Eye of True Spirit

It was finally time for the afternoon meal.

Li Mo walked alongside Lu Tianyou towards the mess hall, each taking a portion of plain food and sitting on adjacent bamboo chairs, swallowing it down as flavorlessly as chewing wax.

Li Mo's mind was still occupied with what Uncle-Master Ding Wei had spoken about during the day.

Curious about the betrayal by the Earth Elemental Sect, he couldn't help but ask Lu Tianyou, "What do you think the path to eternal life is?"

"Just living forever, obviously."

Lu Tianyou shrugged. "I heard people from Lu Country are very good at health preservation."

"So, those people from the Earth Elemental Sect want to live longer?"

Lu Tianyou shook his head. He wasn't interested in that. Instead, he gestured with his eyes, "What do you think of that girl?"

Li Mo looked in the direction Lu Tianyou indicated.

It was a girl with her hair styled in a "spirit snake bun," wearing a plain white silk dress. Her eyes and brows were extremely aggressive, and every smile and frown seemed to carry a hint of seduction.

If Wang Ying from Pingshan Society was a fox, then this girl was a viper.

Li Mo hadn't expected Lu Tianyou to like this type of girl.

"She doesn't seem to be in our class."

"Yeah."

Lu Tianyou chuckled. "I like girls with this kind of wildness. I'll go chat with her later and see if there's any potential."

Li Mo couldn't help but shake his head at this.

Just as Lu Tianyou wasn't interested in his topic, he wasn't interested in this girl either.

After the meal.

Lu Tianyou actually chased after her and started chatting animatedly with the girl.

Seeing this, Li Mo helplessly left alone.

He glanced around the courtyard. There were at least over four hundred students in the entire Enlightenment Hall, divided into twelve classes, taught by different cultivators. More people might arrive from more remote counties in the next couple of days, but the number probably wouldn't be too large.

"Li Mo!"

Two girls were standing by the roadside. One of them saw Li Mo and, revealing sweet dimples, walked towards him and greeted him.

This person was Zhu Yidan.

At the banquet the day before yesterday, she had sat next to Li Mo. She looked lively and cute. The other person, whose name Li Mo couldn't remember, had very fair skin and a scholarly, gentle aura.

"Zhu Yidan."

Li Mo greeted her, unsure why she had called him over.

"This is Zhao Xiaonan. The cabinet in our room is in the way, and we want to move it aside. Can you help us move it?"

"Sure, no problem."

Li Mo didn't refuse. He didn't have anything else to do right now anyway.

However, just as he was about to leave with the two girls, Zhu Yidan signaled, "Don't rush. That cabinet is a bit heavy. I'll find someone else."

A moment later.

Zhu Yidan started greeting again.

"Cousin, Wang Feng!"

A boy walked over from a distance. Although he wore a loose crane cloak, it was evident from the jade pendant at his waist and the leather boots on his feet that he must come from a wealthy family. His posture was slightly lazy, and his face appeared slightly more mature than Li Mo's, likely around seventeen or eighteen years old.

Li Mo had no impression of him at all.

"Hey, I've been listening to classes all day, I'm almost dead tired and was just about to go back and rest. What's up?"

Zhu Yidan and Wang Feng clearly had a very close relationship.

"Help me move a cabinet. This is Li Mo. After you went out last night, I met him at the banquet."

Then, Zhu Yidan introduced Li Mo to Wang Feng, "This is Wang Feng, my cousin. His family is from Yuan City. My uncle-in-law thinks he's always messing around, so he sent him here for some tempering."

Li Mo was shocked upon hearing this.

Yuan City was the capital of Gan State.

The so-called Emperor of the Qian Yuan Era, "Gan" referred to Gan State, and "Yuan" referred to Yuan City. This person had actually come from Yuan City to Muzhou. The ultimate goal Li Mo had painstakingly worked to achieve by leaving the mountains was, for this person, just the starting point for his tempering.

"Hello."

"Hello."

The two greeted each other. Wang Feng helplessly pouted at Zhu Yidan.

"What tempering? Isn't it just coming here for a blind date? That young lady from the Ye Family, we met her yesterday too. We chatted pretty well, and she's my type. Don't say too much, hurry up and move the cabinet."

