In the Name of Divine Abilities

Lu Zhao was certain he had grasped touch, one of the five senses.

Along with taste and smell, which he had grasped earlier, that left only hearing and sight before he could reach first-stage perfection.

Once he had gathered all five senses, he would possess something close to a god's-eye view, as well as the characteristics of every mental Divine Ability.

His mental control had gone from allowing him only a vague perception to being all-capable.

That was probably what perfection meant: it was not confined to the Fate Bone itself.

In his teacher's words, it was concentrating the spirit, gathering the divine intent.

He had vaguely begun to find the trick of it. Nature Cultivation did not seem as difficult as he had imagined.

It sounded mysterious, but in practice, the Dao could be found everywhere in daily life.

"Visualizing the five senses seems to go beyond the five senses themselves."

The five senses were only outward appearances, and the five senses derived on the level of the soul were only one form of manifestation.

Divine intent, divine intent-the key lay in the intent.

A method was a way to assist people in cultivation, much like a textbook. Its first priority was not to ensure correctness, but to help people understand.

But was what I comprehended on my own right or wrong?

Still doubtful, Lu Zhao returned to his dormitory, closed his eyes, and entered Primordial Unity.

Chapter 59: Instruction

Primordial Unity.

Lu Zhao emerged from the mental mire and came to the small Daoist temple standing amid the chaos.

The old Daoist sat in meditation with his eyes closed as usual, and Lu Zhao waited outside the door.

He was somewhat curious about what an immortal like the old Daoist practiced in his daily cultivation.

From what Lu Zhao had learned, very few experts who reached the Martial Marquis level could continue their daily Life Development, because they had already seen its end.

How far a person could go seemed predestined. Once they reached a certain vitality threshold, all growth would stop.

No matter how many life supplements they consumed or how harshly they trained, they could not make the slightest further progress.

In academic terms, this was called the life limit.

If a person could still train, even if they gained only 0.001 a day, it meant they had yet to reach their limit. Perhaps all they needed was a single opportunity to soar.

The old Daoist was still cultivating at his level. Did that mean he could advance further?

He had already attained immortality. Could he still advance further?

I wonder how much of Teacher's skill I'll be able to learn someday.

About half an hour passed.

The old Daoist slowly opened his eyes. "Come in. What is it today?"

Lu Zhao entered the temple and first cupped his hands and bowed. The gesture had become much more practiced than it had been the first time.

Although the old Daoist always said there was no need to stand on ceremony, Lu Zhao did not truly believe he liked people who showed no respect for their elders.

He took a seat on a meditation cushion and spoke about his recent cultivation.

"I have been studying the Visualization Method and gained a little understanding, but I am not sure whether it is correct."

The old Daoist looked surprised, but quickly composed himself.

"Doubt is the beginning of thought and the starting point of learning. Let me hear it."

Lu Zhao said, "I believe concentrating the spirit on the five senses does not refer to the physical senses."

The old Daoist nodded slightly, a trace of satisfaction in his eyes.

To learn the form without learning the intent was to waste more than a hundred years.

Intent was a deeply mysterious thing. Some people studied for decades without grasping even the basics, while others might comprehend it after only a few days.

His student was highly talented, so it was only natural for him to gain some understanding. If he lacked even that much talent, how could he be his disciple?

Besides, the method he had created himself was certainly better than those of the great and famous sects.

"How many layers have you comprehended?"

"Smell, taste, and touch."

Lu Zhao answered, "Taste is my sense of food's existence, smell is my sense of time, and touch is my sense of other people's existence."

The old Daoist did not dismiss his answer. He asked, "Then what are sight and hearing?"

Lu Zhao replied, "Hearing is discerning people's hearts. When I use the Visualization Method, I can detect subtle emotional fluctuations in some people."

Though he could not read minds, Lu Zhao could tell whether someone was nervous.

