Chapter 102: Divination and Plotting
Chapter 102: Chapter 102: Divination and Plotting
Three mornings later, inside the Earth Fire Hall, Zhang Chi sat cross-legged on the ground. Before him was a black, basin-sized Tier One Turtle Shell, a Low Tier Artifact Refining Material he had specially purchased from the Treasure Pavilion.
Of course, his primary purpose for visiting the Treasure Pavilion was to purchase Tier Two Materials, Spirit Wine, and Spirit Tea, for which he had spent all his remaining Spirit Stones. This Tier One Turtle Shell was extremely cheap in comparison and was merely an incidental purchase.
This spending spree had undoubtedly made the Beautiful Lady Shopkeeper at the Treasure Pavilion even more enthusiastic toward him, so much so that she wished she could keep him there and wait on him hand and foot.
At that moment, Zhang Chi took a deep breath, then bit his finger open. Using his own blood infused with Spiritual Power, he focused intently on carving special patterns and runes onto the Turtle Shell.
Afterward, he rapidly formed a series of hand seals and began to emit a specific, chant-like sound.
CRACK!
The Turtle Shell quickly cracked apart.
By interpreting the cracks on the Turtle Shell and cross-referencing them with the knowledge from his inheritance, Zhang Chi quickly obtained the result of his divination: two hundred and eighty.
Clearly, he had just divined his own remaining Lifespan.
’It really works. And it’s precise. Success came so easily.’
Zhang Chi couldn’t help but nod in satisfaction.
Though it was just a single success, it signified that his Inference Skill had successfully reached Tier One Low Grade.
At the same time, however, he felt the Jade Pendant in his mind tremble slightly as it absorbed a wave of negative energy from an unknown source.
This was undoubtedly the Power of Celestial Secret Retribution.
Furthermore, judging by the degree of the Jade Pendant’s color change, the amount of negative energy was indeed substantial.
Fortunately, his Jade Pendant had already been upgraded, and his Divination Technique was still at a low Level.
Otherwise, it would only take a few more divinations before he would be unable to bear it.
He then took out several more Tier One Turtle Shells and performed more divinations.
The matters he divined were all quite simple.
For example: when the Spirit Snake and Beast Soul would awaken and whether their advancement would be successful; whether his next attempts at Artifact Refining and Talisman Making would succeed; how many Pills his next Alchemy session would yield.
He also attempted to divine the fortune of his upcoming trip to the Demon Abyss, but this yielded no result.
This was because the matter had already exceeded the scope of what a Tier One Divination Technique could possibly deduce.
However, when he divined the matter concerning the Xie Family, he immediately received a result: highly auspicious.
Apparently, the outcome of that affair wasn’t difficult to determine, and he had left no loose ends.
’Not bad. I really didn’t make a mistake choosing this Turtle Shell Divination Skill. Apart from consuming too many Turtle Shells, it’s flawless. And since I can ignore the Celestial Secret Retribution, it’s extremely easy to learn and progress with.’
That very day, Zhang Chi’s Celestial Mechanism Inference Skill reached Tier One Middle Grade. Three days later, it hit Tier One Upper Grade, and after another half a month, it successfully reached the Tier One Peak Level.
This pace was simply astounding, far surpassing his progress in Alchemy, Artifact Refining, and Talisman Making.
Of course, any other Foundation Establishment Cultivator would have already been consumed by the Celestial Secret Retribution and turned into a desiccated corpse by now.
During this period, Zhang Chi had also been diligently studying Arrays. However, his progress in that field couldn’t compare to his Divination Technique at all; after more than half a month, he had only reached Tier One Middle Grade.
And that was only because he already had some foundational knowledge.
While arduously practicing the Hundred Skills of Immortal Cultivation, Zhang Chi hadn’t neglected his own Cultivation. Furthermore, through Qin Susu and others, he had been closely monitoring the aftermath of the Xie Family incident.
The incident with the Xie Family had infuriated the upper echelons of the Cangwu Sect.
Unfortunately for them, they came up empty-handed.
Moreover, they had all been successfully misled by Zhang Chi. They unanimously concluded that the culprit was a Demon Cultivator, the sworn sibling of the Foundation Establishment Female Cultivator of the Demon Path who had been cornered and killed a year prior.
Simultaneously, the Cangwu Sect launched another large-scale investigation throughout its jurisdiction.
