Chapter Seventy-Three: Divine Sight

“You’re the Grandmaster Uncle!?” the four asked in unison.

The Daoist Master Weizi chuckled. “Rather than worrying about my identity, you’d better take care of your pressing needs first.” He flicked his finger. “Over there.”

His gesture was like the brightest star in the night sky, guiding Ye Dong and the others straight toward the Sacred Gate.

“You still enjoy playing tricks on your disciples, don’t you?” When Ye Dong and the others had moved away, Weizi Daoist chuckled. “Have the three of Zilong finally escaped their suffering?”

“Hmph!” Chen Yao interjected, “Do you know why Little Ming’s grandfather lived to be 120?”

Weizi replied, “Why is that?”

“Because he minded his own business!” Chen Yao retorted, clearly still disgruntled. “In the future, when I’m bonding with my disciples, try not to butt in.”

Weizi only smiled and then asked in a low voice, “Is the one carrying Qinggang Ye Dong?”

Proudly, Chen Yao responded, “Well? Isn’t he a once-in-a-lifetime prodigy in the Dao?”

Weizi laughed. “What luck you have to take him as your disciple.”

“Fate, you wouldn’t understand.” Hearing Weizi also acknowledge Ye Dong’s talent, Chen Yao grinned. “Grandmaster, you don’t know—both Jingxin and Kongming wanted to take him as a disciple, but he insisted on choosing me.”

“Oh? That old Jingxin still isn’t dead? He’s lived long enough.” Weizi squinted his Daoist eye toward Ye Dong, who was squatting not far away, and couldn’t help but praise, “The Samadhi True Fire within him burns fiercely! Can he control it freely?”

Chen Yao’s pride swelled. “He’s my disciple, of course he can control the Samadhi True Fire. It’s not only powerful, but its range is far and its duration long—just like I was in my youth.”

“Ahh!” Ye Dong and his companions returned, faces full of satisfaction.

“If you haven’t washed your hands, stay away!” Chen Yao’s smile faded, and he ordered with slight disdain.

“We washed them—with water from the bottle,” Little Bao said, raising his hand with a hint of embarrassment.

“Disciples pay respects to Grandmaster Uncle.” Ye Dong shot a look at his three companions, and the four of them knelt in unison, respectfully bowing to the venerable Weizi Daoist.

Weizi’s face beamed. “You four are far more courteous than your uncouth master. Stand up; from now on, a simple greeting will suffice. No need for such formalities.”

After the four introduced themselves, Chen Yao finally revealed the reason for bringing them. “My disciples, your work as undercover agents is perilous, and as your master, I worry. Today, I’ve brought you here to ask our Grandmaster Uncle to open your Celestial Eyes. Whether you gain the good fortune depends on your own destiny.”

“Celestial Eyes?” The four were touched anew. “So Master didn’t just bring us here to broaden our horizons! In this superficial age, where else could we find a master who cares so deeply for his disciples?”

“Master!” The four gripped Chen Yao’s hands tightly, too moved to speak.

“Ahem.” Weizi Daoist promptly interrupted their “touching” moment. “Don’t be moved just yet—listen to what I have to say.”

“The power of the Celestial Eyes lies in seeing the essence of spirits—in simple terms, discerning who is human and who is ghost. Of course, that’s just a basic function. There are many more: at higher levels, you can see wandering souls—the so-called ‘Soul-Seeking Eye.’ Another is the ‘Penetrating Eye,’ which allows you to briefly see things hidden from view, much like those with special abilities in movies seeing through cards at a casino. But let me stress: Daoists must never use the Celestial Eyes for gambling or lechery. Otherwise, the Celestial Eyes will harm your body—best case, you’ll go blind; worst case, it’ll cost your life. Remember this! There are many other uses, which you’ll discover on your own over time.”

The four, all quick-witted by nature, committed his words to memory.

Weizi continued, “The Celestial Eye’s power derives from the ‘Divine Eye,’ so when you use it, you must recite a spell to borrow the Divine Vision from the gods. You all know the incantation, don’t you?”

“We do!” they replied in unison.

He explained, “As your cultivation grows, simply reciting the spell mentally will suffice to open the Celestial Eyes. I won’t elaborate now. I’ll grant you the Divine Vision—whether you obtain it is up to your own ability!”

Seeing the excitement in his disciples’ faces, Chen Yao cautioned, “The process will be painful. Endure as long as you can—only open your eyes when you truly can’t bear it any longer.”

The four exchanged resolute glances, then nodded firmly at Chen Yao and Weizi.

Chen Yao bowed deeply to Weizi. “Disciple Ri Hui respectfully requests Grandmaster Uncle Weizi to open the Celestial Eyes for these four, that they may cut down demons and uphold the way in the human world.”

Never having seen Chen Yao so solemn, the four knelt in haste.

Weizi Daoist laughed warmly. “Leaving blessings for the next generation is what us old men ought to do.” As he finished, he intoned in a deep voice, “Silver Dusk Aspect—open!”

A muffled boom resounded!

In an instant, Weizi Daoist erupted into radiant silver light, dazzling like an immortal of longevity. Ye Dong and the others were awestruck. “That’s the Grandmaster Uncle’s True Aspect!?”