Take Lin Zhiyan, for example. She controlled her expression extremely well and rarely revealed her personal emotions. Even when she did, they were emotions she wanted others to see.

That was an outward appearance.

But through the Visualization Method, Lu Zhao could judge her mental state from several aspects.

As for sight...

Lu Zhao gave it some thought, then sank into deep contemplation.

What is sight? It is clearly the most straightforward sense, yet it seems to be shrouded in mist.

If I can see, do I still need mental power to perceive?

Lu Zhao admitted frankly, "I am slow-witted, Teacher. I understand nothing about sight."

The old Daoist smiled faintly and breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.

At least there are things this boy doesn't know.

He was genuinely afraid that if the boy could practice any method he was casually given, would there be any need for him as a teacher? How would he take on disciples in the future?

He offered a hint. "Modern refined speech has been simplified. Why don't you think about what the five senses used to be?"

Lu Zhao understood at once, his thoughts moving like lightning.

Form, sound, smell, taste, touch.

Sight was form, referring to forms and shapes, including long, square, flat, round... all forms and orientations.

"Form is the world I see?"

"Good."

The old Daoist nodded and explained further, "Zhuangzi said, 'Without the other, there is no self; without the self, there is nothing to apprehend.'"

Without an external world, there was no "self." Sight was about clearly recognizing the external world.

But how exactly was he to recognize it?

Lu Zhao recalled his teacher speaking of the supreme sages of history. In the course of comprehending the Dao, they too had studied and expounded upon the world.

The answer was simple, then. At least to Lu Zhao, the answer to the Dao was like fallen leaves on a stream.

He could not obtain them all, but he could easily scoop up one of them.

"To understand the world and transform it-that is smell and form."

"..."

The old Daoist gazed at him for a long time, then praised him from the heart.

An immortal talent. Truly an immortal talent.

Lu Zhao was no longer merely visualizing the five senses. He was forging a Dao heart, just like those supreme sages throughout the ages who stood above all others past and present.

He said slowly, "When the spirit departs, one dies; when the spirit remains, one lives. That is the key to uniting the five senses."

Sometimes it was not that he wanted to speak in riddles, but that explaining things too deeply would only harm Lu Zhao.

When the spirit departs, one dies; when the spirit remains, one lives.

Holding fast to one's true heart?

Lu Zhao could already keep up with the old Daoist's train of thought, at least enough to grasp part of what he meant.

As his thoughts wandered, a ruler came swinging over and struck him squarely on the forehead.

Smack!

The pain struck his consciousness directly, making him bare his teeth.

Holding the ruler, the old Daoist said, "Haste makes waste. You seem to be in quite a hurry. Has something happened in the present world?"

Lu Zhao came to his senses. While the pain diverted his attention, it also did ease his mind a little.

He asked, "Teacher, there are things besides cultivation that I do not understand."

The old Daoist said, "A teacher imparts the Dao, teaches, and resolves doubts. Resolving doubts is not limited to cultivation."

Lu Zhao then recounted what he had discovered recently.

The old Daoist had already learned about Lu Zhao's circumstances and had even given him the nickname "Lu Gangfeng."

In ordinary times, aside from cultivation, the old Daoist most enjoyed holding him in conversation about modern times, which then extended into history.

After listening, the old Daoist identified the issue in a single sentence. "You want to intervene in the struggle between the Lin and Chen families, but you don't want to throw your lot in with either side."

"At the same time, you want to ride their influence to rise higher. You want a way to pull chestnuts from the fire."

Although Lu Zhao had been his disciple for less than a month, the old Daoist saw him very clearly.

Lu Zhao cupped his hands and bowed. "Please enlighten me, Teacher."

"Look to history as a guide. Affairs from ancient times to the present share common principles."

The old Daoist asked in return, "Who do you think was a loyal minister of Great Ming, Hai Rui or Yan Song?"

Hai Rui and Yan Song?

Lu Zhao answered without hesitation, "Hai Rui, of course."