"I think I know what the hidden man can do."
The surging power of the Earth Veins slowly gathered toward Shouchun and flowed into Chen Cuo, making his body more solid. A faint veil formed over his skin.
The few stray twisted thoughts that reached him were caught by that veil the instant they touched him.
"Stories gather Human Thought and give rise to spirits. It reminds me of the traces of spirit thought I saw years ago in the Eastern Observatory, that repository of books and history in the old Chen capital."
Chen Cuo had seen something similar before.
"Those things may be born in human hearts, but they need long years to settle before they can truly take shape! As for the tales about me, never mind whether they're true. A mere thirty or forty years is nowhere near enough for legends to develop. Several crucial conditions simply haven't been met. Yet an outside force pushed them along, and some mysterious power ripened them prematurely. They're even showing signs of becoming spirits!"
He reached out, caught several twisted thoughts that should have been formless, and clenched his fist!
"The hidden man must also be a seeker of the Dao, an Incomplete Dao Master! His Dao has to do with stories, perhaps even narration, and it's closely tied to the River of Time. But that's only a broad outline; the details remain unclear! Unfortunately, he thinks highly of himself and knows how to stay hidden. He buries himself deep, schemes from afar, and only dares to fight me across a distance. I can make him suffer a loss, but I can't lay eyes on him. If I could see even one of his Dao Marks, I'd likely learn the details of his Dao!"
With that thought, he opened his