The leader of Golden Craft Hall exchanged uneasy looks with his fellow disciples. None of them knew what to do.
Fortune and fate had always been the most elusive things of all. Who could say that if he turned around and headed back to his sect right now, some deadly calamity wouldn’t be waiting for him along the way?
Someone suddenly shouted, “The first-rank spiritual artifact is here!”
The Golden Craft Hall leader’s expression shifted. After a moment, he nodded.
“I’ve heard that the Heavenly Fire Cult’s Heaven-Swallowing Bowl once protected Rongzhou from a meteor falling out of the heavens... Rather than let a single warning frighten me into fleeing blindly like a headless fly, I’d be better off staying with the Heavenly Fire Cult. At least I’ll have some protection.”
His companions nodded along. “All right! Then we stick close to the Heavenly Fire Cult.”
Yu Qingtang, meanwhile, was curiously examining the bowl.
It looked battered and shabby, with even a chunk missing from the rim. Its entire aesthetic could be summed up as plain and unpretentious.
Frankly, it looked eminently qualified for a career in the hands of a beggar.
Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “That’s a first-rank spiritual artifact? Don’t you ever get it mixed up with an ordinary bowl from the Heavenly Fire Cult?”
“No,” Tu Jiaojiao answered honestly. “It’s the only bowl in the entire Heavenly Fire Cult that’s this beat-up.”
“We need someone to carry it. Then we can go in.”
She swept her gaze over the group before looking at Yu Qingtang.
“Can you tell which of us has especially good luck?”
Yu Qingtang honestly pointed at himself. “My luck is off the charts.”
Tu Jiaojiao frowned in frustration. “But you have a qin.”
“Other than me, everyone’s luck is pretty good. Not much difference between most of you.” Yu Qingtang gestured around. “The few of us here are luckier, these people are average, and those over there aren’t doing so great.”
Then he pointed at the leader of Golden Craft Hall.
“And him...”
“Extremely unlucky,” the man finished with a bitter smile. “I know.”
Girl in the Bamboo considered this. “In that case, let me carry it.”
“I don’t have any spiritual artifacts on me to begin with.”
Ye Chenyan paused. “That green bamboo you carry isn’t one either?”
Girl in the Bamboo answered firmly, “No.”
“We’ll know once we try.” Tu Jiaojiao was impatient by nature. She motioned for the disciple holding the Heaven-Swallowing Bowl to hand it over. “Qingtang, take a look and see whether her fortune changes once she’s holding it.”
“Hold on! Activating my powers!” Yu Qingtang used his fingers to pull his eyes wide, circulated the Scripture of Awaiting Good Fortune with practiced ease, and stared intently at the ceremonial handover of the Heaven-Swallowing Bowl.
Girl in the Bamboo accepted it without any visible reaction.
“Well?”
Yu Qingtang exclaimed, “It changed!”
Girl in the Bamboo blinked. “What? I didn’t—”
“Your luck got better!” Yu Qingtang leaned closer to inspect the bowl. “Looks like this thing really does have some skills.”
Curious, Ye Chenyan draped an arm over Yu Qingtang’s shoulders. “How do you see it? Luck is...”
Yu Qingtang looked up—and his eyes widened.
“You changed too!”
“Huh?” Ye Chenyan raised a hand. “What happened to me?”
Yu Qingtang looked at his hand, something stirring in his eyes. “Don’t move. Let me try something!”
He abruptly reached out and touched Ye Chenyan’s cheek.
Ye Chenyan’s eyes widened. He obediently stayed perfectly still, only his gaze following Yu Qingtang’s movements.
“What is it?”
“It’s real!” Yu Qingtang poked his cheek in astonishment. “The more I poke you, the redder you get!”
“What nonsense.” Ye Chenyan raised an eyebrow. “I’m not blushing.”
“Not that kind of red,” Yu Qingtang corrected him. “You’re glowing red with good fortune. It’s an auspicious sign! The redder you are, the better your luck.”
He thought for a moment.
“Could it be...”
He turned toward the leader of Golden Craft Hall.
The man had no idea what was happening. He cautiously asked, “Master, what do you see?”
“I think I’ve found a way to turn your luck around.” Yu Qingtang rubbed his hands together and looked him up and down. “Want to try?”
Before the man could answer, Ye Chenyan yanked Yu Qingtang back and narrowed his eyes.
“What exactly are you planning to do?”
Yu Qingtang confidently swept out his sleeve and thrust out a hand.
“Rub him!”
Ye Chenyan: “...”
He slowly turned toward the leader of Golden Craft Hall, his gaze decidedly unfriendly.
Golden Craft Hall leader: “...”
Somehow, every option seemed to lead to death.
Tu Jiaojiao rubbed her chin and raised an eyebrow. “Old Jin already has a family. His children are almost your age.”
