Inside the room, Zhang Tian and Master Yimei sat on the floor.
Beneath them, Master Yimei had drawn a formation pattern on the ground, resembling a fortune teller's astrological chart. The diagram included arrangements of celestial bodies and arrays of celestial palaces, among other things. Zhang Tian and Master Yimei sat in a state of opposition, positioned between the fates of life and death. Zhang Tian's Heavenly Palace Compass was placed at the center.
"Good disciple, you divine, I shall assist," Master Yimei said. Zhang Tian nodded. He then formed hand seals with practiced ease and began carving on the Heavenly Palace Compass before him. The compass's needle spun continuously.
A bead of cold sweat gradually appeared on Zhang Tian's forehead. The greater the danger of a tomb, the less accurate the calculations of Qimen Dunjia, and the fewer things could be divined. For instance, during the previous encounter with the weasel's tomb, Zhang Tian had only managed to calculate a few circumstances, not the final outcome. It was clear that divining the fate for the Jingjue Ancient City would be even more difficult.
Fortune-telling encompassed not only the guidance of the twenty-eight constellations but also the calculation of one's own destiny. It could be said that for Zhang Tian, the most important aspect of fortune-telling was calculating his own destiny; he was not yet capable of calculating that of others.
"The Eastern constellations revolve outward, the Southern constellations inward. This destiny is truly unyielding," Master Yimei murmured, forming hand seals. "Southern constellations, Northern constellations, heed my command! Kang Jin Long Ancestor, reveal yourself swiftly!" Master Yimei continuously chanted incantations, while Zhang Tian's hands did not falter.
Zhang Tian discovered that despite possessing the complete version of Qimen Dunjia, he could only divine a meager number of destinies. "In the depths of fate, something seems to be obstructing me," Zhang Tian thought, accelerating his movements. A faint golden light flickered within the room. This was the relay of Kang Jin Long.
"Buzz." The Heavenly Palace Compass emitted a sound, and then the needle began to slow down. It seemed that due to the unseen force, Zhang Tian's Heavenly Palace Compass developed a slight crack. Zhang Tian was stunned. Good heavens, the compass he had purchased at great expense had cracked? Was it because the unknown power was too great and its capacity too small, causing it to crack? Just how powerful was this Jingjue Ancient City, then? No, how powerful was its queen? The compass had cracked before he had even finished the divination?
Meanwhile, outside.
Looking at the door of Zhang Tian's room, Fatty couldn't help but speak. "Old Hu, Brother and Master are having a really intense session in there. The house is shaking." "And there was golden light shooting out," Fatty added with emotion. Hu Bayi nodded without fully understanding. "Mmm, it seems this divination is not simple." As Hu Bayi spoke, Shirley Yang by his side seemed to have an idea, her cheeks flushing slightly. Zhang Qilin's expression was solemn. "I feel a very powerful force." He frowned slightly. From Zhang Tian's room, he could sense a powerful force other than Zhang Tian's. At this moment, Zhang Qilin couldn't help but worry about Zhang Tian.
Inside the room.
The needle began to stop. It finally settled on three positions. "Taiyi Bagua, Divine Fire manifests, Ancestor above, Golden Dragon Ancestor return." Master Yimei murmured, his body showing signs of weakness. Helping Zhang Tian with this divination had truly been an ordeal, nearly costing him his spiritual essence.
Zhang Tian took a deep breath. If he hadn't already reached the Grandmaster level, this divination would have surely cost him several years of his lifespan. Furthermore, Zhang Tian had noticed that his cultivation had been showing a significant upward trend in recent days, and it wasn't solely due to consuming elixirs. It was likely time for a breakthrough.
He looked at the hexagrams. "The first one is Kang Jin Long?" Zhang Tian frowned slightly, looking at Kang Jin Long on the first hexagram. Kang Jin Long was, needless to say, an auspicious star. It was the one that helped Sun Wukong escape from the Golden Pan of the Great King Huangmei back then. Zhang Tian certainly liked this hexagram, but its appearance at the very beginning was quite vexing. Kang Jin Long essentially meant that after Zhang Tian arrived, he would have noble assistance, and things would go smoothly. But what happened afterward was unknown.
Next, he saw Wei Yue Yan, an extremely dangerous constellation located in the Vermillion Bird sector. It was a constellation typically associated with war and represented danger to those who lagged behind. It was a perilous constellation. The appearance of this constellation indicated that after entering the ancient city, Zhang Tian and his companions should avoid being the rearguard as much as possible. Otherwise, they would face great danger. Zhang Tian's brow furrowed, and he looked at the next hexagram.
It was better not to look, but looking made him jump in shock. Gui Jin Yang. This was even more self-explanatory. This hexagram had appeared before in the Xisha region, and it had been a truly terrible experience. Now, with three hexagrams divined, two of them dangerous, it was almost better not to have divined at all.
"Alas, good disciple, look, there seems to be a fourth hexagram here." Suddenly, Master Yimei pointed to a spot on the cracked compass. Indeed, upon closer inspection, two characters appeared above the Azure Dragon constellation. "Xin Yue!" Seeing these two characters, Zhang Tian became even more disheartened. Why of all things, did it have to be Xin Yue Hu again? Xin Yue Hu had appeared once before, and Zhang Tian hadn't expected it to show up again this time. However, this time, there seemed to be no suspense.
"Well, at least the last one is an auspicious star," Zhang Tian said. Master Yimei, however, shook his head. "Actually, several star positions in between were not divined." Master Yimei said this with a hint of seriousness.
"There are still star positions?" Zhang Tian was surprised. His own divinatory skills were far inferior to Master Yimei's. After all, Master Yimei and Zhang Tian were not of the same generation, and Master Yimei's divinatory abilities were much stronger than Zhang Tian's. "Master, you mean..."
"After the rain, the sky will clear, and the rainbow will appear. Good disciple, you may experience various hardships in the process, but I believe you will overcome all difficulties and witness that coveted Xin Yue Hu," Master Yimei said earnestly. Zhang Tian understood the underlying meaning. Heavenly secrets were not to be revealed, and Master Yimei could only tell Zhang Tian that amidst the trials, he might eventually find peace.
"Thank you, Master." Zhang Tian cupped his fists. "Mmm, good disciple, I am entrusting our Ancestor to you. Later, if there are any problems, consult the Ancestor." Master Yimei took out the broken spirit tablet. Zhang Tian's face fell. Good heavens, was the Ancestor being ordered around so casually by Master Yimei now? The Ancestor must not be getting any peace underground. "Good disciple, talk to the Ancestor when you have time. He was an official down there," Master Yimei said affectionately. Zhang Tian, feeling somewhat dejected, took the spirit tablet.
Master Yimei then seemed to have expended too much energy and disappeared into the jade pendant. Zhang Tian looked at the spirit tablet, feeling both annoyed and a little amused. Zhang Tian carefully placed the spirit tablet in its designated offering spot, then lit three incense sticks before stepping out of his room.
Outside, Fatty, Hu Bayi, and the others looked at Zhang Tian with curiosity. "Brother, there was such a big commotion, and golden light was emitted, it must be something good, right?" Fatty blinked and looked at Zhang Tian curiously. "The hexagrams were mostly dangerous." To Fatty's surprise, after he finished speaking, Zhang Tian's words rendered everyone speechless. Such a bright golden light, and then all dangerous hexagrams? Fatty, who had been about to speak, closed his mouth.