Jianyu grimaced as he continued to fend off relentless attacks from his assailants.

“At this rate,” he thought to himself, “I’m going to die. I can’t keep this up forever.”

After deflecting another strike directed at his leg, he took to the skies once more. As he wracked his brain for a way to defeat an enemy he couldn’t detect, he thought back to a lesson he had learned from the blind Elder Yu years ago.

“I can’t beat him,” exclaimed an exasperated Jianyu, after being knocked to the ground for the umpteenth time. “Feng Jian’s technique means I can’t see him. I’ll never win!”

“Ahhh,” a voice said from behind him. Jianyu squealed in surprise before turning to the source of the voice. It was Elder Yu!

Elder Yu was one of the Sect’s inner council, though he didn’t look the part. The white haired cultivator was ancient, with a wrinkled face and a knowing smile. But what distinguished him were his eyes, white and unseeing, though they still carried a mischievous glint within. His jade robes matched the white of his eyes, and he wore sandals the color of dust.

“Elder Yu! This lowly disciple greets you.” Jianyu mentally berated himself for letting out such an embarrassing scream.

“I see you are having trouble beating Feng Jian’s obfuscation technique,” Elder Yu began. “Would you like to know how to defeat it?”

“This one would be in your debt for any assistance offered.” Jianyu couldn’t believe his luck. He was going to receive personal instruction from a Sect Elder free of cost! He was truly fortunate.

“Tell me, disciple; what do you know of Dao Pacts?”

Jianyu frowned slightly as he answered, “Do you speak of contracts between cultivators?”

“No, not quite. But you have the correct idea.

“A Dao Pact is a covenant between a cultivator and the Dao itself. In exchange for power, the cultivator forfeits something of equal value,” he said before pausing. “A Dao Pact can make a cultivator of middling talent into a Core Formation powerhouse.”

“How does one initiate a Dao Pact?”

“A simple ritual and incantation is all that is required to formulate a Dao Pact. But initiation of a Dao Pact becomes more difficult as a cultivator’s power increases. Mortals lack the ability at all.

“If it is so simple, why don’t more cultivators use them?”

The elder sighed in painful reminiscence. “Tell me, young one; what do you know of the Void Sect?”

“A tall tale used to scare children. Every village from here to Yinjing tells the story.”

“Oh, so you’re familiar with the rhyme?”

“Of course.

Demons, Devils, Spirits all,

Fear the wrath of empty Hall

Stolen babes and mindless thralls

All to answer Void Cult’s call

...

But with the demons they unite

To seal the empty hall.

But everyone knows the Void Sect is gone.”

“The Void is never gone. It is always watching, waiting for an opportunity to strike.”

Jianyu said nothing in response, but he doubted the Elder’s words. It had been a thousand years since they’d been annihilated in the War of Silenced Voices.

But the Elder wasn't finished. “Fearing a resurgence, the Empress of that era created the Paths of Protection, sects whose power stems from Dao Pacts. Outside of those sects, information on Dao Pacts has been hidden.”

“Is that why I’ve never heard of them before?”

“Precisely.”

“But wait, how do you know about Dao Pacts then?”

Elder Yu raised a single eyebrow, its hairs drooping over his orbital lobe. “I am a visiting elder, practitioner.”

Jianyu cleared his throat in a thinly veiled attempt to redirect the elder’s attention. It didn’t work. “How am I supposed to make use of a Dao Pact, then?”

“Just this once, I will assist you. It would be cruel to force you to enact your own, but I will lend you the boons that my own pact offers me. Close your eyes,” said Elder Yu.

Jianyu didn’t know how this would help him, but he knew better than to question his superior.

“Now, breathe deeply in and out. Picture your qi cycling through your meridians, cleansing your impurities before settling in your dantian.”

He nodded, keeping his eyes closed. He projected his soul inward, gaining heightened awareness of his cycling technique. Unruly energy bucked against his attempts to control it. As it left his dantian just below his navel, it traveled upward to his heart, out through his arms and into his digits, before cycling back the way it had come.

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“I am going to grant you my technique. Direct your attention to the changes in your qi signature. Know this; you will have to grant me access to your dantian for this to work.”

Jianyu didn’t have to ask what to expect; as soon as the elder spoke, his aura appeared.

