Under the fatigue and sleepiness, Ye Qin felt as if he was drifting away, and his soul seemed to be attracted by something, and it unconsciously left the body.
When he suddenly woke up, he had already returned to the cave.
"It's strange, weren't you practicing outside just now? Why are you back here all of a sudden?"
"Is it because I was too sleepy that I came back here unconscious, like a human sleepwalking?"
But Ye Qin remembered that he didn't seem to have the habit of sleepwalking, especially after entering the practice. He had very good control over himself. This should not happen. It was really strange.
He looked at the surrounding environment and found that the cave seemed to be a little different, but he couldn't tell what was different.
On the other hand, the bones in the cave have not changed at all.
Before Ye Qin could figure out where this strange sense of dissonance came from, there was a thin sound of strings coming from outside, as if someone was passing by.
The snake's pupils instantly turned into a vertical line, and Ye Qin looked at the cave entrance warily.
"who!"
Ye Qin climbed out quickly, so fast that there was almost only an afterimage left.
The cave is so hidden that ordinary people will never notice it. Let alone people, there are only a few animals passing by. Those animals are aware of his aura and coercion, and they are even less likely to approach here.
When Ye Qin came out of the cave, he saw a figure not far away!
He quickly chased after him.
It's really strange that someone can come close to his cave in the deep mountains and old forests.
Ye Qin's speed is very fast, and with the blessing of cultivation, it can be said that he is lightning fast, which is no exaggeration at all.
The strange thing is that no matter how fast he is, he always maintains a certain distance from the figure in front, which means that the person in front is faster than him.
Ye Qin couldn't help but feel a little surprised. According to his current level of cultivation, there were very few creatures or humans that he couldn't catch up with, unless they were not ordinary people or carried some high technology.
He looked at the surrounding scenery, and the feeling of dissonance became more and more serious. The surrounding plants seemed to be shrouded in a thin layer of fog, which looked very blurry and unreal.
As he chased farther and farther, the plants seemed more unreal.
The shadow in front of him became more and more familiar, as if he had seen it before somewhere.
Where did you see it?
All kinds of doubts came to Ye Qin's mind, just when he was puzzled.
The figure suddenly stopped, and Ye Qin was finally able to see clearly.
She has a slender figure and a relatively small frame, so she must be a woman.
Moreover, she was wearing a plain robe, somewhat similar to the style of an ancient scholar. At this moment, Ye Qin finally knew why he felt familiar!
Because at the beginning of his cultivation, Ye Qin watched the white bones in the cave, and then the white bones grew muscles. When the white bones were restored, they looked like this woman!
It was just that in order to start the path of cultivation, she didn't have time to see her appearance clearly, but now she slowly turned her body and seemed to be showing her true appearance.
For some reason, Ye Qin actually got a little excited. Could it be that he could finally see the true face of Lushan and know what the bones looked like during his lifetime?
The black hair outlines the delicate chin, the small red lips are faintly visible, and the straight bridge of the nose is like a peak.
Although the whole picture cannot be seen yet, judging from the outline, her appearance must not be much different.
But I don't know when, a layer of hazy fog suddenly appeared, blocking Ye Qin's sight. The fog became heavier and heavier, and gradually the figures seemed to merge with the fog.
The outlines become increasingly unclear.
"Why did the chain fall off at the critical moment?"
Ye Qin subconsciously wanted to step forward to see more clearly, but suddenly he felt like he was falling into an abyss.
Buzz!
He opened his eyes suddenly. The silver light in the night was like a river, flowing slowly in the mountains and rivers. Everything looked so peaceful and beautiful.
There were already many small animals gathered around him, their green bean-sized eyes silently staring at his actions, showing some curiosity.
Ye Qin was still lying on the spot where he practiced before, not moving, but he finally understood where the feeling of disobedience came from.
"It turns out it was all a dream."
Since this is a dream, everything makes sense.
It's just that Ye Qin hasn't experienced this feeling for a long time. Because of the endless training, he rarely even sleeps, let alone dreams.
Ye Qin didn't know if snakes could dream, but this was the first time he had dreamed after becoming a snake, and it was such a weird dream.
"Why did you suddenly dream about her?"
Ye Qin never believed in coincidences. He only believed in karma. Especially after he started practicing cultivation, he became more aware of the causal relationship between heaven and earth.
It's impossible for this kind of dream to appear for no reason. It must be trying to tell him something else through this.
