Chapter Sixty: The Eye of Mystery

“Hmm, hmm, hmm…” Lu Zhe lay on the ground, snoring peacefully in his sleep. Beside him, Elder Ye sat cross-legged, quietly meditating with his eyes closed, occasionally opening them to glance at Lu Zhe.

Suddenly, Lu Zhe’s eyes snapped open, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy radiated from his body, flooding outward in all directions. The force startled Elder Ye awake; he opened his eyes sharply and looked over at Lu Zhe.

At that moment, Lu Zhe was erupting with an extraordinary aura, so intense that the robes of both Lu Zhe and Elder Ye fluttered violently, rustling in the wind. Soon, the aura dissipated, and Lu Zhe slowly sat up from the ground.

Elder Ye quickly approached, examining Lu Zhe. Seeing that he was unharmed, Elder Ye breathed a soft sigh of relief.

“Who are you?” Lu Zhe suddenly asked, staring at Elder Ye.

Startled by the question, Elder Ye looked at Lu Zhe, then noticed that Lu Zhe’s eyes, once black, had turned a vivid red, exuding an uncanny, demonic sheen.

“What’s happened to your eyes?” Elder Ye asked, regarding those ruby pupils.

“Master? Is it you, Master?” Lu Zhe recognized Elder Ye’s voice and asked urgently.

“It’s me,” Elder Ye replied.

The answer calmed Lu Zhe somewhat, but soon he grew tense again. He reached out with both hands, fumbling about nervously.

“Zhe’er, what’s wrong? What’s happened to your eyes?” Elder Ye asked anxiously, watching Lu Zhe’s erratic movements.

“I don’t know, Master. Everything feels gray and hazy between heaven and earth,” Lu Zhe responded, looking at Elder Ye.

“Gray and hazy? And then?” Elder Ye pressed.

“Master, why are you all red?” Lu Zhe stared at Elder Ye in confusion.

Elder Ye glanced down at himself and said, “I’ve always worn green robes. How could I be red?”

“But that’s what I see—red,” Lu Zhe replied after hearing Elder Ye’s words.

“Anything else?” Elder Ye continued questioning.

Lu Zhe looked around and said, “I can see the pebbles on the ground clearly, but everything feels hazy.”

After hearing this, Elder Ye stroked his chin in thought, then suddenly held up one finger and asked, “How many?”

Lu Zhe looked and replied, “One.”

Elder Ye covered his right hand with his left, and asked, “Now?”

Lu Zhe looked and said, “It’s all red, I can’t see it.”

Elder Ye removed his hand and covered his right hand with the corner of his robe, changing one finger to three. “How about now?”

Lu Zhe looked and answered, “Three.”

Elder Ye was startled and murmured, “Just as I thought.”

“Master, what did you say?” Lu Zhe hadn’t caught Elder Ye’s words.

Elder Ye moved to Lu Zhe’s left side and said, “Zhe’er, do as I say now.”

He then instructed Lu Zhe to examine himself internally and focus his mind on his spiritual core to check for anomalies.

Lu Zhe followed Elder Ye’s guidance, focusing his mind on his spiritual core. Upon inspection, he found nothing unusual and said, “There’s nothing wrong, Master.”

“Check for any foreign objects in your body,” Elder Ye prompted.

Lu Zhe directed his mind throughout his body and suddenly discovered a red bead near his spiritual core in his abdomen. It emitted a faint red glow, which followed his meridians up to his eyes and settled there.

“There is something, Master—a red bead. Wait, this bead looks just like the one I saw in the Crimson-Horn Crystal Dragon King’s cave. Oh, right, I swallowed it,” Lu Zhe said calmly.

“You’ll eat anything,” Elder Ye replied helplessly.

“Hehe, I swallowed it by accident,” Lu Zhe said with an embarrassed laugh. Looking at the red bead, he asked, “Master, what is this bead?”

