26: Chapter 26 Golden Patterns Wrapped in Evil, A Lone Star Brings Fate

The young man paused for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed loudly.

The laughter was arrogant and unbridled, like a thunderclap splitting the sky, crashing back and forth between the beams and pillars of the restaurant, shaking the wine in the cups into fine ripples, and even causing the dust on the eaves to fall with a rustle:

"Old man, who are you trying to scare?"

"I have cultivated for hundreds of years; what kind of life-and-death dangers have I not survived?"

"Mountains of blades and forests of swords, dens of dragons and tigers—where have I not walked away unscathed?"

"Do you really think you can bluff me with a few ghost stories from a Jianghu charlatan?"

He casually put away the divination stick, his posture as arrogant as a king patrolling his territory, and strode away with his companions.

The laughter lingered in the tower for a long time, drifting further and further away, until it was finally swallowed by the noisy crowd.

The old man watched their retreating figures.

He could only shake his head helplessly.

A flash of deep regret crossed his eyes.

Chu Changsheng felt a slight stir in his heart.

An inexplicable intuition, like a fine needle pricking the softest part of his heart, pushed him to stand up.

He walked through the noisy hall.

The human voices, the smell of wine, the clatter of bowls and dishes—at this moment, they all blurred into a distant background, like receding tides, retreating to the edge of his hearing.

His gaze fell only on the old man behind the divination stall—

The old man seemed to be shrouded in an invisible light, appearing completely out of place in this Mortal World, like someone from another world.

Walking up to the stall, Chu Changsheng flicked his hand.

A Top-Grade Spirit Stone traced a brilliant arc, and with a soft "ding," it landed steadily on the table in front of the old man.

The Spirit Stone's brilliance circulated, its Spiritual Qi overwhelming, like a miniature bright moon falling into the mortal realm, illuminating the surroundings brightly.

"Old man," Chu Changsheng smiled, his eyes holding three parts curiosity and seven parts playfulness, "Could you cast a divination for me as well?"

The old man looked up.

The moment his gaze met Chu Changsheng's—

His pupils contracted imperceptibly!

This contraction was like a needle pricking deep into the bottom of his eyes; what flashed through wasn't surprise, but rather… like encountering some taboo that shouldn't exist in the world.

Something that shouldn't have appeared in the human realm.

But it all happened in an instant.

So fast it felt like an illusion.

The old man narrowed his eyes and spoke slowly, his voice raspy like rubbing dry leaves: "Young Master has an extraordinary bearing."

"I wonder… what you wish to divine?"

Chu Changsheng pondered for a moment.

For some reason, a hazy thought about a Dao Companion suddenly surfaced in his mind—this thought was like looking at flowers through mist, unable to see the outline, unable to grasp the edges, yet so real it made his heart burn.

The corners of his mouth lifted involuntarily, this smile carrying three parts youthful innocence and seven parts longing:

"Then please, old man, divine… when I shall find a good match and Dao Companion?"

The old man nodded slightly.

The gravity in his eyes, however, suddenly became thick and impossible to dissolve.

He picked up the divination sticks again.

This time—

His hands were actually trembling slightly.

This trembling was minute, yet clearly visible.

As if these few bamboo sticks weighed a thousand jun, too heavy for him to hold.

Casting the divination.

The divination sticks began to rotate in his palm.

At first, they were slow, like a butterfly waking from a spring day, lazy and hesitant.

Then they grew faster and faster, becoming a blurry phantom, so fast that the patterns on the sticks could not be seen.

The surrounding air began to stagnate.

As if an invisible force was spreading from the stick tube, like a giant mountain pressing down, making people's breathing tight and their heartbeats stop.

The noise in the restaurant unconsciously lowered.

Lowered.

Lowered until—

Only deathly silence remained.

All gazes were quietly cast towards this corner.

Towards the rotating divination sticks, and the old man whose face had suddenly changed.

Suddenly—

The divination sticks seemed to hit an invisible wall!

"Hum—"

A dull, low hum!

It stopped abruptly!

Like a galloping steed reined in by an invisible hand!

The old man's face turned paper-white in a flash.

He widened his eyes, bloodshot veins like a spiderweb, his lips trembling violently, as if some words were stuck in his throat—

But were sealed tightly by a terrifying force!

Not even half a word could come out!

Chu Changsheng's heart tightened, and he leaned in to ask urgently: "Old man, what is the omen?"

The old man trembled and raised his finger.

His finger shook violently, like a withered branch in the wind.

