"Perhaps We've Met Before"

Chen Qiu was immersed in his fantasies of the future, yet at the same time, he had a headache.

His Dao Foundation was now ten thousand li wide. But it was practically empty inside, without a trace of spiritual energy. He simply could not fill it up.

If he wanted to rapidly replenish the spiritual energy within his Dao Foundation by absorbing the energy from Spirit Stones, he would need at least three hundred Spirit Stones.

What the fuck...

Three hundred Spirit Stones were enough to send some little First Level of the Qi Refining Realm brat straight into Foundation Establishment, yet for him, they were only enough to fill the spiritual energy in his Dao Foundation?

For some reason, he had a faintly bad premonition. His unique method of fighting as a Dharma cultivator might possess extraordinary power, but it was likely to consume Spirit Stones at a horrifying rate.

Just then—

"Fellow Daoist, wait!"

As Chen Qiu and Fat Dragon walked along the main road of Heaven-Question Market, Chen Qiu suddenly heard a voice by his ear and turned toward its source.

There were not many pedestrians left on the street. An old man with a head full of silver hair sat alone by the roadside, holding up a tattered black banner as he rasped with a half-smile.

"Fellow Daoist, after only a few days apart, the wandering souls and wild ghosts around you have already become too numerous to count."

"Won't you let me divine your fate?"

"I'll charge you only one Spirit Stone."

"Otherwise, great disaster will surely strike within three days."

Two lines of somewhat crooked words were embroidered onto the black banner with white thread.

"Dare not calculate the hexagram to its end, for fear of Heaven, Earth, ghosts, and gods."

"Cannot speak the words too plainly, for fear the world will plunge into chaos."

"Can you even talk properly?"

Fat Dragon expressionlessly walked up to the old man, squatted down, and rasped, "Is it impossible for people in your line of work to get business without cursing someone first?"

"Not so, not so."

The old man shook his head and stroked his beard, smiling inscrutably. "Divination has been passed down for ten thousand years. It is not deception and trickery."

"Fine."

Chen Qiu also squatted before the old man. With a light smile, he tossed out a Spirit Stone. "Then divine my fate and see what you can come up with."

This was already the second time he had seen this old man.

A gleam flashed through the old man's eyes. He hurriedly stuffed the Spirit Stone into his robes, as though afraid someone would snatch it away the next second. Only then did he close his eyes and begin pinching his fingers while muttering in feigned profundity.

Just then—

"Hey! You old bastard, you're fucking scamming people again!"

A voice suddenly rang out from the roadside. Dozens of Heaven-Question Market guards came striding over, and the old man immediately grabbed the black banner beside him and ran into an alley without looking back.

After only a few steps, he seemed to suddenly remember something. He hurried back to Chen Qiu's side, rapidly whispered several words, then vanished into the alley again.

"Young Master Chen, he didn't scam you, did he?"

"That old bastard has been in Heaven-Question Market for more than ten years. How could he possibly know how to read fortunes? He just talks nonsense."

"It's you."

Chen Qiu withdrew his gaze from the old man's retreating back and looked at the leader of the guards with a smile. "Thanks for the warning. Are you off duty?"

He remembered this guard. After he had killed the Huang Family's Seventh Elder at the market gates, this man had collected the corpse.

"Not yet. We're patrolling tonight."

The guard captain said helplessly, "Whatever that old bastard says, don't believe him. I remember that a while ago, he fooled a man into believing that as long as he kowtowed three times toward the east every morning after getting up, his child would definitely randomly obtain a good trait upon breaking through to the First Level of the Qi Refining Realm."

"Isn't that pure nonsense? The main thing was, when I explained it to that man, he wouldn't believe me. He said the old bastard had not charged him a single coin, so why would he deceive him?"

"Why the east?"

"The place where he sits every day is east of that family's home."

"Anyway, just don't believe him. Today, a cultivator in red robes with long hair also came to have his fortune told by that old bastard. He left looking thrilled, then flew west as soon as he exited the city. He looked like he'd been fooled something fierce too."

"Wait."

Fat Dragon's expression suddenly turned strange. "You said it was a cultivator in red robes with long hair?"

"That's the one. You know him?"

"Perhaps we've met before."

Fat Dragon suddenly fell silent. He remembered that demonic cultivator saying something about an old fortune-teller in Heaven-Question Market telling him that today would bring double happiness. It seemed the old fortune-teller might truly be inaccurate.

They did not continue chatting.

The two groups parted ways, while Chen Qiu remained standing where he was with narrowed eyes, seemingly pondering something.

Before the old man escaped into the alley, he had returned and said several things into Chen Qiu's ear, leaving him uncertain of how seriously to take them.

"Kid, I was indeed talking nonsense about the fortune-telling, but this much I genuinely know."

"You definitely have a Green Trait, 'Vengeful Spirit Summoning.' Don't look at me like that. The resentment around you is nearly ten zhang taller than Heaven-Question Market itself. I saw the resentment over your head before you even entered the city. It was far too eye-catching."

"I have seen someone possess this trait before. It truly is an extremely powerful trait. It can turn the creatures you kill into vengeful spirits that attach themselves to you and fight for you for one hour."

"But think about it. Vengeful spirits are born only from resentment so deep it reaches the bones. Ordinary people will catch colds and fall ill just from touching them, and if they stay around them for long, they will surely die of severe illness. Yet you have six or seven thousand of the fucking things following you around. Are you trying to become the King of Vengeful Spirits?"

