Each Tells His Own Account

Just like the mutual generation and restraint of the five elements, the theory of mutual restraint in destiny should not be completely believed, but it should not be completely disregarded either.

Some mysteries of the the Unseen are beyond the comprehension of humankind.

Gongsun Hong's rambling conversation left Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou exchanging bewildered glances.

Thinking of his miserable end after following Zhang Xuezhou around, Li Shaojun felt that the two were mortal enemies.

This miserable fate was sealed the moment the two met; he was killed by Zhang Xuezhou with a stone.

"This shouldn't be Zhang Xuezhou's problem. He even took that Rong Tianding, who has no cultivation, all the way to the Immortal Court and back. Moreover, this guy is said to have been born into poverty, but he's had a smooth and successful life all these years, and his cultivation is stronger than that of the core disciples of those great sects..."

Li Shaojun thought about it for a long time and concluded that there was something wrong with his destiny.

"If fate truly exists, it seems everyone around me has experienced some kind of great misfortune, even my parents. And it's not just in this world; in reality, many troubles have happened to those around me..."

Honggui the cause to himself, as did Li Shaojun and Zhang Xuezhou.

The concepts of destiny and fortune mentioned by Gongsun Hong are similar, but also different.

There are many people with bad destiny but good luck, and it's also normal for people with good destiny to have bad luck.

Some people are born with terrible luck, while others are philanthropists who make friends far and wide, but end up with ruined families.

Zhang Xuezhou wandered around aimlessly, sometimes lucky and sometimes unlucky. As for those who followed him around, not many were lucky; even Rong Tianding almost died in Chang'an City.

Thinking about it this way, he couldn't help but feel that there was something wrong with his destiny.

When the three looked at each other, everyone noticed a hint of guilt in each other's eyes.

"Actually, I think if there are definite and feasible methods for fortune telling, even if they are temporary, we can use them," Zhang Xuezhou finally suggested.

"I agree," Li Shaojun nodded.

"This requires brainstorming. Everyone, please check if your school of thought has any relevant content," Gongsun Hong said. "Dongfang Shuo is right. Even if it's just for temporary use, it will help us get through this difficult time!"

"Yellow Emperor's Yin Talisman Scripture is unavailable, do any of you have other methods?" Zhang Xuezhou said, "Let's not worry about who has bad fortune; let's try out any related theories and see if they work!"

"My Confucian School doesn't have that information, but if you do, I can provide an analysis," Gongsun Hong said.

"Then my Yin-Yang School is all about alchemy and array formations, there's even less chance I could do that!"

Zhang Xuezhou thought about the Person-Fixing Technique Person-Fixing Technique, but felt it was useless. Fortune tellers have always had the problem of calculating others but not themselves, making it extremely difficult to determine the direction when it involves oneself.

"You're all looking at me, but I..."

"Although the Daoism you belong to is not Huang-Lao Daoism, it should contain some related content!"

Li Shaojun replied with a headache, and then Gongsun Hong offered some advice.

"My studies are primarily based on the teachings of Laozi (Li Er), the founder of Daoism, supplemented by the philosophy of Zhuangzi," Li Shaojun said. "I remember that your Confucian School has a book called the Book of Changes (Zhouyi), which is full of profound mysteries. It is said that the Book of Changes governs the world. Doesn't it contain any theories of destiny?"

"The three classics, the Zhouyi, the Lianshan, and the Guizang, are the three classics of Confucian School. They are said to contain profound mysteries, but I have not been able to understand them," said Gongsun Hongdao.

"If what I've learned could change my fate, I wouldn't have ended up like this," Li Shaojun said.

"The same applies to me," Gongsun Hongdao said.

"You say you don't understand, I say I don't understand, whether we can learn it or not depends on fate," Li Shaojun said.

"These are good words," Gongsun Hongdao said.

"Whoever learns it, it's worth it as long as it can temporarily change our destiny," Zhang Xuezhou chimed in.

"You Yin-Yang School..."

"The Yin-Yang School is particularly adept at harmonizing Yin and Yang and the Five Elements. It is said that they possess scriptures such as 'The Master of Destiny,' 'The Great Sage,' 'The Beginning and End,' and 'The Chronicles of the Nine Provinces and Four Seas,' which should also relate to this!"

