Chapter 240: Heavenly Gangs and Earthly Evils, the Interplay of Virtual and Real
Looking at the bronze mask in his hand that looked very similar to the one unearthed from Sanxingdui, Chen Jue couldn't help but take a deep breath.
When he was on Earth before, Chen Jue had seen photos of this bronze mask on the Internet, but he hadn't studied it in depth. Now that he had found an almost identical artifact in his second home, it still gave Chen Jue a big shock.
Although we have learned from the phoenix that there were "humans" on this strange planet long ago, that was only a one-sided description of a magical bird and beast, and it is far less shocking than the real thing.
Moreover, the shape of this bronze mask obviously corresponds to the appearance features of "clairvoyance", "super hearing" and "heavenly eye" between the eyebrows, which made Chen Jue couldn't help but wonder whether the "people" on this strange planet long ago had the same extremely high level of cultivation as him.
"Unfortunately, I don't know much about the Sanxingdui ruins. I only remember this strange-looking bronze mask, which seemed to be used by the ancient Shu people for sacrifices."
"Next time I go back to Earth, I must go and see those historical relics." Chen Jue thought to himself. Even he did not expect that the man-made objects on this strange planet would have some kind of intricate relationship with the ancient relics on Earth.
The more he explored this second home, the more Chen Jue felt that his three views and worldview were slowly changing and reshaping, just like a journey of spiritual practice. The more his body transformed and the higher his cultivation level became, the more secrets he could access. Many things that he had never thought of or dared to think of before were coincidentally connected, overturning his previous worldview.
As for why there was such a bronze mask in the phoenix's nest, Chen Jue speculated that it was probably because it was in the nature of birds to collect shiny and colorful objects.
Even if one's life level reaches the peak of the extraordinary level, it is difficult to escape the natural instincts of this creature.
"Big guy, where did you pick up this thing? Can you give it to me?" Chen Jue looked at the bronze mask for a while and asked directly to Fengniao.
The phoenix bird looked down at the bronze mask in Chen Jue's hand, then fell into deep thought. Finally, it seemed to remember something and said, "I found this in the sand pit in the west. I had a fight with a red guy to get it... Man, if you want it, just exchange it with something else!"
Chen Jue nodded upon hearing this, knowing that there is no free lunch in the world. Although the phoenix bird looks simple, it is an intelligent life after all, and knows that there is no reason to give away good things for free.
"I'll trade this with you!" Chen Jue took off a round metal from the mounting point of his combat uniform and showed the retractable javelin to Fengniao.
"What's the use of this thing? The things you 'humans' make are so small..." The phoenix bird tilted its head and looked at the javelin in Chen Jue's hand with a puzzled look.
"This is a weapon that can be used for self-defense." Seeing that the other party was confused, Chen Jue hurriedly explained and showed it how to use the javelin.
Chen Jue was seen standing on a branch of the huge dead tree, pointing to a huge rock in the basin in the distance, taking a deep breath, raising the javelin and throwing it hard.
The strength attribute of up to 7.88 suddenly erupted at this moment. A sonic boom like cloth tearing broke out in the air. A white sound echoed, as if a thunder was dropped on the spot, causing the flocks of birds flying around to become restless.
The alloy javelin drew a dark trajectory in the air, and flew more than ten kilometers at a speed of up to Mach 6. Finally, it shot and exploded the huge rock with a bang, and stirred up a cloud of dust above the rocks!
“Full!”
After seeing the power caused by the javelin being fired, the phoenix's gem-like eyes actually shrank, and its colorful feathers trembled. It was obviously frightened by the movement of Chen Jue just now.
It also didn't expect that this little 'man' Chen Jue could actually burst out with such terrible attack power that even the king of birds could not help but take it seriously.
As for the flocks of birds flying outside, they became confused after seeing the terrifying javelin shooting, and were finally calmed down by the cries of the phoenix.
"I like this thing very much! Thank you, human!" The phoenix sent a message with the rainbow light, obviously showing interest in the javelin and agreed to Chen Jue's exchange proposal.
I saw it chirping twice at the big parrot flying in the sky, as if it was giving some kind of order.
The giant parrot, which was suspected to be the parrot's father, responded a few words after hearing the sound, then flapped its wings, drew a graceful gray-green arc in the air, and landed at the place where the javelin fell. It used its claws and beak to dig out the javelin that was deeply embedded in the ground, and finally flew back slowly with the alloy javelin in its mouth, as if offering a gift to their king, and delivered the javelin to the edge of the nest.
“Full!”
The phoenix showed an anthropomorphic look of satisfaction in its eyes. It picked up a piece of colorful crystal the size of a watermelon from the nest and threw it to the big parrot as a reward.
After getting the colorful crystal, the parrot tilted its head back and swallowed it in one gulp. It chirped a few times with joy and flapped its wings before flying back to the flock of birds.
Chen Jue, through his divine senses, sensed the energy fluctuations emanating from the colorful crystal. It should be the crystallization of the same spiritual magnetic field as the Buddha's bone relics!
After the big parrot swallowed the colorful crystal, it felt as if it was undergoing a transformation and evolution all over its body. In particular, its eyes were shining with light, and the mental fluctuations emanating from its head were gradually intensifying.
