Heavenly Secrets (Seeking Recommendations)

Five Dragons Child's cave abode.

Xu Wusu and the other members of the Five Dragons Society were all present.

"Society Head, what should we do about the current situation?"

Fang Qing was among them as well, asking along with the other members.

"Why has the Great White Zhong Family suddenly moved against our Azure Sea Sect? Our sect should be somewhat stronger than the Zhong Family... Could there be unrest in the Heavenly Heart Chain Islands?"

"The Heavenly Heart Chain Islands are merely an alliance of Foundation Establishment islands, with a Core Formation rogue cultivator invited to serve as their leader. They have always refused to take sides..."

The crowd discussed the matter heatedly, then looked toward Five Dragons Child.

Five Dragons Child looked like a young man. An ebony hairpin was stuck through his hair, and five dragon patterns were embroidered upon his cuffs. Hearing this, he merely smiled. "Our sect and the Zhong Family have never been on good terms. Previously, over the island containing that spirit stone mine, we destroyed the Wu Family of White Profound Island... That Wu Family was a collateral kin power of the Zhong Family. It is hardly surprising that they now seek revenge."

"The Wu Family of White Profound Island?"

Fang Qing suddenly recalled the Wu Family cultivation method preserved in the Heavenly Books Pavilion—the White Water Formula. Though it was a water-element cultivation method, its spiritual power carried an innate chill. It most likely originated from the Zhong Family.

"In a sect war, even great Foundation Establishment cultivators may fall. We Qi Refinement cultivators are nothing but cannon fodder... Does Senior Brother have any good plan?"

Xu Wusu spoke up to ask.

"Now that the sect has taken unified control, war assignments will presumably be issued soon. For us Qi Refinement disciples, there are only three places to go..."

Five Dragons Child spoke at length. "First, guard the sect gate and take charge of supplying resources such as pills, talismans, and magical artifacts. That is the safest post, but competition is fierce. Without a Foundation Establishment elder to guarantee for you, I fear it will be difficult to obtain..."

"Second, guard the various fisheries, herb gardens, and so forth. It is fine if you remain on Jade Island itself; the farther away you are, the more dangerous it becomes. Still, the Zhong Family's attackers likely will not be very highly cultivated, so there remains a chance of preserving your lives."

"Third, be directly incorporated into the sect army, drill battle formations, and enter the main battlefield... Ordinarily, with formations protecting us, even Foundation Establishment cultivators would find it difficult to break through. But if one side collapses, the casualties will inevitably be the worst."

"Where does Senior Brother Five Dragons Child intend to go?" Fang Qing asked.

"Me? Naturally, I am going to the front lines to earn contribution points!" Five Dragons Child said confidently. "Of the three wartime posts, the front lines offer the most contribution points."

"Senior Brother has lofty spirit."

Fang Qing immediately praised him.

"Would all of you junior brothers be willing to come with me? So long as you are members of the society, I will do my utmost to arrange it..."

Five Dragons Child looked somewhat expectant. Xu Wusu was the first to respond. "I will follow Senior Brother."

Most disciples who could join the Five Dragons Society lacked any real backing. At this moment, nearly half immediately agreed.

Fang Qing waited a little longer. Seeing several disciples choose guard-duty assignments, he promptly went with the flow as well.

"I want a guard-duty assignment, preferably on Jade Island..."

After leaving the sect, regardless of who won or lost on the battlefield, the vast heavens and earth would be open to him; there would be nowhere he could not go.

If he truly encountered danger, he could simply hide in Ancient Shu.

On the contrary, remaining within the sect left him constrained at every turn.

Besides, even if he wanted an assignment within the sect, he certainly lacked the background for it.

Three days later.

Red-Scale Fishery.

A streak of azure light descended, revealing Fang Qing's figure.

A layer of murky gray mist dispersed over the fishery, revealing an immortal cultivator whose cultivation had already reached Late Qi Refinement.

