Chapter 263 Unknown Fear
Human brain cells are in a process of continuous death and will never be reborn or multiply. With each death, one less cell remains until all of them are gone.
This process is called programmed death, also known as apoptosis.
The number of human brain cells reaches about 14 billion at birth. However, after the age of 20, the brain begins to age and the number of brain cells decreases at a rate of 100,000 per day.
In old age, we often see elderly people suffering from dementia, which is also due to the massive death of brain cells.
By the way, the theory that only about 10% of the human brain is developed is actually a misunderstanding. Modern scientific MRI shows that every area of the human brain has been developed and used efficiently, with a development rate of 100%. There are no idle brain cells.
Chen Jue had previously carefully observed the working state of the brain through [inner vision], which could observe the operation, strengthening, aging, and death of brain cells more clearly than MRI.
Only this time, through the practice of [Bai Ze Guiding Technique] and [Five Senses and Six Perceptions], as well as the intake of a large amount of spiritual energy, Chen Jue discovered that his brain was transforming in an uncontrollable and unknown direction.
This is the uncertainty on the road of spiritual evolution. Even he, a true saint in the world with a strong will and a single-minded devotion to the Tao, felt doubtful, confused, and worried about this transformation, which was not sure whether it was good or bad.
After taking another close look at the swollen and deformed brain cells, Chen Jue suddenly exclaimed, "No!"
"It doesn't seem like they've mutated and become cancerous... These mutated cells don't have the characteristics of engulfment, invasion, and metastasis of cancer cells. They can still function normally, but their efficiency has been greatly improved. They can even divide... This feels a bit like a cell reset... a reset to a more advanced neural stem cell state?"
You should know that although the human brain cells are highly differentiated and will continue to decrease and die, they still differentiate and regenerate from neural stem cells every day. This process is called "neurogenesis."
Chen Jue had learned this before when he was studying the human body structure at the base, but the speed of adding new brain cells in this differentiation and regeneration process was far behind the normal aging and death rate of brain cells.
It is equivalent to a small faucet releasing water into the swimming pool, and at the same time there is a drain several meters wide under the swimming pool that is also releasing water. Sooner or later, the swimming pool will be drained.
However, the mutation of Chen Jue's brain cells was equivalent to changing the nature of the water in the swimming pool, allowing them to develop the ability to self-divide and proliferate.
Along with the increase in brain cells, the cerebral cortex's ability to perceive the outside world and control the body's reflexes, including language, learning, memory, thinking and other functions will increase significantly.
In theory, this should be considered a benign degeneration of brain cells, but the space in the human brain is limited, and it cannot allow brain cells to divide and multiply endlessly.
If this change cannot be controlled, the result will be that Chen Jue's head will grow bigger and bigger, until one day it will burst from the inside like a balloon!
When thinking of such a scene, Chen Jue couldn't help but shudder, thinking: "Sure enough, the unknown is the most terrifying! If I really turn into a big head, then am I still a human? ... If the brain tissue proliferates too much and bursts the skull, will I still be able to live?"
When he opened his eyes and looked at Bai Ze lying beside him, he felt that the situation he was facing now was very similar to the one he had experienced before when he fell into schizophrenia.
However, Bai Ze can weaken the extraordinary organ that stores spiritual energy by half by cutting off the horns, interrupting the schizophrenia and returning to normal.
Chen Jue couldn't possibly open his skull and dig out the excess brain tissue, right?
This is a difficult point in spiritual evolution. If it is not handled properly, the benign evolution of the brain will turn into distortions like tumors and brain cancer!
…
After sitting and pondering for a long time, with his current knowledge reserves and practice experience, facing this uncertain and unknown evolution, Chen Jue couldn't think of a good solution for the time being.
I could only suppress this worry temporarily and took a look at the attribute panel after the breakthrough:
Name: Chen Jue
Lifespan: 453
Strength: 10.26
Agility: 7.22
Physical fitness: 10.31
Intelligence (brain): 3.63
Free attribute points: 0.02
Skills: [Red Dust Golden Body Skill Lv8] [Five Senses and Six Perception Skill Lv8] [Pure Yang Skill Lv7]
New skills: [Kui Niu Guiding Technique] [Bai Ze Guiding Technique]
New status: [Manas]
"Another small update to the panel?"
"The essence of intelligence attribute is the brain area?"
"Brain area...matter and energy in the brain area?"
"So, my brain area is already more than three times the human limit... This is the opposite direction of matter affecting the mind... The stronger the brain cells, the greater the number, the higher the intelligence?"
"If this is the calculation, then the other attributes are also related to my body material and the upper limit of energy storage?" Chen Jue looked at the changes in the attribute panel and his heart moved.
I once again recalled browsing the research materials about the human brain at the base, such as the famous Einstein's brain.
