"Thank you for your mercy, My Lord. This humble one will send two men to the Divine Capital Prefecture Government Office to turn themselves in. If I go back on my word, may I suffer three stabs and six holes and die a wretched death on the streets."
"Get out," Li Qingxian said.
"As you command!" The group of men lowered their heads, their hands hanging at their sides, and slowly backed away. Only after they had exited the veranda did they dare to turn and leave in a hurry.
He Shouwang looked at Li Qingxian and said hastily, "Thank you, My Lord, for helping me avert this disaster."
But Li Qingxian just smiled and said, "My name is Li Qingxian, from the Patrol Bureau. If you have any items related to Fate Skills in the future, you can come directly to me. If I’m not at the government office, go find Old Han’s people."
Han Anbo said, "At the Dadu Tea House on Luohua Street, just mention my name and someone will be there to meet you."
Li Qingxian turned and left.
After everyone had gone, He Shouwang stared blankly at the doorway and let out a long sigh.
The old woman whispered, "Why not sell it to that Lord Official?"
"Who knows if he’s in league with them. His name sounds familiar, and I think I’ve heard the name Han Anbo before, too..." The old man sat in his recliner, pondering deeply.
Leaving the He Residence, Han Anbo glanced back at the two words "Advanced Scholar" on the door plaque and said, "I’ll look into this family later."
"And the Changyuan Martial Arts Hall," Li Qingxian said.
"Alright."
Li San smiled. "If Chief Li trusts me, let me make some inquiries. I happen to have a friend at the Changyuan Martial Arts Hall."
Li Qingxian looked toward Han Anbo.
Han Anbo gave a slight nod.
"Good, then this task is yours. What’s your full name?"
"This is my full name. For common folk like us, with so many born and so many dying, a humble name makes for an easier life. My mother gave birth to eight children, but only three of us survived to adulthood," Li San said.
"From now on, you can go to Brother Han to collect a monthly stipend," Li Qingxian said.
"Thank you, Chief Li!" Li San broke into a wide grin.
The three of them chatted as they walked. Suddenly, Li Qingxian stopped in his tracks. The other two also stopped and looked toward a horse carriage on the main road ahead.
A golden plaque with a dragon pattern and the character "Yuan" hung on the front and back of the carriage.
Watching the carriage depart, Li Qingxian let out a soft snort and strode away.
The carriage moved slowly, eventually entering Prince Yuann’s Mansion.
The carriage stopped. The head steward stepped out and walked briskly to Prince Yuann’s study.
"Your Highness, that person said it can be done. But it will take some time; they should be free around the time of the Cyan Cloud Examination."
"Good. Then we’ll make our move around the Cyan Cloud Examination."
"Should we wait a bit longer, for the Demon Sect to make the first move?"
"The Demon Sect knows full well that Li Qingxian has neither the virtue nor the ability to provoke an attack from the Nine Palaces; it must be the person behind him pulling the strings. Li Gangfeng died not long ago. If the Demon Sect were to actually kill Li Qingxian and wipe out the entire Li Family, what do you think those Literature Cultivators would do? Even I can only hire a Great Fate Master to ruin his Fate Grid. I cannot kill him directly."
"As expected, Your Highness is the most thoughtful."
Li Qingxian returned to the Night Guard Office and was in the middle of his cultivation when Guo Xiang, the Deputy Disciplinary Officer of the Black Lamp Department, came to find him, carrying a large, round object wrapped in a huge blue cloth on his back.
After the others had left, Li Qingxian looked with a smile at the dignified Fifth-Grade Destiny Cultivator and said, "The Mountain Fate Sect is thousands of miles away. I thought it would take a few more days for us to make our trade."
"This official won’t waste words with you. The sooner we trade, the sooner it’s over. Also, let me give you a piece of advice: exchange this kind of Daoist Skill with others as little as possible. It’s easy to attract disaster," Guo Xiang said.
"I understand. The one who taught me this technique also told me not to pass it on to too many people."
"Might I ask which master that was?"
Li Qingxian just smiled, avoiding the question. "Did you bring the Magic Texts? Let’s take the oath first."
The two wrote down their oaths and incinerated them with Magical Power, sealing the contract.
Guo Xiang chanted an incantation, and a white light the size of a thumb emerged from between his eyebrows. Within the light stood several pages of a book.
Li Qingxian circulated his Magical Power, guiding the spiritual light into his Spirit Platform. He gave it a quick read and found nothing out of the ordinary, except that the Earth-Opening Technique, Mountain Opening Technique, Vessel Collection Technique, and Mountain Building Technique were exceptionally profound. He could only understand the first few paragraphs.
