Invisibility Technique

Little Bug had just dreamed of Zhu Ying appearing and taking him to a banquet, where a spread of mountain and sea delicacies had been laid out: camel hump, bear paw, monkey brain, orangutan lips, elephant trunk, leopard fetus, rhinoceros tail, lion milk, fish roe, shark fin, sea cucumber, fish maw, fish bones, abalone, fish lips, and dried scallops. Before he could lift his chopsticks for a taste, someone called in his ear, "Disciple, wake up."

Startled, Little Bug hurriedly sat up and saw his master, Xiao Nan, beside him. He quickly asked, "Master, what is it?"

Lowering his voice, Xiao Nan replied, "Sun Yougui is lurking nearby. We are out in the open, which puts us at a great disadvantage in seeking the treasure. Master and disciple should move to a hidden place and evade that old ghost's eyes and ears."

Master, there really isn't any treasure on Youxuan Mountain. We might as well leave directly. But Little Bug did not dare say it aloud. He could only grunt his agreement, holding it in until it was agony.

With a casual wave, Xiao Nan sent out two sticks of signal incense. They landed on the ground, planted themselves firmly, and began to burn in curling wisps of smoke.

Smiling at Wang Chong, he said, "Once the aperture of the spirit has been opened, an immortal practitioner with profound cultivation will leak spiritual power, which gathers above the head into a spiritual radiance soaring to the heavens. You are fine, but if I leave, the thatched cottage will have no spiritual radiance. Old Ghost Sun will spot the flaw at a glance, so we must use this to keep him steady."

Xiao Nan took out two more spirit talismans and pasted one each onto himself and Wang Chong. Only then did he form a hand seal. A hazy green glimmer swept over them, and master and disciple vanished from where they stood.

Little Bug could not see his own body, but he was not alarmed. Instead, he found it amusing. So this was the invisibility technique from immortal legends? Sure enough, no one can see me. How wondrous. I must learn it someday.

The instant that thought arose, another Heaven-Mixing Talisman appeared in his mind. This Heaven-Mixing Talisman was faint and elusive, seeming empty and illusory. It was far shorter than the other three, containing only nine talismans.

Xiao Nan had just cast the invisibility technique on his disciple when he suddenly discovered that he could no longer see Wang Chong either. Has his magical power advanced so greatly? How can even I no longer see Chong'er?

No, no. No matter how profound a spell is, there is no reason its caster should not be able to see through it.

Just as he was wondering whether something had gone wrong, Wang Chong reappeared through the misty clear light. Xiao Nan finally breathed a sigh of relief and took his disciple soaring into the sky.

Held by his master, Little Bug secretly stuck out his tongue. He had just discovered that when he tested the new talisman, even his master seemed unable to see him.

I can't test spells carelessly in the future. It's far too easy to give myself away.

Sun Yougui had released a Flying Yaksha to watch the thatched cottage where master and disciple lived. The Flying Yaksha was keenly sensitive to spiritual currents, but it was ultimately an inanimate thing. Fooled by Xiao Nan's signal incense, it noticed nothing, while master and disciple had already vanished like a hare flying into the deep.

Xiao Nan did not take Wang Chong far. Instead, he flew straight at a cliff face.

From afar, Little Bug saw a steep mountain cliff rushing toward them. Yet master and disciple did not slow in the slightest, and he cried anxiously, "Master, we're going to crash!"

Xiao Nan smiled faintly and passed through the mountain wall without leaving a trace.

"This mountain wall was formed by an illusory spell, not a solid object. If your story had not described it, and if your master had not been so meticulous, I truly would not have found this place."

Inside the mountain wall was an immensely spacious area, dozens of paces wide in every direction. At its deepest point stood a bronze gate, upon which seven fire serpents danced. They illuminated the mountain's hollow like broad daylight, and before one could even draw near, waves of heat rolled straight at the face.

The seven fire serpents were lifelike, winding and soaring, flames blazing fiercely from them. Savage and hideous, they were so menacing that even Xiao Nan did not dare approach. Pointing at the bronze gate, he said, "Your master's knowledge is shallow. I do not know which true flame of the righteous or demonic sects, Buddhist or Daoist schools, has been used for this sealing spell. I cannot break the seal and can only gaze at the treasure mountain with a sigh."

