Chapter 487: Unity Of Heaven And Man!

Chiriku had never before seen anyone so handsome. His features were clear and refined, his bearing warm and gentle, and that face simply did not seem as though it belonged to the mortal world. Merely standing there made him seem like a spring breeze sweeping across the mountains.

Although he had been at the Fire Temple for less than a month, every monk in the temple, from top to bottom, sincerely admired and respected him. Even several senior brothers and uncles who were usually proud and arrogant behaved with exceptional respect before Monk Genjo.

Chiriku still vividly remembered the scene when Monk Genjo first arrived at the temple. That day, he and his master sat facing each other in the meditation room discussing Buddhist teachings, while Chiriku served tea beside them and listened throughout the entire conversation.

They first debated the profound principles of Buddhism, but much of it left Chiriku completely confused; he could clearly sense that Monk Genjo's understanding of Buddhism was astonishingly profound.

In Chiriku's mind, his master had always been omnipotent and unmatched in debate. Yet, that day his responses consisted mostly of a few brief phrases, such as "excellent," "junior brother is truly gifted," and "I have been enlightened."

Later, his master and Monk Genjo began discussing Nature Energy, and Chiriku understood even less.

As the direct student of the Fire Temple's abbot, Chiriku naturally knew that the temple had passed down an extremely profound secret art since ancient times known as the Dharma Aspectual Technique.

Once activated, it used chakra combined with Nature Energy to condense Dharma Manifestations of Bodhisattvas, Vajras, and Arhats, possessing boundless power and an awe-inspiring majesty that none could violate.

However, these Dharma manifestations required Nature Energy to activate, making the entry requirements extraordinarily high and mastering them exceedingly difficult.

Given Chiriku's current age and strength, he was still far from qualified to come into contact with this level of cultivation. He knew very little about the details and had only occasionally heard his master mention them.

Yet when the two discussed the Dharma Aspectual Technique that day, his master's reactions were exactly the same as when they had been discussing Buddhist teachings earlier, nodding continuously like a machine repeating itself.

In Chiriku's memory, the unbelievably handsome Monk Genjo had said something that caused his master, who had proudly been introducing the temple's hidden techniques, to suddenly fall silent. He remained silent for a very long time before finally letting out a long sigh and saying, "Junior brother is truly gifted. I'm far from your equal."

What exactly had that sentence been again?

As he walked along the rugged mountain path, Chiriku tried hard to recall the conversation he had heard that day in the meditation room.

Ah!

That's right!

Unity of heaven and man!

For some reason, the moment Chiriku heard those words, he instinctively felt they sounded incredibly impressive.

According to Monk Genjo himself, this was a realm where "Heaven and earth are born together with me, and all things and I are one."

Afterward, Monk Genjo spoke of concepts such as the dao follows nature, the human body is a small universe, and inner and outer correspond to one another, a whole string of expressions that left Chiriku with nothing but the feeling that they sounded profound despite not understanding them.

Fortunately, toward the end, Monk Genjo seemed to realize that the child could not quite follow, so he explained in more ordinary language what one could achieve after reaching the so-called realm of unity of heaven and man.

For example, one could attract Nature Energy into one's body anytime and anywhere, naturally remain in Sage Mode at all times, and have every punch and kick empowered by the strength of heaven and earth.

Remaining in Sage Mode at all times?

Although Chiriku had not yet begun cultivating the Dharma Aspectual Technique, he vaguely knew that Nature Energy was an extremely dangerous and highly unstable form of energy.

His master had also mentioned once or twice what Sage Mode actually was and how it differed from the Fire Temple's Dharma Aspectual Technique, or, more precisely, from the so-called talent of the sage clan.

Sage Mode involved directly absorbing Nature Energy into one's body and merging it with one's own Physical Energy and Spiritual Energy, ultimately refining a special form of Senjutsu chakra.

While in Sage Mode, the user's overall physical abilities would be greatly enhanced. As for the increased power of Ninjutsu, that was merely a secondary byproduct of the process.

However, it was said that only the three great unexplored regions still possessed complete inheritances of this method in today's Shinobi World.

His master had also told him that, in the distant past, the Fire Temple had likewise possessed a similar cultivation method, but for some unknown reason, that inheritance had eventually been lost.

Precisely because directly absorbing Nature Energy was so dangerous, and because they lacked a complete system of inheritance to support it, the temple's predecessors had chosen another path. Instead, they directly combined their own chakra with the Nature Energy of the outside world to condense Dharma manifestations, thereby amplifying the power of their techniques.

Overall, although both methods were founded upon Nature Energy, one worked inward to cultivate the practitioner, while the other worked outward by borrowing manifestations to empower techniques.

In Chiriku's understanding, the Dharma Aspectual Technique was already extraordinarily difficult.

Sage Mode was undoubtedly even more difficult, while the idea that one's normal state is Sage Mode had completely exceeded the limits of what he could comprehend.

Yet according to Monk Genjo, all of this was merely the most basic of foundations. After that, Monk Genjo said even more things that sounded impossibly profound to Chiriku.

According to Chiriku's own understanding, it roughly meant that after progressing further, a practitioner would be able to freely transform the Nature Energy of heaven and earth directly into their own Physical or Spiritual Energy.

As long as Nature Energy still existed, they could replenish themselves anytime and anywhere. Whether their chakra was exhausted, their stamina depleted, or their mind weary, so long as Nature Energy did not run dry, their own condition would endure forever.

And at the very end, one could even transcend the limitations of Nature Energy itself and completely merge with heaven, earth, and the universe, reaching a level where so long as heaven and earth did not perish, neither would oneself.

At that moment, the very first thought that entered Chiriku's mind was that Monk Genjo had to be exaggerating.

In today's Shinobi World, no one could even freely transform the Spiritual Energy and Physical Energy within their own body into each other, much less transform the even more dangerous and violent Nature Energy.

However, seeing how calm and composed Monk Genjo had been at the time, presenting his reasoning so logically and confidently, it truly did not seem like something that could be faked by someone boasting.

As a result, the more Chiriku listened, the more he gradually began to feel that perhaps this so-called "Unity of heaven and man" Might really exist after all.

Completely becoming one with heaven, earth, and the universe?

Even the legendary gods probably amounted to no more than this.

With that thought, Chiriku secretly grumbled to himself.

Just then, his steps suddenly came to a halt. He raised his head, and the scene before him in the valley left him momentarily stunned.

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