Chapter 108: Profound Karma, Secrets of the Dragon Transformation
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Han Chong and Mingzhen passed through the bustling outer city and arrived at the eastern gate of the inner city. This was no longer a place where ordinary commoners could enter at will. They had to pay ten taels of silver, obtain an identity permit, and present it before they were admitted.
Under the gate, blue-robed officials were likewise comparing visitors with their portraits. Judging by their auras, they were likely martial artists at the pinnacle of the Acquired Realm.
Unwilling to linger, Han Chong casually chose an alias, obtained a permit, and entered.
There were many government offices in Fengdu, and the two soon became completely disoriented. Just as they were wandering about helplessly, a greeting suddenly came from a secluded corner at the bend of a street.
“Hey, you two young fellows! Come over here!”
They turned to look and saw a disheveled old Taoist smiling and beckoning. He had set up a stall for fortune-telling and character divination.
Han Chong had never cared much for wandering mystics, but since they had only just arrived and needed to ask for directions, he approached the stall.
“Are the two of you newcomers to Fengdu? Would you like me to divine your fortune?”
The old Taoist’s white brows hung down to his cheeks. He pinched his fingers with his left hand and waved a palm-leaf fan with his right as he asked in a sing-song voice.
“Indeed. But tell me, Daoist, are your divinations accurate?” Han Chong nodded and sat down beside Mingzhen on the long bench.
“Ha! I am Fortune-Counting Sage. Above, I can divine the Nine Heavens and the Great Golden Immortal Realms; below, I can consult the netherworld and the asuras. I can calculate your past three lives and nine incarnations, and foresee earthquakes and upheavals of heaven and earth. There is no one I cannot calculate for, and nothing I cannot divine.”
“Enough! Your boasts are loud enough to shake the heavens, but you still need genuine skill to back them up. Otherwise, I may have to drag you before the authorities.”
Han Chong scratched his head. These wandering mystics might fool ordinary commoners, but their tricks could hardly disturb his state of mind.
Yet in the next instant, a mysterious radiance flashed in the old Taoist’s eyes, jolting Han Chong’s heart.
He felt as though his entire body had been seen through. It was not a pleasant sensation, and his brows creased slightly.
“Ah!”
The old Taoist cried out softly and covered his eyes, pretending to be in pain. He rubbed them gently, and only after a moment did he seem to recover somewhat.
When he lowered his hand, his eyes were streaked with blood, and traces of it marked the corners. The sight was chilling.
“What profound karma you bear! I have suffered the backlash—truly, I have suffered the backlash. I never imagined there could be such a bizarre origin in this world. Please leave, sir. I am closing my stall for the day.”
Han Chong clenched both fists. He had only just entered Fengdu, yet beneath the walls of the inner city he had already encountered an extraordinary person. His karma was indeed weighty, and his origins were shrouded in mystery.
He had crossed souls into this world and taken possession of the Ninth Prince’s body. Not only did he bear the mysterious Bloodshadow Serpent, he had also been afflicted with the God-Slaying Life-Chasing Gu cast by a Grand Witchcraft Sorcerer.
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If it had been an ordinary poison-gu, it would not have been much of a concern. He could likely have purged it through the Art of Consumption and the power of merit.
Unfortunately, this gu-spell directly targeted something intangible: his lifespan.
Witchcraft sorcerers often used strange and uncanny curses to gain the initiative, defeat the strong with the weak, and kill before their opponents could react. This spell, moreover, had been cast by a Grand Witchcraft Sorcerer. Even cultivators within the Spirit Refining and Returning to Emptiness Realm might find it impossible to escape death.
That this old Taoist had seen at a glance that Han Chong’s karma was profound and his origins bizarre only tightened the knot in his heart.
Was not the identity of the Ninth Prince itself a mass of deep karma? His mother had been murdered, his body had been infested by gu—what could be more bizarre in origin?
Han Chong’s fate and identity were now irrevocably bound to those of the Ninth Prince. There was no way to sever them. The only thing he could do was investigate everything from beginning to end and uncover the complete truth.
Han Chong took out a gold ingot and slapped it onto the divination table.
“Old Daoist, this is your fee. Please do not begrudge me your guidance. If you can truly point me in the right direction, there will be further rewards.”
People nearby noticed Han Chong producing such a large gold ingot to seek a divination and gathered around, whispering and pointing.
“There goes another young man being swindled by that old fortune-teller. He is beyond saving!”
