Rivals in the Same Trade

"I used to be only three feet tall, but after I gained the Demon Power, I became incredibly greedy, and my body kept growing until I was nine feet tall. I'm still secretly growing taller!"

So, does that mean I'll grow taller too?

Nezha is frustrated because he did something wrong, Jinxia Yuanjun is frustrated because she suffered a major injury, and Zhang Xuezhou is affected by the words of the painted demon and feels a bit bad.

After Rong Tianding communicated with the nine-foot-tall giant, his joy at having narrowly escaped trouble turned into frustration.

"If you can grow from three feet to nine feet, then my five-foot frame will grow to eleven feet!" Rong Tianding exclaimed in surprise.

I think you're very good at math!

The giant couldn't figure out how Rong Tianding knew he would be eleven feet tall, so he could only reply to Rong Tianding in a muffled voice.

You're so funny!

Rong Tianding dejectedly echoed this, then touched his hungry stomach.

Even with his stomach bloated, the presence of the gluttonous Demon Power kept his appetite craving to eat again.

If he could, Rong Tianding felt it was better to be a human being.

But the surge of energy within him made him feel that he could overcome this eating mentality.

In the past, he had helped people catch pigs in Chang'an City as easily as lifting a dog. Rong Tianding felt that he could probably lift an ox right now, though he would be even hungrier afterward.

The development of the Taotie's Demon Power is not as troublesome as that of the Ancestral Dragon's Essence Blood; as long as it keeps consuming, this Demon Power will continue to grow.

Although there are drawbacks to his ability to lose control, as long as he can regulate his eating, he will indeed acquire a good and suitable Demon Power, and will also have some power to protect himself and Zhang Xuezhou.

My cousin looks a little sad!

Rong Tianding glanced at the Taiyi Palace.

The matter was over, and in principle they could leave, but Zhang Xuezhou hadn't come out, and Yao Yuanguang, who had led the way, had also been summoned inside.

Jinxia Yuanjun did not go out, nor did the handsome young man who was feared by everyone before.

"If you calculate it correctly, I'll add an extra longevity elixir to your reward!"

In the Taiyi Palace, Jinxia Yuanjun was indeed seeking fortune-telling.

After a wave of great physiognomists died, there are very few people with top-level physiognomy skills nowadays, and Yao Yuanguang is already considered one of the best.

However, Yao Yuanguang also looked hesitant, and only reluctantly agreed after Jinxia Yuanjun raised the stakes again.

"My cultivation is shallow; I have only reached the Divine Ability Realm so far. My divination for Yuanjun has only a 30% chance of being accurate," Yao Yuanguang said.

"Are you telling my senior brother's fortune?" Jinxia Yuanjun asked.

"Ten percent, or even less than ten percent," Yao Yuanguang said.

"That's too low! What's the difference between this fortune-telling and not telling anything at all? Even if I were to guess randomly, I'd have a 50% chance of being right!" Nezha complained. "Junior brother, don't believe these swindlers!"

Nezha's words made Yao Yuanguang look embarrassed, which made him point at Zhang Xuezhou.

"But if I join my nephew in performing physiognomy, the accuracy rate should increase," Yao Yuanguang said awkwardly.

"I won't," Zhang Xuezhou said dejectedly. "All I want now is to go back to Chang'an City!"

Zhang Xuezhou didn't know what Yao Yuanguang's physiognomy technique looked like, but his current technique could only peek into fragments of memory, revealing some past events from the other person's memories.

This is definitely a deceptive trick.

Unless one possesses Zhang Manqian's special abilities, that would be considered the ability to foresee the future.

"Nephew, this is a gift from the Primordial Sovereign, a golden opportunity for us to extend our lives," Yao Yuanguang advised. "This one pill is equivalent to thirty years of your life!"

Yao Yuanguang didn't want to take on such a hot potato, and he didn't even consider asking for another longevity pill.

Judging from Jinxia Yuanjun's appearance, if this matter isn't handled properly today, it will be difficult for him to obtain the golden pill he obtained from the previous mission.

Now that things have come to the point where they're asking Jinxia Yuanjun for fortune-telling, Yao Yuanguang feels that things must have gotten really bad.

