Hearing Lu Miaozi's explanation that all things in the world began with one and ended with one, Ye Weiming and Youyou exchanged a glance. They both saw the same two words in each other's eyes:
Quest!
The thought of possibly receiving more generously rewarded quests from Lu Miaozi immediately set their blood boiling.
After steadying himself and suppressing his excitement, Ye Weiming began playing along based on his own understanding. "The Tao Te Ching states: 'The Dao gave birth to one; one gave birth to two; two gave birth to three; three gave birth to all things.' Numbers begin with one. That principle is simple enough, but the idea of ending with one leaves people utterly baffled."
Lu Miaozi smiled. "After thirty years of contemplation, I made an unexpected discovery. It is precisely the answer to your question."
Ye Weiming immediately said, "I'm all ears."
Lu Miaozi leisurely replied, "The Great Expansion numbers fifty, of which forty-nine are used. These two lines come from the Book of Changes' Commentary on the Appended Phrases. Practitioners have always regarded them as instructions for divination, since fifty stalks are used in divination, while one must be set aside in the method of calculation. Yet they do not know that the principles of heaven and earth lie entirely within these two lines... Urgh!"
Just as Lu Miaozi reached the middle of his explanation, he suddenly clutched his chest. By the time his pained cry reached them, his face had already turned ashen, and beads of sweat the size of beans streamed down his forehead.
Ye Weiming was greatly alarmed. With a flash, he vanished from his chair and appeared behind Lu Miaozi the next instant. As he caught him, his abundant inner energy, endowed with powerful healing properties, slowly flowed into Lu Miaozi's body.