She tilted her head toward Ye Chenyan.
“Surely you’re not even jealous of—”
“Ahem.” Ye Chenyan cleared his throat. “I’m not jealous. I’m worried he might be disrespectful to Senior Yu.”
He took both of Yu Qingtang’s hands in his own. Four hands together, they rubbed the Golden Craft Hall leader’s arm.
Ye Chenyan asked, “Did it work?”
Yu Qingtang narrowed his eyes.
“Hmm...”
Then he frowned in confusion.
“Doesn’t look like anything changed.”
“Hm?” Ye Chenyan muttered. “Maybe it’s because we didn’t touch bare skin?”
Still holding Yu Qingtang’s hands, he murmured, “Pardon us,” and touched Old Jin’s round face.
“How about now?”
“Still nothing.” Yu Qingtang turned toward Tu Jiaojiao. “Let me try someone else. Jiaojiao, come—”
Before he could finish, Tu Jiaojiao had already reached over, pinched his cheeks, and rubbed them gleefully.
“Well? Any change?”
She even shot Ye Chenyan a smug, blatantly provocative look.
Ye Chenyan: “...”
Yu Qingtang’s face was squished out of shape, but he still frowned thoughtfully.
“You didn’t change either.”
He turned toward Ye Chenyan.
“Why are you the only one who changes?”
Ye Chenyan shrugged. “Who knows? Either way, it’s a good thing.”
He swatted Tu Jiaojiao’s hand away, then wrapped both arms around Yu Qingtang from behind, enveloping him completely.
“Apparently, the closer I stick to him, the luckier I get.”
Girl in the Bamboo looked thoughtful.
“Perhaps...”
Everyone turned toward her.
She continued, “You only affect him because the two of you are deeply connected. Your fates are intertwined.”
Ye Chenyan froze, then lowered his head thoughtfully.
“So that means we should become even more intimately—”
Yu Qingtang slapped a hand over his mouth.
“That’s enough. You don’t need to finish that sentence.”
“Senior here is already drowning in bad luck. Stop doing this in front of him.”
The Golden Craft Hall leader had a remarkably good temper. All he could do was smile bitterly.
“Looks like I’ll simply have to pray for the best.”
Yu Qingtang offered him some advice. “Stick close to Miss Bamboo. She has a first-rank spiritual artifact, she’s strong, and right now there’s nothing stopping her from helping us. She should be able to protect you.”
Girl in the Bamboo looked at him, seemingly wanting to say something.
Yu Qingtang pointed at Ye Chenyan as though his logic were self-evident. “He’s already reached Out-of-Body. We agreed before that until he reached Out-of-Body, we couldn’t rely on you too much. Things are different now, right?”
“You haven’t reached Out-of-Body.” Girl in the Bamboo sighed softly. “You should work harder too.”
“Then you don’t have to save me.” Yu Qingtang guiltily rubbed his nose. “I am working hard, aren’t I?”
Girl in the Bamboo fixed him with a piercing stare.
“Are you?”
Yu Qingtang shrank behind Ye Chenyan.
“...I’m in the halftime break from working hard.”
“I’ll cultivate properly afterward. I swear. I really, really will.”
The leader of Golden Craft Hall smiled and stepped in to smooth things over.
“Little Brother Yu can determine fortune and calamity at a glance. That alone is extraordinary. What’s more, he has already reached mid Nascent Soul at such a young age. Anywhere in the world, he would be considered an outstanding young genius. There is no need to rush.”
He saluted Girl in the Bamboo.
“I’ll have to rely on you today, Miss.”
Girl in the Bamboo didn’t make things difficult for anyone.
“All right.”
She held the bowl in both hands.
“Since I’m carrying this, I should naturally protect all of you.”
“Then let’s go.” Tu Jiaojiao pared down their numbers, leaving most of the group outside and taking only a handful of skilled Heavenly Fire Cult members with her. “Everyone else stays here and adapts as necessary.”
Kong Shanyu was excluded as well.
He had just opened his mouth to protest when Tu Jiaojiao looked straight at him.
“You too.”
Kong Shanyu immediately puffed out his chest. “What about me?”
Tu Jiaojiao was concise.
“For now, I’m placing the Heavenly Fire Cult members remaining here under your command.”
“Huh?”
Caught completely off guard, Kong Shanyu turned toward Sifeng and Siyu beside him and found the same surprise on their faces.
“What?” Tu Jiaojiao smiled at him. “Didn’t you say Cloudmarsh Sect did plenty of work helping the Heavenly Fire Cult manage Rongzhou before? Don’t tell me you’re afraid now.”
Kong Shanyu instantly changed his tune.
“Who’s afraid?! I’ll guard this place properly!”
