"Can we use a little less at the next place?"
Zhao Wuya couldn’t stand it and added a line.
"Ya Zi, you even learned to retort now."
"My Grand Master may not excel in other things, but when it comes to finding excuses, he’s got it down to an art," Zhao Wuya said, "Can’t you just admit that you’re bad at playing cards?"
"You little..." Yun Ziliang was about to explode,
Zhou Xuan stopped him and said, "Lao Yun, crass as Ya Zi’s words may be, there’s truth in them. You can have a bad luck day, but if you’re unlucky every day, maybe you need to look for reasons elsewhere."
"Hmph, maybe next time I’ll win enough to buy half of East Market Street."
You have to hand it to Yun Ziliang for his bragging; everyone laughed pleasantly again.
"Lao Yun, Brother Peng, let’s talk about something serious, the incense fire Taoist made a move today."
Zhou Xuan changed the subject.
Peng Sheng was quite interested and asked, "How is his cultivation?"
"He can shift stars."
"No matter how skilled, what’s the use? Just guarding that tiny piece of Time-Space World."
Yun Ziliang didn’t hold much admiration for the incense fire Taoist.
"Lao Yun, the incense fire Taoist said that the people who bloodwashed Hidden Dragon Mountain are from the Zoroastrian Fire Sect."
Upon hearing this, Yun Ziliang racked his brain trying to recall any clues about this Zoroastrian Fire Sect, but he couldn’t come up with anything.
Peng Sheng said, "I’ve never heard of the Zoroastrian Fire Sect either."
"The sect is quite formidable."
Zhou Xuan said, "They are planning to enter Mingjiang Prefecture and sent Qunxing to the God Traveling Department to break the tripod. The tripod was nearly shattered. Did you see the Lion Head in my hand? That’s Qunxing’s head, and Qunxing was a Nine Incense Sticks."
If they could send a Nine Incense Sticks to break the tripod, the Zoroastrian Fire Sect surely has a Nine Incense Sticks too.
"So soon they’re entering Mingjiang Prefecture. It’s a pity my physical form hasn’t been refined yet."
Yun Ziliang had a touch of "an unfulfilled ambition before death" sorrow. He didn’t resent the Zoroastrian Fire Sect’s aggressive approach; he regretted his inability to restore to peak condition and face the Fire Sect in battle.
"But they won’t be able to enter Mingjiang Prefecture."
Zhou Xuan said, "Although the God Traveling Department’s tripod is on the verge of breaking, I have a way to repair it. Before he died, Mr. Feng revealed to me the secrets of the ’Will Heavenly Book.’"
Peng Sheng, Yun Ziliang, and those at the God Traveling Department were all confused; they had no idea what the Will Heavenly Book was.
Zhou Xuan had to explain it to them again.
"Write your wishes on the Heavenly Book, and it will help you fulfill them? It’s that powerful?"
"Whether the wishes on the Heavenly Book can be fulfilled still requires the approval of the gods," Zhou Xuan said. "Mr. Feng mentioned that small wishes require approval from two gods, larger wishes may need several, and if a wish is particularly grand, it might require the nod from a large portion of the Heavenly Dome’s gods."
Hearing this, Yun Ziliang said, "Relying on the Will Heavenly Book to repair the Monitoring Bronze Tripod, the wish likely isn’t small, and I don’t know how many gods it would require to approve.
However, no matter what, I can get a vote from one god."
"Who is it?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"Of course, it’s our Dragon Seeking ’Mountain Ancestor’," Yun Ziliang replied.
"You and the Mountain Ancestor aren’t even from the same school," Zhou Xuan questioned, with a hint of doubt.
Yun Ziliang belongs to the Ganying Sect, while the Mountain Ancestor is from the Acupoint School.
After the Bone Elder Association incident, Zhou Xuan had gained a preliminary understanding of the faction strife within Jing Country’s Tangkou.
"Bah, their infighting within the Bone Elder Association is intense, but that doesn’t mean our Dragon Seeking Hall’s infighting is the same."
Yun Ziliang said, "They’re all scholars yearning for fame, but we Dragon Seeking Mountain People are different; we’re free and unfettered."
Zhou Xuan suddenly remembered what Zhao Wuya had mentioned: the Dragon Seeking Mountain People are exceptionally laid-back, never engaging in production, always riding donkeys and wandering around lazily,
Such a simple (lazy) bunch, how could they harbor ill intentions?
"Bringing in one god’s support is still a form of assurance,"
Zhou Xuan concluded and then went upstairs to rest.
Yun Ziliang called out to Zhou Xuan, "Xuanzi, how many scales has your Dragon Seeking Qi produced?"
"I’ve accumulated fifty or sixty pieces."
"You haven’t heard the dragon’s roar?"
"No movement yet, I’ll try again tomorrow."
Hugging the Lion Head, Zhou Xuan went upstairs. He first threw the Lion Head into the Secret Realm, then returned to his bedroom,
Today had been filled with battling the Zoroastrian Fire Sect’s group of disciples with Five Incense Sticks and riding a donkey around the Time-Space World to rally support. All these events had exhausted him.
As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell into a deep sleep.
As Zhou Xuan slept soundly, amidst the continuous snoring, a mirror suddenly appeared above him,
this was Zhou Xuan’s Kongming Mirror.
In the mirror was Jing Country’s first Bi Fang, who, after receiving Jing Country’s will’s oracle, wandered the streets collecting the villagers’ Wish Power, singing the wishes on the Heavenly Book.
"With the gods’ birth and departure, the human world must have You Shen to hunt the Alien Ghosts wreaking havoc in Jing Country!"
His posture, movements, and expressions while singing the Heavenly Book emerged vividly in Zhou Xuan’s dream.
Zhou Xuan, half-dreaming and half-awake, muttered abruptly and indistinctly: So this is how the Will Heavenly Book is used...
In the courtyard of the mansion where the Zoroastrian Fire Order still stood tall like a monument,
Star Covering strolled sorrowfully around the courtyard, holding a shattered Star Light in her hand.
This Star Light belonged to Qunxing, and now that it was shattered, it meant he had already fallen.
"Nanny Yuan, Brother..."
Star Covering stared blankly at the night sky, recalling the scene where Qunxing was drawing the Star Array to summon her and her brother back to the Star Country, vivid in her mind.
"Brother, we should have left."
Star Covering walked around the courtyard with her hands behind her back. After walking for a long time, an overwhelming sense of loneliness completely enveloped her.
All of a sudden, she didn’t know where to go or what to do.