Heavenly Divination

Mingren could not accept that he was the clown in this farce. Yet Lianshan Xin did not care in the least what Mingren thought. He merely looked toward Qi Shiyun. "Tanhua Qi, allow your student to present this little snake to you as a gift, in gratitude for recognizing my worth." He was a man who knew how to be grateful. Besides, he had an even bigger hunting target: genuine True Dragon bloodline. Compared to that, Mingren was not even worth mentioning. Qi Shiyun glanced at Mingren, then shook her head. "It is thoughtful of you, but a mere ordinary Sakura royal is useless to me right now. Their destiny is far too meager. If it were one of our Great Yu princes, that would be another story." *I don't have a prince,* Lianshan Xin thought to himself, *but I do have a princess.* *It's just that I'm afraid you wouldn't be able to handle her.* *Better that I take care of it myself.* "By the way, how did your seclusion go this time, Tanhua Qi?" "Not bad. I am merely half a step away from condensing a domain, but my foundation is still slightly lacking." Though Qi Shiyun said it was not bad, she could not conceal the regret in her tone. She had intended to press forward in one burst and ascend straight into the Domain realm. Yet in the end, she fell short by half a step. That half-step was the true difference in innate ability between her and Zhang Aniu. "Lord Heavenly Sword formed his Heavenly Sword Domain at the age of twenty-three. He is simply too monstrous a genius; I cannot compare to him," Qi Shiyun lamented with deep emotion. She was already twenty-four this year. Even if she broke through right now, she would still be a year behind Zhang Aniu. Lianshan Xin consoled her, "Tanhua Qi, your innate ability might fall slightly short, but your name wins by a landslide!" Qi Shiyun could not hold back a laugh, then gave a friendly warning: "Lord Heavenly Sword dislikes it when people call him by his real name. Whatever you do, never say it to his face in the future." "I know." *I only say it behind his back.* "Do you two truly not want Myriad Manifestations true qi?" Seeing that neither Lianshan Xin nor Qi Shiyun had any intention of questioning him further, Mingren panicked. Lianshan Xin was indeed somewhat tempted by Myriad Manifestations true qi. After all, such an ability was an exceptional tool for wandering the jianghu, killing people, and taking their treasures. However, Qi Shiyun brought him back to reality: "The Myriad Manifestations Classic is one of the Demon Cult's five supreme techniques. It comes with peculiar restrictions and requirements. We cannot cultivate it." "Cannot cultivate it? Why?" Lianshan Xin didn't understand. Qi Shiyun shook her head. "I don't know the specifics either. There are likely special requirements regarding the practitioner and the cultivation materials. Even within Thousand Faces' branch, very few people cultivate Myriad Manifestations true qi." Lianshan Xin asked in puzzlement, "Could it be that the Myriad Manifestations Classic requires a spiritual root, just like our lineage's Dragon-Subduing Immortal Art?" "Not quite. Our lineage's Dragon Supporting Art is a true immortal art, while the Myriad Manifestations Classic is at most a Heaven-grade martial arts manual. It certainly cannot compare to what we have." Great Yu's classification of cultivation manuals was very simple: Heaven, Earth, Profound, Yellow! Above Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow lay the supreme immortal arts, but ordinary martial artists had no hope of ever encountering them. "Even though it cannot compare to the true immortal arts we cultivate, many divine martial arts techniques were adapted from immortal arts of a thousand years ago. As a result, they often carry all sorts of bizarre restrictions, and only a fortunate few can cultivate them by chance. Perhaps that comes down to each person's fate. As Lord Heavenly Divination often says, each person has their fate, and it is decreed by Heaven." Lianshan Xin nodded slightly. He could just about accept this explanation. Techniques were not to be passed down lightly; if anyone could cultivate divine manuals and wondrous methods, the world would truly descend into chaos. "Each person has their fate, decreed by Heaven? I don't really believe that. I believe more that human effort can triumph over Heaven," Lianshan Xin said. Qi Shiyun smiled. "All of us in the Dragon Supporting lineage believe that man can triumph over Heaven." Anyone could lie flat and do nothing, but the Dragon Subduing lineage could not. Their lineage had to stir up trouble; otherwise, they could make no progress. "Actually, Nine Heavens seized the first volume of the Myriad Manifestations Classic long ago. If you're interested, you can give it a try and see if you can achieve basic mastery. So far, though Nine Heavens has no shortage of prodigies, not a single person has managed to master even the basics—not even me." Lianshan Xin considered his own martial arts talent and felt he was better suited for cultivating immortality. There was no need to waste energy on such a martial technique. "Tanhua Qi, can Lord Heavenly Divination divine everything?" Lianshan Xin asked tentatively. Among the Nine Heavens, Heavenly Divination placed the greatest pressure on Lianshan Xin. Because he had no idea how many of his secrets Heavenly Divination could divine. Qi Shiyun clearly guessed Lianshan Xin's misgivings and offered him reassurance. "Rest assured. Unless we come knocking on his door to seek a divination ourselves, Lord Heavenly Divination will not cast hexagrams on Nine Heavens insiders, especially direct heirs of the other eight lineages. Otherwise, if something problematic were uncovered, it would easily provoke internal strife." Lianshan Xin remained skeptical. "Can we really be sure Lord Heavenly Divination doesn't secretly divine in private?" "No one can guarantee that. But what can be guaranteed is that Lord Heavenly Divination keeps his lips sealed. Even if he does divine something, he has never leaked a secret. Moreover, Lord Heavenly Divination is much like the Heavenly Physician—both are reclusive masters who rarely make public appearances. You needn't worry about them," Qi Shiyun consoled him. *That's because you don't know what I've done,* Lianshan Xin thought. *If you knew what I've been up to, you'd be fearing for your own life as well.* Seeing that Lianshan Xin was still anxious, Qi Shiyun patiently explained, "'One must never divine to the very end, lest one provoke the fickleness of the Heavenly Dao.' That is a saying Lord Heavenly Divination often keeps on his lips. Among the nine surviving lineages, ours has the highest mortality rate, followed closely by Heavenly Divination's lineage. Every time they cast a hexagram, they burn their own lifespan. That is why even His Majesty cannot easily summon Lord Heavenly Divination." "It burns lifespan? Well, that's just fine then." Lianshan Xin truly breathed a sigh of relief. This certainly matched his impression of Heavenly Divination's lineage. Heaven's Chosen were easily killed by others. Heavenly Divination easily burned away their own lifespans until dead. Very fair. Put that way, he could indeed lower his guard a little. Lianshan Xin judged others by himself: one cultivated immortality to achieve longevity and eternal life, not to burn lifespan investigating who killed the Emperor's daughter. Besides, the Emperor didn't even know his daughter had been killed. The top benefactor of the realm probably didn't even know how many imperial offspring he had scattered across the common world. Lianshan Xin swiftly composed himself. "Hey! I'm still here!" Lianshan Xin and Qi Shiyun conversed as if nobody else were there, discussing inside secrets of the Nine Heavens. Hearing all this broke Mingren out in cold sweat; he wished he could seal off his hearing completely. He didn't want to know this much! Lianshan Xin made one final check to be safe: "Tanhua Qi, if Mingren were to unfortunately pass away, would there be trouble on the Sakura Kingdom's end?" Qi Shiyun gave an amused smile. "Of course there will. But in our lineage, how could we cultivate without trouble?" "Makes sense." Lianshan Xin nodded in deep agreement. Then, he struck his palm down onto the crown of Mingren's head. In the next moment, true qi swept through his entire body. The Dragon Slaying True Intent merged completely within, forming a seamless, harmonious whole. Lianshan Xin formally stepped into the True Intent realm!