The Lord of Void and Real
Chapter 402

Chapter 402: Chapter 398: High People? Chapter 402: Chapter 398: High People? “Life is filled with birth, aging, sickness, and death, plagued by countless misfortunes. Even though you, benefactor, have overcome your personal calamity in that year, the road ahead is still filled with disasters. Without a miraculous method to resolve them, I'm afraid…” The old monk shook his head and sighed.

“Please explain what calamities are destined for me.” Shen Luo said.

“Life is full of infinite tribulations, even gods or Buddhas can't escape when they are in it, let alone us mortals. Young man, you have a bright and energetic demeanor, however, your forehead is pale and outwardly strong but inwardly weak. Thus, I deduce that your fate lies in the longevity and life relationship, am I right?” The old monk chuckled.

“What are you talking about 'outwardly strong but inwardly weak', and 'longevity and life relationship', I don't believe any of this. If you're so good at calculating, tell me why I am here?” Shen Luo said, startled to the core but showing no emotions on his face.

“Oh that's an easy task to carry out, however, when my master taught me fortunetelling, he set a rule that I must charge a fee for every divination. You see…” The old monk revealed a slight smile on his face.

“Hah, then you best make sure to calculate very accurately, as my silver is not easily earned.” Shen Luo raised his eyebrows and took out another silver piece.

“Esteemed guest, rest assured, my master's skills in Daoist magic are excellent, and he'll certainly help you unravel your predicaments.” The little novice monk beside them quickly pocketed the two pieces of silver and spoke with a smile.

“I hope so.” Shen Luo glanced at the little novice and said.

The old monk pulled out a sealed bamboo tube from his bosom, put six copper coins into it, held it to his chest, and had an earnest look on his face while chanting prayers.

Ten plus breaths later, the old monk abruptly opened his eyes, grabbed the bamboo tube, and shook it.

The clinking sound of coins echoed around, neither fast nor slow, carrying a certain peculiar rhythm, somehow making people feel inexplicably peaceful.

Shen Luo glanced at the old monk, mentally noting that although this old fraudster seemed to have some skills, they weren't entirely deceptive.

The old monk shook it nine times, opened the lid of the bamboo tube, gently poured the six copper coins on the table in two rows, studied them closely for a while, and nodded slightly.

“Finished?” Shen Luo raised his eyebrows.

“Indeed, this is the Jie Gua, 'the first nine, they seek a hidden path and reach, Qin and Liu encounter each other and can gain'. Young man, I think you're here to search for something, right?” The old monk looked up and said.

Shen Luo's expression froze, his eyes full of disbelief.

“The 'Qin' symbol means west, the thing you're seeking is in the west of the city. As for the 'Liu', it doesn't indicate the willow tree, it should refer to the exact location. You should go to the west of the city and find a place named after 'Liu', that's most likely where it will be.” The old monk looked down and continued.

Shen Luo looked at the old monk in front of him, his face changing constantly, a turbulent wave surging within his heart.

The matter of seeking the Thousand Year Lingru, he had never told anyone, yet this old monk somehow deduced it. Could it be that he is genuinely capable of divination of all matters?

The bystanders around them, seeing Shen Luo's expression, knowing the monk's reading was accurate, instantly rushed forward.

“Esteemed monk, I also have a matter that I would like you to divine.”

“Master, please also draw a divination for me.”

“Thank you all for your patronage. However, I have a rule. I only draw three fortunes a day, and now all three have been drawn. If you wish to seek divination, please come again tomorrow. My dear disciple, pack up, let's go find a place to drink two… oh no, to beg for alms.” The old monk stood up, bowed to everyone, picked up the white cloth pointing to the Immortals, turned around, and strode away.

“Master, wait for me.” The little novice struggled to pick up the table and followed.

Seeing this, the crowd didn't dare to stop them, feeling disappointed.

Shen Luo watched the two figures move farther away until they disappeared before he withdrew his gaze.

“Whether what this man said is true or false…” He furrowed his eyebrows, standing in one place for a long time before heading back to the city.

