Fang Yi leaned against the railing with his eyes closed, resting as he continued to contemplate the Supreme Induction Art.
The comprehension of the Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo...
...was unmistakable at this moment. Fang Yi gained a steady stream of insights into the common ground between the Supreme Induction Art and the Two Scriptures of Space and Time.
"The Supreme One said: fortune and calamity have no gate; people summon them upon themselves. The recompense for good and evil follows like a shadow..."
"The four directions above and below are space; all the ages past and present are time..."
"Through the Supreme, comprehend the vastness of space and time and the turning of heaven and earth. Heaven and earth are impartial, treating all things as straw dogs-that is how it is. Heaven follows its constant course; it did not endure for Yao, nor perish for Jie..."
"Use the Supreme to perceive the Two Scriptures of Space and Time and sever the heart demon. Perhaps it can be done..."
As his understanding gradually deepened, Fang Yi's consciousness sank into his Niwan Palace.
Drawing on his own insights, he began to modify the Heart Demon Thunder Symbol he had cultivated with reference to the Supreme Heart Demon Scripture.
The lines belonging to the Thunder Patterns slowly moved outward, while the pattern at the center of the Heavenly Talisman, originally shaped like a single eye, became a pair.
New patterns were taking shape within the eyes: one resembled a tower, the other a bell.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps brought Fang Yi out of his contemplation.
He wasn't annoyed. He had already changed some key nodes in the Heavenly Talisman; it would simply take some more time to transform it completely into the Supreme Space-Time Heart Demon Heavenly Symbol he wanted.
It wouldn't take too long. In any case, the next time they met, Ling Qingzhu's insights into the Supreme Induction Art would all pass to him.
By now, the sky had grown dark, and starlight flickered.
The footsteps belonged to Mu Qianqian.
"S-senior... these are all the meditation cushions in Great Puppet City. I've already had the Martial Alliance and the Yin Puppet Sect cooperate."
"And the women's accessories you wanted..."
Mu Qianqian hurriedly held out two Universe Bags.
Fang Yi picked one up and glanced inside. It contained relatively exquisite accessories such as earrings and bracelets. He casually put it away.
Then he looked at the other Universe Bag.
It was filled with a pile of meditation cushions. With a thought, he released them all.
His Mental Energy surged out and swept over them again and again. He couldn't sense any difference!
No wonder no one had discovered it for so long. Since he couldn't tell them apart, he could simply blast them to pieces.
He flicked a finger, and dozens of small swords formed from brilliant golden light blasted every cushion apart. Cattail fibers and fragments flew everywhere, scattering like butterflies swept up by the wind.
Beside him, Mu Qianqian pressed her red lips together. Did this... senior have a grudge against meditation cushions?
He had specifically had her find all the cushions in Great Puppet City, only to destroy them all.
Fang Yi frowned slightly. Nothing?
Could it be that it hadn't arrived in Great Puppet City yet?
On second thought, Fang Yi realized that was indeed possible.
In the original story, Lin Dong had obtained the Ancient Qiankun Formation at an auction. It was only natural that it wasn't here yet, since Fang Yi had arrived some time earlier than in the original.
Forget it. It seemed he had no affinity with the Ancient Qiankun Formation.
He couldn't be bothered to force it.
Seeing this, Mu Qianqian grew nervous. Would the senior, in a fit of anger, rape her and then kill her?
"All right, bring out a map of your Great Desolation Commandery."
"Yes!"
Mu Qianqian breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly took a map from her Universe Bag.
It was her personal map, and exceptionally detailed.
Fang Yi casually took it, glanced at it, and tossed it back to Mu Qianqian. "Come here!"
Mu Qianqian swallowed.
Although this senior truly looked like an immortal, she wasn't that casual a woman.
But she had no choice. She could only move forward with delicate steps and stop before Fang Yi.
Fang Yi reached out and touched a finger to the spot between her brows. "I'll impart a Heart Demon Art to you. Why would someone with a perfectly good Innate Charm Body cultivate the physical body?"
"If you get the chance, joining my Dao Sect wouldn't be a bad choice either."
