Chapter 300 Discussion at the Foot of the Mountain
Supernatural powers cannot overcome destiny...
Perhaps I should focus on how to refuse the divination master's political advances, but as he uttered those six words with apparent sincerity, I inexplicably recalled the unverified history told by the old man of Guyue Village.
A century ago, there was a deity who possessed the great supernatural power to change the world.
However, faced with a world plunged into war and suffering, for some unknown reason, he was unable to intervene and could only silently watch countless tragic events unfold.
Finally, disheartened, he chose to live in seclusion in the mountains with other refugees fleeing the war.
As Gu Yue Shen said, the deities in this story are merely fictional characters created by Yin Yue during her alteration of history. Such a person may not exist in reality. However, even if this deity doesn't exist in reality, there might be figures whose prototypes exist.
Could this prototype be the divination master? I couldn't help but have this thought.
The Diviner Master is a proponent of transcendentalism, but judging from his tone, he doesn't seem to intend to turn mortals into slaves or even waste materials. Besides, would such an evil person really produce a disciple like Dongche?
“You don’t need to be so quick to reject me,” the fortune teller said. “Unlike those ‘gods’ like Mingzhuo and the Wheel King who only treat mortals as resources, perhaps after you get to know me, you will find that I am a better choice for mortals than so-called worldly governance or other forms of transcendence.”
"Perhaps," I said noncommittally.
"You seem quite uninterested. Don't worry, I don't intend to waste my breath trying to sell myself to you here. Besides, you'll have a life-or-death conflict with Silvermoon later, and the outcome is still uncertain. I'll tell you more after you return victorious," he said. "And if Silvermoon survives, I'll use the plan I originally intended to tell you on her."
"Even you can't predict who will win or lose?" I asked back.
“When it comes to those who possess the power of the Great Impermanence, even I cannot see the future very clearly. Moreover, in this world that is now entering chaos, predicting the future is becoming increasingly difficult.” He shook his head. “Let’s leave it at that for now. It’s time for me to say goodbye.”
"As a token of my gratitude for saving my foolish disciple, let me tell you another piece of information. You want to find Xuanwu to obtain elixirs, but you're worried because you don't know his exact location in Moonshadow Mountain City, right? As long as you go to this location, you can find him first."
After saying that, he gave me a specific address and told me exactly what time to go there so that I could meet the Water Master Xuanwu.
I immediately wrote it down, thanked him again, and was about to say goodbye and leave. But just as I turned around, I saw the fortune teller still standing there motionless, watching me.
“I have a simple prophecy about your future. Would you like to hear it?” he asked.
"Didn't you say you couldn't see my future clearly?" I asked.
“I said ‘it’s not very clear,’ so I can still make out some things. That’s why I can tell you the location of Xuanwu directly,” he said. “However, the future I can see for you is still a possibility that is not yet certain. You can take it as a reference.”
Since it's uncertain, listening or not seems irrelevant. With that in mind, I decided to prioritize satisfying my curiosity. Speaking of fortune tellers, they are the ultimate experts in divination and prophecy; how could I possibly miss the "asking about the future" part when encountering such a person?
"Please enlighten me," I said.
The divination master nodded first, then said, "You have two important purposes for this trip to Moon Hidden Mountain. One is to save your friend's soul, and the other is to obtain a miraculous elixir for that girl."
"And even if you eventually succeed, you can only get one of them at most. Either your friend's soul or the magic pill. Once you get one, you are destined to lose the other."
"As for which side will suffer the defeat, I won't be able to see that part. If we have the chance to meet again next time, you can let me know."
This can hardly be considered an auspicious prophecy.
I don't regret asking the fortune teller about the prophecy. Whether I asked or not, the future was already there; I just knew it in advance. To hold the prophet accountable for this would be a misunderstanding. Rather, now that I know it in advance, perhaps I can make changes to the future.
"Is your prophecy something that, once made, can never be broken?" I asked.
"My predictions are rarely broken," the fortune teller said with a slight smile.
This was truly goodbye. The Divination Master spread his wings, flapped them gently, and his body faded and disappeared from the spot. No one knew where he went. Since he said he was there to curb Silver Moon's Heavenly Manifestation, he would probably stay in the Moon Hidden Mountain area for a while.
