A master of comedy!

Chapter 46 Opening Eyes

The next day, early in the morning.

As dawn broke, Zhou Sheng opened his eyes and saw that his master was still asleep. He tiptoed out of the temple, found a secluded spot in the mountains and forests, and began to practice his singing.

Train hard in the coldest days of winter and the hottest days of summer.

His solid basic skills are the result of his daily hard work, which has become a habit ingrained in his bones.

He feels suffocated if he doesn't shout for a day, as if there's phlegm stuck in his throat.

After clearing his throat, he practiced the Blue Harvest and Guiding Exercises twice more, facing the rising sun, until his muscles and bones felt relaxed, his blood and qi flowed smoothly, and his whole body felt warm. Only then did he finish the exercise with satisfaction.

He picked some wild fruits to take back to his master, and was pleasantly surprised to find that after a night's rest, his master could walk without any difficulty and was no longer limping.

"Counting it up, today should be the seventh day."

Yu Zhensheng calculated for a moment and then asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual about your eyes lately?"

Zhou Sheng nodded and said, "Every day at midnight and noon, my eyes feel unusually sore and slightly swollen. If I look in the mirror, I can see a lot of blood vessels."

"Master, is it because my eyes are under too much strain from singing Dingjun Mountain?"

Yu Zhensheng shook his head and laughed, "Of course not, quite the opposite, it means your eyesight has improved even more, and you're on the verge of opening your eyes."

Opening the eyes...

Zhou Sheng's heart stirred. His master had once said that the eye aperture was the first of the six barriers. Once this barrier was passed, it was equivalent to opening the Dharma eye, which could see yin and yang, observe changes, and even see the trajectory of lightning when it struck.

Most importantly, if you want to sing Guan Gong opera, you must first open your eyes.

"You can take the medicine and have your mind opened today, but before that, your teacher will explain it to you in more detail."

Once in 'teaching mode', Yu Zhensheng's face becomes very serious, and he stands meticulously with sharp eyes.

"The eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind are called the six gates. In Buddhism, they are called the six roots, as the saying goes, 'If the six roots are not pure, it is difficult to attain enlightenment.' In Taoism, they are called the six thieves, as the saying goes, 'If you want to hear the Great Way, you must first eliminate the six thieves...'"

"All paths of cultivation lead to the same destination, and we who perform yin operas are no exception; we too must pass these six tests."

"Seeing joy, hearing anger, smelling love, tasting thought, thinking desire, and feeling worry—every time we subdue a thief, we can acquire his supernatural powers and use them to greatly enhance our power when performing esoteric plays."

"Take the first key, the eye, for example. Once it is opened, it will greatly enhance your eye skills. When you sing, your eyes will be sharp and your gaze will be like lightning. You can even scare away evil spirits with just your eyes. When you play a role, you will be more realistic and expressive."

Seeing the expectation and excitement in his apprentice's eyes, Yu Zhensheng changed his tone and sneered.

"But since it's about passing through checkpoints, you have to defeat the generals. If you don't have the spirit of Guan Yu passing through five checkpoints and defeating six generals, not only will you not be able to open your eyes, but you might even become blind!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Sheng felt a chill run down his spine.

"To steal the sky, first gouge out the eyes to let in light; use candle blood to congeal ointment to seal the blind window."

Yu Zhensheng first recited a line of poetry, then sighed, "Most of those blind fortune tellers who have some skill and go on to make their way in the world fail at this hurdle."

He paused, looked at his disciple, and said in a deep voice, "No one can help you with this. You can only rely on yourself. I can only give you four words."

"What four words?"

"Unmoving as a mountain."

Zhou Sheng silently memorized these four words, and then without any hesitation, he took out the mica powder he had prepared beforehand and swallowed it with the dew.

Those who cultivate themselves should be courageous and diligent, forging ahead without hesitation!

If Zhou Sheng had faced the possibility of going blind after breaking through the barrier before causing a ruckus in Qinggu County, he would probably have hesitated and felt uneasy.

However, after being tempered by those three treacherous scenes, Huang Zhong's boldness, Zhong Kui's ferocity, and Wu Song's courage also had a subtle influence on him.

