Joint Divination

On the East Sea Shore, above the clouds.

Yuanshi sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, Jade Purity Immortal Light blazing around him more fiercely than ever before.

It surged and flowed like tangible waves, making him appear solemn and sacred.

The Innate Pure Qi Crystal between his brows shone brilliantly, strands of Clear Radiance slipping into the void like threads,

trying to forge a deeper connection with the unseen Heavenly Dao Laws, part the mist, and glimpse the truth.

Sect Master Tongtian held his breath, scarcely daring to exhale as he stared fixedly at Yuanshi, expectant yet restless, like a cat waiting for a fish to bite.

Laozi stood quietly to one side, his expression as calm as ever,

but the Yin-Yang Qi that had once circulated slowly around him quietly accelerated, invisibly washing away any possible interference and creating an absolutely pristine environment for Yuanshi's divination.

Time passed bit by bit. Yuanshi's brows furrowed ever deeper. Though the Immortal Light around him remained powerful, it faintly began to show signs of sluggishness.

The mist shrouding the Heavenly Traces was even thicker and tougher than he had imagined!

No matter how he urged his mana or wielded his Nascent Soul,

the source that had triggered his senses was like a flower in a mirror or the moon reflected in water.

It seemed within reach, yet was actually far beyond the horizon, always separated by an impenetrable Barrier.

After a long while, the Immortal Light around Yuanshi trembled slightly.

He slowly opened his eyes. Clear Light flickered within them, but there was also a trace of exhaustion and an even deeper confusion that he could not conceal.

"How was it?

Second Brother, did you figure it out?

What Treasure is it?"

Tongtian pressed impatiently.

Yuanshi slowly shook his head, his tone grave.

"It is still Chaotic and unclear.

The Heavenly Traces have been concealed with extreme thoroughness. It was not naturally formed; rather, it seems... some supreme power intervened to obscure it."

He paused, a flicker of confusion passing through his eyes.

"Yet this power is upright and peaceful, faintly carrying the intent of Order laws. It is not the work of heretics or demons. How strange..."

There were only a handful of powers in the Prehistoric World that could make even him, one of Pangu Orthodox, feel their supremacy and the Order they contained.

Who could it be?

And why would they conceal Heavenly Traces related to him?

Upon hearing this, Laozi's clear gaze shifted slightly, as though he had gained some insight. He spoke slowly.

"Since it is concealed by Order Power rather than malice, perhaps the time for this thing to enter the world has not yet come. Or perhaps... its very existence involves immense karma and should not be revealed too early."

"Then what do we do?

Just forget about it?"

Tongtian's face immediately fell, clearly unwilling to accept it.

"We've already come all this way! It feels like it's right ahead!"

Yuanshi fell silent for a moment. He too was unwilling to let it go.

That inexplicable sense of attraction had not weakened because his divination had failed. Instead, the obstruction had made it even clearer.

It was as though something deep within the East Sea were constantly calling to him.

The feeling made it impossible for his Dao Heart to settle completely.

He looked up at Laozi, his expression solemn.

"Eldest Brother, this concerns the smoothness of my Dao Heart. I fear it is no ordinary matter.

Could I ask Eldest Brother to act and borrow the might of the Taiji Diagram to lend me a hand?

The auras of us brothers are connected. Perhaps we may glimpse a thread of Heavenly Traces."

Laozi looked at Yuanshi's stubborn gaze, then glanced at Tongtian, whose face practically screamed that he wanted to stir up trouble.

After pondering briefly, he finally nodded slowly.

"Very well."

He understood his Second Brother's temperament well. If he did not get to the bottom of this, it might become an obsession.

Besides, the method concealing the Heavenly Traces had also stirred a bit of his curiosity.

As his words fell, Laozi raised two fingers like a sword and lightly drew them through the air before him.

An ancient, profound scroll slowly flew from Laozi's sleeve. It expanded with the wind and, in an instant, covered the three of them overhead!

The scroll was neither silk nor paper. It seemed to be condensed from endless Yin-Yang Qi.

Upon it, phantom images of mountains and rivers, Earth Veins, sun and moon, Stars, and the myriad races of the Prehistoric World flowed ceaselessly. It encompassed all things and evolved without end!

It was one of the Three Treasures of Heaven Opening, an Innate Supreme Treasure.

—The Taiji Diagram!

The Taiji Diagram slowly rotated, scattering countless Golden Bridges, stabilizing Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, and transforming Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

For a time, the space within ten thousand miles around the Three Pure Ones seemed to have been peeled away from the present Prehistoric World.

All tangled Causal Threads and chaotic Heavenly Traces

seemed to become far more orderly and distinct beneath the Taiji Diagram's golden radiance.

"Wow!"

Tongtian exclaimed in amazement. This was the first time he had seen his Eldest Brother so solemnly bring out the Taiji Diagram for divination.

He only felt incomparably comfortable, as though everything around him had been sorted into perfect order. Even his thoughts seemed to move faster.

