As Song Hao calmed down and relaxed, he felt a warm and comforting sensation all over his body, as if he were soaking in warm water. The source of the heat was the stalagmite.
Song Hao felt something strange in his body while he was sleeping and woke up. To his surprise, he could faintly feel the existence of meridians in his body and seemed to be able to feel the flow of qi and blood.
Lying on the ground, Song Hao opened his eyes wide in the darkness, a wondrous sensation unfolding within his own body. Previously, his study of acupuncture had only revealed in books that the ancients had experienced the flow of meridians; he never imagined he could experience it firsthand. He closed his eyes again, silently sensing the flow of the meridians, which, just as described in medical texts, flowed endlessly in the order of the twelve meridians.
It begins with the Lung Meridian of Hand-Taiyin, moving like an ant, continuously to the Large Intestine Meridian of Hand-Yangming, then the Stomach Meridian of Foot-Yangming, the Spleen Meridian of Foot-Taiyin, the Heart Meridian of Hand-Shaoyin, the Small Intestine Meridian of Hand-Taiyang, the Bladder Meridian of Foot-Taiyang, the Kidney Meridian of Foot-Shaoyin, the Pericardium Meridian of Hand-Jueyin, the Triple Energizer Meridian of Hand-Shaoyang, the Gallbladder Meridian of Foot-Shaoyang, the Liver Meridian of Foot-Jueyin, and finally returns to the Lung Meridian of Hand-Shaoyin.
After running in this way for several weeks, I suddenly felt something in my eight extraordinary meridians.
"This stalagmite can actually activate the body's meridians when placed on my body. It is indeed a strange object! With unobstructed meridians, no ailments will arise. If I keep my meridians flowing like this every day, wouldn't I be free from all diseases?" Song Hao thought happily.
Only by personally experiencing the flow of Qi and blood through the meridians can a physician truly understand its wonders.
At this moment, Song Hao began to feel several major acupoints on his body throbbing again: Taichong, Baihui, Zusanli, Laogong, Zhongwan, Qihai, Fengfu...
"These acupoints are open!" Song Hao exclaimed in surprise.
"So this medicinal seedling has such miraculous effects! No wonder the Ghost Doctor Sect values it so much! It's truly a wondrous medicine born of heaven and earth!" Thinking this, Song Hao unconsciously reached out and grasped the stalagmite. Holding it before his eyes, in the darkness, a clear, emerald-green light was visible, gentle and smooth. And five-colored radiance flickered within it.
"Ji Dongyang said this stalagmite possesses the properties of the five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. That must be it. This should be some kind of 'external medicine,' I wonder if it can be taken internally." As Song Hao thought this, he unconsciously put the stalagmite in his mouth and licked it with his tongue. It was just like a hard stone.
Song Hao held the stalagmite in his mouth, sensing the wonder of the meridians flowing through him.
Chapter Forty-Five Ancient Sites
After some time, Song Hao suddenly realized that the stalagmite in his mouth was melting and slowly shrinking as it went down his throat.
"Could it be that the saliva in a person's mouth is the 'catalyst' for synthesizing this stalagmite into medicine?" Song Hao asked in surprise.
It remained still, letting the stalagmite melt in its mouth.
Several hours later, the stalagmite melted in Song Hao's mouth like a piece of rock candy, swallowed down his throat and into his stomach with his saliva. Immediately afterwards, his whole body trembled, and the feeling of his meridians flowing became even more pronounced, like an electric current passing through him. His whole body felt numb, but extremely comfortable.
At this moment, Song Hao felt as if he were floating on water or drifting in the air. His blood and energy surged throughout his body, and his twelve meridians flowed like turbulent rivers. His limbs and bones were immersed in this energy, seemingly undergoing a constant cleansing process, becoming transparent and unobstructed…
Deep underground, in undisturbed silence, Song Hao savored the wondrous sensation brought by the fossilized stalagmite. Everything in the world faded away, ceased to exist, all ashes vanished, leaving only his spirit.
Suddenly, the supreme medical treasure—the Song Tiansheng Acupuncture Bronze Figure—appeared vividly before him, walking as if it were a real person. Song Hao involuntarily stepped forward to meet it, becoming one with the bronze figure. The wondrous sensations and sensations previously experienced from the acupuncture bronze figure were now being felt once more on his own body…
The bronze figure is me, and I am the bronze figure. The meridians and acupoints throughout my body become even clearer…
Song Hao felt as if he were running through an open field, with a gentle breeze, green grass, and drifting clouds and mist, which made him wave his arms and cheer...
