Chapter 349: Stargazing Technique

Watching Chen Mobai and Qing Nu leave the shore, Luo Hezheng mused about the joys of youth.

“The Kongqing Pavilion is this way, right?” Luo Hezheng wasn’t visiting Ju Mang Daoist Academy for the first time, but he still symbolically asked Song Yuexin, who nodded. “I’ll take you.”

Just as the two were about to head in a different direction, Luo Hezheng suddenly uttered a sound of surprise and turned his head to look in a certain direction.

“What’s wrong, Teacher Luo?” “Nothing,” Luo Hezheng shook his head, not mentioning the strange sensation of being watched.

This was a port. Upon disembarking, one could see two or three-story villas rising along the path, arranged harmoniously, as if laid out according to some formation, possessing a unique beauty that blended nature and humanity.

In one inconspicuous building, a girl wearing sunglasses sat on the windowsill, her feet dangling in the air, gazing towards the port. Behind her, on the wall, a large screen displayed the port’s view.

“It seems we’ve been discovered,” the girl with sunglasses said, turning her head. A moment later, a faint cough came from behind her.

“This is Ju Mang Daoist Academy’s surveillance. We merely borrowed the footage. Even if we are discovered, the other academies and schools won’t say anything. They’ll only assume it’s necessary vigilance for the upcoming offline competition.”

In the room, in the corner furthest from the sunlight, a man with long gray hair sat on a wooden chair, watching the screen and gently pressing buttons on a remote control. Soon, the original port view split into nine smaller frames. One of them showed a fleeting image of Chen Mobai and Qing Nu walking by.

“I heard you read his fortune once?” The gray-haired man pointed at Chen Mobai, then manipulated the surveillance cameras across Mushin Island, continuously tracking the chief student of Wuqi Daoist Academy.

“Yes, by chance. I wasn’t originally waiting for him,” the girl with sunglasses turned her head, her tone flat after seeing the screen.

“Oh, so your Divine Machine Pavilion’s Way of Karma can make mistakes?” The gray-haired man’s expression showed surprise at her words, but in his haste, he coughed twice, appearing to be unwell.

“My cultivation isn’t perfect, but it’s also possible that forming a karmic connection with him will be better than with the person I was waiting for.”

“In other words, your fate with him is stronger.” The gray-haired man was Ding Chunzhi, the previous chief student of Guanxing Academy. He had reached Foundation Establishment perfection. While his combat skills were average, his Heavenly Evolution and Fate Observation techniques were profound. It was said that no one he observed could hide their destiny from him.

“Perhaps,” the woman with sunglasses said calmly, not revealing the truth of the fortune-telling that day.

“Interesting. If you say so, I suddenly want to observe his fate.” Upon hearing this, Ding Chunzhi closed his left eye with interest. His open right eye gleamed with silvery-white starlight, and at the same time, he continuously pressed the remote control, capturing Chen Mobai on the screen.

“The people from Kunpeng Daoist Academy are here,” the girl with sunglasses suddenly announced just as Ding Chunzhi was about to observe Chen Mobai’s fate. “Well, that’s truly unfortunate,” Ding Chunzhi paused upon hearing this, then sighed, using the remote control to switch the screen to the port view.

A young man with golden curly hair and an icy expression stepped onto Mushin Island. Behind him was a handsome boy with melancholic eyes, and Taishi Shu, the current chief student of Kunpeng Daoist Academy.

“Qi Huanzhi, Nangong Xiu, Taishi Shu—all three of them possess the potential for Golden Core, and they’re all at Kunpeng Daoist Academy. Truly worthy of being the Immortal Sect’s top university,” Ding Chunzhi sighed slightly as he watched the three disembark. As Guanxing Academy’s most outstanding student in the past century, his talent merely approached theirs. Fortunately, he had mastered the Star Observation Art!

With starlight flickering in his right eye, Ding Chunzhi looked at the three on the big screen, already seeing their destinies and the ranks they would achieve in the upcoming offline competition. “For now, Nangong Xiu is third, Taishi Shu is second, and Qi Huanzhi is first.” After observing their fates, Ding Chunzhi picked up a pen and first wrote their names on a large piece of paper.

“The ones from Butian have arrived too,” the girl with sunglasses, sitting on the windowsill with her feet dangling, reminded him.

After the trio from Kunpeng Daoist Academy, Lou Fengcheng and Daoist Master Ling also arrived on Mushin Island. Ding Chunzhi, without resting, used the Star Observation Art again, glanced at the two on the screen, and then wrote their names between Qi Huanzhi and Taishi Shu. This placed Lou Fengcheng in second, and Daoist Master Ling in third. Taishi Shu dropped to fourth, and Nangong Xiu to fifth.

