They started at the foot of the mountain, taking a route that had already been planned out in advance by the sect. Everything that the Blood Stream Sect was able to see had been specially arranged by the Spirit Stream Sect for certain reasons.
Even the disciples who they encountered along the way had been placed there by special arrangement.
Bai Xiaochun looked around at Fragrant Cloud Peak, at all the plants and trees, at Zhou Xinqi as she led them along, and sighed inwardly.
“I, Bai Xiaochun, really have become too famous. Everybody has heard about me. Even Song Junwan came from far, far away just to meet me. Ai. I really need to keep a lower profile. Being famous is really annoying.”
He sighed the whole way. Eventually, about halfway through the tour, Song Junwan frowned slightly and said, “Peak Lord Xu, Fellow Daoist Zhou, since Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment expert Bai Xiaochun started out on Fragrant Cloud Peak, do you think it would possible for us to take a look at his old immortal’s cave?”
Zhou Xinqi frowned and looked at Xu Meixiang. Xu Meixiang’s eyes glittered, and she returned Song Junwan’s gaze with a smile.
“I’ve heard of someone from Middle Peak in the Blood Stream Sect,” she said, “someone called Master God-Diviner, an expert in consulting the heavens. Considering the excellent reputation of this Fellow Daoist, what do you say we let him perform some divinations to locate the immortal’s cave of my Junior Brother Bai?”
Xu Meixiang looked over at Master God-Diviner.
Master God-Diviner’s expression was cold and aloof, and inwardly he was feeling very proud of himself.
Song Junwan’s eyes narrowed slightly, but after some thought she turned to Master God-Diviner and nodded.
Master God-Diviner cleared his throat, reminding himself that this was his chance to shine, and that he had to take advantage of it. He had to show off his abilities to the fullest extent.
“I might not have powerful combat magic, but when it comes to divining things from the heavens, I’m the best there is, and nobody even dares to call themselves second in line to me!” Glancing contemptuously over at Bai Xiaochun, Master God-Diviner took a few steps forward. As everyone from both the Spirit Stream Sect and the Blood Stream Sect looked on, he lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture.
At the same time, his eyes seemed to flicker with the shining light of augury. Muttering to himself, his hand flashed faster and faster, and images seemed to be flickering through his eyes. But then a mist seemed to cover his eyes, making it impossible for him to see clearly.
“So, it’s protected by a spell formation!” Master God-Diviner said, chuckling coldly. Apparently he was prepared for this. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a gray chunk of bone that radiated the power of Time. Pressing down hard onto the piece of bone, he performed more auguries.
Gray wisps of smoke rose up from the bone, which Master God-Diviner breathed in. Off to the side, Xu Meixiang and everyone else was watching with bated breath.
Master God-Diviner’s face slowly turned very pale, and beads of sweat popped out on his forehead. Moments later, his eyes opened wide; to his surprise, none of his efforts so far had produced any results. Not even his ancient chunk of bone was capable of penetrating the Spirit Stream Sect’s terrifyingly powerful spell formation. It was so strong that it resisted all intrusive augury magics.
In fact, he could tell that if he performed any further auguries, he would be hit with a backlash that would severely drain him mentally, and potentially even wither him to the point of death. Not daring to continue any further, he gave up. Eyes flashing, he looked over at Bai Xiaochun, who seemed to be enjoying the show.
Killing intent rose up inside of Master God-Diviner. Stepping back, he turned to Song Junwan and clasped hands formally. “Along the way here, Junior Brother Nighcrypt said that he knows everything about the starry sky and the Yellow Springs. He said that he could wave his sleeve and figure out everything there is to know. Although I, Master God-Diviner, cannot determine the location of Bai Xiaochun’s immortal’s cave here on Fragrant Cloud Peak, perhaps Junior Brother Nighcrypt can divine its location. With his immortal divination magic, he will surely be able to succeed with little effort. Isn’t that right, Junior Brother Nightcrypt?”
With that, he stared coldly at Bai Xiaochun.
Bai Xiaochun was a bit taken aback. He had merely been enjoying the show, and had never imagined that the shameless Master God-Diviner would pull him into the matter after his own failure. Master God-Diviner’s pale, sweaty face made it clear how difficult, and even dangerous, it would be to perform auguries here.
Xu Meixiang looked over curiously at Bai Xiaochun. Zhou Xinqi’s gaze was ice cold, and the others from the Spirit Stream Sect had very serious looks on their faces. As for the group from the Blood Stream Sect, all of them seemed very interested in what would happen next.
Song Junwan frowned, and was about to say something when Master God-Diviner laughed coldly and said, “Junior Brother Nighcrypt, on the way here you said you knew everything about everything. What’s wrong? Too scared to perform auguries now? Could it be that everything you said before was mere boasting? If you can divine the location of Bai Xiaochun’s immortal’s cave, then I, Master God-Diviner, will gracefully concede defeat. In fact, I’ll even bow to you as an inferior!”
In response to Master God-Diviner’s words, silence reigned.
The Spirit Stream Sect seemed pleased to see the infighting between members of the Blood Stream Sect, especially between two famous individuals like Nightcrypt and Master God-Diviner. As far as they were concerned, it was a good thing.
On the Blood Stream Sect side, they were just as willing to see Nightcrypt make a fool of himself. That was especially true considering how Master God-Diviner had worded things, which ensured that none of them would say a single word to intervene.
Song Junwan’s eyes narrowed further. She was not happy at all about what Master God-Diviner was doing, and it caused her eyes to shine with cold light.
Seeing everyone looking at him, Bai Xiaochun blinked. How could he not know the location of his own immortal’s cave? Furthermore, it wouldn’t hurt at all to take everyone over to see it; there was nothing inside to look at anyway, considering it had long since been reduced to ruins.
Therefore, he proudly stuck his chin up and looked contemptuously over at Master God-Diviner. Clearing his throat, he took a few steps forward and coolly said, “Fine. I, Nightcrypt, have always preferred to keep a low profile. I was never interested in revealing my true skills and abilities here in the Spirit Stream Sect. After all, once I do, it will surely lead to countless headaches.
“However, since Master God-Diviner is taking things so seriously, then I guess I have no choice than to perform some divination!” Waving his sleeve, his eyes began to show with a profound light, and he seemed to seethe with explosive energy.
His hair suddenly whipped about in the air, but instead of performing incantation gestures or muttering to himself, he simply closed his eyes and raised his hands into the air. It almost seemed as if he were communing with heaven and earth, becoming one with the world around him.
The sight caused Master God-Diviner to chuckle coldly under the belief that Bai Xiaochun was simply trying to dazzle everyone with meaningless tricks.
“I couldn’t detect even the slightest fluctuations,” he thought. “What makes you think you can divine anything?!”
One breath of time after another passed. After about twenty, Master God-Diviner’s smile grew even colder, and the surrounding cultivators were starting to feel a bit skeptical. But then, Bai Xiaochun’s eyes snapped open, and they shone with bright, mysterious light. Without any hesitation, he pointed off into the distance. “There! Follow me!”