Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

That night.

Zhu Wuyao sat cross-legged on the bed, placing the bamboo slips flat on his knees.

She's going to see tonight what's so special about this "Sky-Gazing Technique" that's supposedly unparalleled.

According to the manual, being able to introspect and guide spiritual energy through the meridians of the whole body is considered to have entered the Qi Refining stage.

"Deceiving Heaven and Concealing Fate... Wandering in the Void..."

Zhu Wuyao frowned, staring intently at the four characters "deceive heaven and conceal fate," but couldn't grasp their meaning.

She stopped thinking about these profound things and instead tried to sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, attempting to capture the subtle fluctuations of that energy.

Calm mind... peaceful intention...

Keep your mind focused...

Zzz…

The next day, Zhu Wuyao stretched and opened his eyes.

I slept really well last night, but I wasn't lying down very comfortably.

Thinking this, she reached behind her waist to see what was hurting her.

Holding the bamboo slip in his hand, Zhu Wuyao finally remembered the matter of the cultivation technique.

She knew her foundation was weak, but she never knew her sleep quality was so good.

This... sigh!

Zhu Wuyao lay back down on the bed, covering her face with her sleeve, wanting to lie quietly for a while. She had fallen asleep peacefully yesterday, and she hadn't sensed a single fluctuation of spiritual energy.

Is it possible that someone with mixed spiritual roots of the five elements has such poor natural talent?

She reached up and rubbed her temples, thinking of the novels she had read in her previous life.

Perhaps she's following the "mortal cultivation" path? The kind where she doesn't have much talent in the early stages, but manages to have the last laugh?

No, no, even if she were truly a mortal, she should have some magical artifacts or cheat codes, but right now, she doesn't even have money, let alone cheat codes.

Zhu Wuyao thought about it seriously for a while and thought of Shen Anzhi, who could be considered a cheat code.

She jumped out of bed, went to Shen Anzhi's door, and knocked.

A moment later, the door opened, and Shen Anzhi, still with his gentle demeanor, bowed and smiled:

"Miss, you look great today. It seems you had a good rest yesterday."

...Zhu Wuyao gave him a thumbs up in her heart; he really knew how to chat.

However, when they meet face to face, she will still politely address him as "Brother Shen".

"Brother Shen, last night I tried to cultivate the art of observing the heavens, but I couldn't get the hang of it. How can I sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?"

Shen Anzhi said with a hint of admonition, "Miss Zhu, we cultivators should be diligent. You must have tried once last night but failed to grasp the essence, so you gave up."

Zhu Wuyao had a bit of a headache.

Having spent time with him over the years, she knew Shen Anzhi's Taoist magic, the wonder of which was especially evident in his eyes. However, he would deliberately seal them to prevent himself from seeing the fates of others.

For this reason, Shen Anzhi always seemed to have poor eyesight; anything within a meter of him would become blurry beyond that distance.

She rubbed her forehead and said, "Brother Shen, I tried many times yesterday, and the last time I even fell asleep, but I couldn't detect the slightest fluctuation of spiritual energy."

"Is this normal? Brother Shen, how many times did you try to guide your Qi into your body back then?"

Shen Anzhi fell silent.

Looking at Miss Zhu, who was waiting for his answer, he cruelly spoke, saying:

"Perhaps it's because the cultivation method I practice is more compatible with me, making it easier to draw qi into my body."

Although he spoke cryptically, how could Zhu Wuyao not understand the implied meaning?

Shen Anzhi was actually a genius who directly entered the Qi Refining stage on his first attempt at cultivation.

The world's vicissitudes unfolded mercilessly before her.

The two had arrived at the front hall. At Shen Anzhi's suggestion, Zhu Wuyao sat cross-legged in front of him and reenacted yesterday's events.

After waiting for half an hour, Shen Anzhi asked hesitantly:

"Miss Zhu, you still don't feel anything?"

His tone also carried a hint of a genius's incomprehension of underachievers.

Zhu Wuyao paused for a moment, then replied, "I feel a little sleepy again..."

She slowly opened her eyes and sighed.

"Brother Shen, what exactly is this spiritual energy of heaven and earth like?"

Upon hearing this question, Shen Anzhi finally found a way to help.

"Different people have different understandings. For example, in my eyes, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth is a mist of varying thickness, permeating the world and omnipresent. As long as you are in it, you can feel it."

"In Junior Sister Ye's words, spiritual energy is like rippling waves, full of endless changes, swirling around the body."

Zhu Wuyao nodded.

Then, he let out another long sigh.

Ye Xiaozhou, who tricked her, is also so talented. When will she have the strength to take revenge?

Forget about that, she can't even grasp the most basic technique of guiding qi into the body.

She tried several more times, but all ended in failure.

Shen Anzhi, standing to the side, was also helpless and couldn't help at all. Seeing Zhu Wuyao's frustrated expression, he spoke up:

"Miss Zhu, let me tell your fortune."

Seeing Zhu Wuyao nod, he removed the seal from his eyes and intently gazed at Zhu Wuyao's Qi Refining stage fortune. After a long while, he slowly spoke:

“Miss Zhu, you may be a natural-born fortune teller. Even your opportunity to reach the Qi Refining stage is related to fortune telling.”

Zhu Wuyao suddenly looked up.

Looking at Shen Anzhi's unfocused eyes again, she fell silent.

Shen Anzhi was never good at reading people's expressions, but this time he guessed very accurately:

"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Zhu hasn't gone to have her fortune told these past two days not only because she's been too busy."

"Because of that child?"

Zhu Wuyao lowered her head, and after a long while, she finally responded.

Shen Anzhi sighed deeply, seemingly quite moved, and earnestly advised:

“Miss Zhu, the words ‘fate’ and ‘fortune’ are mysterious and unpredictable; it’s not your fault.”

Although the child's death was inevitable, Zhu Wuyao always remembered those clear eyes and the expectation in the eyes of the child's parents.

Every time Zhu Wuyao thinks about this incident, he finds it absurd.

Because of these three or four coins, the child owed her a debt of gratitude and was destined to die prematurely, so as to fulfill her reputation as a "divine fortune teller".

That would be such a pointless way to practice divination.

Shen Anzhi wanted to say something more, but then he saw Zhu Wuyao raise her head, look at him, and ask in return:

Where is Brother Shen?

"Ok?"

"Brother Shen, you're a diviner, have you seen many things like this?"

"Oh...it's alright."

Zhu Wuyao sighed softly, seemingly both relieved and helpless, and said:

Even Brother Shen, who had seen countless life and death, could only sigh in front of the fortune-telling stall.

"I wonder how many times one must witness the malice of fate after becoming a divination practitioner before someone like Brother Shen can remain silent and dare not interfere too much when faced with the suffering of a family."

Shen Anzhi is not a cold-hearted person.

But at the fortune-telling stall, he seemed unusually silent.

It seems that they have already witnessed such absurd coincidences and experienced too many things they are powerless to change.

As a result, Shen Anzhi is now extremely cautious when it comes to the concepts of fate and destiny, and is no longer willing to interfere too much in the life and death of others.