A Snail's Wisdom

"h.e.l.l"s Charm? Is it referring to—"

"Devil"s Luck, most likely. Don"t ask me why they insist on rhyming, even if it only makes the messages harder to understand," Heng Chixin shook his head disapprovingly.

The Seer stopped smacking her lips and gave him a tilted frown. "Don"t blame me! All I do is deliver the message."

Heng Chixin ignored her. "What about G.o.d"s Arm? Is it some type of monument or land mark?"

They sunk into silent contemplation once more, but to their surprise, the next person to speak up was not any of them.

"Could it be talking about the Day of the Hand?" Jin offered, extremely hesitant to speak.

The Day of the Hand was an astronomical event that happened every twenty years where a giant shadow appeared on the Sun in the form of a hand. Within a single hour, the shadow quickly grew to encapsulate the entire Sun, and it wouldn"t recede until another hour had pa.s.sed.

Three different weights pressed down on him as they gave him their attention. They didn"t tell him to shut up, so he a.s.sumed they wanted him to continue. Wishing to get rid of the heavy pressure placed on him asap, he spoke quickly and without pausing, "Some mortals refer to the Day of the Hand as "Ma.n.u.s Day". "Ma.n.u.s" means hand in one of their languages, but "Day" does not mean day. Instead, it was spelled Dei, and it pertained to a G.o.d or heavenly being. Thus, "Ma.n.u.s Day" was originally "Ma.n.u.s Dei", and it meant "Hand of G.o.d"."

Finally finishing his hasty explanation, Jin gasped for breath and circulated his Qi, fortifying his foundation to shoulder their heavy pressure. The other disciples looked at him with expressions of pity and shadenfreude. Ignorant fool, you should know your place!

A laugh broke the awkward silence. "What a smart child! Is this one yours, Junior Kazane?"

The weights above Jin disappeared simultaneously, and his shoulders relaxed.

"The Flowing River Sect must be quite the place to raise such knowledgeable sprouts. My sect"s disciples should strive to be more like him."

Both, the granny and the old man gave him a warm smile. Jin turned to look at Elder Kazane and received an even warmer smile from her.

"Martial Nephew Jin regularly gathers mortal knowledge for the sect. This is one of the reasons we have him handle tasks outside the sect. He is a responsible and reliable disciple that will be an irreplaceable pillar for our sect in the future," she said with perfectly lucid eyes and zero reluctance.

Jin"s eyes welled up as he closed them shut and bowed his head to keep any tears from flowing out. He was extremely happy, but not because of the praise he had just received.

His cultivation had stagnated at the Foundation Establishment stage for more than a decade, and it was no secret to the sect elders or to him that his chance of a breakthrough in the remainder of his life was almost zero.

His original intention for collecting and archiving mortal history was to chase his Immortal fate and find a source of enlightenment for a breakthrough. But the enlightenment never came, and his recreational activity became his main job, a way of staying useful to the sect that placed their faith and resources in him.

The task of testing the new disciples and running errands outside the sect fell into his lap since the vice elders no longer believed that he could cultivate past his current stage, regardless of the time spent meditating. For the Fifth Elder to call him an "irreplaceable pillar"...the foundation in his dantian quivered, and his doomed wish to meet her expectations became heart-wrenching to the point of tears.

"With such a high evaluation from Big Sister, I would be remiss to not reward you for your help. Take this as thanks for helping my daughter, junior. Let it be known that the Eastern Breeze Sect always repays its debts." Heng Chixin took a bottle of pills out of his bag and flew it over to Jin.

Jin looked at the pills inside the bottle, and his jaw dropped. It was filled with the most pristine Foundation Sculpting pills he had ever seen, as well as several Foundation Softening pills. Over the duration of his thirty years at the Flowing River Sect, he had gathered enough credits for two bottles of Foundation Sculpting pills and a single Foundation Softening pill.

The latter softened one"s foundation and loosened one"s bottleneck, increasing the odds of someone like him to breakthrough and move forward in their cultivation. He still held onto that single pill since it was too risky to use it alone as every extra pill increased his odds of success. It cost him ten thousand sect credits, requiring more than half a decade of stockpiling his rewards and foregoing luxuries such as food and drink, but he was planning on giving up and selling it since he couldn"t stand the thought of saving for another five years only to fail in the end, especially since there was a high likelihood that he would just be stopped permanently at the next wall.

