Lan Xiaobu immediately grasped Zhen Changyuan’s meaning. With her strength only half-recovered, fully restored, she could aid him in the Longevity Land. “Good, this is yours.” He handed her the ring containing the Fate Scroll.
Zhen Changyuan didn’t mind. Lan Xiaobu’s path was extraordinary—her Fate Path might just be a branch of his. To fuse multiple principles, one needed their own path. After his battle with Huang Buz, she realized Lan Xiaobu truly didn’t care about her Fate Scroll.
Summoning Tai Chuan to control the Samsara Pot, Lan Xiaobu said, “Senior Sister Zhen, I feel your path can advance further. You’re not used to conflict, so you treat your path too gently. For us cultivators, we fight for a sliver of opportunity. Being too gentle with your path isn’t good.”
His words were tactful, implying her path was solid, but her aversion to conflict kept her from embracing killing principles. That led to her being hunted. The vast universe didn’t care that Fate Saint Zhen Changyuan preferred peace—peace came from strength.
Zhen Changyuan looked puzzled. “I cultivate the Fate Path. Advancing would only sharpen my fate principles. Though Huang Buz schemed against me, nearly harming you, my Fate Path let me alter my destiny. I understand your point—I can’t advance my path further, but I can refine my divine arts.”
Lan Xiaobu shook his head. “No, you can go further. You cultivate Fate, but you can also prove Great Fortune. If you prove Great Fortune, even Huang Buz’s schemes couldn’t fully unravel you. Then, refining your attack arts would make you several times stronger.”
“Fortune?” Zhen Changyuan echoed.
Lan Xiaobu nodded firmly. “Yes, proving Great Fortune. Fate concerns yourself; fortune concerns your path. You’ve proved personal fate but not your path’s fortune. Once you do, Huang Buz’s schemes won’t touch your celestial secrets.”
“You’ve proved fortune? So Huang Buz couldn’t scheme against you?” Zhen Changyuan understood but felt proving fortune was near impossible—her path was already set.
Lan Xiaobu replied, “Even if I’ve proved fortune, at my current realm, Huang Buz can still scheme against me. Only after proving Longevity would he fail. Before, he couldn’t scheme me—not because of fortune, but because I cultivate my own path. Without fortune, he still couldn’t touch me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have driven him off today.”
If Huang Buz had known about the Cosmic Mill, he’d never have been caught off-guard and injured.
For Lan Xiaobu, this wasn’t good news—exposing the millstone meant no advantage next time, possibly facing Huang Buz’s dominance.
That’s why he urgently wanted to reach the Longevity Land and prove Longevity. Without becoming a Longevity Saint, he’d never counter Huang Buz.
Zhen Changyuan fell silent. She knew he was right, but proving fortune felt harder than ascending the heavens.
Suddenly, Lan Xiaobu handed her a jade slip. “Senior Sister Zhen, this holds my insights from proving fortune, sealed with a strand of my fortune principle. If you don’t mind, use it to sense fortune and prove it.”
Zhen Changyuan took it, stunned. “How could I mind?” Another’s proven principle was a priceless treasure, fiercely contested at auctions.
Even Creation Saints would bid for such principles.
Drawing wisdom from others was invaluable, yet sharing one’s proven principle was rare—almost unheard of.
If Lan Xiaobu couldn’t isolate his fortune principle, he wouldn’t have shared it. Having separated his Longevity Path, even if Zhen Changyuan sensed the fortune principle, she wouldn’t glimpse his path.
“Thank you, Junior Brother Xiaobu. I’ll start sensing the Fortune Path now,” she said, thrilled.
Proving fortune to shield her path’s secrets would block Huang Buz’s schemes—a win for both her and Lan Xiaobu. “Good, prove your own Fortune Path. I need to heal,” Lan Xiaobu said.
He knew her success would benefit them both. Otherwise, if she followed him to the Longevity Land, Huang Buz would scheme against her, forcing Lan Xiaobu to flee before even starting.
Lan Xiaobu healed, Zhen Changyuan sensed fortune, and Tai Chuan piloted the Samsara Pot back to the Great Desolate Divine Realm.
Two years later, Lan Xiaobu’s injuries were long healed. His battle with Huang Buz had hurt him, but the gains were significant. On the Samsara Pot’s deck, he noticed Tai Chuan’s principles had grown robust, his strength rising another level in just two years. If Tai Chuan reached Nine Revolutions, most Nine Revolution Saints would pale before him.
“Big Brother, we’re at Tai Ruins Tomb,” Tai Chuan called, seeing Lan Xiaobu approach.
Lan Xiaobu’s divine sense swept the tomb. “Let’s check it out.”
Zhen Changyuan’s principles grew clearer—she was nearing fortune’s proof. Lan Xiaobu decided to linger, letting her finish.
Proving fortune at Tai Ruins Tomb was better than at the Great Desolate Divine Realm, where his own fortune proof left a heavy mark. If Zhen Changyuan proved there, it’d drain the realm’s fortune and hinder her, overshadowed by his imprint.
Entering Tai Ruins Tomb, Lan Xiaobu sensed something off.
Last time, Tai Ruins Square bustled with activity. Now, it was deserted.
He had Tai Chuan park the Samsara Pot at the square’s center, stepping to the former Tai Ruins Hall’s perimeter.
The hall was rubble. Mo Xiaoxi, Kong Fusheng, and Hu Qingjia were gone. His protective array showed signs of attack.
Frowning, Lan Xiaobu sent messages to the trio via communication beads. Given his reputation and the destruction of Tai Ruins Hall, no one should’ve dared target them.
No replies came from Mo Xiaoxi or Hu Qingjia, but Kong Fusheng responded.
He said Mo Xiaoxi had proved Fourth Revolution Saint here, then learned of her father Cao Jin’s whereabouts, seeking him out. Hu Qingjia, also a Fourth Revolution Saint, joined her. Kong Fusheng, proving Second Revolution Saint, didn’t want to stay alone and was returning to the Great Desolate Divine Realm. He didn’t know what happened to Tai Ruins Tomb—it was fine when he left.
Zhen Changyuan’s fortune principles swirled—she was at a critical juncture.
Lan Xiaobu threw out dozens of ruleless array flags, sealing the Samsara Pot in a protective array to shield her enlightenment from intruders.
“Tai Chuan, I’m checking deeper into Tai Ruins Tomb. Guard Senior Sister Zhen. Message me if anything happens,” Lan Xiaobu instructed.
He aimed for the tomb’s chaotic ruleless zone. His Ruleless Evasion was perfected, ideal for testing there.
“No worries, Big Brother. I’ve got this,” Tai Chuan said, patting his chest.
Lan Xiaobu tossed him a seal. “This is the Desolate Universe Seal, an innate treasure I took from someone. Use it as your weapon. If anyone attacks, strike without hesitation.”
The seal was Ji Yige’s, claimed after Lan Xiaobu killed him. With too many treasures, Lan Xiaobu hadn’t used it, so he gave it to Tai Chuan.
“Don’t worry, Big Brother. I won’t hold back,” Tai Chuan grinned. “You drove off a Derived Realm powerhouse from the Longevity Land—who’d I need to fear?”
(That’s today’s update. Good night, friends!)
