If one were to compare the Path of Absolute Emotions with a deficient spiritual consciousness, who indeed was the more ruthless of the two? This thought flashed rapidly through her mind before she instantly brushed it aside. A myriad of emotions surged and ebbed in her heart like a tide, completely engulfing Qin Zhizhi for a moment.
Once she managed to poke her head above the wave of emotions, she took a sharp breath, finding it strange: “Wait a minute, where did my missing Queyin and Feidu go?”
Her three souls and seven bodily spirits were incomplete, yet she had been able to live vibrately and freely across two lifetimes, not only completely unaware of it herself, but without anyone around her noticing either. This made no sense.
Qin Zhizhi fixed her bright, spirited eyes on the mysterious round-faced monk before her: “You know the answer, don’t you?”
The round-faced monk scratched his head and stroked his hairless chin, swaying his head from side to side: “The Heavenly Dao has its constant laws; how could I possibly know everything?”
Seeing his display, Qin Zhizhi curled her lip bluntly: “You know.”
The round-faced monk paused his movements, his eyes narrowing into a smile: “And what if I do? This is a calamity in your destiny; outsiders cannot interfere.”
“Then why did you tell me all this?” A person with a deficient spiritual consciousness could not ascend. One had to either retrieve the missing parts or gather one’s spirit and transform energy to patch the soul. But how could such a task be as light and easy as it sounded? Otherwise, injuries to a cultivator’s primordial spirit would not be so severe, significantly more perilous than any physical wound.
At this thought, Qin Zhizhi could not help but sigh: “Besides, my talent is poor. I am merely a low-grade five-element spiritual root. How could it be easy for me to cultivate in this lifetime?”
If they were to discuss talent, it was naturally Qin Zhizhi of the Tiantong Sect who possessed the superior quality. Although she had possessed dual metal and water spiritual roots just like Qin Zhijie, which did not quite make her one of the absolute best, she had still been considered a favored child of heaven. Furthermore, the Tiantong Sect possessed a much deeper heritage than Wudu City; even if they had to force-feed her with spiritual stones and elixirs, they had managed to turn her into a little genius who achieved Foundation Establishment at the age of sixteen, that was the sheer power of wealth. If anyone disagreed, they could throw money at it too.
“Eh?” The round-faced monk extended his fingers to calculate, murmuring in surprise, “You clearly possess dual metal and water spiritual roots, so how could you have five-element spiritual roots?”
Qin Zhizhi: “Eh?”
She had clearly just tested her spiritual roots. The green spirit stone of the Heguang Sect could not have been mistaken, and no one except Su Qingyi knew she was going to test them, meaning Qin Zhijie had no way of tampering with the process.
Qin Zhijie.
She was clearly the one with the dual metal and water spiritual roots.
Qin Zhizhi suddenly recalled that the original host had suffered a severe illness at the age of three or four and had nearly lost her life. Although she was fortunate enough to survive, she had become nothing more than a useless person. Yet her sister, who was only a few months younger than her, was discovered shortly afterward to possess dual metal and water spiritual roots, becoming a highly talented cultivator and beginning her cultivation alongside their father.
She also recalled that on that day in the Heguang Sect, when she placed her hand on the green spirit stone, at the exact moment the spiritual energy began to circulate, she had clearly felt an incredibly familiar aura, which was why she had unleashed such incredible power to strike Qin Zhijie down.
Could it be,
Qin Zhizhi found it somewhat hard to believe. Could it be that what Qin Zhijie possessed was actually her own spiritual roots?
“But you need not worry, I will naturally aid you.” The round-faced monk walked forward with a smile and tapped Qin Zhizhi’s head. Qin Zhizhi instantly felt a sense of absolute clarity wash over her sea of consciousness. Raising her head in surprise, she saw a pale gold pupil suddenly rise in the monk’s eyes, overlapping with his black pupil.
The collision of black and gold was like the sun and moon shining in tandem, causing Qin Zhizhi’s soul to vibrate violently.
“Who on earth are you?” Qin Zhizhi murmured softly.
The round-faced monk let out a wide smile: “Who I am is not important.”
“You only need to remember the technique I am imparting to you.”
“The Pure Heaven Dream?”
“The Pure Heaven Dream?” The monk laughed softly. “No, it is far more powerful than the Pure Heaven Dream.”
“The pupil technique, the Lomo Eye.”
A loud buzzing sound exploded in Qin Zhizhi’s head. She saw the chaotic mist deep within her dantian being swept aside by a pair of large hands. Accompanied by a pain akin to having her tendons pulled and bones extracted, the mist cleared to reveal a faint golden glow and a quiet blue light, exposing the dual metal and water spiritual roots that originally belonged to Qin Zhizhi.
Her mind and body felt light, and her entire being felt thoroughly comfortable.