Some people say that dreams are a language of imagery.
"Zhuangzi: Qiwu Lun" says: "If you have great enlightenment, then you will know that this is a great dream."
The ancients believed that there must always be a reason for dreams. Wang Fu once said, "Among the strange dreams, most are rewarding and less are ineffective." He believed that there is always a reason to dream.
The reasons for dreaming are known to be psychological and physiological. However, even in these two aspects known to humans and with the rapid development of science and technology, humans still cannot explain the mechanism and principle of dream formation.
It is difficult to explain what is the principle behind the formation of dreams, and why we have those strange dreams.
Dreams may seem ordinary, but they are extremely mysterious.
Some people predict the future through dreams, while others predict good or bad fortunes through dreams.
There are many dreams at night, and the soul predicts good and bad luck. Zhuang Zhou turns into a butterfly, and Lu Wangzhao flies into a bear.
Ding Gu gave birth to pine trees and nobles, Jiang Hai gained pen wisdom, Huang Liang and Wu Gorge were involved in the matter, nothing could be poor other than this.
There are many stories about dreams, such as Zhuang Sheng dreaming of butterflies, Huang Liang Yi Meng, Meng Bi Sheng Hua, Nan Ke Yi Meng, etc., all of which have always been familiar and related to dreams.
The most famous work is probably "The Interpretation of Dreams by Duke Zhou".
It is said that there was indeed a "Gong of Zhou" who could interpret dreams during the Three Kingdoms period - Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan, courtesy name Kong He, was born in the late Eastern Han Dynasty and was good at interpreting dreams. His accuracy in interpreting dreams can be said to be astonishing.
However, due to the passage of time, the authenticity can no longer be verified.
Even now, some people still think that what happens in dreams is some kind of sign or warning given by God.
Legend has it that in ancient times there was a creature with an elephant trunk, a rhino's eyes, an ox's tail, and a tiger's feet. It fed on dreams and was called the dream-eating tapir.
In "Journey to the West", there is also a story about the Dragon King of Jinghe entrusting a dream to Li Shimin in order to avoid being beheaded by Wei Zheng.
The theory of dream entrustment has a long history. Nowadays, with advanced technology, some people still believe that their deceased relatives will entrust them with dreams.
But whether it is a real dream or the psychological impact of excessive grief is unknown. After all, the human brain is a very complex structure.
At present, science has not studied it clearly, and Ye Qin, as a practitioner, has not studied it clearly either.
"Maybe dreams can be controlled?"
Ye Qin was lying on the ground, a little dazed, as if he was recalling the dream just now and gaining some understanding.
Just like his magical power of illusion, he changes the surrounding magnetic field through his mental power and reflects it into the heart of the person who sees it, creating different illusions.
Does that mean that he can also control dreams through mental power, and even enter a person's dream?
Should this be a supernatural power?
…
Ye Qin was in a daze, as if he had returned to the dream just now, but this time, he was watching everything that had happened as an outsider.
Dream is a very strange word. Some people dream often, while others seldom dream. Some people experience it from the first perspective, while others participate from the third perspective.
But according to science, everyone dreams every day, and the only difference is whether they remember it after waking up.
Ye Qin had the illusion that he was like the creator of the world at this time, and everything in the dream could change based on his thoughts.
This feeling of being in control of everything is so wonderful, as if you are in the clouds, overlooking the rolling dust.
In modern dream theory, there is a term for 'lucid dreaming', which is exactly what it is.
"Dreaming while awake..."
"The way to entrust dreams!"
By the time Ye Qin was completely freed from this mysterious and mysterious feeling, the sky was already bright.
In the black night sky, clouds are already surging, and in the east, a little glow is faintly visible, trying hard to break free from the shackles of darkness, and jump out with the red sun.
"It's a blessing in disguise. I originally wanted to accumulate the energy of all things in my body, but I accidentally realized the magical power of dreams. My hard work for so long is not in vain."
This should also be due to the emperor's liquid. After drinking the emperor's liquid, his body, mind, and soul have all undergone qualitative changes.
Now he can display the magical power of dreams, making people fall into sleep, and can also control dreams, but it is the same as the original magical power of illusion.
This magical power is also time-limited, and it requires a lot of mental power to consume. For people with strong mental power and strong self-control, the effect will be reduced accordingly.
"Either way, this is good news."
If you plant flowers intentionally, they will not bloom, but if you plant willows unintentionally, they will create shade.
