Su Li's words made Hua Yunxiao's mind tense in an instant.
Zhuge Wuwei also held his breath, his expression turning solemn.
The two exchanged a glance, temporarily suppressing their impulse to act and deciding to observe a little longer.
A look of realization appeared on Hua Ziyan's pretty face. So Master Su really did have an agenda—only, it was aimed at the calamity threatening heaven and earth!
Far from blaming Su Li for deceiving her, Hua Ziyan felt her admiration for him grow even stronger.
Mu Yuxi silently edged closer to Su Li, while carefully pondering his words.
Yun Qingxuan was also somewhat uneasy, but at the same time, she felt an inexplicable anticipation.
Zhuge Qingchen, meanwhile, was so excited that he seemed ready to learn Su Li's astonishing origins at once and go boast about them everywhere.
"Please, Young Friend Su. Go ahead."
Zhuge Wuwei lowered his posture appropriately, appearing very humble.
"Senior Zhuge, you should have divined my destiny earlier. What do you make of it?"
Su Li calmly looked at Zhuge Wuwei, in no hurry to lay all his cards on the table.
At the same time, he opened the Life Archive System for Zhuge Wuwei.
Just as he had judged, Zhuge Wuwei's Life Archive had opened, but most of the phantom screen was filled with question marks.
Fortunately, a small portion was still visible.
Su Li did not rush to read the information, though. As long as he didn't read it, the other man wouldn't sense anything.
But if he did, he might end up in a situation like when Yaolan had locked onto him.
That could easily put the other man on guard and provoke him into striking viciously!
Su Li checked Yun Qingxuan's Life Archive as well. Just like yesterday, it hadn't changed at all. That meant that until some major event changed, this Life Archive hardly changed either.
The future would very likely unfold just as before.
"Though Young Friend Su will find it difficult to achieve much in cultivation, in the art of divination, he is indeed Heaven's chosen child—naturally suited to divining the secrets of heaven.
"Your soul is in a constant state of change, Young Friend Su. That makes your destiny impossible to divine easily.
"Still, one thing can be determined: your destiny lies beyond the Five Elements and outside the laws."
Zhuge Wuwei pondered for a long while, then looked Su Li over several times. More than once, he had wanted to divine his fate, only to give up.
It wasn't that he didn't want to. He had already tried before coming here—and this man's fate truly couldn't be divined.
The result felt more like trying to divine his own fate, as though some unknown taboo lay within it.
Besides, his Eye of Heavenly Secrets had seen at a glance that the other man possessed a Living Dead Destiny. That made him even less willing to divine Su Li again.
What was a "Living Dead Destiny"?
A person with a Living Dead Destiny was alive and well, yet in the true workings of Heaven's Dao, that person was considered "already dead," as if they had "never existed in this world."
Hua Yunxiao's case was similar: a transverse bone had formed between his brows, a sign that his lifeline had been severed and that he faced hidden calamities of life and death.
If that "bone" spread over his entire body, completely swallowing up the signs of his destiny, he would have a false Living Dead Destiny.
That was because it would form gradually after birth.
If Hua Ziyan's circumstances could not be changed and continued as they were, she would eventually develop such a destiny.
By then, she would be doomed to die!
But there was another kind. This condition could appear from the moment a child began to develop in the womb.
That was a true Living Dead Destiny.
Normally, someone like that should never even be born; they would die in the womb.
Yet fate was fickle. For some unusual reason or another, even someone fated to die might still be born.
And once born, the result was this: they would be unaffected by the world's spiritual energy, laws, Dao marks, or anything else.
Such an existence was rarer than one in a million years.
Su Li's condition belonged to this latter kind.
Though Zhuge Wuwei understood this destiny well, he was unwilling to say much. He merely touched on it briefly.
"Senior Zhuge is right, but your conclusion isn't precise enough."
"Oh? Young Friend, what would you say instead?"
"My master once told me that every era has its own Lord of Destiny. The destiny of a Lord of Destiny is often beyond the Five Elements and outside the Three Realms.
"Destiny changes from moment to moment, yet one thing remains forever unchanged: the source that can transform into myriad forms. That is an eternal existence.
"That existence is known as the Lord of Destiny. It can sever karma and rule over destiny.
"So my destiny isn't the Living Dead Destiny you believe it to be, Senior Zhuge. It is the destiny of a Lord of Destiny."
As he spoke, Su Li glanced at the current information in the Life Archive System that wasn't marked with question marks.
