Several hours had passed.
The Sixth Elder and Lin Tian appeared at the summit of a mountain peak shrouded in clouds and mist. Looking up, they saw a dilapidated thatched cottage standing quietly among the green pines.
“Does the Divine Calculator live here?” Lin Tian was somewhat surprised.
The Divine Calculator was the foremost diviner in the Eastern Wastelands, renowned throughout the world. Whether it was the Yin-Yang Sect or the Azure Cloud Sword Sect, these top-tier sects sometimes had to seek his help.
How could such a figure live in such poverty?
“Indeed, the Divine Calculator resides here.”
After speaking, the Sixth Elder led Lin Tian towards the thatched cottage.
Soon, they arrived in front of it. There, an old man and a young boy sat under an ancient pine tree, facing each other over a game of go.
The old man had dishevelled hair and wore tattered clothes, his bare feet making him look like a beggar.
As for the boy, he was no more than eleven or twelve years old, with clear brows and bright eyes, also dressed in rags.
The two were bickering.
“Master, you have lost.” the boy said.
“I have not lost.” The old man replied, then picked up a go stone.
“Master, no taking back moves, that is what you taught me.”
“Child, your master also said, never easily trust others.”
The boy flushed with anger: “Master, is it right to be so shameless?”
The old man grinned: “Disciple, your master is telling you, a man without shame is invincible under heaven.”
The boy said: “I do not care, anyway, Master, you have lost.”
The old man swept his right hand across the board, immediately scattering the stones into chaos.
“Disciple, the board is now in disarray, your master has not lost.”
Seeing this scene, Lin Tian thought this old man was utterly shameless, then asked the Sixth Elder: “Master, is he the Divine Calculator?”
“Mm.” The Sixth Elder looked at the old man and said: “Divine Calculator, you owed me a favour back then, now it is time to repay it.”
“What matter?” The old man did not even look up.
The Sixth Elder extended his palm and produced a portrait of Ye Qiu, saying: “Help me divine this person’s whereabouts!”
Only then did the old man raise his head. Upon seeing Ye Qiu’s portrait, a flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
The Sixth Elder keenly noticed this detail and asked: “What is it?”
“Nothing.” The Divine Calculator asked: “Who is this person?”
The Sixth Elder replied: “I only know he came from the mortal world, his name and identity are completely unknown.”
The Divine Calculator said: “This person cannot be divined.”
“I must know his whereabouts.” The Sixth Elder said: “This man killed disciples of my sect, no matter what, I must find him.”
“Must you find him?” the Divine Calculator asked.
“I must.” The Sixth Elder’s attitude was resolute.
Alas!
The Divine Calculator sighed, his hands forming seals before him. In an instant, the Divine Calculator’s aura changed, giving one the feeling of an immortal sage.
Then, the Divine Calculator gently drew his hands through the air, and a massive fate disc appeared.
The Divine Calculator continuously derived calculations.
After a good while, he still did not stop, but his face grew pale, and sweat appeared on his forehead.
The Sixth Elder felt somewhat surprised. Previously, when he had accompanied the Yin-Yang Sect’s sect master to seek the Divine Calculator, the latter had divined the result in a mere instant. Why had it taken so long today without a conclusion?
Fully half an hour passed before, at last, the Divine Calculator spoke: “This person is in.”
Boom.
Before the Divine Calculator could finish, a thunderous roar exploded, and a massive bolt of lightning descended from the sky.
Immediately, several ancient pines a hundred metres away were struck down, and a huge crater appeared on the ground, most frightening.
“What happened?” the Sixth Elder asked.
“I just said, this person cannot be divined.” The Divine Calculator said to the Sixth Elder: “Regardless of what grudge you have with him, I advise you to let it go and not entangle yourself in karma with him.”
The Sixth Elder coveted the divine artefact in Ye Qiu’s hands, how could he possibly let it go? He said: “My affairs are none of your concern. Divine Calculator, quickly tell me, where is he?”
The Divine Calculator pointed towards the north.
The Sixth Elder did not understand and pressed: “Do not play tricks, tell me directly, where exactly is he?”
“Ice Plains.” The Divine Calculator had just uttered two words when blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and his spirit grew feeble.
“Master!” The boy was greatly frightened, supporting the Divine Calculator with a face full of panic.
The Sixth Elder said: “He is on the Ice Plains? Divine Calculator, you are not mistaken, are you?”
In the past, the Sixth Elder would never have questioned the Divine Calculator, but he simply could not comprehend it. The Ice Plains were near the Northern Domain, over ten million li from Four Directions City. How could Ye Qiu have travelled so quickly?
“Believe it or not, as you will.” the Divine Calculator said indifferently.
The Sixth Elder fell silent for a moment, then said: “Divine Calculator, there is one more thing.”
Before he could finish, the Divine Calculator interrupted him.
The Divine Calculator glanced at Lin Tian and asked: “You wish for me to divine your disciple’s fate?”
“Precisely.” The Sixth Elder nodded and said: “I want to know if Tian’er can become a saint in the future?”
“He can!” the Divine Calculator answered.
In an instant, joy appeared on both Lin Tian’s and the Sixth Elder’s faces.
The Divine Calculator continued: “If he can retire to seclusion beyond the world, abstain from worldly affairs, and cultivate arduously for thirty thousand years, he will surely become a saint!”
Lin Tian’s expression changed.
Retire to seclusion beyond the world?
Abstain from worldly affairs?
Cultivate arduously for thirty thousand years?
How was that possible!
As the Sixth Elder’s disciple and the holy son of the Yin-Yang Sect, Lin Tian had many things awaiting him.
The Sixth Elder also did not wish for Lin Tian to retire to seclusion. He had nurtured Lin Tian not merely to make him a saint, but also in hopes that one day Lin Tian could become the sect master of the Yin-Yang Sect.
“What if he does not do as you say?” the Sixth Elder asked.
The Divine Calculator said: “If he does not do as I say, there is only one outcome: death and the dissipation of his dao.”
You old bastard, cursing whom?
Lin Tian glared at the Divine Calculator with unkind eyes.
“I have said all there is to say, you may leave!” The Divine Calculator closed his eyes.
“Farewell.” After the Sixth Elder spoke, he grabbed Lin Tian’s shoulder, preparing to depart, when the Divine Calculator spoke again.
“Wait.” The Divine Calculator said to the Sixth Elder: “Leave that portrait behind.”
It was merely a portrait, so the Sixth Elder paid it no mind and tossed it to the Divine Calculator, then vanished from the spot with Lin Tian in an instant.
At the foot of the mountain.
The Sixth Elder asked: “Tian’er, what do you make of the Divine Calculator’s words?”
Lin Tian said: “He is merely an old charlatan, his words are not to be trusted.”
Evidently, Lin Tian did not wish to retire to seclusion.
The Sixth Elder said: “The Divine Calculator is not one who gained fame without merit, his words must be heeded, but not entirely believed.”
“Your master knows your mind. You are exceptionally talented, it would be too great a pity to seclude yourself now.”
“Moreover, the path of cultivation is to defy the heavens. If heaven blocks the way, then shatter this heaven.”
The Sixth Elder was speaking when he suddenly sensed something and quickly drew a jade slip from his sleeve.
The jade slip glowed brilliantly, and a line of small characters floated above it, vanishing rapidly after a few seconds.
Joy appeared on the Sixth Elder’s face as he said: “Tian’er, it seems your master must accompany you to the Ice Plains.”
“Something has happened on the Ice Plains?” Lin Tian asked.
The Sixth Elder smiled: “Your master has just received word that a saint’s tomb has appeared on the Ice Plains, containing a complete saintly inheritance!”
