Chapter 175: Open the Heavenly Eye

“My dear wife, when we establish ourselves in Xiazhou and recruit troops, we aim to accomplish great things. A skilled alchemist is indispensable for this,” He Chunhua said, knowing well how to appease his wife. “Shibang City is home to numerous Taoist sects and abundant talent. Finding suitable candidates here would be beneficial before we make new hires in Xiazhou. From this perspective, Chuan’er might not be as thoughtless as you believe.”

Lady Ying trusted her husband implicitly, so her anger now turned into a mixture of doubt and belief. “But it’s just a monkey. Can it really refine good elixirs?”

“I have heard of the Thousand Hearts Flow,” He Chunhua replied. Ambitious to conquer the world, he naturally researched various Taoist sects. “It’s renowned globally for its alchemy. Although it’s a demon sect, the elixirs refined by their medicinal apes are superior to those made by human alchemists. This is what we call specialization. If we were to hire a reputable human alchemist, we might not find one even at double the price.”

Highly skilled professionals are never cheap. Moreover, recruiting talent in the auxiliary capital, Shibang, only for them to work in Xiazhou, means the salary must include various hidden costs like relocation expenses.

Of course, He Chunhua didn't know that the Thousand Hearts Flow’s medicinal ape was cheap for another reason.A low price often comes with a hidden catch.

Lady Ying, having lived in Qiansong County for a long time, thought of demons as violent and crude creatures, only capable of robbery and plunder. Hearing that a monkey could perform such delicate work was completely new to her.

Back in his guest room, He Lingchuan gave the monkey two catties of juicy cantaloupe and a batch of medicinal herbs. “Please help me refine Soul-Snatching Incense,” he requested. As the name suggests, this incense was used to lure out the living souls of people and was often employed by those with ill intentions. It was not sold in ordinary pharmacies or by alchemists; merely expressing a strong desire to buy it could lead to being reported.

The ape demon Ling Guang, however, clearly had no such strong moral reservations. It took the items and said, “It will be ready in an hour.” It didn't rush to light the furnace for alchemy but instead took the melon, washed it in a basin, broke it open, and began to slowly savor it.

Ignoring it, He Lingchuan took out the tofu he had bought at the market and went to an open space outside to practice his blade technique. He had exchanged military merits for a movement technique and a blade technique from the Pantheon City Merits Department. Although these two would eventually be combined, at his current level, he could only practice them separately. Forget about fluid, cloud-like blade movements or earth-shattering techniques from the start. He could only practice with tofu.

He spread a whole block of soft tofu in his palm and sliced it with his long blade. The initial requirement was to slice it as thin as a cicada’s wing, so each piece was translucent.

Before receiving the key techniques, He Lingchuan had no idea that becoming a good blade master first required becoming a good chef. However, the general principles of blade mastery explicitly stated that "steadiness" and "precision" were the foundations of martial arts, allowing no shortcuts, much like the foundation of a hundred-foot tower.

As for moves, techniques, and supernatural abilities, or the idea that "speed conquers all martial arts," those were all superstructures. Without a solid foundation, the superstructure would be unstable.

He Lingchuan made ten cuts, and most of the tofu slices were as thin as leaves. Maotao clapped from the side, "Young Master is amazing! To reach this level on your first try!" He Lingchuan glared at him, then held a slice of tofu up to the light—it was opaque. Failure!

This wasn't his first attempt. He had already practiced for five days in the dream realm, and the first day, in particular, had been a disaster, as he had even peeled a layer of skin off his own palm.

Now, by the thirtieth cut under Maotao's watchful eye, his blade trembled with his hand, and the tofu slices came out jagged.

This was truly difficult. After he ruined a block of tofu, Maotao, who was standing nearby, quickly handed him another one. Today's task was to slice fifty blocks of tofu.

Of course, the soldiers and civilians in the Pantheon Dream Realm couldn't bear to waste food this way, so there was another option: slicing paper. One hundred thin sheets of paper would be stacked together and sliced with a blade. Each time a sheet was sliced off, the ones underneath had to remain undisturbed. This method sounded much easier than slicing tofu, and the paper could be reused. He Lingchuan had practiced this way in the dream realm as well.

The first two months of comfortable living after crossing into this world had indeed made him consider living a leisurely life, just getting by in a peaceful corner. After all, striving hard was too difficult; how could it compare to the comfort of just lying around? However, two subsequent harrowing adventures—being tricked by Imperial Advisor Sun into the Pantheon Desert and the fierce battle against the rebel army at Xianling Lake—made him clearly see the gap between himself and his opponents. He had won and survived eight parts by luck, with little to do with his actual strength.

Even though He Chunhua believed his eldest son was a lucky general, He Lingchuan himself understood that one could not rely on good fortune forever. This world was far more dangerous than his previous one, with all living beings struggling in a mire. If he wanted to live long, he could only rely on the blade in his hand to carve out a path and reach solid ground.

Half a year ago, he was still slacking off at work and wasting his free time, with his biggest worry being not having enough money, rather than life-and-death situations or his future. Recalling it now, it felt like a lifetime ago. No, he had indeed been reborn into another life.

By the time He Lingchuan finished slicing forty-nine blocks of tofu, his right hand could no longer lift the blade. In the bitter cold of winter, he had actually worked up a sweat.