Jin clenched the bottle and bowed to Heng Chixin. "Junior will never forget senior"s kindness." His voice was resolute, and his will unwavering. He would cower no longer and vowed to return the favor to Elder Kazane who brought him this Immortal chance.

Heng Chixin waved him off and turned to the other two. "Heaven"s fortune and h.e.l.l"s charm must refer to someone with a large amount of providence. And the last Day of the Hand was nineteen years ago, so does that mean I need to find an abnormally lucky boy born after that day?"

The old lady smacked her lips and added jokingly, "Or one too blind to see the shadow, like me. Although one might argue that a blind man wouldn"t be very lucky."

Heng Chixin remained silent as he brooded over the divination some more.

Seer Crystal smacked her lips once more and turned to Elder Kazane.

"Your turn. Let"s make this quick, else we will miss the perfect temperature for the Dongze Eel. What do you need from me?"

Augurs weren"t omniscient, merely individuals that were a little less "lost" in this muddled labyrinth called life. She knew Elder Kazane required her a.s.sistance, but could only guess the reason.

Elder Kazane gathered herself and confessed to the Seer, "Senior, my beloved disciple has. .h.i.t a wall, and I am unable to resolve it. I request your guidance in the matter."

Jin finally understood why Elder Kazane bothered to replace the vice elder who was originally tasked with inviting the other sects to the upcoming Mirage Cavern expedition.

He knew that the elder"s "beloved disciple" must be referring to Aoi Rin, her direct disciple and the former rising star of the Flowing River Sect. It was no secret that her progress had halted completely after breaking through to the Core Crystallization stage five years ago. Fifth Elder Kazane had spent much of her time since then, even disregarding her own cultivation, researching everything and anything that might solve her disciple"s problem but to no avail.

The Seer acknowledged her request with a nod. "Since this is your first request, I demand no payment. All I ask is you supply the necessary energy. Have you made your resolve?"

If Crystal gave twenty different clues to solving a single problem, then even a child could figure out the solution. Heng Chixin was capable of securing her fee every year, so he could get closer to finding the cure to his daughter"s condition, but Elder Kazane could not be compared to the rich and powerful Heng Chixin.

Crystal was too kind to mention it outright, but Elder Kazane was an unknown elder from an unknown sect. Even if she could afford her services, it would probably be a one-time thing for a single divination, and a single divination was a gamble, pure and simple. The fact that Elder Kazane travelled to the Eastern Breeze Sect to observe Crystal"s skills first-hand was evidence of her hesitation.

Elder Kazane slowly reached into her storage ring and carefully pulled out a high-tier spirit stone before placing it gently into the bowl on the table. It was obvious at a glance that her actions carried a hefty weight with them. She displayed an indifferent air of nonchalance with her smile, but Jin"s heart bled for her.

Today was the first time Jin had witnessed high-tier spirit stones aside from the three presented in his sect"s Treasury.

The Flowing River Sect wasn"t some top-tier sect or clan with boundless resources. It was located in a barren desert that relied on imports for luxuries such as spirit stones. For the Fifth Elder to have a high-tier stone, it must have taken her an exorbitant amount of time and effort to procure it, and to sacrifice it like this, her own cultivation would likely fail to advance for years.

Jin envied Rin who had a caring master that would go to such lengths for her.

The granny gave her a sly smile with her eyes still closed. "With me guiding you, the path you must travel will become crystal clear. I guarantee full satisfaction for all parties involved!"

Heng Chixin snorted at her pun without saying anything. The elderly woman continued to smile at Elder Kazane without acknowledging Heng Chixin, but one of the two curtains suddenly cut itself free and flew at blinding speed…

SLAP

…to smack Heng Chixin in the face.

He struggled to pull the curtains off his head and glared at the old lady. "What was that for?!" He had to stop himself from screaming at her.

"You sneezed, so I gave you a napkin."

Heng Chixin"s left eye twitched several times. "This isn"t a napkin!"

