Chapter 397: Not Seeing the Heavenly Mechanism

“Qin Zhushi has ordered: activate the Mountain Gate Array.”

“Activate the Mountain Gate Array?”

“Yes, activate it immediately. Do not stop any carriage coming from the west.”

In the chilly afternoon breeze, the disciples on mountain gate duty received the message from the Zhushi Office, their hearts stirred with surprise.

Because the Mountain Gate Array of the Heavenly Book Academy was never fully activated, and carriages were never permitted inside—even the envoys from the Three Immortal Sects days ago had left their carriages at the foot of Nishan Sacred Path.

This naturally raised questions: who could possibly be arriving?

Yet despite their confusion, the guarding disciples took the command arrow and activated the gate early, waiting.

Soon after, five carriages arrived from Xicheng, racing without pause along the Nishan Sacred Path into the academy, then speeding straight toward the inner courtyard, plunging into the boundless Linhai Forest, and vanishing amid swirling dust toward Zizai Hall.

When the carriages halted at the White Grass Lawn, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu leapt down from the carriage platform and rushed to the third carriage.

Yan Shuyi had already stepped out; Yuan Caimei followed closely behind, while Ji You lay motionless inside the carriage, unchanged from before—eyes tightly shut, not a breath to be felt.

“Lord of the Mirror…”

“Take him into the hall.”

“Yes.”

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu responded, lifted Ji You, and with the others who had run up, carried him toward the deep, vast hall.

At this moment, Yan Shuyi, who should have followed, paused briefly at the hall’s entrance.

When the footsteps echoing through the empty hall faded into distance, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she turned toward the mountain’s base, leaving Nishan alone.

The disciples guarding the mountain gate, still guessing the identity of the carriage’s occupant, suddenly saw the Little Mirror Master of Lingjian Mountain descending from within the academy, and froze in surprise.

By the time they regained their wits, she was already gone from Nishan, heading toward the city.

They were startled that the Little Mirror Master was at the Heavenly Book Academy—but even more startled that today’s Little Mirror Master of Lingjian Mountain seemed different: no longer cold, elegant, and confident, but instead, her flawless beauty now bore only fear and dread.

Meanwhile, Ji You had been carried into the hall.

Zuo Qiuyang had been waiting in the front hall for a long time; seeing Ji You, his Dao heart trembled.

To be honest, even though Cao Jingsong’s message was clear, he still could not believe Ji You’s soul had returned to Heaven.

Because his master had been deeply concerned with Ji You upon his ascension, he felt Ji You could not die—and if he did, it could not be so silent.

But when he truly saw Ji You, he realized: there was truly no spiritual soul within.

More accurately, he felt what he saw was not Ji You at all, but merely an empty shell—like the porcelain vase in this hall: ornate on the outside, utterly hollow within.

How could this be?

“Place him on the bed in the back hall.”

You Yingqiu also stared grimly at Ji You, observed for a moment, then gave the order.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu nodded and immediately, with the others, carried their young master toward the back hall.

Ji You, devoid of breath, offered no resistance—like a doll to be moved at will—easily transported to the back hall.

“Truly no spiritual soul…”

“No breath. Pulse utterly still.”

Zuo Qiuyang and You Yingqiu checked Ji You in their own ways; the more they examined, the heavier their expressions grew.

“What did the Yuan Patriarch say?”

They turned to Yuan Caimei, who spoke in a hoarse voice, recounting every detail her father had told her.

After hearing it all, Zuo Qiuyang said nothing more, rose, and stepped back several paces; You Yingqiu ordered the disciples inside to close the doors, then sat cross-legged before Ji You.

Without a spiritual soul, the Yu Dan Sect could do nothing.

They hoped to use the Heavenly Mechanism Art to glimpse fate—because it was their last hope.

You Yingqiu gathered her essence, murmured silently, and in the next instant, an infinite, mysterious aura erupted from her body, her eyes instantly blazing with a torrent of silver light.

It was a light unlike any spiritual soul’s—purest, cleanest—and in an instant, it stirred a resonance between heaven and earth, enveloping the entire Zizai Peak.

At this moment, in You Yingqiu’s Heavenly Eye, countless things began to dissolve: the hall, the bed, the people surrounding her—all shattered into long threads, stretching away instantly.