The total mass of Einstein's brain was only 1,230 grams, which was lower than the average weight of an ordinary person's brain of 1,300 grams. According to later analysis, this was related to his congenital deficiency.
Because Einstein's academic performance was not outstanding when he was a child, he even seemed very introverted and not very sociable.
Although the total brain mass is relatively low, according to scientific research on brain slice samples, the structure of Einstein's brain after his death is indeed different from that of ordinary people.
In particular, the basal lobe of his brain is 15% wider than that of a normal person, and the groove from the posterior brain to the forebrain is also disconnected.
In addition, the number of glial cells in area 39 of the left hemisphere of Einstein's brain is twice that of an ordinary person. This abnormal weight gain of part of the brain tissue happens to be somewhat similar to the transformation of Chen Jue's brain.
I took another look at the newly awakened state:
[Manas]: It has substance, is covered, and is the basis of emotions. It holds on to the self as wrong according to circumstances.
Status level: Level 9
Status Effect: Greatly enhances the character's perception of changes in time and space.
Status linkage: [Clairvoyance] [Clairaudience] [Inner Vision] [Insight]
Chen Jue was very familiar with the term manas, which was the seventh sense mentioned in Buddhist scriptures. It was a perception ability that was higher than the five senses and six perceptions of normal people.
"Vision, hearing, smell, taste, touch, perception... and now there's a seventh sense involving time and space?"
"No wonder the mental magnetic field emitted by the brain just now can form feedback results similar to sonar and ultrasound. It turns out that the seventh sense of [Manas] is at work!" Chen's determination moved, and after thinking for a long time, he withdrew from the study of the changes in the attribute panel.
…
"Brother Chen Jue, are you okay?"
"You were so strange just now. No matter how I called you, you didn't respond."
"Did you have an epiphany?" Yun Xiaomei had almost rested by now and stood up from Bai Ze's soft and fluffy fur.
"It can be considered an epiphany, I guess! But I haven't fully understood it yet, and I have many new doubts."
"By the way, how long did it take for me to have that epiphany just now?" Chen Jue was relieved to see that she had recovered.
"Eight hours have passed. You see, the little parrot can't fly anymore. It's lying down to rest." Yun Xiaomei raised the monitoring device on her wrist and pointed at the little parrot resting beside her.
"Eight hours?"
"I didn't expect it took so long..." Chen Jue secretly said, and took the bronze mask from the backpack hanging on the parrot.
He held the bronze mask and showed it to Bai Ze, wanting to ask him if he recognized it. Unexpectedly, when Bai Ze saw the bronze mask, steam came out of his nostrils and he growled.
"Brother Chen Jue, Bai Ze said that the mask originally belonged to him, but was later snatched away by a red bird." Yun Xiaomei translated.
"Is there anything else?"
"Isn't the red bird the Suzaku?"
"And then it was snatched away by the phoenix... This mask has actually been passed on by three hands?" Chen Jue was slightly stunned when he heard it. He picked up a piece of spiritual crystal of similar size from the ground and stuffed it into the missing hole on the forehead of the bronze mask.
Just by plugging it in, Chen Jue found that the bronze mask in his hand was like an electrical appliance that was powered on. The whole mask suddenly made a soft hum, and the fine patterns on it glowed with brilliance.
An invisible sound wave frequency emanated from the mask, attracting the spiritual energy around it to continuously gather upwards.
Chen Jue took a look at the visualized seven-colored lights transmitted by the patterns, which looked like electric current flowing along preset wires.
"It's just as I guessed . This thing lacks energy supply from the forehead!"
"Bronze is a good conductor, but I didn't expect that this conductor is not used to conduct electricity and heat, but to conduct spiritual energy..." Seeing this, Chen Jue couldn't help but sigh at the mask maker's ingenious idea.
He reached out and tried to put the glowing mask on his face, and a spiritual energy that stimulated his brain began to be transmitted from the bronze mask.
After trying the [Bai Ze Guiding Technique] again, Chen Jue felt that the speed of his brain enhancement practice had increased significantly.
However, the swelling and pain in his head became more and more severe, so Chen Jue had no choice but to take off the mask that was attached to his face and handed it to Yun Xiaomei who was curious beside him: "Little sister, try it on!"
“Okay!” Yun Xiaomei took the mask and put it on as well. However, not long after, the Dulong girl beside her moaned as if she was enjoying it: “Ah… um… Brother Chen Jue, this mask feels so comfortable after I put it on!”
"My head feels cool and my thinking becomes more active!"
Just as Yun Xiaomei was experiencing the convenience of her practice brought by the mask, Bai Ze beside her suddenly let out a low growl.
Upon hearing this, Yun Xiaomei hurriedly took off her mask and communicated with Bai Ze for a moment with an excited expression: "Brother Chen Jue, Bai Ze said that this mask and this bronze scroll were both found in a ."
"It said if we wanted something else, it could take us there!"