Next, she saw a seed break through the soil and sprout, saw the sunlight pour down as a flower bud bloomed, and saw the wind blow falling leaves to nourish the soil. She saw a grain of sand, a pagoda, an ocean, and all the phenomena of heaven and earth, traveling freely across the horizon. At this instant, she saw everything in microscopic detail yet from a vast perspective, as if standing at the point of origin while simultaneously scattering across the heavens and earth, existing everywhere.
“Why me?” Qin Zhizhi looked toward the myriad phenomena of the world, a faint sense of wonder in her heart. “Why me?”
A jade token appeared in her consciousness, and countless characters rolled toward her from it. However, she did not recognize a single character written on it. The rustling sound of pages fluttering through the air echoed in her ears, harmonizing with a heavenly Sanskrit chant.
“Perfectly tranquil and ever-silent, its application is boundless; applied yet ever empty, empty yet ever applied.”
Sixteen large golden characters appeared before her eyes, only to vanish in an instant. All things fell silent, leaving only herself.
The round-faced monk’s voice vibrated in her ears.
“The Dharma delivers those with whom it shares a destiny.”
Qin Zhizhi slowly closed her eyes.
A slight tremor appeared in the void, and spiritual energy scattered in all directions. The round-faced monk’s heart stirred, and he raised his head to look at the newcomer. The newcomer arrived filled with killing intent, the heaven-shaking sword in his hand brimming with malevolent aura. He looked like a blood-soaked Asura emerging from hell; though clothed in white, he seemed drenched in blood.
The round-faced monk was somewhat startled, but he quickly concealed his emotion and said with a smile: “As expected of the one favored by the immortal lord Xuetang.”
The second person to break the dream had appeared.
He had not done so by waking up, nor by comprehending the mysteries of the dream. He relied entirely on the sword in his hand to carve his way out.
In the dream, that heaven-shaking sword shone with a cold light that illuminated the nine provinces. He would slay Buddhas and gods alike if they stood in his way.
Xie Yutai of the Guiyuan Sect.
His sword qi was terrifyingly strong.
Xie Yutai walked step by step toward the round-faced monk, his blade unsheathed and pressed against the monk’s throat. Word by word, he asked in a deep voice: “Who on earth are you?”
The round-faced monk showed no fear, looking up at him with a smile: “What does it matter if you know who I am? What matters is, do you know who you are, Xie Yutai?”
The hand with which Xie Yutai held his hilt trembled imperceptibly, and he slowly lowered his blade.
After a moment, he felt Qin Zhizhi’s aura surging, a life force so robust that it felt as if something was about to break through the soil and sprout.
Xie Yutai turned his head: “What is happening to her?”
The round-faced monk looked at Qin Zhizhi, who was currently meditating, his gaze gentle: “She has entered the Path.”
Qin Zhizhi was entirely oblivious to the situation outside.
The moment she beheld the Lomo Eye, she had fallen into a wondrous state. It felt like a sudden enlightenment; she felt a bell toll with a deep vibration in her sea of consciousness. She watched all things cycle from beginning to end before her eyes, and the spiritual energy within her body accumulated and merged lap after lap in accordance with what she saw and felt.
The cycle begins anew, and all things are refreshed.
Her Qi Refining was complete, yet the spiritual energy had not stopped.
A flicker of surprise crossed her mind, but she immediately felt a continuous supply of spiritual energy pouring into her dantian and the Baihui acupoint at the crown of her head. Qin Zhizhi quickly focused her mind, guiding the spiritual energy through her meridians loop after loop.
The process of Qi Refining was exceptionally smooth for her. With just her breathing, her entire body felt as though it was being thoroughly cleansed. After several cycles of cleansing her meridians, she was actually on the verge of Foundation Establishment!
Qin Zhizhi was astonished. Seeing that she was about to lose control of the spiritual energy within her body, a warm current flowed down from her Baihui acupoint. The hands that had stirred her dantian earlier reappeared within her body, pinching a corner of the spiritual energy and tucking it back into her meridians.
Looping and retracting, the energy gathered in her dantian. After an unknown amount of time, Qin Zhizhi felt her dantian fully established and her spiritual platform perfectly clear. In an instant, she felt thoroughly refreshed, as if reborn. She opened her eyes, unable to contain her joy.
She had never imagined she would encounter such a stroke of fortune.
Qin Zhizhi’s body had originally been exceptionally beautiful, but her brow had always held a trace of stubborn, delicate melancholy. Now that she had achieved Foundation Establishment and cleansed the impurities from her body, her entire being seemed completely transformed. Her smile was like the blooming of ten thousand flowers and a brilliant display of lanterns, bright, vivid, and lively.
Qin Zhizhi stood up from the ground. The moment she turned around, she saw a person standing not far away. Hearing her movement, he turned around. He stood tall and elegant, his robes fluttering in the wind, looking entirely untouched by the mortal world. He walked toward her against the light, the sunshine bathing his robes so that his entire being seemed to emit a faint golden glow.
“Congratulations on your Foundation Establishment.”