Before him, a brilliant light radiated out, centered on Yur Ping under the covers.
Through the thin blanket, a pair of crossed swords flashed above Yur Ping’s head, followed by a small, earthen-yellow burial mound that floated above him.
This little mound looked just like the lump Yur Ping made under his covers.
Li Qingxian looked at the burial mound, but he couldn’t see Yur Ping’s past or future.
’He must have a decent Fate Grid, even stronger than Dong Ying’s. It’s preventing me from bypassing it to see his Destiny Image.’
With this thought, Li Qingxian first examined Yur Ping’s Flowing Years Fortune.
The four great misfortunes were Failure, Death, Tomb, and Annihilation.
Failure could be understood as encountering unexpected difficulties, varying in severity.
Death meant encountering a great calamity.
Tomb represented the possibility of death.
Annihilation meant certain death, without a doubt.
The crossed swords represented "Failure." The destruction of Yur Ping’s dantian a few days ago corresponded with this.
To enter "Death" after "Failure" was a double misfortune, a combination that even the heavens would find hard to save. But to skip "Death" and go directly from "Failure" to "Tomb" was the legendary "Leap of Misfortune," which could instead turn a disaster into a blessing.
The changes within Fate Skills were truly unpredictable.
"Tomb" did indeed represent entering a tomb, but whose tomb? His own or another’s? Was it an ordinary grave or an ancient imperial mausoleum?
If a person entered a tomb, besides death, was it possible to return laden with treasures?
Thus, through Inference, Fate Masters discovered that while the Tomb was apparent, the Treasury was hidden. Tomb and Treasury were two sides of the same coin.
The so-called Treasury was just like a treasure hoard.
This gave rise to a Fate Skill Rhyme: "A youth who finds the Treasury will be muddled and lost. A young man who finds the Treasury will be busy and rushed. A man in his prime who finds the Treasury will gain endless wealth. An old man who finds the Treasury will gain a coffin."
Youths don’t understand, young adults are reckless, and the elderly can’t withstand the turmoil. But those in their prime are different. Their minds are most mature, and they are in the full vigor of their lives. Once they obtain the Treasury, they are certain to seize the opportunity and soar.
However, fate is never set in stone.
If a youth were mature beyond their years, a young adult possessed great wisdom, or an elder was hale and hearty, they too could find fortune and rise in status upon encountering the Treasury.
Li Qingxian carefully observed Yur Ping’s "Tomb" and smiled faintly.
He recalled looking at Ye Han’s "Approaching Officer," which possessed the three aspects of Vigor, Pride, and Splendor.
The evil "Tomb" likewise had three aspects: Closing the Coffin, Interment, and Erecting the Tombstone.
Yur Ping showed none of them. When an evil fortune lacks its aspects, it verges on becoming auspicious.
What made Li Qingxian happy was that a crack had split open right down the middle of the burial mound.
’This kid isn’t completely out of luck, then.’
Within Qi Fortune, the Twelve Longevity represented "Favorable Fortune," but other factors could influence or even reverse it. When auspicious and inauspicious fortunes switched, this was known as a "Turning of Fortune."
A cracking tomb was an aspect known as "Breaking Ground," which was precisely a sign of a Turning of Fortune.
Once this tomb cracked open completely, his fortune would turn from inauspicious to neutral, and might even have the chance to turn from neutral to auspicious.
Looking at it this way, Yur Ping would be fine for some time, at least.
Li Qingxian took a deep breath and looked past the "Tomb" into a pitch-black void.
The void twisted into a blue vortex, and Li Qingxian’s consciousness was violently sucked inside.
His vision went black, then brightened, and he found himself standing in a courtyard.
The courtyard was neat and tidy, with no rockeries or ponds. The ground was completely bare.
A Life Cloud floated above the courtyard, and it too was completely empty.
Ahead was a house with white stone walls and a black tile roof.
Li Qingxian felt a sense of resignation. ’Is even Yur Ping’s Life Mansion a little better than mine?’
Li Qingxian walked to the entrance, where the stone doors stood wide open.
The inside was also vastly different.
Just inside the door stood a Life Land, but behind it, up a step, was a second Life Land.
’Yur Ping is older than me—he’s already twenty—so he has both an Adolescent Life Land and a Youth Life Land.’
Li Qingxian looked toward the Life Pillars of Yur Ping’s Adolescent Life Land.
A Destiny Star hung above both the Year Pillar and the Moon Pillar, while the other two pillars were bare.
The Life Land was incomplete. It had not formed a pattern and possessed no spiritual potency.
The Destiny Star on the Year Pillar was like a clear, colorless glass sphere the size of a human head. It was encircled by starlight, resembling an asteroid belt around a planet, magnificent and dazzling.
Within the Destiny Star, water rippled. A scrawny rice seedling lay toppled over, its green leaves floating on the surface, swaying gently with the waves.
Destiny Star: Toppled Green Rice. Inauspicious.
Li Qingxian sighed softly.
Toppled Green Rice was one of the poorer Fate Grids, indicating that Yur Ping had a difficult adolescence.
