Chapter 155 : Internal Observation of the Divine Soul
Chapter 155: Internal Observation of the Divine Soul
After entering meditation, Long Tao’s mind gradually calmed, and his awareness sank into a deep and secluded expanse.
The next step was the crucial one—focusing his consciousness and attempting “internal observation.”
Meditation and divine sense internal observation were basic skills every cultivator had to master upon entering the path. Yet the level of proficiency in these fundamentals was precisely one of the chasms separating ordinary cultivators from experts.
Take Long Tao for example—each time he performed divine sense internal observation, he had to find a quiet place and sit in solemn meditation for quite a while before entering the proper state. Within the sect, he could only be considered of average talent.
Those gifted in this regard—or the vast majority of Foundation Establishment disciples—were already capable of completing internal observation anytime, anywhere, with a mere flicker of thought. For them, formal meditation had long become unnecessary.
In the past, his internal observation had been nothing more than examining the circulation of spiritual energy within his body and the state of his meridians and spiritual roots—like inspecting his own garden, the pathways already familiar. But this time was entirely different. What he needed to observe was something far more abstruse—the divine soul itself—and the method differed drastically.
According to the Weaving Soul Returning-to-Origin Art, if one wished to visualize the divine soul with divine sense, the divine sense could not remain confined within the body.
One had to transcend the “viewpoint,” detaching it outward, and from an almost detached, external perspective, reflect back upon oneself.
In essence, this already touched upon the domain of releasing divine sense outward.
Only now did Long Tao fully understand why ordinary Qi Refining disciples rarely ventured into divine soul techniques. It was not that they did not want to—it was that they could not.
The little divine sense possessed during the Qi Refining stage was like a dying candle flame in the wind. If it barely left the body and lost its protection, it would dissipate instantly, unable to maintain any stable form.
Thinking back to when he had first learned internal observation, which disciple had not curiously attempted to extend divine sense outside the body?
The result had always been the same—an instant bout of dizziness and severed perception.
But this time, he decided to try again.
After taking a deep breath, Long Tao concentrated all his attention upon his sea of consciousness, striving to dispel every stray thought.
Carefully, he began to move his divine sense outward from the Dantian.
The process was slower than he had imagined.
Each inch his divine sense extended felt as though it were pushing through something viscous, consuming immense energy and accompanied by faint tearing sensations.
Fortunately, perhaps because he was within his own Quiet Chamber, the familiar and secure environment placed his body and mind into a subtly relaxed state, offering him a measure of protection for this risky attempt.
At last, he felt his divine sense reach the outside. The surroundings no longer felt so “warm.”
In an instant, an indescribable “scene” unfolded within his awareness.
It was not an image seen with the eyes, but a more direct, more essential form of perception.
Gradually, he “saw” his own divine soul. It was not the imagined orb of light or humanoid shape, but rather something akin to a vast and hazy nebula, interwoven with the meridians and spiritual energy within his body, forming an exceedingly complex and profound miniature cosmos.
And this was likely what was meant by the so-called “inner heaven and earth.”
However, this nebula was far from flawless. Certain regions appeared dim and sparse; elsewhere, the lines were chaotic, unpleasant to behold.
According to the explanation in the manual, these were the accumulated divine soul injuries from past cultivation and missions—damages unnoticed at the time. They were not severe, but over years of accumulation, they would inevitably become hidden dangers.
Long Tao steadied his breath and recalled the key principles of the technique. He attempted to make contact.
A powerful wave of dizziness struck abruptly, as though the thread maintaining his outward viewpoint had suddenly snapped.
The wondrous “inner heaven and earth” vanished in an instant, and his consciousness returned from deep meditation to reality.
Long Tao’s eyes flew open. A surge of overwhelming drowsiness and mental exhaustion nearly made him faint, and his temples throbbed painfully.
“As expected… still too forced.”
Leaning against the edge of the bed, he gasped for breath.
With only Qi-Refining Sixth Layer cultivation, forcibly maintaining divine sense release while attempting manipulation was still far too strenuous. His mental strength simply could not sustain it.
Yet after a brief moment of dejection, a hint of excitement emerged.
No matter what, he had succeeded in the first step. He had truly “seen” his divine soul and discerned those hidden dangers. In the past, that would have been unimaginable.
Moreover, to barely achieve divine sense separation from the body and observe himself at Qi-Refining Sixth Layer was already a tremendous breakthrough for an ordinary disciple like him, someone who had never reached the pinnacle in any field.
