The Fate Diviner and the Crouching Dragon

Deep beneath the Hidden Star Court, the chill of concrete mingled with the pungent sting of disinfectant. Xiang Yi sat cross-legged within a crude Spirit-Gathering Formation, his face deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down his temples. Every breath tugged at the tearing pain in his head. A virtual panel floated before him like an icy verdict:

[Host: Xiang Yi]

[Mental Power: 190/360 (recovering from severe injuries, slowly rising)]

[Energy Points: 450]

[Mission: Observe the Ten Rings Syndicate (Clue Collection: 45%)]

[Status: Low-Level S.H.I.E.L.D. Attention (Silent State, like thorns at his back!)]

The price in Afghanistan had been devastating. Guiguzi was injured and lying low, while the Xuan Weizi Network was nearly crippled. Lanling King and A Ke were like shadows fused into the walls, tense to their limits. A stray cat crossing the warehouse roof or the rustling of rats made every hair on Xiang Yi's body stand on end. He constantly felt the venomous eyes of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents watching coldly from the darkness.

"Sand Nest," "Blacksmith," "Whiplash"... The keywords snatched from the torrent of satellite data burned into his heart like red-hot brands. Knowing that Tony had built armor in a cave was one thing. Witnessing the devastation of those explosions and Andrei Vanko's sinister sneer with his own eyes was bloody reality! S.H.I.E.L.D.'s vast net had already sensed the existence of this "ghost."

He could no longer passively take the blows. He needed a pair of eyes that could pierce through the fog.

[Ding! Energy Points sufficient. Ming Shiyin's summoning cooldown has ended.]

[Consume Energy Points ×400 to summon the hero—Ming Shiyin?]

[Warning: Unstable Mental Power guidance may cause backlash. At best, it will worsen the disturbance in your sea of consciousness; at worst, it will cause loss of consciousness!]

"Risk?" Xiang Yi's lips curled into a cold arc, only to trigger another burst of agony through his nerves. Compared to being pinned down by S.H.I.E.L.D. or crushed by the Ten Rings Syndicate, what was this risk? "Confirm summon!"

The command was issued! The thin energy in the quiet chamber was frantically drawn in by an invisible vortex! The Spirit-Gathering Formation's faint blue light surged! Four hundred Energy Points vanished in an instant, leaving fifty!

Bzzzz—!

The air rumbled deeply. At the center of the chamber, a point of profound purple light exploded from nothingness, like a singularity at the birth of the universe! The purple glow spun and expanded, spraying particles like stardust, mysterious beyond measure. Within the core of light, a figure clad in flowing black-purple robes slowly condensed.

Xiang Yi extended his Mental Power into the swirling stardust like fine threads. Every touch was like plucking an invisible string, returning an immense force of hexagramic deduction that savagely battered his unhealed sea of consciousness! The pain stabbed like a barrage of steel needles, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back! He clenched his teeth, but his Mental Power output remained steady as a rock, desperately maintaining the summoning channel!

The purple radiance grew brighter and brighter, its rotation faster and faster! A phantom of an ancient, colossal divination disk emerged beneath the ball of light. The Eight Trigrams turned, and an ancient, desolate aura rushed toward him!

The instant the divination disk solidified, the purple light abruptly collapsed inward!

The light faded.

An old man stood quietly in the formation.

He was tall and slender, his black-purple robes stirring without wind. Dark golden star maps and cloud patterns were embroidered upon his sleeves and hem. His face was lean, with three long strands of beard, and his eyes were unfathomable, as though they reflected the river of fate itself. The artifact floating in his hand was not physical, but an Armillary Sphere-like divination disk made entirely of pure purple energy. A flickering point of chaotic light pulsed at its core, while countless tiny runes emerged, vanished, and flowed along its rings, producing a hum like the movement of stars.

The old man's gaze swept over Xiang Yi's pale, pain-stricken face. A flicker of understanding passed through his eyes before they returned to the stillness of an ancient well. He nodded slightly, his voice gentle yet weathered:

"Fate may yet be defied. This humble Daoist is Ming Shiyin, answering your summons. My lord, it has been a long time."

The words "my lord" carried both detachment and certainty.

[Hero: Ming Shiyin successfully summoned!]

[Loyalty: 95%]

[Energy Points: 50]

[Mental Power: 150/360 (Consumption intensified!)]

"Mr. Ming..." Xiang Yi forced himself to speak. His voice was hoarse, yet his eyes shone startlingly bright, his scrutiny concealing a trace of urgency. Could the eyes of this "diviner," whom he had summoned at the cost of everything and at the risk of mental collapse, truly move the chessboard of fate?

Ming Shiyin's gaze passed over Xiang Yi and swept through the crude chamber, as if penetrating the thick concrete to look upon the clamor of the mortal world and the distant undercurrents. The energy divination disk in his hand silently accelerated, its chaotic core flickering.

"My lord's heart burns with anxiety, your mind is exhausted, and an invisible net hangs above you. The crouching dragon is trapped in the abyss..." His sighing voice struck Xiang Yi's heart word by word. "Time is short. This humble Daoist will overstep his bounds and cast three hexagrams for my lord, to glimpse a sliver of heavenly secrets."

