"Mm," Li Xizhou said. "Simply put, Seeking the Crossing on the Luo River is a book of methods the Guo family compiled over generations to enter the spirit realm and follow the lord of the Water Realm. It includes their understanding of the spirit realm since ancient times, ways of dealing with it, channels of entry, lists of potential dangers, and so on. In short, it allows people to make contact with that legendary world through certain rigorous or demanding methods. It certainly qualifies as a precious secret scripture."
That very first statement startled Pei Ye. "They knew where the spirit realm came from?"
"More accurately, they had deductions passed down over several centuries," Li Xizhou corrected him, then raised three fingers. "Regarding the spirit realm itself, I distilled three true laws from this book. Although never explicitly stated, they were taken for granted by the Guo Clan. All their attempts involving the spirit realm were actually founded on these three laws."
"Oh?"
"First, the spirit realm has a master." Li Xizhou lowered one finger. "You could probably infer that without my saying it, since it was the reason and foundation for their pursuit of the Goddess of the Luo River's traces. They believed the spirit realm was not an underwater wilderness born of heaven and earth, but had a master. The spirit realm itself might even be that being's residence, an extension of their will, or a garden they personally carved out."
"The Goddess of the Luo River?"
"Mm... yes and no."
"What do you mean?"
"Right to the end, the Guo family never saw the face of the master they wished to serve. But from the tone of Seeking the Crossing on the Luo River, this 'master' seemed more like an ancient, distant, immense deity who could no