Chapter 336 - 130: Wither and Flourish

Chapter 336: Chapter 130: Wither and Flourish

"Great fortune and great misfortune, appearing at the same time?!"

Fang Rui leaned back in his wicker chair and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "This is way too much to process!"

’The great misfortune... it’s unlikely to be because of Li Xuantong, so it must be Master Bao?! If I go tonight, does this Master Bao have some special means of discovering me, or even the power to kill me?’

’Oh, and there are two or three Seed Path Martial Saints in the city. If I get tied down... No, I can’t beat them, but I can definitely run.’

’Does that mean... if Master Bao is pushed to the brink, he has a way to temporarily borrow the power of the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Four Symbols Banner?’

Fang Rui’s eyes glinted. "That’s the only way to explain the ’great misfortune.’"

"As for the great fortune,"

He frowned. ’It’s also unlikely to be because of Li Xuantong. I have a rough idea of his value—it’s the Qi Fortune on him. But I don’t need that stuff, nor do I have any Secret Techniques for it.’

’So, the ’great fortune’ is also related to Master Bao?’

"Now that is very interesting."

Fang Rui stroked his chin. "Would killing Master Bao bring me some great benefit?"

’Great misfortune and great fortune, appearing at the same time. In other words, if I handle the situation perfectly, I might be able to kill Master Bao and reap a huge reward.’

’So, without any external help, just based on his own power, he’s probably weaker than me?’

"Hmm, if I were some protagonist who enjoys dancing on the edge of a blade, I might take the gamble. But me?"

Fang Rui snorted, shifted into a more comfortable position, and lay flat. "No damn way I’m going. So what if there’s a great benefit? You think that’s enough to make me take a risk? Impossible."

High-risk, high-reward ventures were simply not worth it!

He clasped his hands behind his head, pondering the results of the Divination, and gleaned more information. ’With my current Realm, it should be impossible to include a factor like the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Four Symbols Banner, in my Divination, even if it’s inactive and deliberately trying to block me...’

’And yet, the Divination accounted for it.’

Any other Seed Path Martial Saint or Source Master performing the same Divination would likely miss the factor of the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Four Symbols Banner, leading to a wildly inaccurate result.

"Whatever exists is rational. There has to be a reason for this."

Fang Rui had a few ideas. ’I’ve suspected it before... my panel is the external manifestation of a Dao Fruit or a form of authority... Whatever it is, its rank is extremely high, that much is certain. When I perform a Divination, I can borrow a sliver of that rank. Is that why even an inactive Innate Supreme Treasure can’t block me and gets included in the calculation?’

’This means my Divination results are extremely difficult to interfere with, and the probability of error is very low.’

"Nice. Using cheats is my favorite thing."

Fang Rui was secretly excited. "Let me see if there’s anything else about this Divination Skill that I haven’t discovered..."

He spent a good while exploring it.

In the end, he discovered to his dismay that this sliver of borrowed rank was just that—borrowed. He was essentially just piggybacking on it. With his own Realm being insufficient, relying on this sliver of rank that had no true cultivation to back it up, wanting to ’know five hundred years into the past and five hundred years into the future’ was still just a dream.

POP! His beautiful dream of reaching the heavens in a single step shattered.

"It’s like I always say: don’t get arrogant, but don’t sell yourself short either! As for Li Xuantong, I’ll just have to watch and find another opportunity!"

...

「Ten days later.」

’I heard Li Xuantong left the city for a spring outing today?!’

’Outside the city is a good place. It would take that Master Bao some time to rush over. And even his trump card, the Innate Supreme Treasure, the Chaos Four Symbols Banner, can’t be moved without a command. Outside its Domain, its power will be greatly weakened.’

’Not so fast. Let me do a Divination first.’

Fang Rui pinched his fingers together to perform the calculation.

As expected, the Divination result was: minor fortune.

"Now this is doable!"

Fang Rui rose from his wicker chair and stretched languidly in the bright morning sun.

He came face to face with Fang Ling. "Brother, are you going out?"

"Mhm, just going for a stroll."

Fang Rui replied, adding inwardly, ’And while I’m at it... kill someone.’

...

Outside the city, amidst flying warblers and lush grass, behind a large pine tree.

"My beauty! My dear beauty!"

"Marquis, you’re terrible..."

...

Sounds unfit for decent ears drifted out from time to time.

Two men were standing guard outside, both exuding the aura of superiors, chatting idly.

"Tsk tsk, this Marquis Anle... I heard he was once a Flood Dragon, and now look what he’s become. He’s completely useless now!" The man’s tone was full of disdain.

"I don’t see it that way. For someone like him, living like this isn’t necessarily a bad thing... At least, it’s countless times better than the lives of those peasants."

"That’s true. Still, for big shots like us to be guarding such a useless oaf is truly a waste of our talents."

"It’s only for a day or two when he occasionally comes out. If we were in the city, when would he ever need us? Guarding this waste for half a day in exchange for guidance from Master Bao is worth it, I suppose..."

...

It was clear: these were two First Grade Martial Artists, invited by Master Bao with favors and great rewards to act as guards.

Just as the two were chatting idly, something unexpected happened.

BOOM!

Spiritual Essence erupted and spun, forming an Energy Bullet that shot forward at high speed, exploding into a cloud of roiling dust and smoke.

When the dust settled.

SWISH!

A Decree spun through the air, bursting with golden light. It shielded the two First Grade Martial Artists—as well as the startled, shameless couple behind them who had been caught in the act—from the dissipating energy.

"Old sir, you... you must be joking, right?!"

"A misunderstanding! It’s a misunderstanding! We’re with Master Bao..."

The two First Grade Martial Artists stared ahead at an old man approaching with large, flowing sleeves, trying to explain themselves in a panic. But a closer look would reveal the grave seriousness in their eyes.