Before his words had faded, he pressed together the index and middle fingers of his right hand. Brilliant purple light suddenly erupted from his fingertips! His eyes locked onto the divination disk like lightning, and his fingers became a brush as he slashed fiercely across the chaotic core!

Sizzle—!

A concentrated purple mark branded itself upon the chaos! Ming Shiyin's body swayed slightly, the color instantly draining from his lean face, but his gaze was as sharp as a burning soul flame! Ancient, obscure syllables left his lips, and the corresponding positions on the divination disk began to flash.

"The first hexagram asks of familial foundations!" His voice tore through the air like ripped silk!

Bzz!

The "Xun" position of the disk—wind, penetration—and the "Li" position—fire, attachment and destruction—blazed brightly, frantically tangling and spinning together! The Li fire burned fiercely and restlessly, crushing the Xun wind beneath it! At the same time, beside the faint golden light at the center of the disk that represented the Xiang family's fortune, a twisted, writhing phantom of a crimson fire serpent suddenly sprang up!

Pfft—! Ming Shiyin's body jolted as though struck by a heavy blow, and he spewed a mouthful of pale golden heart's blood! It never reached the ground. Instead, the violent power of the hexagram instantly vaporized and drew it in, turning it into several streams of blinding golden smoke that entered the violently trembling divination disk! A strained creaking sounded from the disk's edges as vicious, web-like cracks spread wildly!

"Southeast... fire calamity!" Ming Shiyin's voice suppressed his agony, cold and sharp as a blade. His gaze shot toward Xiang Yi like lightning. "Within three days! Blazing flames will consume the house, and the foundations will be shaken! The source of the fire... will arise from within!" He was pointing directly toward the southeast of the Xiang family factory! The phantom crimson fire serpent gnawed viciously at the faint golden light representing the Xiang family's fortune, its poisonous flames nearly swallowing it whole!

Xiang Yi's pupils abruptly contracted! A chill mixed with rage exploded up his spine! His father! The factory! That poisonous snake from Zhang Hao's family?! His fist clenched violently, his nails sinking deep into his palm!

Ming Shiyin did not pause! Forcing down his churning blood and the artifact's backlash, the purple glow at his fingertips surged, dazzlingly bright! With tragic resolve, he carved a second path into the core of the divination disk, which stood on the verge of collapse!

"The second hexagram asks of one's own future!"

Sizzle!

The purple radiance branded itself! The divination disk changed dramatically! The unyielding point of purple light representing Xiang Yi—the crouching dragon—had barely begun to rise when the entire disk abruptly transformed into a boundless swamp! Countless thick, cold gray-black currents, bearing prying "eyes" and malicious "tentacles," surged madly in from every direction. In an instant, they bound the purple light tightly, dragged it down, and brutally pressed it into the cold, deathly abyss at the disk's lowest "Kun" position—earth, concealment!

"Agh—!" Ming Shiyin's gaunt body hunched violently, as though carrying a crushing weight! Pale golden blood seeped not only from his seven orifices but from every pore of his skin. He looked like a golden porcelain vessel on the verge of shattering! The energy divination disk in his hand was covered in cracks, its light rapidly dimming as it neared total collapse! His bloodshot eyes remained fixed on the faint glow at the bottom of the abyss, heavily suppressed beneath layers of black-gray currents, yet stubbornly still leaking traces of purple.

Gasping, every word flecked with blood, he issued a stern warning:

"The crouching dragon... lies in the abyss! Do not act! Do not move! Do not reveal yourself!"

"Powerful enemies surround you, and heaven's secrets are muddled! If you act rashly... calamity will arrive at once. A dragon swimming in shallow waters... will be mocked by shrimp!"

The final sentence was nearly a roar. His gaze nailed itself to Xiang Yi, more grave than ever before!

The quiet chamber fell dead silent! Only Ming Shiyin's heavy breathing and the dying wail of the divination disk remained. Within the shadows, the killing intent of Lanling King and A Ke nearly solidified!

Xiang Yi's face was livid. The southeastern fire calamity was imminent, yet he himself was pinned beneath the warning: "Do not act"! The contradiction cut through his heart like a dull blade! He stared at that resilient purple glow at the bottom of the abyss—that was him, the "crouching dragon" targeted by countless malicious eyes!

At that moment, near-mad resolve suddenly surfaced on Ming Shiyin's bloodstained face! A beastlike growl burst from his throat! He actually transformed his burning life essence, along with the last mouthful of scorching heart's blood, into a tragic and resplendent arrow of purple-gold blood, shooting it fiercely toward the core of the collapsing divination disk!

"The third hexagram! It asks... of the grand momentum of heaven and earth!" The roar drained the last of his strength!

Bzzzz—!!!!

The dying divination disk was forcibly activated, releasing a final, earth-shaking wail! The quiet chamber trembled! Countless phantom hexagrams flickered wildly, shattered, and reassembled!

