Before Completion

As Zilin finished speaking, Su Yao stood up and paced back and forth in the hall a few times. He stopped and looked at Zilin, saying:

"Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment, allow me to perform a divination."

He took out the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube from his Storage Bag, glanced at it, and sighed softly:

"It's a pity I only brought this tube; the Spirit Omens Fate-Determining Hexagram was left on the mountain."

Before she could finish speaking, Zilin exclaimed in astonishment:

"Spirit Omens Fate-Determining Hexagram?"

Su Yao looked up and saw Zilin's surprised expression, so he asked:

What's wrong with that?

Zilin came to her senses, shook her head with a wry smile:

"No... I just didn't expect that you would bring so many Spirit Treasure with you on your journey south."

As she spoke, she subtly withdrew her hand, which had been inside her sleeve, and moved her fingertips away from a cold bamboo divination tool without leaving a trace.

I thought to myself, "That was close!"

Before her departure, her martial uncle repeatedly instructed her that the treasures needed for this trip south had been borrowed from Qixia Temple, and that she should carry them with her, along with one of her family's Heavenly Governance treasures, in case of unforeseen circumstances.

When Su Yao mentioned wanting to perform divination, she instinctively wanted to take it out and consult it as well, completely forgetting that when her martial uncle lent her the treasure, he had imprisoned this Qixia Daozi for three days.

My uncle explained it clearly: Su Yao is a stubborn and unruly person. If he sees this divination tool and remembers the old grudge of being trapped, that's secondary. More importantly, when the treasure was borrowed, someone from Qixia Mountain explicitly said: Su Yao must not know that the treasure was being borrowed. This is because in earlier years, Su Yao liked to use this treasure, and was repeatedly stopped by the Perfected Qizhen, who scolded him, "You cultivate the Tao, why do you need to do so much divination?"

If Su Yao were to find out that this treasure was lent to outsiders without his knowledge, it would likely cause chaos on Qixia Mountain, giving the enlightened cultivators and those with extraordinary Purple Mansion a real headache.

Thinking of this, Zilin silently pushed the divination tool deeper into her sleeve, her expression remaining calm and saying nothing more.

Su Yao had already begun the Seven Star Steps, Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube in his hand swayed gently with each step, causing the eight divination sticks inside to collide and produce a clear, melodious sound like jade chimes.

He treads upon the seven luminaries, starting from the Heavenly Pivot, passing through the Heavenly Meridian, the Heavenly Pivot, the Heavenly Power, and finally reaching the Jade Balance, the Opening Sun, and the Shaking Light. With each step he takes, a flash of rosy light appears on his toes before disappearing.

After taking seven steps, he returned to his original position, holding the tube in his left hand, Hand Seals with his right, and silently reciting the incantation for the Heavenly Governance.

This divination was different from usual. After all three boxes were gathered, he had been on edge, and now he was completely absorbed into the divination tubes.

The dark blue-black cloud and thunder patterns on the tube lit up one by one, and the glow of the sunset spilled out from between his fingers, casting an uncertain light on half of his face.

"Inquire into the secrets of heaven!" Su Yao spoke in a deep voice. Before his words had even finished, he flicked his wrist, and a bamboo stick flew out of the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube and landed on the table.

He bent down and picked it up; the slip of paper was engraved with an ancient-style character for "separation".

He frowned slightly, shook the dial again, and the second lottery landed, but it was a "hump".

Zilin and Yang Xiu exchanged a glance, but neither of them spoke.

Su Yao placed the two lots side by side on the table and began to calculate with his fingers.

The trigram Li represents fire, and the trigram Kan represents water; with Li above and Kan below, the hexagram signifies "unresolved conflict" (or "unfinished harmony"). This is the sixty-fourth hexagram, "Fire and Water Unresolved."

The hexagram text says:

"Before crossing, success. A small fox almost crosses the river, but its tail gets wet; nothing is gained."

He stared at the two bamboo sticks in silence for a moment, but his brows gradually relaxed.

"How was it?" Zilin couldn't help but ask.