This was the supreme secret art of the Heavenly Book lineage, a technique directly revealing the Dao—a method allowing the practitioner to strip away all appearances and perceive the underlying “Dao” and “Principle.”

At that moment, every blade of grass and tree was no longer ordinary—it became the manifestation of cosmic laws, an extension of Dao’s veins.

And when her gaze fell upon a person, she could see the endless threads of karma Chanrao them: past deeds, present connections, future possibilities—all as clear as the lines in one’s palm.

Ji You, in her vision, was a single thread—straight, endless.

She gently beckoned, and the thread representing Ji You swiftly reeled toward her, inch by inch flowing across her palm.

A person’s life is exceedingly long, their karma vast and complex; to see all connections placed immense pressure on the practitioner’s spiritual soul.

But You Yingqiu knew she did not need to see so much.

They refused to accept Ji You’s death—they sought only a glimmer of hope—and she too could not believe Ji You’s soul would vanish so suddenly. So she needed only to see his fate thread.

She needed to see his future—to confirm whether that glimmer of hope still existed.

Shu-shu-shu—

The thread representing Ji You kept coiling around her palm; after an indeterminate time, it suddenly snapped taut—and then, darkness, absolute void.

Seeing this, You Yingqiu fell silent, and after a long while, slowly opened her eyes.

“What did you see?”

“He has no future.”

Cao Jingsong, already wounded internally, immediately spat a thread of blood from his lips upon hearing this.

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu’s eyes instantly lost their light; Yuan Chen suddenly cried, “Sister!” and rushed toward Yuan Caimei, who had begun to stagger.

Only Zuo Qiuyang remained with furrowed brows.

The master’s final revelation before ascension had been: if you ever don’t know what to do, watch what Ji You would do—but if he truly died, how could they watch him now?

As he pondered, Zuo Qiuyang’s eyes suddenly flickered—he noticed something wrong.

“Wasn’t the Little Mirror Master supposed to have come with you? Where is the Mirror Master?”

“The Mirror Master…”

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, tears welling, turned back—and realized their Mirror Master was truly not in Zizai Hall; their expressions turned stunned.

That’s not right—their Mirror Master had followed all the way, never leaving her young master’s side even a step—how could she now be absent?

They paused, then rushed out of the hall, first checking the carriage on the White Grass Lawn, then flying straight to the mountain gate—but found no trace of the Mirror Master.

They stood frozen on the Nishan Sacred Path, staring out at the vast capital.

Though their Mirror Master had visited the capital many times, she had always clung to the young master, never straying far—her most frequent destination had been his residence—so they believed she could not have gone far.

As they thought, they exchanged glances, simultaneously recalling one place—and flew toward the city.

The sun had dipped slightly, and the sudden autumn breeze brought a chill to the city.

Soon, two figures landed before the Wulü Trading House.

When they pushed open the wooden door, they saw the Little Mirror Master of Lingjian Mountain standing silently on the threshold of the main hall, saying nothing.

“Did you finish? Did he say when he’d wake up?” Yan Shuyi, seeing them arrive, couldn’t help asking.

“Mirror Master…”

“Even if he sleeps a long time, there must be a time—year, two years, ten, eight? There must be some time. After all, he’s just a stranger I’ve met a few times. I’m not afraid of waiting long. Really.”

Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu lowered their heads and shook their heads in response.

It wasn’t that he would wake, nor how long he’d sleep—this shake of the head meant he would never wake.

Upon hearing this, the Little Mirror Master fell silent.

Her way of being with Ji You had always been strange—close yet distant, full of complaints—but she had truly been attached to him, never imagining he might leave her.

How could this happen? Everything had gone so smoothly.

Yan Shuyi’s eyes trembled, unable to comprehend.

Seeing her reaction, Ding Yao and Zhuo Wanqiu, who had held back tears all the way, finally let them fall in silent drops.

They felt they shouldn’t have come—the Mirror Master had guarded the young master all along; perhaps she already knew the outcome.

But the Mirror Master was so timid, she couldn’t bear to hear it spoken aloud, so she fled—but even hiding here, she could not escape this terrible news.

【I was meditating in the mountains when I saw a flash of spiritual light, so I flew over to see—and ended up here.】

【What I mean is, how many children does the Mirror Master want?】