Opening the Spiritual Eye

"Of course I know!"

A crystalline light shone in Wu Qing's eyes. "I can faintly sense that this is a tribulation on my path!"

Then she gave a cold laugh. "So what if something stands in my way? I'll simply cut it down with my sword!"

As soon as she said this, a dull rumble of thunder rolled across the sky.

Outside, wind and snow swirled together. Inside, the Female Daoist's hair was elegantly arranged, and her natural beauty was captivating. She seemed to possess an air of transcendence, making Wu Ming lose himself for a moment.

"I wonder what exactly this Dragon Gate Gathering is?"

Realizing he had been rude, he immediately coughed and changed the subject.

"The Dragon Gate Gathering..."

Wu Qing's pretty face turned faintly red, but the color vanished in an instant. After a moment's thought, she said, "Do you know that the Angry Dragon River runs through our Chu Feng Commandery for three hundred li, gathering the waters of the commandery before finally flowing east into the sea?"

"I've heard a little about it..."

Wu Ming smiled sheepishly. His predecessor, a spoiled young master, had known nothing about geography. He only knew the name Angry Dragon River.

"The Angry Dragon River is a tributary of the Heaven's River Great Dragon Vein in the Red County Divine Land. Its waters slow sharply as they pass through Dragon Gate Gorge, and only then can they nourish the common people... A hundred years ago, however, the river surged violently and often brought disaster to the people, flooding the land for a thousand li! Fortunately, Commandery Governor Wang Zhong, who held office at the time, cut through the mountains and quarried stone, built a dam in the gorge, and captured and killed a water demon. He erected a stele to keep watch over it, and only then did the river's three hundred li downstream become free from floods and droughts, allowing the people to live without fear of famine. It became a land of plenty... The people of that time were grateful and built Wang Zhong a shrine while he was alive. After his death, his spirit remained, and he became the City God of Chu Feng. His divine might is formidable..."

"So the Dragon Gate Gathering is connected to this?" Wu Ming asked.

"Exactly! Beneath the Merit Stele erected by Governor Wang Zhong, a White Python is actually being suppressed. It has already begun to take on the features of a flood dragon!" Wu Qing finally revealed a shocking secret. "This python is descended from the water demon of that time. It's said that a python transforms into a flood dragon after five hundred years. I've heard this one has already grown a single horn and taken on the features of a flood dragon. It is also bound to the Angry Dragon River's water vein, so it cannot be killed. But when a flood dragon emerges, the waters will inundate a hundred li and bring ruin to all living things. We can neither kill it nor release it, so we can only keep it suppressed!"

"Back then, with the support of the court's fortune and the help of many extraordinary people, Wang Zhong erected the Merit Stele and sealed the White Python beneath it. The various Daoist lineages that took part organize a ritual every so often to replenish the seal with magical power and fortune. Over time, this became an established practice. That is how the Dragon Gate Gathering came about!"

"My Daoist cultivation has recently advanced, and I've been promoted to High Official. So I'm to help suppress the White Python—or rather, the White Flood Dragon. It's a trial, but also a chance to earn merit!"

"I see!"

Wu Ming nodded, though he was still a little shaken. So, in other words, the Dragon Gate Gathering is a massive suppression ritual. But there really are flood dragons in this world...

Could that water demon from back then have been an evil dragon? Perhaps people avoided calling it a dragon because mortals killing one was taboo, and simply called it a water demon instead?

He still felt uneasy, so he asked, "Um... Is it really safe? Could that white snake break free?"

"Of course not!"

Wu Qing seemed quite confident. "This is only a chance for the younger generation to train. How dangerous could it be? The ones who actually take action to maintain and reinforce the seal are the City God and the elders of the Daoist sects. We'll also receive a generous reward from the commandery, and we can earn merit from Heaven and Earth. It's a plum position. Your older sister had to defeat countless rivals to get it! This is my tribulation. If I avoid it, the consequences will spread farther and bring even greater disaster in the future!"

Looks like all I can do is meet soldiers with generals and floodwaters with earth. At the very least, I'll have to go to the commandery seat when the time comes. I can't let Wu Qing die...

