Chapter 92: Concealed Form, Third Disciple

In the hazy, indistinct depths of that dim repose, a single point of light appeared within his veiled eyes, and a new vision arose, no longer dependent on fleshly sight.

Ji Ming silently recited the mantra of the Heavenly Venerable Who Relieves Suffering once more, then looked toward the diagram of the Small Heavenly Cycle.

There, the talismanic design was gone. In its place stood two bridges within a void of five colors: one bridge rising upward, the other descending below, like twin fish chasing each other from head to tail.

Ji Ming knew these two bridges represented the Conception Vessel and the Governing Vessel. The upward one was the Governing Vessel, where the yang fire advanced, running along the spine at the back; the downward one was the Conception Vessel, where the yin talisman withdrew, running down the centerline of the front.

A current flowed across both bridges. With each circuit, it grew a little thinner, while the void beyond blazed ever brighter, the five colors reflecting one another in splendor.

Ji Ming calculated in his heart that the energy passing through the two bridges must be vital essence and qi. If vital essence and qi circulated within the two vessels, then the five-colored void beyond them would be...

"The spirit governs as lord, and emptiness resides above, in the upper burner."

As he thought of that line, he felt that the truth was only a paper window away.

He focused his mind and looked deeper into the void. There, the yellow of earth occupied the center, while red and white lay to the left, and blue and black to the right.

"The five organs!"

It suddenly occurred to Ji Ming that these five colors in the void were in fact the five internal organs, intimately bound to the two vessels.

"Exactly. Vital essence is emptied into the lower burner, qi into the middle burner, and spirit into the upper burner.

Each time vital essence and qi complete a circuit through the two vessels, they diminish a little, because they are scattered among the five organs within the three burners, and by this means the three flowers of essence, qi, and spirit are nourished and refined."

Once this thought arose, it was like a monk's sudden enlightenment; within his body, all barriers seemed to vanish.

Within the dantian, a great abundance of vital essence and qi, nourished by the spiritual spark, surged straight through the Conception and Governing Vessels, circulating again and again in the heavenly cycle, so that every aperture along the two vessels remained forever open.

Above his head, two tiny clusters of energy, each the size of a dragon's eye, rose in succession from his body and aligned into a single line over the crown of his head.

At last, another mass of spirit-energy slowly rose above his head and joined the other two in a single line. This was the manifestation of the spirit flower: the three flowers gathered at the crown.

No wonder it is always said that among the three flowers cultivated in breath training, the spirit flower alone is the most wondrous: either one attains it in a single breakthrough, or else one never truly attains it at all.

Though the three flowers had gathered above his head, that was not the end.

In Ji Ming's sight, the vital essence and qi on the two bridges had already completely vanished through their endless circulation, leaving only that luminous five-colored void.

Gradually, a drumbeat echoed forth, thudding in a deep, measured rhythm.

A faint little dragon took shape upon the bridge, coiling and flowing along the two bridges in the heavenly cycle. At last it suddenly leaped up, springing beyond the bridges and swimming into the five-colored void.

A spark of realization flashed through Ji Ming, and he began to infer the meaning hidden behind it.

"When essence, qi, and spirit gather at the crown and become one, they nourish a strand of little dragon. That dragon is true qi.

Then, when true qi leaps into the five-colored void, that is the five energies returning to the origin, the second realm of qi refinement. It is already the work of the great heavenly cycle."

"Whoo..."

At that moment, his awareness returned to his body. Ji Ming suddenly felt hot breath wash across the back of his ear. His hand shot up from within his sleeve, and the green bead transformed into a round halo that shone backward.

He wiped away the yellow earth caked over his eyes, and when he opened them, that halo revealed nothing at all.

The next instant, without the slightest hesitation, both arms swept violently outward. A fierce force erupted from within his body, surging in all directions without a single blind spot.

The thick earthen mound overhead was shoved away with a thunderous heave; for a moment it was as if it had exploded apart, soil bursting into the sky and scattering among the trees.

Below, the ground was sliced away by several layers of force, leaving Ji Ming suspended in the air.

Even under such all-encompassing attack, the hidden intruder still failed to appear. Ji Ming's heart sank further, and a faint suspicion arose that everything just now might have been an illusion.