Su Yao put the two slips back into the tube before speaking:

"The Hexagram 'Before Completion' (未济卦) depicts fire above water. The fire desires to rise while the water flows downward, and the two are temporarily unable to complement each other, hence the name 'Before Completion'. The matter is not yet successful, but only the final step is needed."

Zilin's expression darkened slightly upon hearing this, but then Su Yao changed the subject:

"Although this hexagram is the last of the sixty-four hexagrams, it implicitly contains the meaning of 'the end is followed by a beginning.' King Wen concluded the entire text with 'Weiji' (未济), which means that the way of heaven and earth is endless. Although the matter is not yet completed, it is already close to dawn. The hexagram text 'The little fox almost crosses the river, but gets its tail wet' describes a little fox wading across the river. It is only a few steps away from crossing but gets its tail wet. It seems like a setback, but in fact it has already reached the shore and there is no major problem. It is just a matter of time."

He looked up at Zilin and Yang Xiu, his tone resolute:

"The families of Comet Light, Jade Spring, and Jieshi must have encountered some setbacks on their journey, but the divination results are clear."

It's not a major disaster, just a minor setback. They're already halfway there, just getting caught in the middle of the journey; they'll arrive sooner or later.

Upon hearing this, Zilin visibly breathed a sigh of relief, and Yang Xiu's playful expression turned serious as he nodded slightly.

Su Yao tucked the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube into his sleeve, gazing at the twilight outside the hall, bathed in the glow of the setting sun. He pondered to himself: While the Unfinished Hexagram is an auspicious sign, the phrase "wet its tail" carries a hint of unease. What exactly is this "minor setback"?

And who dares to secretly obstruct the southward journey of the Jade Pure One Dao lineage's successors?

He suppressed his doubts, turned around, returned to his desk, and sat down again.

The divination was now complete. Although the three still did not know the exact whereabouts of those families, the secrets of heaven had been revealed.

Just wait and see; there's no need to act rashly.

Three hundred miles north of the Miao Mountains, on a desolate mountain, seven figures stood facing each other.

Three people on the left and four on the right, each occupying their own territory, their auras locked in a standoff, none yielding an inch.

The one on the right, leading the group, was a boy who looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old. He was surrounded by a radiant glow, and as he looked across at the other side, his tone was calm, yet every word he spoke carried a sharp edge:

"Fellow Daoists, the land of Nanzhao is entangled in many affairs and troubled by worldly affairs. We, the people of the Mysterious Gate, should cultivate our spirituality in the mountains; this is the right path. Why should we get involved in that murky water?"

The man on the left, whose body shimmered with Silver Light, sneered upon hearing this.

"Your Yuanfu has quite the nerve. Your own disciples going into the mortal world are considered 'saving people and helping the world,' while we going to Nanzhao is considered 'worldly troubles'? If it comes to entering officialdom and making connections with powerful people, your Yuanfu is second to none! Isn't this a huge joke?"

The young man, bathed in the glow of dawn, frowned slightly, but his tone remained indifferent:

"The mortal world is a sea of suffering, and I only venture into it to help people according to fate. But your journey to Nanzhao may disrupt the Anning of that place, and prevent the descendants of the Orthodox God and the many descendants of the Wu Kingdom from finding peace."

Upon hearing this, the Silver Light man on the left, enraged, laughed and cursed:

"The Supreme Purity lineage actually has to take care of so many descendants of the Wu Kingdom; what a ridiculous joke!"

After speaking, he was about to step forward when a young man shrouded in golden light grabbed his shoulder.

The golden-haired youth shook his head at him, then turned to look across at the other side. His tone was much calmer than his companion's, but his sharpness was even greater:

"Brother Dao, why be angry? It seems Qixia Courtyard is already open, yet we are still being held here. In my opinion, we should fight..."

Before he could finish speaking, the young man in a moon-white feather robe standing next to the boy with the rosy clouds on his right suddenly interrupted, a faint smile playing on his lips:

"The three of you are no match for the four of us. Fellow Daoists, it would be best if you returned to the mountain as soon as possible, lest a fight break out and damage the harmony of the Mysterious Gate."

His words, spoken lightly, only fueled the discontent of the three men on his left.