His mind now made up, Wu Ming showed none of it on his face. He smiled and said, "You've had your hands full with work, Sis. You really did come back at just the right time. Tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. You have to drink a few extra cups!"

"New Year's Eve?"

Wu Qing seemed a little wistful. "For those of us who left the world behind to cultivate the Dao, with all this noise and worldly splendor... who knows how much longer I'll be able to see it?"

Wu Ming's heart sank. He knew that Wu Qing's Daoist Arts ran deep, and that she had spoken from a faint sense of foreboding. But he said, "Speaking of that, I'm reminded of the pork dumplings we made on New Year's Eve when we were little. They were piping hot and dripping with fat—so delicious. I used to steal Big Sis's all the time..."

"You still remember that?"

Wu Qing shot Wu Ming a look, but her face blossomed like a hundred flowers, and a captivating smile spread across it.

Night fell.

Inside the quiet chamber, Wu Ming sat cross-legged, his expression resolute.

"Sis Qing was right to remind me today! I had pills to help me along, and I was worried about an unstable foundation and a delicate Sea of Consciousness, so I'd been taking every step with extreme caution. Instead, I'd lost my bold and determined Dao Heart!"

A true teaching could convey in a single sentence what a thousand words could not. The mist cleared before him, and Wu Ming felt as if a heavenly revelation had struck him. He forged ahead in one go, letting three drops of Five Stone Return Bright Powder fall into his mouth before closing his eyes in silence.

In an instant, a surge of heat, more violent and domineering than usual, formed. Swept along by it, the current rushed straight toward the ancestral orifice at the crown of his head.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, chaos churned, bringing with it a terrifying sensation of shattering.

Normally, Wu Ming would never have dared to force his way through such a situation. He would have stopped at once and dispersed the medicinal power.

But this time, he gritted his teeth and let the pain split his Sea of Consciousness apart as he drove the surging heat downward, turning it into ice.

"Open... for me!"

Boom!

In an instant, it was as if he had broken through a certain boundary. The chaos receded, and a layer of light opened up.

Though it was only a small patch at the center, Wu Ming immediately felt something wondrous, as if his very spirit had undergone a transformation. "My Sea of Consciousness has opened!"

He had now truly advanced to the rank of Daoist. He could be called a Daoist Priest!

His spiritual awareness and magical power arose of their own accord, and he could study Daoist Arts without expending his own Qi and Blood and vital essence.

With this single step, he had entered the Daoist sect!

"Phew... Changing classes sure isn't easy. I've finally made it as a Mage!"

Wu Ming chuckled at himself and took out the Yellow Court Yin Talisman Scripture to read.

"After Daoist Priests come Refining Masters... They cultivate the five energies within and harmonize them with the five organs. Every day, they draw in the purple qi of the morning sun and the sweet dew of the Jade Fluids, tempering the body until Foundation Establishment is perfected... I have experience in martial arts, and my body already has an excellent foundation. I might not advance a thousand li in a single day, but my progress will certainly be astonishing!"

"Now that my Sea of Consciousness has formed, I can also choose to study a few minor spells. That'll greatly improve my ability to adapt to all kinds of mission environments... And when I use magical artifacts and Dao Talismans, they'll gain a third more power and activate faster."

Talismans and magical artifacts were originally made for Daoist Priests, so this was only natural.

Wu Ming thought it over, then took out an iron case. Inside lay a book titled Great Yin Corpse Refining Method, along with a volume of handwritten notes.

"The Great Yin Corpse Refining Method has too many restrictions, and stealing corpses goes against Heaven's will. If I'm discovered, I'll be branded a demon... Besides, I can't bring two zombies along on every mission, can I?"

Wu Ming shook his head regretfully. "And... Bronze Corpses and Iron Corpses are difficult to refine and extremely vulnerable to lightning. They're easily countered. I'd have to refine a Golden Corpse... but my magical power is nowhere near enough."

