He Sheng held the fate-testing talisman Wind Spirit had given him between his fingertips. His divine sense swept over its surface again and again like a fine-meshed net, yet he could make nothing of it.
"Every trade is a mountain apart. Without understanding the Dao of talismans, I can't see a thing."
No longer hesitating, He Sheng poured spiritual power from his fingertips into it.
Sizzle!
Without warning, the pale golden talisman burst into flame. A golden halo, like liquid made manifest, rapidly flooded He Sheng's vision, dyeing the entire cave abode in a brilliant gold.
Whoosh!
The next instant, He Sheng's divine sense seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, plunging into the depths of the halo.
The scene before him began to warp and reform, becoming one profound vision after another.
Splash...
Amid the murmur of flowing water, a winding stream appeared in the depths of the golden halo.
The stream was clear enough to reveal its bottom, which was carpeted in smooth pebbles. Sunlight pierced the surface, casting dappled patterns of light across the stones.
Then the scene shifted. The stream began to gather, the slopes on either bank gradually leveled out, and the water spread wider and wider.
The clear stream flowed into a broader river. Its current became calm and steady, its surface like a mirror reflecting the lush forests along both shores.
The river flowed soundlessly, yet it carried a weighty presence that seemed capable of embracing all things.
With another shift, the river surged onward without cease. The cliffs on either side vanished, and his field of vision suddenly opened wide.
A vast, mighty river appeared before him, its surface boundless. Muddy waves crashed into the sky, and amid the mist rising from the water, the faint image of fish leaping over