They soon entered the Insight Hall, which was its own separate world.
"Come, come, sit down here," the small child said as he led them to his body, the jade bed.
While at first, it was small enough only for one person, it soon enlarged to where both Silas and Kai could easily fit with room to spare.
Silas and Kai both sat down in a lotus position, Kai even transforming into his human form.
To their front right was a large, vast, and towering mountain, and to their front left was a wide, deep, and ancient lake.
As Silas settled onto the jade bed, he immediately felt a cool, soothing energy rise from beneath him, almost as if the bed was alive and pulsing with power.
The sensation spread through his body, calming his mind and quieting his thoughts. His breathing slowed, and a strange clarity washed over him. The world around him seemed sharper, more vibrant.
The mountain in the distance seemed to pulse with ancient strength, each peak a reflection of untold wisdom, while the deep lake shimmered with secrets long forgotten.
Silas felt as though his mind was expanding, stretching out to touch the mysteries of the Dao itself. Time seemed to slow, and with every passing moment, the connection deepened.
The jade bed cradled him in this otherworldly stillness, guiding him closer to comprehension with each breath he took.
"Ha, I can tell you are taking a liking to this place already…" the small child said with a laugh as he stood from afar and watched.
"But this is only one of the great things about this place…" the small child said, wanting to grab their attention.
And it quickly worked. Both Silas and Kai opened their eyes, no longer grasping for what little insights they could find.
"What is the second great thing?" Kai quickly asked.
"Ha, little mouse, you might not have a second great thing, but Silas just might… Ha ha…" the small child began to laugh.
After a few moments went by, with both Silas and Kai impatiently waiting, the small child finally stopped his laughter and continued, "The old spirit of this estate is the second great thing… He has been alive for an almost incomprehensible amount of time, and in this time, he has meditated and gained insights on countless Daos… If you are lucky enough if he is in the right mood, and if he is actually fond of you…" The small child now looked at Kai with a smirk, "He just might teach you a thing or two…"
Silas and Kai's eyes both widened at this. They could possibly get guidance from a treasure spirit of an immortal estate that was owned and created by a Dao Ancestor (remember, Dao Ancestor = comprehended a Heavenly Dao to perfection).
"Senior?" Silas quickly asked in hopes that the old man would take on his request.
And luckily, a moment later, the old man appeared, overlooking the lake with his back to Silas and Kai.
"Yes?" the old man said.
"Senior, would you please give us guidance?" Silas asked as he bowed his head, touching the ground.
"Bow!" he sent to Kai.
"Hmm… you, Silas, are new, but so far you seem to have been following the path our late master has set…" the old man said.
'Yes, thank God,' Silas thought internally but did not show any sign on his face. While he felt bad for Kai, who was it that asked him to act like a spoiled, arrogant, and prideful child?
"Dammit, boss…" Kai quickly sent him.
"I told you to act better; you should have listened," Silas sent back in a stern tone, not wanting to hear any excuses from his third/little brother.
"I promise I'll act better, Senior!" Kai said as he banged his head on the ground.
"Good… we will see if you are worthy of any guidance in the future," the old man said as he turned to face Silas.
"I can indeed give you some small guidance, as the young spirit has suggested, but I'm nothing compared to our late master, so you will have to put up with what little I have to offer…"
"Luckily, the late master personally gave me guidance for many years before his death so that I could better help him in guiding future disciples… alas as a treasured spirit, there is only so much my feeble mind can comprehend… While I have mastered countless Dao paths and touched many grand Daos, that is as far as I can reach…"
"Senior, I would be honored for even the slightest guidance on my path," Silas said as he raised his head.
The old man nodded, "Very well."
He then raised his hand, and suddenly Kai seemed to disappear. He was still physically there, and he could still meditate on the Dao, but he could not hear, see, or gain anything from what the old man was about to show and explain.
"Until he has shown improvement in his respect toward the late master and his teachings, he will gain nothing but the bare requirements the late master has set for me…" the old man said.
Silas nodded his head, "As he should."
He felt bad for Kai, but if he couldn't follow the rules and show respect for this place, then he did indeed not deserve all it had to offer.
"I've seen your paths. You currently stride down the path of destruction, death, and the scythe… I too have gained a small amount of insight into these Daos…" the old man said as he summoned a massive 10 by 10 meter plain stone wall.
"The Lesser Dao of Crumbling," the old man said as he brought down his hand, and a grey ripple was sent out, crashing onto the wall, eating several meters into it.
"The Lesser Dao of Rot," he once again brought down his hand, and this time a black energy was sent out and began to rot out the stone as if it were mere paper.
"The Lesser Dao of Cleaving," the old man sent a massive 5-meter-long crescent blade of energy crashing into the wall, where it then cut several meters deep.
***
The old man's presence loomed over the small world as his demonstrations of the Lesser Daos slowly faded from the air.
Silas, still absorbing the sight of the crumbling wall, felt a deeper pull within him—an instinct that had grown sharper ever since he started his journey down the path of destruction, death, and the scythe. The sight of the decayed stone gnawed at him, calling to something unspoken inside his mind.
"You've progressed well in the Lesser Dao of Crumbling," the old man said, his voice measured, as though he were observing Silas with newfound interest. "But you have only scratched the surface."
Silas nodded, not fully understanding what the old man was hinting at. He felt that he had long been in tune with the lessor Dao of Crumbling… he had even managed to reach minor completion in it.
But then again now, standing before the stone wall, the pull felt different—stronger, deeper, as if something lay just beyond his reach.
***
The small child, still watching from the corner with his usual playful expression, suddenly tilted his head. His eyes narrowed slightly as he observed Silas more closely. "Hmm, something's different…" he muttered under his breath.
The old man raised a brow but said nothing. Instead, he turned back to Silas. "Focus," he commanded. "Feel the energy of the Crumbling around you. This is more than destruction. It is time, entropy, the slow dissolution of all things. Everything must return to its origin, Silas. Let that truth sink into your being."
Silas closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The jade bed beneath him pulsed gently, grounding him as he began to reach out with his senses. His mind extended into the air, feeling the subtle vibrations of energy. In his imagination, he saw the stone wall not as a solid barrier, but as something fragile—constantly breaking down at an imperceptible pace. Tiny particles eroded away, becoming dust, as if time itself was peeling the world apart.
He focused more deeply, and soon, he began to feel it—small, invisible strands of energy surrounding everything. They were faint, barely detectable, but they were everywhere. Each strand seemed to represent a point where the natural world began to weaken, where things were already decaying in slow, unrelenting waves. Silas's heartbeat quickened as he realized he could feel them. He could almost see them.
But still, he didn't know what this meant.
"What... is this?" Silas asked, his voice soft, as though speaking would shatter the fragile understanding he was forming.
The old man didn't respond right away. He simply watched, a flicker of something like disbelief crossing his ancient eyes. The small child, who had been silent for some time, blinked in surprise, now sensing something neither of them had expected.
"He's... this close already?" the child whispered, his eyes wide with awe.