Nightfall

Comprehension Before the Fish

There was a large lake beside the Yanming Mountain in the south of Chang’an City freshly completed in the fall of the 14th year of Tianqi. The mortar in the lake’s stone embankment still smelt fresh. The lake had already frozen solid in the depths of winter and the humidity in the air had become a layer of ice on the dust, making it look particularly refreshing.

Ning Que had heard Eldest Brother talking about the lake some time ago, which was why he came here after he had left by himself.

He sat in the snow for a very long time, but did not see Eldest Brother. However, he did see the fisherman who had fished through a hole in the ice that he mentioned. He saw the ropes that buzzed and turned and the horses that panted hot steam as they ran furiously to turn the ropes and move the fishing net beneath the surface of the ice. He thought about something or another silently.

The core disciple of the Elder at Lanke Temple, Guan Hai was the first direct challenger he met since he entered the human realm on behalf of the Academy. If he hid from it today, it would cause dire consequences for his mental state in cultivation in the future. If he did not dare to accept challenges from others, how would he ever have the right to challenge Xia Hou like what Eldest Brother had said?

The key to his hesitation was the fact that he had joined the devil. He was worried that he would lose control in the heat of the battle and reveal the fact that he had joined the devil.

Even if he had managed to control himself, the Great Spirit that Youngest Uncle had passed onto him was his greatest strength. Items that aimed to kill, like the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, could not be used in a battle to prove his cultivation state. He could not use his two strongest weapons, so what could he use to beat a strong cultivator like Guan Hai?

He could not use the Great Spirit or the Primordial Thirteen Arrows, so he was still that broken cultivation firewood that only had ten clear acupoints in the Snow Mountain and Ocean of Qi. The flying sword that his Psyche Power controlled did not fly but crawl. Other than Sangsang, he had not even found his own natal item. In Chen Pipi’s words, even if he had managed to enter the Knowing Destiny State, it was as good as nothing in his current state.

Ning Que sat in the snow by the lake and looked at the grass in the pile of snow before him. He suddenly thought of the Fu intent that had covered the world in the courtyard at Tuyang City. He thought about the military advisor, Gu Xi, who could issue numerous talismans in seconds.

He extended his right hand from his sleeve and flicked his fingers. A pale yellow Fu paper landed on the surface of the ice. There was a poof, and it turned into a weak flame before darkening and was frozen by the ice surface.

While Master Yan Se was certain that he was the successor of the Divine Talisman Master with the most potential, but his potential did not equate to his true capabilities. Talisman Taoism was a difficult cultivation path, and how could he become proficient in a short amount of time?

Ning Que looked at the fishermen and horses that busied themselves on the lake’s frozen surface silently.

He had once practiced the flying sword by the Academy’s mirror lake, and had once broken the realm into the Seethrough State by the Devil’s Doctrine’s lake. However, he had sat by this nameless lake below the Yanming Mountain for a long time today and had not gained anything.

Time ticked by slowly but surely. The snow had long stopped, and the clouds above Chang’an had dissipated. The sun began to fall, and its radiant red glow shone on the white ice as if it was about to burn up the entire lake.

Ning Que’s heart wavered when he saw the beautiful, soul-stirring sight.

He remembered, that his teacher had once said, that one had to write the character, but forget the meaning when writing a talisman. And that one had to fix his will to move the Qi when using a talisman. He had already understood what it meant to remember the characters but forget the meaning when he was reading on the Second floor of the old library. So how should he understand what having the will, but not having the intention meant? If the will meant his Psyche Power, what does Qi mean?