It was a monolith; calming yet immovable, it had a cool presence that threatened no violence, only the promise of swift retribution for unprompted aggression. But most of all, it was immense. It was like a boulder next to his own qi signature that was at most a stiff breeze.

“This is… this is the difference between Core and Foundation realms?!?!”

The elder chuckled. “Not quite, young practitioner. If I had to guess, you’re in the early stages of Foundation Establishment?”

An uncomfortably long pause elapsed before Jianyu realized he had been questioned. “Apologies, Elder, I am only a lowly initial-stage Foundation-stage cultivator.”

“Impressive. The quality of your foundation must be exquisite for it to deceive even my eyes. Prepare yourself for a breakthrough soon.”

Jianyu bowed, thanking the Elder.

Elder Yu continued after a brief pause. “Now, spar with me.”

This didn’t surprise Jianyu. Elders often requested for sparring partners, some even offering contribution points for it. He was slightly miffed that he wouldn’t receive any compensation, but it seemed fair given the instruction he’d received.

Jianyu opened his eyes once more before settling into the empty stance, his entire weight resting on his left leg, with his right toe touching the ground in front of him. He began to cycle his Qi, before being interrupted by Elder Yu.

“Why did you open your eyes, Disciple Lei?” Jianyu was astonished by this. How could the blind elder possibly know he had opened his eyes! After getting over his initial surprise, he responded.

“Esteemed Elder, forgive this lowly disciple, but how can one spar without the ability to see?”

“Use your Soul to sense the area around you. Listen to the heartbeat of the world, and let it guide you,” responded the Elder.

This didn’t help Jianyu very much, but he knew better than to argue with an elder. Focusing on his Soul and the way his aura interacted with the world, he attempted to see as he could with his eyes. But after an incense time, he had made no progress.

“It’s no use,” Jianyu lamented. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“The problem is that you are trying to see as if you were looking through your eyes,” Elder Yu began. “But your Soul is much more powerful than your vision. Stop trying to emulate a weaker sense, and let your Soul take you where it wishes. Don’t fight against yourself.”

Jianyu supposed the elder would know better than he, so he did as he was told. After a few moments of concentration, he exclaimed in wonder. “I can see it all,” he whispered.

It was as if he could see everything around him, and the connections between each object. He saw two insects fighting, their very life force flickering within them like a flame. He turned to look at himself, and he saw his own meridians and his dantian, and the strings of karma that bound him to his obligation. A thick strand went off in the distance, most likely to his brother. Another taut strand led to the Patriarch’s residence, likely representing the oath of loyalty Jianyu had taken to the sect. He turned to look at Elder Yu, after following the relatively thin strand connecting them. But when he did, what he saw was so brilliant that he began to cry. Elder Yu looked like a shining warrior, with brilliant sapphire armor surrounding a glowing transparent interior. Qi surrounded each of his internal organs, and his meridians were visible as they Qi traveled through them, from his dantian in the center of his torso to his heart, then onto his extremities and his brain, before returning back to the dantian and taking another pathway through a different meridian.

“Now, Disciple Lei, you can see as I do,” said Elder Yu. “This,” he continued, his mouth twisting into a cruel smile, “is where the fun begins.”

And with that, he pulled two staffs from his storage ring, throwing one to Jianyu. Jianyu was once again surprised with his ability to successfully catch the staff without his eyes. But the Elder didn’t give Jianyu the time to ponder this miracle, immediately pressing the attack.

He started with a jab towards Jianyu’s right shoulder, following it up with a sweeping blow to knock the disciple off his feet. Jianyu twisted his body to avoid the first blow, then awkwardly jumped to avoid the second. However, he didn’t see the third blow coming, and Elder Yu’s staff impacted his left side, causing him to be knocked to the floor on his back, coughing as he tried to catch his breath.

“Not good enough, young disciple.” Jianyu could hear the disappointment in Elder Yu’s voice. “Again!”

While Jianyu was on the ground, he noticed how the threads connecting Elder Yu to his staff displayed his intent and where he was going to attack. The only problem was that Elder Yu moved far too fast for Jianyu to successfully counter.

