The moment Su Li drank the Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea, his mind cleared completely, and a sudden enlightenment struck him!
Like a final flash before death, the course of his life up to this point—including his life before transmigrating—played back through his mind at astonishing speed!
Then, he suddenly realized: this wouldn't do. He had to change!
This was a cruel world beyond imagining. He had thought that the more precise and detailed his deductions were, the more he would astonish people and earn their respect. The exact opposite was true! If he said too much, people would think he was plotting and scheming, that someone was backing him and that he had an ulterior motive! Even someone like Hua Ziyan, who wasn't particularly calculating, would think that way. As for those old monsters who had lived for a thousand years, there was no need to mention them!
Even worse, the more you knew, the sooner you died! Nobody liked having their deepest secrets—even their taboos—known by someone else.
Give someone a cup of rice, and they'll be grateful; give them a whole bushel, and they'll resent you. That principle held true everywhere!
So from now on, whenever it came to Heavenly Secrets, he'd offer a casual pointer, a slight hint. Believe it or don't!
And he absolutely had to put on the airs befitting his status! He'd put on a bit of a front before, but it was nowhere near enough!
He'd thought too highly of these cultivators and too little of himself!
For eighteen years, he'd played the fool and pretended to be crazy just to stay alive, and he'd truly made himself into a useless person! Even after obtaining the system and gaining the ability to see into other people's Life Archives, he still saw himself as an ordinary person! He'd still been thinking about proving himself, winning people's respect, even laying down his life to protect them?!
How naively ridiculous! But it was also because he wasn't worthy of the position he'd put himself in!
Without strength, fame, and status, even if he deduced the coming calamity that would engulf the world, people would only think he was fearmongering!
His Life Archive System was so powerful it defied the heavens. With an ability like this, even if he was eager to obtain a huge amount of Heavenly Secrets Value, casually helping people make deductions was simply too low-class!
Why did nobody dare provoke the Heavenly Secrets Masters of this world?
Why were even ordinary Observers of Trends enough to make so many powerful cultivators wary?
Why were Heavenly Secrets Masters from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion personally welcomed by the Holy Lords wherever they went, and treated as honored guests by the rulers of the ancient lands?
In the end, it all came down to that ability to command the Heavenly Secrets!
And compared to Zhuge Qingchen, how much stronger was his own ability?
At the very least, his ability to make deductions was far, far superior!
And he was still going out of his way to make deductions for people? Still putting on a smile to curry favor? How pathetic was that! He must've been kicked in the head by a donkey!
What you couldn't have always kept you restless; once you had it, it was tasteless... No, once you had it, you simply didn't know how to treasure it!
So all his previous ideas hadn't just been wrong—they'd been disastrously wrong!
Su Li's expression seemed calm, but inside, his thoughts were another matter entirely.
From the moment he'd taken that first sip of Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea, he'd realized that his behavior so far hadn't made him seem like a master at all. He'd looked like a nouveau riche!
Worse still, although he'd brought up the difficulties of cultivation in the name of a friend, he'd inadvertently revealed that he himself might be unable to cultivate. That was... unbelievably stupid!
Although Hua Yunxiao, Zhuge Qingchen, and even Yun Wanchu weren't entirely certain about this weakness, they'd definitely begun to suspect it!
"I shouldn't have come to Wanli Holy Land! Once this matter is settled, I'm leaving immediately!"
Su Li had already made up his mind!
For the first time, he realized that aside from his peerless looks, enough to make even Heaven jealous, he was lacking in every other respect!
Fortunately, Mu Yuxi, Hua Ziyan, Yun Wanchu, and Hua Yunxiao had all behaved well so far.
Even Zhuge Qingchen was frank and open!
If he'd encountered someone with ill intentions, they might have used some vicious method to subdue and imprison him, forcing him to make all kinds of deductions—or even forcibly possessed his body and refined his soul to pry out his secrets...
Su Li didn't dare imagine what might have happened.
Holding the Heart-Inquiry Tea, Su Li took several more sips, and his feelings gradually settled.
This unexpected turn of events had made him realize that he was facing an "intelligence" crisis.
Before transmigrating, he wouldn't have called himself clever, but he wasn't stupid, either.
But in this cruel world, this was an extremely serious "hidden danger"!
With that in mind, Su Li found himself longing for the Latent Dragon Pill even more.
At the same time, Su Li had also discovered that the Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea worked on him!
This wasn't the "temporary" effect he'd felt after taking the Qi Replenishing Pill. It was as if his soul had been cleansed, bringing clarity of mind and a state of absolute calm, as though he had everything under control.
Su Li liked this feeling very much.
"What a fine cup of Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea!"
After a long while, Su Li let out a breath and praised it.
Hua Yunxiao, Yun Wanchu, Hua Ziyan, and the others had been watching the changes in Su Li's expression the whole time. Hearing this, they all looked relieved.
Although Hua Yunxiao desperately wanted a sip, the moment he heard Su Li's praise, he immediately signaled to Yun Qingxuan, Yun Qinghong, and Hua Ziyan.