Pointing to the surface of the divination sticks—

There, several twisted golden runes were slowly emerging!

The runes were like living creatures, wandering on the surface of the sticks, their light flickering, like dying breaths, like trapped beasts struggling in the abyss.

"Heavenly secrets… cannot be revealed… cannot be revealed!"

His voice was hoarse and broken.

It was filled with pure fear—this fear was so thick it could not be dissolved, as if saying one more word would invite a catastrophe, Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, never to be reincarnated.

Chu Changsheng frowned, about to ask again—

"Crack!"

A crisp sound of breaking.

Like ice cracking, like jade shattering.

The divination stick split in half, breaking into two!

The break was uneven, as if cut by an invisible sharp blade!

The old man's whole body shook violently, and he spat out a small mouthful of fresh blood with a "pfft"!

The blood mist filled the air, and the fishy, sweet scent instantly spread.

He was hit as if by a heavy blow, staggering back a few steps, his face as gray as ash, the light in his eyes dimming like a candle in the wind.

"Senior!" Chu Changsheng stepped forward and caught his swaying body.

Upon contact, the old man's arm was as cold as iron, his pulse as chaotic as hemp.

The old man barely opened his eyes.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a bitter smile, his breath as thin as silk, his voice so faint it was almost inaudible:

"Young Master's fate… is too strange. My meager cultivation cannot bear it… This is the backlash of Heavenly secrets… Heavenly secrets… backlash…"

Chu Changsheng looked at his dying appearance and said in a low voice: "Is it really this serious?"

The old man tremblingly took out a Medicinal Pill and swallowed it.

The Medicinal Pill was the color of congealed blood, exuding a rich medicinal fragrance.

He closed his eyes to regulate his breath, for a long, long time—

Only then did a trace of color return to his face.

But the look he gave the broken divination stick still retained a deep terror.

This terror was like a disease attached to the bone, impossible to shake off.

"I have divined my whole life, seen countless people, and have never seen such an omen…"

His voice was as low as a mutter, yet every word was as heavy as iron, "Gold patterns wrapped in Omen, Lone Star entangled with fate; the Laws of Heaven and Earth in Young Master's fate chart are… all in chaos."

"It's all in chaos… Please, Young Master… do not ask anymore."

"Do not ask anymore."

Chu Changsheng was silent.

The silence was like a mountain.

He took out a few Top-Grade Spirit Stones and placed them gently by the old man's hand.

The Spirit Stones still shone, but now they seemed pale and powerless.

"Old man, take these Spirit Stones to recover."

After saying this, he turned and left.

His retreating figure in the noisy restaurant appeared somewhat lonely and desolate.

That desolation was like a fallen leaf in late autumn, drifting without support, not knowing where to return.

The old man watched him disappear in the direction of the door.

He looked down at the broken stick again.

His brows furrowed, falling into a long, bewildered silence.

Not long after Chu Changsheng left—

A commotion suddenly erupted inside Zuixian Tower!

"Look outside the window quickly!"

"It's the Southern Heavenly Sect's 'Flowing Cloud Boat'!"

The crowd surged towards the window like a tide, squeezing it until it was impassable.

They saw a silver-white flying boat quietly suspended in mid-air outside the building.

The flying boat was slender and graceful, like a crescent moon carved from the horizon, its whole body flowing with gentle spiritual light, as if moonlight had condensed into substance.

The sides of the boat were carved with ancient sword patterns, each one breathing and flickering as if alive, light and dark, as if telling the vicissitudes of a thousand years of Sword Dao.

On the flying boat—

A woman in white stepped through the air!

Her robes fluttered, like flowing clouds and surging snow, snapping in the wind; her dark hair was like a waterfall, tied loosely with only a plain jade hairpin, yet it made her look even more otherworldly.

Her face was clear and exquisite, her skin as cold and white as jade, a pair of eyes clear like cold stars, cold enough to have no temperature at all.

Wherever her gaze reached—

The noisy restaurant suddenly quieted by three parts!

"Revered Master."

The woman landed gracefully in front of the old man's table, bowing with great respect.

The restaurant instantly erupted in an uproar!

"It's the Sword Sect Saintess… Li Qingyue!"

"She actually calls this old Taoist Revered Master?!"

"Who exactly is this old Taoist?!"

Countless shocked, probing, and awestruck gazes were fixed on the old man.

These gazes were like sharp arrows, dense and numerous.

The old man slowly raised his eyes.

