What is the purpose of the practice, maybe different people will give many answers. But in fact, in a sense, their purpose is the same. The purpose of cultivation is nothing more than to increase one's abilities and broaden one's knowledge. And in this practice, the step of retreat is essential.

The purpose of retreat is to digest what you have seen and heard, to reflect on your own actions, and to further improve your abilities. The so-called retreat is neither to shut oneself up, nor to hide oneself, nor to isolate oneself from the world. Away from the world, under the white moon and breeze, you may be able to calm down, and you may be able to go to the fire.

But those are all false, retreats, are acquired, are the lowest, and are the most difficult to achieve. True retreat, whether it is wine or wealth, or grievances and hatred, never avoids it, let alone escapes; As the saying goes: the big is hidden in the city, and the small is hidden in the mountain, which is exactly this truth.

Being born in the world and living in the dust is the highest realm. Walking through the red dust, knowing the gains and losses of actions, reflecting on the merits and demerits, transcending the red world, and moving forward with a clear mind, this is the real retreat. However, despite this, there are very few people who can really do this.

Back at his residence, Xu Chenglin closed the door and announced that he was in retreat. Xu Chenglin's position was an idle errand, and there were not many of him in the Hundred Refining Hall, so the news of his retreat did not cause much impact. Xu Chenglin's realm can't reach the great hidden city, if he reaches that realm, he doesn't need to retreat.

Retreat is a major part of the practice, which requires a calm state of mind without distractions, so that high-level thinking and cultivation can be carried out, so that the practice and the state of mind can be greatly improved. To achieve the best results of the retreat, you must first be mindful.

How to make up his mind, Xu Chenglin, who was in retreat for the first time, did not know. He paced slowly, but the experience of several months quietly came to mind. The carefree school life, the unforgettable disasters, the inexplicable stepping into the cultivation world, the occasional treasure through the heavens, the sixth-layer exodus of the body, the escape to the Peerless City, the pursuit and killing of the man in black, and so on flashed in his mind one by one.

Among them, there is joy, pain, anger, satisfaction, confusion and enlightenment, and many emotions cross Xu Chenglin's heart one by one. As if it was a matter of course, Xu Chenglin sat on the spot, and the exercises ran naturally. Immersed in memories, Xu Chenglin knew nothing about his own situation.

The exercises were running faster and faster, faster than he usually did. With a pop, it seems to have broken through a certain boundary. The momentum on his body swelled, and at the same time, he woke up from his memories.

Investigating his own situation, Xu Chenglin made a pleasant discovery. His own cultivation realm unconsciously reached the seventh layer of the refining body. Xu Chenglin had a knowing smile on his face, and after thinking back to the situation just now, he understood the cause and effect.

I was immersed in the memories and relaxed myself, but I inadvertently secretly coincided with the state of mind of quiet and inaction. The realm of harmony between body and mind leads to the improvement of the exercises, and only then does he raise his cultivation realm to a higher level. ”

As soon as he thought of this, Xu Chenglin hurriedly closed his eyes, intending to enter a quiet and inactive state of mind again. But it didn't take long for him to open his eyes and smile helplessly. Not everything can be replicated, and some things can't.

Taoism has clouds, and the teaching method is natural, and it cannot be deliberately forced. This kind of thing is unattainable, and deliberately forcing it will fall behind. It is natural for Xu Chenglin to inadvertently enter a state of quiet and inaction, and if he wants to forcibly enter the country after waking up, this is demanding. The entry was unsuccessful, but Xu Chenglin's mood calmed down.

If Seon loses his horse, he will not know that it is not a blessing, and it may not be a good thing if he does not succeed in entering the country. Cultivation is about gradual progress, jumping several levels at a time, which may not be beneficial to future practice. The tempering period is the stage when the monk lays the foundation, and what he wants is to work steadily and steadily.

With a solid foundation, the foundation can be laid strong. The level of the calcined body is raised too quickly, as if it is a solid foundation on the surface and soft on the inside. Such a foundation is like a pavilion on the sea, although it is gorgeous, but the foundation is vain, and it cannot withstand the wind and rain.

Only after the mind is calm can we be still, and only after we have calmed down can we think seriously. The past few months have passed, and they have become memories in Xu Chenglin's heart. However, the gains and losses in it have accumulated valuable experience for his spiritual path.

History is the best teacher, and we can understand the truth of living in the world from history. Reflection is the best mirror to see your own true shortcomings. Only when we know the deficiencies can we correct them, and only then can we make progress by correcting them.

Xu Chenglin is a diligent thinker, and all kinds of gains and losses in the past few months have crossed his heart one by one, and the lessons and lessons are deeply rooted in his heart. After thinking about everything, Xu Chenglin remembered a question that had puzzled him all along. Why did I choose to enter the cultivation world in the first place, why did I practice, and why did I persevere.

Once this problem arises, it is out of control. One day, two days, time passed quietly. The sleeplessness made Xu Chenglin's eyes red, his expression was in a trance, and he even fell into a magic barrier.

"Why did I choose to enter the cultivation world in the first place, why did I practice, and why did I persevere. Why did you choose to enter the cultivation world in the first place?"