"Strange."

Ji Ming brought his arms together, and the force he had released was drawn back in. Clods of earth and sprays of mud that had been flung outward now surged back in return, and a startled cry sounded nearby.

The voice was exceedingly clear, like a yellow oriole crying in alarm.

Within the range of the returning force, the hidden figure had, after her initial panic, steadied herself and stood as firmly as a reef amid the waves.

Though Ji Ming heard the cry, he still could not see her, but he could now determine exactly where she stood.

The surrounding force gathered scattered earth into one palm, and Ji Ming, exerting the full measure of his Crane Controlling Art, struck out with the other palm straight at the hidden figure's position.

In an instant, a shape like a earthen serpent shot forth from his palm, blazing straight ahead.

The earth serpent struck the hidden figure's position, and a clear sword ring suddenly rang out. From head to tail, the serpent was split in two, the force collapsing apart, and the sword edge stabbed rapidly toward Ji Ming.

The hidden one could not be seen, and the sword itself was only audible from its ringing. Ji Ming was briefly flustered, then steadied himself again, remaining motionless in his suspended seat, as though offering his neck to the blade.

The hidden figure held her sword before her and, shattering the force of the earth serpent, lunged all at once to Ji Ming's front.

Just as she was about to stop and withdraw from the garden, a halo of light leapt up behind Ji Ming and shone directly upon her.

"Aah!"

She cried out. In the next instant, it felt as though her heart had been seized in a fist; if she dared resist even a little, she would surely die on the spot.

Though the halo formed by the White-Bone Heart-Gathering Pearl had pinned her in its light, the spell upon the hidden figure was still broken, yet Ji Ming still could neither see her nor sense her.

Ji Ming looked toward the halo, and within that light appeared the outline of a young woman.

For her to behave so recklessly within the Fire Ruins Cavern, she must be closely connected to the Master—perhaps even that Master's third disciple. Even so, Ji Ming would have to teach her a harsh lesson.

Within the halo, the woman's blood was drawn out drop by drop, as though beads of blood were rolling across the surface of light.

The young woman remained silent, stubbornly enduring there. Ji Ming felt that even if he drained her blood dry, she would not utter a single cry.

After he withdrew the halo, he heard a dull thud as the girl in red collapsed into the dirt and dust, her form instantly revealed.

Ji Ming glanced around, ordered the two child attendants to withdraw, and told the ghost servants to return on their own. Then he gathered his sleeves and walked to within a zhang of the girl.

"Why were you spying on my rite?" Ji Ming asked.

The young woman lay face-down on the ground, as though unconscious, and did not answer.

Ji Ming said again, "You trespassed into the garden and spied on my ritual. Even if I accidentally killed you, given the Master's clear distinction between enmity and gratitude, she would certainly not blame me."

At this, the girl finally reacted.

"Do as you please, kill me or slice me up however you want. If I, Mu Ru, so much as cry out, then in my next life I'll bear your surname."

"What a fierce woman."

Faced with someone like this, Ji Ming felt as though there was nowhere to begin.

"Is this how the Master's disciples behave?" Ji Ming's brows sank. "It seems I will have to pay the Master a visit and ask how she disciplines her students."

"Don't go to the Master's place!"

The girl finally panicked. Her face, drained white by loss of blood, was filled with alarm.

"Just as I thought, she is one of the Master's disciples," Ji Ming thought.

After a moment's consideration, the girl shouted, "At worst, at worst I'll gouge out my own eyes to compensate you."

"What use would your eyes be to me?"

Ji Ming laughed in exasperation, then abruptly changed his tone. "I say this only because I hope you will learn a lesson. Peering into another's cultivation is a grave taboo."

The girl did not relax merely because of his change in attitude. She faintly sensed that he had taken an interest in something of hers, and clearly it was not her body.

"Your hiding art is quite good," Ji Ming said.

After a slight hesitation, the girl replied, "Your illuminating pearl is not bad either."

Ji Ming had not expected that, after only a passing mention, she would truly intend to bring out her art of concealment and exchange it for his pearl-refining method with the White-Bone Heart-Gathering Pearl.

In his heart, Ji Ming judged her with a single sentence: a little fierce, perhaps, but very shrewd.