Although he has not yet found a way to store the energy of heaven and earth in his body without leaking out, he has gained another magical power.
If the magical power of illusion and the magical power of dream are used at the same time, the dream and the environment are intertwined, and it is not clear whether reality or illusion can be distinguished, and there may be unexpected effects.
However, this is just Ye Qin's guess, and the details will only be known through follow-up research.
The discovery of the new supernatural power made Ye Qin feel much more relaxed, and it relieved the depression he had been feeling for the past few days. However, in the following days, Ye Qin still had no idea how to store Qi in his body.
And he tried several methods but failed.
"Since working behind closed doors doesn't work, let's go outside and take a look."
Ye Qin looked outside the mountain.
He wanted to go to the library to see if there were any ancient books, maybe he could get some inspiration from them.
Ye Qin was already extremely familiar with the road to the library, and had considerable experience in how to create 'coincidences'. The journey went smoothly without any accidents, and we looked at the buildings not far away.
Ye Qin felt as if he was separated from another world. Except for the first time he came to the library and stayed there for a long time, he had not been here for a long time.
It seems that every time I come, my mood is different.
After gaining experience, Ye Qin can now come and go without a trace when reading, leaving no traces and naturally not attracting any human attention.
Unfortunately, Ye Qin did not gain anything this time.
There are really too few records of this kind in the library. Even if there are any, they are specious or just over the top, which is not the answer Ye Qin wants at all.
He could only return without success.
In fact, the library has a wide variety of books, but there are too few books that specialize in academic fields, such as ancient books, especially those related to monasticism.
After all, the library is small and has a limited collection of books.
"Since there is no library, maybe there are some famous ancient temples. After all, alchemy mostly comes from Taoism, and every Taoist temple will have several Taoist classics."
At Ye Qin's current stage of cultivation, the ancient books he is looking for must be related to Taoism, so his goal must be on those Taoist temples, where he might be able to find something useful to him.
Of course, I have to give it a try, but I’m not sure. After all, there are so many Taoist books that cover everything. I’m not sure which Taoist temple will have which type of book.
But the problem is that Ye Qin doesn't know where there is a Taoist temple nearby. If he continues to look for it, it will waste too much time and affect his practice.
The most important thing is that it is easy to be discovered by humans and it is really inconvenient to expose yourself.
"How about asking someone else to look for it for me?"
An idea came to Ye Qin's mind, and he suddenly felt that this plan was feasible.
…
It was late summer.
The villagers at the foot of the mountain work at sunrise and rest at sunset. Since the eclipse of the Tengu moon followed by the rain of fire, there has been a heated discussion in the village again. They all say that the mountain god has appeared again.
A lot of people gathered under the big tree in the center of the village. The leader was Li Zhigang, a villager who had previously taken the observatory up the mountain to look for sky fire.
"Let me tell you, before I took that group of people up the mountain, there were a few young men who were probably young and energetic. They kept mumbling and were a little disrespectful to the mountain god. Guess what happened next?"
Li Zhigang's words aroused the curiosity of the villagers, and they couldn't help but urge: "It was you who took them into the mountain, not us, so how could we know."
"Don't be so pretentious, just tell me quickly."
Li Zhigang cleared his throat and stopped whetting everyone's appetite.
"Good guy, it turned out that a group of animals rushed out of the bushes. There were other people present at the time. Those animals rushed towards these people. Their eyes were so piercing that they could see people even in broad daylight."
"Because of this, these young men accidentally rolled down the hillside, and they fell so badly."
Li Zhigang's words were vivid and vivid. When everyone heard the climax, their breathing became a little faster. They regretted not going up the mountain. Maybe they could see the mountain god show his power.
"If I had known I would have followed him up the mountain that day."
"No wonder I said these people were in such a mess that day, and their expressions were quite weird. It turns out there are reasons like this."
They recalled the scene of animals worshiping the moon that they had seen before.
These animals are obviously closely related to the mountain god, and maybe they are the mountain god's subordinates.
"Do you think this is a punishment given to them by the mountain god? Who told them to have no respect for the mountain god?"
This statement immediately won the approval of others, "But it's not good. These people still don't believe in the existence of mountain gods. Give them some color to see how powerful the mountain gods are."
"The mountain gods are everywhere. They know everything we say and do."
"Suddenly I remembered that I haven't worshiped the mountain god today!"
"And I!"
Soon it became quiet under the big tree, and a group of people headed towards the mountain temple.
