Old Master Shi Tong stopped walking, looked at Feihe, and shook his head as if deeply disappointed. "When will you learn to stop judging people with such worldly eyes?"
"This..." Feihe was taken aback, unable to comprehend. "I beg Master to enlighten me."
"Young Lord Chiyan's existence is absolutely extraordinary."
Old Master Shi Tong furrowed his brow deeply. "Although this master does not know who he is or the extent of his strength, one thing is certain: the chaos of his Spiritual Power and blood qi earlier was not caused by being intimidated by Kang Zhengqi's Ninefold Flowing Color Nature's Might."
"Oh? Does that mean Master discovered something when you examined Young Lord Chiyan's injuries earlier, by probing his True Body?"
"No!" Old Master Shi Tong shook his head. "This master did not probe his True Body."
He didn't probe?
This left Feihe utterly confused. "Could it be that Young Lord Chiyan did not open his Heart-Mind?"
The Heart-Mind existed as an intangible guardian for anyone, protecting one's True Body from interference or invasion by spiritual means. Divine Sense was also a type of spiritual means. It was rare for someone to use their Divine Sense to probe the internal state of another's True Body, because once such a probe was made, the other party's Heart-Mind would inevitably become aware of it. This was an offense, a disrespectful act. More importantly, if one rashly deployed their Divine Sense to probe another, and the other party's Heart-Mind was powerful, one could easily suffer a backlash. Conversely, if one's own Divine Sense was sufficiently powerful, one could directly break through another's Heart-Mind protection and forcibly probe their True Body. Even those proficient in medical arts, when needing to examine another's True Body, required the other party's consent; only when the other party opened their Heart-Mind could a detailed examination be conducted.
Hearing that the Old Master had not probed Gu Qingfeng's True Body, Feihe initially thought the other party had firmly guarded his Heart-Mind, unwilling to let the Old Master probe. But when he asked, the Old Master responded: "No. At the time, when this master proposed the examination, Young Lord Chiyan had already opened his Heart-Mind."
This made Feihe even more unable to understand. Since Young Lord Chiyan had already opened his Heart-Mind, why hadn't the Old Master probed?
Old Master Shi Tong knitted his brows, his expression solemn, and walked forward slowly. After a long moment, he finally responded. "This master did not dare."
"Did not dare?"
Upon hearing this, Feihe couldn't help but freeze in place. He truly could not comprehend the meaning of the Old Master's words. What did 'did not dare' mean? Since the other party had already opened his Heart-Mind, why would the Old Master not dare to probe? It made no sense.
"Master, why did you not dare to probe?"
Old Master Shi Tong shook his head and sighed. "I do not know..."
"You do not know?"
Feihe wondered if he had misheard. Not only did the Old Master not dare to probe, but he also didn't know the reason for his fear? This was simply too unbelievable.
"At the moment this master was about to deploy my Divine Sense to probe, for some reason, I felt an intense fear within... no, not within my heart, but within my Heart-Mind. My Heart-Mind felt a deep, profound sense of dread. That feeling of fear was very..." Old Master Shi Tong truly could not describe the sensation at the time. After a long silence, he continued. "That feeling of fear made this master feel incredibly small, utterly insignificant, as insignificant as an ant. So insignificant that it felt as if, with just a single thought from Young Lord Chiyan, this master's Heart-Mind would instantly scatter and disperse..."
"This..." Feihe felt his scalp go numb. His eyes widened as he stood there in stunned silence.
"As for why such fear arose, this master does not know. Nor can I imagine to what degree a person's Heart-Mind must be powerful to inspire such terror."
"This..." Feihe was greatly puzzled. "Master, could this have been your misconception? If Young Lord Chiyan's Heart-Mind was truly so formidable, how could he have been intimidated by Kang Zhengqi's Nature's Might, resulting in the chaos of his Spiritual Power?"
Old Master Shi Tong shook his head. He did not know the answer to this question either. "At the time, Young Lord Chiyan also secretly sent a voice transmission to this master. He said..."
"What did he say?"
"He said... that due to a momentary lapse on his part, he almost harmed this master. He said this master's Divine Sense was too weak, utterly incapable of withstanding... that if I forcibly probed, I would inevitably suffer soul annihilation..."
Truly, words that would shock unless they were earth-shattering. The phrase 'soul annihilation' caused Feihe's face to pale dramatically.
Forcibly probe? Soul annihilation? At most, forcibly probing would only cause one's own Heart-Mind to suffer a setback, wouldn't it? How could it lead to soul annihilation? Who did he think he was? An immortal? If anyone else had spoken these words, Feihe would have laughed himself silly. But these words came from the Old Master, and were spoken with utmost seriousness. This forced Feihe to feel a creeping horror.
"Master, do you believe what he said? If he were a reincarnated person, a powerful Heart-Mind could be understood. But the key point is, he is not a reincarnated person, not even someone who seized a body for rebirth. How could his Heart-Mind possibly be that powerful!"
Old Master Shi Tong merely shook his head, not answering this question. Instead, he said, "The world is vast, full of wonders beyond imagination. We are but the most ordinary, low-level cultivators. Between heaven and earth, there exist far too many things we cannot comprehend. Especially after the Great Calamity, with heaven and earth reborn, the Great Dao re-derived, laws re-manifested, and all things reviving, no one knows how many terrifying existences have awakened, been reborn, or reincarnated within this world... Therefore, towards the mysterious, the unknown, the bizarre, we must hold a heart of reverence. It is best to keep a respectful distance."
"Since Master says to keep a respectful distance, why did you still invite him to join the Four Regions Alliance?"
"That was Miss Tingxue's intention."
Miss Tingxue? Hearing that name, Feihe's heart immediately skipped a beat. He asked in surprise and doubt, "Why would Miss Tingxue invite Young Lord Chiyan?"
"Miss Tingxue did not explicitly state her reasons."
Old Master Shi Tong said, "However, this master also has a small measure of personal motive."
"Master's personal motive refers to..."
"In recent days, this master has visited Elder Huode of the Yunxia Sect, Old Sen of the Chixu Mountain Manor, and Patriarch Zhuxia of the Bingxuan Sect, not just once."
Feihe knew that Old Sen and Patriarch Bingxuan had both once knelt before Gu Qingfeng, and had always been very curious about it. Upon his inquiry, Old Master Shi Tong responded.
"This master visited Patriarch Zhuxia of the Bingxuan Sect several times but was unable to meet him. Although I met with Huode and Old Sen a few times, both remained tight-lipped about Young Lord Chiyan's identity."
"Master, you may not have much interaction with Huode, but your friendship with Old Sen is deep, isn't it? He didn't speak either?"
"Although this master cannot claim any deep friendship with Huode, we have always treated each other with mutual respect. Out of regard for the Monarch of old, Huode shows this master a degree of respect. He advised this master not to inquire into Young Lord Chiyan's identity, and specifically instructed me to discipline the disciples of Liuren Mountain more strictly..."
"As for Old Sen, he similarly advised this master not to inquire into Young Lord Chiyan's identity. Moreover, he repeatedly reminded me not to interfere in any matter Young Lord Chiyan undertakes. He insisted this master must remember that."