I Have Seen You

A gust of wind swept by, throwing Qin Yi and the crane out the door together.

Qin Yi stumbled but managed to steady himself. The crane, as if caught off guard, landed on its bottom, its wings still flapping, and stared at Qin Yi with wide eyes.

Qin Yi smiled and pulled it up.

"This is the first time I've been thrown out after bringing guests here!" The crane wasn't angry, but rather amused and exasperated. "Did you come here to seek the Dao or to cause trouble?"

"I sincerely seek the Dao." Qin Yi said with a smile, "Although I'd very much like to see this kind of Dao, I also know that some things are best left untouched. Showing it to me is fine, but if you're going to gamble on it yourself, then I'd rather not see it at all."

The crane looked at him for a moment, then laughed and said, "Alright, how about the next place?"

Qin Yi remained silent.

The crane cackled strangely and flew away first.

Next stop, is it a prostitute...?

A moment later, Qin Yi stood in front of the "brothel," his mouth half-open, unable to close it for a long time.

It's less like a brothel and more like the Jade Pool seen on television. Amidst the Immortal Qi mist, beauties with flowing ribbons gracefully pass by, while inside, the sounds of laughter and celestial music fill the air, and fragrances waft through the air.

You can hear the sounds of string and wind instruments, as well as the laughter of men and women, but the overwhelming feeling is one of ethereal beauty.

A graceful woman approached, and seeing Qin Yi standing there dumbfounded, she smiled shyly, "Fellow Daoist, have you come from afar? Would you like to stay the night in my Fragrant Garden?"

Qin Yi asked in a daze, "It really is prostitution? How much per night?"

The crane then glanced at him sideways.

The woman smiled and said, "An Immortal Pill, a pot of Immortal Wine, an Immortal Peach, an Immortal Stone... even a fine poem or a beautiful painting are all available for payment. Would you like to give it a try, sir?"

"Holy crap..." Qin Yi exclaimed incredulously, "How is this also the Dao?"

"The pleasures between men and women are a natural and fundamental principle; how can they not be the way?"

"But this is for sale!"

"A fair trade, based on mutual consent, is surely the right thing to do."

Qin Yi was momentarily speechless, and after a long pause, he finally managed to ask, "Can this kind of 'Dao' be cultivated? Dual cultivation?"

The woman smiled and said, "Some people have no other desires but spend their whole lives pursuing 'lust,' becoming infatuated with the garden of fragrances. Ironically, this leads to an overflowing of inspiration and the full awakening of their Daoist realm. This is cultivation."

Qin Yi was taken aback, but then he understood a little better; there really was such a thing...

"And... where is the woman?"

The woman sighed, "Women can like to try new things too. What misunderstanding does the customer have about women?"

Qin Yi: "..."

"Moreover, some people lack talent and resources, yet still desire to retain their youthful appearance and eternal beauty. How can they achieve that?"

Qin Yi paused again. Suddenly, he realized something... perhaps some women cultivate immortality not for power or even immortality, but to preserve their youthful appearance.

The most fleeting things in life are youth and beauty; rosy cheeks fade from the mirror, and flowers fall from the trees.

This statement suddenly carries a sense of helplessness in the face of human nature.

"With limited talent and a weak backing, cultivation relies on dual cultivation, and resources are exchanged. It's a helpless situation." The woman smiled slightly. "We are seeking the Dao, each getting what we need. It's not some brothel forcing women into prostitution. Do you have any further questions, sir?"

"That's all." Qin Yi bowed. "I've learned a great deal today. Thank you for your guidance, young lady."

The woman approached, smiling, and said, "Then... aren't you going to give me something?"

"I wanted to present you with a poem, but alas, I am uncultured..." Qin Yi ran away as if his life depended on it. "Farewell."

The woman behind him laughed, "Is he a virgin?"

Qin Yi blushed and left the house in the blink of an eye.

He's not a novice, and he's completely out of place in this kind of environment. He ended up in a brothel while seeking enlightenment. Liusu must be laughing her head off.

Today's visit to the Dao has truly shattered my worldview. No wonder the crane thought the Celestial Pivot Divine Palace would look down on their Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace; it would be a miracle if they did!

Even in the entire cultivation world, the Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace must be a very unique existence.

Ordinary Daoist practitioners avoid these things like the plague, and the theoretical basis of those demonic practices of "Yin-Yang Harvesting's inner strength" is not like that.

The Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace directly recognizes these things as part of the Dao, not only not avoiding them, but treating them as an extremely normal and natural thing to do, thus finding a different path to achieve the Dao.

Even the cultivation world probably doesn't know whether it's considered Righteous Path or demonic; it can probably only be called "evil."

The crane glanced at him sideways and said, "It seems this lineage isn't suitable for you. Where would you like to go now?"

"Hmm..." Qin Yi stroked his chin and thought for a moment, "How about the four arts: music, Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting?"

