Chapter 18

The next day, Lu Zheng woke up in the midst of a bumpy ride, finding himself sitting on a carrying frame. It turned out that the ascetic monk had made a carrying frame with branches and was carrying him over a mountain ridge. Yesterday, he had learned the incantations from the monk, and after a bout of laughter and conversation, he felt as if he had come back to life.

Sitting on the carrying frame, he vaguely saw trees rapidly receding in the distance, and the sound of the wind whistling in his ears. Could it be that the monk was carrying him and flying? The monk was truly remarkable, Lu Zheng thought to himself, marveling at his abilities. Seeing no signs of human habitation around, he realized they were walking through a remote mountain. It then dawned on him that the monk was taking him to find someone who could cure his poison. He couldn't help but wonder, could the person who could cure him really live in the deep mountains and dense forests? It was just like the stories told by storytellers, where immortals lived high up in the mountains, deep in the clouds!

Strange, his vision was becoming blurry again, and the sounds he heard were reverting to a hollow and distant feeling. Could the poison be acting up again? He had thought he was getting better when his senses had recovered. At that moment, a flash of color caught his eye. He looked closely and saw a colorful insect crawling on a leaf, with a variety of colors all over its body, looking very beautiful.

It was just a little insect, he thought. Why can I see so clearly again? He looked at the insect again to confirm, and as he did, his gaze shifted from near to far, which startled him. The insect was actually on a branch of a tree, and that tree was on the opposite mountain!

Am I dreaming? Lu Zheng pinched his thigh, but he wasn't dreaming! He looked again, and the insect was still there, and he could even see its antennae moving! At the same time, he heard a hissing sound, which turned out to be the insect eating the leaf!

Lu Zheng was dazed. His eyes could see so far and so clearly, and his ears could hear such subtle sounds. This was truly amazing! Excited, he looked further into the distant mountains. Unexpectedly, as he did, he let out a cry and fainted.

He had thought that since his eyes could see so clearly, he might as well look at what was on the opposite mountain. The moment he opened his eyes, countless scenes of flowers, trees, rocks, soil, birds, beasts, and insects flooded into his vision. Each scene, once seen, exploded like fireworks, revealing layer upon layer of details, continuously deepening. For example, he first saw a tree, then countless trunks, and then countless leaves on each trunk, each with countless veins.

And that was just one tree! He had wanted to see the scenery of the entire mountain, so when he looked, all the visible objects on the mountain, including all the flowers, trees, rocks, soil, birds, beasts, insects, and their various patterns, even the fine hairs in the patterns, rushed into his eyes like a tidal wave. At the same time, all the sounds on the mountain, the rustling of leaves in the wind, the dripping of dew, and the buzzing of insect wings, flooded into his ears.

All of this rushed into his eyes and ears like a tidal wave. Lu Zheng's eyes and ears could not bear it, and a force within his body was directly drawn to his eyes and ears, but it was exhausted almost instantly. Then, as if his spine had been pulled out, he fainted!

When Lu Zheng woke up, he was still sitting on the carrying frame, feeling a general soreness all over his body, accompanied by waves of nausea. He felt dizzy and could not speak. The ascetic monk, who was guarding him, saw that he had woken up and asked, "Strange, what happened just now? Why did your vital energy suddenly deplete so severely?"

Earlier, the monk had heard Lu Zheng cry out and called out to him several times, but got no response. He quickly put him down to check and found that Lu Zheng had fainted. Upon closer inspection, he found that Lu Zheng's vital energy was weak and his primordial energy was rapidly depleting. Fortunately, the jade pendant on his chest, which was unusually radiant during the day, continuously replenished his vital energy and nourished his heart meridian, or he would have died immediately.

The monk couldn't understand why the boy, who had been on his back the whole time, would suddenly deplete his primordial energy so severely. Could the poison have worsened? But upon further inspection, he found no signs of the poison worsening. He gave Lu Zheng a pill to nourish his primordial energy and used his magical power to help him recover.

Lu Zheng was about to tell the monk about the strange changes in his eyes and ears, but he found that his eyes and ears had become blurry again, leaving him confused. He couldn't tell if the changes were real or if he had been dreaming. He had been in a daze lately, plagued by nightmares, and sometimes he couldn't tell what was real and what was a dream. Seeing the monk's furrowed brows, he didn't want to trouble him and said, "Nothing, don't worry, I must have had a nightmare!"

