Since Skymender was ready, the Western Monks did not waste any more time. They set off, and Skymender once again began to drag the Imperial Scholar through the sand.
It was noticeably easier than before. However, that sensation only lasted a few hours.
By hour five, he was once again exhausted. Used to the sensation, he pushed on as hard as possible, while also doing his best to control his mind. Instead of directly trying to quiet it, he was just hoping to have some sort of control over his sudden thoughts.
Ten hours passed, and another ten hours, before they caught up to the Western Monks, who were resting.
Skymender made it, and instantly passed out. It was essentially no easier than before. This time, he only fell asleep for ten hours. When he woke up, he was just as sore as before, but was quickly able to stretch and get moving.
For around two hours, he kept up with the Western Monks. He spoke to them about his accidental usage of the seeing through vibrations technique.
They were surprised that he had accidentally fallen into that state, yet also not surprised. As he was blind, he had a great advantage.
"You've already progressed along the technique more than anyone here has, so don't feel discouraged. Once we get to the next checkpoint, we can try and help you a bit more."
He soon fell behind, and he did his best to keep up.
Around 24 hours passed before he passed out in front of the Western Monks. After ten hours of sleep, he once again continued. This cycle repeated, Skymender slowly becoming stronger, for a week in total.
Finally, they reached a halfway point. At a camp, which had very few people, the Western Monks set up to restock and rest for a while.
Skymender reached it five hours after they had.
He once again collapsed, and woke up after fifteen hours.
This time, he didn't have to move again. He sat in the circle with the Western Monks. There were a few new people in the circle. After all, the Western Monks traveled around to spread their knowledge.
When Skymender came over, they shifted the focus onto him for a moment.
"Continue to try meditation, Skymender. Once you can clear your mind, we will do our best to help you further." The monk in charge said.
Skymender nodded and did as they said.
After around a week, he made great progress. It was much easier to clear his mind when an entire sense of his was cut off, and it was the sense that humans used most, sight.
The Western Monks stayed for a period of two weeks before they began to pack up. By now, Skymender had made great progress, and was nearing a state of completion.
They traveled for another week, Skymender suffering every day, before they reached another oasis. Skymender sighed in relief as he bathed in the oasis.
There were two sections of the oasis. One was for drinking water, while another much smaller section was used as a pool.
It was not free, however. A person had to pay a price and clean themselves thoroughly before being allowed to enter.
Skymender floated on the surface, doing his best to ease his exhaustion. After a few hours, he once again began to practice meditation.
The Western Monks planned to stay here for a month, as the next journey was far more treacherous. It was an entire month's travel before reaching the next oasis, and there was no in between point. Even the Western Monks had to use camels. Otherwise, they would just be traveling towards their doom.
Skymender spent two weeks practicing mediation, before he was able to semi-permanently clear his mind.
"Congratulations, Skymender. This is the first step in practicing Buddhism, and for you, it is a great helping hand in being able to see through vibrations. Next, you must sense the vibrations of the world. Every single thing causes vibrations, it is all a matter of sensing it, amplifying it, and projecting it in the mind. This is what I've understood about the technique, though it is only a conjecture as I've never used it." A monk explained.
Skymender moved forward with this guidance. For the next few days, all he did was stand on the sand and try to feel everything around him.
From what he had been told, it was harder to use this technique on the sand than it was anywhere else, but if he could learn it on the sand, he could use it anywhere.
For the rest of the month period, Skymender did his best to sense vibrations. By the end, he had a faint feeling, but nothing that could be used to see. He truly could not understand how he had done it back then.
It was time to set off, and Skymender didn't have to drag the Imperial Scholar. Instead, they once again felt the luxury of riding with camels.
They also dragged barrels of water behind them, using the camels and pallets.
While they spent a month traveling, the Imperial Scholar began to once again teach Skymender. Although he was focused on trying to see, he couldn't stop learning.
It may not seem like it, but Skymender was 17 years old now. After spending so much time traveling from the Natural Empire, he was much older.
He was essentially fully grown.
The Imperial Scholar was 77. He was nearing the end, though he definitely had a bit more time left than previously expected.
During the month of travel, Skymender spent half of his time walking alongside the camels, trying to sense vibrations, and the other half learning.
Eventually, they did make it to the destination. Beyond this, there were no more oases, checkpoints, or outposts.
Deeper into the desert was the unknown. It was far too dangerous and treacherous to try and find out what was out there. Even the Western Monks would not risk it.
Here, they rested for another two months.