Life Beyond the Dao, Reading People by Their Qi

The man stopped, patted the outer wall of the Copper Furnace, and then placed it on the ground.

Boom!

When he held the Copper Furnace, he seemed to lift it with ease, but as soon as it hit the ground, it made a loud noise, and the bottom of the furnace sank deep into the soil!

The dense, muddy ground could not bear the weight at all, and was squeezed and bulged outwards until the Copper Furnace came into contact with the deep rock layer, crushing the rock before it stopped sinking.

"Brother Lu, you've been urging me every day for the past few days, and I know what you're thinking. Actually, even if you hadn't urged me, I would have done it anyway."

As the Daoist priest spoke, he took out a piece of cloth from his robes.

At first glance, the cloth looks no different from ordinary things, but its surface is smoother, and when it flutters in the wind, there is not a single crease.

After the Daoist took it out, he didn't stop. He flicked his finger, and a small cut appeared on the tip of his index finger, from which blood flowed down. He then pressed the blood onto the cloth.

With a shake, scarlet lines appeared on the surface of the cloth, as if they were drawn with blood. They intertwined and changed, eventually combining into a peculiar pattern, and then the whole thing shuddered!

"Fu Cheng!"

The Daoist whispered something, gathered a thought in his mind, and shot it out from his fingertips. A blood arrow flew swiftly, landed in the center of the cloth, and merged into the strange patterns. Immediately afterward, a wave of thought rippled outward, but then subsided.

The next moment, that deep, gruff voice rang out again. "Flying Leopard, what are you doing?"

This pair is naturally the Flying Leopard Daoist of the Spirit-Sealing Dao and the World-Troubling Copper Furnace.

Upon hearing this, Flying Leopard grinned. "I've tried to cause trouble for that deity several times, but I've almost never gotten anything out of it. I've even lost my life once. I've used extremely precious life-saving methods, but these methods are extremely damaging to the soul. Soul Refinement Soul Tempering is supposed to be a slow and complete process, with no more fragments remaining. With my current level, it's difficult for me to separate even a wisp of my soul. If I go again this time and fail to achieve my goal, I will surely perish in this world. Of course, I need to prepare this will in advance."

"You're so pessimistic? Then why bother going?" a voice of doubt arose from the Copper Furnace.

"Why are you so determined to retrieve that Chaos-World Furnace Flame?" Flying Leopard didn't answer, but instead asked a question that caused the Copper Furnace to choke instantly.

"Hahaha!" Sensing the change in the Copper Furnace, Flying Leopard laughed loudly, taking back the cloth. "I, Flying Leopard, am not an ungrateful person. The reason I complied with your wishes, besides wanting to witness the power of the Law Treasure and the Pill Ancestor's Ruins, was also to perfect my own path. My Dao Path is different from that of my senior brothers. It is difficult to achieve enlightenment through meditation and comprehension alone. Instead, one must constantly gain understanding through action and combat. That deity has repeatedly defeated me, making my path to enlightenment a difficult obstacle. If I were to bypass it, I would have no hope for the rest of my life!"

Copper Furnace said, "How many people have truly attained enlightenment throughout history? Why be so persistent?" He had originally intended to urge the Flying Leopard to go find the furnace fire, but now, perhaps moved by compassion, he offered words of advice.

Flying Leopard, however, seemed quite composed, and still smiled, saying, "The path to immortality is about longevity. If you retreat when you encounter difficulties and avoid obstacles, you'll eventually become a walking corpse. But the previous times, I was the one who actively sought out those deities and went to cause trouble. Even the first time was a chance encounter. If I win this time, it will be fine, and I can settle the Karma. But if I lose, I will die and my cultivation will be destroyed. I'll have to explain this to my fellow disciples."

"What did you say? You want them to avenge you?" Copper Furnace asked curiously. It naturally knew that the seemingly ordinary cloth actually contained the power of talismans, capable of preserving a person's thoughts and transmitting them at the appropriate time. It had thought that Flying Leopard used it to ask for help in critical moments, but now it seemed that was not the case.

"What's the point of bringing in elders or seniors to help you if you can't win on your own?"

Flying Leopard shook his head, his face full of disdain. "When Master accepted me into the sect, he said I was a person of great fortune, and he also warned me that if I encountered an opponent with even greater fortune, I would suffer a fatal disaster. Such a person is already difficult to deal with. If he is also a deity, then if we form a grudge and it continues endlessly, in the end it may not be my senior brothers who avenge me, but me who drags down the entire sect!"

At this point, he became unusually solemn and said, "Back then, I was a sinner!"

The World-Troubling Copper Furnace fell silent for a moment.

But the next moment, Flying Leopard burst into laughter again. "Actually, this is also my excuse. My senior brothers are all determined to seek the Dao. Although they have taken different paths, they all know the mystery of Karma Fortune. I am far inferior to them. When Master had an accident, they knew it was hopeless, but my senior brothers endured it and did not pursue the matter. How much less should they pursue me, their good-for-nothing junior brother?"

His sudden change surprised Copper Furnace, but before the latter could recover, Flying Leopard grabbed him, lifted Copper Furnace up again, and then strode off, running quickly through the Lin Zhong.

With each step he took, his flesh and blood trembled, and his aura continued to rise!

"Alright, since we're going to fight to the death, we need to get into peak condition! We should use the Sunwalking Technique, proceeding step by step, accumulating momentum!"

