First Skill: Qi Gazing Technique

Over the next few days, Xu Qian perfectly carried out his "steady and cautious" policy.

He was still that young prison guard who showed up punctually for roll call, worked diligently, wore a smile whenever he met anyone—albeit one tinged with timidity—and treated seniors like Zhou Kang and Old Wang with the utmost respect. When delivering meals, he kept his eyes straight ahead; when cleaning, he bent his head and worked hard; when standing guard, he shrank into a corner. The words "ordinary" and "harmless" were practically written across his face.

Even when Zhou Kang occasionally cast a scrutinizing glance his way, he responded with just the right amount of nervousness and faint ingratiation, without revealing the slightest flaw.

Only late at night, when all was still and he had returned alone to his dormitory and slid the bolt into place, did he shed every disguise and fully circulate the Longevity Dao Fruit, greedily yet cautiously drawing in the Yin Sha Qi drifting through the air.

The Dao Fruit's clear radiance flowed, converting the icy coldness into gentle energy that nourished his body and soul. Though his cultivation still grew at an outrageously slow pace, the solid feeling of becoming stronger every moment made it sweeter than honey to him.

That morning, as usual, he followed Old Wang to Zone D to deliver meals.

After several days of adjustment, he could barely ignore the stench soaring to the heavens and the prisoners' crazed or numb stares. His movements had become much more practiced as well.

As he carried a wooden bucket to D-5 Cell and prepared to ladle the vegetable gruel inside as usual, his gaze inadvertently swept over the prisoner curled up in the corner, his breath weak.

In that single glance, a sudden change occurred!

The Longevity Dao Fruit within his Sea of Consciousness seemed to be drawn by some kind of aura, and it trembled ever so slightly.

Then, the world in Xu Qian's eyes seemed to acquire an extremely faint, shifting filter.

He saw that the prisoner was giving off an incredibly dim, nearly extinguished gray current of air. Like the last wisp of bluish smoke from a dying candle, it carried an intense aura of decay, decline, and death.

That gray current was so weak that it seemed as though it might disperse completely at any moment.

Xu Qian's heart gave a violent jolt!

What is this? An illusion?

He instinctively blinked, but the gray current remained. Though blurry, it was undeniably real.

He forcibly suppressed his shock, calmly finished delivering the meal, then quickly caught up with Old Wang. Yet his mind was already completely occupied by that strange sight.

He secretly turned his gaze toward the other prisoners.

In D-West Cell, a vicious bandit who was crazily hurling curses was shrouded in a thin yet restless blood-red current, brimming with brutality and chaos.

In D-6 Cell, the one-eyed burly man gave off a comparatively denser earthy-yellow current, slow and heavy.

When his gaze passed over Old Wang, however, he saw a faint white current that nearly blended into the surroundings—peaceful, yet possessing a restrained toughness.

Even when he looked at the walls and floor, he could see wisps of black currents everywhere, slowly flowing and seeping through—those had to be the Yin Sha Qi filling the Heavenly Prison!

Qi Gazing Technique?! This is the Qi Gazing Technique?! Xu Qian finally realized, and stormy waves rose in his heart!

The awakening of the Longevity Dao Fruit had actually allowed him to naturally master such an auxiliary ability!

He immediately recalled the miscellaneous books he had read in his previous life, along with various cultivation-world settings. The Qi Gazing Technique could observe a person's fortune, auspiciousness and misfortune, cultivation attributes, and more. It was an extremely practical auxiliary method in cultivation.

Although all he could see now seemed to be the most superficial colors of aura, and he could not distinguish finer details such as fortune or fate, this was already heaven-defying enough!

It meant he now possessed a radar that could identify danger in advance!

For example, that prisoner emitting a deathly gray current was probably not long for this world. Xu Qian should stay far away from him, lest he catch some bad luck or suffer a backlash from the man's dying throes.

The one emitting the blood-red current was clearly emotionally unstable, wrapped in Sha Qi, and highly dangerous. He needed to be watched carefully.

As for someone like Old Wang, with a white current, he most likely cultivated a relatively upright and peaceful technique, had stable emotions, and posed a lower threat.

More importantly—

His gaze involuntarily turned toward Block C.

The prisoners held there all possessed cultivation! What colors would their "Qi" be? Would there be green, gold, or even stranger colors? Did those colors represent the special techniques they cultivated or the unique skills they possessed?

Treasure! They're all moving treasure detectors! Xu Qian's heart pounded wildly with excitement.

With this Qi Gazing Technique, his future sheep-fleecing could be far more targeted! Whichever prisoner emitted "treasure light" representing special energy, he would focus on observing them and look for safe chances to make contact, seeing whether he could use the Dao Fruit to "borrow" a little skill insight!

This was more than ten times as efficient as his previous aimless observation!

Moreover, the Qi Gazing Technique activated with extreme concealment. It seemed to be merely a passive enhancement of the Longevity Dao Fruit, arising entirely from his own perception. No energy fluctuations leaked out at all, so there was no need to worry about anyone noticing.