Ascending to Godhood: I Can Foresee All Futures

"Do you truly know the location of Profound Flame Daoist’s cave residence?"

Sun Yuzhi’s voice, carried on the wind, suddenly spoke up.

"I have some clues, but I don’t know the exact location yet."

Chen Sheng’s expression was calm as his arm rested naturally around Sun Yuzhi’s slender yet powerful waist.

Sun Yuzhi gave a slight nod, not pressing the matter further. But her topic shifted, her tone unreadable:

"If I hadn’t been here today, would you... have accepted Bai Qing’s offer of ’cooperation’?"

Chen Sheng’s brow rose. He turned to look at her cool profile, his voice tinged with surprise.

"Vice Envoy, why do you ask?"

"I saw your gaze linger on her several times."

Sun Yuzhi’s tone was flat, as if she were stating a fact that had nothing to do with her.

"I thought you might have had some ’ideas’ about her proposal."

"Vice Envoy, I assure you, that’s absolutely not the case!"

Chen Sheng’s expression immediately grew solemn. He tightened his arm, almost pulling Sun Yuzhi into a half-embrace, and said with utmost sincerity:

"My thoughts have only ever been for you, Vice Envoy. Sect Leader Bai may be elegant, but how could she possibly compare to you?"

The tips of Sun Yuzhi’s ears turned slightly red, but she didn’t try to pull away this time. She just glanced at him and said coolly:

"Such a smooth talker. Hold on tighter, I’m going to speed up."

"As you command!"

Chen Sheng replied cheerfully, pressing closer to her warm, supple body. The faint, cool fragrance from her hair and neck lingered at the tip of his nose.

This scent was crisp and unique, completely different from the rich, alluring warmth of Bai Qing’s fragrance, yet it stirred his heart all the more.

Suddenly, Chen Sheng recalled that he hadn’t smelled such a distinct fragrance on Sun Yuzhi on the way here. After a moment of thought, a hint of understanding dawned on him, and the corners of his mouth curled into a slight smile.

Back at the Jingwu Bureau, Chen Sheng had accomplished his goal for the trip.

He had obtained two Profound Flame Orders. Although he was still missing the third one from the Blood River Sect’s Fourth Elder, the time wasn’t right, and he couldn’t force it.

After reporting to Nie Xuanfeng and Sun Yuzhi, he once again requested entry into the secret chamber on the sixteenth subterranean level and began a new round of closed-door cultivation.

In the quiet chamber, the lamplight was as faint as a bean.

Chen Sheng sat cross-legged, his consciousness sinking into his sea of knowledge as the pale gold Celestial Book Panel quietly emerged.

[Blood Slaughter Floating Light Body: Great Success (715/1000)]

[Six Extremes Golden Bell Technique: Perfection (10/2000)]

[Mental Realm: Level One (39/500)]

[Fishing Toad Force Secret Technique: Perfection (1599/2000)]

[Demon-Slaying Triple Extremes Saber: Perfection (1823/2000)]

All his cultivation techniques had progressed, especially the *Demon-Suppressing Triple Extremes Saber*, which was not far from a breakthrough to perfection.

Chen Sheng withdrew his focus and took a smooth jade bottle from his robes. He uncorked it, and a crisp, refreshing surge of Spiritual Mechanism spread through the air.

He carefully poured out a single, viscous drop, milky-white in color and imbued with a spiritual glimmer, and placed it in his mouth.

In an instant, a gentle yet immense wave of pure Spiritual Qi dissolved and surged through his meridians, nourishing his entire body before settling in his Dantian.

Chen Sheng slowly closed his eyes. Centering his mind, he began to guide this Spiritual Power and refine it.

The arduous cultivation continued!

...

Deep within Yinfeng Valley, a stronghold of the Blood River Sect.

The Fourth Elder, his entire body shrouded in a wide, blood-red cloak, listened quietly as a subordinate, prostrated on the ground, gave a trembling report.

When he heard that Captain Li and his six men had been completely wiped out, their heads even taken by the Jingwu Bureau,

an icy, bone-chilling killing intent instantly emanated from him, so palpable it felt solid.

The prostrated man in the blood-red robe trembled violently, his forehead pressed tightly to the cold ground, not daring to even breathe.

"Is this information... reliable?"

After a long while, the Fourth Elder’s hoarse, dry voice finally sounded, betraying no emotion, which only made it all the more chilling.

"It’s... it’s absolutely true. I personally investigated the outskirts of Yu Hua Forest. The signs of battle are clear, and the lingering Blood Fiend aura matches that of Captain Li and his men.

"The Jingwu Bureau hasn’t made a big show of it, but Chen Sheng did bring the heads back. Our spies planted in the city have also confirmed this." The blood-robed man’s voice trembled, but he dared not hide a single detail.

"And the Danxia Sect... have our ’moles’ reported anything unusual?"

The Fourth Elder fell silent for a moment, then asked the question that concerned him most.

The men’s deaths were a loss, to be sure, but if it meant their plan against the Danxia Sect was exposed, that would be the real trouble.

