Chapter 2265 - 2309: Divination

Chapter 2265: Chapter 2309: Divination

The Heavenly Mechanism Elder glared at Jiang Fan from a distance, scowling deeply as if he were harboring a bellyful of resentment.

"What else could it be? Of course, it’s because of you that my old bones are suffering out here in the Void!"

"What does this have to do with me?" Jiang Fan asked, baffled.

The Heavenly Mechanism Elder waved his horsetail whisk. "Come up and talk, unless you want the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis to catch up to you."

Holding no guard against him, Jiang Fan rode the Big Black Dog and leaped up.

The Big Black Dog landed on the White Paper Crane, stamping its four paws and lowering its head to sniff. "This was folded by a woman who smells like a hundred flowers," it remarked.

Though the comment was casual, the listener took it to heart.

Jiang Fan couldn’t help but think of the Spirit Sound Priest of Baihua Valley. She spent all year surrounded by flowers and carried their clear fragrance. Could this mysterious paper crane really have been folded by her?

Thinking back, the Heavenly Mechanism Elder had merely glanced at the Spirit Sound Priest’s letter before obediently streaking naked across the Nine States. Jiang Fan’s heart skipped a beat. He wondered, "Could it be that the Spirit Sound Priest is a supreme expert?"

But as soon as the thought arose, he suppressed it. He had once pinned the Spirit Sound Priest to the ground and spanked her. If she truly was a supreme expert, how could she have failed to resist?

"I’m overthinking it," Jiang Fan muttered, shaking his head. Gazing at the Heavenly Mechanism Elder before him, he asked, "Old man, are you here looking for me?"

"Who else?" the Heavenly Mechanism Elder snorted. "Wouldn’t it be nice for me to stay comfortably in the Divine Capital? Instead, I came running into the Void, searching for you like a needle in a haystack. To find you, I divined the heavenly mechanisms several times and suffered heavenly retribution! Look at my face. See how rotten it’s become?"

His already-aged cheeks were covered in pus-filled sores and deep pockmarks. His mouth, full of large yellow teeth, emitted a foul stench. Even the Divine Ring behind his back was incredibly dim, and his body gave off the unique, putrid odor of the Heavenly Human Decline Tribulation.

Jiang Fan was astounded. He wondered, "Just how long has he been searching for me that even the Heavenly Human Decline Tribulation has triggered?"

With a slight flash in his eyes, Jiang Fan asked, "Who asked you to find me?"

He would have been fine if Jiang Fan hadn’t mentioned it, but the Heavenly Mechanism Elder was instantly enraged. "Aside from that old woman, who else could be so unreasonable—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a subtle shift occurred in the fabric of heaven and earth. The Heavenly Mechanism Elder’s yellowed teeth suddenly began to fall out one by one, and the sores on his face swelled at a visible rate.

Jiang Fan drew a sharp breath and hurriedly backed away, lest the elder’s misfortune implicate him as well.

Jumping in fright, the Heavenly Mechanism Elder hurriedly cupped his hands to the sky and bowed repeatedly. "I was wrong, I was wrong! I won’t speak ill of you anymore! If you kill me, who will help Jiang Fan seek good fortune, avoid disaster, and escort him to safety?"

Only then did the oppressive, gloomy atmosphere slowly dissipate, slightly alleviating the anomalies ravaging his body.

Wearing an odd expression, Jiang Fan asked, "Did the Ancient Saint of Cloud Desolation send you?"

Such extreme pettiness could only belong to the vindictive Ancient Saint of Cloud Desolation. The Heavenly Mechanism Elder had learned his lesson and didn’t dare gossip about her anymore. That was Jiang Fan’s exclusive privilege; he could complain about her without consequence, but if anyone else tried it, it would cost them their life.

"Why do you have so many questions? Just follow me!"

The Heavenly Mechanism Elder steered the White Paper Crane around and flew off. As the crane spread its wings, the surrounding space seemed to flow backward, transforming into a sky full of retreating streaks of light and shadow. Its speed was so astonishing that it rivaled Linglong’s flying Talent.

