The Power of [Eye of Illusion], Profiles, and Traits

[You did not rush into action. Instead, you first began studying your newly acquired talent—[Eye of Illusion].]

[With a slight stir of your intent, you silently recited, "Activate, Eye of Illusion."]

[In an instant, you felt a cool trickle flow into your eyes, and your vision seemed to grow clearer.]

[The surface of everything in the world seemed veiled in an exceedingly faint glow, one you could only discern with careful scrutiny.]

[You realized this was an active skill, and that you could focus it on a specific target at will.]

[You first turned your gaze toward an ordinary pebble at your feet.]

[[Target]: Pebble]

[[Information]: An ordinary silicate compound, weathered by wind and rain, with a stable internal structure.]

[[Assessment]: Found everywhere. Worthless.]

[It really worked!]

[Your spirits lifted, and you cautiously looked toward the Lineage's third elder, who happened to be passing by. He was an [Early Qi Refining] cultivator.]

[[Target]: Chen Ming]

[[Realm]: Early Qi Refining (human-grade Qi Refining)]

[[Identity]: Third elder of the Chen Family, a cultivation Lineage.]

[[Assessment]: His life will hold neither great blessings nor great calamities.]

[As a member of a collateral branch, he is given little regard, lacks resources, and practices a mediocre Cultivation Technique. His chances of reaching [Middle Qi Refining] in this lifetime are vanishingly small.]

[The information was quite detailed!]

[But this was probably only part of it.]

[According to the Talent's description, it could reveal only partial information about targets whose major realm exceeded your own.]

[You were currently in the Embryonic Breath Realm (mortal realm), whereas the Qi Refining Realm already possessed a "Rank" and stood one major realm above you. There had to be more to this profile that remained hidden.]

[To test your theory, you found an ordinary disciple who was also in the Embryonic Breath Realm and activated the ability again.]

[[Target]: Chen Xiaowu]

[[Realm]: Second layer of the Embryonic Breath Realm (Qi and Blood Like a Dragon)]

[Entry]:

[Free of Illness and Calamity] (green): Has a healthy constitution and is not easily afflicted by common ailments.]

[Assessment]: Mediocre aptitude and an unremarkable disposition. Barring unforeseen circumstances, he will struggle to break through the third layer of Embryonic Breath in his lifetime.]

[Just as you thought!]

[For targets in the same realm or a lower one, [Eye of Illusion] could provide more detailed information. It could even reveal [Entry]!]

[Although this disciple's Entry was ordinary, it undoubtedly revealed the Talent's immense potential.]

[—It could let you discern others' potential and qualities more directly, and might even see through disguises!]

[Excitement filled your heart. You wanted to test it on more people, and even considered examining the direct descendants, especially... Chen Qingyan.]

[But just as you prepared to activate the Talent again, an intense wave of fatigue washed over your mind, and your vision even blurred for an instant.]

[You immediately stopped using the ability.]

[Clearly, activating [Eye of Illusion] consumed mental energy. With your soul's current strength, you could not use it frequently.]

[After resting for a while and recovering your mental energy, you forcibly suppressed your curiosity about using [Eye of Illusion] on Chen Qingyan.]

[You did not know whether peering at someone suspected of being an old monster reincarnated would alert him or even trigger a backlash.]

[If you caught his attention, you would be in serious trouble. You probably did not want to experience the simulation's fatal ending again.]

[Once again, you quietly left the [Chen Family] and ventured into the vast world beyond.]

[Your foremost goal remained finding that vital [Heaven and Earth Wonder].]

[Throughout your journey, you continued testing [Eye of Illusion] whenever it was safe.]

[You became increasingly certain that this, too, was a godlike skill. In some respects, its value even rivaled [Twice the Results with Half the Effort].]

[You discovered that when you used [Eye of Illusion] on certain cultivators who seemed to have decent Fortune,]

[information about their Future opportunities would occasionally appear in the [Assessment] field!]

[For instance, at a rogue cultivator market, you saw a third-layer Embryonic Breath Realm cultivator with a worried expression. His assessment contained the following line:]

["Three months from now, while sheltering from the rain in West Mountain Hollow, he will chance upon a fifty-year-old stalk of Crimson Blood Ginseng."]

[Similarly, when you examined a disciple from a small Lineage, his assessment read:]

["In half a year, while taking part in a Lineage survey, he will find an incomplete piece of geng metal deep inside an abandoned Mine Shaft and use it to commission a powerful weapon."]

[These discoveries filled you with delighted surprise.]

[This ability truly defied the heavens. It could actually glimpse the blessings awaiting others in the Future!]

[Yet you did not let greed cloud your judgment. You clearly remembered Chen Qingyan's warning—]

[the distinction between "claimed" and "unclaimed."]

[These opportunities were already linked to those cultivators' Fortune by unseen threads. They were "claimed opportunities."]

[If you forcibly snatched them away, success was far from guaranteed. Even if you succeeded, beyond the grudges you might create, you could unknowingly disrupt some "ordained fate" and invite a backlash.]

[You asked yourself honestly and concluded that, as you were now, you still could not "hold down" these already-claimed opportunities.]

["Being able to see them, yet unable to take them lightly... this really tempers the heart."]

[You shook your head with a bitter smile, yet also felt that the rules governing this world were truly mysterious and cruel, and... genuinely fascinating.]

[One thing disappointed you, however: no matter what you tried, you could not use [Eye of Illusion] on yourself or see your own attribute profile.]

[Perhaps, as the old saying went, "A physician cannot heal himself." These eyes could pierce the Falsehood of all things, yet could not see their own bearer clearly.]

[With eyes that could glimpse some Future blessings, you traveled with even greater caution.]

[You avoided people whose assessments foretold imminent bloodshed or showed them clearly beset by ill Fortune,]

[and also began deliberately seeking cultivators whose assessments contained phrases such as "blessed with abundant fortune" or "favored by destiny,"]

[not to seize their opportunities, but in the hope that observing the course of their actions]

[would let you indirectly deduce which regions and types of activities were more likely to give rise to "Unclaimed Fortune."]

[Your goal was clear: find a truly unclaimed Heaven and Earth Wonder that could help you achieve [heaven-grade Qi Refining].]