Chapter 282: Tier 5 Divination

[Feeling the slight improvement in your divine soul and will, you looked satisfied.]

[Although the improvement from breaking through each layer of the illusion world was minor, the sheer quantity of illusion worlds made up for it.]

[Quantitative change causes qualitative change.]

["The ninety-seventh illusion world..."]

[You looked at the newly formed illusion world, your expression turning solemn.]

[This layer of the illusion world was even more realistic than the ninety-sixth layer you had just shattered. At a glance, you couldn't spot a single flaw or inconsistency.]

[The details of the world's operation, and even the fluctuations in the spatial layers... everything was nearly perfect.]

["Take it slow."]

[Your divine sense withdrew from the Dark Chessboard. You planned to study your arts for a while to clear your head.]

[Year 310. You were 327 years old.]

[You finished cultivating and stepped out of your cave dwelling.]

["Going by the time, that Primordial Yin Treasure Physique should be born right about now..."]

[You pinched your fingers to calculate, looking toward the Southern Sea Territory.]

[In about thirteen years, that Primordial Yin Treasure Physique would be discovered by the passing True Monarch Lishui, triggering a massive battle among true lords.]

[Right now, however, the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique had yet to be born.]

[In your previous simulation, you had already gathered detailed intelligence on that Primordial Yin Treasure Physique. You knew exactly which archipelago she would be born in, her family members' names, and their identifying traits. You had everything entirely under control.]

[If not for the fear that acting early might alter fate—such as bringing her parents to Heavenly Sword Peak ahead of time, only for the child they bore to not possess the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique...]

[Although the chances of that happening were incredibly low, it was still something you had to consider. Therefore, for the past three hundred years of this simulation, you hadn't interfered with the Southern Sea Territory, letting everything develop exactly as it had in the previous timeline.]

["It's about time."]

[You took a single step, and your figure vanished.]

[The Southern Sea Territory was vast and boundless.]

[Compared to the four great domains like the Central Continent, the Southern Sea connected to the Deep Sea, making it the largest in sheer area.]

[Of course, that was only in terms of area.]

[Because the majority of it was ocean, the Southern Sea Territory actually had very few spirit vein Dao fields suitable for cultivation.]

[However, the rich resources of the Deep Sea made up for this. The endless hordes of sea beasts served as the primary cultivation resources for cultivators in the Southern Sea Territory.]

[In a corner of the Southern Sea Territory, within a certain archipelago.]

[The cries of a newborn infant rang out from a mortal household.]

[Soon after, the midwife hurried out. "Mother and daughter are both safe! Mother and daughter are safe!"]

["It's a girl?"]

[A middle-aged man looked disappointed. It wasn't that he looked down on daughters, but out on the sea, men were simply stronger than women in physical strength and other aspects. If a family had a boy, he could be raised for a few years and put to work; by his early teens, he could go out to sea with the adults to fish.]

[This was a matter of survival for mortal fishermen.]

[The more men they had, the greater their advantage—whether in catching fish or competing with other fishermen.]

["A girl is fine too."]

[The middle-aged man steadied himself. Looking at the baby girl the midwife carried out, he reached out to take her.]

[Right at that moment, a young man in green robes appeared in front of him without warning and effortlessly took the baby girl instead.]

["Who are you?"]

[The middle-aged man froze, his face turning slightly pale.]

[Their front door had been closed for a while. When did this young man get in?]

[Although you weren't radiating any aura, your appearance and temperament alone made the middle-aged man feel you were extraordinary. Which mortal fisherman in the Deep Sea didn't have dark, sun-baked skin?]

[You looked at the baby girl in your arms, swept your divine sense over her for a rough check, and gave a slight nod.]

["It really is the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique..."]

[You felt reassured. The faint aura inside the baby girl's body matched the characteristics of the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique.]

[With a thought, you stored the baby girl inside your grotto-heaven fragment.]

[The grotto-heaven fragment contained many layers of space, all isolated from each other so they wouldn't interfere.]

[The place you put the baby girl was a space measuring several hundred square meters, connected to the grotto-heaven's main Tier 5 spirit vein and brimming with abundant spiritual energy.]

[You glanced at the pale middle-aged man and the shivering midwife standing beside him.]

[Even if they hadn't noticed anything wrong at first, seeing the baby girl in your arms suddenly vanish into thin air made them realize your true identity was probably far beyond their imagination.]

["Husband, why aren't you saying anything...?"]

[A weak voice drifted from inside the house; it was the middle-aged man's wife.]

[But how could the middle-aged man dare to speak right now? He just stood there in terror.]

[You glanced inside the house, pondered for a moment, and gently waved your sleeve.]