"Reporting to the Elder, I’ve already made emergency contact with them through secret channels. They replied that everything is normal within the Danxia Sect. Security has not been heightened, there’s no word of any internal investigations, and all their energy seems to be focused on preparing for the battle at Wushan Mountain."

The blood-robed man answered quickly.

"Keep a close watch. Don’t let your guard down for a second. Investigate again and make absolutely sure there are no mistakes."

The Fourth Elder’s voice remained flat.

"Yes, I understand!"

"Starting today, you are the acting Leader of the Ning’an Sub-Branch."

Then, the Fourth Elder’s tone shifted.

"If this operation against the Danxia Sect succeeds, with such a great merit, the word ’acting’ in your title can be removed."

Hearing this, the blood-robed man was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed.

"Thank you, Fourth Elder, for this promotion! I will do my utmost, plan meticulously, and not fail your trust. I will serve the great cause of our Blood River Sect to the death!"

"Go now. Do your job well."

"I take my leave!"

The newly appointed ’acting Leader of the Ning’an Sub-Branch’ suppressed his excitement, bowed, and retreated from the cold, damp cave.

After he had gone, the Fourth Elder stood alone in the dimness, the gaze from beneath his blood-red hood deep and unreadable.

After a long period of contemplation, his figure suddenly transformed into a dense streak of blood-red light, shot out of the cave, and sped off in a hidden direction.

With only the current strength of the Ning’an Sub-Branch, the chances of heavily damaging, let alone annihilating, the Danxia Sect were not high.

He needed to request reinforcements from the sect, to dispatch more masters in order to ensure success in a single stroke.

If he could achieve great merit this time, he too would receive immense benefits.

...

Time flies like an arrow; the years pass like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.

As the date of the battle at Wushan Mountain drew nearer, the atmosphere in Ning’an Prefecture grew increasingly tense and restless, one might even say turbulent.

The six major powers, along with the Government Office, were all preparing for war with great urgency. High hopes were placed on their talented disciples, who received a far greater share of resources than ever before.

Over the past month, the rankings of the Ning’an Ten Heroes had undergone several rounds of intense shuffling and changes, drawing the eager attention of countless people in the Jianghu.

In teahouses and taverns, the daily talk was all about which prodigy had defeated whom and what their new rank was.

After being defeated in a single strike by Chen Sheng at Luoyun Manor, Li Xuance, the lead True Inheritor of the Iron Sword Sect, did not fall into despair. Instead, with the full support of his sect, he successfully refined a Spiritual Object with the Bright Yang Attribute, emerged from his seclusion, and broke through to the Profound Gang realm in one fell swoop.

After coming out of seclusion, Li Xuance had intended to seek out Chen Sheng to avenge his previous humiliation.

But upon learning that Chen Sheng had defeated Lu Xuanzhou with his saber at the Danxia Sect and had also comprehended a Mental Realm, he wisely suppressed the impulse.

In the end, he set his sights on another True Inheritor from Qingfeng Temple, Chen Yanling.

Although the man was not as famous as Zhang Daoming, he was still a top-tier prodigy in Ning’an Prefecture, merely overshadowed by Zhang Daoming’s brilliance.

After a fierce battle, Li Xuance, relying on the cutting edge of his newly attained Profound Gang realm and the exquisite Swordsmanship Divine Techniques of the Iron Sword Sect, successfully defeated him and reclaimed the fifth seat among the Ning’an Ten Heroes.

Although Lu Xuanzhou, the Young Master of Luoyun Manor, managed to defend his fourth-place rank when Li Xuance later challenged him, his younger brother, Lu Maozhi, in his haste for success, rashly attempted to break through the Profound Gang bottleneck. In the end, his foundations were insufficient, and he failed the breakthrough, instead damaging some of his Primordial Qi and weakening Luoyun Manor’s overall strength.

Besides them, there was Li Danqing, the True Inheritor of the Danxia Sect; Wang Zhaoning, the legitimate son of the Ning’an Wang Clan; Monk Shanming from Golden Spring Temple, second only to Monk Fazang in the younger generation; and even another Deputy Captain from the Jingwu Bureau who was also one of the Ten Heroes.

All of them had been frequently making moves during this period, either to consolidate their rankings or to challenge those above them.

For a time, Ning’an Prefecture was a chaotic free-for-all.

But amidst this seemingly lively free-for-all, both Li Xuance and the others had a tacit understanding not to involve the top three: Monk Fazang, Zhang Daoming, and Chen Sheng.

One reason was that all three were in closed-door cultivation and paid no mind to the chaotic battles outside.

The second was that everyone was well aware of their strength; even if someone had the heart to challenge them, they wouldn’t dare do so at a time like this.

After all, the battle at Wushan Mountain was imminent. If one were to suffer a serious injury now, the consequences would be far too great.

Even their sect elders wouldn’t let them take such a risk at this juncture.

Arranging a match with others was a way to adapt to their strength and prepare countermeasures. Arranging a match with the likes of Chen Sheng and Fazang was purely courting death.

Even if they didn’t die, suffering a severe injury would clearly not be worth the risk.

——————