However, as it had been less than a year since the last sweep, this one yielded no significant results; they didn’t even find many Demon Cultivators.
Instead, it was the small and medium-sized factions and Loose Cultivators who suffered, as various figures in power once again seized the opportunity to extort them.
Many who couldn’t pay the Spirit Stones were branded as suspicious and sent directly to the Demon Abyss.
When Zhang Chi heard this news, he was rendered a bit speechless, but he didn’t dwell on it.
After all, he wasn’t the one rounding people up. Even if this incident hadn’t happened, those in power would have just found other opportunities to extort others.
If blame was to be assigned, it could only fall on those Cultivators for being too weak. Weakness itself is the original sin.
It was just like when he had first joined the Sect and was targeted by the Xie and Song Families.
But now he was stronger, and the tables had turned.
Furthermore, it was said that Patriarch Xie had also suspected Chen Bufan, but Chen Bufan had undergone an inspection with the Sect’s Secret Treasure and had been cleared of any issues.
As for Zhang Chi himself, no one mentioned him at all.
Because on the surface, his strength was far too weak. Those people weren’t omniscient, so naturally, they would never imagine he could be the culprit.
With this news, Zhang Chi was finally able to rest easy.
And since his time limit was approaching, he rushed to the Pill Hall early one morning to find Fu Hongchang.
"Haha, kid! You’ve finally come around and want to leave the Earth Fire Hall? No problem, leave it to me."
Fu Hongchang was as high-spirited and loud-voiced as ever. He burst into hearty laughter the moment he heard Zhang Chi’s request.
As it turned out, Zhang Chi had approached Fu Hongchang to request another shortening of his assignment duration—to the point where he could leave the Earth Fire Hall immediately. He was hoping Fu Hongchang could put in a good word for him to help him avoid the Spirit Stone penalty.
Fu Hongchang had long anticipated this. He was gratified, feeling that this was the only way to prevent such talent from being wasted.
Fu Hongchang immediately sent a message to the Sect Hall.
"It’s all set. You can go directly over and register. By the way, what are your plans now? Are you coming to our Pill Hall? If you do, I can personally guide you one day a month, free of charge. How about it?" Fu Hongchang asked expectantly, having settled the matter in a flash.
"Thank you, Martial Uncle, but I plan to head to the Demon Abyss and try my luck. If it’s not too much trouble, I’d also like to ask you to write me a letter of recommendation. I’ve heard there are many Tier Two Medicinal Gardens and mines over there. I’d like to go into Cultivation in Seclusion there and continue to improve my Alchemy skills."
Zhang Chi smiled faintly and stated his plan.
In truth, this was his real reason for coming. He could have handled the matter of ending his assignment early on his own; even a small Spirit Stone penalty would have been insignificant to him.
But securing a good position at the Demon Abyss required some assistance and connections.
And the only Foundation Establishment Cultivator he knew in the Sect who could and would help was, quite obviously, Fu Hongchang.
The man was a Pill Hall Steward and an Alchemy Master, so he certainly had some influence. As long as he was willing to help, the chances of success were high.
"Oh, right. This is some Hundred Flowers Spirit Wine I bought while visiting the Marketplace. It’s quite good, so I brought some for you to try, Martial Uncle. Also, my Alchemy skills have improved significantly lately. As soon as my Cultivation reaches the Qi Cultivation Late Stage, I should be able to advance to Tier One Upper Grade!"
Fu Hongchang was taken aback by his words, and his expression soured. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Chi preemptively took out several jars of Spirit Wine and mentioned his progress in Alchemy.
Of course, this "progress" was a lie.
In reality, Zhang Chi was already attempting to refine Tier Two Low Grade Elixirs and was on the verge of success.
This wasn’t the first time Zhang Chi had brought him Spirit Wine.
For the past year, whenever he came to pick up Alchemy assignments, he would occasionally bring gifts like Spirit Wine or Spirit Tea and use the opportunity to ask for advice on Alchemy-related questions.
The Spirit Wine and Spirit Tea weren’t expensive, but they were a token of his sincerity, and Fu Hongchang greatly appreciated the gesture.
Zhang Chi did this for two reasons. Firstly, this martial uncle was genuinely a good person who had looked out for him. Secondly, he knew that at a critical moment, the man’s help could be indispensable.
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