Li Yuan felt something amiss in the structure of his Zhenjing.
The space between the Realm of Questions and the Core Consciousness felt... empty. Not empty in the sense of a void, but empty in the sense of not being fully utilized. There was a vast area that continued to expand, like a gap waiting to be filled with something meaningful.
Something that could connect questions with understandings.
Li Yuan sat in stillness, letting his intuition guide him. In deep meditation, a vision began to form in his consciousness.
A tree.
Not a physical tree, but a tree of meaning—an organic structure that could hold and organize the ever-growing spiritual complexity within him.
Li Yuan began to imagine with vivid detail.
The Roots—the Water Core Consciousness.
The roots of this spiritual tree were anchored deep in the absolute center of his Zhenjing. Water as the Core Consciousness was not just a point, but a complex and vast root system, providing spiritual nourishment to the entire structure above it.
From here, all understandings take their essence.
Li Yuan felt how Water as the roots gave a fundamental quality to all the branches that grew from it. The calmness, flexibility, and ability to adapt—all of this flowed through the root system and colored every aspect of the spiritual tree.
If the root is calmness, then all the branches will remain rooted in that calmness, even though they express incredible diversity.
The Trunk—the Realm of Questions.
The trunk of this spiritual tree was not a static structure, but a dynamic flow of questions that connected the roots with the branches. Questions kept the tree growing, alive, and evolving.
"What is fear?" "Why does water flow?" "How can stillness and sound be one?" "Where does anger come from?"
Li Yuan saw how these questions moved up and down the trunk, carrying nourishment from the roots to the branches, and in return carrying insights from the branches back to the roots.
Without questions, the tree would stop growing and eventually die.
Li Yuan understood with new clarity why the Realm of Questions was so important. It wasn't just a place for philosophizing—it was a life support system for his entire consciousness.
The Four Great Branches—the Categories of Understanding.
From the trunk of questions, Li Yuan saw four main branches, each representing a different domain of understanding.
The First Branch: Nature and Cosmos.
This branch held all the understandings related to the external world and cosmic phenomena. Li Yuan saw its mature twigs:
Water—with fruits in the form of oceans, rivers, rain, and all flowing liquids.
Sky—with fruits in the form of infinite space, freedom, and cosmic connection.
Body—with fruits in the form of the awareness of the physical form as a spiritual vessel.
Breath and Oldest Breath—with fruits in the form of cosmic rhythm, the life beat that underlies everything.
Existence—with fruits in the form of the foundation of "being," the fundamental connection to the Dao.
The Second Branch: Inner States and Consciousness.
This branch was more internal, holding understandings about the conditions of consciousness itself.
Silence—with fruits in the form of a silent space that spoke louder than words.
Doubt—with fruits in the form of the space between knowing and not knowing, the openness to mystery.
Soul—with fruits in the form of the Sea of Souls that held five million other consciousnesses.
Memories—with fruits in the form of perfectly preserved crystals of memory.
Wrapping—with fruits in the form of the ability to layer and protect spiritual meaning.
The Third Branch: Emotions and Feelings.
This branch vibrated with emotional intensity, holding the spontaneous and profound responses of the heart.
Emotions as the main twig—with fruits in the form of the full spectrum of human feelings.
Fear—with fruits in the form of shadows that were no longer frightening.
Anger—with fruits in the form of fire that protected without burning.
Loss—with fruits in the form of an empty space formed by a love that had departed.
The Fourth Branch: Wild Cosmic Forces.
This branch was the wildest and most unpredictable, holding primordial energies.
Chaos Qi—with fruits in the form of pure possibilities not yet realized.
Chaos—with fruits in the form of a cosmic vortex that encompassed all creative disorder.
And most interestingly—this tree was not rigid.
Li Yuan saw how the branches interacted with each other, seeping into one another. Loss could be seen as an Emotion, but also as an aspect of the Cosmos when talking about the cycle of life and death. Water could be seen as Nature, but also as an Inner State when talking about the flexibility of consciousness.
Twigs that have not yet borne fruit.
What was most interesting to Li Yuan was seeing the potential twigs that had not yet fully developed. Like a flower that had not yet become a fruit, there were understandings that were still in a potential stage.
From the Emotions branch, he saw a twig of Love that had not yet borne full fruit—still an beautiful flower, but not yet a Zhenjing that could be entered.
From the Nature branch, he saw a twig of Fire that was still a bud—the potential for an understanding of transformation and purification that had not yet matured.
From the Inner branch, he saw a twig of Time that was still a bud—a temporal mystery that had not yet fully opened.
These twigs already existed in his inner potential, but had not yet borne fruit as a real understanding.
Li Yuan realized that his spiritual tree was a living structure that was constantly evolving. Every interaction with the outside world, every new experience, every question that arose could give birth to a new twig or mature an existing twig into a full fruit.
The Leaves and Fruits—Manifestations of Understanding.
Li Yuan saw how each mature twig produced:
Leaves—small manifestations in the form of passive effects that the environment felt. When the twig of Fear matured, its leaves were a sense of calm that spread to the people around him.
Fruits—the specific Zhenjing that could be entered and explored. When the twig of Water was fully mature, its fruit was a spiritual ocean a hundred thousand kilometers wide that he could explore.
And this tree continued to grow.
Li Yuan felt a deep excitement seeing the structure that had formed in his Zhenjing. This wasn't something he had designed deliberately, but a natural organization that arose from the spiritual complexity he had developed.
Perhaps one day there will be a fifth, or a sixth branch.
Domains of understanding he had never imagined. Perhaps a branch of Relations—for an understanding of relationships between beings. Perhaps a branch of Transcendence—for an understanding of what went beyond individuality.
The possibilities were endless.
Li Yuan stood in the vision of his spiritual tree, feeling the majesty of this organic yet sophisticated structure. From the Water root that provided stability, through the trunk of Questions that provided vitality, to the four great branches that organized his seventeen understandings into meaningful categories.
This is the map of my consciousness.
Not just a place to store understandings, but a living framework for continuous spiritual growth. Every new question could give birth to a new twig. Every insight could ripen an existing fruit. Every interaction with the mystery of the Dao could expand the structure of the tree in an unexpected way.
And most beautifully—this tree will continue to grow as long as I keep questioning.
As long as the Realm of Questions remained alive, as long as curiosity never died, this spiritual tree would continue to develop, continuing to explore new aspects of the infinite Dao.
Li Yuan smiled in the stillness of his Zhenjing, surrounded by the vision of a cosmic tree that would be his companion forever on the journey of understanding the mystery of existence.
This is the true form of spiritual cultivation—not linear, but organic. Not rigid, but responsive. Not limitless, but organized.
A tree of meaning that would grow with him until the end of time.