"Sir, are you skilled in divination and calculation?"
In the dark chamber, candlelight flickered uncertainly, casting shadows that stretched and shrank as though ghosts were dancing wildly across the walls.
"That is a forbidden art, sir. Where did you learn it?"
The man on the high seat wore the faintest suggestion of a smile. Murderous intent lurked on his noble, handsome face as he hefted his wine cup, while the guards below laid their hands on their swords.
They needed only an order from Jiang Jie, the Lord White Mound renowned throughout the Eastern Yi lands, to pounce like savage tigers and give this babbling madman a thorough beating.
Yet the Daoist seated below remained composed, drinking at his ease. Hearing the lord's question, he set down his wine vessel, a little caution and ingratiation entering his expression.
The Daoist wore a gray cloth robe washed almost white. His face was lean and careworn, suggesting he had weathered no few hardships. Rising to bow, he said, "Lord White Mound welcomes retainers far and wide and invites practitioners of every path. All you hear concerns the Great Luo Immortal Dao, and your knowledge is vast. But the little I have learned has an origin that is... rather difficult to explain."
"Just speak plainly."
Jiang Jie was beginning to lose patience on his high seat. "I know your sort. Truth and falsehood, endless twists and turns, and never an honest word. If you have no genuine ability, you may leave-"
"What I learned came from the Thunder Palace. In those days, it was used to monitor all under heaven."
"Tian Qiong's arts?"
"Indeed."
"But as far as I know, Xuanhao shattered Tian Qiong's Dao Verification in the past. Since then, this Thunder Palace Immortal Lord's Dao has had no place in the