With that,
Fang Yi withdrew his finger and turned into a streak of five-colored light, disappearing from Mu Qianqian's sight.
He had merely placed a piece on the board in passing. Whether it bore fruit or not, he would consider it payment for the map.
Mu Qianqian sensed an exceptionally complex cultivation art appear in her mind, yet to her, it seemed to come as naturally as water flowing into a channel.
The Heart Demon Scripture: use charm to stir the heart demon, seeming illusory yet not illusory, seeming real yet not real...
"An immortal patted my head and bound my hair, granting me eternal life..."
Mu Qianqian gazed at the vanished streak of light and murmured to herself.
"The Dao Sect? Next time, Qianqian will definitely bring meditation cushions to find you!"
Fang Yi had already appeared in the sky above Great Eagle City. A single glance told him where the Eagle Martial Hall was, and he immediately descended into it.
Jiang Xue and Jiang Lei, who had been discussing something, were startled.
Although he looked like a mere youth, Jiang Lei sensed just a trace of his presence.
He felt as though he were facing the heavens: he knew how vast they were, but not how high or far-reaching.
When making one's way in the world, the most important thing was knowing how to read people. He looked young, but he was probably some old monster.
"May I ask what brings you here, Senior?"
Jiang Lei hurried to his feet, knocking the chair behind him with a creak, while shielding Jiang Xue with his body.
Jiang Xue looked a little nervous too, her face fair and delicate.
"I'm taking someone away. Your daughter, Jiang Yinyin."
Fang Yi didn't bother talking about anything else. He had to lure the Lord of Life and Death to the Dao Sect.
Whether to establish ties with the Immortal Sacred Whale clan or to better deal with the threat of the Yimo later on.
As for the Great Desolate Ancient Tablet, there was no need to rush just yet. He would naturally come back to deal with it when the time came; the seal could hold for a while longer.
"Yinyin?"
Jiang Lei froze. His youngest daughter?
But Jiang Yinyin was only twelve or thirteen, a little girl at the First Layer of Body Tempering.
What could she possibly have that would make such a being take an interest in her?
Fang Yi casually waved a hand, enveloping the entire Eagle Martial Hall in the power of the five elements.
Jiang Lei was startled and swallowed, almost completely shielding Jiang Xue behind him.
Fang Yi said helplessly, "Relax. If I really wanted to do something to you, would you still be alive now?"
Jiang Lei thought about it. That was true.
Although his body was no longer as tense, he remained in front of Jiang Xue and said respectfully, "Senior..."
"First, bring her out."
Fang Yi cut him off.
Jiang Lei hesitated, then looked at Jiang Xue and gestured for her to find Jiang Yinyin. Jiang Xue took a deep breath and hurried toward the side room.
"To save myself the trouble of explaining."
Fang Yi reached out, his finger seeming slow but moving swiftly.
Before Jiang Lei could react, Fang Yi's finger had already touched the spot between his brows.
Jiang Xue came out of the side room carrying Jiang Yinyin and saw the scene.
Thinking Fang Yi had done something to Jiang Lei, she forgot all about the pressure and fear Fang Yi brought and hurriedly shouted, "What are you-"
Her body tensed like a cheetah's, ready to attack Fang Yi at any moment.
"Jiang Xue."
Jiang Lei hurriedly came to his senses and called Jiang Xue to a halt. His voice was fearful and tinged with disbelief. "Is... is this true?"
The information Fang Yi had passed to him was that Jiang Yinyin was the reincarnation of the Lord of Life and Death, one of the Eight Ancient Masters, and that her existence was of vital importance.
He needed to take her back to the Dao Sect to nurture her. Otherwise, when the world fell into calamity once more, Jiang Yinyin, if she had yet to mature, would very likely be unable to play her part.
All these terms, the calamity engulfing heaven and earth, the Eight Ancient Masters, struck at his view of the world.
He naturally knew of the Reincarnation Stage, since it was mentioned in the realm song, but to him, it was something utterly beyond reach.
He couldn't believe that the daughter he had raised since childhood was actually a figure who existed only in legend, an exalted, supreme existence.
How was that possible!