After consecutively observing the fates of the strong cultivators from two major academies, Ding Chunzhi took out a handkerchief from his sleeve, gently wiped the sweat from his forehead, then opened the Clear-Sight Bamboo Dew on the table and dripped two drops into his right eye. The clear, refreshing sensation made him sigh with relief. Although the Star Observation Art was powerful, it heavily consumed divine sense and spiritual energy. Furthermore, the stronger the person he observed, the greater the backlash he experienced. Fortunately, the people from the four major academies and ten great schools didn't all come at once; otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have been able to endure it. Moreover, among the ten great schools, there weren’t many truly powerful individuals; only a handful of two or three could make him feel pressure.

By mid-afternoon, Xiahou Weihuan and Sima Xingyu also disembarked. “Oh!” Ding Chunzhi exclaimed in surprise after using the Star Observation Art. “What’s wrong?” “I can’t see through Xiahou Weihuan.” Ding Chunzhi frowned slightly, then his closed left eye opened, both eyes flickering with starlight as he observed the two on the screen.

Fully deploying the Star Observation Art, he finally pierced through the hazy red mist surrounding Xiahou Weihuan and saw his destiny. “This guy truly lives up to his reputation; his ranking is actually above Qi Huanzhi’s.” Ding Chunzhi had previously seen Lan Haitian overwhelmingly defeat Xiahou Weihuan in Little Chitian and thought the latter was just famous. But after observing him closely with the Star Observation Art today, he realized it wasn’t that Xiahou Weihuan was weak, but that Lan Haitian was simply too strong. Instantly, Xiahou Weihuan became number one on his paper. Sima Xingyu, meanwhile, was ranked tenth. “No wonder Chunyang Academy dared to challenge Wuqi Daoist Academy. These two also have a high hope of forming a Golden Core. If Nangong Xuanyu forms a Nascent Soul, they can indeed contend with the weakened Wuqi Daoist Academy.”

After observing Xiahou Weihuan, Ding Chunzhi again dripped two drops of Clear-Sight Bamboo Dew. “How did she come?” the girl with sunglasses suddenly asked, her voice filled with surprise. Ding Chunzhi could only open his eyes again. He saw the beautiful woman in a long blue dress on the big screen and couldn’t help but frown. After a long moment of thought, he sighed, choosing not to use the Star Observation Art to observe her fate. Besides the immense consumption from just observing the two from Chunyang Academy, it was also because this person was simply too formidable to observe. Fortunately, her unexpected appearance was an isolated case.

Although the chief students and graduates from the ten great schools continued to arrive, none of them put any pressure on Ding Chunzhi; he saw through all of them.

By late afternoon, the white paper was nearly filled with names, densely written from top to bottom.

“Lu Qiulong has arrived.” Upon hearing the reminder, Ding Chunzhi prepared himself solemnly. Although Lu Qiulong’s cultivation was not as high as his, due to long-term fusion with his companion beast, his essence, blood, and qi were imbued with the ferocity of that beast, requiring extreme caution to avoid backlash. “Phew, not bad. He can rank tenth,” Ding Chunzhi sighed with relief after observing Lu Qiulong’s fate, writing his name above Sima Xingyu’s, which moved Sima Xingyu down to eleventh.

“That’s enough for today. It’s almost time for the academy to close. We’ll observe the remaining people tomorrow. We still have the three from Wuqi Daoist Academy, Tao Mingqing from Taiyuan Academy, and... Pei Qingshuang.” When he spoke the last name, Ding Chunzhi’s expression became unprecedentedly solemn. Although a graduate of Shanhai Academy, Pei Qingshuang, as the foremost sword cultivator at Foundation Establishment, was someone even Lan Haitian was unwilling to face directly. He wondered why she had decided to participate in this offline competition on a whim.

Just as the girl with sunglasses propped herself up on the windowsill, ready to stop dangling her feet that had swung all day, she saw a valiant woman in a dark green tight-fitting suit and a white cape approaching the shore. “Pei Qingshuang has also arrived.” Ding Chunzhi, who had just stood up to pack his things, could only sigh and open his eyes again, looking at the large screen.

A cry of pain escaped Ding Chunzhi’s lips. The girl with sunglasses, whose expression had been calm, suddenly shifted slightly. She saw Pei Qingshuang, who had just approached the port, suddenly raise her brow and look towards their location. Her figure moved swiftly; she instantly vanished from the windowsill and retreated into the room. She then came to Ding Chunzhi’s side, took the remote control, and turned off the large screen.

“This person seems to have discovered us,” the girl with sunglasses said, a hint of interest suddenly surfacing in her usually flat tone. After watching all day, someone interesting had finally arrived.

“I will never look at her again, not even once,” Ding Chunzhi released his right hand from covering his right eye. A red mark, like a sword scar, had appeared above and below his eye socket, as if someone had slashed his eyelid. “Xiahou Weihuan is also a sword cultivator, but he’s not this terrifying,” the girl with sunglasses remarked, looking curiously at the sword mark on Ding Chunzhi’s right eye. “Among sword cultivators, there are also varying levels.” After saying this, Ding Chunzhi again dripped two drops of Clear-Sight Bamboo Dew into his eye, then packed his things, preparing to leave.

