The Fortune Teller's Prophecy

Silence reigned in the City of the Dead. On the empty street, only that towering figure stood alone—carved like an immortal demon stone, as if he had existed there since time immemorial.

Though he did not move and no energy fluctuation leaked from him, his presence oppressed the soul. He felt less like a man and more like a vast, surging ocean without limit; like a boundless starry sky without end.

One man standing there, yet it seemed as if three thousand great worlds had truly settled within the Dead City!

Xiao Chen and Qingqing did not dare move. This was not cowardice—that man was simply too powerful. Just casually standing in the street, he exuded such momentum; one could imagine how terrifying he truly was.

Even little Keke was nervous. No longer playful as usual, she lay in Qingqing's arms, staring at the man with wide eyes.

The burial shroud rustled in the wind, making the towering figure on the street seem even more majestic. At that moment, as the breeze blew, his waist-length hair stirred, and two piercing beams of cyan light shot forth—enough to make one's soul tremble.

Were those his eyes? How could they be so terrifying?

There were no whites, no pupils—only two harsh gleams of cyan light, like the soul-fires in a skeleton's eye sockets, abnormally frightening. He was coldly staring at Xiao Chen and Qingqing. Whether it was gaze or true soul-fire, it danced in his eyes, shining through the long hair that covered his face, sending chills down one's spine.

Xiao Chen had a real feeling: that man was examining every inch of his flesh from head to toe, as if no secret could be hidden; he was completely seen through, inside and out.

Yes—the divine acupoints and the newly grown divine meridians felt a burning pain, seemingly from that piercing gaze. Moreover, the man stared at Xiao Chen's chest and abdomen for a long time, as if gazing at the broken stone man within. Only after a long while did he look away.

Then Qingqing felt a similar pressure, thoroughly scanned by the powerful figure wrapped in the burial shroud.

Neither Xiao Chen nor Qingqing had any intention of attacking. This man was too terrifying; as long as he did not show killing intent, they both wanted to avoid provoking him.

Finally, the towering figure on the empty street fixed his gaze on Keke. This time, he moved, slowly reaching out a hand—though covered by the burial shroud, one could not see the arm clearly.

"Ya-ya..." the little beast cried out in alarm. Before Xiao Chen or Keke could act, light flashed and Keke vanished, then instantly reappeared within the Dead City, caught in the mysterious figure's hand.

Keke was genuinely frightened. Strand after strand of seven-colored divine light swept out, but striking the mysterious figure was like colored bubbles—they instantly dissolved, having no effect at all.

Terrifying and bizarre!

Little Keke tried to open Paradise Lost to trap the terrifying figure, but found she could not open her divine garden at all—it was as if it had been sealed.

For the first time, the little beast was truly scared. Her soft, glossy fur stood on end as she flailed and scratched, unleashing screens of seven-colored light.

On the city wall, Xiao Chen was shocked. Without hesitation, he summoned the stone drill and stone ball from the broken stone man's hands, ready to hurl them.

Qingqing stopped him, signaling not to act rashly.

"He might be Suiren, but something is not right," Xiao Chen said quietly to Qingqing.

His judgment was based on the burial shroud, though it was merely speculation.

Between the mysterious figure's fingers, black mist drifted—one could not see the truth clearly. He held the little beast before his eyes, looked at it carefully, then waved his hand and threw it back.

The fearless Keke felt a chill of horror for the first time. She was sent back precisely to Qingqing's side, and the little thing looked at the mysterious man in the city with lingering fear.

Then something astonishing happened: the mysterious man vanished without a sound, as if he had never appeared, not even a ripple of energy flowing out.

The little creature was still shaken, muttering and patting her chest as if still scared.

Qingqing frowned slightly. "Even if it truly is Ancestral God Suiren, something has gone wrong."

The Dead City grew silent. The celestial soldiers and nether soldiers had disappeared somewhere. Apart from the ancient buildings in the distance, the empty streets showed not a single shadow—a dead stillness.

Keke opened Paradise Lost, looked around in confusion for a long time, apparently dissatisfied that she could not open it earlier. Then she casually dug out a one-foot-long purple-gold ginseng—her reserve 'rations'—hugged it tightly, sat on the ground, and began to gnaw.

Xiao Chen and Qingqing both smiled. The little creature was relieving her fright by eating.

For three consecutive days, the Dead City remained silent, like an empty city that had suddenly jumped out of the river of time, with no unusual phenomena.