Zhuge Wuwei's heart gave a sudden lurch. But Su Li's words shook him even more, suppressing the momentary pang of dread at once.
Su Li glanced at the screen and closed the system, giving the other man no chance to react.
It was risky, but after drawing their attention with the mention of a master and his willingness to lay everything on the table, his display would keep them from acting rashly.
The other man wanted to make the Heavenly Secrets lineage flourish, not wipe it out. Just imagine: if Su Li truly had an extremely powerful master, then not one of those involved in plotting against him would get away!
Seeing that Zhuge Wuwei and Hua Yunxiao had grown even more solemn, yet still hadn't actually made a move, Su Li felt more at ease.
He continued, "This time, my master's first test for me was to survive the calamity of the resurrected demonic souls.
"To that end, he taught me a special method of divination—the 'fortune-telling' I have been using all along.
"Fortune-telling is also known as 'casting hexagrams' or 'divination.'
"Hexagrams refer to the Eight Trigrams...
"My master traveled the world. Moved by the suffering of all living beings, he gazed up to observe the signs in the heavens and looked down to examine the patterns of the earth. He studied the markings of birds and beasts and the suitability of the land. He drew near inspiration from his own body and sought it afar in all things. Thus he first created the Eight Trigrams, to connect with the virtues of the divine and classify the natures of all things..."
Su Li briefly introduced Human Emperor Fuxi and the origin of the Eight Trigrams.
His knowledge of the mystic arts came from the system. At the heart of that knowledge lay Human Emperor Fuxi's Primordial Eight Trigrams. Only afterward did the three books of divination—Lianshan, Guicang, and the Zhouyi—appear and carry the system forward.
Calling the Human Emperor his master was not only Su Li's way of honoring his past life, but also a mark of his own origins.
To him, the mystic arts were a spiritual inheritance and the sediment of civilization!
Besides, a system of knowledge like this clearly couldn't have been made up on the spot.
He was only eighteen. Even if he had been born with knowledge, he couldn't have casually fabricated such an inheritance.
For this reason, Su Li revealed some basic information while secretly inventing a nonexistent "master" to bolster his own backing.
As expected, this account stunned Zhuge Wuwei.
As for Hua Yunxiao, he was so shocked that he didn't even dare breathe.
He made no effort to hide his expression at all.
"This seems to be an inheritance of the ultimate Dao—an incredibly, incredibly powerful one!"
Zhuge Wuwei had originally assumed that Su Li had obtained an ancient inheritance of Heavenly Secrets through some fortuitous encounter. It had never occurred to him that someone had taught it to him.
There was a world of difference between the two.
"I'm not sure how powerful it is, but... the moment I met my master remains vivid in my memory to this day."
Su Li sank into thought.
Zhuge Wuwei and Hua Yunxiao exchanged a glance, then immediately held their breath and listened closely.
"It happened eighteen years ago. I should have only just begun to develop in my mother's womb."
Su Li feigned immersion in his memories of the past. He sighed softly and continued, "My mother said her injuries were already severe, and she thought the child might die in the womb. Even if the child was born, the weakness he had from birth would make it difficult for him to live as an ordinary person.
"And if our enemies found us in that state, the outcome would only be more tragic.
"After considering all this, my parents decided to end the baby's life early.
"That night, I seemed to suddenly awaken to consciousness and understand my parents' predicament.
"So my master created a dream for me. In that dream, I met my parents and had a heart-to-heart with them.
"I said, 'Father, Mother, your child is useless. I don't want to make things difficult for you. I'm leaving.'
"When my mother awoke in shock, she discovered that the child was already close to death.
"Later, my master extended my life again, and my destiny transcended the ordinary from then on.
"After that, my master passed down an inheritance to me, but I remained in a dazed, muddled state.
"My condition improved somewhat after my mother passed away, but before long, I fell back into a daze.
"Back then, all my energy and spirit were concentrated on the inheritance of the Eight Trigrams, making me seem dim-witted in every other regard.
"Only a few days ago, after my father passed away as well, did that dazed state suddenly lift.
"That was also when I finally began to grasp the inheritance my master had given me.
"This secret of mine is deeply personal. But compared to the life and death of all living beings, what does a personal secret matter?
"The reason I approached Fairy Yu Xi was that my true aim was to use Senior Hua to get in touch with Senior Zhuge and then find a way to avert this apocalyptic calamity.
"Whether we succeed or fail makes no difference to me personally.