“Huh, the academy is closed, so why hasn’t that guy from Wuqi Daoist Academy left the shore?” Midway through helping pack, the girl with sunglasses suddenly felt something was off. Most of the other academy and school personnel had visited Mushin Island and then left before dark, returning to the lodging islands arranged by Ju Mang Daoist Academy. However, Chen Mobai, who had arrived the earliest, was nowhere to be seen. Could he have stayed on Mushin Island overnight?

“Perhaps, like Pei Qingshuang, he has relatives living here,” Ding Chunzhi said. Pei Qingshuang’s original name was Pei Cui, and her mother was an important figure at Ju Mang Daoist Academy, so it was understandable for her to arrive before dark. But Chen Mobai, an outsider, had already been arranged a very good island villa. Why would he still stay at a small guesthouse on the island?

“Could it be that he and that Heavenly Spiritual Root really are boyfriend and girlfriend?” As a man, Ding Chunzhi thought of something and blurted it out.

“No, when I read his fortune last time, I already saw that while he has good romantic luck, his Dao heart is firm. All beautiful women combined can’t compare to a small advancement in his cultivation path. He wouldn’t indulge in female beauty at such a young age.” The girl with sunglasses, however, was very confident in her fortune-telling abilities and was certain that Chen Mobai was not that kind of person.

“Alright, I’ll observe him tomorrow.” Ding Chunzhi did not refute the words of the Divine Machine Pavilion descendant before him, but his curiosity about Chen Mobai grew.

The next day, the two of them waited at their usual spot, but still did not see Chen Mobai leave the shore.

On the third day, Ding Chunzhi finally couldn’t resist. He accessed the surveillance on Mushin Island and reviewed the footage, finally finding Chen Mobai’s whereabouts. “They went into the alchemy room and stayed for three days!?” After seeing footage of Chen Mobai and Qing Nu entering three days prior and not emerging, Ding Chunzhi and the girl with sunglasses exchanged bewildered glances.

“Alright, it’s done.” The alchemy room at Ju Mang Daoist Academy was, naturally, top-notch and fully equipped. Qing Nu wiped the sweat from her smooth forehead and handed three portions of Clear-Sight Bamboo Dew, extracted from the medicine pool, to Chen Mobai. Then, without pause, she approached a sand furnace, taking over from Chen Mobai, who had been fueling it with Pure Yang spiritual energy for three days, to begin concentrating the medicinal properties.

Chen Mobai had naturally sought out Qing Nu to help him with alchemy. Wang Xingyu was in seclusion for Foundation Establishment, and since Chen Mobai happened to be coming to Ju Mang Daoist Academy, he had already asked Luo Yixuan to collect the main and auxiliary ingredients for Clear-Sight Bamboo Dew and Camelweed Paste in advance. Among these, the Clear-Sight Bamboo Dew was easier to refine, as Qing Nu had experience with it. Camelweed, as a third-tier spiritual medicine, mostly yielded second-tier paste in the Eastern Wasteland. However, in the Immortal Sect, if the alchemist’s skill was high enough, it could be refined into a third-tier paste. Fortunately, Qing Nu had already passed her third-tier alchemist certification this year, proving her sufficient skill.

Before coming to Ju Mang Daoist Academy, Chen Mobai had already discussed with Qing Nu a medicinal formula to enhance the strength of meridians, blood, and qi. According to her requirements, he acquired another third-tier herb, Water Heart Lotus Seeds, and eighteen kinds of second-tier auxiliary herbs from the Heavenly River Realm. Fortunately, the Great Wood Ridge had abundant spiritual medicine resources, and most were available. Additionally, Luo Yixuan was diligent in her work and even made a special trip to a market outside the sect to purchase two other second-tier auxiliary herbs that the Spiritual Plant Department did not have.

For this paste, Chen Mobai spent five thousand sect contribution points and two hundred spirit stones. Besides these, some industrial auxiliary medicines from the Immortal Sect cost about thirty thousand merit points, but these were negligible compared to the main expenditure.

“You can leave the rest to me. It will take about half a month to finish refining this paste, which should be just when your offline exchange meeting concludes.” Qing Nu smiled as she sat before the sand furnace, slowly blending the various medicinal ingredients with her spiritual energy. Occasionally, she would pick up the spiritual essence brought by Chen Mobai, crush a corner into powder, sprinkle it in, and extract the elixir’s toxins.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.” Chen Mobai felt that his presence was affecting Qing Nu’s alchemy, so he nodded and, just as he had done previously in Danxia City, consciously left the alchemy room.

“He’s finally out.” Ding Chunzhi, who had a surveillance camera aimed at the alchemy room, saw Chen Mobai stretching as he exited. He closed his left eye and activated the Star Observation Art. *Whoosh!* Like a sword qi piercing the air! Then, a muffled sound of pain echoed.