But Xiao Chen and Qingqing did not go deeper. If they got lost inside, the consequences would be unimaginable.

On the fifth day, the greedy little Keke suddenly choked on a piece of fungus. Covering her mouth, she coughed softly and pointed into the city.

On a distant building in the Dead City, the mysterious figure—likely Suiren—sat alone on the rooftop, utterly silent, seeming to stare blankly westward at the setting red sun.

The sunset dyed the sky red, and the mysterious figure in the Dead City was also stained with specks of blood. Loneliness, desolation, and grief gathered upon him, as if he were trying to remember, as if mourning the past.

Suddenly, he stood up abruptly. Startled, little Keke immediately opened Paradise Lost, jumped onto Xiao Chen's shoulder, and was fully alert.

But this time, the mysterious figure was not coming for her. A mist surged around him; the burial shroud wildly fluttered. Though no energy fluctuation leaked out, his momentum could overwhelm the sun and moon, shake the heavens.

A gigantic hand silently reached toward the distant sky. With a thunderous explosion, a divine island hidden in the clouds shattered on the spot.

Then an old woman rushed out in a panic—it was the Three-Infant Grand Matriarch. Shocked, she did not look back and fled into the distance.

The enormous palm shadow from the mysterious figure in the Dead City pressed down hard. In the distant sky, a heaven-shaking scream rang out. The Three-Infant Grand Matriarch left behind a half-shattered body, tore open a spatial passage, and vanished inside.

The giant hand from the Dead City withdrew instantly, and then the figure on that building silently disappeared.

Xiao Chen and Qingqing exchanged a glance, both filled with shock. With such combat power, who could stand against it? This was almost certainly Ancestral God Suiren himself.

Three days later, Xiao Chen and Qingqing left with Keke. Even leaving aside the other mysterious powers of the Dead City, with such a world-shaking figure present, no one could lay claim to this place.

"I cannot understand what happened to Ancestral God Suiren," Qingqing said, deeply puzzled. "His condition seems very bad."

Xiao Chen and his companions left Yong Province.

At this moment, tremendous changes were occurring across the Nine Provinces. Spiritual energy increased further, and above each province, a mysterious ancient lamp arose, hovering in the sky.

The personally taught disciples of the half-ancestors grew uneasy—this change seemed unfavorable to the half-ancestors.

At the same time, the ancient islands, deserts, and great cities that had descended from overseas, though not yet fully materialized like the Dead City, were becoming increasingly clear. The day when they would appear in the mortal world might not be far off.

People from the World of Immortality recognized among the descending giant shadows what seemed to be the War Valley of the vanished War Clan, the Li Mountain of the Liren race, Dragon Island of the savage dragons, the floating divine villages...

Also, people from the Cultivation World recognized among the shadows some mysterious regions from their own realm.

Furthermore, there were other giant shadows whose origins no one could identify.

The bustling imperial capital was thronged with traffic. Shops lined both sides of the broad avenues. Crowds of people jostled each other in the streets.

Children gathered around a monkey performer; youths crowded around a martial artist breaking large stones; the elderly surrounded a storyteller's stage. Even on an ordinary day, the capital was just this lively.

Xiao Chen had come to the capital to settle accounts with Zhao Lin'er. Regardless of whether she had been coerced into sending troops to attack the Dead City, he felt it was time to deal with certain matters. The influence of the great cults in the imperial court should be rooted out, and the divine temples above the Nine Provinces should be destroyed.

"Fate of heaven, fate of earth, fate of all mortal affairs," said a scholarly-looking fortune teller seated behind a desk not far away, shaking a banner on a bamboo pole. "If my prediction is wrong, I'll pay you back."

Xiao Chen did not believe in such charlatans. But little Keke was full of curiosity, hopping onto the desk and pointing at the fortune teller, then at herself.

"A greedy little thing," the fortune teller said, not driving her away, but speaking seriously.

Keke huffed, glaring at him. She chirped and gestured, meaning for him to continue.

The scholarly fortune teller stroked her head. "Though heaven is jealous of you, it cannot bury you."

Xiao Chen's face showed surprise. This fortune teller seemed no ordinary person. Could he be from the cultivation world?

"Tell my fortune too," Xiao Chen said, sitting down.

"Your life is short," the fortune teller said calmly.

Little Keke was displeased, glaring angrily at him.

The fortune teller remained composed, looking at Xiao Chen's palm. "You have killed too many."

