Chapter 192: The Charlatan
The history of Tianji Sect spans a full millennium, with countless talented and extraordinary people emerging from its ranks, including several who became the State Preceptor.
The most famous among them was the ancestor Li Chunfeng from the Tang Dynasty, who, with nothing better to do, played divination games with Yuan Tiangang in a dark room. He is the representative Grandmaster of the Tianji Sect's history.
However, after reaching the modern era, the sect began to fade from the public eye. However, Ye Ling knew that this sect remained a colossal entity with a prestigious reputation in the Cultivation Realm.
Ye Ling had not expected his nominal cousin Ning Yushan to be a descendant of the Tianji Sect as well. This meant that his words carried a great deal of credibility.
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"Tianhao, this matter is very complicated. You must not get involved. If something were to happen to you, I really wouldn't know how to explain it to your parents," Ning Guoqiang said, his expression becoming more solemn.
This issue was now quite thorny for the high-level officials of Donghai City. The Bureau of Superpowers had dedicated all its efforts to prevent sudden incidents and to protect the lives and property of the nation and its people from threats.
Li Tianhao didn't speak, his expression turning somewhat stern, "However, as I observed the night sky, I saw a purple star rising in the east—a sign of immense good fortune amidst danger. This time, we should be able to turn the tide and ensure safety. Perhaps, it will even be beneficial for Huaxia."
Ning Guoqiang was stunned. A good turn of events? Was this guy out of his mind?
"Deterrence!" Ye Ling said lightly.
After pondering for a moment, Ning Guoqiang nodded. He understood what Li Tianhao meant; if the foreign superpower factions were to suffer a setback in Donghai City, it would undoubtedly be the best outcome for the country.
"Alright, alright, get lost. I need to rest," Ning Guoqiang sighed and waved his hand dismissively, issuing an order to leave.
The three of them nodded and, after exiting the door, sat down in Ning Yushan's car. Ye Ling turned to Li Tianhao with a smile, "So, my dear cheap cousin, I heard your Sect can not only read the stars to predict fortune and calamity but also calculate people's destinies. How about you read mine and see if I have any romantic luck coming my way?"
Ning Yushan glared, "What's there to read? Aren't the misses in your house proof enough of your romantic fortunes?"
"If my dear cousin calculates something like a doomed 'lone star of evil fate' for you, see if I don't shoot this charlatan dead!"
Li Tianhao's eyes fixed on the window, shining brightly, "Cousin, let me tell you, having many women doesn't mean you're not cursed with the 'lone star of evil fate.' If all those women died, wouldn't you be one?"
"You old charlatan, no ivory comes out of a dog's mouth. I bet it's your own wives that will die off," Ye Ling said through gritted teeth.
Li Tianhao then looked at the rearview mirror with a serious expression, "Cousin-in-law, let me tell you, I am a bachelor. I've got all the five misfortunes and three deficiencies. I am the real 'lone star of evil fate.'"
"Bullshit five misfortunes and three deficiencies. It's just that you can perceive the will of heaven, and heaven wants to punish you. If it were me, I'd dare Heaven to bestow me with those curses even if it had three thousand times the nerve!" Ye Ling boasted proudly, after all, he was someone who, at his peak, could annihilate a planet with a single finger—a mere earthly spirit would never dare to curse him with misfortune or deficiencies.
Li Tianhao merely responded with a derisive smile. He had seen those with sky-high pride, but never had he encountered someone as arrogant as this, someone who dared to mock the will of Heaven.
Suddenly, Ye Ling's expression changed, his eyes intently focused on Li Tianhao, "Are you asking for death?"
Ning Yushan was also confused, not understanding what Ye Ling meant. But before she could ask, Li Tianhao spat out a mouthful of blood from the back seat, crying out wildly, his face pale and his eyes filled with terror.
"Impossible! Who are you, exactly? Why can't I discern your destiny?" Li Tianhao said in utter fear, his face filled with shock.
The divination arts of the Tianji Sect could almost dominate the Taoist sects of Huaxia, with methods unfathomably profound and magical. The strong amongst the Tianji Sect even divined the rise and fall of dynasties.
Yet now, unable to divine even a single person's fate and having suffered backlash, had Li Tianhao not quickly withdrawn his spiritual power, he might have become an idiotic waste by now.
"If you want to die, just continue to divine my fate. Don't say it's you, even if your ancestor Li Chunfeng himself came here, and I stood still letting him set up an extraordinary formation, he still absolutely couldn't divine a trace of my fate," Ye Ling said coldly.
Who was he? Once the Nine Tribulation Immortal Emperor, he had fallen under the Phoenix Sky Tribulation and was reborn on Earth, already a person who had defied the heavens. To continue to live and grow was already a bug in the system.
You're asking a normal player to calculate a bug?
Forget it, I'm afraid he'll exhaust himself to death, and if not, he might be angered to death. He doesn't play by the rules.
"You are from the Immortal Realm!" Li Tianhao suddenly said, causing Ning Yushan to burst into laughter. Had her cousin really lost his mind?
What Immortal Realm, even Divine Realm, he usually spoke nonsense, but what he said today was even more fantastical.
Next to Li Tianhao, Ye Ling smiled coldly, "I'm considering whether to kill you to silence you!"
The murderous intent in his words was so intense that even Ning Yushan felt a chilling coldness. Li Tianhao, sitting right beside Ye Ling, could not endure the thick murderous aura.
"Hey hey! I'm your cousin, your cousin! I was just farting just now, what did you hear? You didn't hear anything, right?"
"Don't believe me? Listen again, 'poot'."
"Listen, 'poot', that's the sound of a fart, right!"
Li Tianhao hurriedly waved his hands, his face tinged with fear. What a joke, if such a monster truly wanted him dead, not to mention being the successor of the Tianji Sect, even if the Sect Leader came himself, he probably couldn't survive, right?
"Ye Ling! What... what's gotten into you?" Ning Yushan swallowed, sensing something was amiss.
Ye Ling took a deep breath and shook his head, "Let's stop, and I'll tell you some things."
Ning Yushan stopped the car, and Ye Ling pointed at Li Tianhao, "Your cousin's right, I indeed am a cultivator, even could be called an Immortal Cultivator."
"Although my current realm is still low, I'm already like those mythological beings from ancient times, nearly matching their methods."
"Shen Yuexin and the others are also about to step into the realm of True Cultivators. The day after I left the coffee shop, all my women underwent marrow cleansing, and in no time, they too will become True Cultivators."
"The reason he failed to divine my fate just now was because it was obstructed by his own spiritual power, and then he suffered backlash. Had he been slower, he would have already turned into an idiot, with his entire brain crushed."
Ning Yushan was incredibly shocked, offering an awkward smile; this was simply a joke, how could someone truly be a cultivator?
"You are a true Immortal, but one who defies fate. Don't deny it, my divinations never err!" Li Tianhao said gravely.
Yet, Ye Ling just sneered, "It seems you really want me to slaughter you, eh!"