Three months ago Author: Xun Chun Xu Zhou
Chapter 17: Clear Microscopic Symbol Encounters Cognitive Barrier (4k) He said he was heading east.
However, perhaps due to the lack of urgency and crisis of being pursued, although aware that he was racing against the demonic qi within his body, Chu Weiyang's pace inevitably slowed down.
After a full day and night of travel, Chu Weiyang found himself still lingering in this wilderness and forest, without seeing any other paths to take.
This was a common sight to the south of the Yusi River, as the prevalence of demonic cultivators and wandering cultivators led to ruthless and cold-hearted individuals.
Over time, the area became sparsely populated, with vast stretches of desolate mountains and wild landscapes.
This desolate and vast land attracted fugitives who only wanted to disappear into the wilderness, as if the wide sea allowed fish to leap and the high sky let birds fly freely.
In this way, like a kind of eerie cycle, the Yusi River divided the north and south, making this wilderness a place of rampant demonic cultivators and wandering sects.
Therefore, this desolate wilderness harbored unfathomable dangers.
But for Chu Weiyang, the wilderness was also a barrier, blocking his greatest crisis at the moment.
With his mind relaxed, Chu Weiyang's thoughts also became active.
His daily cultivation was no longer limited to the "Five Organs Qi Cultivation Technique" and the "Springtime Sword," but instead, he held a Daoist book, flipping through it absentmindedly.
Occasionally, he would call the stable boy out of the basket, bow his head, and discuss something in detail.
After a while, feeling a bit tired from walking, Chu Weiyang simply stopped, shook the basket, and casually broke off two branches from a nearby tree, drawing on the soft ground.
In no time, Chu Weiyang sketched out several twisted and crooked snake-like patterns.
With just a glance, the stable boy seemed to twitch his mouth as if experiencing a toothache.
Judging by his expression, he seemed more infuriated than if he had seen Chu Weiyang devouring beef and mutton voraciously.
With one hand resting on the edge of the basket and the other clutching the branch, the stable boy seemed to regain the feeling of wielding a whip, striking a few times in the air, the whistling sound seemingly venting his anger.
"I thought you were just lacking in talent in swordsmanship, but now, as someone who managed to escape from the Demon-Sealing Cave, knowing a few Thunder Seals and Cloud Inscriptions, why are you struggling so much?"
"Let me tell you, this 'Clear Microscopic Thunder Cloud Seal Script' is more basic in the Sword Sect than the Four Seasons Sword! Even in the Demon-Sealing Cave, I only used it as a coaster!"
"Strange! Really strange!"
"You don't seem like someone with a flawed mind, nor like a madman who has lost his sanity. Everything was fine, so why... why do you seem to have a deep-seated cognitive barrier towards swordsmanship and inscription?"
"In theory, it shouldn't be like this, it doesn't make sense!"
"Even though the paths of righteousness and evil diverge, they both lead to the path of cultivation. You were taught by the Panwang Sect since you were seven..."
"How could there be a cognitive barrier? But why does this cognitive barrier not hinder your cultivation of the 'Five Organs Qi Cultivation Technique'?"
"Truly a talented person with a handicap."
"There's no way, to obtain inscription symbols, the 'Five Organs Qi Cultivation Technique' won't help you. You have to memorize it by heart. Once you have memorized it proficiently, it's still a method of entering a meditative state. When you are free from distractions, you may obtain a few inscriptions. It all depends on your own destiny!"
"In the future, whether it's inscriptions, artifact refining, or setting up restrictions, they all rely on these few inscriptions as the foundation, as the starting point."
Saying this, the stable boy gripped the branch in his hand and lightly drew a few marks on the empty ground, completing a Thunder Seal inscription.
It looked similar to the twisted snake-like patterns Chu Weiyang had drawn earlier, but to anyone who looked at it, the former seemed like child's scribbles, while the latter, neatly and elegantly, exuded an indescribable sense of gracefulness, as if it was done effortlessly and naturally.
Watching the Thunder Seal written by the stable boy, Chu Weiyang rarely clicked his tongue, reached into his sleeve, picked up a Bai Cao Po E Dan, and swallowed it like a candy bean without even looking at it.
Even if the stable boy wrote the Thunder Seal perfectly and elegantly, Chu Weiyang couldn't understand why such intertwining lines could represent a certain Dao and method, a certain natural rule, a certain celestial phenomenon! He couldn't understand the reason behind it.
He even realized that perhaps he shouldn't have immediately raised the difficulty of his confusion to the point of directly addressing the essence.
