Heaven Opening Eye, a Gifted Prodigy

"What... is the Heavenly Eye?"

As for the question of his origins, Zhou Ming decided to set it aside for now and instead began studying this so-called Heavenly Eye.

In the original story, Tong Xin had opened his Heavenly Eye with Yin Zhong's guidance.

But Yin Zhong had said that Zhou Ming already possessed one.

What exactly was this Heavenly Eye?

It definitely was not his personal space, Perfect Qi, or the mark, because Zhou Ming had already tested all of those.

Nor was this the first time he had heard the term.

Whether in Buddhism, Daoism, or other religious sects, similar concepts existed.

Heavenly Heart, Ancestral Aperture, Mystic Gate, brow chakra, even the pineal gland from scientific theories in his previous life.

They all seemed to confirm that humans possessed a Heavenly Eye, located between the brows.

Looking at mythology, Erlang Shen, Lord Ma, Spirit Officer Wang...

Even in this world, there might be several people who possessed Heavenly Eyes.

A wisp of Perfect Qi entered his body.

Zhou Ming instantly entered a state where endless inspiration surged forth.

"Since Yin Zhong said I have one, then I probably really do. I just never noticed it. The so-called Heavenly Eye probably isn't something on the body, or even something that can normally be perceived within the human body. Then... the soul? The mind?"

Just one-tenth of Perfect Qi could place a person's body in its most perfect state.

The remaining nine-tenths were all used on the soul.

With that as his foundation, Zhou Ming could experiment boldly.

Golden Gate Locks Jade Art!

Quanzhen Internal Art!

Innate Art!

Lesser Formless Art!

Northern Darkness Divine Art!

Undying Seal Method...

Hm?

The Undying Seal Method!

Zhou Ming quickly discovered that when he circulated the Undying Seal Method, it seemed capable of stirring his mind.

He continued trying according to this method. Under the effects of Perfect Qi, every attempt was more perfect than the last.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhou Ming could clearly sense an invisible yet undeniably real force being drawn out and circulating once through his body.

Then he immediately discovered that there seemed to be a fissure between his brows.

This force could easily slip out through that fissure.

Boom!

Zhou Ming saw it!

Even though his eyes remained closed, he could see the scene before him with incomparable clarity.

He hurriedly took out the Jade Tablet Heavenly Book and looked at it.

Hundreds of clear characters emerged upon the smooth surface of the heavenly book.

The first four large characters were... Heaven Opening Eye Method!

The authentic Heaven Opening Eye Method was not something Zhou Ming had stumbled upon and researched by himself.

Zhou Ming quickly memorized it.

He discovered that the first half of this authentic method was actually quite similar to the method he had developed. Both guided one's mental power through that fissure.

It was merely more ingenious and safer.

There were two key requirements. First, powerful mental strength.

Second, the existence of a fissure.

If one did not possess one, it proved that one lacked the talent for cultivating such methods.

The latter half explained how to expand the fissure and stabilize the Heavenly Eye, so that every opening would not require as much time as it did now to guide one's mental power.

Ultimately, one could open it whenever one wished and close it whenever one wished.

Only then could the Heavenly Eye be considered fully cultivated.

However, the size of the fissure was determined by heaven. Expanding it with one's own mental power was extraordinarily difficult.

Therefore, to truly open the Heavenly Eye, one had to guide the power of heaven and earth to assist oneself!

Furthermore, it could not be accomplished in a single attempt.

One had to cultivate it again and again.

But generally speaking, opening the Heavenly Eye for the first time brought the greatest gains. With enough luck, one might even complete more than half of the process at once.

"I'll give it a simple try..."

Zhou Ming thought.

But he never expected that this simple attempt would go so smoothly.

Perfect Qi could only keep a person in their previously most perfect state. Yet when facing unfamiliar matters, even in that most perfect state, success was not guaranteed on the first try.

However, Zhou Ming's attempt went unbelievably smoothly. Every step and every juncture felt as though they had been filled with lubricant, utterly seamless.

The moment he tried, he directly reached the final step of the Heaven Opening Eye Method.

"Then... let's open it directly!"

With that thought, all the mental power surging within his body poured into the fissure.

Boom!

A sensation similar to before, yet far clearer, appeared.

Zhou Ming could not help raising his forehead toward the sky.

Even inside the room, with the ceiling between him and the outside, he could sense the power of heaven and earth flowing beyond.

In an instant, his consciousness seemed to rocket upward. By the time realization struck him, he was already high in the heavens, overlooking the world.

The vast Ming State lay beneath his feet!

Looking into the distance, Kyushu and the Four Seas were all within his sight.

All kinds of strange energies flowed between heaven and earth. The entire world had become a landscape he had never seen before!

Zhou Ming lowered his gaze. The enormous capital now looked no larger than a sesame seed.

Outside the capital, someone raised his head, seemingly staring at Zhou Ming.

Yin Zhong!

Zhou Ming met his gaze.

Yin Zhong turned away and snapped his whip. "Pick up the pace! Return to the Ancient Shu State!"

"Ah? Yes! Second Master! Pick up the pace!"

Whoosh!

In an instant, Zhou Ming returned to the study, back inside his own body.

The power of heaven and earth dissipated, and the Heavenly Eye closed with it.

But Zhou Ming could feel that the fissure between his brows had expanded considerably.

Not only that, some of the power of heaven and earth he had guided just now had entered Zhou Ming's body directly, seeming to undergo some wondrous reaction with his soul and bloodline.

Under this reaction, Zhou Ming's soul power was surging! Exploding! Soaring!

Yet only moments later, Zhou Ming suddenly developed another strange sensation.

A new ability was about to awaken!

He had experienced the same feeling three times over the past twenty years. He could not be mistaken!

But his soul power was still increasing.

Zhou Ming could only suppress his urge to test this new ability and wait for the increase in soul power to end.

He looked at the Jade Tablet Heavenly Book in his hand.

The heavenly book was layered. What was described on its surface was the Heaven Opening Eye Method, but as long as one observed the heavenly book with the Heavenly Eye, one could see through this outer layer to the densely packed text recorded beneath it.

This layer described the foundations of the path of cultivation methods.

So this path of cultivation methods also had divisions of realms.

The first realm was called the Meditation Realm. Cultivators strengthened their mental power through reading, meditation, martial arts practice, tempering, and other means.

This realm was further divided into three minor stages: Calming the Heart, Settling the Heart, and Constant Stillness.

Once one reached Constant Stillness, one could attempt to open the Heavenly Eye.

Once successful, one could enter the second realm, the Heavenly Eye Realm!

The book mentioned that some exceptionally gifted people would naturally gain mental strength as they grew, even without dedicated cultivation.

The most outstanding among them might even awaken supernatural talents unique to themselves...

"Hmm?"

Zhou Ming was startled and immediately thought of the innate talent he had possessed from birth.

That personal space... could it be the supernatural talent mentioned in the book?

He then recalled that his personal space had awakened on its own three times over the past twenty years. He had always been trying to figure out the conditions for those awakenings, but had never succeeded.

Now that he thought about it, could those three awakenings correspond to the three minor stages of the Meditation Realm?

And now, not long after opening his Heavenly Eye, he had suddenly felt another awakening coming on.

It seemed the answer was already certain!