I See You

In the twentieth year of Zhaoning, Great Tang continued to cling to its fading life, while the wars between the nations grew ever fiercer, plunging the world into chaos. Within Qingming Immortal City, right before Wei Yuan's eyes, a massive Golden Pellet rose above the head of an unassuming middle-aged man. Then the Golden Pellet cracked open, and a tiny infant emerged from the shell, floating in midair and gazing curiously at the world around it. Wei Yuan gave a gentle flick, sending a clump of karmic luck into the Nascent Soul's body. Following that, a beam of Buddhist light descended from above, shining upon the child. The bewilderment in the infant's eyes swiftly gave way to clarity. Clapping its hands, it burst out laughing and said, "So that's how it is!" It then shakily stood up, bowed down before Wei Yuan, and said, "Greetings, Dao Lord." "???" Why was this the reaction after its intelligence was awakened? Could it be that the beam of Buddhist light just now had directly converted the newborn Nascent Soul? The more Wei Yuan thought about it, the more plausible it seemed. At this moment, the middle-aged man opened his eyes as well, understanding what had transpired. Following along, he too bowed to Wei Yuan, saying, "I am willing to serve as a vanguard in the Dao Court." "Rise. There is naturally a place for you in the Dao Court," Wei Yuan said amiably. This was Qingming's first Nascent Soul, belonging to a peerless genius among Golden Pellets whose strength was firmly at the late dharma idol stage. From the perspective of raw power, he was already on par with a Heaven Tier dharma idol. Wei Yuan scrutinized the Nascent Soul closely. The tiny infant had initially worn a somewhat playful grin, but when Wei Yuan looked over with earnest intent, it immediately wanted to flee. Yet having been converted by Buddhist light, how could it manage to move? Wei Yuan examined it thoroughly from the inside out. Once he finished his inspection, Wei Yuan had a clear grasp of the situation. He said to the middle-aged man, "Your formation of this Nascent Soul was somewhat forced. If not for my intervention just now to bestow spiritual clarity upon it, it would have lacked sufficient spirituality, and your Dao journey would have halted here. But now your future remains open, and you still have a chance at Scenery Command." The man immediately bowed again, and Wei Yuan accepted it candidly. This was the kindness of helping one achieve the Dao, far heavier than the debt owed to a master. Wei Yuan offered a few more words of encouragement, granted him access to the corresponding subsequent cultivation arts, and then departed. Returning to the Splendor of the Many Realms, the cultivators studying the Nascent Soul had already reached preliminary conclusions based on the data obtained. This middle-aged man was already among the pinnacle figures of Golden Pellet cultivators; otherwise, he would not have been the first to make a dash for the Nascent Soul and succeed. His background had long been investigated thoroughly: in his early years, he was originally a genius cultivator of a small clan. But being born of a collateral branch, he was envied by the eldest young master of the direct lineage, who secretly had someone swap his cultivation art. This caused him to cultivate a Dao foundation entirely unsuited to him, severing any possibility of forming a dharma idol from then on and eliminating any chance of competing for clan head. In his dejection, he went to Qingming alone, becoming a Golden Pellet cultivator. Therefore, this man was originally capable of cultivating a dharma idol in the first place, which was why his breakthrough from Golden Pellet to Nascent Soul was so fast. Even so, the Nascent Soul he formed still lacked spirituality, falling far short of being able to command a mindscape world. Fortunately, Wei Yuan directly converted the Nascent Soul at the critical moment, allowing it to attain sufficient spirituality. The cultivators used the word "converted" rather than "bestowed clarity," and there was a vast difference between the two. The final conclusion was that for other Golden Pellet cultivators, merely transforming into a Nascent Soul would be a great stretch. If they wanted a qualified Nascent Soul, Wei Yuan's intervention to convert it would be indispensable. As such, almost all Nascent Souls in the future would become Dao Court Nascent Souls. For Wei Yuan, this was actually a good thing. Qingming now had nearly ten thousand Golden Pellets, which meant their Dao paths were entirely held in Wei Yuan's grasp. The several thousand Golden Pellets outside Qingming followed the same logic. After