To call it a containment measure would likely only limit the possibility of Silver Moon using the power of the Heavenly Law to kill innocent people. The mist still lingers around Moonshadow Mountain, and the network signal blocking will not disappear anytime soon.
It was clear that he had a higher opinion of my future than Silvermoon, but he still didn't choose to side with me in this incident. Even if I were to clash with Silvermoon, he would only adopt a "let's see who survives" attitude. The normal approach would probably be to give me more substantial help first and do me a big favor, but he insisted on remaining a bystander and not intervening in the situation.
He used the phrase "the shattering of destiny" to refer to the disappearance of the divine seal's power, but perhaps deep down he still held a sense of awe for some true destiny. He may have believed that only those who survived were truly on the side of destiny; conversely, no matter how great their potential, once they went against destiny, they were no longer worth cooperating with or winning over.
If this were the thinking of an ordinary person, it could only be called superstition. But the thought that it might be the practice of the Great Impermanence (a concept in Chinese mythology) inevitably makes one wonder if there really is such a thing as destiny.
I first went down the mountain, and then sent a signal to Ma Zao that the danger had passed via thermal energy signals.
Ma Zao used spatial teleportation to return to my side.
I recounted my conversation with the fortune teller to her. After listening, she was silent for a moment, then muttered to herself, "Fate... prophecy..."
"What's on your mind?" I asked curiously.
“…I’ve thought of the doomsday prophecy.” She said thoughtfully, “Isn’t there an unexplained doomsday prophecy circulating in Luoshan? It says that the increasingly active strange creatures in the world are a sign of the end times. In ten years at most, all living things and strange creatures will be destroyed in the great calamity, and even all matter will disappear, and the world will return to nothingness…”
"Anyone capable of predicting the end of the world must be a very high-ranking diviner, so I'm wondering... could the person who predicted the end of the world be a divination master?"
After thinking for a moment, I said, "...maybe."
Despite saying that, I actually have some doubts that the one who predicted the end of the world was not a fortune teller.
Even the Lord of the Divine Seal, who claims to know most things in this world, cannot recount information related to the apocalypse. Although he claims this is because he is still in a slumber akin to death, it is enough to illustrate the unpredictability of apocalyptic information. And judging from his past performance, the Lord of the Divine Seal may even be a being surpassed by the Great Impermanence.
So, as a diviner of great impermanence, does he really have the ability to make such profound predictions about the end times?
But if the prophet isn't a diviner, I really can't imagine who else is qualified to make doomsday prophecies.
Or is it that Luo Shan's doomsday prophecy just happened to be a lucky guess at the real doomsday, and its essence is no different from the countless false doomsday prophecies that have appeared in history?
“If I have the chance next time… I would like to meet the fortune teller.” Asahi said thoughtfully.
"If there's a chance," I said.
We returned to Moonshadow Mountain City.
I checked the time; twelve hours had passed since the night we went up the mountain, and it was now the morning of the next day. Moonshadow Mountain City was in complete chaos.
A little inquiry reveals that the thin fog created by the Silver Moon's Celestial Manifestation not only blocks electronic communication between the Moonshadow Mountain area and the outside world, but also prohibits normal physical transportation. People attempting to drive to the outskirts of Moonshadow Mountain City will unknowingly return to their starting point, not to mention those trying to leave on foot.
Even using trains, one cannot leave Tsukikage Castle. The trains, seemingly just following the tracks, always arrive at Tsukikage Castle Station, no matter where they go. Spacetime here is distorted in ways humans cannot comprehend.
This bizarre phenomenon, defying common sense, couldn't be hidden from everyone. People either witnessed it directly or became aware of its unusual nature through relayed messages. Wherever you went, you saw crowds reacting in various ways. Some were fearful, some excited, and others seemed lost, as if their faith had been shattered. The streets and alleys were abuzz with discussion.
With an hour to go before the Water Master Xuanwu arrived at the location designated by the Divination Master, we first went to the restaurant we'd visited before for a meal. This time, the restaurant was quite busy, filled with lively chatter, while the owner and staff diligently served customers. Both of them looked bewildered; it seemed less like they were working diligently and more like they were trying to rediscover their inner balance through the routine of business.
"What they said in the news last time was all true; supernatural phenomena really exist!"
"Does that mean heaven and hell also exist?"
"How many things is the country still hiding...?"
The voices of discussion rose and fell.
(End of this chapter)
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