"Ah, sorry about that, Little Heng. I am blind, so I don"t always know what I"m handling."

Both of his eyes twitched at her, but he withheld his tongue. If he wanted to contend with this crabby bat, he would need his real body who was also at the Dao Rending realm.

Jin and the other disciples were astounded to see such a powerful figure being toyed with. The world was truly bigger than they could imagine.

Elder Kazane gave a light chuckle at their comedic routine. "Junior thanks senior for her kind words."

Seer Crystal turned around and faced the bowl with the spirit stone. She waved her right hand in a circular motion and the four marbles began rolling around the bowl"s center once more. She repeated the same actions as before and closed her eyes after absorbing the cracked spirit stone"s Qi. Now they just had to wait for the marbles to stop rolling.

Their speed decreased and as they should have settled down onto the sand…

CLINK CLINK CLINK

…the yellow marble shot out of the bowl right onto the floor. It hit the groove of the wooden board and bounced onto the dinner table, no one daring to stop its nonsensical movement. It stopped on the soft-looking tongue of the stuffed Dongze Eel.

The elderly woman kept her eyes closed, but her eyebrows were raised in surprise.

Heng Chixin held his hand up to indicate that no one should move from where they stood, let alone touch the ball. He wasn"t sure whether she would need to redo the process or not, but such a ritual was too costly for them to take unnecessary actions. They would follow her decision, especially since she was still holding the Qi within her eyelids.

His quandry was resolved the next moment when she revealed the glowing white pupils and began studying the three marbles in the bowl.

"Dance with the Reaper"s Blade,

Sever Yang and Yin"s Bone,

Take Time as a Comrade…"

She flew over the table and stopped in front of the Dongze Eel"s head, staring intently at the yellow marble.

"A Path He Walks Alone"

Jin saw the white pupils fade out of existence before she closed her eyelids. She began smacking her lips together in satisfaction.

"Your disciple must be quite the handful, junior. To influence my ritual and reference death, Yin-Yang and time itself in a single message, his bottleneck must be heaven-defying." She picked up the yellow marble while chuckling and placed it back in her bowl.

Heng Chixin furtively rolled his eyes at Seer Crystal and her divination. He was seventy percent certain that the word "bone" was used, so that the message had something to rhyme with "alone". Also, the Grim Reaper"s weapon of choice was a scythe, not a blade, and all that just so it could fail to rhyme with "comrade"...

The room turned to look at Elder Kazane who had a baffled expression that quickly changed into a small frown. Jin shared a similar expression, but the outsiders believed they were reflecting on the meaning of the Seer"s divination.

"Senior…my disciple is a girl. Her name is Aoi Rin, and she cultivates the Yin Frost Heart. She has no "Yang" to sever."

Everyone blinked their eyes at her several times before they grasped the meaning of her statement.

The Seer smacked her lips in response with a tilted frown. "Perhaps the message was referring to another one of your disciples?"

She placed her intent on a.s.sisting Elder Kazane"s disciple that was currently experiencing the most difficult time in their cultivation. Considering what Elder Kazane was willing to forfeit for her disciple, what were the odds she had a second disciple who was in a worse state? There"s no way, but she still needed to make sure.

Elder Kazane shook her head. "All my disciples are girls…"

"Ah…"

No one was brave enough to suggest that she might have made a mistake, but since no one spoke for some time, an awkward silence filled the room.

…

…

…

Seer Crystal reached into her storage ring and took out another high-tier spirit stone. Before anyone could ask her what she was doing, she haphazardly tossed it into the bowl and swirled the four marbles for a third time.

No one dared to interrupt her, not even Elder Kazane or Heng Chixin. Instead of taking her time like usual, she directly tapped the spirit stone in the center, and it instantly released all the Qi as a white smoke. In less than a second, the gas was sucked into her eye sockets, and she paused to wait for the marbles to settle down. The marbles were quick to adapt to the Seer"s intention and took much less time to stop.

She opened her eyes to reveal the white pupils for a third time.

"Cursed by Heaven"s Fortune,

Gifted with h.e.l.l"s Charm,

Request the Ear of He,

Yet to See G.o.d"s Arm"

…

…

…

Nearly everyone stared at the elderly lady with an incredulous expression.