More importantly, Fang Qing found the man's appearance somewhat familiar. "So it is Senior Brother Zeng Shu? Weren't you on duty at the Heavenly Books Pavilion?"

This person was none other than Zeng Shu, who had explained cultivation methods to him years ago.

"Alas... Being on duty at the Heavenly Books Pavilion never brought much profit; it was merely leisurely. But when the war came, a Foundation Establishment cultivator's son took over my post."

Zeng Shu shook his head, then looked somewhat surprised. "Junior Brother, you have advanced with such fierce vigor. You are already at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement?"

Fang Qing was accustomed to concealing his strength. Moreover, in this sort of cultivation-world war, holding back a measure of one's true strength made survival easier. He had naturally used the Dao-Born Pearl long ago to hide his cultivation, setting it at around the initial stage of the Sixth Layer of Qi Refinement.

"Just luck..."

"Mm. Sect rules require us to verify your disciple token first... As it happens, another junior brother has been assigned here to stand guard today."

After examining Fang Qing's disciple token, Zeng Shu led Fang Qing on an inspection of the fishery. "This Red-Scale Fishery has a First-Order spirit vein. At its core, the spiritual qi can even barely reach Second-Order standards. Back then, the sect dispersed it, diverted water veins, and created this lake for the purpose of raising Red-Scale Treasure Fish... These Red-Scale Treasure Fish count only as Half-Demons. But if they become Red-Scale Spirit Fish, their value rises a hundredfold. Consuming them not only benefits cultivation, but also greatly replenishes one's vitality and blood... Their scales are also primary materials for refining several magical artifacts."

"This is the fish-farming area. We cultivators may each choose a plot and build a cave abode... I suggest staying closer to the core, so you can benefit from that Quasi-Second-Order spiritual qi."

Zeng Shu brought Fang Qing to a cave abode. "This is the cave abode chosen by that newly arrived junior brother... Junior Brother Li?"

Fang Qing saw someone emerge from the cave abode and was immediately startled. "Li Yusu?"

Li Yusu had lost an arm. His face still looked pale, clearly showing that his severe injuries had yet to heal. How had he been cast out here as well?

"Senior Brother Fang..."

Li Yusu barely managed a salute. His face was ashen, as though his heart had already become rotten wood.

"Could it be... that he was implicated and banished here?"

Fang Qing's heart stirred, but he certainly would not tear open someone's wound and slap them across the face with it.

"So the two of you know each other. That makes things easier... The formation used by this fishery mainly serves as an alarm. It is actually useless against a truly powerful enemy. We chiefly rely on our daily patrols. Let us first assign the shifts..."

Zeng Shu could tell that Li Yusu had a story, but he could not be bothered to hear it.

Getting assigned to this Red-Scale Fishery had already been the result of Zeng Shu exhausting every scheme he could think of. After all, the fishery was on Jade Island. If genuine danger arose, he could still flee back to the sect, which barely counted as safe.

Naturally, Fang Qing had no objections. However, he deliberately selected a cave abode far from the other cultivators, in a relatively quiet place.

When night fell, fishing-lamp flames drifted and flickered across the great lake.

He nodded and entered his cave abode, affixing several talismans.

Light flashed. Clear and turbid qi formed a doorway, and Fang Qing's figure had long since vanished...

Land of Ancient Shu.

Fang Qing touched the jade bottle in his robes containing "Great Sun Violet Qi," drew a deep breath, and habitually began calculating.

Rumble!

The instant he entered the state, his expression abruptly changed.

Within his Spiritual Sense, the Heavenly Secrets of Ancient Shu were no longer a tangled mess—they were a cesspit! A cesspit!

"Urgh!"

His head felt as though it had been struck by a heavy hammer, and two streams of blood flowed from his nose. "This is... Heavenly Secrets backlash?"

Only now did Fang Qing finally understand why Ancient Shu possessed methods of deduction, yet they were as useless as chicken ribs!