Fortunately, the leaves were intact and still green. If they had withered and yellowed, or if the seedling had been uprooted, it would have transformed into a different Fate Grid, and he would not have lived to this day.
Li Qingxian then looked to the Destiny Star on the Moon Pillar.
This Destiny Star also resembled a glass sphere the size of a human head, but the difference was that it had no starlight circling it. It was utterly plain.
The Toppled Green Rice was a matter of Celestial Fate. This Destiny Star, with no starlight, was a Human Destiny Star.
Within this Destiny Star, a fist-sized rock was cracked open, and from the fissure, a single grain of yellow wheat put forth a white sprout.
Destiny Star: Seed in a Rock Crevice. Auspicious.
One was Toppled Green Rice, the other a Seed in a Rock Crevice. On the surface, both seemed to be about the growth of a seedling and appeared complementary.
Li Qingxian mentally recited the Fate Skill, "Inference Technique." A translucent Life Disc appeared in his mind, but an instant later, it was replaced by the Celestial Destiny Instrument, which immediately deduced that the relationship between these two Destiny Stars was a classic case of "Suppression Turning to Attrition."
Rice grows in the south, wheat in the north.
The rice was in water, the wheat seed in rock. Rock belongs to the Earth element, and Earth suppresses Water.
An auspicious star suppressing an Evil Star should have been a good thing.
But no matter how much water flowed into the rock crevice, it would all drain away, unable to truly save the green rice.
This combination of suppression and drainage turned into a constant state of attrition.
These two Destiny Stars would drain Yur Ping for his entire life, consuming his Qi Fortune and his opportunities.
Still, it was better than the Evil Star being dominant on its own.
Li Qingxian’s chest tightened.
Celestial Fate is decreed by the heavens, but Human Destiny is forged by oneself.
Every Human Destiny Star is condensed from a person’s immense effort and suffering.
What kind of hardship must a child endure to form such a Human Fate Grid in his youth?
Li Qingxian had never understood why Yur Ping was constantly eating and had grown so fat, but now, he had a sudden realization.
It was just like how he had once laughed at his elders for being unable to throw anything away, always hoarding food. But when a real disaster came, he too had stockpiled things frantically.
It wasn’t that they were foolish; it was that he had never experienced their suffering.
For a person who had long lived in an environment where they could starve to death at any moment, their eating, their gluttony, was not greed—it was self-preservation.
No matter how tall or plump Yur Ping appeared, a small, emaciated child would forever be curled up in a corner of his being, crying out in hunger, crying for help.
Those who had not shared his experience would never hear it.
Li Qingxian remained silent for a long while before looking toward the Four Pillars of the Youth Life Land on the next step.
Four Pillars, one star.
Above the Moon Pillar floated the third and final Destiny Star.
Within this Destiny Star, the sun was bright and the world was warm. A plump little white piglet frolicked on the grass, nuzzling here and there with its snout. When it grew tired, it flopped onto its back, all four legs in the air, and fell fast asleep, snoring and oinking softly.
In the distance, the pigpen gate had a hole rooted through it, and the surrounding fence was in disarray.
Li Qingxian couldn’t help but smile.
Human Destiny Star: Caged Beast Breaks Free. Greatly Auspicious.
Normally, a "Caged Beast Breaks Free" should involve a fierce creature, typically named "Caged Wolf Breaks Free" or "Caged Dragon Breaks Free." His, however, was "Caged Pig Breaks Free."
Li Qingxian watched the softly oinking little white pig and breathed a sigh of relief.
The Caged Beast Breaks Free Fate Grid was extremely famous.
It was the power condensed by a person who, after experiencing countless hardships, refused to bow their head, remained positive and optimistic, and kept faith in the future and the world.
This Human Destiny Star was incredibly difficult to form.
A rhyme spoke of it: "Ten decays and ten ailments, ten defeats and ten recoveries; the caged beast still fights, its freedom is in sight."
A person who formed it would be able to slowly resolve any hardship they encountered thereafter.
From now on, as long as no great disaster struck, if Yur Ping was proactive, he could achieve a Minor Achievement in his career. If he chose to take it easy, he could still live a stable and peaceful life.
He might not become fabulously wealthy, but he would no longer suffer from drastic ups and downs.
Li Qingxian kept smiling.
Perhaps this was why, even though his dantian had been destroyed, Yur Ping had still immediately reached for the plate of pastries when they first met today.
His past suffering could not stop him from pursuing present joy.
A Human Fate Grid this resilient didn’t consume Qi Fortune, so of course his Qi Observation Skill couldn’t see through it.
Suddenly, Li Qingxian felt his body go weak and hurriedly withdrew.
The Magical Power on the surface of his Thunder Dragon Fire Seal had vanished without a trace.
Li Qingxian opened his eyes to find that the little burial mound over the next bed had disappeared.
Yur Ping was lying on his side, breathing softly and deeply in his sleep.
The room had brightened considerably, as if the moonlight from outside was now shining in.
The snoring from the next room had also grown much quieter.
Li Qingxian shifted his body, settled down comfortably, closed his eyes with a smile, and drifted off to sleep.