Before I left, there were thirteen Bait Destiny Stars on Destiny Star Mountain. After using three to make Life Substitution Wood Children, there should have been ten left.
Now, only nine remain.
The missing one is one of the four I placed on my Life Pillar when I swore the oath.
’How could a Destiny Star be destroyed? Did I overlook something?’
Sunshine Boy performed a careful Inference and finally understood.
’Life Formations are divided into many types: auspicious, baleful, noble, calamitous, and more. Hao Yunsheng’s youthful Life Formation is dominated by calamity. His Celestial Calamity harms people, and his Poisonous Flood Dragon steals their fortune. When other people’s Fate Grids are affected, they inevitably resist, which is why he had such a difficult time in the Marquis Mansion. Those with strong Fate Grids, like Uncle Zhou and Song Yanxue, were unafraid of his Celestial Calamity, so they were willing to accept him in the beginning.’
’He has the Sunlight on Golden Mountain and Ten Thousand Grinds into a Vessel Fate Grids, so he isn’t afraid of those hardships. The more trials he faces, the faster he grows.’
’This Deceitful Mother is nothing more than a whetstone for him.’
’Within his Fate Grid, the gleaming Treasure Sword and the Poisonous Flood Dragon about to shed its skin both indicate that he will most likely transform calamity into nobility!’
’Once his second Life Formation and his Life God embody nobility, he’ll display the bearing of a great conqueror, attracting others to his banner instead of being suppressed as he was in the past. No wonder his Fate Grid is so strong, yet his Qi Fortune has never reached Emperor’s Prosperity. He’s been accumulating power all this time.’
’If it were nobility first and calamity later, he’d likely stray down the wrong path like one of those spoiled heirs. But with calamity first and nobility later, he is constantly tempered. Even his mistakes can be resolved. Slowly, he will grow more and more mature, until he finally breaks out of his cocoon like a butterfly.’
’Right now, he’s still in the cocoon, so he makes all sorts of mistakes and is swayed by his emotions. But Sun and Moon Ascending protects his foundation, Sunlight on Golden Mountain resolves disasters, Poisonous Pool Hidden Dragon absorbs power, and Ten Thousand Grinds into a Vessel promotes his growth.’
’It seems that in the near future, his Ten Thousand Grinds into a Vessel will probably sublimate into an even stronger Fate Grid, just like his Poisonous Pool Hidden Dragon.’
’Logically speaking, his youthful Life Formation hasn’t taken shape yet, so it shouldn’t be powerful enough to destroy my Fate Grid. That leaves only one other possibility.’
’He has one of the legendary Hidden Destiny Stars, and it’s the one that’s dominating his Fate Grid.’
’His Fate Grid clashes with mine—and it’s a severe clash.’
’So no matter what he himself thinks, his Fate Grid will automatically target me. That’s why even though I didn’t actually break my oath—at most I only approached the verge of breaking it—his Fate Grid still went ahead and brazenly destroyed my Destiny Star.’
The more Sunshine Boy thought, the more profound he realized Fate Skills were. More often than not, he felt completely unable to see through them.
’What would happen to him if I weren’t here?’
’He would have gotten help from Uncle Zhou and the others. During this encounter with the Deceit, he would have used something like a Fate Master’s notes to command everyone and win their support. Then, after watching the Night Guards die one by one, he would have gained new insights, becoming more mature—even being reborn.’
’But, I took Uncle Zhou from him by using my identity as Li Gangfeng’s son. I also obtained the Divine Sky Thunder Seed. And here, in this Deceitful Land, I’ve even used my status as a Fate Master to usurp his position as commander. He just hasn’t been able to transform his calamity into nobility yet, which has led to the Night Guards who originally supported him now supporting me and ostracizing him.’
’Consequently, instead of positive insights, he’s gaining painful experiences. His heart is filling with resentment, and he’s becoming more and more radical. But... he has Sunlight on Golden Mountain plus Ten Thousand Grinds into a Vessel. Doesn’t that just accelerate the process of Ten Thousand Grinds into a Vessel?’
Sunshine Boy suddenly froze.
’If I had only taken his things, it would just be a clash, a simple incompatibility. But now that I’ve made him become radical and altered the trajectory of his life, the relationship between our Fate Grids might have escalated to a ’Cataclysmic Desolation.’ That’s a supreme conflict—a fight to the death capable of destroying nations and wiping out entire peoples—only found in a Great Trend Formation! It can’t be... it can’t be. I’m just guessing. It should take at least ten supreme conflicts to trigger a Cataclysmic Desolation...’
