[Heavenly Eye Technique]
[High-Level: First Turn]
[Effect: The soul connects to the power of heaven and earth, allowing one to see spirits and break through the disguise of spells.]
"The life soul resides within the body, and the physical eyes hinder the life soul from perceiving the world clearly."
"But now, with the Heavenly Eye opened, it's akin to a weakened version of divine consciousness or divine perception," Zhao Xing thought as he gazed inwardly into his sea of consciousness.
In his sea of consciousness, his life soul appeared identical to himself, though the body remained somewhat illusory. However, the eyes, tinged with faint golden light, appeared far more solid than the rest of his body.
The subsequent advancement path for the high-level Heavenly Eye Technique would eventually form a divine power—[Heavenly Sight and Earthly Hearing].
This divine power was extremely formidable, capable of observing an enemy's every move from a thousand miles away.
However, the emergence of such divine abilities would only occur once the era of spiritual revival arrived.
For now, the Heavenly Eye Technique could only be cultivated to its highest level within the current limits.
"Sixth Rank Heavenly Gang, Fifth Rank Pure Essence, Fourth Rank Primordials Soul, Third Rank True Soul."
"As one advances step by step toward the Third Rank, the life soul will also grow stronger, no longer bound by the physical body and able to briefly leave the body."
"However, if one desires to roam freely in the void, more foundational support is needed," Zhao Xing recalled the time he encountered the Blood Spirit Sovereign in Gucheng.
The Blood Spirit Sovereign not only had the ability to roam the void but could also divide its life soul.
However, its method relied on the blood sacrifices of its followers, using the faith, blood energy, and souls of others as sustenance, preserving its life soul in various places across the world.
The Blood Spirit Sovereign's approach allowed for extended survival, but its individual strength was relatively weak.
Back in the abandoned workshop in Gucheng, even an Yin God like Dong He could engage in a prolonged battle with it.
Nevertheless, to the Blood Spirit Sovereign, losing one fragment of its life soul was no big deal, as long as the main body remained intact, much like cutting off a fingernail that could eventually grow back.
However, if the main body of the life soul was harmed, that would be a significant problem. Most treasures capable of healing the soul were at least of the Seventh Rank or higher.
"Once the life soul reaches the Third Rank and can roam the void, that's when true power begins," Zhao Xing mused.
The term "void" here referred to the vast spaces beyond the physical realm.
Letting the life soul leave the body was inherently dangerous, so why did people still seek to do it? Of course, there were benefits.
"When I reach the True Soul Stage of the Third Rank, my life soul can roam the underworld to seek out rare plants and bring them back to cultivate."
"The original plants of the underworld are mostly of the Seventh Rank or higher, like the Soul Devouring Tree, Bone Tree, and Hundred Ghost Vine—all formidable species in battle."
A strong life soul brought countless advantages.
Consuming a rare item like the Life Soul Pill provided even more extraordinary benefits.
For a Seventh-Rank martial artist, if their life soul advanced to the Sixth Rank, their control over their body would significantly increase. For example, someone who originally could only wield one saber might instantly be able to master dual sabers.
It would be like a direct enhancement of martial talent.
For someone like Long Xiao, a sword cultivator, consuming the Life Soul Pill could potentially allow him to control another flying sword!
The enhancement in combat power was evident!
For Zhao Xing, with his life soul at the early stage of the Sixth Rank, his control over vitality and spells improved drastically.
Immediately, two of his techniques experienced breakthroughs.
However, Zhao Xing felt that his greatest gain wasn't from the breakthrough of the High-Level Sleep Bug Technique or the Heavenly Eye Technique.
It was from his Straw Puppet Techniques.
Though he hadn't yet tested it, Zhao Xing had a feeling that if he attempted to merge the Four Techniques or Five Techniques now, it would be far easier than before.
The number of straw puppets he could simultaneously control would also increase.
"After consuming the Life Soul Pill, perhaps I'll soon be able to master the Self Straw Puppet like Liu Tianning and begin experimenting with myriad techniques."
The Self Straw Puppet was something Zhao Xing was determined to learn.
It allowed one to experiment with various dangerous or side-effect-heavy techniques by letting the Self Straw Puppet try them out first.
This way, even if severe injuries were sustained, the main body wouldn't be harmed.
The Self Straw Puppet essentially acted as a "human interface," enabling constant trial and error until the best course of action was determined.
Liu Tianning's impressive abilities had a reason behind them!