Afterwards, Li Qingxian used his Magical Power to condense a Magical Spirit Text, writing out the "Emperor’s Finger Divine Curse" and sending it to Guo Xiang.
Guo Xiang received it, examined it closely, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Qingxian, as a friend and not as a superior officer, let me offer you some advice. Destiny Cultivation is different from other paths. It’s difficult for Independent Cultivators to grow. Although you have the legacy of the Fate Measuring Sect, the sect no longer exists. You need to find a foundation for yourself."
"Indeed..." Li Qingxian replied perfunctorily.
"If you don’t think much of our Mountain Fate Sect, I can recommend you to a First-Class Great Fate Sect, like the River Fate Sect. Any is fine, as long as it’s not the Celestial Fate Sect."
Li Qingxian chuckled and said, "It seems all the major Fate Sects have a big problem with the Celestial Fate Sect."
"Except for the Celestial Fate Sect’s vassals, every Fate Sect in the world has a big problem with them," Guo Xiang sneered.
"Besides consolidating power, what else does the Celestial Fate Sect do to make people hate them?"
"From ancient times to the present day, the Celestial Fate Sect has always intended to unify all Fate Sects, and even has the delusion of unifying the entire world."
"They really dare to dream big."
"Take some time to think it over. When you’ve made up your mind, you can find me anytime."
Guo Xiang started to walk away, but after two steps, he turned back and said, "Thank you for helping Buku. I never expected the Demon Sect to be so bold and reckless. However, they never would have guessed that for Buku, it was a blessing in disguise."
"Oh? What happened?" Li Qingxian asked in surprise.
Guo Xiang smiled. "We’re all on the same side, so there’s no harm in telling you. The place where Buku was imprisoned once housed an Upper-Grade Martial Cultivator whose Martial Arts had been crippled. The Demon Sect coveted his Cultivation Technique, but he had hidden it within the prison cell. By a stroke of luck, Buku received the Cultivation Technique’s inheritance. His power has increased immensely, and he’s already advanced to the Seventh Grade while in the Divine Capital Prefecture’s prison. If nothing unexpected happens, he’ll be able to participate in this year’s Seventh-Grade Cyan Cloud Examination."
"This..." Li Qingxian said in a low voice, "Wang Buku is also a Great Fortune Taker?"
Guo Xiang smiled and nodded. "I didn’t know in the past, but after this incident, I used the Great Fate Disc for an inference. I discovered that after this experience, Buku’s Fate Grid changed significantly. A superior Destiny Star must have entered his Life Mansion, allowing his Life Formation to take shape. By the way, he said that after he gets out of prison, the first thing he’ll do is host a banquet to thank you."
"He’s too kind. The Fate Master’s notebook he gave me was a huge help."
"I’m leaving. Remember, Destiny Cultivation is your foundation."
After seeing Guo Xiang off, Li Qingxian sighed inwardly. ’I know I need to find a foundation, but as long as I have the Celestial Destiny Instrument, it’s not convenient for me to rashly join another Fate Sect. I can only rely on various means to trade for Fate Skills.’
’For now, the foundations I have with the Imperial Court, the Night Guard, and the Literature Cultivators are actually quite good.’
’It’s just hard to find any peace.’
Thinking of Wang Buku, Li Qingxian was amazed. ’I never thought Wang Buku would also be a Great Fortune Taker. I just wonder how he compares to Ye Han.’
Li Qingxian gave Han Anbo and the others a few instructions, then sat cross-legged on his bed, his consciousness entering his Spirit Platform to study the Earth-Opening Technique.
The Opening Life Land Technique was extremely profound. Li Qingxian read it over and over, but he still couldn’t fully comprehend it.
Fortunately, he had the Fate Master notebooks from both Ye Han and Wang Buku. Whenever he encountered something he didn’t understand, Li Qingxian would quickly flip through them, looking for similar passages to read.
Slowly, Li Qingxian began to understand the Earth-Opening Technique.
Opening a Life Land wasn’t about creating one from scratch, but rather opening one’s own Life Land ahead of schedule. However, any act of forcefully rushing growth would inevitably lead to severe consequences.
Opening a Life Land wasn’t difficult; the hard part was keeping it stable and minimizing the negative side effects.
After understanding twelve different Earth-Opening Techniques, Li Qingxian stopped studying, a strange expression on his face.
Among them was one method, considered both the most difficult and the safest, called the "Filling Fate and Complementing Luck Method."