Jiang Fan was amazed. A White Paper Crane casually folded by the Ancient Saint of Cloud Desolation actually possessed such incredible power. He recalled how he had been giving her the cold shoulder for quite some time, assuming she wouldn’t pay him any attention anymore. To his surprise, she still cared deeply about his safety.

"By the way, how did you happen to run into me?" Jiang Fan suddenly realized a glaring issue.

The heavenly secrets the Heavenly Mechanism Elder intercepted were always blurry and vague; he couldn’t pinpoint exact locations. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up with a face full of sores just from trying. So, how had he found him with such pinpoint accuracy right outside Nanqian?

The Heavenly Mechanism Elder smacked his lips. "What else? Of course, the old... the Ancient Saint of Cloud Desolation told me."

Jiang Fan frowned. He thought, "Isn’t this woman far too mysterious? She knows exactly where I am and what dangers I’m facing. Could it be she planted an eye on me?"

Pushing the thought aside to focus on the present, Jiang Fan mused, "Where are you planning to take me?"

Although the universe was vast, the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis could go anywhere. Nowhere was safe to hide. Gazing out into the boundless Void, he felt a genuine sense that despite the sheer immensity of the world, there was nowhere for him to seek shelter.

Settling himself firmly on the White Paper Crane, the Heavenly Mechanism Elder replied, "I don’t know either. The White Paper Crane will take you to a safe place. Just follow its lead."

Jiang Fan was surprised. In this vast world, where else could be considered truly safe? Could it be the Sumeru Divine Prison? Or a Forbidden Land like the Library?

Amidst his curiosity, he breathed a long sigh of relief. With the White Paper Crane here, the Chaotic Ancient Blood Marquis wouldn’t be able to catch him. Even so, he still couldn’t afford to let his guard down.

His eyes flickering slightly, Jiang Fan took out a bottle of the Water of Life.

The moment he brought it out, the Heavenly Mechanism Elder sniffed the air fiercely and exclaimed in shock, "Water of Life? This... this is incredible stuff!"

For ordinary people, it replenished vitality and delayed aging. But for him, it possessed the miraculous effect of resisting heavenly retribution. He immediately reached out to grab it, but Jiang Fan swiftly snatched it back.

"If you want it, help me divine a hexagram."

"I knew your stuff wouldn’t be so easy to take, you little brat," the Heavenly Mechanism Elder snorted. "Tell me what you want to divine first. If the price is too high, this old man wouldn’t dare risk it."

Divining other heavenly secrets was fine. But Jiang Fan’s fate was treacherously unpredictable; one wrong move, and the elder might forfeit his own life.

"Don’t be afraid," Jiang Fan said. "I just want you to divine my Domain and see which path has a flaw, causing my delay in advancing to the Sage realm."

"Oh?" The Heavenly Mechanism Elder’s tense expression finally relaxed. If it was only divining a Domain, it wouldn’t be a problem. Grinning, he said, "You brat, you’re finally looking after this old man for once. Alright, I’ll perform one more divination for you."

He formed hand seals with both hands and closed his eyes.

This time, with his improved cultivation, Jiang Fan could clearly sense an indescribable fluctuation seeping out of the Heavenly Mechanism Elder’s body. It drew a wisp of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth down into this region, slowly condensing into a colossal eye above their heads that blotted out the sky.

It seemed capable of seeing the past and the future, piercing through the fog of uncertainty to uncover the ultimate truth.

When the giant eye fixed upon Jiang Fan, his five great Domains activated uncontrollably, and the Ancestor Ring that had been kept hidden all along was forcibly revealed. A perfect, full moon manifested.

The Heavenly Mechanism Elder’s relaxed demeanor vanished, replaced by profound solemnity. He abruptly opened his eyes and muttered, "What’s going on? Why is your Domain completely different from everyone else’s?"

Just as he spoke, he suddenly felt a sharp sting on his face, rapidly followed by agonizing pain in his neck, teeth, and scalp.

The sores on his face swelled grotesquely, his neck turned pitch black, and his teeth fell out as diseased boils sprouted all over his scalp. His hair fell out in heavy clumps, and his flesh and bones rapidly withered. In the blink of an eye, he aged another twenty years!