Aura Observation Art (Novice)

Shen Hui returned to the temple as dusk was settling in.

He parted ways with Jingming at the entrance to the Dining Hall and went straight to his own small room.

He pushed open the door, lit the lamp, and sat down on the edge of the bed.

Only then did he have the leisure to look at the interface.

[Dao Xing]: 327

He remembered clearly that before heading down the mountain this morning, that number had been thirty-three. After killing that Wolf Demon, it had surged by two hundred and ninety-four points.

Two hundred and ninety-four.

It almost matched the amount he could accumulate from a month of bitter cultivation.

Shen Hui stared at that number for a long while before slowly leaning back against the headboard.

The hanging flame above him flickered, casting shifting light and shadow across the room.

So that was it.

He closed his eyes and ran through the day's events in his mind.

Previously, he had only known two methods of accumulation: one was sitting in meditation and bitter cultivation—slow, but reliable over time; the other was devouring spiritual objects, like the spiritual fruit he had eaten before.

But the latter was a matter of chance, and ordinary things were of little use.

Now there was another path.

Slaying demons and vanquishing monsters.

This path was the fastest—killing one Wolf Demon netted nearly three hundred points of cultivation, equal to a month of hard work.

What if he killed a more powerful demon? What if he killed a group of them?

He opened his eyes, staring at the pitch-black rafters. A glint of light flashed in his gaze, then quickly dimmed.

But there probably weren't many monsters nearby.

That Wolf Demon on Cat Ridge had built up some real power, but it was just that one.

If he wanted to find more jobs like this in the future, he'd have to go down the mountain and travel farther.

He was lost in thought when he suddenly remembered Second Senior Sister's Aura Observation Art.

If he had that skill, able to track monsters by following their demonic aura, wouldn't it be much more convenient when he went down the mountain to hunt them?

He sat up, looked at the number three hundred and twenty-seven, then at the ten thousand points each needed for Fire Art Mastery and Foundation Establishment. He pondered for a moment but ultimately didn't rush to use them.

"I need to learn a method for tracking monsters first."

Having made up his mind, he glanced at the number on the interface one last time, then settled back into meditation.

Today's accumulation had already reached its limit, but the night was long—wouldn't it be a waste to just sleep through it?

After sitting in stillness all night, he managed to squeeze out another sliver.

The next day, after morning lessons, Shen Hui went straight to his master's meditation room.

The Old Taoist was sitting in meditation by the window. Hearing his purpose, he didn't ask many questions, only pointed at the old wooden chest in the corner: "There's a scroll of silk in there. Find it yourself."

Shen Hui rummaged for a while and pulled out a yellowed silk scroll covered in dust.

He blew off the dust and was about to take his leave when the Old Taoist suddenly opened his eyes:

"That Wolf Demon—did you kill it?"

Shen Hui paused mid-step. "Yes."

The Old Taoist nodded, asked nothing more, and closed his eyes again.

Shen Hui tucked the silk scroll under his arm and returned to his room.

He spread the scroll out on the bed and leaned in to examine it closely.

The silk was covered in tiny, cramped characters. At the top were written several large words: **Aura Observation Art.

**They hadn't been censored—someone had blacked them out with thick ink, leaving only the three characters "Aura Observation Art" barely legible.

Shen Hui studied it for a moment, didn't dwell on what its original name might have been—as long as the content was there, that was fine.

He read on.

Reading carefully, he learned that this technique had three uses.

The first was observing a person's aura.

That is, observing the energy field around any living being.

Healthy people had bright, full auras that flowed smoothly; the sick and weak had dim, clogged auras mixed with various colors; cultivators had strong, condensed auras far surpassing ordinary people; those with a bloodlust had auras tinged with red and black, thick with Sha Qi.

It was called observing a person's aura, but it wasn't limited to humans. It could be used on anything with life, including demonic beasts.

The second was observing the earth's aura.

That is, observing the flow of energy through mountains, rivers, and landscapes.

In places with good feng shui, the energy gathered and was clear, flowing gently; in places of fierce ill omen, the energy scattered and was turbid, stagnant and chaotic.

Geomancy, dragon-seeking, avoiding misfortune and pursuing good fortune—all rely on this art.

Third: Observing the Qi of Objects.

That is, observing whether an object contains a special aura, such as magical instruments, ancient artifacts, or whether it is tainted with evil filth or Sha Qi.

Shen Hui read it twice, carefully rolled up the silk scroll, placed it by his pillow, then sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and regulated his breath.

If you can't find the book by title, try searching by author—maybe it just changed names!

The silk scroll made it clear: to cultivate this art, one must first enter a state of stillness and calm, with a clear and pure mind, then supplement it with a specific breathing method, focusing the mind on the Celestial Eye Acupoint between the eyes.