Zhang Xuezhou was trying to take advantage of the situation again, which made Gongsun Hong think for a moment, while Li Shaojun directly pointed out the doctrines that the Yin-Yang School might be involved in.

"The 'Records of the Nine Provinces and Four Seas' is a geographical treatise, mentioning that the world is divided into nine provinces and four seas, involving geographical distinctions. This text is of little use," Zhang Xuezhou said. "The 'Great Sage' records many strange and monstrous creatures, the 'Beginning and End' records the theory of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements, involving the mutual generation and restraint of medicines, and the 'Master of Destiny' is about alchemy and fire regulation. What I have inherited is the content of the Nine Heavens Sect. As for whether the content of the Nine People Sect is different, I have no idea."

Zhang Xuezhou learned a lot from Zou Bugui. At the time, Zou Bugui thought that life and death were uncontrollable, so he practically stuffed all his knowledge into Zhang Xuezhou.

Zhang Xuezhou memorized a lot and wrote down a lot of knowledge, but when it came to applying it, he had very little. To date, he had only used some Pill Formula and had also cultivated the art of realm cultivation.

However, as a once-prosperous Yin-Yang School of Yin-Yang, its content was once proud of the world and was not much inferior to major schools of thought such as Daoism and Confucian School.

Reminded by Li Shaojun, Zhang Xuezhou finally had to speak up and explain the scriptures that Li Shaojun had mentioned to the other two.

The focus of this group's discussion was on adjusting one's destiny, which differed from the usual approach.

Each of the three had their own opinion, and none of them tried to take advantage of the others. As for whether they could learn anything from each other, that depended on their own abilities.

Zhang Xuezhou might still have the ability to wait, but Gongsun Hong and Li Shaojun had no choice at the moment and were practically fighting for their lives.

As they spoke in hushed tones, both were fully focused, and beads of sweat dripped from their foreheads.

"Disaster!"

If Li Shaojun found it difficult to learn, Gongsun Hong couldn't figure it out, and Zhang Xuezhou also lacked insights, then it would be much more difficult for him to stand out from the crowd.

Rather than asking what they wanted to achieve in their cultivation, the three of them should simply recount the important classics of their respective schools of thought and see if they could stumble upon something by sheer luck.

For most people, this was the only option they had.

Even if Zhang Xuezhou could hold out a little longer, he wasn't confident he could survive until the secret realm opened.

If the secret place opens while he is unconscious and closes again when he wakes up, Zhang Xuezhou could also be trapped there, so he has to be wary of this possibility.

If possible, Zhang Xuezhou would certainly prefer to leave this secret place with everyone, rather than watch Li Shaojun and Gongsun Hong die here, and then suffer alone.

Moreover, leaving the secret realm involves a voyage back, which would be a great challenge for Zhang Xuezhou personally.

He listened attentively to what Li Shaojun had to say, occasionally asking questions that touched on Li Shaojun's and Gongsun Hong's explanations.

The same applies to Zhang Xuezhou Zhang Xuezhou; there were instances where two people questioned him during his narration, and each offered their own explanation.

"Your recitation of scriptures is hesitant and unsatisfying!"

As the black color became almost completely black, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but utter a complaint.

"It's not that we're being evasive, but who could remember so much?" Li Shaojun said with a headache, "If we can get out of this secret place, I'll show you those secret manuals from Laozi and Zhuangzi!"

"I've memorized the Book of Changes, the Lianshan Classic, and the Guizang Classic for decades, but even I'm bound to make mistakes, and I can't explain them clearly," Gongsun Hongdao said. "If I could have a future, I would definitely study hard!"

"I haven't learned anything," Zhang Xuezhou said. "I haven't felt anything about destiny. I don't even know if destiny is even real. I feel like my destiny is terrible and needs to be changed!"

Yes, definitely!

"I still believe!"

The three of them spent a day and a half in a daze discussing things, while also having thoughts of cultivation. They chewed on a bunch of grass roots and leaves. When an abnormal sliver of dawn appeared in the night sky, the sky suddenly turned from darkness to daylight, and everyone was overjoyed.

Although it's unknown whether someone altered their destiny, whether a vow took effect, or whether the timing was simply right, this secret place has already come into contact with the human world.