204: Chapter 203: Blind Talks by the Blind 204: Chapter 203: Blind Talks by the Blind Hou Niao completely relaxed as, at the sound of that voice, the last of the demon beasts watching him turned and walked away.
This was an Ancient Banyan Cave commonly found on Jingyang Mountain, with roots hanging down, colorful, and occasionally beams of light would enter from somewhere, creating an extremely dazzling combination of colors.
The ground was uneven, with pits and hollows, half filled with water and half solid, but it was much cleaner and tidier than outside the cave entrance.
This was a unique ecological environment of the Banyan Cave, where a kind of ecological balance took effect within the cave.
Darkness still prevailed, which didn’t trouble cultivators.
He didn’t know the depth of this Ancient Banyan Cave, having thought he would walk much farther inside, but to his surprise, he hadn’t walked a hundred yards before he saw an old Daoist, barechested and barebacked.
He was referred to as Daoist only because of Chong Ling’s introduction.
Judging from his attire, he looked more like an ordinary old man, with nothing on his person that could prove his identity.
He was leaning against a massive stalactite, his eyes like pearls but lifeless; for a cultivator who had reached the Tongxuan Realm, they were theoretically capable of altering their bodies to some extent, which meant that restoring their vision was not a difficult task.
However, with so many mysteries and oddities in the Cultivation World, no one knew whether there might be some kind of injury that a cultivator couldn’t recover from, or perhaps they chose to be that way intentionally?
Without the ability to see, one wouldn’t be confused by the illusions before one’s eyes, allowing for greater focus on the inner self.
This was a belief within the Cultivation World, and Daoist Chong Ling was one of its supporters, which was why he refused to cleanse his eyes.
Of course, Hou Niao didn’t agree with this, thinking it was overgeneralizing.
“As a junior cultivator, I happened upon this opportunity and specially came here seeking the Purple Eye cleansing.”
With a hint from Chong Ling, he didn’t mention his name or background because the other party didn’t value these things and didn’t want to get involved in causality by helping him.
If you could seize the opportunity, it was your own merit; if not, it was simply fate, with nobody owing anybody anything.
Such was the temperament of the cave’s master.
“Hmm, very few know of this place, and even fewer know where it is and can wait for me.
You have the chance, the luck, and the patience to wait until now.
That is your own skill, so it’s not me giving to you, but you seeking it out yourself,” he said.
With the demeanor of an ancient cultivator, he was indeed awe-inspiring.
“Disciple understands.
I come without understanding, leave in confusion and forget immediately, not to be spoken of again,” replied Hou Niao.
The old man nodded, “Cleansing the eyes?”
Hou Niao, respectful, responded, “With Purple Eye cleansing, I seek only breadth of sight.”
The old man seemed indifferent, “Seeing farther is not as good as standing higher; seeing the truth is not as pure as a heart without blemish.
You young disciples only care for what’s before your eyes, forgetting the boundless sky above your heads.”
Hou Niao listened intently, “Senior’s teachings are correct, but when one stands higher and one’s heart is still tainted, using the cleansing to broaden one’s sight is still an emergency measure.”
The old man snorted, “Bold words!
All shortsightedness begins with this kind of attitude, which is why all you see will always be just within your sight, just on the surface.”
Hou Niao wouldn’t easily flatter anyone, and he felt that such an eccentric high-level figure, whose behaviors were out of the ordinary, wouldn’t like to be a teacher, and wouldn’t they just dismiss and ignore you if there was the slightest dissatisfaction?
“You’re talking about the goal, while I’m working on the process.
I too wish to reach that state you spoke of sooner, but since it seems so distant, I can only focus on the present.”
The old man said no more, and simply pointed upwards, “This is Feilengcui.
You can take three drops at a time, and when cultivating you feel you cannot persist, apply it to your pupils.
Cultivate according to the method, and do it three times.
You should not do it too much; using nine drops each day at dawn, noon, and dusk corresponds to the cycles of the sun, which are in alignment with heavenly numbers.”
Hou Niao bowed solemnly, “Received from heaven, I will honor it as heavenly edict.”
The old man waved his hand dismissively, “Honor heaven?
You’d better take care of yourself first.”
The old man turned and left, vanishing without a trace, leaving Hou Niao alone to face the Feilengcui hanging about ten meters above his head, truly rippling with green and brimming with life, as if filled with some magical life power.
He didn’t know how much of the substance this produced daily and did not want to know.
Even if it were more, he wouldn’t secretly bottle it and take it away.
This was the self-discipline of a cultivator.
How foolish would a cultivator have to be to play such petty tricks in front of a senior?
The next morning, he took three drops of Feilengcui and placed them into a stone bottle.
Being a meticulous person, he didn’t know what kind of vessel could contain it, so he simply dug out two stalactites as containers in the night.
That couldn’t be wrong, could it?
In the first ray of purple light at sunrise, he opened his eyes wide, disregarding the dazzling effect of the purple light, and stared steadfastly while circulating his Purple Eye Skill, allowing his eyes to subtly and silently transform under such direct gaze until he could no longer endure.
Only then did he drop a drop of Feilengcui into his eyes, and felt a coolness penetrate straight to his mind, relieving the soreness in his eyes quickly.
Repeated three times before he stopped this form of cultivation, by which time half of the appointed time for the Purple Sun had passed.
Although he had not achieved complete success, he had persisted much longer than the mere moments he used to manage daily, which was a significant improvement.
He clearly felt that Feilengcui did not only restore fatigue in his eyes but also significantly increased the efficiency of his cultivation.
Such a cultivation session was worth many days at Yinling.
Finally, he saw some hope of success.
He wasn’t sure how long he would need to stay, but his idea was to at least reach a minor achievement in the Purple Eye, in case, even without the help of Feilengcui, he could persist in such cultivation for long periods in the future.
As for the blind elder, whose name he didn’t know, he could only refer to him as such for the time being.
After appearing on the first day, the elder had not come out again; as if very confident about everything and indifferent to his daily activities.
But Hou Niao was well aware that if a seeing person was not around, they might not know what you were doing.
But for someone who discerns the world through means other than seeing, you could never be sure.
The animals on Jingyang Mountain were plentiful, and in between his cultivation sessions, he slowly made friends with these creatures.
This was not entirely due to his own ability, but because these creatures had long been conditioned to accept human presence by the elder, which made his current situation possible.
He thought that maybe it was those hours after burning the Grass Head Incense that made the elder willing to accept him.
After all, a person who loves nature wouldn’t tolerate an outsider filled with brutality and a killing intent towards nature and other creatures.
He was surprised to find that when he stopped pondering killing swordsmanship all day, he actually connected and interacted more harmoniously with the Lonely Sword.
He understood then that even a sword itself is not completely controlled by killing; while killing might be the most dazzling aspect of a sword’s external manifestations, it’s not everything.
There is a deeper level behind it.
Such an understanding allowed him to take a crucial step forward in Sword Dao.