"To Sect Leader Li,
Thank you for your inquiry. [Illuminating the Nether] was King Mu's Prison-Warden Artifact. The books describe it as 'Candle Within, observing without,' a legendary divine artifact approaching omniscience.
Previously, without the actual object, we had many questions about it and could scarcely imagine its shape or workings. Now, thanks to the information you have provided, our sect's custodians of the records have reached a conclusion after discussion. We set down our findings on [Illuminating the Nether] below for your reference.
'Candle Within, observing without' is not a pair of mutually explanatory phrases, but two distinct, complementary functions, carried by two separable components.
These two components take the form of an eye-shaped piece of white jade and a smooth black pearl. For now, we shall call them the [Eye] and the [Pupil].
The [Eye] has now passed through Yang Yan's hands into Young Hero Pei's possession, while the [Pupil] was taken away by Qu Zhu twenty-seven years ago.
The [Eye] 'observes without,' which is to say, it 'keeps watch.' Mark out a stretch of landscape, trace a Profound Formation, and place the [Eye] at its center. Within that expanse of Profound Qi, human eyes become the eyes of [Illuminating the Nether]. Wherever people reach falls within the artifact owner's perception.
So it was in King Mu's prison in Ancient Times, and so it is in Hushan Sword Gate's valley today.
The [Pupil] 'illuminates within,' which is to say, it 'illuminates the heart.' Worn on a person, it records all their actions and thoughts within the pearl, whether at the ends of the earth or the corners of the seas, whether in broad daylight or the depths of night. To view these, however, the Pupil must likewise be placed within the Eye, and the 'records' examined through the