But a certain inertia of thought made Chu Weiyang almost instinctively think about the problem in this way from the very beginning.
Just as the stable boy pointed out the "cognitive barrier," Chu Weiyang instantly understood everything.
He understood why he wasn't outstanding in swordsmanship and inscriptions, and why he displayed exceptional talent and acceptance in a method that focused on nourishment.
In a moment of reverie, Chu Weiyang almost felt a sense of detachment from the vast world.
But in the next moment, as the medicinal power of the pill melted from the stomach and the steaming clear stream pulled Chu Weiyang's mind back, a moment of dizziness, almost indescribable, overwhelmed him.
At this moment, as if sensing something, the stable boy suddenly turned to Chu Weiyang.
"Is your mind wavering? If it's too exhausting, you can put the inscription symbols aside for now. Perhaps when you comprehend the Spring Equinox Sword Intent, the situation will improve significantly, after all, it is a rare sword that nurtures the spirit!"
"Understand, your first priority has never been to become a prodigy or a greedy genius. You are just a sick ghost who escaped from the Demon-Sealing Cave, trying to find a way to survive is what you should focus on!"
With these words, Chu Weiyang finally settled his mind completely.
He grinned and looked at the stable boy. "That's enough. If you poke my lung again, I'll have to entertain you properly!" The stable boy smiled somewhat indifferently. "Debts must be repaid. Even if not this time, there will be a next time. I'm not afraid of you holding me accountable, I'm not afraid of you killing me with a sword. I'm only afraid that you'll go completely insane, and I'm afraid that I'll be worse off then!" Chu Weiyang paused in his actions.
He looked at the stable boy with a puzzled expression.
Unlike the initial adjustments in the wilderness, or the numerous tests the stable boy had conducted along the way, this time, the stable boy clearly expressed his true thoughts without any ambiguity or unrealistic statements.
Somehow, Chu Weiyang suddenly recalled the chaotic scenes in the Demon-Sealing Cave.
"In theory, we don't have any deep-seated enmity."
The stable boy nodded.
"But many things in the world cannot be explained by theory."
"Otherwise, Guo Dian shouldn't have died, and I shouldn't have suffered like this."
"But you did teach me swordsmanship and inscriptions."
"I also know that in these days, the phantom pain in your mind has also tormented you."
"So, when you no longer want to live one day, or when I'm really about to go crazy..."
"The Spring Equinox Sword Intent is not bad."
"I'll send you off when the time comes!"
As the words fell, the stable boy leaned against the basket, as if finally letting out a sigh of relief.
Rarely did a look of fatigue and weariness appear on his face.
"Good, very good!"
"It's a pity that if we had met in a different way, we could have been friends."
Chu Weiyang shook his head noncommittally.
"Fate is hard to predict. There are few things in the world that can be certain. Think back to the disasters, joining the Demon Sect, and suffering in the Demon-Sealing Cave. How many of these things could I control? Now fleeing to the east in a hurry, every day I can survive is a gain. How can we dare to say that our meeting in the vast sea of people was predestined?"
Listening to Chu Weiyang's reflections, the stable boy also rarely sighed with an extremely weak tone.
"Indeed, there are few things in the world that one can be certain of..."
Sighing, the stable boy slowly closed his eyes and, within a few breaths, fell into a deep sleep in front of Chu Weiyang.
At this moment, all of the stable boy's vulnerabilities were exposed in front of Chu Weiyang.
With half of his body crushed into mud, during this time, the stable boy endured a kind of pain that Chu Weiyang could not imagine, and still had to maintain his spirit to deal with Chu Weiyang.
At the beginning, the stable boy had tried to negotiate with Chu Weiyang, trying to find a way out, wanting to exchange his swordsmanship for survival.
But at some point, the stable boy stopped mentioning such things.
Only a brief period of torment seemed to have made him lose his spirit, causing his mind to almost collapse.
Watching the stable boy fall into a deep sleep, Chu Weiyang seemed to have a premonition.
Even if his cultivation was fruitless, perhaps in the not too distant future, the stable boy would die before him.
Shaking his head, Chu Weiyang picked up the basket.
Lifting his foot, he was about to erase the Thunder Seal on the ground.
But when he glanced at it again, Chu Weiyang's movement suddenly stopped.
At this moment, those twisted and intricate words, those seemingly complex patterns, had somehow been deeply imprinted in Chu Weiyang's memory without him realizing it.
The cognitive barrier still existed, but Chu Weiyang seemed to have accepted this Thunder Seal completely in his memory, even though he didn't understand it.