With his meager magical power, having only just opened his Sea of Consciousness, it was indeed difficult for him to cultivate any Daoist Arts with formidable killing power.

"Should I exchange for one at the Main God Hall? But merit points are precious. I need to keep at least some in reserve for the next mission..."

Wu Qing was another option, of course, but Wu Ming knew that the Dao Academy strictly regulated Daoist Arts. He didn't want to put her in a difficult position or expose her to danger.

"Still, the notes left by Daoist Qing Ping include a few minor spells he picked up while wandering. I could take a look at those..."

Thinking this, Wu Ming opened the notes.

Daoist Qing Ping was a Rogue Cultivator, and he had a remarkable talent for geomancy. By swindling and bluffing, then through a stroke of luck, he had acquired a few lines of true instruction. Combining them with his own study and insight, he had managed to figure out a few things.

The rest were nothing special, but he was rather proud of one method for opening a spiritual eye, so he had recorded it carefully.

"Spiritual Eye Art?"

Wu Ming pondered for a moment.

In truth, the Daoist sects had many ways to open a spiritual eye. They were used to see ghosts and communicate between the realms of yin and yang.

But Daoist Qing Ping claimed his method could do more than see the netherworld. It could also reveal fortune and discern the feng shui of a dwelling. That was truly extraordinary.

"In the Daoist Arts of divination, there are seals, names, people, homes, and tombs. From reading a person's features to reading the feng shui of a dragon vein, then on to the fortune of a family or nation—mastering just one of these can keep you fed and clothed for life. Qing Ping earned himself a place in the Zhou family through this skill. He wasn't just making things up..."

The incantation recorded by Daoist Qing Ping was quite simple. Wu Ming silently recited it for a while, then closed his eyes.

Within his Sea of Consciousness, magical power gathered and abruptly formed a character.

This was the foundation of a spell, a true seed of Daoist script!

When he opened his eyes again, the reflection of a rune appeared in his pupils, and fine glimmers of light flashed through them.

"So easily?"

It was only a minor spell, but Wu Ming still found it hard to believe he had mastered it in an instant.

"The Spiritual Eye Art... I've already cultivated it?"

Wu Ming could hardly believe it. He surveyed the furnishings in the room, but saw nothing. Then he had an idea and raised his left hand, whereupon the Black Gold Ring emitted fine rays of light.

Now he felt more certain. He took out a Bronze mirror and pointed it at himself.

"This is..."

In the Bronze mirror, he saw a young man who looked only sixteen or seventeen. He had a jade-like face, and above his head clustered red and white qi in rippling waves. A ring of clear light surrounded his entire body.

"So clear?"

Wu Ming was surprised. "And it doesn't seem to have cost me anything..."

He went outside and climbed to a high place to gaze into the distance.

Across the vast land, strands of white qi surged in from every direction, gathering above the fortified settlement. Within the hazy mass, they gave rise to crimson qi that bolstered him.

"This is the Earth Vein's qi! The power brought by two thousand mu of good farmland and two hundred tenant farmers!" The moment he saw it, he understood.

"That's strange. Didn't the notes say, '...to gaze at qi, meditate and focus the spirit, and you may see a riot of colors... When the Earth Vein is thick, discerning it silently will leave you bedridden for three months...'?"

Wu Ming couldn't help thinking of Daoist Qing Ping's own account.

Whenever Qing Ping read someone's fortune, he could only get a rough, blurry impression. The one time he chose a burial site for the Zhou family, he had first burned incense and prayed, then abstained from food and bathed for three days and three nights before daring to begin. Even then, he could only see the Earth Qi as a riot of colors. He had to strain himself to pick out a single auspicious hue, and was even struck by the Earth Dragon's backlash, leaving him bedridden for three months.

And yet, even after all that, a hint of pride still showed through in his notes.

"Then what does this make me?"

"Is my constitution extraordinary, making me especially compatible with this Daoist Art? Or have my eyes... changed somehow?"

In a flash, Wu Ming thought of the Main God Apostle's prompt.

"Acquired True Sight... Could this power to see through illusions have come with me to the Great Zhou World?"