With countless Self Straw Puppets constantly practicing in the Palace of Myriad Techniques, it was hard to imagine how powerful Liu Tianning truly was.
When Zhao Xing faced his subconscious fears in the illusion formed by the Heart-Testing Platform, it was his recollection of Liu Tianning and the scenes in the Palace of Myriad Techniques that ultimately helped him break free from the powerful interference of the illusion.
Without this, he might never have been able to gather his thoughts or concentrate enough to escape the endless cycle of the illusion.
"I know eleven high-level techniques now, but Liu Tianning probably knows more than a hundred!" Zhao Xing thought in amazement. "He's even entered the Inspectorate Division of the Military Realm, a highly prestigious position."
The previous investigation team included Dan Tai Ming and Fan Zhaoli, both veterans who had lived for at least 300 to 400 years, but Liu Tianning was much younger than them.
After consuming the Life Soul Pill, Zhao Xing felt revitalized. After familiarizing himself with the changes in his body, he re-entered the Grand Dream Academy.
He recalled that the Heavenly Secret Pavilion within the academy had yet to be explored.
Earlier, his challenge at the Heart-Testing Platform had exhausted him, resulting in his forced ejection.
"Hummm~"
Once again entering the academy, Zhao Xing soared above the clouds and landed in front of a towering building.
The Heavenly Secret Pavilion was a tower-like structure, and as Zhao Xing looked up, the building seemed to pierce the sky, with its top lost in the clouds.
Only the first five floors of the pavilion were visible.
"This is a new building. The Grand Dream Academy during the era of Emperor Wu didn't have a Heavenly Secret Pavilion," Zhao Xing thought.
He could guess why Emperor Wu had removed the Heavenly Secret Pavilion.
Within the military realm of the Zhou Dynasty, there was a mysterious institution known as the Heavenly Secret Hall.
This hall housed the imperial Fate Officers.
The founding emperor of Zhou had severely restricted the professions of astrologers, diviners, and the like, but the royal family still used these methods for their own benefit. Every year, exceptional members of the royal family were selected to enter the Heavenly Secret Hall.
The Heavenly Secret Hall's function was to predict the future, assess the fate of the Zhou Dynasty, forecast the outcome of wars, natural disasters, and changes in the realms.
Their signature artifact was the Destiny Disk.
The Heavenly Secret Pavilion within the Grand Dream Academy likely served a similar function to the Heavenly Secret Hall, which explained why Emperor Wu had it removed.
"Different dynasties have different approaches, but it seems the Heavenly Secret Pavilion of the Li Dynasty isn't limited to the imperial family." Zhao Xing took a deep breath and entered the pavilion.
As soon as he stepped inside, a deep, ancient voice whispered in his ear:
"With division and multiplication, one can trace the source of creation; with fate, fortune-telling, and divination, one can grasp the changes in destiny."
Zhao Xing looked up and followed the voice, spotting a small bird perched atop a cabinet, reciting words with a nodding motion.
The bird held a scroll in its beak, swaying as it spoke.
When Zhao Xing saw the bird clearly, he was startled.
"A Fate Blackbird?!"
"Is this a mechanical beast or a real one?"
The lifespan of a Fate Blackbird was long, potentially over tens of thousands of years. Could this one still be alive?
While he was lost in thought, the Fate Blackbird unfurled the scroll and flipped a page with its claw.
Suddenly, the mist enveloping the first floor dissipated.
"Student Zhao Xing, I am the Fate Blackbird guardian. You are free to browse the first five floors of the Heavenly Secret Pavilion. How much you can learn depends on your own ability. If you cannot learn it, do not force yourself."
Zhao Xing, slightly taken aback, bowed toward the guardian and asked, "Guardian, are there no challenges I must overcome?"
The blackbird cast a sideways glance at Zhao Xing and said:
"Books of fate, fortune-telling, and astrology, divine scrolls, countless classics, and boundless meanings—learning itself is the greatest challenge."
"I see," Zhao Xing understood and ceased his inquiries. After bowing respectfully to the guardian, he stepped forward.
The first floor revealed rows upon rows of towering cabinets filled with books.
Each cabinet was about fifty meters tall, resembling an ancient library.
"A treasure trove, this is truly a treasure trove," Zhao Xing thought.
He casually picked up a glowing book—[The Great Mystery Canon].
Upon opening it, after only a few seconds of reading, Zhao Xing felt drowsy and quickly returned the book to its place.
