The Azure Cloud Examination's contests were in full swing, while Prince Yuan's Residence in the Divine Capital lay deathly quiet.
Inside a secret chamber of Prince Yuan's Residence.
A jade altar stood in the center of the chamber. Eight shallow trenches of blood stretched across the floor in every direction, their contents gurgling as they flowed.
Prince Yuan glanced at the flowing blood, his eyelid twitching. Who could have imagined that a simple Cursing Fate ritual would require drawing the blood of so many people? If this came to light and the Censorate impeached him for witchcraft, the consequences would be unthinkable.
But the arrow was already on the string; it had to be loosed. The Grand Fate Arts Master had demanded it personally. How could he abandon it halfway?
Prince Yuan looked helplessly at the three people before him.
Grand Fate Arts Master Gai Fengyou, along with his two disciples, one man and one woman.
The three stood before the altar. The male disciple held a treasured sword in his arms, while the female disciple held a golden mace. They stood ramrod straight and said nothing.
Gai Fengyou placed ritual implements around the altar one after another.
Before long, command flags, steel swords, bronze bowls, incense candles, and other ritual implements covered the altar and its surroundings.
At last, Gai Fengyou turned around and looked toward Prince Yuan.
He wore a yellow Daoist robe patterned with black Eight Trigrams, and a glittering golden lotus crown upon his head. His beard and hair were entirely white, yet his skin was as tender as an infant's, without a single wrinkle on his face. Three long strands of white beard hung down, giving him the bearing of an immortal sage.
Between the tops of his eyes and his eyelids ran a layer