly found a Contemplation Map and consumed the ghost within, who knows what he might encounter in the future.
Mr. Zhuang was quite fond of this little disciple and didn’t want him to fall into an unescapable predicament due to ignorance and fearlessness.
“There are dangers in this world that you cannot see,” Mr. Zhuang said.
“Wild mountains, ancient temples, sealed caves, and underground tombs often harbor indescribable evil beings or ghosts. They feed on human Divine Sense and are adept at polluting the heart.”
“Cultivators with weaker Divine Sense, when encountering these entities, can’t see or touch them; they might be on the verge of death without knowing how they are dying. Either their Divine Sense is completely devoured, or their Sea of Consciousness is occupied by an evil being, being manipulated unknowingly, turning into a puppet-like living dead.”
“Then there are some entities that have lived even longer, with overwhelming Divine Thoughts, nearly indestructible, and with a Divine Sense that cultivators can’t even glimpse. Some cultivators revere them as ‘Ghost Gods’ or ‘Evil Gods’, worshipping them devoutly.”
“But these Ghost Gods and Evil Gods are mostly evil-natured, with insidious Divine Thoughts. Cultivators who worship them usually do not come to good ends…”
“Whether weaker ghosts and evil beings, or supremely powerful Ghost Gods and Evil Gods, in order to exist in the world, they must have something to inhabit. That thing is the Contemplation Map.”
“That’s why I told you that Contemplation Maps harbor dangers, containing Non-Human paths…”
Mo Hua listened with growing fear, but also voiced his confusion:
“Do they all hide in maps?”
Could such a large being really fit into something so small?
Mr. Zhuang shook his head, “Although they are called Contemplation Maps, they are not necessarily just maps. Some murals, statues, strange patterns, etc., could all be objects of contemplation. It’s just that cultivators are accustomed to collectively referring to them as ‘Contemplation Maps’.”
Mo Hua nodded his head, feeling as if his eyes had been opened.
Without Mr. Zhuang’s guidance, he would never have known these Tao Cultivation knowledge, and had he really encountered a powerful ghost, he probably would indeed die without knowing how he died.