The book lived up to its name—too mysterious and incomprehensible.
He then picked up another book from the next shelf—[The Great Mystery True Explanation: Chapter on the Birth of Things]. This time, he could understand a bit more.
"All things give rise to phenomena; phenomena give rise to numbers. Division and multiplication reveal the source of creation..."
After reading for a while, Zhao Xing put the book back. The Great Mystery Canon was merely a general overview with no specific techniques.
A canon was typically theoretical and ideological.
Techniques were practical applications.
After briefly skimming through it, Zhao Xing realized that this book wasn't what he needed. To master its profound techniques, one would have to understand countless other related scriptures. The entire shelf was filled with volumes of The Great Mystery Canon, and only after grasping the complete works would one be able to master its techniques.
Zhao Xing wasn't interested in learning everything. He had limited time and needed to prioritize his efforts. Furthermore, getting lost in these philosophical texts was easy, so he decided to take a superficial glance at them for now.
Moving on to the second row, Zhao Xing came across another book: [The Emperor's Classic on Governing the World].
This book explored the origins of heaven and earth, natural changes, and the history of human society.
"By observing the rise and fall of heaven and earth, calculating the waxing and waning of the sun and moon, studying the measurements of yin and yang, and examining the forms of strength and weakness, one can establish order based on celestial principles, following human affairs, and documenting the rise and fall of governance..."
Zhao Xing was intrigued, as the book focused on "predicting the past" and drawing lessons from history to govern the present and future.
For instance, one section mentioned: "In the year of Jiachen in the 2158th cycle, a great flood tore apart the sky, throwing the world into chaos."
In this context, a cycle was 120 years.
The book described an event that took place 25,896,000 years before the Li Dynasty, when a massive flood nearly split the sky apart, plunging the world into disorder.
It also predicted, "In the year of Guichou in the 3247th cycle, the ice sea in the west will thaw, unleashing endless calamities."
The numbers were so vast that it was impossible to verify the accuracy of such predictions.
"In later eras, the ice sea did thaw, but the timing is off."
"The Li Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty were separated by roughly 50,000 years, yet this prediction speaks of the ice sea thawing in 389,000 years, which is obviously nonsense."
"In just over two thousand years, the spiritual energy revival will occur. There's no way the ice sea would take that long to melt."
"Moreover, it even claims that the revival of spiritual energy will happen three cycles after the first year of the Li Dynasty—complete nonsense."
Zhao Xing rolled his eyes and returned the book to the shelf.
These methods of deduction had limited accuracy. When it came to the revival era, they were completely off the mark.
However, the revival of spiritual energy was something akin to legend for the ancient people, so getting it wrong wasn't a big deal.
The Li Dynasty was merely a dynasty blessed with fortune during the era of elemental energy, and its divination techniques had their limitations.
Continuing to explore, Zhao Xing soon found a useful book on the second floor.
It was the [Great Derivation Canon].
"The Dao has fifty paths, heaven derives forty-nine of them, and humans control the remaining one. The cycles of heaven and earth bestow their movements, and each individual's fate differs."
Seeing the Great Derivation Canon, Zhao Xing couldn't help but smile.
Finally, he had found something useful.
The Great Derivation Canon was a text explaining the nature of fortune. On this shelf, Zhao Xing discovered a technique called [Great Derivation Qi Observation Method].
"The Qi Observation Method allows one to observe the fortunes of living beings—not just humans."
"This secret technique is much more practical."
Being able to see someone's fortune was incredibly useful. If he encountered a child of destiny, he could stick close and ride on their luck.
Conversely, if he encountered someone cursed with misfortune, he could steer clear of them.
"This method also mentioned ways to increase one's own fortune, one of which involves absorbing the natural essence of heaven and earth."
"However, it doesn't describe how to steal someone else's fortune. That's to be expected—after all, the Li Dynasty is a righteous dynasty of fortune, so it wouldn't teach such a technique. To learn that kind of method, I'd have to seek out sects beyond the realm of the dynasty."
The Qi Observation Method was relatively easy to learn because its foundational requirements were the Life Soul and the Clear Eyes Spell.
Since Zhao Xing had already met these prerequisites, he could start learning it right away.
The Qi Observation Method was a high-level technique. While it lacked offensive capabilities, its auxiliary effects were immensely powerful.
After learning this technique, Zhao Xing continued to explore the pavilion.
Many of the books he found were familiar to him, but as the Fate Blackbird guardian had mentioned, most were beyond his current understanding.
