novelRead the Lives of All Common Men
| ← Ch.1855 | Ch.1857 → |
The Heavenly Book Scholar who reads the lives of all common men.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, As the adage goes, the heavenly mysteries cannot be revealed. Is he really that good?
Speaking of which, divination arts, including the Dragon Seeking Art that Xiao Chen once practiced, all belonged to the Profound Dao.
Xiao Chen had some confidence in divining the heavenly mysteries.
In the Kunlun Realm, Xiao Chen's strength had reached the peak and already touched the Heavenly Dao of the Kunlun Realm. He could peek into some of the heavenly mysteries and see the future, like his battle with Chu Chaoyun.
However, even if one knew ahead of time, many things could not be avoided. This was how fate was at times.
Xiao Chen did not believe in fate. However, there was no way to avoid destiny sometimes.
"What do you think? What are your thoughts?"
Jiang He looked at Xiao Chen, his eyes gleaming with desire, a hope that Xiao Chen would go with him.
"I'll go, then."
Xiao Chen thought, The little monk mentioned this person several times. There are no problems with meeting him.
"Let's go."
Jiang He wanted to leave immediately, apparently too impatient to wait any longer.
The Heavenly Mystery Tower was in Soaring Dragon City. It was a famous building. When Xiao Chen left the courtyard, he could see the tall tower in the distance just by looking up.
The tower reached the clouds and had a resplendent bright pearl inlaid at the top. It radiated electrical light in all directions in the clouds.
Xiao Chen waved his hand, and the Cycle War Chariot appeared as a black horse chariot. Then, it carried the two towards their destination.
While the Heavenly Mystery Tower looked very close, the path twisted and wound around, requiring one to go through several streets.
The horse carriage rushed on for an hour before finally reaching the vicinity of the Heavenly Mystery Tower.
Despite the Cycle War Chariot's speed, the two had still needed to travel for one hour. Even so, they had not left this district of the city yet.
This showed how vast Soaring Dragon City was. It was inconceivably big.
The two got off the horse chariot and discovered that the Heavenly Mystery Tower's doors were tightly shut. However, there was a large crowd gathered in front of the tower.
All of these people should be here to try and meet the Heavenly Book Scholar.
Jiang He rubbed his chin and said, "This is bad timing. To think that the Heavenly Mystery Tower is actually closed. There is no other way in."
Jiang He's eyes wandered around. It seemed like he did not want to enter by the regular route.
Xiao Chen stopped Jiang He and said, "It seems like there is something on the door. These people should be looking at it."
"Is that so? Let's go over and take a look. Give way, give way."
Jiang He squeezed his way in without giving any explanation. The people who were pushed aside felt angry. However, there was a saying, one does not slap a smiling face. Jiang He apologized with a smile and pushed his way to the front with Xiao Chen after much difficulty.
"It's a notice!"
A notice posted on the door said, "There are honored guests visiting today. The Heavenly Book Scholar will not meet with outsiders. The Heavenly Mystery Tower will open at dusk."
Xiao Chen raised his head and looked at the sky. It was not even noon yet. They would have to wait the entire day if they waited until dusk.
"What honored guests? Even if we cannot meet with the Heavenly Book Scholar, we can meet the other fortune-tellers. Why the need to close? This is really strange."
"Perhaps there might really be honored guests arriving who do not want others to know their identity. Soaring Dragon City has no lack of such major characters."
"Could it be people from the Marquis's Residence?"
Upon seeing that notice, the surrounding people started a lively discussion about it.
For honored guests, naturally, there would be no one more honored than the people of the Marquis's Residence in Soaring Dragon City.
However, it was also hard to say. The Yanwu Dynasty teemed with hidden talents. It was just a matter of how many.
Someone might have traveled from afar just to seek out the Heavenly Book Scholar.
There were such examples in the past.
"Let's get out first."
Jiang He pushed his way out of the crowd with Xiao Chen in tow. Then, they went to a desolate place and stared at the Heavenly Mystery Tower contemplatively.
