Chapter 1299: Heavenly Secrets

In the Middle Earth Immortal Domain, there is a peculiar continent called the Qitian Continent.

The native cultivators on this continent are not keen on practicing immortal arts, nor are they obsessed with alchemy or artifact refinement; instead, everyone delights in cultivating the art of supporting dragons and observing qi.

Supporting dragons and observing qi, as the name suggests, involves using the art of qi observation to probe the fate and destiny of others, thereby inferring their path of the Great Dao and even the heights they might reach in future cultivation.

In the mortal world, some use this art to detect sons of destiny bearing dragon qi, and by assisting them in contending for the realm, they help establish mortal kingdoms to reap great benefits.

Among the immortal sects on the mountains, this art is used to find seeds of cultivation that have not yet grown. Those proficient in this art can even discern a child's future path on the Great Dao before they have set foot on the path of cultivation, thereby helping immortal sects recruit geniuses, stabilize the sect's foundation, and obtain generous rewards.

The flourishing of this practice on the Qitian Continent is deeply connected to its largest sect.

This sect is called the 'Heaven Mending Sect.' With the strength of a single sect, it occupies half of the Qitian Continent. The sect has been passed down through endless ages and has countless disciples, earning the renowned saying, 'Before Heaven Mending, there were no hexagrams; all phenomena arise from this sect.'

It can be said that all divination and fortune-telling arts in the world trace their origins to this sect as their ancestor.

Besides excelling in divination, fortune-telling, and the art of observing qi and supporting dragons, the Heaven Mending Sect also possesses a secret technique that is a frequent topic of discussion among various forces in the immortal realm: refining prediction items that align with heavenly secrets and creations from primordial divine stones. The most famous of these is the 'Chaos Myriad Spirit Ranking,' which exists in both the immortal and spirit realms.

This item can perceive part of the changes in heavenly secrets and foretell the birth of Xuantian spiritual treasures before they appear.

Back in the spirit realm, before the Xuantian Spirit-Slaying Sword had emerged, the Chaos Myriad Spirit Ranking had already given omens, even indicating the region of its appearance, making it quite accurate.

However, despite their fame, when Heaven Mending Sect disciples go down the mountain for training, they usually do not travel under their sect's identity. Instead, they often conceal their identity or disguise themselves as cultivators from other sects, mingling in various immortal domains.

The sect is located in the eastern part of the Qitian Continent, occupying three large mountain ranges: Wolong, Zhoutian, and Baiji. Among them, the Wolong Mountain Range serves as the main foundation, with the sect's core focus centered there.

The original sect of the Heaven Mending Sect was established in the Wolong Mountain Range, and the main peak, 'Dragon Rising Peak,' is now an absolute forbidden area of the sect. No one is allowed to set foot there except the current sect master and a few supreme elders.

Adjacent to Dragon Rising Peak is Question Heaven Peak, where the sect's core disciples cultivate. Various sky-gazing altars are built across the peak, and disciples of the Heaven Mending Sect, dressed in black robes, can be seen everywhere on the altars, questioning heaven and cultivating the Dao.

At this moment, on an altar protruding from the mountain at the summit, several Heaven Mending Sect disciples with respectful expressions are following behind a tall, stern-faced old man, seemingly seeking his guidance on something.

"Elder Fufeng, the disciples are about to set off for various immortal domains for training. Do you have any further instructions?" asked a demon clan disciple with a goat's head and human body, cupping his hands.

"After you descend the mountain, most of you will take up posts at the Ascension Platforms in the various immortal domains. Just remember one thing... do not underestimate any cultivator who ascends from the lower realms. Such individuals, whether in temperament or talent, are usually far superior to native cultivators of the immortal realm." The elder, addressed as Fufeng, spoke slowly.

"We shall heed your teachings! Observing qi and performing deductions are the foundation of our sect. We will not underestimate anyone." The crowd voiced their agreement.

"As for cultivators who ascend from those legendary lost realms... do not recklessly perform deductions. If you can build good relations with them, do so; if not, you must decisively cut off... sever all karmic ties and have no further involvement." Fufeng's expression turned contemplative as he added.

Though they did not understand why he said this, everyone assented.

After everyone had left, Elder Fufeng stood at the edge of the altar, leaning on the railing and gazing into the distance, a trace of reminiscence flickering in his eyes.

"I wonder, how far has that child progressed by now?" After a long while, the old man murmured to himself.

Back then, when he was hiding in the Stone Steps Hall, he had used the alias 'Gao Sheng' and, at the Ascension Platform of the Northern Frost Immortal Domain, received a cultivator who had ascended from a lost realm.

At that time, driven by curiosity, after using the qi-observing technique to examine that person's fortune, he also probed his future destiny with a secret art. Though he only glimpsed scattered fragments of heavenly secrets, it directly transformed him from a handsome young man into his current aged appearance, which no rejuvenation technique could reverse.

Thus, after the siege surrounding that person occurred, 'Gao Sheng' faked his death to escape, severed his involvement in the matter, and returned to the Heaven Mending Sect, once again becoming Elder Fufeng.

Since then, he had never left the Central Earth Immortal Domain, nor had he ever told anyone about what happened back then.

The person he had received was none other than Han Li.

The result of that deduction had always been a stubborn ailment in his heart, hard to let go. Even after all these years, he still could not understand what the prophecy 'Chaos and myriad phenomena, no heavenly secrets exist' truly meant.

Just then, the old man's calm expression suddenly changed. He jerked his head up and looked toward Dragon Rising Peak.

