Naked Sword Art

"[ Thousand Veils Art ]"

Realm: Divine Realm

Effect: A supreme technique that allows complete manipulation of sensory perception—sight, sound, emotion, and memory—creating layered illusions so convincing they can even fool the target's soul.

…

Xiao Fang hadn't noticed it earlier because he was only in the 8th stage of the Core Realm with the Dual Cultivation method himself, so he had only been looking through the Foundation, Refinement, and Core Realm techniques.

Although the [ Thousand Veils Art ] was classified as a Divine Realm technique, its description revealed that it wasn't a single technique, but rather the culmination of a progressive path. Before one could grasp its true form, two prerequisite techniques had to be mastered—one at the Core Realm, and another at the Profound Realm.

.

Name: Subtle Suggestion

Realm: Core Realm

Effect: Strengthens the ability to give hypnotic commands, subtly compelling others to act according to your will—especially during dual cultivation when their defenses are low.

.

Name: Memory Fracture

Realm: Profound Realm

Effect: Erases or alters short-term or emotionally vulnerable memories during or after cultivation. Requires both parties to be spiritually connected.

.

"The [ Thousand Veils Art ] was developed over three hundred years ago by one of our clan's patriarchs," Yin Fei explained. "It's said he created an entire series of techniques, each as dangerous as the next, but he chose to hide them—fearing they might one day fall into the wrong hands."

"Subtle Suggestion…" Xiao Fang murmured as he studied the practice method of the technique.

"His name was Mo Tianyin, and he was the greatest genius in our clan's history. It is said that this technique is the most difficult to master. Even for Dual Cultivators like us, just the Core Realm prerequisite technique [ Subtle Suggestion ] could take years—if not decades to learn."

"What about you then, have you learned it?" Xiao Fang asked.

Xiao Fang thought if she was going to suggest that technique to him, then she must've learned at least one of the prerequisite techniques.

Yin Fei rubbed her nose with a proud little smile.

"I've already mastered both [ Subtle Suggestion ] and [ Memory Fracture ]. But I can't begin training in the [ Thousand Veils Art ] until I reach the Divine Realm myself, and for that, I need the completed Dual Cultivation method."

"And what about my mother?" Xiao Fang asked.

"She hasn't learned it," Yin Fei replied. "She once told me the technique is so demanding, only one other person besides Mo Tianyin had ever successfully learned it."

"Only one?"

"As far as we know. He was our last Patriarch. Many of our clansmen think he was able to use that very technique to erase himself from history, to this day, nobody knows where he is, or what had happened to him."

"That doesn't make sense, if nobody remembers him, then how do you know you don't remember?"

The way Xiao Fang asked the question might've sounded odd to anyone else, but it made Yin Fei laugh softly—because she understood exactly what he was getting at.

"That's because your mother remembers him," she said. "She told us many things about him, though most people struggle to believe it, because it all sounds so unbelievable."

"What kind of things?" Xiao Fang asked, his curiosity piqued.

"She said he was a genius with unprecedented talent—someone who could master any technique in a single night and tame any heart with just a glance. Apparently, he had perfected every dual cultivation method, including the [ Thousand Veil Art ], within a single year… and was already stepping into the Heavenly Realm before his twentieth birthday," Yin Fei shook her head, unconvinced. "But even more unbelievable than that—she claimed he once defeated several Heavenly Realm cultivators without lifting a single finger. Doesn't she know what kind of existence someone in the Heavenly Realm is?"

Xiao Fang did.

He remembered getting casually punched by one—the sheer force behind it—and the helplessness he felt as his life nearly slipped away.

Hearing Yin Fei speak about the last Patriarch of the Dual Cultivation clan reminded him of the rumors Luo Biya had told him. Whoever this guy was, there was certainly more to his story.

Reading the [ Thousand Veil Art ] technique, Xiao Fang's brows eventually furrowed slightly. Even after dual cultivating with Yin Fei, he still found the comprehension of the technique elusive.

Noticing his frustration, Yin Fei smiled gently.

"Would you like me to demonstrate it for you?"

Xiao Fang looked at her.

"Sure, try it."

Yin Fei's expression softened, her lips curling into a gentle smile as she leaned forward.

"Let me show you something," she said, her voice just above a whisper. "Just… look into my eyes."

Xiao Fang nodded, casually locking eyes with her. He'd stared into those eyes many times before. But this time was different.

In the blink of an eye, her irises darkened—then ignited with a violet glow, like twin amethysts catching the light of another world. A strange, arcane symbol slowly spun to life within them, etched in faint golden lines, its form too complex to comprehend, too precise to be human.

But she didn't speak.

She didn't even move.

At first, Xiao Fang thought she was simply waiting for something to happen. But then he noticed the tension in her jaw… the subtle tremble in her lips… the way her breathing had completely stopped.

She wasn't demonstrating the technique.

She was trapped inside it.

A bead of sweat rolled down her flawless cheek, catching the glow of her eyes as it slid down toward her chin. Her entire body had gone rigid, her pupils shaking, locked onto something far beyond him—far beyond the room, even.

"Fei?" he asked carefully, voice low.

No answer.

"Yin Fei, what's wrong?"

Still nothing.

Then she swallowed—loud, dry, and unnatural—like her body was reacting on its own, trying to protect her from whatever her mind had just touched.

Her lips finally parted. Not to explain, not to cast the technique.

But to ask the most terrifying question he had ever heard in a voice that didn't even sound like hers anymore:

"…What is that?"