Chapter 2176: 断死言生

He looked up, surprised to see that the figure rushing in resembled the patrolling Yakshas he had encountered when he first met Shang Hongyu, though different in color, and significantly smaller and weaker.

"What happened?" Zu An asked in a low voice. With so little information, he decided to observe first.

The Yaksha quickly replied, "When I was patrolling the river, I overheard two fishermen talking. Their words were quite serious as they parted ways. One fisherman said: 'In Chang'an City, on West Gate Street, there's a fortune-teller who gives the most accurate predictions. Every day, I give him a golden carp, and he gives me a secret lesson in return, teaching me to catch fish with perfect success. If his predictions are that accurate, wouldn't all the water creatures be caught? How then could the Water Mansion be grand? How could we leap over waves and assist the Great King's power?'"

Upon hearing this, Zu An felt a surge of inexplicable anger. He was startled; why were his emotions so unstable?

He then realized he was currently inhabiting the body of the Jing River Dragon King. It must be that the Dragon King, typically arrogant, was enraged by these mortals daring to challenge him right at his doorstep.

The saying goes, "A carp leaping over the Dragon Gate," and a golden carp is considered a noble descendant of dragons among aquatic creatures. For one to be taken by a mortal and stewed for soup—how could this be tolerated?

However, Zu An was not the true Dragon King, so he quickly calmed down. He pondered how to resolve the situation within this time slice, wondering if this incident was the key.

At that moment, several dragon descendants nearby erupted in anger, "This is outrageous! Let us take our swords and bring back that fortune-teller's head!"

Zu An stated firmly, "I'll go myself."

Information and intelligence were what he lacked most; he couldn't rely on others.

Hearing his words, the aquatic ministers all began to dissuade him: "Your Majesty, please calm your anger. As the saying goes, 'words heard are not necessarily to be believed.' Should Your Majesty go, clouds will follow, and rain will aid you, likely alarming the common people of Chang'an and incurring heavenly censure. Your Majesty's presence is unpredictable, and your transformations boundless. Perhaps you could transform into a scholar and visit Chang'an City to investigate. If such a person truly exists, it would not be too late to punish them; but if not, would it not be a baseless harm to others?"

Memories surfaced in Zu An's mind, and he recognized the speakers: the Shrimp Minister, the Crab Scholar, Military Advisor Shad, Vice Minister Mandarin Fish, and Grand Secretary Carp. He couldn't help but chuckle silently; they were all freshwater creatures, quite different from those in the Sea Dragon Palace.

"What you, my esteemed ministers, say is quite right," Zu An replied. He had never intended to launch a punitive expedition; he merely wanted to investigate the situation and see if he could find a way to break through this time slice. Since they had misunderstood his intention as taking up a sword to punish, he simply went along with their words.

Hearing his "change" of mind, the ministers collectively breathed a sigh of relief and escorted him all the way to the shore.

Along the way, Zu An subtly inquired about the Dragon Palace. He found that compared to the complex structure of the Sea Dragon Palace, this one was much smaller in both its court organization and scale. The individuals he had just met were essentially all the important figures of the Jing River Dragon Palace.

Among them were several of the Jing River Dragon King's sons, all profligate scoundrels who bullied men and women. One of them even abused his wife daily, causing her to run away from home.

"They're all scum," Zu An sneered inwardly. If he hadn't known these events had already occurred, and if finding a way to break the current situation wasn't more important, he would have likely taught those sons a good lesson.

Throughout his journey, he hadn't noticed any particularly significant anomalies. After landing ashore, Military Advisor Shad reminded him, "Your Majesty's bearing is extraordinary. If you do not transform, you might cause undue commotion in the city."

Zu An nodded. He had initially thought of using his disguise mask, but then a thought struck him: this body seemed to possess the ability to transform.

With a thought, he transformed, donning an jade-colored silk robe and a relaxed scholar's cap, becoming a handsome, elegant scholar.

At this, the assembled ministers praised him, "Truly, he possesses a magnificent demeanor, towering like a mountain, with a dignified gait—a remarkably grand man of the world!"

Zu An thought to himself, no wonder everyone pursued power; being constantly praised in various ways by these subordinates truly felt good.

However, he quickly reined in his thoughts, beginning to ponder how truly miraculous the Jing River Dragon King's transformation ability was, even somewhat resembling that of the Lord of Myriad Transformations.

In comparison, his own "Thousand Faces" technique seemed like a bankrupt version.

Bidding farewell to the ministers, he walked towards the distant, majestic city. At his pace, he quickly arrived at the city gates.

Gazing at the large characters "Chang'an City" above the city gate, Zu An felt a sense of daze.

Having just conversed with the aquatic ministers along the way, there was indeed nothing noteworthy about the Dragon Palace itself. However, the situation of the human race ashore was quite intriguing.

This was Chang'an, the imperial capital of the human empire, and the human emperor was referred to as the Tang Emperor.

Zu An had initially wanted to ask the Tang Emperor's actual name to see if it corresponded to the Tang Dynasty he remembered from before his transmigration.

Unfortunately, the aquatic ministers were all rather dull-witted; they only knew him as the Tang Emperor and were unaware of his specific name.