The vision was hazy yet magnificent. Black-red currents representing chaos, war, and destruction rolled and roared above the disk like the end of days! Yet deep within that despairing darkness, a faint golden-red light stubbornly appeared! It was no larger than a needlepoint, wavering as if it might extinguish at any moment.

But in the next instant! Just as the golden-red light was about to be swallowed completely, something within it seemed to explode like a cosmic singularity! Boundless light! Boundless heat! A beam of utterly pure golden-red radiance, containing both creation and destruction, cleaved through layer upon layer of destructive shackles like a world-sundering axe! Wherever the golden-red light passed, the tide of destruction was torn open by a massive, burning fissure! Within that radiance, the vague outline of a cold, angular metal figure could be seen. In its chest, a blazing core pulsed like the sun!

The vision vanished. The divination disk gave one final mournful cry, then shattered completely into purple motes that filled the air!

As if every bone in his body had been pulled away, Ming Shiyin collapsed face-first onto the ground. Lanling King and A Ke flashed forward, supporting him from either side. His face was like gold leaf, his breath so faint it was nearly cut off. Pale golden blood continued to spill from the corners of his mouth, his bloodstained beard clinging to his chest like withered golden vines. His eyes remained fixed upon where the hexagram had been, and with the last trace of strength, he forced out a blood-flecked prophecy:

"Golden... golden-red star... will... tear apart... the darkness... The era... will... change... because of it..."

His head tilted to one side, and he fell completely unconscious.

[Ding! Ming Shiyin forcibly deduced heavenly secrets and suffered severe backlash! Loyalty temporarily locked! Entering deep hibernation!]

[Energy Points: 50 → 0 (paid to maintain basic consumption)]

Dead silence. Only Ming Shiyin's faint breathing and Xiang Yi's harsh gasps remained.

A golden-red star tearing through the darkness... Tony! The birth of Iron Man! The future! Hope!

Yet that light of hope now illuminated only the desperate situation before him—the Family Fire Calamity was imminent, he was bound by "the crouching dragon must not act," his Energy Points had dropped to zero, his strongest support was near death, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s shadow followed him like a specter.

Xiang Yi slowly rose, swaying slightly from the double blow to his mind and emotions. He walked to Ming Shiyin's unconscious form and looked upon the old man's exhausted state. A torrent of heavy guilt, heartfelt respect, and overwhelming fury crashed violently into his heart! This was no longer a cold summoned entity, but a wise man who had nearly given his life to peer into heavenly secrets for him! His fingertips trembled as he brushed the blood from Ming Shiyin's lips.

"Sir... you've worked hard." His voice was low and hoarse.

He raised his head, his gaze passing over Lanling King and A Ke, who supported Ming Shiyin, before finally locking onto the southeast—the location of the Xiang family factory. Deep within those black eyes, all anger, anxiety, and unwillingness had been replaced by an icy coldness that seemed frozen for ten thousand years!

"The crouching dragon lies in the abyss... Do not act..."

The air in the quiet chamber congealed. Ming Shiyin's faint breathing and the low hum of the machinery became the only background sounds within the oppressive silence.

He repeated the warning in a low voice, but a razor-sharp curve slowly formed on his lips:

"But dragons... also have reverse scales!"

The instant his words fell, an invisible, heart-chilling pressure silently spread outward from him! Even the shadows in the corners seemed to freeze for a moment!

He turned to Lanling King, his voice utterly decisive:

"Lanling King!"

"Your subordinate is here!" A voice cold as ice came from the shadows.

"Target: southeast! The Xiang family factory! I want a list of every potential threat, their locations, and the time they plan to set the fire!"

"At any cost! Before the fire begins, I want the fuse... snuffed out in its cradle!"

"Operational principles: follow like a shadow, absolute silence! Since heaven's secrets warn us 'do not act'... then let those poisonous snakes hiding in the dark dance themselves to death upon the fuse they lit! I want a 'perfect' accident, a heavenly fire that burns away every demon and monster!"

"By your command!" Cold light burst from Lanling King's eyes, and his figure instantly merged into the shadows, vanishing without a trace.

Xiang Yi looked toward A Ke:

"A Ke!"

"Here." Her voice was cold as a blade.

"Guard this place. Guard the sir. Any 'eyes' that dare peer into this place... no matter where they come from, root them out and grind them to dust!"

"Understood." A Ke's figure flickered, and she clung to the shadows at the entrance like a ghost. Her presence vanished completely, as though she had merged with the darkness itself.

After making his arrangements, Xiang Yi sat cross-legged at the center of the Spirit-Gathering Formation once more. Closing his eyes, he fully circulated the Returning to the Hidden Formula. His depleted Mental Power had to recover. The coming storm demanded an absolutely calm mind.

Within the quiet chamber, only the low hum of machinery, Ming Shiyin's faint and labored breathing, and Xiang Yi's will remained—a will tempered in despair into something even tougher, as immovable as stone.

Do not act?

No. He had merely changed to a sharper, more invisible blade, quietly waiting for those poisonous snakes in the shadows... to offer their own throats to its edge!