Chapter 63: Inspiration is a Curse

Luo En didn't deny it: "Yes, Madam. I made my first attempt last night."

"How did it feel?" Lady Ailan's expression was hard to fathom, neither showing joy nor worry, just a purely professional inquiry.

"Very shocking." Luo En weighed his words, "I saw the stars, heard strange whispers, and saw some terrifying scenes that were hard to describe—some kind of existence was devouring stars and galaxies."

Hearing these descriptions, the old witch's expression changed slightly, but she quickly returned to calm.

"So that's it; it seems you do have extraordinary inspiration."

She seemed to be lost in her own thoughts: "Most people can only see blurred starlight on their first attempt, and at most hear some intermittent babble sounds. You actually witnessed the scene of that 'devourer' directly; it's really unexpected."

While speaking, Lady Ailan stood up, walked toward him leaning on her cane, and a complex expression appeared on her face:

"Luo En, do you know how long it usually takes to successfully enter the first stage of [Star-Eater's Babble]?"

Luo En shook his head; he really didn't know.

"Ordinary apprentices, even those with the best aptitude of the fourth-rank star, need at least three months to barely build a complete initial rune, and you..."

Her voice carried a trace of doubt: "And you, actually did it on the first night?"

Luo En was shocked in his heart, not expecting his progress to be so abnormal: "Maybe it's because the foundation I laid before was relatively good?"

"No, it's not just a foundation problem." Lady Ailan shook her head: "This shows that you have a very high compatibility with [Star-Eater's Babble], one could even say, a natural affinity."

She pondered for a moment, seemingly re-evaluating something: "There must be something special about you that I haven't noticed yet. But regardless, this is a good thing."

"Then, about the spiritual pollution and dreams when practicing meditation..." Luo En asked tentatively.

"Ah, yes, this question is crucial."

Lady Ailan nodded: "Any advanced meditation method will cause more or less spiritual pollution, [Star-Eater's Babble] even more so. The higher the aptitude and the stronger the inspiration, the greater the impact, because they can perceive more 'truth' that ordinary people cannot touch."

Her tone became more serious, even carrying a warning:

"In the wizard's world, there is a saying—inspiration is a curse. Because the higher the inspiration, the easier it is to come into contact with certain 'truths' too early, thereby triggering mental collapse, madness, or even worse. Many good wizard seeds have fallen into the abyss of madness before they fully grow up."

Luo En thought thoughtfully and nodded: "Is this why I heard that some people are clearly gifted, but choose a slower and more stable path?"

"Exactly." Lady Ailan looked at him appreciatively:

"Knowledge itself has no good or evil, but every kind of knowledge has its price. Sometimes the price is time, sometimes it is money, but the most profound knowledge often requires the integrity of the mind as a price."

She paused, seemingly considering whether to continue delving into this topic:

"Your mental endurance is unexpectedly strong, but don't take it lightly. The spiritual pollution of advanced meditation methods is cumulative. Every meditation will bring a certain degree of pollution; if you are too eager for success during meditation, long-term accumulation may cause irreversible damage."

"I will keep it in mind." Luo En nodded, secretly rejoicing in his heart that he had the pocket watch to help.

Lady Ailan didn't ask too much about how he dealt with spiritual pollution, seemingly assuming he had his own methods.

"Then continue today's guidance. But first, let me confirm your status again."

Her hand suddenly reached out, and her aged but powerful fingers pressed on Luo En's temple, and a cold energy instantly seeped into the shallow layer of his consciousness.

Luo En almost reflexively wanted to resist this intrusion, but forcibly controlled himself, letting Lady Ailan's spiritual power probe into the shallow layer of his consciousness.

The old witch's spiritual power, like an experienced swimming snake, moved flexibly and accurately around his consciousness space, checking every possible abnormality.

A moment later, she withdrew her hand, and the expression on her face was somewhat complex:

"The state is not bad, much better than I expected; it seems [Star-Eater's Babble] is indeed particularly suitable for you."

In fact, if it weren't for the additional trait triggering that kind of special inspiration, [Star-Eater's Babble] would be cultivated steadily and slowly, at most causing some relatively mild spiritual pollution, plus the weakening effect of artificial star dew on pollution, the impact would be even smaller.

It is estimated that Lady Ailan didn't expect Luo En to have such rapid progress.

In the time that followed, Lady Ailan explained in detail how to consolidate the structure of the initial rune, and how to gradually expand the depth and breadth of meditation.

This guidance was deeper and more specific than yesterday's, and she even personally demonstrated some key steps, allowing Luo En to understand more intuitively.

"Remember, don't be eager for success."

Before leaving, the old witch emphasized again: "The cultivation of the first stage usually takes at least half a year to stabilize and consolidate; even if your talent is abnormal, you should remain cautious."

Luo En nodded solemnly, indicating understanding.

"I have heard of too many geniuses who ruined themselves because of pride." Lady Ailan looked at him deeply: "Don't become one of them."

When leaving the herb shop, Luo En's thoughts were chaotic.

The cold wind brushed through the branches, making a rustling whisper, like the faint babble between the stars, making him shiver involuntarily.

"'Devourer'... what exactly is that?" He whispered in his heart, the terrifying scene he saw in his meditation last night appearing in his mind again.

That huge existence beyond mortal understanding wandered in the sea of stars, devouring one star after another, like a hungry beast gnawing on prey on the grassland.

"This cannot just be a hallucination..."

Luo En stopped and looked at a high tower vaguely visible in the mountains in the distance.

That was the residence of a formal wizard in the Black Fog Forest, and the top of the tower flickered with strange light all year round, like a lighthouse in the dark night, and like a giant eye peeping at everything.

"Who exactly is Lady Ailan? Why does she possess such a meditation method?"

This question was like a stone, weighing heavily on Luo En's heart.

Ever since he first saw Lady Ailan, he felt that this old woman was shrouded in layers of mystery.

What flickered in those dark green eyes was not only wisdom, but also some unfathomable ancient aura, as if she had lived far more than a century.

And the phenomenon of her returning to her young and beautiful appearance during the few days when magical power fluctuations were most active every month was also something that ordinary wizards could not do.

"[Star-Eater's Babble]..." Luo En whispered this name, feeling the strange rhythm of every word jumping on the tip of his tongue:

"Where exactly does this meditation method come from? Is it really just a crazy wizard's creation?"

Thoughts were as complex as a maze, and every question seemed to lead to more doubts.

He took a deep breath, letting his thinking return to rationality.

"Regardless, this meditation method is indeed extremely beneficial to me." He weighed in his heart:

"Since Lady Ailan is willing to teach it to me, I should seize this opportunity, even if there is some intention behind it that I don't yet understand."

"After all..." Luo En looked at his hands and whispered in his heart:

"In this world, power is the guarantee of survival; if you are always suspicious, you won't be able to get anything done."

The evening wind blew away the mist on the treetops, the light on the distant tower became brighter and brighter, and he put on his hood and turned to walk toward the dormitory area.