His eyes still held lingering confusion, that confusion spreading like thick fog:

"Qingyue, why have you sought me out?"

Li Qingyue lowered her eyes, her voice filled with deep concern:

"Disciple was passing by nearby and sensed Revered Master using the 'Heavenly Secret Pulling' technique, with violent fluctuations in Qi, so I immediately rushed over."

Her gaze swept over the two broken pieces of the divination stick on the table—

Her beautiful eyebrows suddenly knit tight!

Her brow peak was like a sword, revealing sharpness:

"Revered Master, for whom did you cast the divination just now, to suffer such a backlash?"

The old man sighed long.

His fingertips brushed over the broken stick surface, as if he could still touch the fleeting, shudder-inducing residual warmth of the Heavenly secrets.

That residual warmth was scorching, making his fingertips numb.

"A young man, asking about marriage."

He paused, his voice dropping low, so low it was almost inaudible, "But his omen… Gold patterns wrapped in Omen, Lone Star bearing fate. It is as if the threads of all the Laws of Heaven and Earth were twisted into a tangled mess in his fate chart."

"I only took a slight peek, and it was like peeking into an abyss… like peeking into an abyss…"

Li Qingyue's pupils contracted sharply!

She came from the Southern Heavenly Sword Sect and had read the ancient books hidden in the Sect.

The fate charts that could cause the "Heavenly Secret Pulling" to shatter and the caster to suffer such backlash were only vaguely mentioned in two categories in ancient books—

Carrying the "World-Ending Great Omen."

Or bearing the "Opening Heaven Luck."

Whichever one it was, they were existences capable of stirring a region of Heaven and Earth!

Existences capable of making stars shift and mountains and rivers change paths!

"Revered Master, that person…" Her voice tightened involuntarily, like a bowstring pulled taut, "What were his characteristics?"

"His aura had a hint of Grandmist, and his behavior… seemed to harmonize with the Great Dao, yet also seemed to transcend it."

The old man recalled, his eyes deepening with confusion, bottomless, "What is even stranger is that he was surrounded by an extremely faint 'Qi of Fate Connection,' that Qi… seemed to be weaving itself, and cutting itself off, endlessly, yet as dead as a grave."

"I have divined my whole life and have never seen such a contradictory omen."

Li Qingyue's face changed completely.

Grandmist intent, harmony with the Great Dao, self-evolving fate…

This had exceeded any records she knew.

Exceeded any fragments in ancient books.

Exceeded any scraps of legend.

"Revered Master, where did that person go?" She asked urgently, her fingertips unconsciously pressing on the hilt of her sword at her waist.

The hilt was cold, but at this moment it was scorching to the touch.

The old man looked towards the long street outside the door and slowly raised his hand, pointing to the east.

His finger trembled slightly:

"He just left not long ago… went to the east of the city."

Upon hearing this, Li Qingyue's gaze turned cold—

She turned and swept out of the restaurant!

Her white clothes brushed past the edge of the table, bringing a cold wind.

This wind was as cold as a winter cold wave, and everyone looked sideways wherever it passed.

"Qingyue!"

The old man suddenly called out to her.

She stopped and looked back.

This look back was like a startling swan reflecting in the water, stunning everyone in the restaurant.

The old man stared at her, silent for a moment.

The silence was long, like a thousand-year wait.

Finally, he said slowly:

"If you find him… do not force the omen shown."

"This person's fate is likely not something you or I… or even this Heaven and Earth, can peek into or bear."

Li Qingyue pursed her lips.

Starlight flickered in her eyes, dimming and brightening.

Finally—

She just bowed deeply:

"Disciple… understands."

Before the words faded, she had turned into a streak of cloud-like sword light! Rushing towards the east of the city—

In the blink of an eye, she disappeared at the end of the horizon.

In the restaurant, there was silence for a while.

Then it erupted!

Everyone was whispering, guessing who that young man was who had made the Sword Sect Saintess so moved.

The guessing was like a wildfire, burning hotter and fiercer.

And behind the divination stall in the corner—

The old man sat there alone.

Looking at the broken stick.

And looking towards the direction where Li Qingyue disappeared.

He did not move for a long time.

The wind blew, and the few already dim golden residual patterns on the broken stick flickered slightly.

This light was weak, like a dying candle flame.

As if some unspeakable destiny had just begun to weave its first thread.

The thread was as thin as a hair, as tough as steel wire, and it was silently winding around everyone related to it.

Winding around their lives.

Winding around their tribulations.

Winding around the Karma they could never escape in this lifetime.