Chapter 7: Caught in the Act in the Room
There are still many things waiting to be discovered, perhaps some of which I cannot even imagine. The old master said, "Let's stop here for today; it is clear that you are already very tired. Rest assured, I will ensure that you sleep soundly until tomorrow morning without any dreams or disturbances. When there is no one around tonight, I will set up the magic array, which will make it much easier for you to rest in the future. I remember I have other items with similar functions; let me find them and I will give them to you tomorrow. This way, even if you are not at the inn in the future, you can still use them to sleep peacefully at night.
The array I set up in the hotel last night clearly did not work on you. The old master shook his head and said, Next, I will teach you a meditation technique that can enhance your mental strength, making your brain more powerful and resilient. During the meditation process, it will allow you to quickly restore a better mental state and increase your resistance to external invasive forces. This card just happens to help you enter a meditative state more effectively.
What should we do? Cheng Yun was taken aback.
Cheng Yun ordered takeout for the old master, only to find that the Anju Hotel was still not searchable on the map. Therefore, he downloaded several commonly used map applications as a backup. He then went downstairs to remind Cheng Yan to pay attention to safety while on night duty, advising her not to stay out too late, before finally returning to his room upstairs under Cheng Yan's continuous complaints.
Thank you. Cheng Yun was quite moved
an old man with completely white hair
Perhaps there lies a secret to becoming a deity! It could very well be the legacy of a certain ancient emperor from the primordial era
"No!" Cheng Yun frowned, "I clearly remember certain scenes; they could not possibly be landscapes created by my own dreams! Because they are truly too peculiar, too beautiful, far beyond my imagination!"
In fact, it is quite quiet, hardly disturbing anyone, but the hotel is simply too quiet in the morning
Without waiting for Cheng Yun to explain, she turned her head and left
After a while, Cheng Yun broke the silence and awkwardly asked, "Did you just... come back from a run?"
The old master’s expression changed, his demeanor suddenly becoming serious, and he said: "There is one more, continue."
Ten minutes later, the old master finished listening to his description
Then came Cheng Yanqing's cold voice: "Cheng Yun, get up! Don't tell me you're still lazing in bed!"
But he does not refute
Then he took out a card the size of an ID card: "This is what I said I would give you last night. Although it is quite old, I haven't used it much, and its functions are still well preserved. It is an object used by mages to assist in meditation, capable of quickly calming a person's emotions and eliminating distractions. It can also help ordinary people sleep better. However, it seems that this may no longer be sufficient for your situation."
Should we go out or not
Ah, my apologies! At this moment, Cheng Yun remembered that Old Master Fa had not yet had dinner tonight. "I have been feeling quite unsettled lately, and it is inevitable that I make mistakes. I will order takeout for you right away."
Knock knock knock
People often say that thoughts come during the day and dreams come at night. Cheng Yun is indeed a person who loves natural scenery. However, he has been too busy these days to even think about these things, and he has never even seen those landscapes.
At this moment, Cheng Yan's voice was heard: "Cheng Yun, open the door! Are you pretending not to hear? It's already 10 o'clock, if you don't open the door soon, I'm coming in myself!"
Secondly
Although Mingming maintained a clear state of mind, he felt no sense of his own existence, nor could he control his movements. He was even unable to perform the simple action of looking down to examine himself, let alone influence the images presented to him in the dream. It was as if someone had bound him, placing a virtual reality headset on him that restricted his ability to turn his head, forcing those images to be displayed before his eyes, while he could not even manage to close his eyes.
A person wearing sports shorts and a white T-shirt, with sweat sticking their hair to their forehead and their cheeks slightly flushed, has clearly just returned from a morning run
He is therefore quite resistant, even somewhat fearful
I truly do not know how to address you, this is not what you should be focusing on right now, is it? The old man expressed some helplessness, "If I remember correctly, that castle was the military outpost of the Northern Wolf family of the Kingdom of Jiano by the shores of Yanhu Lake, and my family was one of the few households at the tail end. I come from a family of salt workers"
At that moment, Cheng Yan was frozen in place
Is it troublesome? Cheng Yun asked nervously. If that's the case, wouldn't taking sleeping pills be useless?
One hour later, the node space.
I should also thank you. Cheng Yun felt more and more fatigued, "If it weren't for you, I don't know how long it would take me to explore these functions of this thing, and I wouldn't even realize that it could be done like this."
He still has a faint impression of the dream from last night, but only a few scattered fragments remain, and they have become quite blurry. He vaguely remembers how real the dream was, with magnificent scenery that could only be crafted by the divine hands of nature, surpassing the limits of his imagination. Yet now, it is difficult for him to recall those clear outlines, and as he sits on the bed for a while, they seem to grow even more indistinct.
