Chapter 62

Xu Mo settled in this valley, weaving grass into mats and tying ropes into beds, living with the mountain breezes and morning dew, and the morning mist and colorful clouds, leading a carefree life.

He kept a fire in the cave, molded clay into pots and jars, and fired them into pottery. Without experience in this, it was not easy to make them, and many attempts ended in failure. However, with plenty of time in the deep mountains, he had ample opportunities to try again. If one attempt failed, he tried twice; if twice failed, he tried three times; if three times failed, he tried ten times. Eventually, he found the knack and succeeded in firing the pottery.

He did not sleep in, rising early every day to climb to the peak, watching the sunrise and sunset, the changing clouds, and his mind gradually became serene. Free from the mundane affairs of the world, in the cold and desolate mountains, day by day, his soul was cleansed, and eventually, he no longer dreamed.

With a serene mind, free from worldly distractions, his five senses became increasingly powerful, gradually aligning with his state of mind and spirit, even developing a subtle sense of spirituality.

Relying on his powerful sense of smell, he detected a salty, fishy odor in the rocks, crushed them, dissolved them in water, and dried them to extract salt. He found seasonings among the plants and, using his powerful sense of taste, skillfully combined various seasonings, constantly adjusting and refining the flavors to achieve the ultimate taste, creating the most delicious meals in the world.

With his ability to control his breathing, and his powerful hearing and vision, he fished in the water and hunted on the mountain, providing meat to improve his life.

There were many mosquitoes on the mountain, so he followed them with his powerful vision and hearing, judging their activity range to find plants that repelled mosquitoes. He planted these plants in places he frequented. The scent of the mosquito-repelling plants was strong and unpleasant, so he used his sense of smell to find other scented plants to plant alongside them, creating a unique, fresh fragrance suitable for his life.

Living in seclusion in the valley, his days were quite pleasant.

Unafraid of the cold or heat, he often slept outdoors on a hammock he had woven from grass ropes, listening to the mountain breezes at night and watching the stars and moon, the changing clouds and mist. His mind gradually became open and broad, and the narrowness and confinement of city life were finally swept away.

One day, before dawn, a few rumbles of thunder were followed by rain. The raindrops on his face woke him up. He sat up from the hammock, stood in the valley, and looked toward the mountain peak where he often watched the sunrise.

It was still dark, with thick clouds covering the sky. The mountain peak was dark and gloomy, but the rain washed it clean, making it look clear and ethereal, like a huge, clean piece of ink jade.

A cool breeze blew, refreshing his body and mind. Although it was dark, his mind suddenly became clear, as if it had suddenly expanded. He felt invigorated and, regardless of the slippery rocks, climbed the mountain peak.

His shoes were long worn out, and he was barefoot, stepping on the rocks, hands gripping the crevices, climbing all the way to the top. Several times he nearly slipped, but his state of mind was different from before, and he was no longer afraid of life and death.

The mountain was not very high, but it still took him over an hour to reach the top. The wind was stronger, and the rain was heavier. The rain hit the rocks on the peak, flowing down the crevices to the bottom, washing away all the dirt and grime.

It was just before dawn, the sun about to rise, the dark clouds reflecting the sunlight from below the horizon, hinting at a clearing sky. The eastern sky was filled with beautiful morning clouds, like magnificent rainbows stretching across the sky, incredibly beautiful and stunning.

Moved by the moment, Xu Mo lay down on the peak. The rain fell on his face and body, then flowed down to the crevices below. The peak was unusually quiet, with only the sounds of wind and rain. He opened his eyes, looked up at the sky, and felt the vastness and boundlessness of the world.

Just then, a loud thunderclap echoed across the peak, followed by a huge lightning bolt.

Xu Mo couldn't help but close his eyes, feeling the coolness of the mountain rain, enjoying the unique and mysterious silence, feeling as if he had merged with the mountain peak, and everything in the world had disappeared, leaving only himself.

He quietly savored this mysterious feeling, even after the rain stopped, he was reluctant to get up.

The sun came up, and the sunlight shone on his face. Xu Mo opened his eyes and stood up. After the heavy rain, a rainbow appeared in the sky, stretching from one mountain to another. Xu Mo couldn't resist shouting towards the distant mountains, his voice echoing through the valley, creating a beautiful harmony with the original sound.

