Chapter 1068: Naturally Perfect Turtle Fist

The host actually felt this wasn’t okay.

It was like an exam—you’re looking at someone else’s answer sheet…isn’t that just cheating?

But Mr. Julian instead let out a hearty laugh and said, “It’s fine, it’s fine. Anyway, Daoist friend Lawrence didn’t take either commission. Her assessment content is probably different from ours, so it’s no problem if she watches.”

The host immediately felt that Mr. Julian was still as noble and selfless as ever, still the number one person in the Celestial Path Sect.

Lawrence Winters was also a bit surprised. She’d originally thought she’d have to expend some effort to stay and watch in person, but Mr. Julian agreed in one go, and she even started to suspect that maybe she’d misjudged him before…

Because of Mr. Julian’s permission, the atmosphere among the three of them immediately became harmonious.

They all walked into Mrs. Fang’s living room together, and Mrs. Fang smiled and nodded to them.

“Great Heavenly Master Julian, I have not failed your trust—this is what you asked for.”

She handed that little bamboo tube and a slip of paper to Mr. Julian.

The little bamboo tube was what Mr. Julian had given her to hold hair or blood; she’d managed to get both.

The slip of paper contained Miss Tang’s exact date and time of birth, down to the minute, which the private detective had found together with her.

Mr. Julian first unfolded the slip to look at the birth date characters, then immediately pinched his fingers to roughly calculate, repeatedly nodding as he said, “Her allotted fate has run out! Her allotted fate has run out! Mrs. Fang, don’t worry. This time we’ll see whether she is actually human or not!”

“Did you see something wrong with her birth data, Mr. Julian?” Mrs. Fang’s eyes lit up. “What are you going to do?”

Mr. Julian raised his hand. “Please be patient for a moment. I need to set up a ritual ground. I’ve brought everything I need. May I ask where your backyard is? It’s more suitable to set up the ritual in the backyard—it won’t attract onlookers.”

“Backyard? Oh, this way, please. Our backyard is very secluded, with primeval forest beyond it. The neighbors on both sides are far away, and big trees block the view—people basically can’t see anything.”

Mrs. Fang led them through the living room, down a corridor, around a corner, and out through a small room used as a family sitting room, into the backyard.

Outside the small room was a wide covered terrace, like the side halls in ancient buildings. Beyond the terrace lay a lush green lawn and colorful flowerbeds.

The host took a folding altar out of that twenty-eight-inch suitcase and set it in the middle of the lawn.

Mr. Julian, holding the Compass, walked a circle around the backyard lawn, found a spot to the east, and said, “Set the altar there. This is today’s auspicious position.”

Lawrence and Mrs. Fang stood together, watching curiously as Mr. Julian took out his Magic Artifacts, incense burner, and joss sticks, arranging them neatly on the altar.

Then he took out a lighter, lit the joss sticks, held them in both hands raised high, and bowed three times toward the west, solemnly saying, “In the presence of the Patriarchs of The Three Pure Ones! Your disciple, Julian Gilbert, the eighty?th generation heir of the Grant Branch, respectfully asks the Willow Deity under the seat of the Patriarchs of The Three Pure Ones to lend strength and aid today!”

Then he placed the lit joss sticks into the incense burner.

Next, he unfolded a long piece of green?vine paper, on which a long passage had been written in cinnabar ink.

Lawrence was slightly taken aback.

She hadn’t expected Mr. Julian to actually bring out a “Qingci.”

Qingci, also called Green Memorials, were originally liturgical memorial texts offered to the Patriarchs of The Three Pure Ones during grand fasting and offering rituals of the Celestial Path Sect. The writing was ornate and ethereal, and they’d been passed down for over a thousand years.

For modern Celestial Path practitioners, basically no one could still write Qingci.

The four great branches of the Celestial Path Sect each had Qingci texts passed down from ancient times, treasured as the bottom?of?the?chest heirlooms.

The older the Qingci and the more eminent the Celestial Path master who wrote it, the more unexpected Mana it could possess.

Lawrence had heard of Qingci but had never seen an actual one. Her master, Nick Zeller, had only shown her rephotographed images; the original, it was said, was locked in a bank vault.

The Qingci photos she had seen were exactly the same as the one in Mr. Julian’s hands, so she recognized it at a glance.

Today Mr. Julian was wearing the Celestial Path Sect uniform: blue base with black edging, a descending tiger embroidered on the back—he looked truly imposing.

This time, he turned toward another direction, the one facing the location of Miss Tang’s house, and began his invocation.

“On this day in the first year of Weizhihe, cyclical year Jiawu, eighth month, new moon day Xinyou, twentieth day Gengxu, your subject Julian, commissioned respectfully by the woman Fang, opens the natal Spiritual Treasure ritual ground and sets up one offering rite, prostrating to submit this memorial upwards to the Celestial Prime of Vacuity and Nature, the Supreme Dao Lord, the Supreme Elder Lord, The Three Pure Ones and all saints, the spirits of the Ten Extremes, the Three Officials of Heaven, Earth, and Water, the officers of the Five Sacred Peaks, the thirty?six ministries of the scriptures, and the spirits of the Three Realms.”

“In the southeast stands a daughter of the Thomas Family, born on year X, month X, day X, hour X. Her four pillars and eight aspects are all complete, and her skin and hair are all present. We request that the Law Power of The Three Pure Ones descend, that the wise eye discern clearly, and reveal the original form of this Tang woman!”

“We respectfully submit this to the Supreme Opening?of?the?Origin Emperor, Holder of Talismans, Keeper of the Calendar, Embodier of True Dao, the Jade Emperor, Great Heavenly Emperor: may the treasure throne be without end, the firmament bestow protection. We offer this sincerity in utmost purity, that holy truth may converge together. We look up in hope for the numinous blessing, to spread your subtle grace to the hidden and the void. May the four seasons align in harmonious order, and all beings share in peace and well?being. This is the utmost of our five?fold supplications; this is our humble petition.”

…

He muttered on and on for quite a while, then placed this long Qingci onto the incense burner to be burned.

Before long, that green?vine paper turned into a strand of white smoke and flew toward the grand mansion where Miss Tang lived.

Watching this, Lawrence felt her heart open and soar; she almost wished she could follow that strand of white smoke over there to take a look.

Of course, she couldn’t just run straight to Miss Tang’s house, but Mr. Julian had thought things through very well: he’d brought a tablet that could directly show the livestream.

On the screen, that strand of white smoke could be seen already arriving at the grand mansion where Miss Tang lived. With a swish, it slipped through the mesh of the window screen and quickly disappeared.

The livestream image then switched over to Miss Tang.

At this moment, she was sitting in her own living room, listening to Daoist Wang and Daoist Quan talk.

Suddenly, she clutched her head, her brows knitting tightly together.

Daoist Wang hurriedly said, “Miss Tang, what’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Do you need to see a doctor?”

Miss Tang didn’t speak for a long moment. After a while, she rubbed her temples and said, “I’m fine. Maybe I just didn’t sleep well yesterday.”

As she spoke, she even yawned.

Daoist Wang and Daoist Quan exchanged a glance and were just about to speak when Miss Tang suddenly clutched her head again, this time in so much pain she almost rolled off the sofa.

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This is the second update at one in the afternoon; the third will be at seven?thirty in the evening.

Still got any monthly tickets? ^_^ Big smooch for the group!