Blue, Red and White Dark Abyss Cauldron

The next morning, Chu Xiaomu didn't even have time to eat breakfast at home. He tore off half a piece of dry biscuit and chewed it while walking. He hurriedly pulled Yang Dou and went straight to the home of the spiritual doctor Huai Fucao.

The two men came outside the yard. Chu Xiaomu asked Yang Dou to move a stool and sit in the middle of the yard gate, while he went straight to knock on Huai Fucao's door.

Huai Fucao was holding a half-basin of water and was about to wash up when he heard someone knocking on the door. He had to put down the basin and open the door.

Chu Xiaomu bowed as soon as he entered the door and said, "Teacher, I am here to pay my respects to you." He then bowed and kowtowed again, performing the ceremony of paying homage to his teacher.

Huai Fucao quickly supported him and said, "I haven't agreed to take you as my apprentice yet, so I can't do such a big gift."

Chu Xiaomu said, "Uncle Huai, I sincerely want to learn spiritual arts, so please accept me."

Huai Fu Cao glared at him and said, "There are many people who want to learn spiritual arts. Whether we can accept you depends on whether you are suitable."

Chu Xiaomu immediately said: "I am definitely suitable."

Huai Fucao said, "Your own words don't count." He raised his lips and said, "Besides, how can you come to learn from a master empty-handed?"

Chu Xiaomu slapped his forehead and said, "I forgot about this. I will make it up some other day."

Huai Fucao coughed twice and said, "It's not urgent." Then he asked, "Why do you want to learn such a useless spiritual technique?"

Chu Xiaomu said: "The Snow Countryman that Grandpa and I rescued was named Bai Yixing. When I saw him for the first time, I knew he was a good man, so I had to save him. We on Baihua Island cannot let good people suffer."

Huai Fucao said, "You have always been kind-hearted, and our entire village knows this. Moreover, you have a good physique and abundant essence, so it is not a big deal to pass on the spiritual arts to you. However, these are secondary in our Baihua Island. The most important thing is to look at the mind and the spiritual platform."

Chu Xiaomu asked: "Mind and spirit platform, what are those?"

Huai Fucao said, "I can't explain exactly what the heart and the spirit are. But the heart is like a river, and the spirit is like a lake or sea. The art of asking the spirit is actually to connect with the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, and to find answers among all things. Therefore, the spirit must be deep and the heart must be unobstructed. Otherwise, it will be very harmful to the body. At the very least, it will cause a serious illness, at the worst, it will cause loss of mind, and at the worst, it will be life-threatening."

He added: "I did not pass on the art of asking spirits to my descendants with the surname Huai. Besides the fact that my family member tried to stop me from doing so, it was also because their spiritual platforms were not deep enough and their minds were a little blocked, so they really could not learn it."

Chu Xiaomu said: "Then please take a look at my mind and spirit platform. Are I suitable for learning this spiritual art?"

Huai Fucao said, "Don't worry, wait until more people come at noon and I'll take the test together." After that, he washed his face, rinsed his mouth, and sat down on a chair in the middle of the room without saying anything else.

But the two of them sat from morning to noon, and from noon to noon, but no one came.

The herbal tea in the cup of Sophora japonica had been brewed over and over again, and it had long since become bland and tasteless. I couldn't help but mutter to myself, "It's really strange, no one came today, and clearly several young men told me they were coming last night."

Chu Xiaomu was secretly laughing in his heart. It turned out that he had pulled Yang Dou over and asked him to guard the gate. Whenever someone came to learn spiritual arts, he would stop them outside the door and say that you are late, Huai Lingyi has already accepted an apprentice, please go back.

If someone insisted on going in to see Huai Fu Cao before leaving, he would say that Huai Ling Doctor was teaching spiritual arts at a critical time, and if you rashly go in at this time, he will definitely get seriously ill, so what should you do? People who come to learn spiritual arts are naturally afraid of causing trouble, so they will probably just give up and turn back in dismay.

After waiting for another cup of tea, Huai Fucao patted his clothes and sat up, saying: "Well, at least there is someone who is willing to learn my spiritual inquiry technique. Xiaomu, come in with me." After that, he walked into the inner hall.

Chu Xiaomu followed Huai Fucao through the inner hall, then through a corridor, and came to a small side room behind the main house.

The house is filled with a strong medicinal aroma, which makes one feel extremely comfortable.

Huai Fucao sat on a wooden chair in the room and said, "Xiaomu, you can become my disciple now."

Chu Xiaomu was extremely excited and quickly performed the ceremony of bowing three times to pay homage to his teacher. Just as he was about to call him teacher, Huai Fucao waved his hand to stop him.

Huai Fucao said: "Although you have become my disciple, I can only be considered your external tutor, not your teacher. I need to tell you the reason behind this."

