PCJ – Chapter 447 The Way Follows Nature

Zhang Jiaohua opened his eyes, only to be startled by the scene before him—there was a tiger staring at him.

“Ah!” Zhang Jiaohua quickly retreated backward in fear.

The tiger was quite puzzled, not understanding why Zhang Jiaohua was so afraid of it.

The Mountain Leopard, hearing the noise, rushed over and barked at the tiger. The tiger, feeling wronged, thought it had done nothing but merely wanted to check if Zhang Jiaohua was okay.

The Mountain Leopard chased the tiger away and walked closer to Zhang Jiaohua, only to find that Zhang Jiaohua was still wary of it.

The Fat Cat approached but immediately noticed something was off with Zhang Jiaohua and did not go closer. The Chubby Monkey tilted its head, looking at Zhang Jiaohua. The changes in Zhang Jiaohua puzzled it. Though it was still the same person, there was something unfamiliar about him.

The strange behavior of Zhang Jiaohua began after Chengdao acquired the bell from the ancient tomb. Chengdao’s consciousness and the “disappointed” consciousness that had formed within his body both perished together, but a fragment of spiritual awareness attached itself to the bell. Since Zhang Jiaohua had once received a trace of Chengdao’s divine thought, this fragment of spiritual awareness automatically entered Zhang Jiaohua’s sea of consciousness. Although it was just a fragment of Chengdao’s soul, it overwhelmed Zhang Jiaohua’s consciousness. Zhang Jiaohua’s sea of consciousness nearly broke, and if it had, he would have been a vegetable for the rest of his life. Fortunately, the sea of consciousness was still somewhat resilient from his years of cultivation, but even so, Chengdao’s spiritual awareness squeezed Zhang Jiaohua’s original consciousness to a corner. This led to Zhang Jiaohua’s memory being severely suppressed. Now, the dominant force in his sea of consciousness was Chengdao’s spiritual awareness, and Zhang Jiaohua’s own consciousness could no longer surface.

At this point, Zhang Jiaohua should be called Chengdao, as his memory now was entirely that of Chengdao.

Of course, even though Zhang Jiaohua’s consciousness was pushed aside, as long as he still occupied the body, he could not fully wake up. Chengdao’s spiritual awareness was not active, so although it controlled Zhang Jiaohua’s body, it was very sluggish. Looking at the five tigers, the Mountain Leopard, the Fat Cat, and the Chubby Monkey, it felt a strange sense of familiarity, but it could not recall why these creatures were significant. As a consciousness with no owner, it could not delve into Zhang Jiaohua’s memories. If Zhang Jiaohua were to wake up, this spiritual awareness would merge with his subconscious as a memory.

Since the Leopard, Cat, and Monkey felt familiar, Zhang Jiaohua simply let them stay by his side. More importantly, he was hungry. The Mountain Leopard brought him a wild chicken, and Zhang Jiaohua, relying on the instinct from Zhang Jiaohua’s body, wrapped the chicken in mud and roasted it in the fire. Afterward, he cracked off the mud and began eating large chunks of the hot chicken.

He was not surprised that he could use magic to start a fire, as he was merely a fragment of spiritual awareness at this point. He wasn’t surprised by his method of cooking the wild chicken either.

The Fat Cat was quite aggrieved, as its master had not even saved a piece of the chicken for it, despite looking at it hungrily. Normally, the Fat Cat would jump onto Zhang Jiaohua’s head and mess up his hair in protest, but now, Zhang Jiaohua’s hair was already a mess with mud and grass.

“Burp!” Zhang Jiaohua let out a loud burp and followed with another one. He had eaten too hastily and had overfilled his stomach.

The Fat Cat looked at Zhang Jiaohua with some schadenfreude, thinking to itself, Serves you right, eating all the food by yourself.

Zhang Jiaohua stood up and quickly ran toward a small stream nearby. He knelt down at the stream, dunked his head into the water, and drank several gulps. Then, he looked at his reflection in the water, confused. The face was so familiar yet so strange. Zhang Jiaohua scooped up some water and splashed it on his face to wash off the mud. His young face looked unfamiliar, but for some reason, it felt strangely familiar.

After filling his stomach, Zhang Jiaohua didn’t know where to go. He was unfamiliar with the environment and had even forgotten who he was. Chengdao’s spiritual awareness had no knowledge of Chengdao’s past either. It simply carried some memories of Chengdao, and most of these memories related to his understanding of cultivation.

The five tigers, too, seemed puzzled. They suddenly realized that this child had become so distant, though his aura still felt familiar. They looked at Zhang Jiaohua and turned to head deeper into the Meishan mountains.

The Mountain Leopard, Fat Cat, and Chubby Monkey were also confused. They did not know what had happened to their master, but they did not leave. Instead, they stayed at a distance, waiting for the day when their master would wake up.

Zhang Jiaohua wandered deeper into Meishan. When he was tired, he sat down to rest; when he was sleepy, he lay down to sleep; when he was hungry, he stopped to forage. The wild fruits of the forest could satisfy his hunger, and the wild game could provide him with food. If Zhang Jiaohua were conscious, he might realize that he was now in a state similar to the old Chen Dianzi’s. The simpler life became, the closer it was to the Dao of Heaven. Cultivation, in essence, was simple—let go of worldly desires and connect with the natural world. This was the way of cultivation.

Zhang Jiaohua walked through the forest, not worrying about the past or the future, with no concern for right or wrong. He listened to the sound of the wind through the pine trees, felt the gentle breeze, watched the clear blue sky, and followed the fluttering butterflies.

The Mountain Leopard, Fat Cat, and Chubby Monkey, though less gifted than humans, could sense the spiritual energy of the universe, and through Zhang Jiaohua’s unconscious approach to the Dao, they gained the most precious insights.

Thus, deep in the Meishan mountains, an odd scene unfolded: a child walked ahead, followed closely by a Dog, a Cat, and a Monkey.