Above the towering peak, perpetually shrouded in clouds and mist, the wind suddenly surged, and a spiral of cloud qi plunged straight down from the high sky, landing on the summit of Dragon Rising Peak.

Strangely, the grand禁制 array covering the entire peak showed no reaction at all.

Fufeng then glanced at a great hall at the foot of Dragon Rising Peak and saw no reaction from the supreme elder inside. A strange expression crossed his face, and he turned away, no longer looking in that direction.

……

A dragon rose above the mountain peak, thick clouds obscuring it, the entire summit completely submerged within.

Within the dense mist, one could faintly see lush peach trees planted all over the peak, their green foliage forming a shade that complemented the milky white clouds, making the place increasingly ethereal.

At the center of the peak, surrounded by green trees, stood an octagonal black stone altar, no more than three zhang in circumference, each edge engraved with one of the trigrams of Qian, Kun, Li, and Dui.

At the center of the altar, a black vortex floated in midair, with thick mist churning inside as if containing an endless force of attraction.

At the very center of the vortex, an old man with a twisted face eerily emerged, his entire body almost swallowed by the black vortex, with only his head, one arm, and a small part of his body connected to his neck still protruding outside.

The hair on the old man's forehead had fallen off completely, the gray hair at the back was disheveled, one eye was a fish-belly white, clearly blind, and his face was covered with dark brown patches, making him look as ugly as could be.

Although his other eye was not blind, it was now half-closed, his entire spirit seemingly drained, merely lingering on the brink of death.

Just then, a spiral cloud descended from the sky, silently landing under a peach tree outside the altar.

Within the cloud, the light converged, revealing a figure.

This person had a slender build, a face like jade, long and deep phoenix eyes, a nose not too straight, but thin lips, with long black beard on his lips and chin, giving him an overall transcendent and peaceful demeanor.

However, he seemed to suffer from a hidden ailment, sitting upright in a wheelchair seemingly carved from white jade, a wide white robe draped from his body down to the front of the wheelchair, and a golden sash around his waist, from which hung a nine-dragon jade pendant and a golden tassel.

As soon as he appeared, the old man, who seemed to be dozing, suddenly woke up, his remaining eye snapping open, revealing a golden pupil with intense golden light like churning magma, giving off a scorching aura.

"You're here..." the old man said hoarsely, drawing out the last syllable.

"I'm here," the man in the wheelchair said calmly.

"You've come after all... Alas, fate is thus. Speak," the old man said with a bitter smile.

"Chen Tuan, I have one more hexagram to consult you about," the man asked, hands on the wheels.

If any high-ranking cultivator with some experience in the True Immortal Realm were present, they would likely be greatly astonished.

Who could imagine that such a wretched, decrepit old man on the verge of death was actually the founding patriarch of the Bu Tian Sect, the legendary Chen Tuan, who could 'mend the heavenly mechanisms'?

Who could imagine that this ugly old man, about to be swallowed by the Heavenly Dao, was the renowned Dao Ancestor of Prophecy, famous throughout the Heavenly Court for cultivating the law of prediction?

"I promised you thirty-six heavenly hexagrams and seventy-two earthly hexagrams. Over these billions of years, you have asked one hundred and six hexagrams. There are two heavenly hexagrams left... but I can only answer one more," Chen Tuan said slowly.

"I want to ask again about the Lord of the Reincarnation Hall... If this child is not eliminated, great matters may be disturbed," the man in the wheelchair said calmly.

"The Lord of the Reincarnation Hall cultivates the law of reincarnation and has long been able to hide within the Great Dao of Reincarnation, beyond the reach of my prophecy law. The previous seventy-two hexagrams were all about him, and none yielded results. Do you truly wish to consult the hexagram about him again?" Chen Tuan asked, his voice slightly wavering.

"Consult," the man in the wheelchair said indifferently, uttering a single word as if unwilling to say more.

Chen Tuan said no more. With his remaining hand, he formed a hand seal, and a chanting sound arose from his mouth. The golden light in his single eye suddenly flared, shooting out as a crystalline beam that struck the void before him.

That void twisted, forming a black vortex that absorbed the crystalline beam. Between Chen Tuan and the black vortex, a bridge seemed to form, connecting them.

After about half a stick of incense, the crystalline beam suddenly withdrew, and the black vortex vanished.

At the same time, from the vortex behind Chen Tuan, strands of black crystalline threads extended, entangling his remaining arm, slowly pulling it into the vortex.

"What is the result?" the man in the wheelchair asked, his expression unchanged.

"The Lord of the Reincarnation Hall remains untraceable, but a person who has never appeared before yet is deeply involved with him has emerged," Chen Tuan said slowly, as if he had long anticipated the swallowing of his arm.

As he spoke, a crystalline light flew from his brow, landing like a bubble on the hand of the man in the wheelchair, then vanished.

The man in the wheelchair narrowed his eyes slightly, and clouds began to rise beneath him, as if he was about to leave immediately.

"The backlash of the Heavenly Dao grows stronger. With one more heavenly hexagram, I will dissolve into the laws of the Heavenly Dao. When will your plan... be accomplished?" Chen Tuan asked, even his last hand swallowed by the vortex.

"Soon."

The man in the wheelchair said only this indifferently, then, borne by the flowing clouds, ascended into the sky and disappeared.

"Gu Huojin, I have recklessly probed the heavenly secrets for you. Do not let me fall into eternal damnation..." Chen Tuan sighed faintly, gazing at the dissipating clouds in the high sky.

With that, he closed his single eye, and the entire peak was once again completely shrouded by thick clouds.