71 Guinea Pigs (1/2)
Seeing Xue Wei's humble behavior, Lan snickered. His eyes blazed with amusement, but he said nothing to destroy the mood.
Xue Wei felt very complex emotions. He could not wholly forget his original hesitation when it came to this prophet, but at the same time, he had been a benefactor to Xue Wei.
When someone showed him such kindness, even if Xue Wei felt that he had some secrets that made him incredibly dangerous and someone to stay away from, he could not help but display his gratitude.
He would also make sure to repay this gratitude later on when he was strong enough to be relied upon, but he was already starting to fear that he would be told to go collect some rare materials for him in some godforsaken place where he was too lazy to go himself.
Still, Xue Wei knew how much the assistance he had been given meant to him, and thus he would go herb hunting without complaints if it ever came to that.
Xue Wei rose again and sighed. He could see that Lan's eyes were gleaming with excitement, but he had no interest in knowing why the prophet was having so much fun or what he was planning.
Instead, he sat down and contemplated the Mind Infestation Spiritual Technique and tried to figure out the tricks, the difficult passages, and the theory behind it.
Instead of cultivating that night, he spent all the time trying to understand the Mind Infestation technique.
Lan did what he usually did during the night; he laid down on the bed and slept through the night. It was clear that cultivating was not a priority for the prophet anymore, and as to why Xue Wei had multiple theories.
One was that he was so strong that it did not matter any longer, as he could not reach a higher realm. Another was that he had reached a realm where even when he slept his body would naturally consume the energy of the surrounding air and convert it into Qi.
Xue Wei had long since decided not to worry about Lan's decisions and training. By putting his mind to the task at hand, he managed to gain quite a few insights into the Mind Infestation Spiritual Technique by the time morning arrived.
”We will stay in the tent today,” Lan declared as they awoke to the sound of birds in the sky and the scent of breakfast from the dining hall.
”In the tent?” Xue Wei asked curiously, and Lan nodded his head. ”Mind Infestation is a Spiritual Martial Arts, a technique that depends on your mind and your soul.”
”When you practice such techniques, it is paramount that you are in quiet and calm surroundings, or it might backlash and wound you in the process.”
”The field is good for training physical techniques,” Lan said, ”but when it comes to spiritual martial arts, it is important that we find a calm place first. In this camp, the most secure place is in the tent.”
Xue Wei nodded his head in approval. After thinking about it, he understood the reasoning and could not wait to get started.
”Okay, we have no one to attack,” Lan contemplated. ”If you try to use a spiritual martial arts on me, it will cause a backlash and seriously wound your soul, if not kill you since my soul is many times stronger than yours at the current point in time.”
”Well, for now, you need to learn the difference between spiritual power and Qi,” Lan began.
”I already described what spiritual energy is: it is the power of your soul and mind. The more you use it, the more mentally exhausted you will become.”
”It will be restored when you've used it, but you run the risk of corrupting your mind if you use too much. If you want to become a strong spiritual martial arts user, you will need a steady martial heart to keep you from becoming corrupted.”
”Although the use of spiritual martial arts is very difficult and has quite a few requirements, it is still a good idea for you to learn Mind Infestation. Although your martial heart is still growing, you are not weak, and your determination is great. You shouldn't be corrupted by one single spiritual martial arts.”
Xue Wei sat down and searched inside of himself. He almost saw a full picture of himself from the inside; he saw his meridians, his dantian, and his head.
He could see the gleaming azure Qi run through his meridians, and then he found a golden light that had gathered in a ball in his mind.
This ball of golden light was growing larger at one moment and smaller at another. When Xue Wei tried to spread his senses, he saw that the golden light started turning into halos that spread from his body and out towards the rest of the surroundings.
”Oh, so it's like this,” Xue Wei muttered. He then focused on sensing Lan, who was right next to him, and he felt how this golden energy gathered around Lan.
”So everything that has to do with my senses, everything that has to do with my mind, is spiritual energy. I found my reserves, but how do I use it?”
Lan said nothing; he just sat there watching Xue Wei with a small smile on his face and a calculating look in his eyes.
Xue Wei was unaware of this calculating look that flickered in Lan's eyes, just as he did not see the smug smile that crossed his face.
”Naive child, far too naive,” Lan whispered as he looked at Xue Wei, and his words caused Xue Wei to startle awake. ”Did you say something?” Xue Wei asked. He had been too focused on his spiritual energy to hear what the other had said, but he was sure that Lan said something.
”Oh, don't mind me,” Lan smiled. ”I just thought that the weather is great today. Anyway, how is it? Have you found your spiritual energy?”