pondering for a moment, Wei Yuan decided to proclaim to the world that the Nascent Soul had been achieved, and simultaneously announce that every three years, a Nascent Soul Dharma Assembly would be held following the Dao Foundation Grand Ceremony. At that time, any cultivator in the world interested in attempting the Nascent Soul realm could come and attend. The participation fees would be announced separately. Certain cultivators were somewhat puzzled, wondering if it was a bit too early to announce. Wei Yuan laughed heartily and said, "Not early, not early in the least. If we had announced it beforehand, people would still doubt it. But now that we have the first Nascent Soul cultivator, there will be a second, and a third. Barring any mishaps, in just a few years, cultivators across the world who cultivate Golden Pellets will be as numerous as cattle hairs!" Once they cultivated a Golden Pellet, they became entwined with Wei Yuan in karmic cause and effect. To become a Nascent Soul, they had to join the Dao Court. To most cultivators in the world, nothing mattered in the face of their Dao journey—not even faith. Once the meeting concluded, Wei Yuan began reviewing the latest combat data from the Outer Realm. He had barely begun when his entire body suddenly shuddered. Merit poured down from the void, cascading into Wei Yuan's body and plunging him into a profoundly mystical realm in an instant. At this moment, Wei Yuan's own status continuously elevated. The surrounding world gradually began to shift, revealing countless karmic threads and the operational trajectories of the Great Dao. Those heavenly daos normally hidden from sight now seemed within arm's reach. Wei Yuan experienced an epiphany: if he reached out right now, he could definitely touch an authority of the Great Dao. In that instant, he would be able to completely master that authority, but this merit-triggered epiphany would come to an end. Restraining himself, Wei Yuan did not touch the Great Dao's authority. Instead, he sought the source of this merit. A moment later, he discovered the truth: Wei Yuan establishing the new Nascent Soul realm was equivalent to adding a brand-new stage to the Dao journey of the human race throughout the realm. This was an act of trailblazing a path, a feat of immense merit, which was why merit now poured down like a torrential downpour. Wei Yuan's status at this moment was exceptionally elevated. Although it was only temporary and would recede once all the merit was absorbed, such high status was enough for Wei Yuan to accomplish many feats normally impossible for him. With only one chance, what was the thing he should do most right now? Wei Yuan made his decision in an instant. With a thought, his dharma body in the Sea of Bitterness slowly sat up, stirring up towering waves across the surrounding waters. This time, Wei Yuan did not merely sit up; he took it a step further and stood up! As a result, the vast majority of his dharma body was exposed above the sea's surface, completely unshielded. Wei Yuan raised his hand toward the sky, and then hooked his finger! Upon the Sea of Bitterness, before the many Bodhisattvas and Arhats could even register their shock, a gigantic hand formed of blazing sunlight descended from the heavens, slamming a palm down onto Wei Yuan! Carrying wind and fire, the colossal Buddhist palm appeared to descend sluggishly, yet moved with terrifying speed. The instant it slammed onto the sea's surface, the entire expanse of water shuddered, immediately throwing up rolling walls of monstrous waves. Wei Yuan's dharma body was not even as large as a fingernail of that Buddhist palm. The palm felt like a colossal sky; in all directions lay certain death, with nowhere to evade and nowhere to flee. Yet Wei Yuan stood towering and motionless, not shifting in the slightest. With such a strike, presumably only his two feet beneath the waterline would remain. The Buddhist palm slowly lifted, and the gazes of all the Bodhisattvas and Arhats turned beneath the palm. Wei Yuan was still standing, his entire form like a melted candle. His head was nowhere to be seen; at his neck remained a section of vertebrae, pointing starkly toward the sky. The Bodhisattvas and Arhats were completely stunned—he hadn't been crushed to death? What it meant for a full-power strike to fail to crush Wei Yuan to death was something the monks dared not even ponder! The chest of Wei Yuan's dharma body vibrated, releasing a rumbling burst of laughter. Leaning back slightly, as if gazing with invisible eyes at that Great Sun at the very peak of the Sea of Bitterness, he enunciated word by word: "I see you."