“Exactly. These fortune-tellers make a living cheating and deceiving people. Who would have thought we would meet a rich young fool today?”
“Tsk, tsk, what a beautiful gold ingot. It must weigh fifty taels! That would be enough to purchase an entire estate in the inner city. This old Taoist has struck it rich!”
No matter what the onlookers muttered, Han Chong paid them no attention. It was not that he truly believed in fortune-telling and divination.
Rather, the old Taoist’s casual glance earlier had clearly not been an ordinary illusion technique. Its profundity and mystery had even surpassed Little Gray’s Evil-Spirit Ghost Eyes.
The moment the old Taoist noticed the gold ingot, he hurriedly swept his sleeve over it and then furtively tucked it into his robes. Sitting upright, he arranged his features into solemnity.
“Ahem! Since you hold this poor Daoist in such high regard, I shall risk everything. Even if I must endure the agony of backlash for divulging the secrets of Heaven, I will help you cast off your misfortune and seek out a narrow path to survival!
“However, this place is too noisy. Please accompany me to my residence, where we may discuss the matter in detail.”
The old Taoist packed up his stall and led Han Chong and Mingzhen through a maze of remote alleys. His pace grew increasingly swift, until it was no longer inferior to that of an Innate expert.
Eventually, even Han Chong found it difficult to keep up.
“Brother Han, this humble monk cannot go on. You pursue him. I will wait for you at the place where the divination stall was.”
Mingzhen had already fallen behind.
Han Chong silently concluded that the old Taoist was indeed no ordinary man. Gradually, he was nearly about to lose sight of him. Could this old Taoist be a martial artist of the Celestial Extremity Realm—or perhaps a great master of Spirit Refining and Returning to Emptiness?
Ahead, the old Taoist, whose figure had nearly become a blur, smiled smugly.
This boy’s speed was astonishingly fast!
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Even a top-tier qi cultivator would find it no easy task to shake him off. Yet this boy had happened to encounter Fortune-Counting Sage and had given him a gold ingot for nothing!
But just then, the old Taoist sensed the young man behind him suddenly increase his speed by nearly half, startling him.
Han Chong had grown annoyed at being deliberately toyed with by the old Taoist, so he had learned another technique through the system.
Swiftstride: Move with astonishing speed, traveling as though flying. At the highest level, one’s spirit may transcend the physical body, allowing the primordial spirit to leave the body.
...
“Huff, huff. Young friend, your footwork is truly extraordinary. I concede.”
The two of them sped to a quiet hill in the northwestern part of the inner city. At last, the old Taoist stopped, leaning against the mountainside and panting heavily.
Han Chong, by contrast, remained calm and unruffled. He appeared before the old Taoist with his arms folded, standing at ease. The Swiftstride technique consumed vital energy, but it had not exhausted him.
“Heh. Just who are you, Daoist? If I were not particularly skilled in movement techniques, you really would have shaken me off. Could it be that you are nothing more than one of those charlatans who cheat and swindle people?”
“Ha! I am merely an itinerant Taoist. There is no need for you to pry further, young friend. As for the art of divination, its backlash is exceedingly severe. The secrets of Heaven must not be revealed.”
“Hmph. In that case, I shall follow you wherever you go. Otherwise, would not the fee I paid have been wasted?”
The old Taoist’s eyes darted about. This boy was truly troublesome. He forced a troubled smile and said,
“Very well. Since you are so sincere, I shall make an exception and offer you a little guidance, lest you take a wrong step and throw away your life.
“The Bloodshadow Serpent within you should be transforming into a flood dragon by now, should it not?”
Han Chong’s pupils contracted.
Several days earlier, after he had slain the flood-dragon spirit, the Bloodshadow Serpent had returned to his body and begun thrashing violently within his chest, as though undergoing excruciating torment.
Then it had revealed a ravenous hunger, almost like that of a gluttonous beast. Unable to endure the pain that night, Han Chong had fed it all four drops of the flood-dragon bloodline essence he had tricked away from the flood-dragon spirit.
At last, the Bloodshadow Serpent had fallen silent and coiled itself into a ball. Han Chong felt a heavy weight within his heart, as though an iron sphere were taking shape inside it.
Meanwhile, his martial cultivation had leapt directly to the pinnacle of the Celestial Human Realm. He felt as though he were about to shed his mortal form and soar into the heavens. With only one step remaining, he would enter the Realm of Heavenly Transformation.
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