Having accumulated enough resources, with the aid of spiritual medicine, and with a master protecting you, if you still shrink back, what's the point of cultivating the Tao? You might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.

Even if he were to go blind, he wanted to see the scenery ahead before he lost his sight!

A few breaths later, the medicine began to take effect.

It feels like there's a blazing furnace in your dantian, with heat flowing through your limbs and bones, nourishing your blood and strengthening your muscles and bones.

Based on his previous experience, he calmly assumed the posture for practicing guiding exercises.

Embracing the primordial chaos as if carrying a basket, parting clouds and gathering rosy hues with a flick of the fingertips.

With firm footing on the left and drawing water from the spring on the right, one can open the Ren and Du gates by shaking the sea.

...His movements were extremely slow, as if he were pushing a millstone weighing a thousand pounds, yet he did not give people the feeling of being strenuous or clumsy at all; on the contrary, he was exceptionally light and smooth.

After performing the guiding exercises six times in a row, the scalding medicinal power was transformed into strands of pure magical power. It was as if sweet rain was falling in his dantian, and he could even hear the dripping sound of water, like ancient stalactites.

As his cultivation progressed further, he suddenly felt a surge of heat uncontrollably rushing to his eyes, causing them to burn instantly and leaving him blind.

Remembering his master's words, "immovable as a mountain," he calmed his mind and remained undisturbed.

Soon, the darkness around him gradually dissipated, and he saw light again.

Before he could even feel joy, his pupils suddenly dilated, and he could no longer calm down.

He saw mountains of gold, dazzling and glittering, and also saw stunningly beautiful women, some dancing barefoot, others kneeling to serve tea.

Her gentle and soft-spoken words were deeply moving.

He also saw countless people prostrating themselves at his feet, bowing their heads in submission, and shouting "Long live the Emperor!"

All the mountains and rivers under heaven belong to one family, and all the hundreds of millions of people are subjects of one surname.

Money, beauty, power...

All the beautiful things in the world seemed to be laid out before him, which he could indulge in to his heart's content.

I am delighted to see this.

Zhou Sheng was resolute and unmoved by these external things.

Then he saw elixirs, magical treasures, and profound skills presented to him one by one. It seemed that as long as he reached out and took them, he could immediately increase his magical power and become an immortal.

He knew, of course, that these were all fake, illusions, but as long as he kept his eyes open, he was inevitably affected.

A voice seemed to beckon him, blurring his memories of reality and magnifying everything around him.

He sensed something was wrong. If things continued like this, would he really not lose his way?

At this moment, he seemed to begin to doubt himself.

Or... maybe I should just close my eyes... that way I might avoid being seduced.

A voice seemed to echo in my heart.

Zhou Sheng thought it made sense, so he prepared to close his eyes. As his eyelids slowly closed, the light gradually faded, and darkness returned...

wrong! ! !

Zhou Sheng suddenly opened his eyes, which were about to close, and felt a sharp pain in them. Warm blood was flowing down from the corner of his eye.

His heart was pounding, and he couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

This illusion isn't meant to tempt me, but rather to lure me into closing my eyes!

If he had really closed his eyes just now, then he would have lost his sight forever, just as his master had said, and become completely blind!
He strained to open his eyes, his bloodshot pupils bulging, blood vessels spreading like a spider web.

Just then, he seemed to hear an angry voice in his ear.

"If you don't close your eyes, I'll cripple them!"

The next moment, the money, the beautiful women, the magic weapons, and the elixirs all disappeared, leaving only two nine-inch silver needles in front of him, which were stabbing fiercely into his eyes.

The icy sensation when the sharp needle tip touched the pupil was completely without any trace of hallucination.

Zhou Sheng instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but he managed to hold them back through sheer willpower.

Even if I'm blinded, I'll never close my eyes!

Failure to pass is tantamount to death!
The next moment, the needle pierced his eyes, but there was no pain. On the contrary, a cool sensation flowed into his eyes like a siphon, causing his pupils to undergo a strange change.

At the same time, the voice rang in his ears again.

"Take good care of my eyes, they will show you..."

"The real world."

……

(End of this chapter)