“Forget it. I’ll leave it at that for today. Once my spirit recovers each day, I’ll try again. After accumulating enough experience, I should be able to formally enter the threshold of this technique.”
……
The next day, the Martial Arena remained as bustling as ever, packed to the brim.
From the Commentary Seat, Long Tao even noticed several Golden Core cultivators appearing in midair—likely scouting for promising disciples… certainly not coming specifically to hear this ‘Jinxed Mouth’ give commentary.
Meanwhile, the few Golden Core cultivators in midair were conversing with evident interest.
“Ah, Gu Feng, what brings you here in person today? Have you taken a fancy to accepting a disciple?”
The middle-aged Daoist called Gu Feng flicked his sleeve and shook his head with a smile. “This batch of disciples has already been filtered through several rounds. Any truly promising seedlings were long since snatched away by others. As for what remains… well, we shall see. I heard that Fang Wuqi and a disciple named Long Tao set up some kind of ‘commentary’—quite amusing, they say. I came to watch the spectacle.”
An elderly man seated cross-legged atop a spirit beast immediately chimed in, “Ha! To be honest, so did I. These past two days, the little ones on my peak have been discussing it endlessly. Commentary on matches isn’t anything new, but to make it this formal and even set up a dedicated seat—that’s rather novel. Look at this scene; it’s only the second round, yet the stands are already full.”
“Yes, and I’ve heard that this Long Tao is something of a Jinxed Mouth. Many came specifically to see him make a fool of himself. I’d like to see just how uncanny it truly is.”
“Speaking of that,” True Person Gu Feng suddenly lowered his voice, unable to suppress a grin, “did you know that on the first day, those two brats nearly stirred up a small disaster? They almost exposed the Sect Master’s embarrassing story in public.”
“I know, I know.” The white-haired elder immediately understood. “Lost a fishing bet to Old Xu from Mirror Sea Academy, wasn’t it? And he still went back to make a fuss over it. With a master like that, Manyu truly has it tough.”
At this, the few of them exchanged knowing smiles and once again turned their gazes toward the clamorous Martial Arena below.
The competition had reached the second round, and the number of participants had been halved. Thus, this round would conclude entirely today.
The match Long Tao cared most about was, of course, Nan Yuchen’s. Judging from his opponent’s performance in the previous round, his strength should be inferior to that of Senior Brother Lu Wenjie, so it ought to be safe.
But…
Long Tao’s gaze swept toward a certain spot in the audience. There, Ye Jingchen—the Destiny Luck Thief—and the four Puppet Constructs posing as his “companions” were also watching the arena.
He had no idea when Ye Jingchen would make a move against Nan Yuchen, nor in what manner.
That uncertainty had become the factor Long Tao worried about most.
……
Soon enough, the day passed.
The pace of this round remained brisk; most matches concluded without delay, so that even after all thirty-two matches were completed, the sky was still bright.
Yet Long Tao felt somewhat dispirited.
Logically, he had already observed every contestant in this round once and should have been more familiar with them. Yet his predictions were still wrong more often than right.
Several of the comebacks had truly come down to sheer luck, leaving him with a tightness in his chest.
Even Senior Brother Fang could only pat his back and console him, saying those matches had indeed been decided by poor luck.
“It seems I’m really not cut out for commentary,” Long Tao could only mock himself.
The one consolation was that Nan Yuchen had not disappointed, winning his match steadily. But upon second thought, Long Tao could not help but worry.
If his “Jinxed Mouth” truly carried some mysterious karmic weight, he had better refrain from cheering for him in the future.
If, by some unseen causality, it affected Nan Yuchen’s destiny luck and caused the mission to fail, that would be disastrous.
At the same time, he glanced again at Ye Jingchen in the audience.
The latter wore a confident smile as he stared at Nan Yuchen across the arena, his gaze like that of a hunter waiting beside a trap for prey to fall in.
Although True Lord Luohong was keeping an eye on Ye Jingchen, what the True Lord cared about was the sect’s overall situation—uncovering the mastermind behind the scenes.
He would not concern himself with Nan Yuchen’s performance in the Sect Competition.
If Ye Jingchen used some trick to cause Nan Yuchen to lose at the Top Eight stage, that would hardly qualify as a “major matter” requiring immediate intervention in the True Lord’s eyes. But for Long Tao, it would mean the end of his mission.
At that thought, he could not help reaching into his storage pouch and touching the small mirror inside.
Perhaps… he should reveal a little something to that Saintess transmigrator fellow townsman.