Chu Xiaomu nodded.

Huai Fucao did not say anything but asked: "Do you believe in spiritual energy?"

Chu Xiaomu scratched his head and said, "I often hear adults talk about it, but I have never seen it. I think spiritual energy is the same as ghosts, they are all used to deceive children, so I don't believe it."

Huai Fu Cao said: "Spiritual energy does exist, but we just can't see it with our naked eyes. The rotation of the sun and moon in the sky, the changes of the stars, the collapse of mountains and cracks of rocks, the wind and rain on the ground are actually related to spiritual energy. If the spiritual energy is relaxed, it nourishes all things. If the spiritual energy is chaotic, it breeds spirits and monsters. If there is no spiritual energy, it is chaos and there is nothing..."

"When the world was first created, humans and spirits were born. They were born together, but they took very different directions, so that thousands of years later, humans and spirits took different paths. Humans are nourished by all things, so they can be passed down from generation to generation, and there is no end to life; spirits are tempered by all kinds of spiritual energy, so they can maintain their divine appearance and live forever."

"Humans are born with six orifices, two ears, two eyes, mouth and nose. These six orifices are connected to the outside world. Through hearing, seeing, smelling and tasting, we can sense things around us, big or small. Unfortunately, we can't see more than a thousand feet, hear more than a hundred feet, smell more than ten feet, and taste less than three feet. We can't reach far."

"Besides the six orifices, there is actually another orifice, which is the heart orifice. The heart orifice is invisible and formless. We don't know its size or shape, nor do we know where it exists in the human body. However, through it, we can sense everything in the world, as far as the ends of the earth and as deep as the cracks in the earth. The six orifices in the head are far inferior to this orifice. Alas, far inferior to this orifice."

"Everyone in the world has a mind, but why are there so few people who can open it? There are two reasons. One is that they don't know its use, and the other is that they don't know how to open it. If you don't know its use, you won't think about opening your mind; if you don't know how to open it, you won't know where to start. For example, the black-backed puffin has two wings, but when it was a chick, it didn't know that the wings could help it fly high. After it grew up, it didn't know how to use the wings to fly high, so it will never fly for the rest of its life."

"Whether one's mind can be opened depends not only on the right method, but also on one's talent. People with excellent talent are born with clear minds, like the bright moon and the breeze, which illuminate everything, but such people are rare. People with average talent need the help of tools to open their minds."

Chu Xiaomu was stunned by what he heard. He had never thought that there was an invisible and intangible mind in his body. If he could open it, he wondered what a magical experience it would be.

I became even more curious about the art of asking questions.

Chapter 29: Magical Opening of Heart

"My Huai clan has passed down an ancient method of opening the heart's orifice. It uses a few Yin-Yang spiritual instruments, supplemented by Guixu medicine, to help people open their hearts and receive spiritual instruments. However, the process will cause great discomfort to the body. If you can't tolerate it, the heart's orifice will be blocked and closed, and it will be even more difficult to open it again in the future..."

"After the mind is opened, one can feel the world around by connecting to the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. The clearer the mind is, the easier it is to ask questions of the spirit and the clearer one can see. The spiritual platform is a person's spiritual energy. The thicker and broader the spiritual platform, the farther one can ask questions of the spirit. It is said that people with the purest, largest and broadest spiritual platforms can reach heaven and earth, and even the universe."

"The spirit-asking technique is actually to sense the spiritual energy between heaven and earth after the mind is opened, and to find the answer you want through the changes in the spiritual energy. This technique breaks the barrier between human spirits and disturbs the natural flow of spiritual energy. Therefore, it is feared by many strange spirits. If it is used frequently, it will definitely attract the attention of various spirit kings and scattered spirits, and then it may be fatal."

"The soul-asking technique consumes a lot of human essence when used, hurts the soul, and disturbs the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. It is not considered a legitimate technique. Therefore, you cannot call me a teacher. At most, I am a tutor. I teach you this technique to help you out of your current predicament and because I don't want it to be lost. But you should not use it if you can, and you must not use it many times in a row. Remember, remember..."

Huai Fucao also explained one by one the various things that need to be paid attention to when opening the heart.

Chu Xiaomu memorized them one by one and thought to himself: "This soul-asking technique looks simple, but it's not difficult at all."

After talking for more than an hour, Huai Fu Cao finally finished talking. He pointed to a straw mat next to a small table in the room and told Chu Xiaomu to sit cross-legged on it, then he started searching through a pile of cabinets against the wall.

Chu Xiaomu sat down as he was told and didn't ask any more questions. He just looked around the house.

The room was very messy. There was a small table in the middle, on which were placed more than a dozen small ceramic bottles painted in various colors. Next to the small table was a three-foot-high desk, on which were piled some large and small jars, as well as a dozen dried herbs. There were a dozen or so large and small wooden boxes piled up in a mess against both walls, and Huai Fucao was currently rummaging through one of the boxes.