Elder Ye replied, “That should be a Crimson Spirit Crystal, said to be used by the Crimson-Horn Crystal Dragon King for recovery and cultivation. Usually, it’s passed from one generation to the next—the previous king, upon death, condenses all his spiritual energy into this bead to aid the successor’s cultivation. It contains vast fire and wind elemental energy, highly coveted by those who seek these attributes. However, the energy inside is extremely wild—normally, it’s purified before consumption. I never thought you’d eat it unpurified. Truly, your courage knows no bounds.” Elder Ye’s words turned sarcastic at the end.

Lu Zhe chuckled sheepishly and continued, “Master, you said it’s wild, but I don’t sense any wild energy—just a gentle aura.”

“That’s because the bead has already been purified,” Elder Ye explained.

“Who did it? Was it you, Master?” Lu Zhe asked.

“No, it was the woman named Die Yu who purified it for you,” Elder Ye answered blandly.

“Die Yu—right, what happened to her? Why didn’t I see her?” Only then did Lu Zhe realize that Die Yu was absent; he had only seen the red-hued Elder Ye.

“She left. Took the Crimson Dragon’s horn and departed,” Elder Ye said calmly.

“Oh,” Lu Zhe nodded.

“Enough chatter. Now, guide your spiritual energy to the bead,” Elder Ye instructed, cutting off further questions.

Lu Zhe nodded, focused his spiritual core, and drew a strand of energy, injecting it into the red bead.

As soon as his energy touched the bead, Lu Zhe was amazed to find his spiritual core fuller and more substantial than before. He asked, “Master, why is my spiritual core so much fuller now?”

Elder Ye replied with a thoughtful grunt, “You’re now a Nine-Star Spirit Practitioner. Naturally, your core is much more robust.”

“What?! Nine-Star Spirit Practitioner?” Lu Zhe exclaimed, then asked, “When did I advance?”

Elder Ye slapped him and said, “Never mind that now. Guide your spiritual energy to the bead, surround it, and keep it from releasing red light. Understood?”

Lu Zhe acknowledged and enveloped the bead with his spiritual energy, blocking the emission of red light. As the bead was wrapped, the red glow gradually dissipated.

Following Elder Ye’s instructions, Lu Zhe expelled the residual red light from his body and slowly opened his eyes.

Before him was a world of dazzling colors—the green of the trees, the blue of the sky—none of the previous gray haze remained.

Turning to Elder Ye, Lu Zhe found him watching intently. When the red in Lu Zhe’s eyes faded and his pupils returned to their original black, Elder Ye exhaled softly, patted Lu Zhe, and stood up.

Lu Zhe quickly sprang to his feet, grinning at Elder Ye. Suddenly, he asked, “Master, how did you know how to treat me?”

Elder Ye waved his hand with a hearty laugh. “Never mind how I knew. Aren’t you curious about the ability of your eyes?”

Lu Zhe was startled. “What, do my eyes have other abilities?”

Elder Ye nodded. “Indeed. Your eyes are not an affliction, but a blessing—they possess a unique effect.”

“What effect?” Lu Zhe asked anxiously.

Elder Ye laughed and explained, “They allow you to see the heat radiating from living beings.”

“The heat radiating from living beings?” Lu Zhe muttered, perplexed.

“Anything alive emits heat. Normally, we sense it through touch, but with your eyes, you can see it. So whether it’s a person or a beast king—anything that emits heat—you can perceive it clearly,” Elder Ye said, pointing at Lu Zhe’s eyes.

“What’s the use of that?” Lu Zhe still didn’t understand.

“In battle, if your opponent uses smoke screens or techniques to block vision, leaving you blind, your eyes let you see their body’s heat emissions, so you can pinpoint their location and counterattack,” Elder Ye explained.

Lu Zhe took a breath. That’s incredible; if Elder Ye was right, visual-blocking techniques would be useless against him.

Suddenly, a thought struck Lu Zhe. He looked up at Elder Ye. “Master, I’ve got a good name for this ability.”

Elder Ye smiled faintly. “What is it?”

“Crimson Spirit Eyes!” Lu Zhe declared with a smile.