Chapter 1297: Are You Color Blind?

Zhang Xuan's habitual action was to catalog any book he saw into the Library of Heaven's Path. Thus, what he was reading now was not the content floating in the air but the book in his sea of consciousness.

The introduction was fine, but when the actual technique flowed through his mind, he immediately sensed something wrong.

"What's wrong?"

Kui Sheng looked over.

This technique was personally created by his teacher, profound and unfathomable. Every genius with the Eye of Insight who had seen it was utterly captivated. Yet this man frowned and said it had a problem—what did he mean?

"Well..."

Zhang Xuan turned to face Kui Sheng's will. "Senior, may I ask if any of the past hall masters were blind?"

"Blind?"

Not understanding why he asked this, Kui Sheng frowned. "This will of mine is only responsible for guiding and testing candidates for the hall master position; I do not know about later generations."

He had died tens of thousands of years ago. All subsequent hall masters were later generations, and only when an Eye of Insight genius entered would he awaken. As for whether these later generations were blind, he was not clear.

"Then... may I ask, was Bu Shang Ancient Sage's eyesight good?" Seeing he didn't know, Zhang Xuan hesitated and asked again.

"The teacher left soon after founding the Saint Child Hall... His eyes were indeed blind!"

Kui Sheng paused. "But he went to seek a way to recover them; he should be able to recover..."

"Recover?" Zhang Xuan gave a bitter smile. "I think it's extremely difficult, even impossible!"

"Why?" Kui Sheng looked at him in confusion.

The Saint Child Hall contained many records and books about Bu Shang Ancient Sage, but all were glorious. The matter of his blindness was known to few and not spread. How did this man know?

And he even said outright that recovery was impossible?

"The reason lies in this Nine Nether Divine Pupil!" Zhang Xuan sighed.

"This eye technique harnesses the power of the Eye of Insight and taps into one's potential. It is a top-tier ultimate technique, but... each time the array patterns circulate, they cause great harm to the eyes. Over time, it leads to blindness that no medicine or treatment can cure!"

The first flaw reflected by the Library was that it would cause incurable blindness.

Whether ordinary people or cultivators, potential is always fixed. Using array patterns to stimulate the power in the eyes, even deriving lethal combat techniques... causes immense damage to the eyes, some of it permanent.

Even the most advanced pills and methods are useless.

It was like top athletes from his previous life—they generally did not live long because they exhausted their physical potential in youth, leading to various injuries and illnesses in old age, ultimately unable to enjoy a normal lifespan.

The Nine Nether Divine Pupil not only consumed the eyes but also the visual nerves in the brain. Eyes could be replaced or treated with medicine, but once the nerves withered, like the end of life, there was no other remedy.

Seeing this, he felt that although the technique was excellent, it had a major problem.

It could even be called a fatal flaw!

The Eye of Insight was a gift from heaven with immense power. Once lost, it meant the loss of one's strongest asset. Not only strength but even one's mentality would suffer a severe blow, hard to recover from.

Hearing this and seeing the young man's helpless sigh, Kui Sheng frowned with displeasure. "I have cultivated this technique for centuries and have not noticed any harm to my eyes. This was left by the teacher; do not make alarmist claims!"

It wasn't that he didn't believe it, but he had also practiced it for a long time without any discomfort in his eyes.

Wasn't this too alarmist, too exaggerated?

Besides, who was the teacher?

A personal disciple of Confucius, one of the Ten Sages. How could a martial technique he had immersed himself in his whole life have problems that would blind someone?

To think that would be to doubt the teacher!

Even if one doubted, it wasn't something a mere Primordial Spirit realm fellow like you should do!

"Whether it's alarmist, I'll explain in detail and you'll know... Senior, you've cultivated for centuries. If I'm not mistaken, you haven't reached the third level of the Nine Nether Divine Pupil, right?"

Knowing he would say this, Zhang Xuan looked at him.

"Yes."

Kui Sheng nodded.

His cultivation was far inferior to his teacher's; not even the second level had reached its peak.

"If I'm not mistaken, when you left this will, you had just reached the early stage of the second level of the Nine Nether Divine Pupil, using fire to train the eyes and ice to temper the pupils. At this level, your eyesight is astonishing, like a bright lamp in the night, illuminating all directions. However... in actual combat, you still lack some refinement. The second level, Vajra Glare, should not be fully executable either!"

Raising his eyelids, Zhang Xuan said.

The Nine Nether Divine Pupil: the first level, Eyes Born with Divine Demons; the second level, Vajra Glare. With a single glance, flames burn, incinerating heaven and earth. When fully unleashed, it can burn through hell itself.