The night fell quickly, and Shen Luo once again silently left the inn, returning to the place he had sought before.

This was a wealthy mansion in the northern part of the city. Just as he was about to enter, the words of the old trickster from the daytime unconsciously surfaced in his mind.

“Forget it, I'll go take a look, I haven't checked the west of the city yet.” Hesitating for a moment, he eventually turned and made his way westward, quickly arriving in a small alley.

In the past few days, Shen Luo had already familiarized himself thoroughly with every corner of Tang Qiu County City. This place was called Silver Willow Alley, so when he had heard the old Daoist's divination during the daytime, he immediately thought of this place.

He looked around and then headed towards a courtyard with a large gate in the alleyway.

Just then, the anxious chirping of the Shadow Gu emerged from the small bag on his waist.

Shen Luo flicked his eyebrows and hurriedly opened the bag.

The Shadow Gu immediately leaped out, turning into a purple shadow and darting forward. However, it didn't rush towards the large gate but flew towards a small courtyard next to it with a whoosh, directly entering it.

Shen Luo quickly followed, soon arriving beside a well in the courtyard's vegetable garden.

There was a flat blue stone next to the well, protruding a few inches from the ground. It was wet and covered in green moss.

At this moment, the Shadow Gu had landed on the blue stone, swiftly crawling around, making urgent noises as if it wanted to bore into the stone but was unable to.

“Judging by Little Purple's behavior, could this blue stone be it? But didn't the jade slip say it was in front of a wealthy mansion's gate?” Seeing this, Shen Luo stood rooted to the spot.

“I get it! There are still hundreds of years until the Thousand-Year Spirit Milk is discovered. It wouldn't be surprising if anything changed in Tang Qiu County City during that time.” He quickly realized this and was glad that he had the Shadow Gu. If he had been searching on his own, he might've taken a year to find this place.

Quickly calming himself, he formed a hand seal and pressed his hand towards the ground.

A soft dull sound came from underground, and the ground in the vegetable garden began to lightly shake. The blue stone next to the well slowly rose up, as though some force from underneath was lifting it.

After a few breaths, a big blue stone, more than man-high, penetrated the ground and a gigantic hand formed from water flow lifted the blue stone from underneath.

The Shadow Gu remained on the blue stone, moving around more excitedly than before, seemingly trying to find an opening to bore into.

“Come back!” Shen Luo waved his hand and a stream of water rolled the Shadow Gu back and tossed it into the small bag at his waist, then he gestured with his hand again.

A stream of water sprayed out from the well and wrapped around the blue stone, forming a vortex.

Amid the sharp sizzling noises, the years-old mud and moss on the blue stone were all washed away, soon revealing its original form.

The blue stone had transformed into a piece of bright and transparent green jade. Besides the upper part which had been exposed on the ground, the rest of the stone emitted a misty green light which made any jadeite or agate look dull in comparison.

“What kind of jade stone is this? It seems extraordinary, which makes sense. The stone that holds the Thousand-Year Spirit Milk wouldn't be a common blue stone.” Saying this softly, Shen Luo walked to the jade stone and took a deep sniff.

A faint refreshing scent diffused from the jade stone, somewhat similar to cow's milk or goat's milk, but fresher.

“It smells the same as the Thousand-Year Spirit Milk mentioned in the books – looks like I've really found it.” A trace of delight flashed in Shen Luo's eyes, as he then stowed the jade stone into his storage bracelet with a flip of his hand.

“The old diviner was right all along, seems like he is truly a divination expert!” The image of the old Daoist bubbled up in his mind, causing his heart to race.

Shen Luo took a deep breath to calm himself, cast a spell to smooth out the upturned ground, and then left a large piece of silver in front of the main house of the courtyard. It was his way of compensating for taking the Thousand-Year Spirit Milk.

Having finished that, he didn't linger and quickly returned to the inn.

After he had shut all doors and windows, he cast another spell.

A stream of water shot upwards from the ground, then spread out to form a square water shield, completely covering the room.

Having done this, Shen Luo took out the jade stone and laid it on the table, taking a thorough look from various angles.