Even if he could grasp some concepts, the results depended heavily on the era in which he lived. Divination books like the Fate Book and Astrology Book couldn't produce much effect in this current era and wouldn't bear much fruit.
Zhao Xing took note of certain books that intrigued him but required a higher level of comprehension, such as the Great Mystery Canon, Emperor's Classic on Governing the World, Burial Canon, and Six Yao Canon, planning to study them once his cultivation advanced further.
These ancient texts were too profound. Investing time and energy in them now wouldn't yield immediate rewards. Since the Zhou Dynasty remained intact, professions like fortune-telling were relegated to obscurity, unable to thrive.
However, there were three books that could bring immediate benefits if learned now, and they allowed him to bypass the limitations imposed by the Zhou Dynasty's founder's Dao Vow, meaning that even without becoming a Fate Officer, they could still be effective.
Zhao Xing selected three books to focus on for in-depth study.
The first was [Turtle Coin Divination], which required external objects to cast.
One of the external objects was the Spiritual Turtle—a sea creature not bound by the constraints of the Zhou Dynasty's Dao Vow, similar to how many exotic beasts were not part of the fortune-blessed system of the dynasty.
The spiritual turtle could bear the burden of divination's cost while also enhancing its effectiveness.
The second external object was special coins, such as Purple Gold Coins or Fortune Coins, ancient currency passed down from the divine courts of antiquity, with mysterious powers. Zhao Xing knew where to find them.
The second technique was [Weather Divination].
This form of divination had ties to his Shennong occupation.
It allowed for the prediction of changes in weather patterns, such as identifying regions where hundred-year or thousand-year cycles of change would occur.
The Weather Divination was divided into two parts: Land Divination and Sea Divination.
When the war ended, Zhao Xing was certain to transition back to his role as a Shennong, tending to farms and raising livestock. This technique would undoubtedly prove useful then.
The third was [Five-Finger Fate Technique].
This technique didn't require any external objects to cast.
In essence, it was the art of "divination by a flick of the fingers."
The Five-Finger Fate Technique was a top-tier secret method, one that didn't require becoming a Fate Officer and could still be practiced within the Zhou Dynasty. This was the fate technique Zhao Xing valued the most.
"All methods of fate and fortune derive from the changes in heaven and earth."
"The Five-Finger Fate Technique can bypass the restrictions of the Zhou Dynasty's founder's Dao Vow because it starts from the Inner Five Elements—the internal world of the five elements within a person."
"By divining the Inner Five Elements, it creates a buffer, and then, using the results of the inner world, it corresponds to the changes in the outer world. This technique is known as the Five-Finger Fate Technique."
Including the Great Derivation Qi Observation Method, Zhao Xing left the Heavenly Secret Pavilion with four highly useful techniques that he could immediately begin practicing.
He bowed to the Fate Blackbird guardian and left the pavilion, satisfied.
His trip to the Grand Dream Academy had yielded substantial rewards.
Back underground, Zhao Xing meditated, refining and practicing the newly acquired secret techniques.
After a while, he suddenly opened his eyes and smiled.
"My life soul has reached the early stage of the Sixth Rank, and the first chapter of the Great Dream Spring and Autumn engraved on my soul armor has brought new insights."
"In addition to the abilities of 'life soul crisis sensing' and the Sleep Bug Technique, I can now begin cultivating within dreams."
The first chapter of The Great Dream Spring and Autumn, [Entering the Dream], signified that Zhao Xing had truly stepped through the door of dream cultivation, allowing him to train within his dreams.
As his cultivation advanced and his comprehension deepened, he would eventually master true Dream Travel.
This would allow him to enter someone's dream and even slay them within their own dream world.
While Zhao Xing was practicing underground, Chen Shijie entered the war command tent.
"Where is Zhao Xing?" he asked.
The guard outside, Han Bing, pointed to the ground and replied, "He told me he went down there to rest."
Chen Shijie was taken aback. "What's with him? Why is he sleeping underground?"
Han Bing shook his head. "Not sure. Geniuses tend to have strange habits. Some people even enjoy sleeping in coffins."
"..." Chen Shijie was at a loss for words.
He couldn't understand these young people at all.
"Are you sure it's right here?"
"Yes."
Chen Shijie stomped his foot hard on the ground, sending a wave of energy down, causing the ground to tremble as it transmitted a message: "Zhao Xing, wake up. I need to talk to you."