With that, Wang Feng stretched lazily.

"From today onwards, I am a disciple of the Lingmu Sect!"

Then he looked at Li Mo beside him.

"Brother, don't overthink it. Our family in Yuan City is just a little well-off, holding a few powerless honorary positions in the court. We're nowhere near the local emperors of those sects and noble families. Please don't think of me as a rich young master. Right now, we're both the same: rogue disciples without background, outsiders. Only after passing the Enlightenment Hall's assessment in three months can we become official disciples of Lingmu Sect, and then we can train alongside those noble family disciples."

"Ah?"

Li Mo was surprised. Noble family disciples had quite a few privileges. At the same time, he felt some confusion.

"What are noble family disciples?"

As the four walked, Wang Feng explained.

"Whether ordinary people like us have spiritual roots is largely up to fate. But it's different for those from noble families. Since their parents are both cultivators, the probability of them being born with spiritual roots is much higher. Over time, these noble families have become the pillars of various sects. Coupled with their different environments, they have extraordinary insights from childhood and may have learned a vast amount of theoretical knowledge, preparing them for cultivation. Therefore, they don't need enlightenment and naturally don't need to come here."

"So that's how it is."

From his conversation with Wang Feng, Li Mo learned that Wang Feng was eighteen years old, one year older than Li Mo.

Besides successfully completing his three years of studies at Lingmu Sect and returning to Yuan City to enter politics, Wang Feng's purpose for coming here was to form a marriage alliance with the Ye Family, one of the four great noble families of Lingmu Sect.

"Although the Ye Family has declined and is now one of the four great noble families of Lingmu Sect, their foundation is by no means just that. Not to mention Lingmu Real Person, the founding ancestor of Lingmu Sect, but even the founder of the Ye Family, the Nascent Soul Late Stage cultivator Nascent Soul Late Stage who was famous throughout Gan State, Nascent Soul Late Stage, came from the Ye Family. Therefore, they can be considered one of the top noble families in the entire Gan State. If this matter of mine succeeds, I'll be marrying up."

Wang Feng was quite self-aware.

The cabinets in the room were soon moved to the corner by Li Mo and Wang Feng as requested by Zhu Yidan and Zhao Xiaonan.

Afterward, the four chatted for a long time indoors, becoming acquainted.

The next day.

Ding Wei arrived at the classroom punctually and looked at the assembled students.

"Since each country adheres to its own orthodox tradition, who can answer me, what is the Dao?"

After looking at each other, a few scattered hands were raised.

Li Mo raised his arm after a moment of thought.

Unexpectedly, after a brief scan of the classroom, Ding Wei chose Li Mo to answer the question.

"I used to be a physician. My Master told me that that which is clear and unobstructed from front to back is the Dao. The Dao is the origin of the world's laws and order. It has no predetermined content, cannot be taught or passed down, and cannot be defined by rules. Each person must comprehend it by integrating it with their own heart."

Ding Wei nodded.

After Li Mo sat down, Lu Tianyou nudged Li Mo with his arm, raising his eyebrows and grinning.

"You're something else."

Then, Ding Wei asked another boy to stand up and answer.

This boy was slightly chubby, with a serious expression on his face, appearing to be a rule-follower. Li Mo vaguely remembered his name was Yang Zhiman.

At that moment, Li Mo suspected the boy's father was an accountant.

"My father told me that the Dao exists only in the unseen. The Dao is the fundamental driving force behind the continuous change of all things. It is neither born nor destroyed, formless and shapeless, encompassing everything. It is boundless in its greatness and infinitesimal in its smallness. It changes as it passes, yet remains eternally constant..."

Although Yang Zhiman's content was not ordinary, his tone of speaking was like reciting a memorized text from childhood, constantly shaking his head and swaying, his words rolling off his tongue smoothly.

Now Li Mo couldn't help but suspect that Yang Zhiman's father might be a scholar.

"Good."

Ding Wei nodded, then looked at Zhao Huaxue, signaling her to rise and answer.

As Zhao Huaxue stood up from her cushion, she immediately became the center of attention in the classroom, with everyone looking at her.

Seeing her aloof and cold demeanor, Li Mo suspected her true identity might be a fallen noble lady, perhaps with a tragic and earth-shattering story?