"Sure enough, Qi has natural crystals, and the spirit in spiritual Qi also has natural crystals! One corresponds to the physical body, and the other corresponds to the mind. Yin and Yang embrace each other, and the virtual and the real complement each other. Can this spiritual crystal be eaten directly to accelerate the transformation of the mind?" Seeing this, Chen Jue's eyes flashed with some doubts.
Just as he was about to find out what was going on, the phoenix did something that Chen Jue would never forget.
It tilted its head and took a look at the alloy javelin lying flat on the edge of the nest. A gleam of light flashed in its eyes, and it made a full sound. A rich five-colored rainbow light burst out from its forehead and reflected on the javelin.
With a humming sound, the pitch-black alloy javelin moved without wind, and under the influence of the spiritual energy, it emitted a metallic vibration. Five-colored streams of light appeared on the entire javelin, and finally, under Chen Jue's stunned gaze, it slowly floated in the air and began to fly around the phoenix at high speed.
The alloy javelin was seen circling in the air, flying in a straight line, or following a tricky Z-shaped trajectory. Although its speed was not as fast as the Mach 6 that Chen Jue achieved when he threw it with all his strength, it was at least 2 or 3 times the speed of sound.
Seeing such an incredible scene of controlling the javelin through the air, the two words "rod release" and "control object" immediately popped up in Chen Jue's mind.
Chen Jue had read a lot of books in the base before. He had seen a passage in the Taoist classic "Yun Ji Qi Qian" in a few rare copies. In the "Chi Shu Yu Jue", there was an original text that described the art of controlling objects like this: "You should take a bamboo from the sunny side of Lingshan Mountain to make a magic staff... There will be five-colored light flowing on the staff... The staff will carry people to fly in the air..."
In Taoism, this art of controlling objects is classified as one of the 72 Earthly Evil Arts, and the staff release is one of these arts, meaning that one places one's mind on a staff. Similar arts include sword release, corpse release, weapon release, and so on.
Before, Chen Jue thought that the Thirty-Six Celestial Beings and the Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends were all fabricated by the ancestors of Taoism and he just glanced at them roughly. But now, after seeing the phoenix bird use the spiritual energy after qualitative change, that is, the five-colored rainbow light to achieve the magical scene of controlling the javelin, Chen Jue could not help but think of the authenticity of those Taoist secret techniques.
"Using the mind to interfere with real matter... After the mind's magnetic field is materialized, it can actually achieve the effect of the legendary Taoist magic of controlling objects?"
"If this kind of energy can support the body, can't it directly make people fly?" Chen Yude flashed with some excitement and felt that this trip to the strange planet was absolutely the right decision.
There are gains and losses. Although Chen Jue has temporarily left behind everything on Earth and escaped from the mundane world, his path of cultivation has been opened up.
If Chen Jue had not seen these exotic and divine beasts, he would not have been able to observe such miraculous supernatural abilities. This was equivalent to learning by analogy, allowing him to continuously improve and deepen his impression of the [Supernatural Level].
Once this impression is deepened to a certain degree, Chen Jue will be able to complete and perfect the [Supernormal Level] practice theory and the application extension of supernormal abilities.
…
Chen Jue guessed that the reason why the phoenix could inspire such a powerful spiritual rainbow light should be closely related to the colorful crystal stone it had given to the parrot before, so he continued to ask: "By the way, big guy, do you still have that shiny stone?"
"Can you give me some? I'll exchange them for javelins!"
The phoenix bird glanced at Chen Jue and showed an embarrassment: "This is the food I brought back from far away. I can't give it to you. My tribe still needs it to open its spiritual wisdom."
"If you want, I can tell you where it is... Fly three days from here in the direction of the setting sun. There is a pit where the desert meets the earth. The pit is full of these stones. But there is a guy with thorns all over his body. He is very fierce and powerful. I can't beat him. I can only sneak up and catch some when he is asleep."
The phoenix kindly told Chen Jue the origin of the seven-color crystal. After listening to the other party's description, Chen Jue muttered in his heart: "A guy covered with thorns? Even creatures of the phoenix level are afraid of him. How powerful must he be?"
Chen Jue couldn't help but become a little alert. Although he was considered invincible among humans, he still needed to be cautious in front of these powerful beasts.
Not to mention those hidden extraordinary life forms, even the Kuiniu in the white fog swamp outside is enough to give Chen Jue a hard time.
"I have to continue practicing, improve my attributes, and become stronger!" Chen Jue secretly made up his mind, and roughly estimated the time and distance span of the phoenix's flight for nine natural days.
Although he had never seen the exact flying speed of the phoenix, Chen Jue speculated that it should be no slower than those supersonic fighter jets. Even it would take three natural days to fly, which is six days according to Earth standards. The distance must have exceeded hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
…
He stayed in the phoenix nest for a long time and chatted with the phoenix about the powerful creatures and beasts nearby, as well as the dangerous places that needed attention. The phoenix told Chen Jue everything.