"This couldn't be a secret realm, could it..." Zu An's mind stirred. Indeed, he had experienced several secret realms over the years, each typically related to dynasties from his previous life's history. Of course, usually only the names were similar; they were mostly magically altered versions of dynasties, where powerful beings could move mountains and fill seas, far more formidable than the historical dynasties he remembered.

Zu An did not head directly towards the fortune-teller's location. Instead, he first wandered around the city.

Anyone who had played RPG games knew that more exploration led to more information or triggered side quests, which significantly boosted a protagonist's growth compared to simply blindly clicking "next."

Based on the information he had gathered, he could fully anticipate that his appearance at the fortune-teller's place would undoubtedly trigger the main storyline. At that point, it would be difficult to make any changes in a state of confusion.

After some wandering, Zu An became somewhat perplexed. The common people in Chang'an City seemed to be ordinary individuals; he didn't even see many cultivators.

Could this really be the Tang Dynasty he remembered?

His inquiries along the way were not without some reward. After asking around, he learned that the current Tang Emperor was Li Shimin, and it had been several years since the Xuanwu Gate Incident. Everyone highly praised the reigning emperor as a good ruler.

As he wandered, he arrived at the location of the imperial palace. He had initially thought of going in to converse with Li Shimin, but suddenly his gaze sharpened.

Ordinary people couldn't see it, but in his vision, the entire imperial palace was protected by the luck of the Heavenly Dao. For an existence like him, entering without detection was simply impossible.

He looked up at the sky, thinking, "Is this the true meaning of an Emperor — to receive the recognition and protection of the Heavenly Dao?"

The aquatic ministers had previously mentioned terms like the Heavenly Court. It seemed that the Heavenly Court indeed existed in this world.

His expression turned solemn at this thought. If the Heavenly Court existed, there would be countless immortals there, and he, as the Jing River Dragon King, would not even rank among them.

He had initially thought this was just a world of ordinary people, believing his combat power would allow him to casually solo anything.

Now, it seemed this world was far more powerful than he had imagined!

He did not force his way into the imperial palace. Having gathered enough information for now, he turned and walked towards West Gate Street in Chang'an, where the Yaksha had mentioned the fortune-teller was located.

As he walked, he began to ponder: the Tang Dynasty, and now heavenly immortals... Could this be *that* world?

A wry smile appeared on Zu An's face as he considered that possibility. Although he was strong now, it was only in comparison to human cultivators. If it really was *that* world, there would simply be too many powerful figures.

Just then, a noisy clamor suddenly erupted not far away.

He saw a crowd gathered there, as if watching some excitement. From within, loud discussions periodically emerged: "Those born under the Dragon sign are in their natal year, but those under the Tiger sign are in conflict. Though the signs of Yin, Chen, Si, and Hai are said to be compatible, the real fear is when the day clashes with the year's ruler."

Hearing this, Zu An knew it was the fortune-teller.

He stepped forward. Although people were packed tightly in front, with his cultivation, an invisible aura spread out, easily parting the crowd to let him through. He found they were gathered at the entrance of a residence.

Seeing his extraordinary demeanor, the doorman dared not neglect him and promptly led him inside.

Inside, the four walls were adorned with pearls and precious stones, and the hall was filled with splendid embroidery. A duck-shaped incense burner diffused a unique sandalwood fragrance throughout the room, and several decorative porcelain vases looked quite elegant.

Several paintings hung on the side walls. Although Zu An was not an art connoisseur, he could still discern their extraordinary quality. The landscapes depicted were ancient and profound, seemingly imbued with touches of Zen.

He noticed the signature read "Mojie Jushi" and wondered if these were paintings by Wang Wei.

He had studied his poetry in a language class in his previous life and remembered the name.

Directly above the main seat hung another painting, depicting an old man. According to the accompanying text, it seemed to be Guiguzi, a recluse in history who excelled in the arts of diplomacy and strategy, and was the teacher of Zhang Yi and Su Qin. Additionally, he was rumored to possess immortal cultivation techniques, making him exceptionally mysterious in Chinese history.

Zu An's gaze quickly swept across the room. Several couplets hung on the pillars, inscribed with:

"Mastery of Six Yao, profound knowledge of Eight Trigrams."

"Capable of comprehending heavenly principles and earthly patterns, adept at discerning the minds of ghosts and spirits."

"Future affairs, past events, seen as clearly as a moonlit mirror; families rising, families falling, judged with divine clarity."

"Knowing ill fortune, determining good luck; predicting death, speaking of life."

"Swift as wind and rain in speech, astonishing ghosts and gods with the brush."

Upon seeing these couplets, a surge of uncontrolled fury welled up within Zu An's current body. This mortal had such immense arrogance!

Not to mention the original Jing River Dragon King, even Zu An himself felt this fellow was far too arrogant upon reading these couplets.

And why did this setup look so much like that of a charlatan?

A fortune-teller sat in the central position. On the table were a Duanxi inkstone, golden smoky ink, and a large, white-bristled brush. The man himself had an unusual appearance and a refined demeanor, even possessing a touch of immortal elegance.

A signboard nearby displayed his name: "Divine Diviner Yuan Shoucheng."

"Yuan Shoucheng?" Zu An frowned slightly. He had no recollection of that name. The only diviner with the surname Yuan he knew from the Tang Dynasty was Yuan Tiangang, a figure shrouded in mystery and legends.