Scripture of Days Past

On the way down the mountain, Chu Youtian trailed behind Yi Siman with a puzzled expression, unable to make sense of what he had just seen.

Yi Siman seemed to have read his thoughts, and he asked, "You must be wondering why I behaved so submissively toward Master Omniscient, right?"

"I wouldn't dare, Your Highness," Chu Youtian hurriedly replied.

Yi Siman gave a cold harrumph, then said, "It was only after our battle that I realized how severely I had underestimated him. From the very beginning, the fist techniques and gale force he displayed were incredibly profound and unique. They were unlike any fist techniques or martial arts I had ever seen or even heard of, which leads me to believe that he may have invented them himself.

"Looking back now, he was toying with me the entire time. I doubt he used anywhere near his full strength. That said, if that were all, then while I would've greatly admired his martial arts prowess, it still wouldn't have been enough to make me fear him. What truly struck fear into me was that final punch."

Chu Youtian had been wondering all along why the final punch had been so much more formidable than the others when it hadn't appeared remarkable in any way. He was also eager to hear what Yi Siman had to say about it.

"On the surface, that punch didn't look like anything out of the ordinary, but you could only understand its true horror when you're on the receiving end," Yi Siman said. "At the time, I felt as if I had been completely engulfed by his fist intent. My spirit, my will, my thoughts... Everything was thrown into chaos. It was like I had been thrown under a millstone to be crushed and ground into pieces. It was... the most terrifying thing I've ever experienced."

Yi Siman couldn't help but shudder at the mere recollection of the punch.

"That doesn't sound like something that could be achieved through any conventional fist techniques," Chu Youtian remarked grimly. "Could it be..."

"Precisely," Yi Siman confirmed. "It was after experiencing that punch that I began to suspect I was dealing with a Dao Comprehension-state cultivator."

***

Far away in the northern grasslands, "Sun Xian" was looking up at the sky. The battle between Chu Qiguang and Yi Siman had just concluded, and the dark clouds above Chu Qiguang had only just dispersed.

At that moment, Sun Xian's flesh was constantly peeling away from his body before regenerating, as if some invisible monstrosity were tearing and ripping at him.

Standing beside him was a young woman with blue eyes and blond hair who asked, "Are you performing divination, Master? Did something happen?"

"There's been a sudden change in fortune," Sun Xian replied with a grim expression. "I performed a divination at the cost of suffering divine punishment, but I was unable to pinpoint the cause of the change. However, I can confirm that the fortune of the Great Han Empire rose by the slightest amount just now, only to immediately fall again."

"Has there been a change in the Heavenly Dao?" the young woman asked.

"That's impossible," Sun Xian replied, shaking his head. "The fiends' triumph over humanity is already inevitable. That conclusion was reached through divinations performed by the past five patriarchs of the Immortal Dao, myself included. Both the fall of the Xia Dynasty and the dragon race's conquest of the central plains serve as undeniable proof. The fortunes of the human race may fluctuate slightly from time to time, but the final outcome is already predestined, and it cannot be altered."

***

Meanwhile, the Yong'an Emperor was meditating in the Immortal Ascension Hall when his eyes suddenly sprang open. Two beams of scintillating shot out from his pupils before gradually fading away.

There's been a change in fortune! But how?

Rays of iridescent light began to appear around the Yong'an Emperor before converging on his glabella. At the same time, he formed a series of hands seals, using the spirit veins and the feng shui formation of the capital to perform a divination.

The iridescent light around him seemed to contain the most profound secrets of the universe, and for the average person, just a fleeting glance at the alluring radiance would be enough to drag them into the abyss.

According to the Yong'an Emperor's divination, the fortunes of the Great Han Empire seemed to have been abruptly elevated just now, only to quickly fall back down again.

In his mind, fortune had always been something that ebbed and flowed like slow-flowing water, only ever fluctuating in a slow and subtle fashion, and he had never seen such a sharp and unnatural oscillation before.

Despite his best efforts, the Yong'an Emperor was unable to find any definitive answers. However, his divination did reveal one thing.

The cause of the shift in fortune is in Spirit Province!

Shortly afterward, a convoy from the Demon Vanquishing Department departed from the capital, setting off for Spirit Province.

***

Meanwhile, on the mountain behind the Wang Clan Village, Chu Qiguang was still staring up at the clearing sky. After the lightning storm, the clouds above seemed to have become unusually thin.

There was a depth to the sky that he had never noticed before, as if it had drawn closer to the boundless expanse of outer space.

He thought he could see something moving within the clouds, giving off a strange iridescent glow. However, the disturbance lasted for only a fleeting moment before fading away, leaving him to wonder whether it had been a figment of his imagination.

Right at that moment, a calm male voice rang out directly in Chu Qiguang's mind.

"Chu Qiguang..."

Chu Qiguang hurriedly looked up at the sky, where the voice seemed to have come from, but he saw nothing.

The voice was very familiar. Thanks to his exceptional memory, he quickly recalled where he had heard it before. The voice belonged to the man named Shi. It was the same voice that had spoken to him in the ruins in the Millet Mountain Range, instructing him to find the four books and guiding him toward the two Chongming Birds.

"Make sure to focus your efforts on finding those four books," the voice continued. "Also, don't make an enemy of the northern fiends."