He winked repeatedly, signaling to Zhang Xuezhou to help him.

"You're using someone else to cast spells simply because you don't want to pay the price and need to use me as a medium to transfer the damage caused by the spell," Zhang Xuezhou said, looking up.

"But..."

Yao Yuanguang frowned slightly, and whispered as he recounted how Zhang Xuezhou's previous use of the Acupoint-Fixing Technique had caused the collapse of the Taiyi Palace's grand formation.

"I am incredibly fortunate to have a senior master like you!" Zhang Xuezhou said with a grim expression.

It seems that everyone in this Taiyi Palace is having a hard time.

Yao Yuanguang's lifespan is nearing its end, Zhang Xuezhou is being coerced, Jinxia Yuanjun is plotting to destroy everything, and Nezha is being ostracized, disliked by few, and lacking in social skills; it's hard to say when he might meet his demise.

Everyone was trying to break the deadlock. Zhang Xuezhou had already left Taiyi Palace, but Yao Yuanguang pulled him back.

Before Jinxia Yuanjun could even speak, Yao Yuanguang seemed to know what she was going to ask and how to respond.

"Don't blame me. If I hadn't obtained the golden elixir bestowed by the Primordial Lord, I would have only three months left to live. I had no other choice," Yao Yuanguang said telepathically. "At higher levels of physiognomy, one can indeed glimpse a sliver of the future, but the price is that the corresponding number of years of lifespan will be taken away from the physiognomist for every glimpse of the future. The other longevity golden elixir will compensate you for that!"

"Why should I believe you?" Zhang Xuezhou asked in a low voice.

"You can only trust me," Yao Yuanguang transmitted his voice. "If I were to reveal that you used the Acupoint-Fixing Technique, causing such severe damage to the Bagua Bewildering Array, you and your cousin would be beaten to death!"

"You can't escape either," Zhang Xuezhou said.

"So we can cooperate and avoid this fatal disaster," Yao Yuanguang said.

"I can't trust you unless you give me something that can get you killed," Zhang Xuezhou said. "Only after this matter is settled can I return the leverage to you!"

Having learned from his mistakes, Zhang Xuezhou, having clashed with Yao Yuanguang several times, clearly did not want to be passive again.

"If you want to cooperate, then cooperate. After all, I'm feeling really down right now, and it's entirely possible that I might suddenly have a change of heart," Zhang Xuezhou urged in a low voice.

"I..."

"Don't talk about secrets. I want a simple, direct, and potentially fatal method for you," Zhang Xuezhou said, shaking his head. "My relationship with Yuanjun might be more stable than you calculated, and we might even escape this disaster!"

"Then why should I believe you?"

Are you willing to gamble?

Two weeks ago, Yao Yuanguang asked Zhang Xuezhou the same question, but Zhang Xuezhou didn't dare to gamble at the time.

Two weeks later, Yao Yuanguang also dared not gamble.

If he takes one step forward, he can easily gain twenty years of lifespan; but if he takes one step back, he may die in the Taiyi Palace, or perish three months later.

Faced with the inevitable death, or to take a gamble, Yao Yuanguang's choice was indeed not difficult.

"My Lord, there is a high risk involved in my magic with the Eastern cultivator. He fears I will kill him and needs to hold my life in his hands before he dares to use his magic with peace of mind," Yao Yuanguang said loudly. "If I harm the Eastern cultivator with my magic, I beg you, My Lord, to grant me death!"

"Huh?" Jinxia Yuanjun asked in surprise, "Is that so?"

"You guys are having fun!" Nezha said happily. "This is simple. Forget about being sentenced to death. You little old man, you messed things up, and I just grabbed you and threw you two miles away. That's my mission accomplished!"

"You're good at deception and scheming; perhaps you can persuade the Yuan King to spare you. Only by putting leverage in my cousin's hands can I feel at ease!"

Zhang Xuezhou shook his head.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Jinxia Yuanjun and Nezha, but rather that he wouldn't compromise with Yao Yuanguang in the slightest on this matter.

Colleagues are indeed rivals; this was true for Hongku, and it was clearly true for Yao Yuanguang as well.