“Come in!”
The ethereal voice of the Old Celestial Master reached Xuan Zhenzi’s ears. Xuan Zhenzi entered and saw an old man with black hair, a ruddy complexion, and glowing skin, like an infant. This old man looked only fifty or sixty years old, but Xuan Zhenzi knew that the Old Celestial Master was already a hundred years old.
“Old Celestial Master, I have a doubt in my heart, so I specifically came to ask for guidance!”
Xuan Zhenzi bowed respectfully.
“Even you have doubts; it seems you’ve truly encountered a problem. Tell me about it!”
The Old Celestial Master lay on a rocking chair, dressed simply, squinting and basking in the sun. Tea was placed beside him, as leisurely as an ordinary old man.
“Today, I attended a literary gathering and met a young man. In a hazy trance, I saw a soaring purple Qi extending behind him. On his forehead and behind him, there was a massive nine-clawed Dragon, its head unseen and its tail unseen, spanning countless miles.
But when I looked closely, all of it disappeared, as if I had truly just been drunk. Yet, I am usually immune to a thousand cups!”
Xuan Zhenzi’s heart was still shaken recalling it. He organized his words and spoke seriously.
“More importantly, I couldn’t even discern the young man’s physiognomy. Everyone has a destiny and fate, and physiognomy is an embodiment of one’s destiny and fate. If I can’t discern it, doesn’t that mean he has no destiny or fate?”
The Old Celestial Master, who had been squinting, relaxed, like an old man basking in the sun, instantly opened his eyes upon hearing Xuan Zhenzi’s words.
What kind of eyes were those? They seemed to contain the sun, moon, and stars, incredibly profound, as if the Dao was in motion.
“What is that young man’s name?”
“Replying to the Old Celestial Master, his name is Xia Chen!”
Xuan Zhenzi answered seriously.
“Is that the one from Zhendong Marquis Manor who became the Princess’s consort and recently took control of the Eagle Eye Division?”
“Yes, Old Celestial Master!”
Xuan Zhenzi nodded. The Old Celestial Master’s Cultivation was Heaven-Defying, integrated with the Great Wu’s Luck. Therefore, he was not oblivious to worldly affairs. On the contrary, he knew about various matters concerning the capital’s court, but he generally did not interfere, allowing them to develop naturally.
“I calculated his fate: an ordinary person’s disposition. But he is engaged to Yao Guang, and Yao Guang’s Luck is too strong. This is not a good thing for him. He does not have the destiny to bear this Luck, and thus there is a sign of early death!”
The Old Celestial Master slowly said. He knew that after the Emperor bestowed the marriage upon Yao Guang, he specifically calculated the fate of Yao Guang’s husband.
“Then why couldn’t I discern any physiognomy?”
Xuan Zhenzi was puzzled. Even if there was a vast gap between him and the Old Celestial Master, he believed he was not inferior to the Old Celestial Master in the art of physiognomy.
The Old Celestial Master fell silent. He knew the standard of Xuan Zhenzi’s physiognomy.
“I’ll cast another divination!”
The Old Celestial Master stood up from the rocking chair. He was like a gentle old man, with no trace of Aura leaking from him.
After a long while!
The Old Celestial Master frowned slightly, then picked up the tortoise shell again and divined once more.
“Not a single one of the sixty-four hexagrams can divine his fate; no hexagram forms an image!”
The Old Celestial Master murmured to himself. Xuan Zhenzi, standing behind him, also witnessed this scene, his heart unable to calm. Even the Old Celestial Master couldn’t calculate it?
The Old Celestial Master divined again; this was the third time. But this time, as soon as he threw out the tortoise shell in his hand, before it even landed, that tortoise shell, which revealed profound mystical patterns, actually exploded in the Void Realm.
“Unable to divine, unable to see through. Though he stands in the present, he is not in the past, present, or future. This is a variable. Has the heavenly secret undergone a change?”
The Old Celestial Master’s face was somewhat pale. Even with his state of mind, he found it difficult to remain calm.
“Old Celestial Master, what’s wrong!”
Xuan Zhenzi’s pupils contracted violently. The Old Celestial Master’s tortoise shell had exploded. This had never happened before.
“This person has great Karma; he is a variable. The future has already undergone change. How the future will develop, I can no longer see through the heavenly secret!”
After the Old Celestial Master’s mind calmed, he said solemnly and seriously.
Xuan Zhenzi was horrified. The Old Celestial Master, who could be called a Land Immortal, also couldn’t see through Xia Chen.
“In this world, there are only two people whose origins I cannot see through, whose future I cannot discern. One is Yao Guang, and now there is another, Xia Chen. What’s even stranger is that these two actually have a marital relationship?”
“What’s even more peculiar is that even with Yao Guang, I can vaguely see a corner through the mist, knowing that she is a person of great Luck, with the appearance of a ruler. Although she is still a Princess, she has already carried a portion of Great Wu’s Luck. In the future, she might become the first female ruler in history to end the ancient chaos!”
“But as for her husband, Xia Chen, I can’t see anything at all!”
The Old Celestial Master’s tone was incredibly serious.
Xuan Zhenzi’s heart was both shocked and relieved. Shocked that the Old Celestial Master couldn’t even see through him, and relieved because it wasn’t due to his own lack of skill, but because Xia Chen’s destiny was too strange.
“A person’s destiny is set from the moment they are born. How difficult it is to change one’s fate against the heavens! First destiny, second Luck, third Feng Shui, fourth accumulating Karma, fifth studying, sixth choosing a profession, seventh choosing a spouse, eighth making noble acquaintances, ninth maintaining health. Among these, third Feng Shui and fourth Karma can partially alter minor fates, but this is also incredibly difficult, and very few people can achieve it. Moreover, it depends on whether their original destiny can bear it. Besides this, to completely change a person’s fate, there is only…”
The Old Celestial Master’s words paused. Xuan Zhenzi, who had been listening intently, immediately spoke up.
“Old Celestial Master, what other methods can change fate?”
“Luck!”
The Old Celestial Master’s gaze looked far into the deep sky.
“Luck is also what we call national Luck. Ancient records state that in ancient times, this world truly had Land Immortals, humans, demons, Buddhas, immortals, witches, and even some strange, incredibly powerful, and prosperous beings. But one day, our world dried up, we fell, some died of old age, some traveled far away…”
Xuan Zhenzi listened with longing, his heart unable to calm. He knew this must be the core secret transmission of the Tianshi Mansion. If it weren’t for Xia Chen today, he certainly wouldn’t have known these secrets.
“At that time, there were powerful Dynasties and famous Cultivation Holy Lands. Holy Land Sects Cultivated Karma, while Dynasties Cultivated Luck. The power of Luck is incredibly mysterious. It can confer divine officials, enjoy the incense of the world, and bind all civil and military officials in the court to the power of the Dynasty’s Luck through their official positions. With the blessing of Luck, even if your root bones are poor, you can Cultivate ten or a hundred times faster than others… And to completely change a person’s destiny, only the power of Luck can do it, and it must be a massive amount of Luck!”
The Old Celestial Master turned to look at Xuan Zhenzi and said with a smile.
“Massive power of Luck? Is the Old Celestial Master saying that Xia Chen obtained a massive amount of Luck, thereby changing his fate against the heavens? But as far as I know, the power of Luck in the world today is fixed and has been divided by our Great Wu and Great Feng and Qing Country. Where did he get it from?”
Xuan Zhenzi asked, very puzzled.
…