Ji You’s Divine Thought was in a vast, profound, and boundless dark void, unaware that the outside world had fallen into chaos because of him.
He was currently sitting and observing the Heavenly Dao, attempting to reach the Tong Xuan Realm several times.
He believed that the key to the so-called Tong Xuan Realm lay in the 'Tong,' meaning understanding and clarity.
Now that the Heavenly Dao was close at hand, entering the Tong Xuan Realm of the Upper Five Realms meant comprehending and understanding after observing it.
However, after several attempts, he found his Divine Thought experiencing excruciating pain, like flesh being gouged and bones scraped.
His approach was correct, but the might of the Heavenly Dao was not to be underestimated; with his current Divine Thought strength, he simply couldn't endure much of it.
Thus, he could only observe the Dao intermittently, gritting his teeth to persevere.
This feeling was like a sweet rain falling in the desert, but you had no vessel to collect the water—powerless, able to retain and remember very little.
“Three breaths…”
“Pushing to the limit, I can only last three breaths at a time…”
“This intensity of consumption is even greater than Divine Thought soaring into the sky…”
After the fourth time, Ji You was panting, kneeling beneath the desolate Void Mountain, the sense of overexertion no longer relenting.
If he forced himself to continue, he suspected his Divine Thought might even shatter.
Ji You couldn’t help but collapse onto a stone, resting for a long time before finally turning his head to look at his upper right.
The barefoot girl in the flowing Immortal dress seemed to have gained some insight as well; she sat on a flat, black rock, her back to Void Mountain, already in meditation.
Since it wasn't a Spirit Artifact.
Could it be an Inner Courtyard Senior Sister?
No, that didn't seem right either.
Because the girl's accent had a Southern flavor, somewhat similar to the innkeeper at Chunhua Post Station.
And as far as he knew, the Seven Great Immortal Sects placed great importance on the selection grounds at their own gates.
Just like the Chu brothers, they could go to Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion or Tianshu Academy because they were Northern Immortal Sects, but they absolutely could not go to Mountain and Sea Pavilion, Asked the Dao Sect, or Lingjian Mountain.
Ji You stared at her for a long while, then unconsciously moved closer, realizing that because her eyes were so beautiful earlier, he had overlooked how long and curled her eyelashes were.
Her meditative state, like feigned sleep, made her appear pure and innocent, her skin so delicate it seemed it could break with a touch.
Up close, her exquisite nose appeared even more three-dimensional and upturned; even a runny nose would look graceful.
His gaze shifted downwards; the girl was in a cross-legged posture, her snow-white jade feet crystal clear, her rounded toes tinged with a delicate peach-pink, small and exquisite, as if they could be held in one’s hand.
Before Ji Hanfei came to Qingyun World, he had seen many beautiful girls, but none could be so vivid and flawless.
“Is this what 'national beauty and heavenly fragrance' means?”
“You could wring water out of her with a squeeze, couldn’t you?”
Just then, the girl who called herself a Fairy suddenly opened her eyes, her gaze slightly lifting.
Ji You was momentarily stunned, then realized he had been too immersed, causing his inner thoughts to become self-talk at that moment.
As their eyes met, Ji You wanted to open his mouth to explain, but he saw her cold face flush red, and then she abruptly waved her sleeve, sweeping him directly away.
Divine Thought had no weight; a gentle sweep of a breeze could carry it a thousand miles.
When he regained his senses, he found that his five senses in reality had returned, and his ears were filled with a cacophony of sounds.
Ji You opened his eyes, and the celestial light around him faded, but two Mystic Lights appeared on his forehead; one, though not yet solidified, already showed traces.
Seeing this scene, the surrounding Disciples couldn't help but gasp in shock.
One must know that Chu River had spent a full ten days condensing his Mystic Light, and that was after consuming countless Medicinal Pills as aid and working tirelessly day and night.
But Ji You, in less than an hour of Wudao, had already caught up to Chu River, causing the crowd to become even more agitated.
“Ji Gongzi, what did you see?”
“Yes, Ji *Shidi* (Junior Brother Ji), is there a Great Dao in the Heavenly Book? Can you tell us about it?”
“I heard an Inner Courtyard Disciple say that at the beginning of endlessness, ancient times had no form, and the book described a void that opened from nothingness to existence, within which was a vast, profound, and boundless expanse where myriad Daos evolved. Is this true?”
After a long silence, Ji You gently opened his mouth: “I saw a Fairy within it.”
Upon hearing these words, the entire surrounding area erupted in an uproar.
Mortals referred to cultivators as Immortals, and cultivators naturally referred to true Immortals as those who had achieved Ascension.
But they didn't know that in a certain era, a Fairy was also called a beautiful girl.
However, Ban Yangshu, who had previously observed the Heavenly Book, completely disbelieved it. After entering the Inner Courtyard, he had discussed the Dao with many Senior Brothers.
Inside the Heavenly Book was a primal, unformed world, a void at the very beginning of the Dao's manifestation, hence one could comprehend the Dao from it, and there was nothing else.
This Ji You was probably hiding something in public, unwilling to speak the truth.
“Everyone, I, Ji, shall take my leave first. Observing the Dao in the Heavenly Book is truly taxing on Divine Thought; I need to rest early today.”
“Oh, it’s not even Hai Shi yet, that’s really early.”
Ji You completely disregarded others, forced a smile, turned, and left the Wudao Field, returning to the Bishui Lake Garden opposite.
However, despite having sensed the Heavenly Book, he still had an unspeakable difficulty: his money pouch was almost empty.
Last time, he politely robbed Wang Instructor of one tael of silver, which lasted him eight or nine days, first turning into copper coins, and now even the copper coins were few.
Disciples in the courtyard received no stipend if they did not enter the Inner Courtyard; this was an iron rule of Tianshu Academy and would not change for any student.
But even if there was, Ji You would feel some resistance internally.
If he hadn't personally witnessed the emaciated state of the common people and their selling children to survive, he might have felt, like those Worldly Family young masters, that the world should be this way.
But after living in Yuyang County for so long, he always felt that almost everything in the Immortal Sects was tainted with blood.
What was even more ridiculous was that Yuyang County was actually in a relatively good situation; at least people could still live.
It was said that in the middle section of the Angry River, the previous Sect master of Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion, in order to resist the Lightning Tribulation of Ascension, once drained an Earth Vein, causing the banks of the river to remain barren for over a hundred years afterward, with bones scattered everywhere.
Ji You lay on his bed, pondering until sleepiness set in, and he slept until dawn.
The next morning, the mist was thick, the morning glow had not yet appeared, and the gentle breeze carried a hint of coolness.
Significantly fewer people came to the Wudao Field, and those who didn't come were mostly due to their Dao Heart being damaged yesterday.
Because if it had been Chu River who sensed the Heavenly Book, perhaps they could have accepted it.
After all, he worked day and night, consumed Spirit Medicine like crazy, and with his Family talent, it should have been him who sensed the Heavenly Book.
Lu Qingqiu’s efforts were also no less than Chu River’s; if it had been her, it wouldn't have destroyed others’ Dao Hearts.
But it had to be Ji You…
Compared to their daily Wudao from morning till night, this was even more unbearable than being defecated on the face.
“Perhaps cultivating the Dao truly requires a balance of intensity?”
“The Inner Courtyard quota was never very relevant to us, why did we try so hard back then?”
“This trend seems to have started when Chu River entered the Inner Courtyard…”
“Even Chu River isn’t coming anymore; these past few days have been truly exhausting…”
(Next chapter will be late, probably around 8 PM. Please keep reading and vote for monthly tickets, dear ones!)