When did this change occur? It's inconceivable that agreeing to the stable boy's intention to kill him would result in such a reward...
Even immortals in the world do not have such reasoning.
Upon careful reflection of the recent events, Chu Weiyang suddenly thought of the momentary dizziness in his mind.
The two lifetimes in Chu Weiyang's mind were a secret, the root of his cognitive barrier, the origin of some strange talent.
Since such bizarre events had occurred, there was no reason why there wouldn't be further mystical occurrences.
Pondering carefully.
"The Daoist scriptures say, 'In the profound entrance of the Dao, observe the true without illusions, let the mind flow into oblivion, understand its meaning, forget its form, this is the true essence of the Dao.'"
"During that moment of dizziness, the fragmented memories of past and present intertwined in my mind. In that moment, not knowing oneself, not knowing others; neither having self nor other. This seems to be a state of entering profound meditation, as if truly understanding the realm of true without illusions..."
"But my mind was not empty at that time, nor did I forget..."
"I can't understand it, so I won't think about it. I'll try to replicate it when the stable boy wakes up. " Vaguely, Chu Weiyang speculated that after mastering a unique way of comprehending sword intent, he might develop a unique way of learning inscriptions. -
North of the Yusi River.
In the wilderness and forest, Xie Jiang and Jin Guan flew through the air, following the direction Chu Weiyang had fled, tracking his every move.
In fact, during the chaotic escape, Chu Weiyang hadn't completely erased all traces.
In the eyes of Xie Jiang and Jin Guan, the traces of this journey were as clear as observing patterns in the palm of their hands.
Another stone platform.
The two furrowed their brows, looking at a pile of fire marks, broken bones, and sword marks, lost in thought.
After a while, Jin Guan finally spoke slowly. "The 'Springtime Sword' in his hands has truly been desecrated! From the Demon-Sealing Cave to this place, he hasn't even mastered the thirty-six sword moves... tsk..." Hearing Jin Guan's words, Xie Jiang immediately understood his implied meaning. "What's wrong? Do you think chasing him like this is a waste of time?" Jin Guan remained silent, seemingly agreeing.
Xie Jiang shook her head.
"Regardless of this person's talent, even if he were an illiterate fool, carrying the Four Seasons Sword Technique, he is a disaster that our sect must eradicate! Have you ever thought that if he were to pass on the Four Seasons Sword Technique to the demonic sects and wandering cultivators, what kind of impact it would have?"
"Junior Brother, you haven't walked the worldly path, so you don't see some truths as clearly."
"Even in the bustling markets of the southern wilderness, where the most deceitful people gather, very few would trade the most inferior techniques."
"Even the most inferior techniques have always been kept secret!"
"If you sell a technique to someone, the first thing that person thinks about is finding an opportunity to kill you, because from that moment on, the person who knows the secrets of their techniques, the key points, and the vital gates, is you!"
"And those who practice the same technique as you will try to eliminate you before you make such a trade!"
"Because once this transaction is successful, there will be another person in the world who knows the secrets of their techniques..."
"Unless it's the sect, gathering those who practice the same technique in such harmony."
"But the sect has protected you too well."
"It's just a spiritual object, losing it will only add another artifact to the world that doesn't belong to us."
"But if the Four Seasons Sword Technique spreads, in the future, for hundreds of years, it may be the first breach in the dam of the long river!"
"The consequences are endless!"
Hearing Xie Jiang's words, Jin Guan's expression became serious.
Perhaps because he had also entered through the Four Seasons Sword Technique, he felt a sense of empathy.
"Indeed... following Senior Sister out has broadened my horizons..."
"This villain must be killed!"
"We must eradicate him thoroughly!"
Just as they spoke fiercely, at some point, a hoarse voice suddenly came from behind the two.
"Little children, who should be killed? How do you plan to eradicate them?"
As the words fell, Xie Jiang and Jin Guan were startled! They could hardly believe that someone had silently approached them from behind, and the voice seemed to be right next to their ears! Their hearts pounding, Xie Jiang turned her head back with difficulty.
Not far behind the two, a symbol radiated an illusory light, condensing into the form of an old woman in mid-air.
Grinning awkwardly, Xie Jiang revealed an unattractive smile. "Xie Jiang, a disciple of the Qingquan Daoist under the Jieyun Mountain lineage of the Qianyuan Sword Sect, greets the Danxia Old Mother of the Tingchang Mountain." At the words, the illusory old woman nodded with a smile. "Good child, I've seen you, but you haven't answered my question yet!"