The "lake water" sensed the stimulus first. The surface of the lake rippled, and its hazy, trance-like state churned as well.
Amidst the churning, the lake water already made its response, and a vague image floated up from the heart-lake. At this moment, however, the arcane state had reached the verge of collapse, making it difficult for him to make any further judgments.
Then, his five senses and six faculties flowed back one after another. In this slightly chaotic situation, amidst the relatively pure ambient Qi around him, Yu Ci caught a familiar scent—an important condition for him to make his judgment.
The visitor's image was already clearly presenting itself, and at that very moment, the hazy, trance-like state completely collapsed. Yu Ci reverted to a mortal body once more, and anomalous phenomena like the "lake water" vanished without a trace.
Finally, his reason made a final judgment, fixing the visitor's identity.
Full ten breaths later, he heard the visitor's hurried footsteps. Another five breaths passed, and the person stopped outside his private courtyard gate, knocking on it.
"Mr. Yu, are you in?"
Whoever used this form of address was obviously not Baoguang, and the voice was not particularly familiar either. Yet Yu Ci already had a conclusion in mind, so he went over and opened the door.
Standing outside was a middle-aged Daoist priest dressed in a blue cloth Daoist robe. He was entirely ordinary and thoroughly unremarkable, the sort of person you could forget the moment you swept a glance past him.
However, Yu Ci addressed him with exceptional precision:
"It turns out to be Daoist Priest Xu Song. Truly a rare guest, please come right in."
Xu Song was a thoroughly ordinary lodging Daoist priest in Zhixin Temple, with mediocre aptitude and mediocre cultivation. He had been