Maotao had been staring at him intently. He Lingchuan irritably said, “What are you looking at? You slice the last one!”“Me?” Maotao was startled but surprisingly agreed. “Alright.”

He also took a block of tofu, drew a short dagger from his boot, and began to slice with rapid, skillful movements.“...?” Why did Maotao’s movements look so fluid?In just a few breaths, the tofu was sliced. Maotao held up a few slices with his dagger and grinned, “Young Master, take a look!”

Although it wasn't as thin as a cicada's wing, each slice of tofu was uniformly thin, like a leaf. What's more, he had wielded the dagger with ease, completing the task in one fluid motion without any pauses. This was much more difficult, and his technique was exceptionally skilled.

He Lingchuan grabbed him by the collar. “Have you secretly practiced this before?”“Yes, it’s how we make a living, so how could I not practice?” Maotao, formerly a desert bandit, knew he lacked physical strength compared to others, so he had to find ways to excel in skill.

In the tone of someone with experience, he consoled He Lingchuan, “Don’t be disheartened, Young Master. With your aptitude, you’ll master it in seven or eight days.”“Disheartened? Which dog’s eye of yours saw me disheartened?” Young Master He snorted and instructed him to fetch a rope and tie it between two trees.

Blade practice was complete; next was movement technique. The rope, about as thick as a little finger, was tied according to instructions—neither too loose nor too tight, with a slight sag. He Lingchuan leaped onto it, balancing on one foot. With nothing above or below to brace against, he swayed twice, quickly focused his energy in his dantian, and managed to steady himself with great effort.

His original body had practiced plum blossom stakes, giving him good balance, so this wasn't too difficult for him. Therefore, the next step was to place his hands behind his back and stand still with his eyes closed.

He closed his eyes, and within two breaths, He Lingchuan felt the world spin. He quickly opened his eyes and found himself falling, almost landing headfirst.

When one closes their eyes, their sense of balance deteriorates. He leaped back onto the rope. This time, before he could even steady himself, a strong gust of wind blew by... “Again!”

Maotao watched eagerly from below. “Young Master, to what extent must you practice this?” He Lingchuan gritted his teeth. “When I can replace the rope with a thin thread and still run freely on it with my eyes closed, that will be considered minor mastery.”

“And great mastery?”“Standing on a thin thread with my eyes closed, rapidly slicing tofu, each piece as thin as a cicada’s wing, and continuously.”

“Young Master,” Maotao said cautiously, “take me along with you. Even if I don’t master the supernatural abilities in the end, I could at least earn a living in a circus.”

He Lingchuan casually pulled out a locust stone and threw it at Maotao’s face. Maotao shrieked and dodged. This exertion of force caused the rope to sway uncontrollably, making He Lingchuan expend great effort to regain his balance.

“Hmm, this method isn’t bad either—two birds with one stone.” It practices both movement technique and throwing accuracy. Hu Min had said that throwing, like archery, required developing accuracy and feel.

“Pick them up for me!” He then pulled out two more locust stones, aiming them at Maotao’s backside. For the next half an hour, chaos reigned in the small courtyard.

Servants of the He residence came and went, either chuckling or shaking their heads at the sight. The Young Master never rested; he was already causing mischief again right after arriving in Shibang.

Then, the medicinal ape Ling Guang appeared, landing lightly on the suspended rope, holding a bundle of black incense. “Master, the Soul... the incense you wanted is ready.” It seemed weightless; the rope didn’t even move.

He Lingchuan looked down and saw its ten toes gripping the rope firmly, maintaining incredible stability. How much effort would he have to put in to catch up to such innate talent? He sighed, took the bundle of incense, and said, “Thank you! If you have time, please help me refine Yin-Yang Powder as well. Here’s the prescription.”

He Lingchuan returned to his room, closed the doors and windows, and lit a candle. Only when the candlelight burned straight and steady did he light the Soul-Snatching Incense, sit cross-legged on the bed, and begin to meditate.

After closing his eyes, the world plunged into darkness. He Lingchuan could only hear his own long, regular breaths and smell the peculiar scent of the Soul-Snatching Incense lingering around him. He silently recited the mental cultivation method from the Zi-Wu Art, gradually losing the sound of his own breathing, but vague images began to appear in his mind.

They seemed to be the furnishings of the guest room, but without color or light and shadow—only lines and outlines. He Lingchuan understood that this was not him observing his surroundings with his eyes, but rather attempting to activate what the Zi-Wu Art referred to as the “Heavenly Eye.” Simply put, it was divine perception.

This feeling was extremely strange and difficult to describe in words, perhaps similar to how bats “see” objects using echolocation. The Zi-Wu Art dedicated a specific section in its general principles to explain methods for cultivating and practicing divine perception.

Ancient immortals could expand their divine perception to avoid danger, and it was even more effective than the five senses. He Lingchuan treasured this section as if it were a rare treasure, as both large-scale battles and individual combat were full of uncertainties. One never knew who might be lying in ambush, waiting to strike, who might be secretly shooting arrows, or who might be plotting against you.

The first attempt to expand divine perception was especially important and very difficult. If it failed, one would have to wait at least three to five months before trying again. That’s why He Lingchuan specifically asked the medicinal ape to refine the Soul-Snatching Incense as an aid.

In the profound silence, the scent of the medicinal incense seemed to vanish, yet the things he “saw” in his mind became more numerous and clearer.