The Storyteller

Talk

Day Four

"There are no barriers that cannot be defeated.  There are no boundaries that cannot be overcome.  The mind is your most powerful weapon and with it, barriers and boundaries do not exist, not even your own."

These were the long forgotten words of his father that Mo Yuan was suddenly and very intently dwelling on.  It was in reference from the Buddhist Cosmology, yet for some reason, those exact words came back to him, even though they really didn't have much to do with the lesson itself as such, but they were relevant to him now.

Her mouth was still moving, in fact, the only time it stopped was when she slept, yet for some strange reason, Mo Yuan now found comfort in it.  If she was talking, then she was alive which meant he could still save her and as his mind churned his fathers words over and over again, the soft sound of her voice, seemed to give him something to anchor himself to as his forced his mind out towards his barrier.

In his mind, he had perfect vision, and one of the lessons he had been taught from young was how to throw his mind outwards and away from his physical self.  It was a form of soul travel without actually sending the soul anywhere.  All one had to do was imagine very clearly in their mind, exactly where they were and then move beyond it.

It was actually far easier to do in mind state rather than dream state, because it was common to lose control and therefore any messages or attempts to communicate dwelt heavily on luck, whereas moving about via the mind, meant no communication could take place but he could at least visit the Realms for an idea of what was happening while allowing his physcial body to continue gathering  cultivation.  He was far too weak to attempt dreamstate travelling or even soul travelling, because both required energy which he could not afford to lose yet.

Now quietly listening as she talked about a play she had seen in the Mortal Realm, Mo Yuans mind anchored itself to her voice in order to protect his mind from straying to far away and losing control.  Mind travel  was a difficult task to accomplish and having only used it twice in his life, he forced himself to concentrate on the images he had seen during the battle, because every landmark he had laid on the formations table in the main tent, were important.  The hills, low mountains, the river and outcrops were all in his mind as he then began to move out of the cave in order to focus on the caves entrance that he had seen from the outside when Qing Cangs men had released the beasts.

In his mind, he had a very clear vision of the entrance and knowing the battlefield well, he had a general idea of how much of it was behind his barrier.  And this was where things became tricky.  It did not matter that everything was now under mist, because he merely had to envisage exactly what he had seen and move towards and then over them, while ensuring that the image of each landmark remained clear and precise while working his way towards his barrier.

It took him an entire day to finally reach the soft thrum of his own energy which his mind felt as a physcial sensation and all the while, her non stop chatter kept him anchored to his body.  This was important, because once his mind began to move beyond his barrier, he would be open to all negative and dark forces that would be lingering nearby and seeing as thousands of dark souls had perished in that war, then it was more than likely that they were still lingering, so her voice would not only give him something to focus on as he travelled without losing concentration on other things, it would also ensure he found his way back quickly.

For now he was safe enough to move about within the barrier because his barrier ensured that no lower based life forms whether physical or spiritual remained within and so for a time, he envisaged every detail he could recall from memory until he had worn himself out.

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Day Seven

For a further three days, Mo Yuan continued to strengthen his mind travelling which meant bringing into focus every landmark until it was crisp and clear.   And though her voice would sometimes falter, he would merely stand still and wait for her to begin talking again, which was never too long and once again he would move about within the perimeter of his barrier.