"Although I want to become my master's personal disciple rather than a nominal one, my abilities are limited, and I don't want to disgrace him.
"But this matter is of the utmost importance. It doesn't concern the lives of just a few people—it concerns the life or death of the entire world. So I hope we can succeed in overcoming this calamity."
"Senior Zhuge, I've said everything I wanted to say. Are you willing to work with me, Su Li, and join forces to break this calamity?"
Su Li showed absolute sincerity, even revealing the "secret" of his origins.
"This is no small matter. Let me think it over carefully. Rest assured, Young Friend Su—if a calamity is truly upon us, I, Zhuge Wuwei, will never stand by and do nothing!"
Su Li's words had thrown Zhuge Wuwei off balance.
Should he still keep Su Li under guard?
He felt deeply conflicted.
Were Su Li's words true, or was he deliberately trying to make Zhuge Wuwei wary enough not to touch him? Did such a powerful master truly exist?
As Zhuge Wuwei pondered, he kept glancing at Su Li.
Su Li, meanwhile, looked at him with sincere anticipation, as if waiting for him to agree.
"Young Friend Su, are you saying that everything began with the destruction of Wanli Holy Land?"
Zhuge Wuwei asked in a low voice.
"That's right."
Su Li answered firmly.
"If we work together, what should we do?"
Zhuge Wuwei asked again.
"First, we have to save Wanli Holy Land."
Su Li replied.
"But I gave the order this morning. The forbidden grounds have already opened today, and the disciples have gone inside to comprehend the Dao. The mountain gate is wide open, and many of the restrictions have already been lifted..."
Yun Wanchu's face was ashen as he spoke in a trembling voice.
"It's too late to withdraw all the disciples now. Besides... Forget it. If Wanli Holy Land must not fall, then we'll defend it properly!
"I have a few friends who'd risk their lives for me. I'll send word and ask them to help.
"Yun Wanchu, start sealing off the mountain and setting up the formation..."
After thinking for a long while, Hua Yunxiao spoke.
At this, Su Li's heart stirred. He pulled up Hua Yunxiao's Life Archive and was about to inspect the information on his thoughts.
Just then, he heard Hua Yunxiao's inner voice: "I'll pretend to call for reinforcements first, and send Yun Wanchu and the others to hold them off. Then I'll use 'setting up a killing formation' as an excuse to keep him busy.
"This man is afraid of death, full of tricks, and incredibly tough to kill!
"Soon, I'll take Su Li and the others to the forbidden grounds of the Hua Clan and let the ancestor have a look.
"With his divination abilities, he has probably already divined some of the dangers he himself faces...
"Look at it another way. If I were him, how would I save myself?
"I'd invent an immensely powerful force to back me up, making them wary of acting against me.
"So he may well have deliberately brought up a master to intimidate us!
"In that case... my plan with Mystic Master Zhuge will go ahead as before!
"But I'll use gentler means to 'invite' him over, so he won't notice..."
What Hua Yunxiao thought and what he said were completely at odds!
Of course, the thought had flashed through his mind in an instant. But Su Li's Reasoning to Convince had caught it all the same.
Su Li opened the Life Archive and checked. Because Hua Yunxiao possessed the Heavenly Secrets Sacred Jade, his current information was instead a sea of question marks.
But Reasoning to Convince could still hear his thoughts!
That proved the lower a system function's ranking, the greater its authority.
When Zhuge Wuwei gave his orders, Yun Qingxuan's expression changed completely.
At that moment, Zhuge Wuwei had secretly exchanged some messages with Hua Yunxiao. The two had decided to capture Su Li first and let him meet Hua Lingshang!
That was why Hua Yunxiao had given the order without hesitation.
After hearing the secret exchange between Zhuge Wuwei and Hua Yunxiao, Yun Qingxuan saw Hua Yunxiao give his false order to protect Wanli Holy Land. Her heart sank to the bottom of a well—Su Li's methods had failed!
Hua Yunxiao hadn't believed his story at all. He was already sending the disciples to their deaths!
She hesitated. She could have signaled Su Li with her eyes to warn him.
But after thinking it over, she didn't. Instead, she kept gazing at Su Li calmly, as if she wanted to see what he would choose.
If Su Li couldn't get past even this hurdle, then he still wasn't someone worth relying on.
Just then, Su Li suddenly froze, and delight appeared on his face.
At that moment, he cried out in surprise, "There's hope! The calamity threatening heaven and earth can be averted! My master has sent me a message!"
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