Yun Qingxuan, Yun Qingxuan, and Hua Ziyan understood at once.
"Master Su, since you like this tea, Qingxuan would like to present this Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea to you. Master Su saved our lives. You must accept this pot of tea."
Yun Qingxuan bowed gracefully.
Su Li had already decided to change, so he was no longer acting so casually and lazily, so approachable and easygoing.
He let his smile fade, his expression utterly calm. "This is your opportunity. I merely offered a casual word of guidance. One cup is enough to honor your kind intentions. You can divide the rest among yourselves."
He didn't take the Purple Rhyme Pot.
The Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea was excellent, but that first cup had already been plenty. By the time he'd finished it, it had stopped having much effect.
More importantly, he didn't have any spiritual energy. He couldn't activate the Purple Rhyme Pot, so he wouldn't be able to pour out any tea.
Of course, that wasn't the real reason he didn't want the tea. He'd never been a greedy person.
Since he'd decided to play the part of a true master of Heavenly Secrets Divine Calculation, he had to maintain his prestige.
If he asked for help over every little thing, what would become of a master's dignity?
Others might not think much of it, but he couldn't indulge himself. He wouldn't allow anything so low-class to happen!
Yun Qingxuan froze. Then ripples stirred in her heart once more—this was Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea!
The peerless holy water said to produce "one saintly infant with every cup"!
Hua Yunxiao looked deeply at Su Li, his eyes filled with even more admiration.
Yun Wanchu, observing his expression, immediately said, "Since Master Su has said that this is everyone's opportunity, Yun Qingxuan, hurry up and thank Master Su for his generous gift!"
"Yun Qingxuan thanks Master Su for his generous gift."
Yun Qingxuan bowed once more.
Su Li gave a slight nod and accepted her salute with complete composure.
"Holy Lord, since Master Su said this is an opportunity for everyone... then, Holy Lord, you and this lord should go first."
Yun Qingxuan was quite clear-headed.
The tea was precious, and she was the one who had brought it out, but she knew what she should and shouldn't do.
She didn't know who Hua Yunxiao was, but she knew his origins were extraordinary. The Holy Lord addressed him as "lord," and Zhuge Qingchen called him "Imperial Lord"!
There were more than ten people present, and each of them received a cup of Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea.
After they had finished drinking, Su Li glanced at Hua Ziyan and said, "Fairy Li, come here."
Hua Ziyan was in the midst of a transformation. Although many realizations had occurred to her, she still gathered all her thoughts and immediately came to stand before Su Li.
Hua Yunxiao understood. He paused his meditation and waved his hand, releasing a barrier of light that shielded Su Li and Hua Ziyan and separated them from the others.
"Master Su."
Hua Ziyan bowed slightly, her voice gentle and full of respect.
Su Li checked her Life Archive. On the system panel, the entry under Fate still shone with four scarlet, glaring characters: "About to Perish"!
Su Li didn't spend 1,000 Heavenly Secrets Value to examine it more deeply.
He took out the Six Roots Nine Night Spirit Sunflower Cold Stems and cast a divination on the spot.
The moment he did, a Feng Di Guan Hexagram appeared. The trigram symbol was "oo××××" (see the bonus chapter at the end of the chapter).
This was a moderately auspicious hexagram. Its verse read: A magpie finds a late-night roost in the woods, unaware that a heron was already within. Though they dwell together, ill will stirs; to meet beyond the hexagram brings no small trouble.
The basic reading was this: hardship first, ease later; plans would be difficult, but after the season changed, sorrow would turn to joy.
This hexagram was formed by two different trigrams, Kun below and Xun above. Wind moved over the earth, symbolizing virtue and instruction spreading far and wide. The Guan Hexagram and the Lin Hexagram were inverse hexagrams, complementing one another. Those above surveyed the world through the lens of morality, while those below gazed up in reverence, their hearts yielding and following.
Judging from Hua Ziyan's overall image, the wind moved across the earth of Kun: yin grew while yang waned, the righteous path weakened, and all things struggled to advance.
Judging from her fate, she was at a turning point. She should observe closely, comprehend with care, and guard against an Inner Demon invading her mind. If she cultivated with such caution, she could grasp the Heavenly Secrets.
In other words, if she maintained her confidence while remaining cautious, and reflected on the flaws in her past cultivation, her fate could still turn around! And if she received help from an elder, a benefactor, that opportunity would grow ever greater!
Su Li had already checked Hua Ziyan's fate earlier and knew that the realization she'd experienced just before being ambushed and killed was very likely the key.
Now that he'd cast this hexagram, Su Li decided to have Hua Ziyan try the method she'd realized.
She'd just drunk the Nine Radiance Heart-Inquiry Tea, and he and Hua Yunxiao were here as her "benefactors." There was a good chance that Hua Ziyan could overcome the "Fate Tribulation" she faced now!
If she overcame the tribulation without "viewing the future," would the Heavenly Secrets Value he gained skyrocket?
Su Li was full of anticipation!
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