The most lively place in Longyuan Village nowadays is undoubtedly the Mountain Temple.
The temple at the foot of the mountain is filled with smoke, and there is no interruption. Not far away are the green mountains, where the temple is located, like stars over the moon.
Coupled with the smoke surrounding it, the temple with red bricks and green tiles looks even more divine.
When you walk in, you are greeted by a tall mountain god statue, and there is a vague smell of sandalwood, which makes it look very quiet and neat.
Mother and daughter Hu Xiaocao took good care of the temple. There was not even a drop of cigarette ash on the ground. The statues had to be wiped several times a day.
As the sun sets, the number of people in the temple gradually decreases.
The mother and daughter cleaned up carefully again, and when the last villager left, the woman shouted: "Xiaocao, get ready to go back."
Accompanied by the setting sun, the mother and daughter returned to the village. At this time, smoke was rising from every house, and the fragrance of food could be faintly smelled.
I also met a few villagers along the way.
"Why did the Hu family girl come back just now?"
The woman smiled and said, "A villager from next door rushed over, so it was delayed a bit."
Originally, Hu Xiaocao and her daughter were ready to leave at that time, but they turned back. I have to say that the mother and daughter were still very responsible.
Although the work in the temple is not hard, it needs to be precise. Under the supervision of the mother and daughter, there has been no trouble.
After returning home, the two made a fire to cook together. The dinner was very simple. As their lives got better and better, they could occasionally see meat on the table.
After eating, the mother and daughter cleaned up and prepared to wash up. There were no other entertainment activities, and both mother and daughter went to bed early.
As usual, he soon fell into a sweet dream.
"Xiaocao——"
Hu Xiaocao vaguely heard someone calling her name, and she felt sleepy.
"Who is calling my name?"
The sound was very close, but if you listened carefully, it seemed like it was coming from a far away place.
The surrounding environment is a bit blurry. I don't know if the light is too dark or for other reasons. It looks hazy.
Hu Xiaocao walked towards the source of the sound.
She didn't know why, but she had an intuition in her heart that this voice would not harm her.
As the sound got closer and closer, the scene in front of him became clearer, as if the thick glass had finally been wiped clean, and the scene inside could be seen clearly.
The building in front of us is suddenly the Mountain Temple!
"Ah! How did I get here!"
The most important thing is that the sound came from the mountain temple.
"Squeak——"
Hu Xiaocao pushed open the door and walked in. Looking at the mountain god statue not far away, an impossible guess came to his mind.
"Grandpa Mountain God, are you calling me?"
The statue was motionless, without any change, and looked extremely majestic. Just when Hu Xiaocao was extremely disappointed, a figure floated in front of him, accompanied by a faint fragrant wind.
"Why is there a sister here? Are you here to worship the mountain god too?"
Hu Xiaocao looked up suddenly and saw a figure wearing ancient clothes standing in front of the statue.
The figure was obviously a woman, because her hair was like a waterfall and spread around. Although it covered most of her face and looked a bit mysterious, her intuition told her that the sister in front of her must be very beautiful.
"Who are you and why are you here?"
Hu Xiaocao tilted his head. He was sure that there was no one in the mountain temple.
"Xiaocao, do you know where there is a Taoist temple nearby?"
The woman's voice was ethereal and unpredictable, as if it was floating from a very far away place. Matched with the aura around her, it seemed extraordinarily distant, making people feel a sense of awe from the bottom of their hearts.
Hu Xiaocao couldn't help but widen his eyes, looked at the woman, and then at the statue not far away, and understood everything instantly.
"Are you the messenger sent by Grandpa Mountain God?"
The woman remained unconvinced and still stood under the statue.
Hu Xiaocao firmly believed this fact, clenched his fists and said happily: "I don't know where there is a Taoist temple, but I can ask, okay?"
"Okay, then go and inquire about it."
"Don't worry, Sister Messenger, I will definitely complete the task assigned to me by Grandpa Mountain God."
Hu Xiaocao looked at the woman, her eyes full of curiosity. Because of Grandpa Mountain God, she also felt close to the messenger in front of her.
"Sister Messenger, why doesn't the mountain god come in person? Is it the mountain god who is cultivating immortality?"
"Sister Messenger, although I can't see your face clearly, my intuition tells me that you must be very good-looking."
Hu Xiaocao chattered endlessly, not afraid of life at all.