If the first level was spiritual attack, the second was true physical attack.

Those weaker could not withstand it and would be instantly annihilated. Even those stronger would be thrown into disarray, unable to exert their power.

Most crucially, the attack was unleashed at will, with no discernible technique. Wherever the eye reached, that was the attack... It was impossible to guard against or block.

Thus, this eye technique was so famous, and the Saint Child Hall master's reputation soared, rivaling even the heads of families like the Zhang Clan.

However, while this technique was immensely powerful, it was also extremely troublesome to cultivate. First, one had to train the eyes with fire and temper the pupils with ice, then undergo countless trials. A single misstep could undo all progress and destroy one's strength.

Although this man had not displayed the eye technique, based on his understanding of eye arts, he should have reached the second level.

"You... how do you know?"

Kui Sheng was astonished.

The other had described it with perfect accuracy. When he left his will, he had just reached the second level of the Nine Nether Divine Pupil, far from the third.

"Although you are now just a will, there is fire burning in your pupils. Though not strong, it carries the power to incinerate everything, matching the second level's Vajra Glare. So it's easy to see."

Stepping forward, Zhang Xuan circled around him and said calmly.

Having stored the floating manual into the Library, he had essentially mastered all the knowledge. Although the other was just a will, with his insight, seeing these things was not too difficult.

"You mean... you've already read through the entire second level technique?"

Kui Sheng's body trembled, his eyes wide.

He had just taken out the Nine Nether Divine Pupil manual, and from the moment the other started reading to the end, only a few breaths had passed... Now he directly described the various characteristics of the second level—had he already read and memorized it all?

This technique contained hundreds of thousands of words; even reciting it took great effort. Back then, he had studied diligently, day and night without sleep, and it took him two full days to memorize it completely.

For that, he was praised by his teacher as intelligent with an amazing memory...

This fellow memorized it in just a few breaths—how was that possible?

"This technique is easy to memorize; memorizing it is nothing. The main thing is understanding and cultivation."

Zhang Xuan shook his head, not pleased by the other's shock, but rather with regret. "You've cultivated to the second level, Vajra Glare. If I'm not mistaken, red spots occasionally appear in your eyes, with a slight itch. When exposed to strong wind, your eyes tear up. Most crucially, after activating the flames, you experience brief blindness, lasting about three breaths..."

"Is that correct?"

"You..." Kui Sheng was incredulous.

When he left his will, he indeed had these symptoms. But at the time, he thought it was caused by the flames' smoke and didn't pay attention. Could it really be a problem with the cultivation technique?

When he reached the second level, his teacher had already left, and he had no one to ask. So he had basically cultivated this technique by groping in the dark.

Shortly after mastering it, when fighting someone, he indeed experienced brief blindness, about three breaths. He thought it was due to exhaustion. Could it really be, as the other said, that there was a problem in the technique?

"Vajra Glare turns the eyes into a sea of red lotus flames. At great completion, karmic fire fills the sky, burning all impurities. Its power is indeed formidable, but... it also heavily drains the spirit. After use, the nerves controlling vision age and suffer great loss of vitality. It's like an array disk that can be used ten times; each use consumes it, and after ten times, no array master can repair it—it's scrapped."

Shaking his head, Zhang Xuan said with regret. "When you left your will, though you had just reached this level, the hidden damage was already present. The blood vessels in your eyes increased, appearing slightly red upon close inspection. Most importantly, you often suffered from insomnia!"

"You know... I have insomnia?"

Kui Sheng looked as if he had seen a ghost.

At his level of cultivation, though he could replace sleep with cultivation, occasionally sleeping provided great relaxation for both spirit and body.

Thus, when night came, they sometimes slept.

Back then, after the teacher left, he was in charge of an academy, under immense pressure. He hadn't rested much and couldn't sleep even when he wanted to. He thought it was due to mental strain. Could it be related to the Nine Nether Divine Pupil?

He vaguely remembered... the teacher also often suffered from insomnia, staying awake all night.

"When the nerves are damaged and the sea of consciousness is impacted, insomnia is normal. As cultivation deepens, it can also cause mental fatigue, leading to forgetfulness and memory decline. Most critically... sensitivity to colors gradually diminishes, until the seven colors of the world become only black and white in your eyes, with no others appearing..."

At this point, Zhang Xuan paused, sighed deeply, and his face was full of sympathy. "That is the legendary... color blindness!"

"If I'm not mistaken, you should be one!"