Chapter 574: Is He Not Like the Dragon?

As Zhang Jie was lost in thought, Wang Ye was also sizing him up.

Besides the Luotian Dajiao, the most heated topic in the occult world recently has been

Zhang Chulan, suspected of possessing one of the Eight Marvels: Qitiyuanliu.

Had it not been for the old Heavenly Master’s summoning of the Luotian Dajiao drawing attention,

and Zhang Chulan’s cunning move to immediately join the Company’s North China Division upon exposure,

those coveting the Eight Marvels would surely have moved against him long ago.

As another practitioner who wields one of the Eight Marvels—Fenghou Qimen—he too was curious about Zhang Chulan.

Yet as a sorcerer capable of entering Neijing, he had no need to seek out or confront Zhang Chulan directly.

Through Neijing inquiry, he found Zhang Chulan’s fireball massive and unbreakable,

consistent with the profile of a suspected heir to one of the Eight Marvels.

And as is well known, a sorcerer finds it hard to suppress his curiosity.

So after failing to gather information on Zhang Chulan,

he attempted to approach Zhang Chulan’s associates, probing indirectly.

As he probed, he eventually landed on Zhang Jie.

Zhang Jie’s fireball was of moderate size, fitting his status as an ordinary occultist.

But when he tried to further shatter the fireball and uncover Zhang Jie’s secrets,

he discovered this fireball was even more unbreakable than Zhang Chulan’s.

He merely tapped it once—and was immediately counterattacked, bedridden for a full week.

That confirmed to him: Zhang Jie harbored a great secret.

This secret might be greater than the Eight Marvels!

As a sorcerer born with overwhelming curiosity, he could no longer contain himself.

Upon arriving at Longhu Mountain, the very first thing he did was seek out Zhang Jie, determined to uncover his secret.

Yet now, upon closer look, Zhang Jie appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary, unremarkable occultist—no anomaly at all.

But he refused to believe an ordinary occultist could cause such an anomaly in Neijing.

The only explanation was that Zhang Jie concealed himself too deeply—or had reached the state of returning to simplicity and purity.

At that moment, for no clear reason, Wang Ye suddenly recalled a creature:

An animal revered by ancient Huaxia as a totem—the Dragon!

The Dragon can grow large or small, rise or vanish; when large, it summons clouds and spits mist; when small, it hides its form and conceals its shell;

When it rises, it soars through the cosmos; when it hides, it lurks within the waves.

Is he not like the Dragon?!

‘Could it be he’s peered into my Neijing?’

Though Wang Ye strained to mask his gaze, how could he possibly deceive Zhang Jie, whose perception was exquisitely sharp?

Neijing is a unique product of the One World, a state of “detached bliss and wonder” entered by occultists through quiet meditation.

In this state, the spirit escapes the physical constraints of reality,

entering a simulated world composed of time and space.

Within Neijing, the laws of physical reality no longer apply; instead, more fundamental rules govern it,

the most apparent of which are space and time:

Neijing is an almost infinite space, devoid of conventional up, down, left, or right.

The sorcerer or those with strong spiritual power can, to some degree, manipulate Neijing’s rules.

The flow of time in Neijing differs entirely from reality, typically manifesting as “one day in Neijing, a thousand years in the world” (or vice versa).

Spending long in Neijing might mean only an instant has passed in reality;

conversely, mere seconds in reality might span several days within Neijing.

For ordinary occultists, Neijing resembles a deep subconscious space or dream.

If one’s spiritual power is insufficient, they risk losing themselves in Neijing’s illusions, even becoming living corpses.

Wu Gensheng’s “Tathagata Maya Spell” also exploits Neijing’s principles,

allowing a person to experience an extended illusory life within Neijing while only a fleeting moment passes in reality.

If one believes themselves dead within Neijing, their spirit dies too,

leaving behind only a living corpse in the external world;

in modern medical terms, a vegetative state with no higher neural reflexes.

For sorcerers like Wang Ye, Zhuge Qing, and Chen Jinkui,

Neijing is their arena for divining hexagrams and seeking answers.

They can pose questions to the “world” within Neijing—such as identifying the mastermind behind events,

predicting future developments, or even simply calculating the numbers for a lottery.

Wang Ye had repeatedly seen within Neijing a train filled with corpses and blood, and Zhang Chulan with a face drenched in blood.

These were fragments of the future or heavenly omens related to the “Jia Shen Uprising,” glimpsed by Wang Ye through Neijing.

When Zhang Chulan, Wang Ye, and Zhuge Qing entered Neijing together to find

the mastermind monitoring Wang Ye’s family, they needed to “ask the hexagram” to obtain information.

Yet Neijing is not a realm where sorcerers may act without restraint; the more vital the answer sought, and the greater its impact on the world,

the larger and more unbreakable the manifested orb becomes,

and shattering the orb rapidly drains the sorcerer’s spiritual power.

If one lacks sufficient spiritual power yet insists on forcing it, once their spiritual energy is exhausted, their life force begins to drain.

History is full of sorcerers who peered into heavenly secrets, were counterattacked, and died instantly, their Dao extinguished.

Moreover, practicing sorcery is never smooth sailing; Master Lu (chairman of the Tianxia Association,

father-in-law of Feng Zhenghao, one of the Ten Elders of the occult world) suffered spiritual collapse while forcibly practicing “Fenghou Qimen,”

becoming trapped in Neijing, deluding himself into “covering the universe and transforming himself into king,” nearly going mad.

Of course, ordinary sorcery methods are not nearly as perilous as Fenghou Qimen,

otherwise, the entire sect of Shu Men—composed almost entirely of sorcerers—would never have arisen.

Chen Jinkui is the head of Shu Men and also one of the Ten Elders of the occult world.

Moreover, although Neijing grants access to top-secret information, it is extremely dangerous.

First, there is the danger of losing oneself: if one’s will is weak, they easily become lost in Neijing’s illusions and cannot escape.

After Zhang Chulan and others shattered the orb to obtain their answer, they nearly became permanently trapped in Neijing,

and were only pulled back to reality by Feng Baobao outside, using the “Feng Method of Physical Awakening.”

Second, there is the peril of defying Heaven: any heavenly secret revealed within Neijing must never be spoken aloud,

or one will suffer counterattack—minor misfortune, or worse, sudden death.

In summary, Neijing is the advanced spiritual realm used by experts in the One World to “open the heavenly eye,” probe secrets, and divine fate—but it is not without limits.

Because of these restrictions, Zhang Jie did not care whether Wang Ye had noticed his anomaly.

He knew Wang Ye was a clever man, a good man with the world in his heart, who would never speak carelessly.

Besides, with his own strength, how could he fear guarding even a single secret?

The Eight Marvels are powerful, but the Heavenly Master’s Sect traces back to the Ancestral Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling,

and the Five Thunder Orthodoxy, passed down for thousands of years—could it be weaker than them?

Why do those coveting the Eight Marvels and hunting the Thirty-Six Rebels not storm the Heavenly Master’s Sect,

capture the old Heavenly Master, and torture him for the Five Thunder Orthodoxy? Is it because they are virtuous?

Not that Zhang Jie boasts—but in the One World, where power levels are restricted,

even if former masters who achieved transcendence descended to earth, who was stronger or weaker? Only battle would tell!

Even if former elders who have ascended descend to the mortal realm, who is weak and who is strong can only be known after fighting!