[The woman inside let out an exclamation of surprise, then quickly ran out. "Husband, I feel like my body has completely recovered—"]

[Before she could finish, she saw you standing in the middle of the courtyard, along with the middle-aged man and the midwife.]

[You looked at the three of them before letting your gaze fall on the middle-aged man. "I have taken your child. You and your wife will live to be a hundred. You will have a house full of children and grandchildren, and endless providence will bless your family. In a few decades, you will establish a clan that will endure for centuries..."]

[With every word you spoke, the middle-aged man's predetermined fate changed by a fraction.]

[Originally, the man's fate was an omen of extreme disaster. In over a dozen years, his entire family, along with dozens of surrounding archipelagos, would vanish completely into thin air in a massive battle among Nascent Soul Stage true lords.]

[But now, with your words, his fate shifted from disaster to fortune. This was the capability of a Divination Great Grandmaster—pushing heavenly secrets and altering fate was merely a matter of a single thought.]

[The middle-aged man was just an ordinary mortal. Changing the fate of such a living being was far too easy for you, as the karmic level involved was minuscule.]

["Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Immortal Master!"]

[The middle-aged man immediately dropped to his knees, kowtowing repeatedly.]

[Although he didn't know if what you said would actually come true, in his daze, he felt that every word was real.]

["Mhm..."]

[You nodded and vanished from where you stood.]

[Above the clouds, you looked down below.]

[You had taken the baby girl, but you weren't going to leave them with nothing. However, if you directly gave the middle-aged man wealth, he might not be able to protect it. It was better to just directly alter his fate.]

["The Deep Sea..."]

[You shifted your gaze toward the edge of the Southern Sea Territory. That was the Deep Sea region. Right now, at the end of the Deep Sea, that terrifying spatial rift stretched across the void.]

[It was only because the Void Whale Master used spatial power to isolate it that it remained concealed. Otherwise, such a massive spatial rift would have long been noticed by the other Heavenly Monarchs of the Human Realm.]

[The Void Whale Clan inherited their bloodline from the true spirit Kunpeng, possessing a unique mastery over the use of space.]

["I still can't divine anything..."]

[You tried to divine matters concerning the spatial rift at the end of the Deep Sea, but you still came up with nothing.]

["If my divination arts could step into Tier 5, it would definitely be much easier..."]

[You sighed inwardly. Ever since you finished comprehending the Heavenly Cycle Book of Changes, you had seen the path ahead and always felt that you were infinitely close to Tier 5 divination.]

[However, that breakthrough opportunity had yet to appear.]

['There's no rush. I refuse to believe that with two to three thousand years of lifespan left in this simulation, a mere Tier 5 divination can stump me,' you thought to yourself. Unlike other diviners—who would simply grow old and pass away in meditation if they couldn't break through—]

[If you couldn't break through, you could just try again in the next simulation. If the next simulation failed, then there was the one after that.]

[Your mindset was completely different.]

[Year 330. You were 347 years old.]

[After bringing back that Primordial Yin Treasure Physique, you handed her over to Li Yan to raise.]

[Now, twenty years had passed, and the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique had also cultivated to the Foundation Establishment Stage.]

[At Li Yan's suggestion, you named her Li Xiu, and the two interacted as sisters.]

[Naturally, Li Yan had no resistance to this. From beginning to end, she was very clear about her position: you were her master, not her dao companion. Having an extra sister made Li Yan even happier; at the very least, she had someone to chat with normally.]

["Xiu'er..."]

[You observed the scene within the grotto-heaven fragment for a while.]

[Because of the Primordial Yin Treasure Physique, Li Xiu's temperament and appearance were both peerless. The only difference between her and Li Yan was in their cultivation levels.]

[Lacking the accumulated foundation of previous simulations, Li Xiu's cultivation speed wasn't fast, but with your support, reaching the Nascent Soul Stage shouldn't be a problem.]

[As long as she could reach the Nascent Soul Stage, you had the means to push her to the Late Nascent Soul Stage Peak, giving her at least one chance to attempt a breakthrough to Deity Transformation.]

[Year 400. You were 417 years old.]

[Deep within Heavenly Sword Peak, inside an independent secret realm.]

[With a thought, your mountain and sea power transformed into a vast ocean. No matter how Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword counterattacked, he was like a lone boat teetering on the verge of collapse beneath monstrous waves.]

["Thank you for the match."]

[You withdrew your mountain and sea magic power, smiling at Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword.]

[During the last simulation, under your Mountain and Sea Realm, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword could still fight back, tearing through space to escape.]

[But in this simulation, with the perfection of your methods and the improvement of your divine soul and will, even if Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword utilized the Heavenly Sword's foundation, he could only barely protect himself.]