Xiao Chen observed Jiang He's expression and said, "You aren't really thinking of sneaking in, right?"
Jiang He said boldly and confidently, "Of course, I am. I have already taken into account such situations in my plan. When honored guests visit, that would be when he needs to focus on conducting a reading. To me, this is a heaven-sent chance."
Xiao Chen shook his head, quite pessimistic.
This Heavenly Mystery Tower before him was already impressive based on its appearance. It had no other entrances aside from the front doors.
The tower's perimeter was tightly guarded. There were no cracks, not even windows.
It was practically impossible to enter without anyone realizing it.
Furthermore, it was currently daytime, and many people were watching. This made it even more difficult.
"How are you going to enter?"
"Of course, I will enter openly."
Jiang He smiled mysteriously and took out a talisman. Then, he handed it to Xiao Chen."I obtained this from an ancient grave. I do not know which epoch it is from. There are only three of them. It can make the body temporarily immaterial and can last for about fifteen minutes. That should be sufficient for us to enter."
After receiving the talisman, Xiao Chen felt slightly shocked."The value of your talisman is no lower than that of his folding fan. Is it worth it?"
"That folding fan is the Heavenly Book Scholar's lifeblood. To me, the talismans are tools that I can casually give others. There is no comparison between the two."
After Jiang He pasted the talisman on his body, he immediately disappeared from right in front of Xiao Chen.
After thinking about it, Xiao Chen used his Soul Energy to activate the talisman and pasted it on his body as well.
Xiao Chen thought to himself, This is such a precious item. Using it like this is simply a waste.
Only people who did not care about anything, like Jiang He, could be so calm.
Let's go, then.
Although Xiao Chen could not see Jiang He, he could hear Jiang He's voice projections. They headed in through the crowd and directly passed through the doors.
After turning immaterial, the two easily passed through the doors that were covered in restrictions, not causing any commotion at all.
Let's move quickly. The Heavenly Book Scholar always conduct s his readings on the eighth floor.
The talisman would last for only fifteen minutes. They indeed needed to hurry; it would be problematic if they were exposed midway.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
The two moved quickly, passing through many restrictions under the noses of many experts.
Traveling smoothly without any obstruction, the two advanced much faster than expected.
The two saved a lot of time in getting to the eighth floor.
On the west side.
Go straight. Go straight. Turn left. Turn right... we are here.
It looked like Jiang He was very familiar with the layout here. They hardly needed fifteen minutes. Soon, the two arrived at the divination room where the Heavenly Book Scholar was.
A pair of plain wooden doors appeared at the end of the corridor.
Strange. Isn't he meeting with honored guests?
Why is no one guarding the room? There are no sounds coming from the room, either.
Xiao Chen's immaterial body went through the wooden door and arrived in the Heavenly Book Scholar's room.
The decorations of the room were very ancient and elegant.
There was a stack of white paper on the table with a maidservant looking through them. At the side, there was a white-clad scholar with his eyes closed and fanning himself with his folding fan.
There was no one in the chair on the other side.
Did the honored-guest leave already or there was no honored guest at all?
"Sit!" the white-clad scholar suddenly said as he raised his head to speak to Xiao Chen. Then, he revealed a smile on his delicate and pale face.
"You can see me?"
Xiao Chen felt startled. There was still a lot of time before fifteen minutes were up.
"Why can't I see you?"
The white-clad scholar closed his folding fan with one sudden movement. Then, he revealed a playful expression.
"Ghostly Shadow Bandit, where are you trying to run to?!"
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Ten-odd experts suddenly appeared in the formerly empty room, blocking Xiao Chen's exit.
"Humph! You never thought that today would come, right, Jiang He? The Heavenly Book Scholar already predicted that you would fall into this trap on your own today."
"Return my Smiling Daughter Pavilion's Fairy Basket!"
"And my Sun Moon Pavilion's Sagely Space Treasure Mirror!"
"And the Jade Underworld Sword of my Jiang Clan's Clan Head. That is the only Soul Tool of my Jiang Clan!"