As a qualified "research subject," he certainly needs to report his situation to the big boss in a timely manner! In his heart, that big boss is probably the person most likely in this world to help him resolve these strange troubles!
Cheng Yun could only silently exclaim in admiration for the formidable prowess of the expert
The two individuals exchanged glances in silence
The old master refuted point by point: "First of all, after you wake up, you cannot guarantee whether you were awake in your dream. In other words, everything you experience in a dream may be an illusion created by the dream! This includes the feeling of being very awake and the awareness that you know you are dreaming."
"You actually have such a large castle at home?" Cheng Yun was incredibly surprised, and he still vividly remembered the scene of the old master mending clothes in the glow of the dusk!
I remember that my mind was very clear, but I was unable to move or change anything... I can hardly recall those images now, but I still remember part of them. I believe they must be related to that temporal node, as it allowed me to see the scenery of another world... Cheng Yun spoke in detail, bit by bit, sharing a great deal, and then looked eagerly at the old master.
The old sorcerer cast a spell on him, and he fell into a deep sleep
The magnificent and unique karst landscape, the vividly colored plateau scenery, the boundless sea with surging waves, the endless sand dunes stretching to the horizon in the desert, the breeze passing through the bamboo forest seemingly carrying a refreshing fragrance, and the salt lake reflecting the sky and clouds like a mirror on the earth... One scene after another re-entered Cheng Yun's dreams, each frame a picturesque beauty silently unfolding before him, leaving him in a state of confusion and bewilderment
"Consider this as my living expenses left with you," said the old master. "The cooking at noon today was exceptionally delicious"
He glanced at the old master, and the old master looked back at him
The Forbidden Land of Wanshan was once the settlement of the Gao clan in Yinda Prefecture, and the ancients referred to them as demons, who were constantly at war with mortals. I was born by the shores of Yan Lake, which is indeed breathtaking; we call it the Realm of the Celestials. " The old master calmly concluded, raising his head to look at Cheng Yun, "You have seen the scenery of my world, and if I am not mistaken, you have seen those sights through my perspective.
Cheng Yun opened her mouth but could not utter a word, and her figure disappeared at the entrance of the corridor
He feels that this set of meditation methods is definitely not that simple
Cheng Yan instinctively took a step back, glanced at the door number above her head, and then looked at the one next to it
The perceptual abilities, intensity of consciousness, and ability to discern truth from falsehood of ordinary individuals are indeed too fragile
In fact, I won't starve even if I don't eat. The old man shook his head in embarrassment, saying, "I am definitely not asking you for food..."
So, how did you manage to fly up there
Cheng Yun said in a daze: "You... you have actually lived for over 1,000 years!"
How did you come to this conclusion? Cheng Yun found it utterly absurd, even more so than being forced to watch a slideshow at a space-time node.
This was also his first encounter with magical civilization, as the previous instance of being enchanted by the old wizard does not count
That's right!
The old master revealed a honeyed smile, shook his head, and did not answer. Instead, he said: "This issue is more complicated to handle than I had imagined. The complexity of the space-time nodes is beyond my comprehension, and I still do not know the reason. But we can start with you, enhancing your mental strength and resilience to cope with this situation."
Having finished speaking, she quickened her pace
Most dreams are like this, as soon as you wake up, you begin to forget them
Taking two steps forward, she turned back: "By the way, the steamed buns and soy milk cost 7.5 yuan, plus what I ate... altogether it is 38.5 yuan, please transfer it via WeChat!"
It is ! ''
... ...
Her expression gradually shifted from a daze to astonishment as she stared fixedly at Cheng Yun. After a long while, she handed him the steamed bun and soy milk, saying: "I brought you breakfast..."
This situation is indeed quite rare. The old master squinted his eyes and scrutinized him, saying, "I have already applied the medical-grade Weish's Hypnosis on you; it is impossible for you to dream naturally anymore! It is clearly the influence of the temporal and spatial node affecting you, there can be no mistake."
He is also troubled in his dreams
The last point also has its flaws. If you simply feel that the images in your dreams are incredibly real and beautiful but cannot recall the clear details of the dream, it is very likely that you only perceived it as real and beautiful within the dream; the dream has given you a false perception, and the reality is not as such. The old master said, "It is very easy for a person to deceive their own cognition."
Cheng Yun was stunned.
Just as he was about to succeed in the first step of his meditation practice for the first time, he suddenly heard a series of knocks coming from the opposite side.