[Empowered by the Heavenly Sword's foundation, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword could rival an ordinary Deity Transformation Middle Stage expert. However, facing an existence like you—whose combat strength had reached the Deity Transformation Middle Stage Peak and was nearing the Deity Transformation Late Stage—he naturally couldn't put up much of a fight.]

["Fellow Daoist's strength..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword took a deep breath. Over the past few decades, he had occasionally sparred with you so that you could test the range and power of your techniques.]

[The results naturally left Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword astonished. As a dignified Sword Cultivator Heavenly Monarch who commanded the Heavenly Sword's foundation—the strongest combatant in the past hundred thousand years of the near-ancient era—he was actually this frail before you.]

[If it weren't for the fact that you were the person designated by the Sword Lord, Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword would have suspected you were somehow connected to the Demon Abyss Realm.]

[Aside from the unfathomable Demon Abyss Realm, what else could give a Heavenly Monarch of the Human Realm such terrifying strength?]

["In the past hundred thousand years of the near-ancient era, I reckon no Heavenly Monarch could be a match for you, fellow Daoist..." Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword said with a sigh. "Even in the ancient era, there wouldn't be many Heavenly Monarchs who could defeat you. With your current strength, only a Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarch would be confident in beating you. And Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs? Even in antiquity, there weren't many of them."]

[After sparring with Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword for a while to gauge your own strength, you returned to your cave dwelling.]

[You didn't reveal to Heavenly Monarch Extreme Sword the spatial rift at the end of the Deep Sea connecting to the Demon Abyss Realm. There was no point; even if he knew, he wouldn't be able to stop it.]

["The one hundred and twelfth illusion world..."]

[You took out the Dark Chessboard. Sending your divine sense inside, you began to observe the illusion world within.]

[This layer of the illusion world had trapped you for four years, and you still hadn't been able to find a flaw.]

[Year 410. You were 427 years old.]

[You pinched your fingers to divine, looking toward the Eastern Wilderness Domain.]

['Father, Mother, Eldest Brother, Second Brother... they've all passed away...' you thought silently. In this simulation, you had guided your parents and brothers onto the path of cultivation and controlled true lords across several nearby great domains to act as their Dao protectors.]

[Yet, even with such cultivation conditions, your parents and brothers stalled at the Foundation Establishment Stage, never managing to break through to the Core Formation Stage.]

[The absolute lifespan limit for the Foundation Establishment Stage was two hundred and forty years. With the life-extending items you provided, your parents and brothers lived for over four hundred years. Just a moment ago, your last remaining relative—your second brother, Zhou Wu—died of old age.]

["The Zhou Family..."]

[You continued to divine. Although your parents and brothers were gone, the Zhou Family they left behind had expanded and grown strong. Over the centuries, Zhou Wen and Zhou Wu had fathered quite a few children, and even Zhou Shizhong and your mother, Madam Zhou, had a few more.]

[Year 420. You were 437 years old.]

[Your true body sat cross-legged in the cave dwelling, maintaining maximum cultivation efficiency, while you sent out dozens of puppets. Attaching a wisp of your divine sense to each, you walked the Human Realm through these puppet bodies.]

[These puppets varied in strength; the strongest reached Tier 4, while the weakest were only Tier 2.]

[Dividing your mind into dozens of strands, you simultaneously experienced everything each puppet saw and heard.]

[One puppet watched as two Nascent Soul-tier factions slaughtered each other. In the end, one side was defeated and its Nascent Soul patriarch fled, leaving the remaining forces to vanish completely.]

[One puppet arrived at the edge of the Northern Plains, watching a tender shoot slowly grow out from beneath the snow amid a blizzard.]

[One puppet observed an orphaned teenager who endured various fateful encounters. With his providence surging, he overcame every obstacle, stepping into the Core Formation Stage and then the Nascent Soul Stage, eventually becoming a true lord patriarch of a region.]

["Heavenly secrets and providence... they aren't static. They change every passing moment, and any minor alteration can cause a living being's providence to gather or scatter..."]

["All living beings have their own destinies, or perhaps missions. Their arrival adds a touch of color to this world..."]

[You slowly stood up, stepped out of your cave dwelling, and looked out at the world of the Human Realm.]

[At this moment, the vast web of heavenly secrets enveloping the boundless Human Realm gradually became clear before your eyes. You looked at every Sword Cultivator on Heavenly Sword Peak. With just a single glance, you could see the general trajectory of their future destinies. Branching paths lay before them, and as long as you gave a slight push, you could guide them toward whichever outcome you desired.]

["So this is Tier 5 Divination."]

[You sighed, your gaze growing deeper. Faintly, you could see an endless river displaying countless blurry images of the future.]

[In this instant, your divination arts stepped into Tier 5. You ascended to become a Tier 5 Divination Heavenly Master—the very first Divination Heavenly Master in the past hundred thousand years of the near-ancient era.]