Qingqing smiled. "Street charlatans always resort to alarmist talk. If you have real skill, tell us in detail."

The scholarly fortune teller shook his head with a faint smile. "I divine the fate of heaven, earth, and all mortal affairs—I am not comparable to those common charlatans." He looked at Xiao Chen again. "Even if you die, you'll have no regrets—great figures will be buried with you. The few fortunes I just cast are worth two stalks of Purple Gold Ginseng King. Please pay first." He did not reach out to Xiao Chen but looked at Keke with a smile.

Keke muttered in surprise. Among her stored rations, only two stalks of ginseng remained. If Paradise Lost had not been closed, she would have suspected the fortune teller had peeked beforehand.

Xiao Chen nodded. "Give them to him."

Reluctantly, little Keke took out two Purple Gold Ginseng Kings, each as long as herself.

"Since you can divine the fate of heaven, earth, and all mortal affairs, tell me about this heaven and earth, about this mortal world."

"Alas!" The fortune teller's face turned serious. He sighed. "Nuwa, Fuxi, and Suiren led the human race, cutting through thorns, blazing a trail—all so that humanity could survive. Our ancestors shed their blood, gave their lives, laid down their corpses without number, and finally carved out a land of survival for humanity amidst the boundless wilds, composing a song of blood and tears worthy of song and tears. But the path of survival paved with the ancestors' flesh and blood is, in the end, no match for an illusory divine melody. Let that false 'Supreme Dao and Ultimate Sage' ride above the ancestors of the human race, even able to enslave them!"

The scholarly fortune teller grew more and more agitated as he spoke. Xiao Chen became completely serious—how could such a figure be an ordinary street charlatan?

"The human race has flourished and prospered, able to stand upon this earth. But the war songs composed with our ancestors' hot blood and lives have long been forgotten by the world. Many would rather sing that illusory divine melody. Illusion and reality reversed—yin and yang battle—who weeps blood? It is... our ancestors!" Tears streamed down the fortune teller's face. "Where is Fuxi? Where is Nuwa? Where is Suiren?" He pointed angrily at the sky. "Even if the Ancestral Gods were lucky enough to survive, they would shed tears of blood..."

His words were like thunderbolts, shaking the clouds in the sky until they collapsed. Above the imperial capital, blood-colored lightning wildly slashed, like streaks of bloody tears dancing.

But on the street, the crowd seemed unaware of anything, not noticing the fortune teller by the roadside. They only felt the weather was unusual. Or, rather than noticing, they were numb and oblivious.

"Let alone the primeval wilds—speak of the ten thousand years. Tides rise and fall. In the last five millennia, humanity reached its peak of prosperity and carved out a unique path of civilization. But in the end, it destroyed itself in the last five millennia. Even more terrifying—illusion and reality reversed..."

"Boom!"

A huge black lightning bolt struck down from the ninth heaven, shattering the void. The magnificent imperial capital shook violently three times.

Such terrifying thunder forcibly interrupted the fortune teller's words. He looked up at the void, sneered coldly, then turned to Xiao Chen. "We shall meet again if fate allows."

With that, he vanished into thin air.

"He is a man of flesh and blood," Xiao Chen sighed.

Qingqing bowed three times solemnly in the direction where the fortune teller had disappeared.

Little Keke scratched her head in embarrassment, picked up the two Purple Gold Ginseng Kings again, and put them back into her Paradise Lost.

Signs increasingly indicated that drastic changes were imminent and Xiao Chen would face misfortune. He felt he should make the most of his limited time and do something great—otherwise, he would not deserve his short life.

"Boom!"

The imperial capital shook violently. Smoke and dust rose from the direction of the palace. A vast stretch of magnificent halls was shattered by a black iron seal.

The palace was in chaos. Many warriors rushed out, shouting, "Who dares to commit treason and attack the palace?"

High in the sky, Xiao Chen held the Golden Divine Halberd, standing in the void and looking down. "Tell Zhao Lin'er to come out."

"How dare you! You offend imperial majesty and call the Empress by name—your entire clan should be executed!"

"She is your Empress, but not the Empress of everyone under heaven."

Xiao Chen swung the Golden Divine Halberd. A dozen heads flew into the sky below, blood spurting. The dead were Solar Knights, far stronger than ordinary guards. To see them cut down like grass—who would not be chilled? The voices questioning heaven immediately fell silent.

"Zhao Lin'er, an old friend has come to see you. And all you disciples of the half-ancestors—come out and meet me."