Thus, day by day, one could see what ordinary people could not.

He tried to follow along.

At first, there was only pitch-black darkness before his eyes, and he could see nothing.

He wasn't anxious either; he adjusted his breathing and continued to concentrate.

After another quarter of an hour, he suddenly felt a slight twitch between his brows, as if something was knocking there.

A moment later, the knocking sound gradually became clearer, turning into a tingling, numbing itch that spread outward from the Celestial Eye Acupoint.

He opened his eyes.

The scene in the room had completely changed.

The edges of everything were haloed with an extremely faint, extremely thin light.

The edge of the bed had light, the corner of the table had light, and the hanging flame above his head also had light. The halos trembled slightly, like ripples on water.

He looked down at himself.

His own body had the strongest light, white tinged with a trace of pale red. The red was so shallow that it was almost indistinguishable without careful observation.

He recalled what the silk scroll said: cultivators have strong, condensed qi; those who kill have qi that is red tinged with black.

He had just killed a Wolf Demon and was stained with some Blood Sha Qi. This was probably the source of that faint red.

At the same time, a burst of surprise rose in his heart—had he actually entered the gate just like that?

He stood up, pushed open the window, and looked into the courtyard.

The old locust tree in the courtyard stood there, its branches laden with snow.

He focused his gaze and, sure enough, saw a layer of light halo, but much fainter than that of living things, barely there, like a candle flame about to go out.

He looked further into the distance, wanting to see if he could spot anything else.

But this look—disaster.

A buzzing sound exploded in his head, as if someone had stirred it violently with a stick.

Everything before his eyes began to sway, the world spinning. He quickly grabbed the windowsill, closed his eyes, and gasped for air.

Cold sweat poured down his forehead, the clothes on his back were already soaked, and his legs trembled uncontrollably, as soft as cooked noodles.

Damn it, this feeling was exactly like motion sickness...

Holding the windowsill, he slowly slid down, sat against the wall, closed his eyes, and rested for a good while before that dizzying, spinning sensation gradually faded.

Opening his eyes and looking at the pitch-black roof beam, Shen Hui couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh.

The book hadn't mentioned that this thing was so draining.

He rested for a long time before gathering enough strength to stand up, leaning against the wall as he walked back to the bed, and collapsed onto it.

Forget it, I'll just sleep today.

The next day, after morning lessons, Shen Hui tucked the silk scroll into his pocket and headed to his master's quiet room.

The Old Taoist was sitting by the window drinking tea. When he saw him enter, his gaze fell on the silk scroll for a moment, and he said warmly, "What's the matter? Did you run into some difficulty?"

Shen Hui was taken aback: "Difficulty?"

The Old Taoist waved his hand: "This Aura Observation Art looks easy, but cultivating it requires some talent. Which of your senior brothers and sisters hasn't tried it? That boy Qingyi hugged this silk scroll for seven or eight nights and couldn't even find the door. You've only looked at it for one night; it's normal not to succeed. Don't take it to heart."

As he spoke, he lifted his teacup, blew on the floating leaves, and said calmly, "This thing is all about fate; you can't force it."

"Master."

Shen Hui interrupted him, placing the silk scroll on the table, his expression calm: "Your disciple has already entered the gate of the Aura Observation Art."

The Old Taoist nodded: "I understand. Go back for now. In a few days, I'll find you another technique. Though it won't compare to... hmm?"

His hand holding the teacup froze in midair, his words caught halfway, as if stuck on something, looking quite comical.

"What did you say?"

Shen Hui looked at the Old Taoist's face, full of disbelief, and had to repeat: "Your disciple said, your disciple has already entered the gate of the Aura Observation Art."

The Old Taoist stared at him blankly, saying nothing for a long time.

Outside the window, snow rustled down from the eaves, and wind slipped through the crack in the door, tilting the steam from the tea in front of him.

"You..."

The Old Taoist put down his teacup and sat up straight. "Are you saying you only took it back yesterday, and by this morning you've already entered the gate?"

"Yes."

"One night?"

"One night."

The Old Taoist opened his mouth, then closed it, his gaze sweeping over Shen Hui's face as if seeing him for the first time.

After a long moment, he suddenly asked, "Have you tried it?"

"I have," Shen Hui replied. "But staring too long made me dizzy. I had to steady myself against the windowsill for a good while before I recovered."

The Old Taoist fell silent for a moment, then abruptly stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to him.

Shen Hui couldn't see his master's expression, only heard him mutter something under his breath—it sounded like "incredible," or perhaps something closer to a curse like "goddamn it."

After quite some time, the Old Taoist turned around, sat back down, picked up the now-cold cup of tea, and took a sip.

"Alright, your master understands."

He waved his hand, shooing Shen Hui out the door. "Go on, your master still needs to cultivate."