Chapter 16: Mysterious Fire Holy Eyes

Cheng Lingyu smiled helplessly and accepted his father’s suggestion.

Having just merged with the active metal source, he had intended to focus on cultivation to strengthen his abilities. Yet Chi Mei’er’s sudden appearance disrupted his plans at this crucial moment.

Reluctantly, Cheng Lingyu postponed his training and turned his attention to mastering the techniques of the Magic Eyes.

Magic Eyes was an eerie technique deeply tied to one’s physical constitution, demanding an exceptionally solid foundation to practice.

Cheng Lingyu’s physical body had been tempered far beyond most, meeting the strict requirements for cultivating Magic Eyes.

As the name implied, Magic Eyes focused on refining the eyes through nine distinct realms.

The first realm, Insight, aimed to sharpen observational abilities—enhancing clarity, range, and angles of vision, all centered on perceiving the minutest details.

To begin cultivation, one had to unblock meridian points near the eyes, many of which were obscure and unfamiliar to Cheng Lingyu.

After meticulously studying the method, he began the process with extreme caution. Eyes were fragile, and any misstep could lead to disaster.

Thanks to tempering his body with Thousand Layers of Snow, his eyes were far sturdier than an average person’s, his vision surpassing even most experts of the Ordinary Martial Realm.

The first realm alone required unblocking thirty-six meridian points and seven hundred twenty acupuncture points—all delicate and prone to rupture if mishandled.

Guiding his true energy with precision, Cheng Lingyu spent an entire night unlocking six meridian points and one hundred twenty acupuncture points. The results were immediate: his vision sharpened tenfold.

“Such potency! If all points are unblocked, how far will this go?”

Anticipation swelled in him as he imagined the possibilities.

After washing up, he entered the hall where Chi Mei’er already waited.

Following breakfast, they left the Cheng estate.

“Where are we headed?” he asked, glancing at her fiery allure.

Chi Mei’er smirked, radiating deadly allure as if to tempt him.

“Luoyang Ridge.”

The mention of Luoyang Ridge, not her charm, caught his attention. The mining area there lacked a mine source, lying sixty kilometers away. They reached it within half an hour.

Chi Mei’er stood at the mountain summit, studying the terrain with confident intensity. Cheng Lingyu remained silent beside her. Since Ruo Xue’s death, he had grown distant, his smiles rare.

“You’re unusual—immune to my allure,” she remarked, having observed him multiple times without uncovering the reason.

“You flatter me, Miss Mei’er. Why are we here?”

He steered the conversation away, avoiding the topic.

“I’m looking for something. It might be near here… or not.”

Chi Mei’er stood facing the wind, her flame-red hair swirling like dancing fire, radiating a mesmerizing glow.

Cheng Lingyu’s eyes flickered. Though unaffected by her power of seduction, he couldn’t help feeling stunned by her raw beauty, an instinctive awe rising within him.

“What could possibly elude even Miss Mei’er’s detection?”

“Something from my dreams. It should be near Shiyang Town… yet dreams are slippery things. I can’t be sure.”

Cheng Lingyu blinked. Searching for a dream object? That sounded utterly ridiculous.

“You’re certain the dream points to Shiyang Town?”

Chi Mei’er bit her lip. “It felt real. The details were sharp here.”

Cheng Lingyu fell silent, torn between disbelief and curiosity.

“What exactly is this thing?”

“A pattern carved on a red feather. Buried underground. Hidden in illusions.”

As she spoke, her expression turned distant, as if reliving the vivid dreamscape.

Cheng Lingyu frowned. A red feather underground? Wrapped in illusions? It sounded like mystical nonsense.

“How will you search for it?”

Chi Mei’er’s eyes glinted before resuming their calm.

“Have you heard of the Mysterious Fire Holy Eyes?”

“No.”

“It’s a rare legacy. Cultivated to the Great Realm, it rivals ultimate skills like Buddha’s Heart Wisdom Eye or Martial Arts Heavenly Eye.”

“You’ve mastered this?!”

Her laughter tinkled like wind chimes, her body swaying with dangerous grace.

“Only the Minor Realm. Far from Great Realm mastery… but enough for tracking objects.”

Her eyes darkened to crimson as shockwaves rippled outward, fiery lines spiderwebbing through the void.

Flames erupted from her form, engulfing Luoyang Ridge in a blazing dome. The world burned scarlet, dancing flames blooming like red lotuses – a sight that left Cheng Lingyu gaping at her unfathomable cultivation level.

Her eyes became twin vortexes of fire-sea, scanning every crevice beneath the earth. This was the Mysterious Fire Holy Eyes’ probing form – Cheng Lingyu shuddered imagining its attack capabilities.

Scorching air jolted him awake. He edged closer to Chi Mei’er as misty clouds shielded him from the heat.

Her hair blazed like liquid fire as she concentrated, each strand writhing with glowing symbols pulsing divine power. Luoyang Ridge roared with flames birthing countless fiery sprites – translucent humanoids cheering their mistress.

Hundreds of thousands bounced excitedly, syphoning subterranean energy to feed Chi Mei’er. Crimson light enveloped her, condensing into blazing halos around her form.

Cheng Lingyu stared blankly at the scene before him, scarcely believing his eyes. With his Ordinary Martial Realm cultivation level, he couldn’t fathom how any of this was possible.

Around Chi Mei’er, the fiery sprites began transforming. The translucent figures grew clearer until they all bore Chi Mei’er’s exact likeness. This change spread outward until millions of sprites across the entire fire domain had become duplicates of Chi Mei’er, leaving Cheng Lingyu gaping in astonishment.

“What cultivation stage have you reached?”

Chi Mei’er glanced at him and laughed, “This is the Sixth Layer of the Soul Martial Realm—the Soul Domain stage. Your cultivation’s too weak to understand.”

Cheng Lingyu cried out, “Miss Mei’er’s already reached the Soul Martial Realm at such a young age! You’re truly a genius!”

The girl smiled smugly. As she shifted her lotus-like steps, the million sprites interwove to create an unparalleled formation, exuding profound mystery. Countless flames sped through the formation like streaks of light, following specific patterns. They drew in energy from all directions, meticulously scanning the land.

Cheng Lingyu watched intently, heart filled with longing. This was the might of the Soul Martial Realm—power beyond description. In his memory, even his father Cheng Yun at his peak had only reached the Soul Martial Third Realm’s Fusion Stage, while Family Head Cheng Feng merely attained the Soul Martial Fourth Realm. Yet this sixteen-year-old girl had reached the Sixth Layer’s Soul Domain stage—simply unbelievable!

“Found it! It’s really here!”

Chi Mei’er’s exclamation snapped Cheng Lingyu from his thoughts. “Miss Mei’er found the thing?”

Beaming, Chi Mei’er stepped onto emerging red lotuses as flames converged. The massive fire domain rapidly shrank into a blazing lotus platform supporting them both. Flames coalesced into wing-like halos, framing the girl like a fire goddess adorned with nine glowing rings of divine might.

Below, flame clusters rushed from all sides to form a massive fiery Pattern. Golden light traced its edges like a gilded lotus. At the lotus heart, flickering red-yellow light formed a mirror-like surface showing dark crimson clouds within a pale red space-time deep underground.

“What’s that?”

Chi Mei’er’s eyes sparkled. “What I seek lies beneath Luoyang Ridge, though the exact spot needs pinpointing.” The nine halos around her rotated slowly—each similar yet distinct, containing hidden profundities. As they turned, the mirror-image clarified slightly. The shifting crimson clouds remained unclear, but their isolation in the featureless pale space became apparent.