Unless Hai Bodong Had a Script

In a secluded private courtyard of the Xiao Clan in Wutan City, Xun'er sat on the roof, enjoying the breeze. A copy of the diary floated in midair, visible only to her.

"Just as I thought, it sped up again."

"This time it covered an even longer span, going straight to a month before the coming-of-age ceremony, another crucial turning point in Xiao Yan's life."

"It should only take a few days before it reaches what happened recently."

"When that happens, will the diary stop updating, or will it continue into the future?"

Xun'er leaned toward the latter: the diary's owner would write about Xiao Yan's future.

After all, he had already mentioned in the diary that Xiao Yan would become a Dou Di, which meant he knew what would happen to Xiao Yan in the future.

"From the declining Xiao Clan, he rose all the way to become the first Dou Di in ten thousand years. Xiao Yan must have encountered one fortuitous opportunity after another and endured trials of life and death along the way."

"If I can learn the future, I can claim a share of some valuable opportunities and step in to help at precisely the right moment when he encounters danger, maximizing the benefits."

Xun'er felt that she might have found the diary's true purpose.

It let her glimpse the future. Without telling anyone else, she could profit from her foreknowledge.

Leaving the diary's owner aside, even befriending the future Flame Emperor and gaining a chance to go to the Great Thousand World would be a supreme opportunity.

"Only the third update, and it's already reached three months ago?"

In the sect master's hall on the back mountain of the Misty Cloud Sect, Yun Yun held a report and fell into thought.

The report concerned Xiao Yan's recent circumstances. Three days ago, he had passed Jia Nan Academy's assessment and lasted ten rounds against a Da Dou Shi, successfully obtaining a year's leave.

Even without the diary, the talent he had shown by cultivating from Three-Stage Dou Qi to a Three-Star Dou Practitioner in a year and three months was enough to draw attention.

"This is a good thing." A gleam appeared in Yun Yun's beautiful eyes, and her fair fingers began tapping rhythmically on the desk.

Today was the third day of diary updates, and it had already reached events from three months ago in Xiao Yan's life.

Perhaps in another three days, it would reach Xiao Yan's future, revealing how he grew and what dangers he encountered.

She only needed to choose the right moment to intervene, and she could establish goodwill with Xiao Yan.

As long as the young man truly was as the diary's owner had described, the conflict brought about by the Three-Year Agreement could be resolved.

She might even use this to become friends with Xiao Yan and lead the Misty Cloud Sect to greater heights.

"Still, Xiao Yan is only a backup. I need to find a way to make the diary's owner notice me, or find him."

"That's the greatest opportunity in my obtaining a copy of the diary."

After a day of calm reflection, Yun Yun was no longer afraid of the crisis Xiao Yan would bring upon the Misty Cloud Sect.

So what if he was a future Dou Di? Could he possibly contend with the diary's owner?

She, Yun Yun, had obtained a copy of the diary; fortune had favored her as well.

As long as she seized this opportunity, her future would be bright!

"In three days, eleven months have passed for Xiao Yan, the protagonist in the diary. It really isn't just a record of each day's events."

"I only wonder how strong Xiao Yan is now and how far he has progressed."

Near Desert City in the Jia Ma Empire's northeastern province, Medusa was leafing through her copy of the diary. Dou Qi Wings had formed behind her, and from a certain angle, she seemed to blend into the moon.

"This Yao Lao is at least an Eighth-Tier alchemist with a Spirit Realm Soul. Otherwise, even if this ring were special, he couldn't possibly survive in soul form."

"An Eighth-Tier alchemist is worth cooperating with."

Queen Medusa gave a casual wave, making the diary copy disappear, and narrowed her purple eyes slightly.

Xiao Yan judged that he could break through to Dou Di in the future and even open a passage from the Lower Plane to the Great Thousand World. This had given Medusa the idea of investing in him.

But she placed greater value on immediate benefits. Xiao Yan's future breakthrough to Dou Di certainly made him worth investing in, but he might still be an ant right now.

Yao Lao, the Eighth-Tier alchemist, on the other hand, was someone she could never have hoped to reach before. But now, as a soul residing in a host, he was more worthy of investment and trade.

"I can have him refine a Seventh-grade Transformation Pill for me. First, I'll transform and break through to Dou Zong, then evolve my bloodline to improve my talent. That has a better chance of success than using Heavenly Flames to evolve and break through."

"If he's an alchemist, he certainly won't be able to refuse Heavenly Flames. I happen to have one that I haven't yet brought back to the Snake-People Tribe."

Queen Medusa made up her mind. This made her even more eager to obtain information about Xiao Yan, so she prepared to continue her journey without sleep or rest.

But the next moment, she suddenly stopped and turned to look beneath the clouds not far away, where Desert City was faintly visible.

"My power is there."

A light flashed in Queen Medusa's eyes, and she immediately moved at speed.

Several dozen breaths later, she arrived above Desert City and descended unnoticed in the night, like a drifting red cloud, quietly slipping into the city.

Following the pull of her bloodline, she swiftly made her way to a street in a relatively remote corner of the city and landed, the Dou Qi Wings behind her silently withdrawing.

"A map shop?"

Looking at the quaint old shop before her, Queen Medusa raised a hand and gathered power. A wisp of red Dou Qi appeared and quickly condensed into a palm-length little serpent, crystalline from head to tail.

The little serpent landed and slithered along the ground, entering the building ahead in the blink of an eye.

A few breaths later, the little serpent of Qi returned and slipped into Medusa's body.

Queen Medusa closed her eyes to receive the information the little serpent had brought back. A few breaths later, her lips slowly curved upward, like a beautiful serpent woman catching the scent of prey.

"Snake Seal. This presence... it's Hai Bodong."

It truly was an unexpected delight for her.

More than ten years ago, Hai Bodong had obtained a fragment of a map in the Snake-People Tribe's territory deep in the Tagor Desert. After she discovered him, she had pursued him relentlessly.

At the time, she had used the Snake Seal to drive Hai Bodong into a desperate situation. As time passed, his cultivation would steadily decline, until he became fish on her chopping board.

But just then, the faint image of the diary copy had appeared in her mind, making her think she had fallen victim to a sneak attack. She had stopped pursuing him, giving Hai Bodong a chance to escape.

Otherwise, she was confident she could have prevented Hai Bodong from escaping.

When the diary first began updating, she had also wondered whether it might have something to do with Hai Bodong.

But now that she had learned of Xiao Yan's future course, as well as things like the Lower Plane and the Great Thousand World, from the diary copy, she no longer thought so.

Could Hai Bodong see Xiao Yan's future?

And write it in a diary for her to see as well?

"How interesting."

"After all these years, this fellow still hasn't managed to remove the seal I left on him. He can only hide away in Desert City like a turtle, clinging to life. It seems things weren't going so well for him back then; he must have feared a sneak attack by his enemies."

"In that case, I should take back the map fragment that belongs to me."

Queen Medusa raised both hands, formed a hand seal, and drew upon her Dou Qi.

She was a Nine-Star Peak Dou Emperor and had remained at that realm for a long time. She could call upon a little spatial power, and if not for the limitations of her bloodline talent, she might have broken through long ago.

The Snake-People Tribe had a secret technique that could draw upon spatial power to set up a barrier of Qi, similar to the Space Lock created by a Dou Zong expert.

"The barrier is complete. Time to see this old friend."