In addition to the violent Kuiniu that emits lightning and thunder outside the basin, the guy with long thorns that it is afraid of, and the red guy who fought with it for the bronze mask, the phoenix also mentioned a big guy in the eastern sea that can fly and swim, as well as an old guy with a long shell, and so on.
Chen Jue asked it why it was so frank with him, without any reservations. The phoenix bird used five-colored rainbow light to lift the noisy little parrot to Chen Jue: "This little fellow has some of my blood in him. I hope that you, as a 'human', can take good care of it and raise it up."
"It can open its spiritual intelligence faster if it follows you into the restricted area. There are too few people in our tribe who have spiritual intelligence. If there is one more, it will be much easier for me."
"And there's an aura about you that makes me feel close to you, that's why I told you so much."
"So that's how it is!" Chen Jue nodded when he heard this. When he picked up the little parrot, he had the idea of educating and training it. He didn't expect that a small action at the beginning would lead to such a result.
In addition, the intimate aura mentioned by the phoenix bird was also influenced by Chen Jue's state of [Harmony between Heaven and Man]. Just like the harmonious coexistence between Yun Xiaomei and the creatures in Gongshan Old Forest that he had met before.
…
We stayed in this cloud-shrouded basin until dusk, and the white clouds were dyed with a touch of red light from the setting sun.
Perhaps due to its old age or some other reason, the phoenix began to yawn, curled up and retreated comfortably into its nest. The javelin given to it by Chen Jue was hidden in the wreath on its head.
As for the birds and beasts that had been flying around this huge dead tree for a long time, they began to land on the branches one after another. A small number of them flew out of the basin and flew to a place where Chen Jue lived and reproduced that Chen Jue didn't even know about.
The huge parrot, which was suspected to be the parrot's father, held the parrot and whispered to it for a long time before bringing it to Chen Jue.
"Da Da!" The little parrot chirped twice at the huge parrot, then looked back at Chen Jue.
Seeing this, Chen Jue's eyes flashed with some doting. He reached out and touched its furry head, then replaced the wooden wings, strung the bronze mask he had obtained with a vine and hung it around his neck, then flapped his wings and flew into the sky, leaving this wonderful habitat of birds and beasts with the reluctant little guy and flew towards the stronghold.
…
Before coming here, as he was unfamiliar with the route, he took a lot of detours. It took Chen Jue three or four hours to reach this basin hidden in the misty swamp.
Now he just needed to fly straight in the direction where the sun was setting, and no longer choose low altitude, but to glide above the clouds thousands of meters high. Looking at the fiery and magnificent sunset, Chen Jue felt a sense of desolation in his heart.
After flying for two hours, they returned to the area that the phoenix called the forbidden area.
First, he settled the little parrot under the immortal tree, and then Chen Jue went back to the river dozens of kilometers away and hunted two carps as food.
He built an earthen stove next to the lake and roasted fish. After filling his stomach, Chen Jue picked up the bronze mask and examined it carefully.
Previously in the Phoenix Nest, Chen Jue had spent most of his time communicating with the phoenix, so he had not had time to study the bronze mask.
Looking at the mask carefully again now, Chen Jue discovered that the craftsmanship of the mask was extremely exquisite.
In addition to the elegant and graceful lines on the surface, the mask also has a row of extremely fine and complex lines on the inner layer, which look like cloud patterns or winding capillaries.
This is a kind of precise bronze craft that is difficult to describe in words, just like the cloud-patterned bronze ban that has been lost in archaeology. Even in modern times it is difficult to imitate and achieve a 1:1 replica.
"Is this really what the ancient Shu people used for sacrifice?"
Chen Jue stared at the mask with a hint of suspicion in his eyes. He soaked it in the lake water to wash away the stains on it, and then dried it over the campfire.
Looking at the beautifully crafted mask, Chen Jue slowly raised it up, took a look at the faint green glow on the inside of the mask, and then, with an idea in his mind, he aligned it with his face and put it on.
Masks are meant to be worn. Chen Jue was also curious and wanted to try whether his facial contours could be close to the artificial mask on this strange planet.
But he didn't expect that as soon as he put it on, this bronze mask without a lanyard would stick tightly to Chen Jue's facial skin like a suction cup.
Chen Jue did not feel any discomfort, but instead felt a coolness on his face.
But not long after that, Chen Jue felt his own energy and blood rushing to his face uncontrollably.
Along with Chen Jue's nasal breathing, the hot steam that came out of his nostrils blew the dark patterns on the inside of the bronze mask, forming a very slight sound.
The next moment, an invisible wave emanated from the mask, and the life minerals at the bottom of the lake seemed to be affected by the sound of this special frequency, and suddenly a dazzling dark golden light appeared!
In addition, countless particles of Qi floating in the air began to gather on the bronze mask, and then slowly began to penetrate into Chen Jue's head through the mask.
Chen Jue could feel that his five senses, including his brain, were stimulated by Qi at this moment and began to slowly transform.
Especially the tissues of eyes and ears receive the most Qi flow!
"Using external force to stimulate the eye and ear tissues to evolve into clairvoyance and super hearing... This... This mask is actually used by the 'people' on this strange planet to assist in cultivation?"