He was genuinely afraid that what he'd found at the Strange Skills and Ingenious Crafts section might actually be sex toys, which would completely ruin everything. He'd better look at the normal stuff first...

"As for Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting, and painting, I don't need to guide you there," the crane laughed. "That place is harmless, just a few idiots. Last time I accidentally went there and was dragged into a three-day, three-night game of chess by a chess fanatic. I couldn't stand it. If you want to go, go by yourself. Just use the magic circle you came from and have the Stone Turtle open it for you."

"Uh, you're not thinking of going back to a brothel, are you...?"

"The world is full of wonders, and the celestial palaces are countless. I am at great freedom here, so why should I go anywhere else?" The crane flapped its wings and flew away, disappearing without a trace.

Qin Yi looked at the crane's shadow, lost in thought.

Liusu said, "Actually, this Ten Thousand Dao Immortal Palace is quite interesting. The various systems have broadened my horizons and even given me some inspiration. This trip was worthwhile. Judging from the performance of this crane, these new systems are nothing more than explorers, while those at a higher level are observers. The Palace Master of this palace has some expertise."

"Well, you're an observer too, I'm just here to watch the show." Qin Yi walked towards the magic array and laughed, "I didn't expect there really was such a thing as a teleportation array."

"This is the principle of space. You can traverse natural spatial rifts even below the rift valley. True cultivators can naturally make use of them," Liusu said with a smile. "However, these cannot be set up arbitrarily. If not done properly, space will tear apart, and you'll be torn to pieces when you come out."

Qin Yi shuddered; the soft light of the magic array in front of him now looked a bit like a meat grinder.

"Don't be afraid, you can tell at a glance whether the magic array is chaotic or not." Liusu said, "Let's go, let's go, I really want to see what the Zither, Chess, Calligraphy, Painting side is like."

They returned to the Stone Turtle through a magic circle, then passed through another magic circle, and emerged onto another mountain.

Green hills and clear waters, Singing Birds and Fragrant Flowers, pavilions nestled in the distance. In the distance, the sound of cascading waterfalls can be heard, while nearby, streams flow gently.

A white rabbit was crouching nearby. When it saw someone come out, it seemed startled and darted into the bushes.

Music could be faintly heard from high above, its melody elegant and quite different from the silk and bamboo music of the "brothel" before. It was closer to the sound of a zither heard in the sky, like a mountain stream, clearing the soul.

Qin Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

This is at least close to the feeling of seeking immortality and visiting the Dao; that "town" before... well, it's hard to describe.

As you slowly walk up the mountain, you soon see a waterfall halfway up the mountain, cascading down. On the opposite cliff, a precipitous rock juts out, and on the rock is a pavilion where two Daoist priests are playing chess.

Remembering the crane's words, Qin Yi dared not approach to look, fearing he would be pulled into a game of chess, so he quietly left.

As it turned out, he had worried too much; the two Daoist priests seemed completely unaware of his arrival, not even raising their heads.

This mountain is sparsely populated; only occasionally, a corner of a roof can be seen amidst the dense trees, indicating that a few individuals live in seclusion here—perhaps the chess-playing Daoist from earlier. Otherwise, it is truly deserted; we walked for a long time without seeing a single soul.

It wasn't until we reached the top of the mountain that we saw a rather large wooden house. The house was very simple, not even painted, but it occupied a large area and had several entrances and exits. I wondered how many people lived there.

In the front yard, a little girl sat barefoot on the edge of the cliff, drawing a camellia.

Qin Yi then quietly walked over and took a look.

The camellias in the painting were so lifelike that they even exuded a delicate fragrance— Qin Yi could distinguish that the fragrance came from two sources, one from the real camellias in front of him, and the other from the painting itself.

The camellias in the painting are already fragrant.

What surprised Qin Yi even more was that the little girl who was so engrossed in drawing that she didn't even realize there was a strange uncle standing behind her was not human.

"Qing Cha..." A languid voice came from inside the room. "My heart suddenly stirred, as if someone from a book had come to find me."

The little girl didn't even look up. "Master, you're dreaming again."

The wooden door creaked open, and a woman in a yellow dress, her hair disheveled and eyes half-closed, yawned as she walked out, her steps unsteady, as if she hadn't fully woken up.

Seemingly noticing Qin Yi standing there, the woman paused for a moment, then walked towards Qin Yi with dazed eyes. She didn't stop even when she reached Qin Yi, and dazedly reached out to touch Qin Yi face.

"Didn't this just come from that Fragrant Garden?!" Qin Yi took a step back in fright. "Fairy, please..."

The woman spoke up, "I... I think I've seen you before."

Qin Yi was taken aback and couldn't help but say, "This is my first time here, and the first time I've seen you, young lady. Where have you seen me before?"

The woman rubbed her sleepy eyes, tilted her head and thought for a moment, "In the history books, there are only a few lines of records."

Qin Yi's eyes widened.

Then the woman said, "You are Qin Yi, the Nanli Kingdom Teacher."