Ah, whatever. Fourth Sib is young. It’s not going to hurt to let him hit his head against the wall a bit. There’s no way he’ll perfectly copy the Ghost Emperor’s resonance. Ahhhh, this Fourth Sib… has too much ambition.
After eyeing Xu Qing once more, Master Seventh stood, clasped his hands behind his back, and left.
Xu Qing, meanwhile, wasn’t even aware of what was going on around him. He had lost track of the passage of time, and was completely focused on making a full copy of the Ghost Emperor. As his Master had explained, that was the only way for him to cultivate the Gruegloom Daoseizing Art, which was a technique that Xu Qing felt truly fit him well. He really wanted to have it available the moment he stepped into Gold Core. And therefore… he needed to work hard at his current task.
Worried that a mere outline of the mountain wouldn’t be enough, he was deeply focused on getting a very detailed image.
Xu Qing didn’t know what ‘resonance’ was, but his way of thinking wasn’t complicated. He just wanted to have a very detailed and lifelike image of this god in his mind. He wanted it to be as close to the real thing as possible.
It was similar to copying a painting, except he was doing it mentally. Therefore, after succeeding at creating a general outline, he went in to add all the specific details. And that process was very, very difficult. If you asked someone with no artistic training to make an outline of something, they probably could. But if you asked them to fill in realistic details, it would be a lot harder.
In fact, Xu Qing had just now noticed a mistake in his copy. He had filled in the details in the wrong way, making the image look strange. Acting on instinct, he erased the image and started over.
An outsider wouldn’t have any idea the level of enlightenment he was attaining through that process. However… Master Seventh could see the clues. In fact, those clues were what caused Master Seventh, who had just walked out, to suddenly stop in place and turn back to look at Xu Qing.
What’s going on? How come I just sensed a bit of resonance??
Master Seventh looked more closely.
Now it’s gone? How come the outline he had already fixed in his mind is gone? What’s Fourth Sib doing??
After observing Xu Qing for a while longer and realizing that he was in a state of deep calm, Master Seventh finally left. That day, he had a nice walk with Ding Xue, but couldn’t stop wondering about Xu Qing. When they got back that evening, he hurried over to check what was happening. When he saw Xu Qing, he was stunned.
The outline is back? That fast? And that resonance is also there. It’s… hey, wait. It’s gone again!
Master Seventh was so surprised he considered smacking Xu Qing to break him out of his trance. In the end, he held back.
Days went by until the second month passed.
Eventually, Master Seventh resigned himself to the strange things that were happening with Xu Qing. Just about every day he sensed that Xu Qing had dispelled the image within him and started over. Eventually, he realized what was happening.
I told him to copy an outline, that’s all. Fourth Sib, you… really don’t need to do this! What are you up to? Showing off your powers of understanding? Master Seventh chuckled wryly. Truth be told, over the last month, his admiration for Xu Qing had grown even more, and he was starting to gain a new appreciation for his powers of understanding. ．𝒄𝙤𝙢
This brat… is actually a great fit for the daoist magic of the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society. Their true legacy comes from the Ghost Emperor. In some respects, the little punk is perfectly suited for the dao of the South Tor Ghost Emperor. In fact, maybe that’s why he’s such a beast when it comes to enlightenment.
As Master Seventh contemplated those things, Xu Qing reached a critical point in the enlightenment process. He treated his sea of consciousness like a canvas, and his powers of understanding as a brush. Over and over again, he painted the Ghost Emperor mountain. Over and over again, he erased it and started over.
As a result, the Ghost Emperor mountain in his sea of consciousness grew more and more lifelike. As he made adjustments to the various details, and as he started over repeatedly, the image grew more detailed and complex. However… the Ghost Emperor in the image didn’t have a face.
Every time he tried to do the face, it just didn’t seem right. Truth be told, he actually wasn’t happy with the image as a whole. However, if any outsider could see it, they would be absolutely astonished. After all, it was rare for someone in Foundation Establishment to be capable of something like this. It required incredible powers of understanding.
Unfortunately, Xu Qing felt like he was far, far from a satisfactory result. Though the Ghost Emperor mountain in his sea of consciousness was extremely lifelike, to him, it felt like an empty shell. At the very most, it was a pretty shell.
In terms of creating a perfect copy, Xu Qing felt like he had only reached a level of 1/1,000,000. Furthermore, no matter how hard he worked, he couldn’t do any better. After the image formed in his sea of consciousness, he couldn’t do anything further with it.
Finally, on the sixty-seventh day, he opened his eyes, and within them swirled a mysterious resonance.
Yet, Xu Qing sighed. After looking around, he found that Master Seventh was sitting calmly off to the side.
“Master, I can’t continue to seek enlightenment.”
“Don’t be discouraged,” Master Seventh said coolly. “Although you weren’t able to succeed in three days like I did years ago, I know you’ve done all that you can do.”