"The Dao cannot be spoken. Even what a Dao-comprehender describes is no longer the Dao once it leaves their lips, but rather the principle in their heart. Everything in the world is formed by the interweaving of Dao and principle..."

After Ding Wei had everyone who raised their hands answer, he began to explain today's content.

"As the saying goes, everyone has their own Dao in their heart. The Dao cannot be described or depicted, but the orthodox tradition can be. The orthodox tradition adhered to by our Gan State is called the Dao of All Things' Primacy, which was comprehended by Emperor of the Qian Yuan Era."

Everything in Gan State was inseparable from Emperor of the Qian Yuan Era.

He was the founder of this nation.

Although the Dao is the origin of all things and indescribable, there are said to be three thousand Great Daos, referring to the orthodox traditions.

"Legend has it that the Sage King originated from a small, now-extinct country. In his youth, he cultivated in a sect called Six Arts Sect. After comprehending the Great Dao over two thousand years ago, he established Gan State. Therefore, if we wish to comprehend the Dao of All Things' Primacy, we must understand everything about Six Arts Sect as much as possible."

Ding Wei began to narrate the history of Six Arts Sect over two thousand years ago.

For ordinary people, events from over two thousand years ago were too distant. It was the affairs of their grandfather's grandfather's grandfather...

"The Central Plains were far from peaceful back then. It was a dark and turbulent era where Demons and Devils and Monster ran rampant. Six Arts Sect was merely a third-rate sect founded by six rogue cultivators at the Golden Core stage. These six Golden Core cultivators specialized in alchemy, talismans, artifact refining, spells, puppets, and rune formations, respectively. Hence, the sect was named Six Arts..."

Ding Jie lectured for the entire day.

He spoke of the founding of Six Arts Sect during the dark and turbulent era, the enlightenment and rise of Emperor of the Qian Yuan Era, the establishment of Gan State over two thousand years ago, then Lingmu Real Person joining Gan State from afar over a thousand years ago, founding Lingmu Sect, which has continued to this day through three generations of sect leaders.

"Therefore, all sects in Gan State were established under the Dao of All Things' Primacy, which is the Dao that honors humanity. For cultivators in Gan State, all things in heaven and earth are objects we can obtain, and can serve as tools for our Dao comprehension and cultivation, no longer limited to the Six Arts."

It could be inferred that the Dao of All Things' Primacy aimed to allow cultivators to maintain their "human" characteristics in their practice.

The difference between humans and other animals lay in the use of tools.

"However, as some of the previous students mentioned, although it is the same orthodox tradition, each person has their own unique understanding. Our Lingmu Sect's understanding of the Dao of All Things' Primacy is limited to the recognition of the Heavenly Cauldron Gate, focusing on developing and mastering various tools. Most other sects, however, focus on refining one particular tool."

The twelve major sects of Gan State each had their own unique primary cultivation techniques under the Dao of All Things' Primacy.

This also reflects the different understandings of the "Way of All Things" among the various sects.

Among them are the Ten Great Sects, each specializing in one of the Six Arts. Many of these masters have reached the pinnacle of their craft, focusing on their primary cultivation techniques and possessing distinct combat methods.

The Lingmu Sect and the Heavenly Cauldron Sect, however, focus on the path of mastering the Six Arts.

One attempts to develop their eyes to see the essence of various skills, while the other collects various skills and uses their Natal Treasure Cauldron to decompose and analyze them, thereby deciphering their essence.

"Starting tomorrow, I will teach you the primary cultivation technique of Lingmu Sect cultivators, called the Eye of True Spirit. This is our sect's sole primary cultivation technique. As your cultivation deepens over time, your eyes will gradually be able to perceive the grand currents of spiritual energy in the world, discern the material properties of spiritual objects, and glimpse the workings of spell and spiritual power. By doing so, you will comprehend the Way of All Things, and the benefits will be immeasurable."

Upon hearing this, everyone's faces showed longing.

Li Mo had some suspicions in his heart.

Over the past two days, this Uncle-Master Ding had not only imparted basic knowledge to everyone but had also been waiting for the arrival of those with spiritual roots from remote counties and prefectures.

The Lingmu Sect strives to create a relatively fair environment for everyone, selecting talented individuals.