That night, Amon came to the cold spring again, but not to bathe as usual. In the past, he used to sit in the water at the edge of the cold spring, soak his body and wash his face and hair, but this time the old madman asked him to dive into the depths of the cold spring to find the spring, where there was something special, and take it back.

As for what it was, the old madman didn't say.

The cold spring was bitterly cold, and a layer of mist condensed on the surface of the water in the moonlight looked like it was steaming, but it was actually tiny droplets of water condensed in the cold air close to the surface of the water. In this biting water, ordinary people will tremble in a few breaths, and it is unbearable, even if Amon wants to dive into the depths, it takes courage.

Amon took a deep breath and dived into the spring silently, trying not to think about the biting cold, concentrating on feeling the faint flow of water under the water with his body, looking for the spring. The center of the cold spring is not too deep, about the height of two adults, and that is enough for Amon to be overheaded.

In the depths of the spring, the chill seemed to be boundless, and the heat in his body was rapidly draining, Amon tried his best not to shiver and twitch, but every pore was contracting and trembling, and every small fiber of muscle was trembling rapidly and faintly.

It was difficult to concentrate in such a situation, but Amon did, and he felt the seemingly calm spring water flowing slowly in the depths, tracing it back to its source. The source of this cold spring was bubbling out of a crack in a pile of pebbles at the bottom, and Amon suddenly felt a deeper cold in the midst of a biting chill.

It's hard to tell the difference because it's cold. Amon's hand touched a stone, much like a mine core, and when he concentrated on it carefully, his body suddenly shivered uncontrollably, and he almost choked on water. The cold that I didn't care about was suddenly awakened, and it frantically burrowed into the body.

It's not that the spring water has become colder, but that Amon seems to communicate with the source of the cold, awakening and amplifying that feeling, and for a moment he almost can't stand it, and he just wants to get out of here quickly, and even suspects that he is going to be frozen in the spring.

But Amon didn't leave, a stream of heat rose in his body, covering the limbs of the skeleton, and this reaction usually only appeared when he left the cold spring to sit down and rest, but at this moment it appeared in the spring water, indicating that he had stayed long enough, and was about to exceed a certain limit, and the body had an instinctive self-preservation, and also awakened a kind of power.

Amon gripped the core-sized pebble and didn't pick it up with all his might. What seems to be a stone scattered at the bottom of the water is actually fixed there by a mysterious force, and it is in a state of stalemate.

Amun, who was holding his breath, concentrated all his spirits, and for a moment the cold and heat flow in his body seemed to be under his control, his whole body was trembling rapidly, his chest was very uncomfortable, and his right hand emitted amazing strength. Feeling a sudden loosening, the pebble was picked up by him, and Amon's body jumped out of the water, and fell down with a thud, still holding the stone tightly in his hand.

He climbed back to the shore, but he didn't care about the pebble, but sat there with his eyes closed, seemingly motionless, but he felt that the blood in his whole body was flowing rapidly, every pore was trembling in a way that was imperceptible to the naked eye, and the water droplets on his body turned into hot vapor and dried up, but the chill in his body was slowly dispelled after a long time.

It had only been a short time since he was in the water, but he felt so tired, he stood up and moved his limbs like strange bodies, and only after regaining his composure did he begin to examine the pebble carefully. It looked very much like a piece of core, but Amon had seen more than a variety of cores, and he always felt that there was something different, although this thing was similar to a natural pebble, it always felt like there were some traces of artificial forgery, although it was very cleverly made.

When I sensed it in the spring water just now, it was so cold, but at the moment when I held it in my hand, there was only the normal coolness of a stone, and I could hardly detect the abnormality. Thinking of this, Amon suddenly realized that something was wrong, put down the stone and entered the cold spring again. The water of the cold spring was still cold, but as Amon had guessed, the chill was gradually dissipating.

At this point, Amon should have completed the task assigned by the old madman, but he didn't stop, and once again dived into the cold spring. This time it was much easier than the last time, and soon he grabbed another pebble in one hand and threw it to the shore, then changed his breath and dived again, throwing twenty pebbles in succession before climbing back to the shore.

This time he was cold enough, his body was a little purple, and he was panting and shaking like a sieve. At this time, he inexplicably felt that the moonlight seemed to become brighter, and there was a warmth enveloping him, and it slowly penetrated into his body. Looking up, there was a divine stone quietly suspended above, exuding a soft light, and when he turned around, the old madman was already standing behind him from time to time.

