flstandardbreds Chapter 168 The Inheritance of the Heartless Path
Chapter 168 The Inheritance of the Heartless Path
Ye Ling slowly passed through the layers of array barriers, her curiosity growing stronger and her doubts deepening.
Ye Ling thought to herself, "This array core is protected by so many arrays. Is it really that old ghost that's sealed inside? How terrifying must that old ghost have been in his prime!"
Suddenly, Ye Ling stopped moving forward and stared blankly at the bottom of the lake!
What he saw at the bottom of the lake was not the vast swamp he had imagined, but a huge foundation paved with neatly carved bas-reliefs. Each bas-relief resembled an obscure and difficult-to-understand script, arranged in orderly groups. In the center of the foundation stood a huge statue of a goddess. When the light from the lake surface pierced through the icy blue water and shone on this beautiful statue, it was as if she was given a sacred halo, as if a truly holy goddess had descended upon this land!
Upon witnessing this scene, Ye Ling's pupils contracted sharply, her heart trembled, and her soul shook. A strange emotion surged within her, a mixture of fear, submission, and trust. This emotion was intense and difficult to describe.
She felt that this goddess statue, even just a glimpse from afar, exuded majesty and power, inspiring awe in people. At the same time, the divinity emanating from her made people perceive her mystery and holiness, which made people feel fear yet faith in the light!
These mixed and complex emotions overwhelmed Ye Ling, making it difficult for her to breathe. She only realized she couldn't catch her breath when she suddenly closed her eyes, took a few deep breaths, and then slowly opened them again!
After calming down, Ye Ling approached the inner statue at a slower pace. Upon closer inspection, she was even more surprised. What shocked her was not the beautiful sight, but the fact that her eyes were covered by a cloth and what the goddess was holding in her hands!
The goddess held two rings of different sizes in her right hand, which were constantly rotating, like a sphere, with something seemingly inside. Ye Ling looked closely and thought it resembled a seed. In her left hand, she held an open stone-carved book. Strangely, while the book's exterior was exquisitely detailed from a distance, the inside was completely blank!
The more Ye Ling looked at it, the more familiar it seemed, but she was certain she had never seen it before. Ye Ling frowned deeply, trying to recall the scene carefully!
She muttered to herself, "Strange! I feel like I should know this so well! But why can't I remember?"
After a moment of hesitation, she suddenly remembered that it looked a bit like Themis, the goddess of justice! Upon closer reflection, she realized that this was a sculpture her art teacher had mentioned in a Western art class during her high school art appreciation course, a lesson that had left a deep impression on her!
Themis, as the goddess of law and justice, is hailed as the creator and guardian of order. She holds scales in her left hand, symbolizing justice, and a sword in her right hand, which cuts down evil. The blindfold represents fairness, which is also her most distinctive feature!
Legend has it that on Mount Olympus, the gods were at odds, and the world teetered on the brink of disaster, with no one daring to step forward to uphold justice. Finally, the white-robed, golden-crowned goddess beside Zeus, the king of the gods, blindfolded herself, remaining unaffected by the appearances of those in conflict, nor by their temptations or power, and maintaining unwavering impartiality in the law. For the gods, being blindfolded was not a loss of sight, but rather a steadfast self-restraint in upholding justice.
Ye Ling, however, has unique insights into art. She personally believes that the scales represent choice, the sword represents punishment, and the blindfold represents absolute rationality and fairness, without any emotional interference!
Ye Ling never told anyone about this realization, nor did she ever share her insights with anyone, because she knew that everyone's thoughts and opinions were different, and when everyone's thoughts and opinions were the same, it proved that there was a problem.
Who controls all our thoughts? Why? What is the purpose of this control? These questions are terrifying to contemplate, and they are beyond her comprehension. Therefore, she prefers to be a silent lamb, to be the self-aware "smart person." Humans are social animals; she needs to live, she needs to socialize, and therefore she needs to keep quiet.
Being able to shut up doesn't mean she has to stop thinking, so Ye Ling boldly combined the two to look at the goddess statue in front of her, hoping to unravel some clues!
Ye Ling's understanding of this goddess statue is—absolute rational cognition and love!
That's right, that's Ye Ling's answer! Ye Ling personally believes that being blindfolded represents absolute rationality.
Her right hand holds a ring that forms a sphere, representing a world. Inside the sphere is a seed, representing life. This image alone signifies transcending the dimensions of this world to see this realm. The goddess, blindfolded, looks at the object in her right hand. Upon closer inspection, a slight smile plays on her lips, especially with the light shining upon her from behind, representing love—love for life, love for all beings—this is universal love.
In her left hand she holds a blank stone book, which represents cognition and thinking. The blankness means there are no answers, so these answers must be thought of by oneself, and thinking originates from one's own cognition.
Looking at all this, Ye Ling felt that something was still missing. She murmured to herself, "Cognition? The essence? Could it be... to empathize with all life in the world, to understand suffering, to know cause and effect, but to have absolute rationality to examine it, to love all beings in the true sense, without any complicated emotions, absolutely rational love! I know, I understand!"
After Ye Ling suddenly understood, her mind entered a completely new realm, and at the same time, the statue in front of her also changed!
All that could be seen were the statues of Ye Ling and the Goddess. The reliefs on the giant stone foundation below them displayed golden runes that were slowly approaching the statues. Then, the golden light shone brightly, and the statues fell away inch by inch, revealing her true face!
Ye Ling watched helplessly as the statue "came to life," but she couldn't move her body at all. Most importantly, she had no thought of escaping; she even felt that this was how it should be. Before she could think about why, she saw the goddess who had come to life looking directly at her through the thin gauze!
The next moment, she seemed to hear the voice of a god. The voice was devoid of any emotion, yet it was gentle, powerful, and awe-inspiring!
The other person said a few words, but they spoke in classical Chinese, an accent Ye Ling had never heard before, yet she understood what they meant!
The other person said that she had excellent comprehension and directly grasped the core of the Heartless Path. She regretted that she could not truly attain enlightenment and transcend the mortal world to become a god, but she also felt that this was her path. She had come this far and hoped that fellow practitioners could continue her steps. For this reason, she was willing to wait for him (her) to appear and continue on the path. Would you like to be that person?
Undoubtedly, Ye Ling desperately needed strength right now, and she had a premonition, a kind of unseen force, telling her that this was the path she was meant to take, so she agreed without hesitation!
Then the goddess smiled slightly, her body turning into specks of golden light that slowly gathered and flew towards Ye Ling's brow. Ye Ling slowly closed her eyes and naturally accepted everything!