The next morning, he woke up feeling groggy, as if he had not slept all night, and his mind felt even more fatigued
The old master pressed his lips together in silence, quickly contemplating. After a long while, he unexpectedly reached a conclusion: "You have indeed seen the scenery of another world, which is clearly caused by a temporal and spatial node. However, I did not anticipate that my own reasons were also involved."
It is troublesome! I can tell that your brain did not rest for more than two hours last night. If your dreams are indeed as real as you say, rather than mere illusions imposed upon you by your dreams, it is very likely that your brain did not rest at all while dreaming, with the activation state of brain cells being the same as when you are awake. The old master said, "The human body is neither as fragile as you think nor as strong as you imagine. If you cannot rest, you will not last long!"
Oh. Cheng Yun nodded, "Are you saying that those landscapes are from your perspective?"
No problem! Cheng Yun nodded solemnly and seriously, then looked directly at the old master and said, "Thank you very much!"
The old gentleman smiled dismissively. In fact, it is difficult for ordinary people to understand themselves, as they are unable to concretize their concepts; all understanding comes from perception
Alright
The method of meditation is unexpectedly simple, yet Cheng Yun feels that this perfectly aligns with the truth that the greatest principles are often the simplest. He does not underestimate it for this reason; rather, he studies it with exceptional seriousness. As a result, his learning speed even surpasses the expectations of the old master.
As he opened the door and exited the old master's room, he happened to see Cheng Yan holding a universal card, preparing to swipe it to open his room's door. In her other hand, she was carrying a bag of soup dumplings and a tube of soy milk
The two individuals exchanged glances at each other
"Please describe in detail your feelings during the dream, the circumstances within the dream, and so on, as something happened. I need to determine the reason behind your dream first," the old master said calmly, with a slight smile. "Don't be too anxious; as long as we can identify the cause, I believe there is nothing about you that can pose a challenge to me."
Cheng Yun felt quite helpless
Cheng Yan stared at him blankly, completely unresponsive. When she came to her senses, her first action was to tiptoe and tilt her head to look directly past Cheng Yun into the room.
The old master is truly a scammer
Uh. Cheng Yun felt quite embarrassed, "Is the sound insulation of a standard single room really this poor..."
The old master leaned on his staff, looking at him with satisfaction: "The gains from this one hour are greater than the month I spent by the node! Thank you, Cheng Yun!"
First, that castle completely disappeared with the fall of the Kingdom of Jiano a thousand years ago; second, Yan Lake was transformed into a tourist attraction long ago after the expansion of the Iron Horse Kingdom, and it has not produced salt for a long time; third, many towns were established around Yan Lake later, and before I left, Yan Lake had already been designated as a spaceport. Therefore, it is impossible for you to see a castle, a few households, and salt mines; what you see is at least a thousand years old.
Thus, Cheng Yun hurriedly rolled over and got out of bed, wearing only his shorts and without any clothes on, and ran outside
Cheng Yun dazedly took it; the card was very thin, even thinner than an ID card or a bank card, roughly comparable to a playing card, yet it was very sturdy, presenting a uniform brass color.
With a calm smile, the old master continued: "One thousand years ago, the Kingdom of Jiano designated Yan Lake as a military exclusion zone. Anyone flying over it would be regarded as provoking and would face aerial strikes from the Wolves of the North."
Another person, dressed in baggy shorts, bare-chested, wearing flip-flops, with disheveled hair and dark circles under their eyes that are even darker than yesterday, appears more haggard and exhausted than before they had a chance to rest, clearly... just had their vital energy drained by the female ghost from Lanruo Temple
Cheng Yun pondered for a moment and then said: "At the very least, I remember two landscapes. One is the endless mountains and forests. Because it is so steep and magnificent, I was immensely shocked while looking at it, as if countless sharp spikes were standing on the earth, fierce and towering! In fact, each mountain is thousands of meters high, and each has its own characteristics. From the ecological environment to the surrounding cultural environment, every detail is incredibly clear! I feel that if these were all landscapes I had imagined, my brain might have already been fried."
What is your reason? Cheng Yun was taken aback
There is also a salt lake, a mirror of the sky. Cheng Yun said, pausing for a moment, "Because... before my parents passed away, they mentioned that our whole family would travel to the West Sea this summer. I really wanted to see Chaka Salt Lake, but in the end... we couldn't go. So I have a deep impression of that lake. I remember that from a high altitude, the lake resembles the shape of a duck, with a magnificent castle built at the duck's throat, and a few households at its tail, while the rest of the area consists of salt mining pits..." I remember that from a high altitude, the lake resembles the shape of a duck, with a magnificent castle built at the duck's throat, and a few households at its tail, while the rest of the area consists of salt mining pits...
Thus, he began the process of learning meditation techniques