The Empty Mountain Daoist

After walking three to five li, the terrain gradually leveled out.

The trees by the roadside stood sparse and open, maple leaves blanketing the mountains like cinnabar, interspersed with several golden ginkgo trees.

Whenever the mountain wind swept through, fallen leaves rustled down, carpeting the path in a riot of color.

As Shen Hui walked, with nothing better to do, he began practicing the newly acquired art of "Universe in the Sleeve" one technique at a time.

By coincidence, while meditating earlier, he had discovered that the Corpse Liberation Wheel had inexplicably gained another draw.

He had been startled at the time, then focused his mind and stirred it with his consciousness.

The wheel spun, then settled moments later. What he obtained was precisely a "divine ability" called Universe in the Sleeve.

[Divine Ability • Universe in the Sleeve]:

"The Universe in the Sleeve is the supreme subtlety of the Dao, the mysterious minutiae of art. Its form cannot fill one handful, yet it can contain the myriad phenomena. Drawn in, it spreads through a mustard seed; released, it encompasses the Great Void. It gathers stars into its snare and takes in rivers and seas, returning them to the abyss. Sun and moon circle beneath its wrist; wind and clouds arise at the crook of its elbow..."

There was more afterward—things like, "When great, the universe cannot bear it; when small, even motes of dust cannot compare. Its edge is hidden, and none can see it; its tracks are gathered, and nothing can harm it. Within the slightness of one sleeve, heaven and earth are complete; with the stirring of an inch of heart, creation follows..." After reading it, he merely smiled and dismissed it.

Gathering the universe and the stars was the means of immortals. Let alone