Even Chen Yao seemed surprised. “I never expected that after more than a decade, Grandmaster’s ‘Silver Dusk Aspect’ would reach such a level. Congratulations!”

With silver hair flowing, Weizi Daoist closed his eyes and intoned, “Ye Dong, Liang Lingzhi, An Dachun, Mu Xiaobao—hear my command! Today, I use the supreme power of the Silver Dusk Aspect to help you seek the Celestial Eyes. If you receive this blessing, be sure to cultivate diligently and master it, so as to uphold the Dao in the human world.”

“We will remember Grandmaster Uncle’s teachings!”

He nodded. “Very well. Let’s begin. Close your eyes!”

A few drops of blood, infused with supreme power, welled from Weizi’s hand and hovered before the four, just above their brows. A bell-like decree rang out: “Heaven and earth immeasurable, the universe lends its law! A beam of silver light shines upon the world, the Celestial Eye’s aspect dwells within the gaze. Recite the incantation to borrow the Sight, myriad gods aid my journey! Taiyi Supreme Lord, by decree!”

He waved his immortal hand, and four drops of blood drifted on the wind, slowly merging into their brows.

“Ah!” Ye Dong felt the blood seeping into his brow, burning like molten lava!

The searing pain radiated from his brow, flooding through his entire body in an instant!

“My muscles!” Even after hellish training, the four couldn’t help but cry out. “It hurts! My bones feel like they’re burning!”

Hearing their screams, Chen Yao frowned tightly. “Endure it, disciples—don’t open your eyes!”

The fiery current surged from head to toe and back again, over and over, until finally it rushed toward its final destination—their eyes!

With his eyes shut, Ye Dong saw only blazing flames, red fire surging toward him in endless waves!

“My eyes!” He clutched his face, refusing to open his eyes. “So much fire! It’s everywhere!”

Suddenly, he realized everything around him had disappeared. Looking down, he found himself in a sea of hellish fire, surrounded by waves of lava. Whirlwinds of all sizes swept the flames into an apocalyptic tempest, red inferno engulfing all he could see!

“How did I get here!?” Ye Dong was both terrified and bewildered, blood streaming from his mouth. “Where’s Master? Where are the others? Master! Where are you!?”

As his skin and flesh were burned away, the figures of Liang Lingzhi and the other two emerged amid the boundless fire.

“Lingzhi! Xiaobao! Dachun! Why are you here? Run, or you’ll be burned alive!” Ye Dong shouted, but the three seemed trapped in the flames, unable to hear him. Their flesh was devoured bit by bit before his horrified eyes. Without thinking, he rushed to pull them away.

He managed only to grasp scraps of charred flesh—their bodies had already been consumed, leaving nothing behind.

“How can this be!? They… have they been burned to death!?”

“Lingzhi! Xiaobao! Dachun!” Ye Dong wept bitterly in the fire. “Damn it! Why did you come here!?”

As he clutched what was left of Xiaobao’s flesh, he heard more agonized cries.

He turned to see the souls of his three companions being seared in the flames!

“Lingzhi! Xiaobao! Dachun!” His tears evaporated instantly in the heat. “If this goes on, their souls will be scattered! I can’t let them be destroyed!”

At that moment, he heard other familiar voices—Yayi, Huiyan, Nianxue, Zhengzheng! The four lively young women, laughing and oblivious that another step would plunge them into the infernal abyss.

Just as Ye Dong was about to shout, a great door opened in front of him, leading upward, silver light streaming from within.

“Come up! You’ll be safe here!” Ye Dong’s heart leapt. “I can finally escape this sea of fire!”

But the screams of his three friends continued on the left, growing weaker. “If I don’t save them now, I’ll never have the chance!”

Gritting his teeth against the searing pain, Ye Dong turned left, but then the laughter of the four women sounded on the right.

“To the right are the four who haven’t been burned—the women I love most!” He hesitated.

Meanwhile, the silver beams from above thinned; the great door was about to close!

Torn between the three sides, Ye Dong sobbed in agony. “One side is the door to survival, another my sworn brothers, the last the women like family. What should I do?”

Kneeling, he suddenly realized the endless fire originated from his own heart!

“It’s… my inner fire that created this hell?” In disbelief, he watched the flames pouring from his heart, and following their path, he saw he was indeed the source.

“Wonderful! They can be saved!” Rather than despair, Ye Dong rejoiced. He stretched out his hands and began pulling the streams of fire back into himself.

“Ah!” With every bit he drew in, the pain grew, but he did not hesitate. The flames on both sides diminished, revealing a path to the door above.

Seeing his friends still unaware, Ye Dong shouted, “You idiots, get up there now!”

But they still couldn’t hear him. Ye Dong screamed again, “Go! While the fire’s subsided, hurry!”

Finally, their souls seemed to hear him, stumbling toward the door, as did the four women when the abyss before them closed.

Biting his bleeding lips, Ye Dong endured the pain, dragging the fire back into his heart, sneering through the agony. “You want to kill my friends? Over my dead body!”

The inferno filled him, and only when his companions disappeared behind the door did he suppress all the flames within his heart.

Boom!

The fire roiled within him, every cell burning, all the flames surging into his eyes!

“My eyes!” At last, Ye Dong couldn’t endure it—his hands fell away, and he lost consciousness.