Taiyi Dao Fruit

Exchange Skill Xuanxue has a saying—it goes, "Divine only when there is a matter, do not divine when there is not."

Matters, that is to say, are causes, and where there is a cause, there is an effect.

When encountering matters, one sees the cause, and only then can divination be carried out to obtain the effect. To divine without matters is akin to aiming at nothingness; the targets exist in a Schrödinger-like state, and only Heaven knows whether one will hit the mark.

Conversely, if one can grasp the cause, then following the vine to find the melon, the probability of finding the effect significantly increases.

The maxim, "Divine only when there is a matter, do not divine when there is not," exists so that one may accurately grasp the cause.

Jiang Li now felt as though he had grasped that cause.

He continued with the divination, and Emperor Wen's coins fell for the third time.

"A yang line?" Jiang Li's brows raised slightly.

For the third time.

The first two lines were also yang lines.

Thus, the upper trigram was set; it was the Qian Trigram.

At the same time, another crack appeared on the turtle shell.

Upon seeing this, Feng Manlou's gaze fluctuated. Though he hid it well, it was still recorded by the Karma Collection.

Then came the last three lines.

Somehow, Jiang Li had become silent, while Feng Manlou, also uncharacteristically silent, watched quietly without further comment.

The last three lines—yang, yang, yang.

The lower trigram, too, was the Qian Trigram.

This was the divination of Qian as Heaven, embodying pure yang and firmness; its nature strong, its actions vigorous, greatly unobstructed and supremely just, signifying smoothness and benefit.

Simply put, extremely auspicious.

If the divination was correct, the journey ahead would be unobstructed.

However, after divining this hexagram, the turtle shell completely shattered, breaking into several pieces, sliding from Jiang Li's hands onto the table.

This seemed to herald some unknown and ominous secret.

Jiang Li frowned, somewhat hesitant.

The turtle shell breaking truly made it difficult for Jiang Li to feel secure. He never overlooked any abnormalities; otherwise, he would find it hard to be at ease. According to his usual practices, he should continue the divination to divine the underlying cause and effect.

It was inconsequential if the turtle shell was broken; in the Six Divinations, the copper coins were what mattered. Even without Emperor Wen's coins, it made no difference; Jiang Li also had a rudimentary understanding of the tool-free Mei Hua Divination, so setting up another divination would not be an issue.

The problem was Feng Manlou.

Jiang Li could now be certain, Feng Manlou was unfathomably profound, perhaps even the Dragon King's Affiliated Son-in-law. If he were to uncover Feng Manlou's true identity, wouldn't he be silenced?

Therefore, it would be better to stop here.

A gentleman follows his heart's desires without overstepping boundaries. Delving into someone else's secrets is far too invasive; Jiang Li would not partake and decided it was best not to continue.

This was definitely not because he was scared!

With that thought, Jiang Li was about to reach out to collect the copper coins. But as soon as he extended his hand, Feng Manlou had already reached out first, pressing down on the three Emperor Wen's coins.

"My dear young friend," Feng Manlou's smile was warm, like a spring breeze caressing the face, "One should not divine twice over the same matter. Since a result has been divined and it presages great luck, one should not continue, to avoid miscalculation."

One should not divine twice over the same matter—that meant divining once for an issue was sufficient. Divining excessively wouldn't make things any better, and might even lead to misjudgment due to different hexagrams.

Just as when Jiang Li had first pursued Zhou Mingyun, divining multiple times, those were for different times and for Zhou Mingyun's six ambushes, not divining multiple times for the same ambush.

But if Jiang Li were to continue with the divination, he wouldn't be divining the journey, but rather the person before him.

He actually had no intention to proceed any further and wanted to stop here, but if Feng Manlou discovered that he had been unmasked, whether to divine or not, there really wasn't much difference anymore.

"Does the Long Prince Consort also understand the Divination Skill?" Jiang Li tentatively asked.

"I have some understanding, after all, the Dao Fruit I harbor is that of the Witch Xi," Feng Manlou smiled.

Divination Skill originated from wizards or, to be more precise, the first profession with religious significance was that of the wizard. Since Feng Manlou had harbored the Witchcraft Dao Fruit, it was only natural that he had some knowledge of Divination Skill.

Even if Jiang Li's guesses were true, Feng Manlou's attainments in this field would definitely be far greater than his own.

"To deduce the Witchcraft Dao Fruit, I've thought up quite a few methods, one of which was to study Divination Skill. For this, I've flipped through numerous books."

With a smile brimming with delight, Feng Manlou pulled a bamboo slip from his sleeve and placed it on the table, "One of these scrolls is particularly interesting and gave me considerable enlightenment. Since my worthy brother is also researching this area, why not take a look?"

[So...is he trying to buy me off?]

Jiang Li really hadn't expected such a turn of events.

He was already planning to back out, but his counterpart wanted to make a deal with him.

The rustic bamboo slip carried the vicissitudes of time without signs of wear, the apricot-yellow bamboo strips gleaming like rods of yellow jade, lustrous and translucent—its value felt substantial just by its appearance.

So, to accept or not to accept?

If he didn't accept, would it be taken as determination to disclose [the information], resulting in Feng Manlou's animosity?

If he did accept, what if the other party was testing him?

While pondering, Feng Manlou had already pushed the scroll in front of Jiang Li, saying, "If my worthy brother doesn't reject it, I present this scroll to you."

To accept? Not to accept?

In Jiang Li's eyes, the Eight Trigrams were almost spinning as if in flight, the celestial stems and earthly branches endlessly transforming.

Accept!

"Such a gift from my brother cannot be declined," Jiang Li said with a sincere smile, taking the bamboo slip, "and please rest assured, brother Manlou, I will absolutely not engage in any acts detrimental to you."

He even promised to reassure the other party.

But in reality...

Once Feng Manlou left, Jiang Li secretly informed Elder Tianxuan, alerting the old demon to stand against the Dragon King's Son-in-law.

"You have not failed me, and so, as your brother, I shall not fail you," Feng Manlou laughed, "Heaven bears witness."

"Heaven bears witness," repeated Jiang Li, following on his words.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, thunder cracked in the clear sky, its booming sound stirring the heart, a sudden feeling of palpitations swept through Jiang Li.

He felt observed by a lofty gaze, an indescribable shudder causing Jiang Li's heart to pound like thunder.

A sense of enlightenment rose in his mind—if his promise were broken, Heaven's Punishment would surely follow.

He'd been duped.

Jiang Li never expected that a simple promise could lead to such a disturbance. Heaven must be too idle; he called upon it for a betrothal, and it truly appeared.

This was also due to Jiang Li not valuing his word that much.

In his previous life, even written contracts could be torn up, let alone any verbal promises. This lack of care made Jiang Li inadvertently step into Feng Manlou's scheme, led by him to make a promise.

"Excellent."

Feng Manlou laughed heartily, "With this, you and I are truly of the same path, my worthy brother."

What else could Jiang Li do but wear a smile, accept the scroll, and address him as "brother"?

Besides, forming ties with Feng Manlou might not be a bad thing.

[The Qian Trigram represents heaven, six yang lines; if this were divination for good fortune, naturally, it would be the most auspicious of signs. If divining a person...]

[Great indeed is the primordial Qian! All things begin with it—it commands the skies. Clouds move and rain falls, the appearances of all things flow. Great light marks the beginning and end, the six positions are timed to completion, time riding six dragons to govern heaven.]

[The six lines of the Qian Trigram are the six dragons.]

[Although Jiang Li hadn't actually divined Feng Manlou's fate, through the previous divination, he had already guessed that Feng Manlou's origin was extraordinary.]