"Within three days, get rid of all these vengeful spirits as soon as possible, or the consequences will be unthinkable. I once saw someone with this trait. After only half a year, he went completely mad, neither god nor ghost. Another half year later, he mysteriously hanged himself in a deserted temple outside the city. By the time he was found, his corpse had rotted and was crawling with maggots."

"You have far more vengeful spirits on you than he did. When using this trait, try not to store too many vengeful spirits on your body. And remember this well: the stronger a vengeful spirit is compared to you, the faster it will corrode you."

"If you can find a way to remove this trait, get rid of it as quickly as possible. Otherwise, no matter how carefully you use it, the vengeful spirits will still corrode you. The only difference is how fast. I have never seen a single person with this trait die a good death."

"Take care of yourself. I truly did not earn your Spirit Stone for nothing."

"Brother Qiu, what are you thinking about?"

"Nothing."

Chen Qiu shook his head. After frowning in thought for a long while, he turned to Fat Dragon. "Have you felt the weather getting colder?"

"Yeah. Winter's almost here, of course it's getting colder."

"I mean, have you felt that kind of icy coldness?"

"What icy coldness?"

Fat Dragon scratched his head in confusion, then touched the back of Chen Qiu's hand. He immediately shuddered and leaped up. "Brother Qiu, why is your body so cold? It's fucking like a dead man's corpse."

"..."

Chen Qiu did not speak again. He merely shook his head and headed straight for the guest rooms. He had felt chilled these past few days, but he had not thought in that direction at all. After all, the weather was cooling too. Now that the fortune-teller had pointed it out, something did indeed seem faintly wrong.

He had stored over six thousand demon beast vengeful spirits, including the vengeful spirit of that demonic cultivator at the Seventh Level of Foundation Establishment. These had all been his trump cards, meant to be used bit by bit in the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm that was about to open in Windward City.

Carrying so many vengeful spirits on him was indeed somewhat outrageous.

So be it.

After entering the secret realm tomorrow, he would first release all these vengeful spirits. Better that than letting them truly corrode him. Releasing so many vengeful spirits at once—he only hoped they would not frighten the other cultivators entering the Heavenly Dao Secret Realm.

Tsk.

That night, Chen Qiu used the Enlightenment Stone to raise the cultivation level of the Lightning-Channeling Art to its peak, Great Perfection. A vague yet profound insight suddenly appeared in his mind.

The three words Lightning-Channeling Art inscribed upon his Dao Foundation also became deeper and more profound.

The Lightning-Channeling Art he could now release was as thick as a century-old tree and could strike enemies within one hundred zhang. Ordinary First Level Foundation Establishment cultivators would already find it difficult to block such a method.

And he could release it four or five hundred times.

That was the power of the Pink Trait, "Dantian Expansion (Unique)."

But before going to sleep—

Chen Qiu let out a soft sigh and took a large pile of Spirit Stones from his robes, arranging them on the bed. He prepared to absorb enough spiritual energy to fill his Dao Foundation. Even with the top-grade Foundation Establishment cultivation technique, Seven Lamps Descend, this was still an extremely time-consuming task.

One hour had eight quarters, and one quarter was roughly the time it took to drink three cups of tea.

Last time, it had taken him the time to drink one cup of tea to fill his Dao Foundation. This time, it took him... less than half an hour.

Because he had used a Mid-Grade Foundation Establishment Spirit-Absorbing Talisman. Otherwise, it would have taken at least four fucking hours.

Forget sleeping tonight—he would not even make it to the secret realm.

This was only ten thousand li. What the hell would he do if it became one hundred thousand li in the future?

Amid his wild thoughts, Chen Qiu groggily fell asleep. There would be a great battle tomorrow, so he needed to rest early today and prepare for tomorrow.

The next day, dawn broke.

Chen Qiu and the others left Heaven-Question Market early, bringing the two scholars with them as they returned to Windward City.

The last time they had left Windward City, they had escaped. Now that they had returned, he wondered where those people who had hunted them down were. If fate allowed them to meet again, he could show them what it meant to view someone with new eyes after three days apart.

Windward City was exceptionally lively today because the secret realm was about to open.

The streets throughout the city were packed with hawkers shouting their wares. Foundation Establishment cultivators, rarely seen on ordinary days, could now be found nearly everywhere. Those young masters from Foundation Establishment lineages who usually strutted about so arrogantly were nowhere to be seen today. Who knew which corner they had run off to, hiding like turtles with their heads tucked in their shells.

The moment they entered the city gates—

A raggedly dressed servant spotted the luxurious robes Chen Qiu's group wore, and his eyes immediately lit up. He hurried over with an expectant expression, his voice tense and rapid. "Greetings, four immortals. In one hour, at the city square, a Foundation Establishment cultivator with the traits 'Strength of Nine Oxen' and 'Self-Severing Root' will publicly chop apart eight oxen to see what traits can be randomly obtained."

"Would the immortals be interested in going to watch?"

"For just one Spirit Stone, you can watch from up close. Every randomly obtained trait will be publicly displayed for everyone to see."

"Many disciples from great lineages and sects have already gone. There are so many people—it's incredibly lively."

"Oh?"

Fat Dragon's expression gradually turned strange. A public execution?

Could this be that fellow from the auction who had spent fifteen hundred Spirit Stones to buy the Green Trait, "Self-Severing Root"?