Xu Chenglin thought about it for a while and found the answer. The cultivation world is an unknown world for him, and how can a person who loves to think and explore withstand the temptation of the unknown? So, he recklessly entered the cultivation world where he knew very little. Natural disasters and man-made disasters, the people in the world are not able to make a living, even the small mountain villages that have no quarrel with the world can not escape the doom, he wants to change all this, and cultivation can give him this possibility, so he came to the cultivation world.

Legend has it that cultivation can make people immortal, there are too many mysteries in the world he wants to know, and only by living longer can he better understand the world, so he entered the cultivation world. All kinds of reasons are that Xu Chenglin needs to enter the cultivation world, so he came!

However, these reasons contradict Xu Chenglin's heart. His motivation for practice has never been these reasons. Why did he practice? These are the questions that arose on his way back.

"Why do you practice, and why do you persevere?"

Xu Chenglin was confused and talked to himself, and kept repeating.

These two sentences echoed in the room, and Xu Chenglin also echoed these two sentences in his mind. Thinking for days made Xu Chenglin extremely consumed, and he couldn't maintain his posture of sitting cross-legged anymore.

He fell to the ground with a thud, and the back of his head slammed into the ground. This time it woke up Xu Chenglin and gave him an inexplicable understanding like an initiation.

Scenes from the past flashed in Xu Chenglin's mind again, he saw the carefree life of himself and his partners in Baiyun Village, saw the inexplicable disaster coming, saw Xuan Ling's strict teaching to him along the way, saw his struggle when he first entered the cultivation world, and saw his cooperation with Zhou Tong to fight back against the man in black, etc.

The scenes formed a flowing light wheel, rotating around Xu Chenglin. The light took turns, and Xu Chenglin saw his partner studying and playing carefree in Baiyun Village.

An inexplicable feeling of nostalgia haunted his heart, and it would be nice if life had always been like this. As soon as the thought flashed, Xu Chenglin saw the scene he didn't want to see. The shaking earth, the cracked ground, the ruined houses, the dead and wounded villagers, and the devastation of the war soon followed. The scenes pierced his heart, his silent cry, he wanted to change everything.

As soon as the picture turned, Xu Chenglin and Xuan Ling sat on the flying sword, and the two only occasionally said a few words. Along the way, Xuan Ling instilled common sense of cultivation in Xu Chenglin, and occasionally taught Xu Chenglin some precautions sternly.

Seeing this scene again, Xu Chenglin's face was grateful. I revisited the admonitions of Xuan Ling one by one and engraved them deeply in my heart. These admonitions, with no other purpose, are all to teach Xu Chenglin how to survive better in the cultivation world.

The picture turned again, and Xu Chenglin saw the struggle of entering the cultivation world for the first time. Seeing this scene, he couldn't help but smile. When I first entered the cultivation world, although it was difficult, I enjoyed it.

Each breakthrough represents an improvement for him. Every progress represents Xu Chenglin's efforts. I am satisfied with the results of my efforts.

Scenes kept flashing in Cheng Xulin's mind, gradually overlapping and becoming blurred. Gradually, Xu Chenglin seemed to understand something, and his eyes showed a little brilliance.

In the midst of natural and man-made disasters, Xu Chenglin survived. He wants to change all that, but he doesn't have the power to do it. If he had the ability at that time, even if he couldn't prevent the disaster, it would have been a few people for a while. Xuan Ling's earnest teaching to him was to allow him to survive better, and to put it bluntly, it was not that he was incapable.

If he has enough ability, let him be stormed by wind and rain, and charged with thunderstorms. What is the reason why he is struggling in the cultivation realm? Is it not because of his own lack of ability, how can he be struggling if he has enough ability? He and Zhou Tong encountered murder and seized the treasure, and then fled away from the Peerless City. The result was that with a witty halfway ambush, he killed the pursuing enemy. The result was good, but the cause was that he was powerless. Yes, or because of lack of ability. If he had enough ability, he would have killed the invading enemy on the spot, and he would have fled tremblingly and ambushed carefully.

With his arms in his arms, Xu Chenglin slowly stood up. His eyes were still red, but his expression was no longer dazed. An indescribable momentum burst out from his body.

"Ability, what I need is ability. It is the ability to resist, the ability to change, the ability to protect the good, and the ability to break the injustice. All restraints and restraints will make him see all the hell, and all evil disasters will disappear for me. ”

The youthfulness of the young man in the past has been diluted a lot at this moment. A green Dao heart sprouted unconsciously in Xu Chenglin.

Xu Chenglin's purpose of cultivation is very pure, that is, to gain ability. If these abilities are truly obtained, there will be no more restraints in the world. The purpose of his practice is actually shared by most practitioners. Their purpose can be summed up in a popular sentence - the heavens and the earth are at their own pace, and everything in the world can be changed.

For this goal, some people have become Buddhas, some have become demons, some have attained the Tao, some have become immortals, some have been admired by all people, some have been spurned by hundreds of generations, some have been unknown, and some have become famous...... But in the end, whether they achieved that goal or not is unknown.

How difficult is it to achieve this goal? What kind of ability is needed? What kind of struggle do you have to fight? How far does the path of cultivation have to go, and what means do you need to use to achieve it?

Xu Chenglin hadn't thought about these at all.