203: Chapter 202: Journey to Feileng Spring 203: Chapter 202: Journey to Feileng Spring Determine the direction, spur the horse into a gallop.
Several days later he entered Baiquan City in Anhe Country.
This was not the direction home; on the contrary, the path he was now on led ever further away from Shan Country.
The reason he came here was for one purpose, the Feileng Spring.
Baiquan City, as the name suggests, is famous for its numerous springs and is the only mountainous region within Anhe Country; the mountains here are generally not high, but the springs surge abundantly, easily numbering in the hundreds.
Most are ordinary mountain springs, among which some hot springs may have certain health recovery effects.
However, there are a few springs that even in the Cultivation World hold a very special significance.
Take for instance the Feileng Spring, which possesses miraculous effects in enhancing visual acuity and protecting the divine spirit, particularly suitable for those practicing skills that enhance vision.
Hou Niao’s purpose here was for his Purple Eye Skill.
According to Chong Ling Daoist, skills involving vision are difficult and time-consuming, and it is best to lay a solid foundation before reaching Tongxuan, which benefits the future growth of a cultivator’s vision greatly.
If one waits until after reaching Tongxuan and developing Divine Sense to practice this, the effects are greatly reduced and somewhat pointless.
Hou Niao highly valued the cultivation of Purple Eye, and since acquiring it from Chong Ling Daoist, he practiced diligently without cessation.
However, progress had been slow because the technique required daily observation of the rising purple sun at dawn, the setting orange sun at dusk, and the bright noon sun, which greatly strained the eyes.
Blindly increasing intensity or duration was not only unhelpful but harmful, so his daily practice could only stay at an extremely low intensity that his eyes could tolerate, naturally limiting his progress.
In the recent fight against Wu Xia Ameng, the fact that he couldn’t see his opponent throughout the fight was partly due to insufficient visual strength.
In future battles across various complex environments, possessing good visual strength holds special significance for sword cultivators who focus on bursts of intensity, which is why he was here.
It was part of a planned visit; it was also inspired by his battles, and it was conveniently along the way.
Even as a cultivator, under the roof one does not command one’s time freely; to carve out a period for himself to manage freely, he would at least need to reach Tongxuan to stand a chance.
Time waits for no one, so combining official duties with private interests, he stole some time to visit the Feileng Spring, a place Chong Ling Daoist had strongly recommended to him.
As compensation for Zhengxing taking a few hundred Spirit Stones, he felt he stood on solid ground.
Although Feileng Spring was a mountain spring, the location belonged to a private property, currently owned by a Cave Mansion of a Tongxuan Upper Cultivator, making it nearly impossible for outsiders to use the spring water for eye washing, and very few even knew of its existence.
In Anhe Country, there are many cultivators who reach Tongxuan without being employed by the Daoist Sect, a direct result of Anhe Daoism’s traditionally lax practices.
By letting things take their natural course, the lack of strict discipline and organization like that of the Quanzhen Sect resulted in easier assimilation and recruitment by others, failing to unite and form a resistance.
This Upper Cultivator had some relations with Chong Ling Daoist’s mentor and had agreed to accept one of his disciples to cleanse their eyes with the Feileng Spring.
Chong Ling was given this opportunity, but he personally did not pay much attention to it, as it was contrary to his Daoist doctrine.
Chong Ling cultivated the heart; thus, his eyes should not be too clear.
This benefitted Hou Niao and also significantly added to his psychological burden.
Chong Ling truly valued him, even though they had initially met with some disdain for the Daoist’s indifferent and indecisive demeanor.
The mountain was named Jingyang Mountain, and the cave named Ancient Banyan Cave; the blind Daoist, nurturing his remnants, cultivating on his own.
The mountain was not large, nor dangerous; the cave was not deep, nor did it have any formations; Hou Niao easily located the place, but it hardly looked like a cultivator’s retreat.
Animal droppings and bird tracks were everywhere, with rotting leaves and dead branches all around, showing no signs of human modification, just chaotic natural changes.
In this world where nature still belonged to living creatures, living in seclusion alone required courage, unless one could completely blend with nature, harmonizing as one, making Demon Beasts regard you as one of them.
It seemed this blind Daoist was of this sort.
With no need for deliberate defenses, truly achieving this, the creatures of the mountain became your protector Magic Beasts.
As soon as Hou Niao set foot in Jingyang Mountain, he felt a constant surveillance following him, he knew it was the master of the creatures in the mountain; he could not retreat, for then he would never have another chance to wash in the Spiritual Spring.
He persevered all the way to the Ancient Banyan Cave, aware that an innumerable number of creatures were watching him, yet he pretended not to notice.
Following Chong Ling Daoist’s instructions, he lit a stick of Grass Head Incense outside the cave and then waited in silence.
The Grass Head Incense, a gift from Chong Ling, was essentially a way to knock on the door; it was a bit of a gamble, feeling that if the incense burned out and the master had not appeared or had gone somewhere else, this opportunity would be wasted.
Normally, one stick of incense lasts for two quarters of an hour, but for some reason, this stick of Grass Head Incense, perhaps because it was old, burned particularly fast, turning to ash in less than a quarter of an hour.
Soon even those ashes were swept away cleanly by the mountain wind.
There was no echo from within the cave; perhaps the scent of the incense needed a bit more time to drift inside?
Hou Niao patiently continued to wait.
He didn’t hear any response, but instead, he noticed an increasing number of mountain beasts peering from not too far away.
And he could even feel the presence of Demon Beasts among them, their realms unclear.
Several hours later, as evening approached, he knew he had to make a decision.
Being in unfamiliar wilderness at night posed a challenge even for a human cultivator, and it was not something one would undertake without necessity.
Should he continue to wait, or should he leave?
He knew if he chose to leave now, there would be no other opportunity, no chance to return during daylight; but if he stayed put, what about these increasingly restless mountain beasts?
If even one of them charged at him, it would undoubtedly lead to a brawl.
He had a realization that he must not engage in conflict with the beasts of this mountain.
He didn’t know the language of beasts, nor did he want to endure everything just to avoid conflict; when he had this epiphany, recalling all the events of his journey into the mountain, he suddenly understood something.
When he first entered the mountain, there weren’t so many beasts paying attention to him.
But as he went deeper, more vigilant and anxious, the attention he attracted increased.
So, could it be that if he were less anxious and less vigilant, he would attract less attention?
And perhaps, the current attention which is turning into hostility might decrease?
It might not be right, but it was indeed worth a try.
Forcing himself to give up fear and lower his guard was very difficult; it almost meant entrusting his life to the unknown, which is not a responsible attitude towards life for a cultivator.
So, he first forced himself to think about other things—cultivation, experiences, the past, romantic adventures.
Then he began to slowly withdraw his senses from exploring the outside world.
He stopped listening, stopped smelling, stopped watching!
Then, he felt vaguely that some mountain beasts were leaving: “What a thing; this isn’t fun at all.”
His gamble paid off; since a blind Daoist could coexist peacefully here with the mountain beasts, it proved that they had the potential, as long as you did not provoke them.
A voice came from inside the cave.