Chapter 16

Mortals have six senses, while cultivators have seven.

The use of divine sense, for cultivators, is as natural as hearing, smelling, and perceiving things as ordinary people do.

Looking at the morning dew with your eyes, it’s water; smelling it, there’s a faint floral scent; listening to it, there are the faint sounds of water droplets and leaves rubbing against each other; tasting it, it’s cool and slightly sweet.

And all of these require proximity and contact.

Only with divine sense can one know its color, discern its taste, and feel its vastness or subtlety from meters to even miles away.

Yu Xizhi always felt that her perception was somewhat odd compared to before. Now, upon hearing Xie Junzhi’s words, it suddenly became clear.

That somewhat discordant presence was her divine sense.

Standing in the dilapidated courtyard for the first time, she attempted to control this perception. The dust on the broken tiles seemed to dance; the grass peeking from the corners resembled shy sprouts. Her perception swept through the courtyard like a bandit raid, thoroughly scanning it in an instant, then stopping at a toothless wooden basin: “Huh?”

Threads of demonic energy seeped from the gaps in the basin’s teeth, drifting faintly into the air. Her divine sense lingered there for a while before belatedly activating her spirit vision.

—Activating the spirit vision was also part of Xie Junzhi’s emergency upgrade class. Yu Xizhi learned very quickly but still had some difficulty adjusting.

If divine sense perceives the subtleties of all things, then activating spirit vision is like stepping into another parallel space directly.

Everything around her suddenly faded, turning into muted, old-fashioned shades of yellow and white. She could see the veins of mountains and rivers and the peculiar colors of various atmospheres.

“Everything in the world has a spirit.”

Xie Junzhi’s voice sounded beside her, “Although I don’t know what you were doing during class, these contents should have been covered in your lessons.”

Yuxi Zhi thought to herself, Who knows what the original host was doing? She was probably at home researching how to finely chop fish for dumplings or perfecting the embroidery technique for flowers.

“Firstly, you must understand that whether you activate spirit vision or not, what you see is the same world.”

While Xie Junzhi spoke, he subtly stepped back from her line of sight, guiding her to look further: “Beyond the trees are colors; the spirits of plants, mountains, and lakes also have colors. Above these, there are even greater and more majestic flows. As your realm improves, you’ll see it getting clearer and clearer. But remember, only look at what you can see; don’t try to pry into deeper existences.”

Yuxi Zhi followed his voice and “looked”.

Mountains, rivers, and vegetation each had their own colors, some lively, some silent. All these colors were stirred by another, more turbulent force. She could vaguely see the direction, but when she tried to delve deeper, she felt a sharp pain in her head and eyes simultaneously, involuntarily taking a step back.

Xie Junzhi reached out and steadied her: “That’s the consequence of prying. Within those flows are the qi and fortune of mountains and rivers. You can only see what level you’ve reached. Forcibly trying to see more comes with a price. Divination is like peering into the heavenly dao, hence the lack of longevity. The diviners who died prematurely from Baiyu Pavillion and Taixu Dao could probably fill Panhua Lake by now.”

Yu Xizhi swallowed the discomfort in her chest and reopened her eyes.

She no longer looked at those but instead took another glance around the dilapidated courtyard.

As she looked at the courtyard, she naturally “saw” Liu Chuanfu’s house next door. She saw the colors of people, then the aura of poultry and livestock, and naturally noticed those peculiarities beyond the qi that merged with the earth.

“Do you see the demonic energy?” While her gaze returned to the toothless wooden basin, Xie Junzhi’s voice sounded: “Cultivators all consider demonic energy as filthy as the abyss; a glance is enough to discern.”

When in the state of spirit vision and when simply using divine sense to look, the perceived demonic energy was different.

Divine sense could only evoke a feeling of being touched, but spirit vision could see clearly.

Demonic energy was abrupt and dense, with deep colors.

That color wasn’t constant; it seemed like various hues mixed together, becoming a thick flow.

Xie Junzhi had been watching Yu Xizhi’s expression all along. The young girl stared at the color she saw for the first time with a somewhat bewildered expression but didn’t display the disgust or aversion that others might.

“Why is demonic energy considered filthy? Does the qi of demons pollute the qi of mountains and rivers?” Yu Xizhi asked curiously.

She even bent down and carefully observed the density, then found a wooden stick nearby, trying to poke at the demonic energy, but obviously, the “qi” present in her sight wasn’t something tangible she could touch.

“In the eyes of demons, are humans also like this?”

However, Xie Junzhi remained silent.

When Yu Xizhi attempted to turn back to look at him, she heard Xie Junzhi chuckle softly. “Do you know that if your master hears this question, you’ll be summoned to the disciplinary hall.”

“But you’re not my master.”

Yu Xizhi wasn’t nervous. After finding the wooden stick ineffective, she tossed it aside but still reached out to touch the gap in the wooden basin and even bent down to sniff, only to be overwhelmed by the stench, revealing an expression of discomfort.