Elder Yu took the bow stance, his right foot pointed at Jianyu, and his left foot perpendicular and spaced behind the right. After giving Jianyu a moment to recover, he struck again, this time lunging to attack Jianyu’s groin.

Jianyu narrowly avoided this attack as well as the followup strike aimed at his forehead. “Stop dodging, Disciple Lei. You have a staff for a reason, I suggest you use it,” encouraged Elder Yu.

For Jianyu, this wasn’t so simple. It was one thing to survive Elder Yu’s strikes, but another thing entirely to go on the offensive. The problem was that he wasn’t left with much of a choice; even though the Elder was faster and stronger than him, he had to press the attack somehow.

After dodging and weaving between several consecutive blows from the elder, Jianyu finally used his staff to deflect a strike aimed at his left hip, following it up with a lunge at the Elder. Unfortunately for Jianyu, this opening would not be his first strike, as Elder Yu nimbly escaped the blow with grace belying his apparent age.

“Not quite good enough,” the Elder snarkily commented. “Although… it was much better than before. Let us quicken the pace, shall we?”

The Elder’s comment caused Jianyu to groan internally, as if he knew the agony he was about to be in.

Three long grueling hours later, Jianyu was exhausted and on his last legs. But it appeared that the Elder wasn’t doing quite as well either.

“Again! On your feet,” the Elder commanded, his stern voice laced with fatigue. Jianyu drew up the last vestiges of his strength to respond to the Elder’s challenge.

After getting to his feet, he mimicked the Elder’s favored bow stance, and for the first time, took the offensive. He jabbed towards the Elder’s left hip, before following up with a sweeping blow directed at the torso from the other end of his staff. Elder Yu was forced to block the second blow directly, giving Jianyu the opportunity to go on the offensive once again.

Jianyu would jab towards the right hip, lunge to the upper torso, while Elder Yu would block and dodge accordingly. They continued like this for an incense time, each combatant growing more fatigued with every clash. Eventually, Jianyu could no longer continue his offensive. Elder Yu didn’t give him a chance to rest, however, immediately lunging for his head. At this point, Jianyu was too exhausted to block, and his defense failed to protect him.

The last thing he saw before he blacked out was the Elder’s staff moving towards his head.

When Jianyu awoke, he was confused. He could no longer see. He remembered unlocking this… spiritual sense, a new lens through which to view the world. He remembered training with Elder Yu, but he didn’t remember where he was. He was most certainly not in his room, and this was not his bed. As he got out of the bed, he noticed that he was still wearing his disciple’s robes. A voice in the distance startled him, causing him to fall back down into the bed.

“Very impressive, Disciple,” said an old, raspy voice. After a moment, Jianyu realized that it was Elder Yu who was speaking. “I did not expect one as young as yourself to be able to last so long.”

Jianyu once again rose from the bed, and bowed in the direction of the voice. “Thank you, esteemed Elder. I would not have been able to grasp that technique without your instruction.” Jianyu grimaced as he prepared to inquire about his vision.“Forgive this one for overstepping, but could this disciple regain one’s sight?”

“Har har,” Elder Yu laughed, causing Jianyu to flinch, “Of course, you young ones are all the same. Every time you use this technique has a chance to permanently blind you. But where it takes away, it also gives. If you were to practice this technique daily, though you would risk blindness, you would gain a permanent increase to the strength of your Soul. You would not take another step on the path of Soul cultivation in doing so, but instead your Soul grow in a qualitative manner. If you wish to regain your mundane sight, you must cycle your Qi to your eyes, and your sight should return after only 2 incense times of meditation.”

Jianyu sighed with relief. As long as he could see again, everything would be ok.

“Young one, you may not realize now, but what you have unlocked is one of the most important abilities available to any cultivator. Although my method is flawed, it hones one into a vastly superior practitioner. If you choose to master this technique, you will be able to see everything for several dozen li in any direction, from the insects beneath the ground to the dust particles in the air. Even at the novice level, you will be able to see through physical obstructions to your path, offering you a major advantage over your contemporaries. Although I suspect you may not find this wisdom for many years,” Elder Yu finished with a chuckle.

Elder Yu had been right about one thing. It had been years since his death at the hands of a Duke stage tiger demon, but he lived on through Jianyu. And now, his technique would be the cause of Jianyu’s victory.