Fang Hong "looked inward" into the sea of consciousness in his Niwan Palace and saw an octagonal bronze mirror suspended motionlessly at its center. Its surface was clear as a cold pool, its rim engraved with cloud-and-thunder patterns and the two seal-script characters for "Fate Mirror."
As he examined it closely, he discovered a brightly burning candle slowly lighting up within the mirror, its flame seemingly motionless.
A wondrous connection formed between Fang Hong's mind and the mirror. Understanding dawned within him, revealing how to use it.
The candle flame in the mirror could reveal the fortune or misfortune of his own daily actions. If the flame soared and the candlelight blazed brightly, it meant that whatever he was about to do bore an omen of great fortune.
If the candlelight flickered unsteadily, on the verge of going out, it was an omen of great misfortune.
Between those two extremes, there would be neither joy nor disaster, only the ordinary course of things.
If the candlelight alternately brightened and dimmed, it could signify misfortune hidden within fortune, or fortune hidden within misfortune.
If he used the mirror to examine someone else, he could also see the combination of auspicious deities and inauspicious influences within that person's fate.
This [Fate Mirror] seemed both real and illusory. Unable to distinguish truth from illusion for the moment, Fang Hong could only set the matter aside in his heart.
Just then, the door was gently pushed open, and a young woman in a water-green dress walked gracefully inside, carrying a tray.
"You're awake, young master. Time to eat." Her voice was clear and sweet as she greeted him with a smile.
Fang Hong looked at the girl. She had a slender, delicate figure and an exquisite face, its fair skin so tender it seemed water could be squeezed from it. She looked soft, sweet, and adorably obedient.
This was the original owner's maid, Xiao Ya.
He nodded and spoke in the original owner's usual mild tone. "Put it down."
Xiao Ya went to the table and set down the dishes of spirit food on the tray, then turned and approached him. Taking his robes with practiced ease, she helped him dress while saying, "Steward Mu is already waiting downstairs. The Shangqing Sect's entrance assessment starts during the hour of the snake, so you'll have to leave here during the hour of the dragon, young master."
Her breath was fragrant as orchids, and a faint, delicate scent lingered about her. Her pretty face, fair and smooth without a trace of makeup, was pleasing to the eye.
Soon dressed, Fang Hong approached the table. Several delicious dishes suffused with spiritual energy and auspicious radiance lay before him. Having absorbed the original owner's memories, he naturally recognized them all-
Cloud Dew Silken Broth, Spirit Spring Jade Cattail Soup, Jade Scallions with Braised Dark Ginseng, and Rich Spirit Golden Millet Porridge.
Breakfast for an aristocratic clan's scion really is extravagant. These dishes would buy ten days' worth of spirit rice for a mid-stage Qi Refining rogue cultivator.
He sat down and began eating breakfast, asking casually, "Are the others up yet?"
Besides him, the Yunchuan Fang Household had recommended three others from the lineage to take part in this Shangqing Sect entrance assessment.
Xiao Ya covered her mouth and chuckled. "They didn't sleep at all last night. They were all meditating in their rooms. They came downstairs first thing this morning, and they're chatting with Steward Mu right now."
"See? You should have woken me earlier. They must have been waiting a while."
Hearing that, Fang Hong could not help eating faster, giving the girl a look of feigned reproach.
Xiao Ya pouted. "I just wanted to let you sleep a little longer, young master. As long as you're not late, it's fine."
As they spoke, Fang Hong finished his first meal since transmigrating, rose, and left the room with Xiao Ya, heading downstairs.
This inn belonged to the Yunchuan Fang Household. It had closed its doors to other guests these past few days to accommodate Fang Hong.
Four people were waiting for him in the inn's classically furnished lobby.
At their head stood a middle-aged man of distinguished bearing, dressed in fine robes, his expression composed. He was a steward of the Fang Household's External Affairs Hall, named Fang Mu.
The three young people beside him, two men and one woman, were all promising cultivation seedlings heading to the Shangqing Sect this time.
The moment Fang Hong came downstairs, the young woman caught his eye.
She wore a plain white dress and had a tall figure, fair skin, and a face like lustrous jade. Her oval face was a few degrees prettier than Xiao Ya's, and her manner was cold as ice, giving off a sense of distance that warned strangers away.
When she glimpsed Fang Hong coming down, a trace of displeasure appeared between her willow-leaf brows, but she said nothing.
Her name was Su Yao, and she was the younger sister of the original owner's fiancée, Su Wan.
Neither she nor her sister Su Wan belonged to the Fang lineage. Fang Hong's mother had adopted the sisters as children and raised them.