“My master wouldn’t teach me how to use divine sense and spirit vision… There’s demonic energy here; Old Cao must have provoked something he shouldn’t have. We should go to where he’s staying in the east of the city now; we might find something.”

As she spoke, she rose and deactivated her spirit vision.

Different from divine sense, activating spirit vision was also a burden for cultivators; prolonged use would greatly consume their spiritual energy.

“Huaiyun didn’t teach you any of this. What did he teach you?” Xie Junzhi followed her out of the dilapidated gate, seemingly asking casually.

“He taught me…” Yu Xizhi hesitated a bit, carefully recalling the scenes of meeting Master Huaiyun, and found that it was either because Xia Yiyao ,she was reprimanded or because Xia Yiyao,she was scolded: “He taught me to take care of my junior sister?”

Xie Junzhi looked at her with a complicated expression, about to say something, when his expression suddenly changed.

Yu Xizhi also realized something: “That’s…”

The town of Lengbei was not large at all, so with a target in mind, the two naturally hastened their pace. At this moment, they were not far from the east of the city. The eastern part was where the wealthy merchants and officials of Lengbei town resided, and there was considerable distance between each of the large mansions, making the area sparsely populated.

However, at this moment, when they looked towards the east of the city, where their divine senses reached, there was a crimson glow!

Yu Xizhi and Xie Junzhi exchanged a glance, the demon-hunting compass trembling even more violently in Yu Xizhi’s hand.

Without hiding their speed any longer, they tiptoed forward and flew off!

As the bloodlust intensified, Yu Xizhi halted her steps in front of the newly built mansion, concealing her figure. Just as she was about to scale the wall to enter, the main gate suddenly burst open. A middle-aged man, his arm covered in blood, staggered backward, his face twisted in unwillingness, angrily shouting, “What I can’t obtain, you won’t get either! We agreed to split it fifty-fifty at first, but now you’ve not only greedily taken my share but also want to cut off my arm!”

“Second Uncle, what are you saying?”

A young man stepped out, holding a blood-stained cleaver, with a smile on his face but a sinister tone. “Second Uncle, do you know what’s inside your arm? You voluntarily agreed to this at first. Now, if you want to back out, that’s a different story.”

“You promised back then! To send my youngest to school and to help my eldest secure an official position, but what happened?!” The middle-aged man addressed as Second Uncle shouted furiously, “My eldest died in the mountains; my youngest fell off a horse and broke a leg. Cao Kang, are you even human?! You… you have no conscience!”

“What use is conscience? Can it bring in money?”

Cao Kang shrugged indifferently, taking another step forward. He spoke persuasively: “Old Cao, since I respectfully address you as Second Uncle, let me advise you. With good food and wine every day, life is much better now. Your sons are gone, but you can have more. Second Aunt’s health is poor, and Second Uncle can still take concubines. I don’t want to see Second Uncle struggling, so how about… you think it over?”

Cao Kang’s voice was calm and composed, but the cleaver in his hand had already gestured towards the injured arm of the staggering old man, Old Cao, now fallen to the ground: “As long as you continue to search for treasures for us, you will still be honored in the Cao family. Isn’t that good? Why do you want to escape? Look at these neighbors; everyone has their doors tightly shut. Just because they received your gifts, do you think they will come to your rescue?”

This blood-soaked and miserable man was none other than Old Cao, mentioned by Liu Chuanfu!

Old Cao, who had moved away from Liu Chuanfu’s place just a few days ago, was now in a pitiful state. Although he was dressed in fine silk, he was covered in mud and blood, which was extremely inappropriate. The thick demonic energy, unable to dissipate, seeped from his broken arm.

Old Cao had evidently been pushed to the brink by Cao Kang. He glared angrily at the fair-faced Cao Kang, seemingly with thousands of words to say, but eventually, it all turned into a rueful cold laugh: “That turtle… I caught it! Those treasures, I found them! They’re mine! All of this—everything here—is mine!”

Yu Xizhi suddenly felt a bit dazed. This scene inexplicably felt familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where she had seen it before.

And in that moment of confusion, as Old Cao’s voice trailed off, a sudden change occurred!

As if his bloodied arm suddenly gained consciousness, it emitted a child-like scream, suddenly swelling up and lurching towards Cao Kang’s face!

Yu Xizhi snapped back to attention. She had already prepared to draw her sword from her qiankun bag, but in her momentary lapse of concentration, her hand accidentally grabbed something else and hurled it directly at the scene, The situation is now urgent—

A meat pie, imbued with unparalleled sword intent and emitting the fragrance of scallion oil, smashed onto Cao Kang’s face, barely blocking the blow from the massive arm!

The air fell into a strange silence for a moment.

At the end of the long street, Huang Li, who had finally found something and was rushing towards Old Cao’s new residence, held the sword in his hand, still quietly instructing the elegant young man beside him to listen to his commands and not rush in.

