The old eunuch, who had already experienced many hardships in the palace, was now on his way home, his heart filled with longing for his hometown and loved ones. He carefully carried his valuables, which were the little things he had accumulated in the palace over the years, but he never expected that he would encounter such a sudden calamity on this seemingly peaceful journey home.
The warlord soldiers pounced on him like wolves, their eyes fixed solely on the tempting riches. They ruthlessly looted everything from his person, including the book imbued with mysterious power, which was forcibly taken from his arms. The old eunuch, having lost everything, felt utterly hopeless, as if his entire world had collapsed.
Driven to despair, he struggled in agony, and soon, filled with endless regret and resentment, he departed this world forever. The two soldiers who stole the divine book may have hesitated for a moment, but ultimately greed overwhelmed their reason. They divided the book in two, as if this would divide its mystical power equally, and then each took half and embarked on their journey to war.
A year passed quickly. In the midst of the brutal warlord conflicts, a soldier was unfortunately mortally wounded and collapsed on the battlefield. Just as his life was hanging by a thread, an old Taoist priest from Qingcheng Mountain happened to come down the mountain to shop. This kind-hearted old Taoist priest, seeing the situation, did not hesitate to lend a helping hand and rescue the wounded soldier.
The soldier was filled with gratitude, but felt he had no way to repay it. Looking at the half of the magical book in his hands, he knew it was meaningless to him, so he decided to give it to his savior—the old Taoist priest. He believed that the mysterious book might play a greater role in the old Taoist priest's hands, a continuation of their destiny.
Master Yi returned to the Taoist temple and sat down in the quiet room, marked by the passage of time. He took out the half-finished book from his robes, a hint of curiosity and anticipation flashing in his eyes. The pages of this ancient book were yellowed and fragile, yet it exuded a mysterious aura.
He knew this item belonged to a Taoist ancestor from the late Yuan and early Ming dynasties. The ancestor must have had an extraordinary stroke of luck to leave behind special Taoist techniques on it. In this degenerate age, Taoist techniques were like brilliant starlight in the dark night—incomparably precious and rare. Even if one obtained them, without special magical power, they were nothing more than a pile of worthless paper. Yet, Old Daoist Yi still wanted to give it a try.
The old Taoist's secular surname was Yi, born in Puyang Village, Dujiangyan. From a young age, he studied Taoist scriptures and practices under the tutelage of Yunjizi for over fifty years. It is said that the old Taoist Yunjizi possessed Taoist alchemy skills, capable of healing and saving lives, and lived to the age of 108. When his time came, Yunjizi entrusted this dilapidated Taoist temple to him. Although the temple was old and worn, it was, in the old Taoist's heart, the place of his lineage. There were a dozen or so young Taoist disciples in the temple, some poor orphans from the foot of the mountain, others children who had been displaced since childhood. The old Taoist took pity on them and took them in.
When Yunjizi left, he left behind a box of Taoist scriptures and a silver hairpin. The hairpin was exquisitely crafted and was said to have been left by a highly accomplished master of the Taoist temple during the Song Dynasty; it was the temple's most valuable possession. The old Taoist often took it out and gazed at it, as if looking at the temple's history. Now, the appearance of this half-book seems to have added another layer of mystery to the temple's heritage.
Old Daoist Yi gently turned the pages, and the ancient characters seemed to come alive, dancing before his eyes. He was completely absorbed, tireless, as if he could see his ancestors from previous dynasties performing magical arts—an era when Daoist sects and martial arts flourished, vastly different from today. He hoped to find in this book the hope of revitalizing the Daoist temple, giving these poor Daoist novices a better future, and ensuring the continuation of the Daoist tradition in this difficult, declining era.
In these decades of self-cultivation, the old Taoist priest, like a reclusive master, silently honed a unique and extraordinary perception. This perception, like a mysterious and unpredictable sixth sense, was astonishingly powerful.
He sat quietly in the forest, his eyes slightly closed, yet he could clearly "see" the scene ten meters below, as if he were seeing it with his own eyes. Inside that tiny mouse hole, several mice were rustling and moving about. Their every movement, every breath, was like a drumbeat beating in the old Taoist's heart, clearly audible. He could feel the mice's soft fur, their bright little eyes, and even the subtle sensation of their tiny claws scratching at the hole walls.
Within a vast area of tens of meters, whether it was birds and beasts hiding in the dense forest or humans concealed behind rocks and in the grass, all were as if placed under a spotlight by the old Taoist, with nowhere to hide. He seemed to possess eyes that could penetrate everything, or a highly sophisticated thermal imaging camera; no trace of life could escape his keen perception. This ability far surpassed the comprehension of ordinary people, as if a special gift bestowed upon him by heaven, making him a near-omniscient and mysterious being in this world. The half-finished celestial book in the old Taoist's hands had been studied repeatedly for several years. With his profound experience in studying Taoist arts over decades, he had already unlocked the mysterious door of this celestial book.
This celestial book actually concerns the art of telepathy and control. It comprises three stages: the beginner's technique, Enchanting Technique; the intermediate technique, Thought Control Technique; and the advanced technique, Mind-to-Mind Connection Technique. Each stage is further divided into nine levels. If one can master it, one will possess the ability to control the thoughts of humans and animals, and to telepathically sense their ideas. When all three stages are mastered to perfection, one can simultaneously control the thoughts of hundreds of humans and animals, making them wholeheartedly serve one for an hour. One can also see through the minds of hundreds of people, communicating with them telepathically, making them worship and obey one's every word. If an emperor were to cultivate this celestial book, he could control the thoughts and minds of his civil and military officials, ensuring the long-term stability of the empire. Unfortunately, dozens of emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties were of mediocre talent, failing to grasp its true essence or realize its immense value. In the end, it became a tool for the palace eunuchs to monitor and discipline palace maids and concubines.
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