“Good.” Tu Jiaojiao’s smile faded. “Chi Yantian may arrive later.”
Kong Shanyu’s expression changed instantly.
“Him!”
Tu Jiaojiao laughed. “But surely the young sect master of Cloudmarsh Sect knows how to distinguish what matters from what doesn’t. Right?”
Kong Shanyu: “...”
He had the distinct feeling he had been tricked.
Unfortunately, there was no graceful way down now.
He could only grit his teeth and say, “I... naturally know.”
Tu Jiaojiao chuckled under her breath and turned away.
“Everyone else, follow me inside and find out what’s going on. Remember, this mission has one purpose only: reconnaissance. Safety comes first.”
“Yes!”
“Move out.”
The group transformed into streaks of light and disappeared through the entrance of the immortal abode.
Once inside, no one rushed ahead. They first surveyed their surroundings warily.
Yu Qingtang, however, remained perfectly relaxed and even had the energy to tease Tu Jiaojiao.
“Weren’t you saying earlier that if we ran into trouble, we should send Kong Shanyu in to die first?”
“Can’t help it.” Tu Jiaojiao pursed her lips. “This place is connected to immortals, and the way it appeared was strange. Who knows what kind of mysterious rules might exist here? What if the Phantom Stone doesn’t work and he really dies?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“Besides, this place really does look unusual.”
“Is it just me?” Ye Chenyan tilted his head and tentatively stretched out a hand. “I keep feeling like... the sky here is higher than outside.”
Yu Qingtang stared upward blankly.
“Huh? How can you even tell?”
He had no idea whether the sky was higher or farther away.
All he could tell was that the entire sky was bloodred.
Not the auspicious red of overwhelming good fortune, either.
It looked as though someone had splashed a bucket of blood across the clouds.
“Instinct.” Ye Chenyan tugged him closer, his expression grave. “Stay close. Look around carefully.”
Around them remained traces of what must once have been magnificent architecture. It was clear that a sizable immortal sect had once stood here.
Now, however, only shattered walls and ruins remained, the entire place devastated as though it had endured a brutal battle.
Beside the entrance stood two enormous stone statues wielding weapons.
Yu Qingtang lightly bumped Ye Chenyan with his shoulder and whispered, “Don’t those two look like they’re about to activate?”
Tu Jiaojiao followed his gaze.
“The spiritual artifact we sent in earlier went in that direction. Then it suddenly shattered.”
“Just in case, we should avoid them. And although those people who came in earlier were basically asking to die, we should look for them while we’re at it.”
A scream suddenly rang out overhead.
Not far ahead, a cultivator shot into the air and fled frantically toward them.
“Run—!”
Before he could finish, a towering sword-light erupted behind him.
Tu Jiaojiao shot forward, leaving behind a single command.
“Don’t move!”
Her flaming whip arrived in an instant, coiling around the man’s waist to drag him back.
But someone behind him was faster.
A longsword pierced straight through his heart.
The cultivator’s eyes remained wide open as all life left them.
“You!”
Tu Jiaojiao was furious.
She pointed at the man behind the corpse—
He was one of the cultivators who had entered ahead of them, the same man who had clashed with Tu Jiaojiao outside the immortal abode.
Now his body was smeared with blood, and the grin on his face was deeply unsettling.
“You treacherous bastard! Come and die!”
Flaming spiritual power engulfed the surrounding space.
Tu Jiaojiao lashed out with her whip.
The man had been about to advance and meet her attack, but the instant the fire spiritual power approached him, he recoiled as though scorched, abruptly retreating two steps.
Covered in blood, he narrowed his eyes at Tu Jiaojiao.
A sinister smile stretched across his face, exposing a row of white teeth that sent goosebumps crawling over everyone’s skin.
“Chang Yusheng!” Tu Jiaojiao had managed to pull back nothing but a corpse. Murderous intent filled her eyes. “You have some reputation among Rongzhou cultivators. If you treat your companions like this, aren’t you afraid there’ll be nowhere left for you in Rongzhou afterward?!”
“You.”
Chang Yusheng’s voice was unusually hoarse, and even his cadence sounded wrong.
He raised a hand and twisted his neck before continuing.
“Got guts... follow.”
Then he turned and fled deeper into the immortal abode.
Yu Qingtang’s eyes widened. “Don’t chase him!”
“I’m not stupid!” Tu Jiaojiao didn’t follow.
She merely raised her hands and formed a seal.
“Fire, come!”
Within the formation, a blazing phoenix emerged, dragging a long tail of flame as it shot after Chang Yusheng.
Tu Jiaojiao narrowed her eyes, then clicked her tongue.
“He got away.”
“Everyone, be careful...”
She turned around—
And abruptly stopped speaking.
“Hey. Did that giant statue just move?”
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