’I have to do everything I can to dismantle his Life Formation and slow the completion of his youthful Life Formation.’
’Otherwise, his Fate Grid won’t spare me!’
Under the afternoon sun, at the end of the line, Sunshine Boy began to ponder some ’sunshine’ countermeasures.
The long line slowly grew shorter.
After a good while, the two of them arrived before the Hundred Blessings Warehouse.
The red-lacquered, barrel-shaped Fuchang was covered in a dense layer of Fu characters. Copying the others, the two raised their small winnowing baskets and poured the grain into the Fuchang.
The Fuchang was piled to the brim, a mixture of millet, wheat, buckwheat, sorghum, corn, and other grains.
The two reached out to touch the surface of the Hundred Blessings Warehouse.
The instant he touched the Hundred Blessings Warehouse, the hair on Sunshine Boy’s entire body stood on end.
This wasn’t a wooden barrel at all. It felt like touching the soft, squishy belly of an enormous fat man.
He could even feel its body heat.
The white character for ’Warehouse’ in the center of the Hundred Blessings Warehouse had changed. It now looked like a patch of tight clothing bulging over a fat stomach, quivering gently in the wind.
As Sunshine Boy turned to leave, he saw several women in Patchwork Robes standing by a wall. They held red-lacquered wooden basins in their left hands and small brooms in their right. They dipped the brooms into the basins, soaking them with clear water, and then flicked them toward the ground at the base of the wall.
The glittering, colorless water droplets landed on the ground, instantly turning it blood-red.
Under the afternoon sun, Sunshine Boy heard every single drop of blood whispering.
"Bask... bask... bask..."
Sunshine Boy quickened his pace, moving away from the Five Goddess Temple. Finally, he couldn’t resist asking, "Book Listener, what did you feel when you touched the Hundred Blessings Warehouse?"
"What’s there to feel from a wooden barrel? It was just hard. You mean..." Book Listener suddenly trailed off.
His mind a tangled mess, Sunshine Boy said nothing more and returned to the common room.
Everyone was sitting in the common room, discussing how to resolve the Deceit and its various taboos, as well as analyzing the causes of death for the six who had died.
Most of them were silent. The few who did speak chose their words slowly and deliberately, terrified of saying the wrong thing.
As night fell, a familiar figure appeared at the door.
"We have come to welcome the young master. All you outsiders, please come into the temple to observe the ceremony."
Wang Laoshu’s words plunged everyone into an icy dread.
They looked at each other, then rose helplessly and followed Wang Laoshu out.
The fifteen Night Guards followed behind Wang Laoshu, walking slowly toward the Five Goddess Temple.
In front of the Five Goddess Temple at night, a bonfire burned brightly, identical to the one from the day before.
The sounds of musical instruments filled the air.
The men and women of the village writhed their bodies around the bonfire. The leaping flames cast bizarre, misshapen black shadows on the ground.
The Night Guards watched the villagers.
Only yesterday, they had thought the people here were warm and hospitable, even coveting the village’s passionate women.
Now, their gazes were utterly emotionless.
On the third story of the White Tower, fifteen lanterns were lit.
The group followed Wang Laoshu into the Five Goddess Temple, circled around the Hundred Blessings Warehouse in the center, and headed for a small courtyard on the west side of the White Tower.
An idea struck Sunshine Boy. Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a sprig of Mugwort hanging behind the Hundred Blessings Warehouse. He quickly walked over and plucked it. Sensing no Deceitful power from it, he secretly passed it to the Gourmand.
Each of the three of them now had two sprigs of Mugwort.
Upon entering the small courtyard, they faced a spacious wooden house that stretched fifty or sixty feet wide.
The wooden house’s steps were pure black, its walls were pure black, and its eaves and roof tiles were a dark red.
Wang Laoshu went forward, and the Night Guards followed him up the steps and into the house.
The main hall was divided into two sections.
The section nearer to the entrance was filled with candle holders, arranged in suspended rows. Tiers of white candles covered the ceiling and the two side walls.
The white candles burned with red flames, making the room as bright as day.
The floor was covered with a crimson, pomegranate-patterned carpet. On either side were high, slant-backed mahogany chairs. The chair backs were carved with scenes of playing infants, and at first glance, it looked as if real babies were crawling on them.