"Kid, you're going to hurt your body like this, I don't want you to take out the entire magic array, just find the blue water center in the middle and use your strength to take it out. As the old madman spoke, the divine stone hanging in the air became brighter, and the soft white light seemed to turn into a dense mist, allowing Amun's body to gradually recover, and at the same time, there was a sense of oppression that made him speechless.

"But you are better than I thought, and you are here to take out the Blue Water Heart, mainly to test two abilities, the first is that your body can withstand the invasion of this cold spring, and still be able to use your strength without interference, and the second is that your spirit and will are strong enough to perceive subtle changes in that environment. Only in this way will it be possible to awaken the power of two sides of oneness. ”

As the old madman spoke, he waved the short staff in his hand, and the twenty pebbles on the ground shattered silently, just like the scene of mining the core with a sledgehammer, revealing the twenty divine stones inside. The pebble that Amon took out at the earliest, the surface showed fluctuations like water lines, and then fell into sand like a stream of water, and a dark blue divine stone appeared in the center.

The old madman then explained, "Thirty years ago, I used a dark blue water heart and twenty divine stones to set up a magic array here to create this cold spring, and now its mission has been accomplished. Those pebbles are not natural cores, they are a disguise that I made. I wasn't surprised that you found the Blue Water Heart, but I was pleasantly surprised that you were able to find all the disguised pebbles. ”

After saying this, the divine stone in mid-air fell down and was caught by the old madman, and only the quiet moonlight was reflected on the water in front of him. Amon had already stood up, reached out and picked up the blue divine stone and asked, "It's called the Blue Water Heart?"

The old madman nodded: "Yes, all kinds of different colors of divine stones have their own names, and the blue ones are called the Blue Water Heart by the Divine Magicians. ”

Children who grew up in Duke Town certainly knew that in addition to the colorless and transparent standard divine stones, there were also four special divine stones: red, blue, black, and white, but the name Amon had heard of it for the first time. Although these four special divine stones are not as rare as the Tears of the Gods, they are also very rare, and even in a place like Duketown, they can't produce a few in a year, and if you're unlucky, you may not see one in a few years.

Amon mined the Tears of the Gods last time, but before he could take a closer look, he was taken away by Fayol, and today was the first time he had the opportunity to study special divine stones other than the standard divine stones.

"Where are you going?" Amon shouted from behind.

"Of course you go home and go to sleep! I'm afraid you'll have an accident in the cold spring, so come and take a look and be ready to save people at any time, and since you're okay, I can sleep well." The old madman replied without looking back.

"What about these divine stones, why don't you take them?" Amon shouted again.

"I threw them here thirty years ago, and I never wanted to take them away, what you take out is yours, and it will be useful to keep them. ...... Tomorrow night at this time, still in this place, I will hold a ceremony for you to awaken your strength, but don't forget. As the voice faded away, the old madman had disappeared into the blackfire jungle.

After the old madman left, Amon sat by the spring and looked at the blue water heart, when he concentrated on trying to experience it carefully, he always felt that there was a mysterious power fluctuating between the divine stone and the spring, and there was something in his body that was about to move, as if it was some kind of longing breath, and he unconsciously wandered again.

......

The next night, the old madman held a "ritual of awakening power" for Amun, which turned out to be a prayer. However, unlike the rituals performed by the magicians, the great magician did not ask Amon to pray to any specific deity, but only taught him how to make his spirit more focused, and everything in the outside world was between the seeming and the unseen, so that he could clearly sense the subtle changes in his body and heart, condense spiritual introspection, and communicate with the original power that symbolizes all things.

Of course, it was much more difficult than the sorcerer's prayer to the gods, and the old madman told Amun that he might as well pray to the gods, and explained with a smile: "I also heard what you and Aristotle said about the origin of the god's surname that day, and if you can understand what he said, then you can understand what I mean." ...... To awaken the power, you must be well prepared, otherwise the ritual will not succeed, and you, who have already been prepared, cannot be more sufficient. ”

This ritual is like opening a door and touching an unknown world. The old madman asked Amon to put the blue water heart in front of him, and let him try to gather spiritual power to use the blue water heart as an intermediary to feel how to communicate with this unknown world. Amon really felt a coolness, as if there was nothing, permeating the surroundings without an exact shape.

When he felt the coolness, it seemed to turn into a cold again, which was the most familiar feeling he had felt in the cold spring for a long time, and then he felt that the spring water around him resonated with it in a strange rhythm. This rhythm is not breathing or heartbeat, but a natural rhythm that cannot be described.