However, the messenger of the mountain god seemed to be very cold. Except for the initial dispatch of the mission, he did not say a word afterward.
Hu Xiaocao was not discouraged. After all, he was the messenger of the mountain god, so he was definitely different from mortals like them.
I wanted to say something, but my eyelids seemed to be fighting, and a heavy sleepiness came over me, and I lost all my previous energy.
Hu Xiaocao closed his eyes involuntarily, and the surrounding scenery began to become blurry, as if a pair of invisible hands were wiping all the scenes.
"Sister Messenger, are you leaving?"
The woman did not answer Hu Xiaocao. Her figure was like a dream, and became ethereal again, like the moon in the water, looking extremely illusory.
The mountains are completely quiet, except for the occasional chirping of insects, floating in the distance along with the moonlight.
Under the shining silver light, Ye Qin also slowly opened his eyes.
Judging from the effect of the illusory magical power just used, it seems to be pretty good.
Because of Hu Xiaocao's devout belief in herself, and because the child's mental strength was not very high, it was very easy to enter her dream, but there was no difficulty.
The woman just now was naturally the product of dream magic, which came from Bai Gu's lifetime. The reason why her appearance was unclear was because Ye Qin didn't know it either, so she couldn't materialize it.
But in fact, the figure transformed by the dream-like magical power is a reflection of the original bones.
'He' is classified according to circumstances. He can be male or female, and there is no need to differentiate between genders.
"The Lotus Sutra of Wonderful Dharma" says: "The body in which one should be saved is the body in which he should appear to teach the Dharma."
Just like Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, who saves all living beings, he appears in thirty-two forms, also known as thirty-two corresponding bodies, according to circumstances.
Guanyin Bodhisattva does not have the so-called gender of male and female. The female image is just a manifestation, a "appearance" that appears for the convenience of saving all living beings.
Ye Qin's magical power of dreaming actually has the same principle. The original white bones have no gender, only "phase transformation".
Later, Ye Qin felt the consumption of mental power.
"If you are an adult, the consumption may be greater than it is now, especially for those who are defensive and have strong willpower."
If there is a chance, Ye Qin will try again in the future.
His eyes fell into the distance, with deep expectation: "Now it depends on whether Hu Xiaocao can bring me any useful information."
…
The next morning.
The woman was just about to get up and cook when she heard movement from inside the room.
"Grandpa Mountain God!"
"Grandpa Mountain God!"
I heard Hu Xiaocao shouting there early in the morning. Hu Xiaocao shouted and woke himself up. When he opened his eyes, it was already bright.
Hearing her shout, the woman walked in from outside and said angrily.
"Xiaocao, what are you shouting about so early in the morning? Grandpa Mountain God, messenger of Mountain God."
Hu Xiaocao's eyes were bright, and he fell out of bed, almost dancing with excitement, "Mom, I dreamed about the mountain god grandpa and the mountain god's messenger!"
The woman disagreed with this. Hu Xiaocao talked about the mountain god every day, thought about it every day, and dreamed about it at night. It was not strange to have dreams.
Seeing the woman's unsurprised look, Hu Xiaocao continued: "This is because the mountain god thinks highly of me, so he entrusts me with dreams and arranges tasks for me."
Seeing Hu Xiaocao standing up proudly, the woman echoed, "Yes, my Xiaocao is the best, so Grandpa Mountain God pays special attention to her."
The woman did not pay attention to the content of Hu Xiaocao's dream. After all, dreams were all illusory and could not be imagined.
"Okay, hurry up and wash up and have breakfast. We have to go to the temple to work."
Hu Xiaocao was usually the most active, wanting to be the first to go to the temple and deliver the freshest wild flowers to the mountain god, but now her eyes were rolling.
"Mom, I have something important to do today. I have to complete the task taught to me by the mountain god, so I won't go to the temple today."
The woman didn't care. After all, she could take care of the things in the temple alone. "Well, I'll treat today as a day off for you."
Hu Xiaocao immediately corrected him, "It's not a holiday, it's a mission!"
The woman smiled, but she didn't expect Hu Xiaocao to become serious, "Okay, then you have to be careful."
Hu Xiaocao is a very diligent person. Because he loves women, he is busy every day and wants to help women share more tasks.
He has never been like other children in the village, running around all over the mountains and plains, and is so sensible that it makes people feel distressed. It is rare that he takes the initiative to take a rest today, and the woman will naturally agree.
(End of chapter)