These ten-odd people all appeared enraged. The murderous intent in their eyes looked like flames that were about to spew out.
Damn it! I was tricked.
From the very start, there were no honored guests. This was a trap that the Heavenly Book Scholar laid for Jiang He. He had predicted Jiang He's arrival.
However, the one who trapped Xiao Chen was Jiang He.
Jiang He had messed with the talisman that he gave to Xiao Chen. The effects wore off long before they should have.
Xiao Chen said calmly, "I am not Jiang He. I am Xiao Chen."
"Haha! Who does not know that Xiao Chen is Jiang He and Jiang He is Xiao Chen? Ghostly Shadow Bandit, back then, when you stole my clan's Jade Underworld Sword, didn't you use the name Xiao Chen?" One of the old men holding a sword gazed coldly at Xiao Chen with an expression of mockery.
"Today, with the Heavenly Book Scholar here, it is easy to shed your perfect disguise. You can forget about arguing that."
"Quickly, take out the treasures you stole and hand them over."
"I can feel that my Smiling Daughter Pavilion's Fairy Basket is indeed in his hands!"
Right then, a beautiful woman in her prime glared at Xiao Chen while holding a Fairy Basket. She could already no longer contain her murderous intent.
Great. This is great. No matter what I say, even right will turn to wrong.
Xiao Chen turned around and looked at the Heavenly Book Scholar. Then, he said, "Since you are said to read the lives of all common men, knowing everything, how about you conduct a reading on whether I am Jiang He or not?"
It looks like I can only rely on this Heavenly Book Scholar. I hope he is more reliable.
All this time, the white-clad scholar had not said anything. He only appeared doubtful as he looked at Xiao Chen.
"Is there even a need to conduct a reading? If you are not the Ghostly Shadow Bandit, how do you explain the Fairy Basket in your hands?! That is a replica of the Fairy Basket from a branch of my Smiling Daughter Pavilion. The resonance of the original in my hand should not be false!"
That beautiful woman in her prime appeared extremely forceful, wanting to take down Xiao Chen immediately.
When the others heard this, the killing Qi coming from their bodies grew heavier as they cast extremely hostile looks at Xiao Chen.
"Everyone, there is no need to rush. He is already trapped, and he won't be able to escape."
The Heavenly Book Scholar said slowly, "Whether he is or not, I will know after a reading."
Then, stars sparkled in the Heavenly Book Scholar's eyes, releasing a flashing light. He held his fan with his right hand and used his left to read the heavenly mysteries.
As the Heavenly Book Scholar executed his divination arts, a sheet of white paper floated up.
Xiao Chen's expression changed slightly. It felt like no secrets could be hidden from this pair of eyes.
Invisibly, some mysterious energy encased Xiao Chen.
The many stars in the Heavenly Book Scholar's eyes flashed like the vast and boundless Starry Heavens. The stars collapsed and reformed, seeming to reflect the order of the universe in his eyes.
Suddenly, someone exclaimed, "It really is him!" The white paper floating in the air had slowly shown the appearance of a person.
This was the appearance that Jiang He had when Xiao Chen first met him.
Xiao Chen felt stunned. How could he not know who he was?
That's not right!
The Heavenly Book Scholar's expression suddenly flickered. Someone tampered with the lifeforce signature of the person before me.
However, when the Heavenly Book Scholar peered beneath the surface, he was horrified to discover a horrifying existence in this person's fate. It could not be read or calculated.
The Heavenly Book Scholar wanted to stop, but it was already too late.
"Pu ci!" The Heavenly Book Scholar vomited a mouthful of blood and fainted.
"Young Master!" The maidservant at the side was alarmed.
The painting in the air suddenly burst into flames and turned into ashes.
"Take him down. He wants to attack the Heavenly Book Scholar!"
The situation devolved to the worst. The ten-odd Holy Venerates immediately launched themselves at Xiao Chen.
| ← Ch. 1855 | Ch. 1857 → |