After a while, Huai Fucao found two pairs of snow-white jade pieces, a black half-foot ring, eight cylindrical water cups, eight tripod oil lamps, and a small black pottery bottle. Then he rummaged through another cabinet and found a tightly wrapped set of medicinal herbs.

He said, "These are used to open the heart acupoints and build the spirit platform. The last time I used these things was thirty-three years ago, and that was on myself. I don't know if they will work on you, the Chu people."

Chu Xiaomu asked: "Master, aren't you going to test your mind and spirit?"

Huai Fucao smiled and said, "You should call me Uncle Huai. It sounds better."

He added: "You are the only one here today, and I cannot choose the best person. So there is no need to test the mind and spirit. I will give those brats a good scolding when I see them next time." The second half of the sentence was obviously directed at those people who had agreed to become his disciples last night but did not show up today.

Chu Xiaomu didn't dare to say anything, he just felt amused in his heart.

Huai Fucao filled eight cups with water and placed them evenly in a circle around Chu Xiaomu. He then dripped a few drops of liquid from the black ceramic bottle into each oil lamp and placed them alternately between the cups.

He explained as he arranged the eight water cups and eight oil lamps together to form a circle, which is called the Yin-Yang Double Circle.

He put a black ring on his head, saying it was called soul locking to prevent interference from external spiritual energy.

Chu Xiaomu was also asked to hold a piece of jade in each hand and hold them tightly, and the other two pieces were respectively attached to his chest and back, which was called "Four Directions Pulling the Acupoints".

Finally, he scooped a little from the medicine bag he had found with a small spoon, mixed it with half a bowl of water and gave it to Chu Xiaomu, saying, "This is called rootless water. Drink it."

Chu Xiaomu asked: "What is the use of this rootless water?"

Huai Fu Cao said, "Of course, it is used to help you open your heart and raise your spirit. Only people with the thickest and broadest spirits can open their hearts and raise their spirits without external forces. However, there are only one such person in a million. I have never heard of them, and I can't find any records of them in books. Ordinary people need more or less help from medicine, spirit formations, and exercises to open their hearts. I heard from my father that the origin of the rootless water is very great, but unfortunately he doesn't know much."

Chu Xiaomu said: "Uncle Huai, why don't we try to open my mind without using the rootless water first."

Huai Fu Cao glared at him and said, "Do you think I want to use it? Looking at your rough hands and feet and your brute strength, you don't look like someone with a clear and broad mind. If you were allowed to try this and that, the people of Snow Country would have died long ago. This rootless water is a treasure left by our ancestors, and I don't know how to make it. Now there is only half a bottle left. If you use it up, it will be gone. You'll have a good deal."

Chu Xiaomu smiled and said, "It's a pity that I have to use such a rare medicinal stone. I will go to the Maiding Island in the east to pick some small immortal herbs to compensate you."

Huai Fu Cao sneered at him and said, "Since it is called a magical grass, how can you pick it just by saying so? Stop talking nonsense and drink it quickly, or I will be reluctant to part with it later."

Chu Xiaomu drank it as he was told.

Huai Fu Cao continued, "After drinking the rootless water, you will feel extremely tired. You must concentrate on standing up as long as you can..."

In a daze, Chu Xiaomu gradually felt that his body was becoming light and he had no flesh. At the same time, an increasingly strong suction force was generated from all directions, holding him tightly. The suction force was transmitted from the soles of the feet to the calves, and then from the calves to the thighs, buttocks, waist, to the chest, abdomen, neck, and top of the head; or from the hands to the wrists, and from the wrists to the forearms and upper arms, and finally gathered at the sternum and spine.

I just felt like my whole body was like mud, and every part of it was tightly sucked by suction from all directions. It seemed that it was about to collapse to the ground piece by piece, and I couldn't move at all.

He remembered Huai Fucao's words and held on to his feet desperately to prevent his body from collapsing.

But the suction force became stronger and stronger, gradually sucking both feet to the ground, and finally turning into a ball of mud. Then the body and head were all sucked to the ground and mixed with the feet.

Chu Xiaomu's breathing became more and more rapid, and his head felt dizzy. Suddenly, he exhaled his last breath. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was still sitting on the straw mat, without any movement.

Huai Fucao looked at the water cups and oil lamps surrounding Chu Xiaomu, which had not changed at all, frowned and said, "Do it again." He mixed some more potion for Chu Xiaomu to drink.

I don’t know how long it took, but Chu Xiaomu let out his last breath with a "boo". He opened his eyes and saw that Huai Fucao was still frowning.

After trying this three times, Chu Xiaomu was sweating profusely and felt dizzy.