"The Heavenly Secrets... are fucking chaotic! I did not feel it before at the Azure Sea Sect, but compared with this place... I feel that even possessing Spiritual Sense in the Land of Ancient Shu might not be enough to begin learning Plum Blossom Divination..."

If the Heavenly Secrets of the Azure Sea Sect were like the clear sky before a war in his previous life, without the slightest pollution from radio waves—

Then Ancient Shu was like the modern age of his previous life, permeated by all kinds of electromagnetic pollution.

"Here, I cannot even calculate my own fortune or misfortune... The Heavenly Secrets are a murky chaos."

"A cesspit! A cesspit! With Heavenly Secrets this chaotic, I fear only after forging a Dao Foundation—and one suited to divination at that—could one possess even a trace of calculating ability. And the results obtained would still be as they were when I was in Qi Refinement, only broad matters like fortune and misfortune... Anything slightly more advanced cannot be divined, and it is easy for others to tamper with or deceive it..."

Fang Qing shook his head with a bitter smile, knowing that the Plum Blossom Divination he had painstakingly mastered had been crippled by more than half here.

"The only hope... is that my golden finger is strong enough to perhaps grant some enhancement?"

"But right now, I have no idea what to do..."

The Dao-Born Pearl's "As If in the Calculation" was a passive ability. Fang Qing had no idea how to actively make use of it to strengthen his own divination ability.

"Forget it. At least there is still a little hope."

"It is simply impossible to rely on divination to safely use or trade away this portion of Spirit Assets."

Fang Qing shook his head. At its root, it came down to one sentence.

Everyone in Ancient Shu was too obsessed with competing, to the point that only Purple Mansion cultivators could barely deduce karma.

The Azure Sea Sect, on the other hand, was a vast blue ocean. Even a newly initiated minor cultivator like him could calculate quite a few matters of fortune and misfortune.

"Mm... I calculated my luck earlier. At the Red-Scale Fishery, I have minor good fortune. It seems I will not encounter any attacks during my guard duty."

"But the Heavenly Secrets here are chaotic. Even if I can calculate fortune and misfortune, I must be careful—or rather... I need to be even more careful."

Fang Qing let out a long breath and silently considered his plans.

"Great Sun cultivation methods are hard to find. Must I sell this portion of 'Great Sun Violet Qi'?"

"There is actually nothing wrong with that. It is a renewable resource anyway. It will serve nicely as a stone cast into the water, letting me see how this cultivation world reacts to the reappearance of a Great Sun cultivation method..."

"In that case, I must choose a suitable power."

Almost instantly, Fang Qing thought of a suitable test subject—the Heavenly Water Luo Family!

After all, they had a grudge against him!

Good things would never reach them, but bad things definitely had to include them!

"Jade Heaven Market... Nine Rivers Water Pavilion... Perhaps they are Luo Family forces?"

"Once the Luo Family acquires the Great Sun Violet Qi, even if outsiders do not know, I will definitely leak the news."

"Mm, this is extremely dangerous. Even Fang Shui's identity cannot touch it... It would be best to use the Dao-Born Pearl and disguise myself as another person."

Thinking this, Fang Qing entered a mortal city.

Compared with Ba Commandery several years ago, when war and plague were everywhere, this mortal city finally possessed a trace of human life.

He found a tavern and was just about to satisfy his appetite when he saw a rider on a swift horse deliver news at the city gate. The entire city erupted in cheers. "General Li has taken another city and now occupies more than half of Ba Commandery!"

"Alas, General Li truly is a living bodhisattva who saves the suffering and relieves the distressed..."

"Ever since General Li arrived, we have had good days again."

The city's people all discussed it fervently.

Fang Qing's hand holding the wine cup froze. "Li Rulong's fortune truly surged beyond all restraint. Even merely occupying mortal territory is no easy feat... In terms of cultivation, he is likely already at Late Qi Ingestion, perhaps even perfection?"