Xie Junzhi’s small stone remained unthrown.

Cao Kang’s astonished eyes hadn’t fully widened yet.

The eerie arm seemed incredulous that it had hit something and froze in place, maintaining the posture of the strike.

A somewhat embarrassed and distressed voice from the girl sounded hastily: “Ah… my meat pie.”

…

“There’s the smell of meat pie.” A voice resonated in Muyong Peak: “Are there Kunwu inner disciples who are stealing food?”

The Kunwu disciples clenched the hilts of their swords, clearly enraged but holding back due to Master Huaiyun’s prohibition.

“What business do you have here in Muyong Peak?” Gao Xiude said coldly, “Muyong Peak is a place for Kunwu disciples to rest and meditate. I hope the brothers from Xiya Tower won’t disturb us.”

Xuan Ping sneered, holding his sword. “Disturb? What have we disturbed? We’re just passing by. Master Huaiyun himself said that during our stay,the Kunwu Mountain Sect was like our own home. We haven’t trespassed anywhere forbidden, nor have we disturbed your cultivation. Just strolling around. How come your own home still has places we can’t go?”

Gao Xiude gritted his teeth inwardly. He was about to say something when his eyes lit up: “Senior Brother!”

“Senior Brother is here!”

“It’s Senior Brother!”

Yu Si, with a high crown and straight back, walked out from among the Kunwu disciples who had parted ways. He clasped his hands politely towards Xuan Ping and Xuan Fan. “Are you gentlemen interested in visiting Muyong Peak?”

Seeing him, Xuan Ping and Xuan Fan restrained themselves somewhat. Xuan Fan grunted, “Just passing by, that’s all. Whether we look or not is no big deal.”

“If you want to visit, it’s not impossible. However, this place is where the sect disciples reside, so there are inevitably many privacy considerations. If you do visit, please don’t enter without permission and don’t make loud noises. Some disciples like to meditate in their dormitories. Just now, as I came over, I saw three or four fellow junior brothers and sisters meditating.” Yu Si spoke calmly and politely.

Disturbing someone in meditation would affect their cultivation. With his words, the expressions of the Xiya Tower disciples subtly changed.

Yu Si’s words were extremely clever.

They couldn’t investigate the truthfulness of his words.

If it were true, with just this small area having three or four people meditating, it showed the excellent aptitude and high comprehension of the Kunwu Mountain Sect disciples.

If it were false… they wouldn’t dare block the path to verify it.

Xuan Ping naturally also realized this point, but he could only coldly snort, “Senior Brother Yu Si is being polite. Since someone is meditating, we naturally won’t disturb.”

Turning around to leave, he paused for a moment but still couldn’t swallow this breath and couldn’t help but sneer. “Just curious, in a place for cultivating purity, there’s still the smell of meat pie. With such impurity, if Kunwu Mountain Sect continues like this…”

Xuan Ping elongated his tone, glancing strangely towards the courtyard where the smell was coming from.

Xuan Ping certainly didn’t intend to confront Yu Si. He wasn’t that kind of person in general, but the smell of the meat pie made him somewhat suspicious.

Could it be… that the girl wearing the outer disciple’s clothes was actually an inner disciple?

But he couldn’t say it outright, so he had to use this method to force Yu Si to reveal something himself.

Following his gaze, Yu Si sighed softly.

His sigh was filled with complex emotions, causing the Xiya Tower disciples to look at him again.

“I won’t hide it from you all. My younger sister is indeed incorrigibly greedy and extremely mischievous, and her cultivation is indeed embarrassing to mention. She has stagnated and is not suitable for important tasks. I didn’t expect her to trouble you all.” Yu Si spoke eloquently and courteously, sighing repeatedly with a visible sorrow in his eyes.

Several female disciples of Xiya Tower couldn’t help but feel a twinge of heartache. Even if they were looking for the disciple that Master Tan wanted, it shouldn’t have caused such a big fuss, let alone dragged in the unproductive sister of Master Yu.

Embarrassing to mention, stagnated, and not suitable for important tasks.

With these three consecutive descriptions of disappointment, who would say such things about their own sister unless they were truly disappointed? How could this kind of person be the person that Mr. Tan was looking for, who cut off the sword in Xuan Ping and Xuan Fan’s hands with one sword?

They had long heard that Yu Si, the senior brother of Kunwu Mountain Sect, had a sister who lacked presence, occupying a spot as Master Huaiyun’s direct disciple but making no progress at all. She was truly the only flaw in his otherwise illustrious life.

If Yu Si was already so pitiful, could they bear to expose his sister’s shortcomings?

The people from Xiya Tower showed expressions of reluctance and pity, paid their respects to Yu Si, and walked past Yu Xianzhi’s little wooden house in groups, not bothering to look back.

— Naturally, they also wouldn’t see the rows of small bowls under the eaves or the slightly familiar cat rice balls in the bowls.