The elder sister, Su Wan, possessed a second-grade spiritual meridian. Not only was her talent astonishing, but she had also encountered a considerable stroke of fortune. She had joined the Shangqing Sect five years earlier and had now reached Foundation Establishment, rising into the ranks of the Shangqing Sect's true disciples.
The original owner had been betrothed to Su Wan when he was young. She was three years older than Fang Hong, and the two could be considered childhood sweethearts, with an excellent relationship. But since Su Wan had entered the Shangqing Sect to cultivate, they had rarely seen each other.
Another important reason Fang Jian had sent his son to the Shangqing Sect this time was his fear that this daughter-in-law with "a great future on the immortal path" might one day break off the engagement. He had therefore repeatedly instructed Fang Hong to find an opportunity after entering the Shangqing Sect to cook the raw rice into a finished meal.
Su Yao's talent was no less than her sister's, but for some unknown reason, Fang Hong's mother did not favor her. She was close to Fang Hong's age and would have been a more suitable match, yet his mother had firmly insisted on choosing the slightly older Su Wan.
In the inn's lobby, Fang Hong said with a smile, "I overslept and got up late. Sorry to have kept you all waiting."
A kindly smile appeared on Steward Mu's face as he replied, "Not late at all. I know the route well. We have more than enough time."
The other two members of the Fang lineage also offered a string of flattering remarks, saying they did not mind.
As the saying went, when a man was rich, even his water tasted sweet; when his office was high, even his farts smelled fragrant.
The original owner held the most exalted status among the Fang Household's younger generation. Not only did the two dare not complain, they even praised him for maintaining a tranquil Dao heart before important events and possessing a transcendent disposition they could never hope to match.
Both were under twenty. One was named Fang Qing, with a round face, large ears, and a plump frame. Despite his youth, he already sported a large belly, and his face was all smiles.
The other youth was named Fang Li. He had an ape's broad back and a wasp's narrow waist, handsome features, sword-like brows, and star-bright eyes. He gave an impression of firm resolve, just like the protagonist of a novel.
As for Su Yao, she had always been aloof and taciturn, rarely smiling or joking. Having waited ages for Fang Hong that morning, she had long since grown somewhat impatient. When Fang Hong greeted her now, she merely gave a lukewarm hum of acknowledgment.
Steward Mu looked at Fang Hong and asked, "Young Master Hong, shall we set off, then?"
Fang Hong nodded. "Let's go."
The six of them left the inn. Steward Mu swept his sleeve and summoned a lavishly styled carriage, then took out two talismans. With a surge of his spell, white light flickered from the talismans as they transformed into a pair of snow-white lions, which crouched by the shafts and took up the carriage.
The six boarded and took their seats. The talisman snow lions first drew the carriage through the market's main street. Once they had passed beneath the archway at the market's north gate and beyond its great flight-suppressing sealing formation, Steward Mu raised a hand and pointed. Two masses of glowing cloud rose beneath the talisman snow lions' feet, carrying the luxurious carriage into the air and straight toward the northern sky.
Fang Hong looked down. The island where the Shangqing Immortal Market stood soon shrank into a tiny dot and vanished.
Ahead lay blue sea and azure sky, stretching beyond sight.
The morning sun was just rising over the eastern sea. Surging waves reflected the great sun, shimmering with red ripples of extraordinary beauty.
A thought stirred in him. Remembering his [Fate Mirror] talent, he instinctively "looked inward," wanting to see the signs of fortune or misfortune in this journey to the Shangqing Sect.
The candlelight within the octagonal bronze mirror first flickered unsteadily, then stabilized. Its flame soared, filling the mirror with brilliant light.
Fortune hidden within misfortune?
What danger could there be at the Shangqing Sect? Could someone discover that I cheated my way into the sect? That shouldn't happen...
Fang Hong felt somewhat puzzled. To a great Golden Core cultivator, cheating someone into the sect was nothing at all.
He was merely going through the motions. There had already been plenty of precedents; he was neither the first nor the last.
As the son of a Golden Core cultivator, how could something like this bring him danger? Besides, if it were exposed, what auspicious omen could possibly follow?
His thoughts churned. He looked at Su Yao inside the carriage and quietly examined her with the Fate Mirror.
The candlelight vanished from the mirror, replaced by a brilliant golden glow. Within that glow appeared a constantly rotating, grid-patterned compass, at whose very center shone a dazzling purple-gold star!
A strand of mystic knowledge passed from the Fate Mirror into Fang Hong's sea of consciousness, instantly allowing him to understand the deity or influence within Su Yao's fate and what it represented.
-Heavenly Yi Noble.
The most auspicious noble deity, signifying aid from benefactors and the transformation of adversity into good fortune!
Unlike the mixture of fortune and misfortune within Fang Hong's fate, Su Yao's fate contained this one auspicious deity, and nothing else.
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