It seemed he tripped over a stone; lost in his own world, Song Hao fell and woke up. He saw Wang Li holding a headlamp and shining it on him, looking utterly surprised. He was back in the real world.
"Brother Song Hao, why are you laughing loudly in your sleep?" Wang Li asked, bewildered.
"Was I laughing?" Song Hao sat up, realizing that he had just had a dream, a wonderful dream.
"Sigh! We're all like this, and you can still laugh in your sleep! You have such a big heart! It's good that you can think so positively!" Wang Li shook his head and sighed.
Song Hao knew he couldn't explain it to him right away, so he smiled and said, "Brother Wang, I just had a good dream. I dreamt that we went out."
"It's a good omen!" Wang Li said with a self-comforting smile.
Song Hao stood up, feeling extremely relaxed and without the slightest fatigue.
"Brother Wang, let's go. This trip underground wasn't in vain." Song Hao, carrying his belongings, cheerfully walked ahead. He randomly chose a cave entrance and went to try his luck, not caring whether he could get out or not for the time being.
Wang Li shook his head from behind and said, "I didn't realize you were such an optimistic person!"
Song Hao put the medicinal herb and stalactite in his mouth, letting it integrate into his body. He felt increasingly refreshed and his steps became light and agile. He walked a little faster, leaving Wang Li behind him unable to catch up. Wang Li suddenly saw Song Hao wake up refreshed and full of energy. He wondered what had gotten into him, or if he had taken some kind of stimulant. He followed behind with a look of astonishment.
The cave was winding, and in this deep underground place, no one knew where it led; we could only grope our way forward.
After walking for a while, they arrived at a spacious stone hall. Song Hao casually glanced at the stone wall with his miner's lamp and suddenly noticed something unusual about it. Startled, he went closer to take a look and was stunned.
The surrounding stone walls were actually carved with ancient patterns, depicting birds and beasts, mountains and rivers; the sun and moon hanging in the sky, and people walking on the ground. They were hunting, farming, weaving, and playing. The patterns, though simple and archaic, flowed naturally and vividly, showcasing a harmony between humanity, nature, and all things. This also indicated that these were relics of ancient humans, not the work of modern people.
"Huh! This is really strange!" Wang Li, who was standing outside another cave entrance, turned on a miner's lamp and looked into the cave, marveling at what he saw.
Song Hao temporarily set aside the amazement he felt for the ancient patterns on the stone wall and walked over to Wang Li, asking, "Brother Wang, what else have you discovered?"
Wang Li looked completely bewildered and said, "How...how could this be a graveyard?"
"A tomb!" Song Hao was taken aback. Following the light of his miner's lamp, he looked into the stone cave and saw five enormous rectangular stone coffins placed side by side. Beside the coffins lay more than a dozen skeletons. Judging from the thickness of the bones, the people in the skeletons must have been tall and strong in life. Clearly, these people were the slaves buried with the owners of the five coffins.
Strange things kept happening, leaving Song Hao utterly astonished. What was originally just an ordinary copper mine had revealed a peculiar natural cave and an unidentifiable underground monster. That wasn't all; what's more, this underground depths also concealed the remains of ancient humans.
Song Hao recalled the miraculous medicinal stalactite he had collected and absorbed, and realized that the underground of the Yuehe Copper Mine was indeed an extraordinary place, beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. The vastness of heaven and earth is beyond the full understanding of human wisdom.
The stone tomb was cold and terrifying. Song Hao and Wang Li dared not look any further and turned away.
"When did this person live? How did they end up buried here?" Wang Li asked in surprise.
“It’s ancient, we don’t know which dynasty it was from. Judging from its primitiveness, it must have been a human living here before the formation of writing, because there’s nothing written on this stone wall, not even pictographs,” Song Hao said, pointing to the patterns on the stone wall for Wang Li to see.
After reading it, Wang Li shook his head and exclaimed in amazement, "My God! Could this have been left behind by our ancestors in primitive society?"
Song Hao said excitedly, "It should be. This is something we discovered together, it must be a major discovery in the history of human archaeology."
"Sigh! What's the use of finding another treasure if the two of us can't get out? We'll end up like these primitive people, living like the ancients," Wang Li said dejectedly.
"No, these ancient people must have had a path leading to the surface to get down to such a depth. Although it's ancient and the exit may be sealed off, there must be a passage close to the surface. We'll have a chance. There's always a way out!" Song Hao comforted him.
“Alright, we can’t wander around anymore, otherwise it will be dangerous when we run out of food and water. Let’s find some terrain that rises up; the closer we get to the ground, the better our chances and hopes will be,” Song Hao said.
Wang Li nodded and said, "That's the only way."