After saying that, he had already run far away, leaving only footprints behind him, from which wisps of smoke rose.

At the same time, above the Examination Hall, pillars of Fortune took shape one after another, rising steadily until they all soared into the sky!

In the distance, on the artificial hill of the Imperial Palace, the Daoist Wugou stared wide-eyed at the several pillars of energy shooting into the sky, his face showing astonishment. "The Metropolitan Examination of the Great Rui Dynasty actually has so many promising talents? It's far superior to the Metropolitan Examination of the Great Ying and Great Chang!"

The old man with a braided hair, emerging from the mist, said, "The Continent where Great Ying and Great Chang are located have been controlled by the Divine Path. Not only has Human Path disappeared, but the dynasties that ruled the world have also become subordinate to the Divine Path way, worshipping gods and using Divine Oracle instead of laws. Their fate and development are entirely controlled by the Divine Path, and their potential has been exhausted. Naturally, they cannot be compared with Great Rui."

Daoist Wugou asked in surprise, "Old man in Hemp Robe, you are Heaven-Born Deity and a part of the Divine Path. How can you not agree with the Divine Path's invasion and conquest of various Continent?"

The old man with the braid shook his head and said, "The Divine Path governed by the Heavenly Court has long been distorted. The Postnatal Realm Divine Path was created because of humans, but in the end, it has to enslave mortals. It has long lost its original purpose. We, the Heaven-Born Deity, are not on the same path as them."

The Daoist Wugou grinned. "Your return to the East Flower Continent this time isn't just to record the scene of the Metropolitan Examination. I remember you've enlightened the Heaven-Born Deity many times before. Could it be for the same purpose this time?"

"That's true, but giving unsolicited guidance only raises suspicion. That Heaven-Born Deity is the most promising god in recent centuries, but he must witness the tyranny of the Heavenly Court before he can make contact with him," the old man with the braid said, glancing at the Daoist and smiling. "Don't try to trick me. I won't hide it from you. There are people in this Metropolitan Examination who are connected to that deity, so my visit here is a two-in-one affair."

"That's hard to say. You old man are known for your unpredictable mind. Back then, you schemed against the Demon King of the Northern Julu Continent, turning the little Outer Demon in his heart into Heavenly Demon, triggering Inner-Outer Heavenly Tribulation that would lead to his eternal damnation!" Daoist Wugou said, shaking his head. Then, a thought struck him, and he turned his gaze back towards the Examination Hall.

There, on the surface of the Lake of Fortune, unseen by ordinary people, another pillar of Fortune rose. However, this pillar was exceptionally sharp, piercing through the air like a blade! It possessed an aura of unparalleled sharpness!

"Impressive! Impressive! When I First Meeting three years ago, I only noticed that he possessed Literary Thought, but I never expected that his foundation in Literary Dao would be almost as strong as his foundation in martial arts!"

Hearing Daoist Wugou's words, the old man with the braid was not surprised and asked, "You are indeed well-informed and knowledgeable in this Continent. Why don't you tell me about the origins of those pillars of Fortune, what are their identities, and what are their backgrounds?"

"If I don't tell, you old man will definitely scheme against me and I'll suffer in silence." The Daoist Wugou chuckled, took another sip of wine, and then spat it out.

But as soon as it was sprayed out, the wine changed rapidly, spreading out into a water curtain in the distance between the two of them.

Looking through the water curtain, everything in sight changed, with a light mist appearing.

"The manifestation of Fortune!"

"It's just a trivial skill, why are you pretending to be surprised?" Daoist Wugou said, and suddenly flicked his sleeve. The scene on the water screen changed instantly, and soon locked onto the area of the Examination Hall. The gushing Fortune manifested like flowing water, surging out from the Examination Hall and dissipating in all directions, but before it reached the streets and alleys, it was drawn by the layers of hazy yellow mist and sank into the ground.

Upon seeing this, the old man with the braid nodded and said, "These Literary Thought Fortune will be used to irrigate the fertile land of the dynasty, forming part of the Dragon Vein. They are Qi Manifestation in the sky, echoing each other. They seem to be two separate entities, but in fact, they are one."

"I am aware of that as well. Let me first introduce the sources of these streams of Fortune," Daoist Wugou took a deep breath, then raised his hand and pointed to the last rising pillar of Fortune, which resembled a sharp blade. "This pillar of Fortune is as sharp as a blade, capable of killing instantly. It is actually connected to the martial arts of that examinee, whose name is Li Le. Although he travels the martial world, he comes from a scholarly family; his grandfather and father were both Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations)."

"Oh? From a scholarly family, yet wandering the martial world..." The old man with the braid squinted slightly.

On the other side, Daoist Wugou did not pause; with a flick of his finger, he pointed to another pillar of Fortune.

This pillar gives off a sense of aloofness and unapproachability, while its interior is filled with rapid internal currents, as if turbulent undercurrents are surging.

"The origin of this pillar is named Di Ai. He is not old and comes from a poor family. He lost both his parents at a young age, which can be described as a life of hardship. Fortunately, he was adopted by a high-ranking official, which can be described as turning misfortune into blessing. Old man in Hemp Robe, can you tell what the future holds by observing this person's fate?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man with the braid looked at the Pillar of Di Ai with a hint of surprise.

"This child..." (To be continued...)

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