Taiyi Dao Fruit

"The flowers fly, the clouds drift, the years flow by, unaware of returning~~"

Within high walls, in the midst of a garden, an old man sang a tune recently popular in the Divine Capital, leisurely watering the fiery blooms with a copper kettle in hand.

He was very old, so old that his hair was snow-white, and his hands and face were wrinkled, the sumptuous purple garments could not hide the thick air of evening.

Like an old tree that had shed its blossoms and leaves, its trunk decayed, at any moment it might fall completely, yet his voice was steady and powerful, a song of lamentation for the bygone days sung with a majestic energy and a burgeoning vigor.

"The Emperor fancies a little tune from the streets?"

A voice suddenly rang out, and within the garden, a second figure appeared, a man in an elaborate robe slowly approaching, standing before the flower bed, side by side with the elder, his gaze distant, as if observing the blooming flowers, yet also scrutinizing the old man.

"This tune is my own creation, how could I not be fond of it?"

The aged Emperor chuckled, speaking leisurely like any common old man, one hand seemingly frail, yet firmly holding the kettle, evenly sprinkling water into the flower bed, "As the saying goes, 'The court sets the example that the country follows.' This little tune could become popular in the Divine Capital, in fact, thanks to my own influence."

"The Emperor is aware of the affairs on the streets of the Divine Capital?" the man asked.

"As if they were at my fingertips." The Emperor smiled.

"And what about the drought that has emerged in Yong Province?"

"Crystal clear."

The Emperor of Great Zhou bowed his head, gazing at the flower bed, "I am the country, the state is my body. How could I not know of the conditions within my own body? Has news of the drought in Yong Province reached the Divine Capital?"

"The Divine Travel Grand Protector worked day and night, has hurried from Yu State, and also brought along the persons involved in the case."

Saying this, the man produced a memorial from his sleeve and handed it to the Emperor of Zhou, "The Inner Court presented the memorial at the earliest opportunity, but as the Emperor wished not to be disturbed by others, it was entrusted to me to pass on."

"Thank you, Imperial Uncle."

The Emperor of Zhou took the memorial, the contrast between his aging right hand and his flawless left hand causing the Emperor to momentarily lose focus, and he almost dropped it.

"I've grown old," he sighed with resignation, "Sixty years passed as if in a great dream, upon awakening, I find myself advanced in years, while you, Imperial Uncle, remain at the peak of your vigor."

"A means to extend life has already shown promise, and the Emperor will soon return to the height of his power," the man comforted, placing the memorial back in the Emperor's hands.

"But how many more years can life be prolonged?"

Yet the Emperor showed a look of waning spirit, his eyes returning to the flower bed, "Just like these blossoming flowers, they appear vivid and vibrant, but now with autumn approaching, the Yang energy gradually withdraws, the Yin energy grows, and as Yang changes to Yin, within a month, they will wither away."

"By the spring of next year, the flowers will bloom once again," replied the man.

"But those flowers will no longer be the same as the ones now."

At this, the Emperor seemed to lose all interest and tossed the memorial into the flower bed.

"Have Zhang Zhixuan enter the palace to explain this drought in Yong. And another thing—"

"No need to wait until next year, the flowers will flourish on their own."

Upon these words, the weather in the Divine Capital subtly shifted.

What was a season of growing Yin suddenly turned, the Yang energy grew stronger, inside and outside the Divine Capital, flowers burst into bloom, fiery and intense.

It seems this year, the Divine Capital will no longer see the fall of flowers.

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[On the fourteenth day of July, in the year of 1995, the Geng Shen month, the Jiwei day, it's favorable to break ground, bury the dead, offer sacrifices, encoffin, avoid traveling······]

Jiang Li opened his eyes in the guest room of the back residence of the county government and frowned at the sight of "avoid traveling" displayed on the Karma Collection.

They had stayed in Jingyun County for two days, waiting for the county government's people to arrive and transport Ren Zihe and his Three Clans, he even wrote a letter to Jiang Huaimin certifying his merit, before they set out once again.

And now, just as they were leaving, Jiang Li saw the words "avoid traveling" again.

The last time "avoid traveling" appeared, Jiang Li and his companions encountered Cao Yuanlong transporting the Water Clouds, resulting in a series of events, and this time, who knew what would happen.

Thinking this, Jiang Li decided to perform a divination before leaving.

He rose from his bed, washed up, and then sat down at the table, solemnly taking out Emperor Wen's coins and a turtle shell to begin his divination.

"Our path ahead..."

Muttering his divination target in his heart, Emperor Wen's coins spilled out from the turtle shell, starting to spin on the tabletop.

Spinning,

Spinning...

The three copper coins kept standing on their edges, spinning without any sign of stopping.

"Hiss—"

Jiang Li gasped sharply.

Even facing a Sixth Rank wouldn't cause such interference, right? Was he going to encounter a fifth-rank? Or a fourth-rank?

Jiang Li hesitated in his heart, put away Emperor Wen's coins, accumulated his focus, and the Eight Trigrams Image appeared in his eyes, exerting the Dao Fruit Ability "Tuibei Diagram" with full force.

He divined again.

The copper coins dropped, spinning uniformly on the tabletop before gradually coming to a stop; it seemed that this time the divination was going smoothly.

However, the Eight Trigrams Image in Jiang Li's eyes deepened, his Qi Observation Skill sharp as if peering through flames; he had already foreseen the scene of the coins ceasing to spin.

They would stand upright!

All three copper coins would stand upright.

Watching the slowing spin, as the three copper coins showed no sign of falling, Jiang Li gradually held his breath, awaiting the outcome.

"Junior Brother!"

The room door suddenly swung open, and a young man with delicate features walked in, "Are you up? It's time to depart."

The three Emperor Wen's coins fell at the same time.

Jiang Li: "..."

He suppressed the urge to gasp in shock again and added the forms of the heavenly stems and branches and the images of the constellations in his eyes, staring intently at the current Long Prince Consort who had entered the room.

"Junior Brother, are you performing divination?" Feng Manlou asked with a puzzled look, glancing at Jiang Li and the copper coins on the table.

"Prince Consort, my senior sister has already warned you, you must not overstep your bounds."

Jiang Li spoke while noting down the heads and tails of the coins, then proceeded to divine again.

Since he had already started, he might as well continue.

He wanted to see how the results of his divination would turn out in front of this man.

The first hexagram was set in place, followed by the second.

Jiang Li shook the turtle shell, tossing out Emperor Wen's coins, and after the three copper coins spun a circle on the table, they lay down directly.

This time, it went smoothly to an unbelievable extent.

But—

"Crack—"

The turtle shell that Jiang Li had exchanged for his good deed, which he had used for nearly three years, emitted a slight crackle and a new crack appeared on its back.

Jiang Li narrowed his eyes.

[Goodness, Chang Wei, you said you wouldn't... wrong, it should be, goodness, Feng Manlou, you claimed you weren't the Dragon King?]

If coincidences keep happening, they are no longer coincidences; they become facts.

Elder Tianxuan should have also performed divinations on Feng Manlou without discovering anything unusual. With Jiang Li's abilities, he was unlikely to divine something that even Elder Tianxuan couldn't.

But for now, Jiang Li could only suspect this man.