Wasn"t this the message she gave Sect Leader a couple of minutes ago? Are you toying with us? Do you get your kicks by wasting high-tier spirit stones and recycling divinations?

She was smacking her lips and putting away her bowl and table. She opened her dark, empty eye sockets, allowing the four marbles to fly back inside.

In contrast to the baffled expressions the others had, Elder Kazane had a calm smile on her face. It was clear that she was looking for the same person as Sect Leader Heng Chixin. If that"s the case, they could cooperate together to find him.

Seer Crystal reached into her storage ring again. Surprising everyone for the n-th time in the fifteen minutes since she had arrived, she took out a high-tier spirit stone and flew it over to Elder Kazane.

For the first time Jin had ever seen, Elder Kazane"s face displayed a youthful and cute look of genuine surprise. She furrowed her brows and tried to a.s.sure Seer Crystal, "Senior, junior is satisfied."

The old woman walked over to the chair closest to the Dongze Eel and sat in it. "But I"m not. Since not all parties were fully satisfied, here"s your refund. You did use your freebie though, so if you wish to utilize my services again, please arrange the payment as well. Now hurry, or you"ll miss the perfect temperature for the eel." She cut off the head of the Dongze Eel and placed it on her plate before beckoning for the Sanguine Spirit Fruit that Jin was holding onto. He hurried it over to her and placed it next to her plate.

Heng Chixin gave the old lady a look of jealous annoyance. What about his refund?!

The loose part of the curtain he was still holding onto lifted up and…

SLAP!

…his face was. .h.i.t once more. His angry glare demanded an explanation.

"Something rather hideous was on your face. It"s gone now. No need to thank me."

One of the Eastern Breeze disciples that prepared the food stifled a giggle. Heng Chixin gave the boy a meaningful stare, and the curtains in his hand bolted.

SLAP - THUD - CRACK - THUD - CRACK - THUD

One moment, Jin was watching the boy standing there with a regretful frown, and the next, a person-sized hole appeared in the walls of both the room and adjacent hallway. He could spot the boy lying unconscious on the gra.s.sy floor outside with the curtain on his chest.

After several breaths of silence pa.s.sed, Elder Kazane spoke to Seer Crystal with a dazzling and earnest smile, "Senior, allow me to return your sincerity with my own."

"Aren"t you a dear!"

A heap of rice, two radishes, a clump of pickled seaweed and several more slices of Dongze Eel rose from their respective plates and flew onto hers. Her chair, the two plates of food and her cup of hot tea were lifted into the air and twirled in place to face Jin. She raised her two bare feet and placed them in front of Jin"s face.

Unlike most Immortal"s feet, they were wrinkled and unkempt, with grimy, yellowed toenails and a fermented, cheesy smell. The wrinkles meant that she was either near the end of her life or had experienced advancement in her cultivation after aging significantly. If Jin had to guess which, he would bet on the latter, but what was the reason they were so…in need of a rinse?

"As you can guess, it"s hard for me to remember to maintain appearances. To have such a handsome and promising young man tend to me as I eat my favorite food, I can now die happy."

Jin was taken aback by the old woman"s words and looked to Elder Kazane to save him, but all he received was a grateful smile and a nod to do as she desired.

He returned a smile and nodded to express his understanding, but deep inside, he regretted ever coveting Elder Kazane"s feet. What was so wrong with men"s feet? This was what happens when you get greedy!

He took out a basin of water and a towel, ready to serve Seer Crystal.

"Perhaps afterwards, you could give them a ma.s.sage. They could use a nice rub." She waved her individual toes coquettishly which caused the other disciples to cover their mouths and give Jin looks of pity.

Jin cracked his fingers and gave his best smile. "Junior won"t disappoint you."

To deal with the task at hand, he thought about what he would do when they arrived back at the sect in three days. What steps should he take before secluding himself in his cave to cultivate? Who should he ask to deal with his duties? Which vice elder should he seek to help with his breakthrough?

"Don"t forget underneath the nails. Remember the saying, "Cleanliness is next to G.o.dliness.""

Jin held back a sigh. Cultivation sure was difficult.