The human body's vital energy is the foundation of the physical body. Although extreme emotions, excessive indulgence in alcohol and sex, abnormal behavior, and frequent nightmares can indeed deplete vital energy, how could a nightmare cause such severe depletion? The monk thought. Lu Zheng was not a practitioner and couldn't possibly be affected by dream demons. The boy's condition was truly strange, with various problems that he had never seen or understood.

The monk couldn't find the reason for the depletion of Lu Zheng's vital energy and suspected that the poison might have some hidden evil effects. He didn't dare to delay and comforted Lu Zheng a few times before continuing on his way.

Lu Zheng thought for a while and became more convinced that what had happened earlier was not a dream. The scene was clearly real. How could his eyes and ears have such strange changes? A flash of inspiration struck him. This miraculous ability must be related to the monk. Could it be because of the incantations he had chanted with the monk? The monk had said that chanting incantations had great merit. Could this be it?

The monk had taught him the Light Incantation and the Clear Mind Incantation. Yes, with light, one can see, and with a clear mind, one can hear clearly. It must be this! Lu Zheng's mind raced, thinking he had found the key. He felt a surge of joy, thinking that the monk was indeed testing him, just like the immortals in the stories. If he had refused to chant the incantations, it would have been disastrous. The Light Incantation and the Clear Mind Incantation were for treating his eyes and ears, and the monk had hinted at this, pretending to take him to seek medical help. It was a test of both perseverance and insight, just like in the stories.

Thinking about this, Lu Zheng felt a sense of pride. He was about to tell the monk that he had seen through his test and that his eyes and ears had recovered through chanting. But then he thought that when he woke up, his eyes and ears were still blurry. It must be that the power of the incantations was not strong enough, so there were fluctuations. He decided to wait until he chanted better, showing his perseverance, and quietly recover his eyes and ears. If the monk saw his talent, he might be happy and take him as a disciple, allowing him to learn skills to avenge his brother.

With this resolve, he decided to start chanting diligently. The monk took a step and carried him up another mountain, still using his supernatural speed. Lu Zheng saw the monk moving swiftly through the mountains, using some unknown power, and was even more impressed. He gathered his mind and began chanting the Light Incantation and the Clear Mind Incantation.

In the days that followed, Lu Zheng occasionally woke up, sometimes with superhuman vision and hearing, able to see everything in detail and hear the slightest sounds. Other times, his vision and hearing were extremely blurry, almost like being deaf and blind. He speculated that the superhuman vision and hearing were the effects of chanting the incantations, while the blurriness was due to the poison acting up. He encouraged himself to work harder.

However, despite his efforts, he was still a young boy. When his vision and hearing were superhuman, he would sometimes count the leaves on the trees on the opposite mountain or observe the colors of the feathers on birds flying in the distance. This made him feel both curious and proud, and it helped pass the time on the journey. But after a while, his vision would blur again, and he would feel dizzy, falling back into a deep sleep.

Lu Zheng would wake up at intervals, sometimes for a long time, sometimes for a short time. When he woke up, he might be on the carrying frame, or by a campfire. Sometimes he would chant scriptures and incantations with the monk, who seemed tireless, carrying him over mountains and rivers. Lu Zheng was moved and grew closer to the monk, developing a sense of dependence.

His eyes and ears seemed to be undergoing significant changes, sometimes incredibly clear, and sometimes blurry. Once, he heard the sound of ants eating and the sound of a leaf curling and falling to the ground, which sounded as loud as a cough to him. He even heard the monk's heartbeat and breathing, like a muffled thunder. But when the monk put him down to meditate, he couldn't hear the monk's heartbeat.

Another time, he saw a butterfly on a rock on the opposite mountain, and the patterns on its wings were clearly visible, beautiful and intricate. He was delighted, but when he woke up again, his eyes and ears were blurry. He was frustrated, but when he woke up again, his eyes and ears were clear again, though not as exaggerated as before. His dizziness had improved, but his limbs were still immobile, which puzzled him.

After several such experiences, he realized that when his vision and hearing were superhuman, he must not look or listen, or he would faint. So, he would close his eyes and cover his ears, focusing on chanting the incantations. Gradually, the incantations seemed to resonate naturally in his mind, echoing throughout his body and soul.

PS: I went out this afternoon, so I updated early. Please recommend, collect, and support!

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