Though Master Seventh looked like he was trying to be encouraging, the truth was that he was inwardly astonished to find that Xu Qing really did have some of the resonance of the Ghost Emperor mountain. It was only a sliver, but if word spread about that, the Supreme Arbiter Immortal Society would be thrown into a frenzy.
“Master, my powers of understanding have limits. And… I’ve reached them.”
Xu Qing bowed his head and mused that he really couldn’t compare to his Master. In his mind, his Master was like a profoundly deep pool whose bottom was impossible to see. And he felt regret that he had to stop seeking enlightenment after barely more than sixty days. Though his mental image of the Ghost Emperor mountain emanated a black glow and shocking fluctuations, it was far, far from being the perfect version he wanted. All he could do was summon the outline version.
Master Seventh looked at Xu Qing and sighed inwardly. The bit of resonance he had noticed after Xu Qing opened his eyes wasn’t the only change. There was also a big difference to his aura, as it now contained a bit of ghost energy. Ghost energy had nothing to do with death. It was something mysterious that, given Master Seventh’s cultivation base, wasn’t incredibly noteworthy. However, to people on a lower level of cultivation base, it would be very meaningful.
What was more, it would be very threatening to grues. If Xu Qing looked a grue straight on, then unless that grue had incredible willpower, it would be deeply shaken.
Master Seventh sensed that, and so did Xu Qing’s shadow. Of course, with Master Seventh present, the shadow didn’t dare to reveal itself. All it could do was stew in its terror. As of now, the shadow knew that Xu Qing… could devour it if he wished.
Master Seventh’s cheek twitched briefly, but he quickly smoothed out his face. Chuckling, he said, “The person not satisfied with their progress at least knows the right direction to pursue. Fourth Sib, maybe your powers of understanding aren’t on the same level as mine, but considering humankind as a whole, they’re not bad at all.”
Feeling a bit nervous, Xu Qing looked at Master Seventh and asked, “Master, is there any chance my current level of enlightenment is enough to cultivate the Gruegloom Daoseizing Art?”
Master Seventh looked back at him and could see how nervous he was. All of a sudden, he felt very tired inside, and didn’t really feel like talking. He stood. “It’ll suffice. Barely.”
Hearing that, Xu Qing breathed a sigh of relief. That said, he was still determined to focus constantly on making progress with the Ghost Emperor mountain. Hopefully, one day he would have enough enlightenment to make a perfect copy of it.
With such thoughts on his mind, he got to his feet and was about to walk outside when Ding Xue entered with some pastries. Seeing Xu Qing, her eyes lit up.
“You’re finally awake, Big Bro Xu Qing.”
Hurrying over to him, she held out the pastries.
Looking at them, Xu Qing felt hungry. Though his cultivation base had reached the point where he didn’t need food, he still enjoyed the sensation. Eating made him feel content. To someone who had grown up cold and hungry in the slums, it was an instinct that was part of him. Taking a pastry, he ate it. After some thought, he took another.
Seeing that, Ding Xue’s smile widened, and she felt more wonderful than ever. Taking out a bottle of medicinal liquid brewed from fruit and other medicinal plants, she offered it to him.
Eyeing her, he smiled. “Thank you.”
Those words filled her with excitement, and she was about to say something else when Master Seventh snorted coldly from outside.
“Since you failed at your enlightenment, we need to go.”
Ding Xue pouted but didn’t dare say anything in response. Xu Qing was in the same position. Together, they walked outside. It was evening, and as the light of the setting sun shone on Master Seventh, standing there in the courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back, he didn’t seem very happy.
Blinking a few times, Ding Xue hurried over to him and held out the snack box, all the while pouting visibly. Seeing that, Master Seventh relaxed a bit, and even looked pleased.
It was an expression that Xu Qing had seen before. It reminded him of the old innkeeper from Plankspring Way…. And that made him think of that white anaconda back at the inn.
As Xu Qing reminisced, Master Seventh ate a pastry. Then he took out a white identity medallion and tossed it to Xu Qing. “Give that to the kid next door who’s about to get off of school. I don’t get out often, so since we’re traveling, I want to spread the net, so to speak. Let’s see if we can find a Fifth Sib somewhere in Emperor-Receiving Prefecture. I’ll wait for you outside the village.”
With that, Master Seventh took Ding Xue with him out of the village, though she seemed loath to part with Xu Qing.
Tangerine-colored light filtered onto the village from above as Xu Qing sat down on a nearby stone fence. Watching the sunset, he waited. The spot he had picked was right on the road leading to the neighbor’s house.
Before long, he saw a boy skipping down the path, a leather bag slung over his shoulder. He seemed very clean. Whenever he saw any of the other neighbors, he bowed politely, always smiling and always happy. When he got close to home and saw Xu Qing sitting on the stone fence, he stopped.
“Hello, Big Brother.” His smile seemed a bit forced, and even slightly scared.
Xu Qing could sense that the fear was real, but he also realized that, deep within this boy was a profound ferocity that seemed just on the verge of exploding out.