Little Bug was greatly startled. Youxuan Mountain really does have an immortal's treasure?

Could my father have been some kind of crow immortal?

Whatever he says comes true?

Xiao Nan said, "Master and disciple will hide here, and Sun Yougui will never find us. He will only think that we have left."

"When he can no longer bear it and departs Youxuan Mountain, your master will find a way to claim the treasure."

"We owe this encounter to you, disciple. Otherwise, how could your master have had such a stroke of fortune?"

Little Bug had never seen such a divine object. As he watched the seven fire serpents slowly dance upon the bronze gate from afar, they seemed to follow some special pattern. He could not help wondering, I wonder whether these fire serpents understand human speech? Could I communicate with them?

He bowed toward the bronze gate, intending it as a gesture of respect to the sages of old. Yet unexpectedly, it seemed to stir the fire serpents into agitation.

One fire serpent shot into the air and swelled larger, becoming as thick as a water barrel. Its huge maw was filled with fiery fangs, its eyes opening and closing like lightning, its movements like thunder. It coiled toward Wang Chong.

Xiao Nan hurriedly unleashed his sword light, trying to save his disciple. The sword light struck the fire serpent, only to be violently bounced away, unable to harm it in the least.

Little Bug did not even have time for a thought to turn before he was burned into a human torch.

Xiao Nan's eyes nearly split with rage. He treasured this disciple beyond measure, having only just taken him in. Who could have imagined that he would be lost here? He was about to forcefully wield his sword light to save him when realization suddenly struck. No!

Little Bug did not move. His features remained lifelike, and even his scholar's robe had not suffered the slightest damage. Only his eyes were shut, making it impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead. The fire serpent continued winding around him, but its flames did not burn him.

Startled, Xiao Nan thought, I seem to have heard my elders mention this before. This is a heart-refining method, used specifically to test the disposition of disciples entering a school.

But back then, my elders had spoken vaguely, and I never paid it any attention. Had I known this bronze gate could be broken in such a way, would I not have taken the treasure long ago?

I hope Chong'er is all right.

I will stand guard for him.

In a daze, Little Bug saw a Daoist riding on clouds toward him. Smiling, the Daoist asked, "Would this little Daoist be willing to inherit my teachings?"

I am not a Daoist, but a scholar. Even so, Little Bug nodded and answered, "I am willing!"

The Daoist chuckled. "Since you are willing, then first pass the Qianli Heart-Refining Trial."

"Th-this..."

"How do I refine it?"

The Daoist ignored him, transforming into a streak of green rainbow and vanishing in an instant.

Little Bug suddenly found himself in a schoolroom, surrounded by the resonant sounds of students reading aloud. The teacher slapped the desk with his ruler and asked, "Wang Chong! Why do you study?"

"To regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under Heaven!"

"To establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, to secure life for the common people, to continue the lost teachings of the sages of old, and to create eternal peace for all ages!"

"I wish for a house to shelter all the lonely and destitute beneath Heaven; I wish for a grain of rice to fill the bellies of all the hungry in the world; I wish for a sword to sweep away every injustice beneath Heaven; I wish for a brush to write glorious chapters across past and present..."

Wang Chong recited, one by one, the sonorous words from his father's collected works. Then he sensed that something was wrong with this world as time suddenly sped forward.

After ten years of studying by the cold window, he swiftly placed first in the imperial examinations. Deeply trusted by the emperor, he was ordered to serve as an envoy to an enemy nation and negotiate the cession of land and indemnities. Yet he persuaded one of the enemy generals to rebel on the spot!

After dozens of battles, the soldiers and generals under his command grew ever more numerous. Not only did he destroy the enemy nation, he led his troops to destroy his own country as well. He became emperor, developed the economy, recruited talent widely, built fleets of ships, and expanded without end. The nation grew larger and larger...

Just as Little Bug was enjoying himself, he suddenly felt something break. Pain stabbed through his heart, and he woke up.

I felt a little better today. This morning, I went through the old draft and made some revisions.

Although I felt that what I wrote during these days of illness was all right, after pondering it repeatedly, I always felt that the Silent Illumination Convent section was completely unnecessary, so I deleted it all...

To make it up to all my readers, I'll write more today.

Thank you, dear readers, for your patience all along.

This old toad is stumbling along now, but I'll do my best.