Inspired, he stayed on the mountain until noon before descending, feeling that his state of mind had subtly improved.

However, there was a small mishap on the way down. The mountain had just been rained on, making the rocks slippery, and descending was more difficult than ascending. Xu Mo accidentally slipped and fell, cutting his thigh and bleeding.

Although the injury was not serious, the bleeding was alarming, and treatment in the mountains was inconvenient. Infection was a real concern.

He took off his T-shirt, wrapped it around his leg, and limped down the mountain. By this time, a long time had passed, and the bleeding had stopped, but he still felt a slight pain in the wound. Xu Mo, too lazy to cook, limped to the wild fruit forest to find some wild fruit to eat.

Most of the trees in the wild fruit forest were wild mango trees, and the mangoes were already ripe. Xu Mo didn't bother to pick and store them, letting them fall to the ground, so he didn't need to climb the trees to pick them; he could just pick them up from the ground.

But as he approached the edge of the forest, he suddenly smelled a peculiar odor. He turned his head and saw that the smell was coming from a small white flower.

Strangely, when he smelled the white flower, he felt a slight tingling and itching sensation in his wound. The sensation was very faint, and if not for his powerful sense of touch, he might not have noticed it.

He had been injured before and knew that this tingling and itching sensation only occurred when a wound was healing. Clearly, the scent of the white flower was aiding the healing process.

The white flower was clearly a medicinal plant, capable of healing wounds and having a miraculous effect. Just by smelling it, his wound had reacted.

Of course, the reaction was very weak, possibly not even one-tenth as effective as it could be, but his powerful sense of touch allowed him to detect the subtle difference.

Excited by this realization, he bent down and picked a white flower, bringing it close to his nose to smell it again. The scent was even stronger now.

At the same time, he felt the tingling and itching sensation in his wound intensify.

"Looks like my guess was right," Xu Mo thought, even more delighted. He picked all the flowers from the white plant, a total of seven, and crushed them into a paste.

He then unwrapped the T-shirt from his wound and applied the paste. The white flower's effect was indeed miraculous. Almost immediately, he felt a cool sensation in his wound, and the tingling and itching became more intense, making the pain more bearable.

He picked a few mangoes to eat, sat down, and, inspired by this experience, had a sudden idea: "Since I have nothing to do on the mountain, why not try to identify medicinal herbs? According to legend, Shen Nong tasted hundreds of herbs, but he didn't have my powerful five senses."

"Using my sense of smell and taste to understand the properties of herbs, and my sense of touch to precisely control the effects of the herbs in my body, I can directly explore the essence of the herbs and make the most reasonable combinations based on the most direct and specific needs. If I can fully understand the properties of all herbs, can't I cure all the diseases that my body can feel?"

"Moreover, once I understand the properties of the herbs, I can rely on my powerful sense of touch to know exactly what my body needs and lacks when I get sick, and take the appropriate medicine. Wouldn't that mean there are no incurable diseases?"

This was just an idea, and whether it would work still needed to be tested. Even if it did work, it would take a long time to understand the properties of all the herbs in the world.

Living in seclusion in the mountains, he had no thought of leaving. He came up with this method solely to treat himself when he got sick.

He had never studied medicine and knew nothing about traditional Chinese medicine, but according to his theory, if he succeeded, his medical skills would far surpass those of any doctor in the world.

After all, throughout history, no doctor had such powerful five senses, and he relied not on traditional Chinese medicine knowledge but on the most precise control of his body's needs and the essence of the herbs.

With this in mind, he wasted no time and started pulling up plants from the ground, tasting them.

In traditional Chinese medicine, the variety of herbs is extremely diverse, and almost anything can be used as medicine. The key lies in treating specific diseases and how to combine them.

Xu Mo had heard some of this before, so he was not picky. He pulled up a wild grass and tasted its roots, stems, leaves, and seeds.

Although his powerful sense of smell and taste could identify the properties of the herbs, it was not enough to precisely determine their uses just by smelling or tasting them. He had to eat them and rely on his most genuine sense of touch to understand their effects.

The wild grass was bitter and astringent. As soon as he tasted it, he almost vomited, making 'phew phew' sounds, but he forced himself to swallow it. Before he could sense anything, his stomach started to rumble.

He called out, "Not good!" and clutched his stomach, running into the forest.