At the same time, the old madman saw the blue water heart emitting a hazy water light enveloping Amon's body, and couldn't help but sigh and said: "If you use the tears of the gods to perform this ritual, it will be much easier to awaken the power, and the blue water heart will make do, even if you don't use the help of any external objects, you will still succeed, but this is better, and it will be easier to master the specific divine arts." ”

Amon didn't hear the old madman's words, he was immersed in a new world, is this the so-called power bestowed by the gods, or is it the power of nature, or maybe it is the power latent in the body? He felt not only the strange fluctuations of the outside world, but also an indescribable sense of ease and pleasure in his body, and he felt that he had never been so strong.

He inexplicably felt so powerful, as if he could control or overcome everything, and when he focused on introspection, he did sense the power of the two sides of the same body.

For example, a hungry person may only think about a full meal, while an emperor may want to conquer the entire continent and have endless wealth and power.

In the seemingly tranquil, various desires or desires also quietly appear, and it is impossible to distinguish whether they come from the body or the mind. It may have been suppressed in a focused prayer ritual, but in his usual words and deeds, Amon soon felt the trouble.

......

The ritual was just the beginning, and the old madman told him that he would gradually master it until he completely controlled this induction, and then he could really learn divine and physical arts, and I am afraid it would take some time. For the next few days, Amon would come to the spring every night to pray intently, but for most of the day, he was still a miner in the town, and he looked the same as before.

He often thought of Mary, of that night, of her body and lips, of the feeling of putting his hand in her neckline on her breast, and with a subtle change in his thoughts. He would indulge in the illusion that he would gain the power to defeat Gabriel, that he could drive out Rod Dicklian's guard, leaving only him and Mary, and then ......

He does have unprecedented power, but with the emergence of power, there are also subtle changes in his mentality, and his desires and desires will swell and amplify, and he will fly boundless like wings.

When he introspects his body and mind every night and senses external objects, he will be very aware of these things, as if he is enduring a kind of torment. One voice seemed to say, "Have the power, get what you want!" and the other seemed to say, "How ridiculous, you weak can only be ridiculed!" and Amun's own soul seemed to be coldly watching from these two voices, and unconsciously being involved.

When Mary was going through all this, Gabriel told her that she only had to look at it with a pure heart and not be swayed. And the old madman didn't say that to Amon, he just told Amon that it was a test, and it was up to him to face it.

In addition to the scratching of the soul, Amon's body also had an abnormal reaction, he had the illusion that he was getting stronger every day, his steps were so powerful and steady when he walked, every bone and every muscle was slight, it seemed to contain infinite energy, and he even had the urge to clench his fists and want to beat people.

The son of a drunkard, who has been ridiculed in this town since he was a child, at this time Amon inexplicably has a kind of ** who beats whoever he sees is unpleasant and catches him, and his body is like a fierce and aggressive beast lurking in his body. Amon didn't fight in the town, but he did do something that left the whole town stunned and envious.

As a result of the incident, Lord Xiao Gu, the priest and clerk of the temple, fainted in public and vomited blood.

The cause of the incident was the divine stones he had taken out of the cold spring, and Amon had been very careful to carry them with him. When he passed by the Temple of Goddess Mu Yun that day, he saw Xiao Gu and his servants registering the taxes paid by the townspeople in front of the door, and the townsman was also standing aside. Out of nowhere, Amon turned around with a sneer and walked over, and said loudly: "Mayor Town, I have to pay taxes!"

Before Mayor Dasty could answer, Xiao Gu asked a little uneasy and curious, "Amon, what taxes do you pay?

Extracting the stone from the core was only the final step, and the core was mined in the mine to the north of the village, on the edge of the lofty mountains of the Syrian Plateau. It is impossible for one person to complete the work of opening mountains, digging stones, and digging cores, which are the collective labor of the miners in the town, and there are people to supervise, and the obtained cores are distributed to each family according to the amount of output. In the clerk Xiao Gu's place, he has not recently registered that the Amun family has received the mine core, and he still feels lucky.

Amon replied, "Your Excellency Priest and Scribe, I have occasionally found a batch of cores washed down by a torrent in a stream in the Black Fire Jungle, as if the gods had given them to mine them without manual digging. I took them home and opened them, and took out a batch of sacred stones, which were also subject to tax according to the ordinance of the town. ”

**