"Many thanks, Eldest Brother."

Yuanshi's spirits rose. He closed his eyes once more, focused his mind, and formed a Mudra with his hands.

This time, with the Taiji Diagram suppressing the qi currents and sorting out the Heavenly Dao, he felt that the obstructing mist seemed to have thinned slightly!

He immediately poured his Jade Purity Immortal Light into the Taiji Diagram without holding anything back,

using the might of this Innate Supreme Treasure to launch another assault upon the Chaotic Heavenly Traces!

Laozi also extended a finger. Incomparably pure Taiqing Immortal Light flowed from his Fingertips, gentle yet vast. Like a trickling stream flowing into a great river, it passed through the Taiji Diagram and empowered Yuanshi's divination.

His path of divination was more detached from worldly matters, focusing on comprehending the overall flow and shifts in the greater situation.

Seeing this, Tongtian refused to be left out and shouted.

"I'll help too!"

As he spoke, a surge of fiery, sharp Shangqing Immortal Power, carrying the contradictory aura of Destruction and Vitality, charged recklessly into the Taiji Diagram's radiance.

His power was completely incompatible with Laozi's and Yuanshi's, full of Variables and unpredictability. It nearly disrupted the balance.

Laozi shook his head slightly, and the Taiji Diagram turned gently.

It cleverly guided Tongtian's restless Shangqing Immortal Power into the greater circulation of Yin and Yang,

and though it did not improve the divination's precision by much, it unexpectedly added a trace of vitality.

The three members of Pangu Orthodox had auras from the Same Source. Now, working together beneath the Taiji Diagram, their combined divination possessed enough might to shake the Heavenly Traces of the entire Prehistoric World!

This time, the results were markedly different!

Yuanshi's consciousness seemed to pierce through layer after layer of sheer gauze, and the mist before his eyes rapidly faded.

Though he still could not clearly see the source's exact appearance or origin,

he could vaguely sense fragments of information that had previously been beyond his reach:

The sensation truly came from the Deepest East Sea, from a place tightly guarded by an Innate Grand Formation...

That thing seemed... brimming with Vitality.

It was not an inanimate Spiritual Treasure. Instead, it carried an incomparably pure Innate Spiritual Essence.

There was even... an extremely faint aura that inexplicably felt familiar and close to him?

Its existence seemed... not to conflict with the heavens and earth of the Prehistoric World.

Instead, it faintly aligned with them, and perhaps even received some form of protection?

Its Deep Fortune... was extraordinarily profound!

More importantly, he felt a powerful intuition.

This thing seemed deeply connected to him, Yuanshi, and to the Three Pure Ones.

It might greatly aid their future cultivation and Dao Path!

"East Sea... Vitality... Deep Fortune... deeply connected... perhaps beneficial..."

Yuanshi kept his eyes tightly shut and muttered to himself, piecing together the vague fragments of information he had sensed.

The Taiji Diagram's radiance gradually dimmed. Laozi slowly withdrew his finger and said calmly,

"Let us stop here. If we force our way deeper, we may trigger a backlash from the Heavenly Traces. The loss would outweigh the gain."

Tongtian also withdrew his mana and asked anxiously.

"How was it, Second Brother? Did you see it clearly? What is it?"

Yuanshi slowly opened his eyes. Divine light filled them, his expression complicated. There was both the clarity of having gained something from his divination and the unwillingness of having failed to achieve a complete result.

He said in a deep voice,

"It is much clearer than before. We can confirm that the opportunity lies on an Immortal Island somewhere in the East Sea. It is something brimming with Vitality and possessing profound Deep Fortune, and it seems greatly beneficial to the future of us brothers."

"Brimming with Vitality? It's not a Treasure? Is it alive? A Spirit Root? Or..."

Tongtian grew even more curious.

"Greatly beneficial? Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find it! Turn the East Sea upside down, and we'll find it eventually!"

But Laozi shook his head slightly.

"The Heavenly Traces are still separated by a layer. This shows that its Karma has not yet arrived, or that the force guarding it is extremely powerful. Forcing the matter may create Variables."

His gaze swept over Yuanshi.

"Since we know it is beneficial and have roughly determined its location, we need only wait patiently."

Yuanshi, however, pressed his lips tightly once again.

Wait patiently?

No.

That final thin veil, that feeling of being so close yet unable to see clearly,

was like a feather lightly scratching at his Dao Heart, leaving him restless and unable to sit still.

That faint sense of familiarity and closeness in particular made it impossible for him to let go.

Even with the Taiji Diagram's aid and the combined efforts of the Three Pure Ones, they still could not completely break through the mist?

Where exactly did the power concealing the Heavenly Traces come from?

What, exactly, was in the depths of the East Sea?

His unwillingness had never been stronger.

He looked at the Taiji Diagram that Laozi was about to withdraw.

A bolder, even somewhat risky thought suddenly surged into Yuanshi's heart.