It wasn’t just because the ancestors of the Divination Sect were more accurate in their divinations.
There was another, critically important reason: the Divination Sect’s cornerstone treasure, one of Sanqing’s sect-defining cultivation techniques.
The Qing Emperor’s Longevity Scripture!
This was a genuine, imperial-grade cultivation method. Its main focus was on prolonging life and purifying negative effects.
Cultivating this technique more than doubled one’s lifespan compared to others at the same Cultivation Level. Furthermore, any lifespan consumed by using secret arts or forbidden curses could be completely replenished.
If one could cultivate it to grand completion, even employing a mutual-destruction technique that burned thousands of years of life wouldn’t be a true end. As long as one’s life force wasn’t completely extinguished—even if only a single year remained—they could, given time, slowly regenerate all their lost longevity.
It was simply heaven-defying!
Of course, for the people of the Divination Sect, this technique had another marvelous use: it could purify the backlash from divining the secrets of heaven. Bleeding from all seven orifices or suffering a massive loss of lifespan were trivial matters before the Qing Emperor’s Longevity Scripture.
Thus, in those years, the Divination Sect could be described as wantonly arrogant, practically floating on cloud nine! They dared to divine what others wouldn’t. They could divine what others couldn’t. They divined whenever they pleased, freely spending their lifespan and welcoming any backlash!
This was the Divination Sect!
What could their competitors use to challenge the Sanqing Divination Sect? They could only survive in the Divination Sect’s shadow. It was no exaggeration to say that as long as the Sanqing Divination Sect existed, these other diviners would never have their day in the sun.
However, after that disaster, the Divination Sect’s Qing Emperor’s Longevity Scripture was lost.
The Divination Sect became pariahs, scorned by all, and rapidly weakened. Even the entire profession of heavenly divination was implicated, facing intense skepticism from Cultivators.
"Charlatans! They’re all charlatans!"
The market for their services shrank drastically. Naturally, this left those who relied on this trade for their livelihood feeling bitter and full of complaints, but they were helpless. Their only hope was for one of them to one day rise up, shatter the world’s prejudice, and build a reputation even greater than the one the Divination Sect once held. But this was clearly a pipe dream.
Although the industry was in decline, as with any trade, it was always those at the bottom who suffered the most. As the largest leading powers in the industry aside from the Divination Sect, factions like the Peeping Sky Pavilion and Destiny Tower actually saw their reputations rise considerably without the Divination Sect looming over them. So, quite a few people still relied on this trade to make a living. ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by novelꞁire.net
Of course, without the Qing Emperor’s Longevity Scripture, the more they divined, the more karma and backlash they had to bear. Things like bleeding from all seven orifices, the Three Souls Fleeing, the Celestial Five Declines, or the Collapse of Life Palace were all too common.
These types of backlash that only affected the diviner were still somewhat manageable. The most severe backlash, however, was the kind that could be inherited. One person’s backlash would bring disaster upon all their descendants!
The woman Wang Xiu had just seen was a case in point. It was unclear which divination family or power she came from. Her ancestors had divined too much, and she was forced to bear the consequences. With her Three Souls incomplete, she likely couldn’t move about freely like a normal person, and even her mind would be incredibly sluggish.
"This just goes to show you can’t rely on superstitious nonsense. It harms others and yourself," Wang Xiu sighed, shaking his head.
Just then, the prodigies from the major powers Wang Xiu had greeted and chatted with earlier surrounded them, their faces wreathed in smiles.
"Congratulations, Junior Brother Wang! Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhang!"
"For you two to become sworn brothers is truly a joyous and commendable occasion!"
"You are both men of outstanding talent, true dragons among men. Now that you are sworn brothers, your story will surely become a legend for the ages!"
Zhang Yuge was overjoyed. Clasping his hands, he said, "Thank you for your auspicious words! May the joy be shared by all!"
Wang Xiu was also quite generous, pulling out stack after stack of sandalwood. "Come, come, don’t be shy," he said, passing them out. "Try this specialty of the Divination Sect, the Ghostly Incense.
"It’s great for when you’re bored or feeling down. Light one up—the effect is incredible. You have to try it to believe it!"
"How could we possibly accept this?"
"Junior Brother Wang is far too generous!"
Everyone was overjoyed. They had just come over to offer some pleasantries and were already receiving gifts? Junior Brother Wang is too kind!
However, Zhang Yuge couldn’t watch any longer. He coughed twice and said, "Brother, this Ghostly Incense of yours is extraordinary. It would undoubtedly fetch a handsome price if you sold it in Vermilion Bird City! For you to just give it away... we can’t accept it with a clear conscience! Here, these are the Five Thunder Heavenly Talismans from my Longhu Immortal Sect. They’re incredibly powerful. Once activated, they can summon a torrent of lightning to descend, annihilating demons and exorcising evil! You take this stack for self-defense, Brother!"
With that, he directly thrust a thick stack of Talismans into Wang Xiu’s hands.
Everyone looked on, dumbstruck.
The Longhu Immortal Sect was famous for its Thunder Technique, and its thunder Talismans were equally renowned. Especially the Five Thunder Heavenly Talisman. It was divided into four grades: superior, high, middle, and low.
Even a low-grade Five Thunder Heavenly Talisman would sell for one hundred Spirit Stones in Vermilion Bird City. A single one possessed power comparable to a full-force strike from a Foundation Establishment Stage expert.
A high-grade one couldn’t be bought for less than five thousand Spirit Stones. Its power was comparable to a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul Stage expert.
And the stack Zhang Yuge had just shoved at Wang Xiu contained at least forty or fifty Talismans... all of them high-grade Five Thunder Heavenly Talismans.
Holy crap! We knew the Saint Heir of Longhu was rich, but does he have to be this extravagant?
Shen Buxing watched this scene, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets, his heart aching as if it were bleeding. That prodigal Saint Heir! What a spendthrift!
Those Talismans had been specially prepared for Zhang Yuge’s trip to the Ancient Sanctuary by several powerful experts from the Longhu Immortal Sect. They had toiled for half a month straight just to create a little over one hundred of them.
And now, before he had even set foot inside the Holy Academy, Zhang Yuge had already given away nearly half of them