Chapter 312: A Large Cart Carries, Accumulated Within, Never Fails

"Little Island has been captured, but no anomaly occurred—it seems his Jade Shattering plan failed, whether due to his own inability to make up his mind or because the enemy's strength far exceeded expectations, leaving him no chance to kill himself; this line must be abandoned."

Inside the Silla Pharmacy, the owner was exchanging information with a consulate military officer disguised as a customer; upon hearing this, the officer frowned.

"Can't you activate it directly?"

"We've already tried. Their sealing technique is extremely powerful; remotely triggering it is very difficult. The new head of the Jiujuyi Sect will soon arrive to take over his position, but before then, we still need a direction for the plan." The pharmacy owner's tone was grim; thinking of the efforts he'd made over the years, he added:

"Don't worry about the other branches. After so long, even if discovered, eradicating them would take at least one or two years. But this port city is too strategically vital—without it, even if the plan succeeds, the effect will be severely limited."

"Technical matters are your responsibility. I only need to know when the plan can be activated." The officer's reply was blunt and direct, silencing the pharmacy owner's carefully prepared explanation.

Suppressing his anger, the owner spread out a map of the port city and circled several locations. Though the officer was a novice in mysticism, his position as a consulate military officer meant he knew the local terrain well; seeing the map, he immediately understood the significance of the marked spots and frowned: "The Middle Kingdom is about to summon deities from all directions in the coming days. Won't you wait?"

"This is the only opportunity. The plan has been exposed. By the ninth day, when the Heavenly Lord's birthday arrives, local xian cultivators may use the Jade Emperor's anniversary to purge evil and dispel curses. If they succeed, all our years of work and centuries of planning will be destroyed."

The officer nodded, said nothing more, and turned to leave. Seeing this, the owner picked up a package wrapped in parchment paper from the table.

"Don't forget to take this."

"Understood." The officer took the package, hesitated, then asked:

"What's inside?"

"A yang-boosting potion."

…

"Why do we need to prepare medicine?" Feng Xue frowned as he read the summary provided by Xiao Lingdang. Xiao Lingdang replied:

"The body-cultivation techniques you obtained all mention medicinal baths and medicinal diets, but my database lacks records of this world's herbal properties. It's nearly impossible to determine specific effects from formulas and theoretical components alone—especially since the reverse-cultivation method you're studying has no precedents and requires extensive drug trials."

"Alright." Feng Xue considered this reasonable. After all, even if a weather station stored herbal knowledge, it would mostly consist of ready-made medicine usage and synthesis—deep analysis of herbal properties and mechanisms of action was out of the question, let alone accounting for this world's mystical influences on herbal combinations.

Still, he didn't go buy the herbs himself. After all, he didn't know which merchant in the city had the best herbs. Rather than visiting each one, he preferred to hire a specialist.

So…

"Feng Daoist, long time no see!" The broker cultivator, seeing Feng Xue—a major client—arrive after just two days, immediately smiled and stepped forward. Feng Xue said nothing, pulling out a list:

"I need these herbs, but I don't know where to buy them. I'd like to commission your brokerage to procure them."

"No problem." The broker cultivator glanced at the list and recognized mostly tonics for strengthening the root and nourishing the origin, with a very large quantity.

But since the client ran a clinic, the broker didn't think much of it. After all, even if the herbs were for hiding a formula, it didn't matter—he earned more the more was bought. He immediately said:

"Procuring herbs isn't simple. Our brokerage charges a ten percent transaction fee, but we guarantee authenticity. How does that sound?"

"Fine." For Feng Xue, money was no issue. He immediately signed the contract, left a sum of money, and left the brokerage. As he walked, he suddenly felt uneasy and frowned.

"Bing Tuozi has already been taken away by Bai Yi and Liu Gu. What else could threaten me? Could that goddess have followed me?"

Feng Xue thought about it and decided he was overthinking. After all, with Delis's intelligence, even if she came, there was nothing to fear.

Still, though he said that, he noted the spiritual intuition's warning in his mind. He returned home, pulled out the tortoise shell and copper coins, and began shaking them. As the coins rolled, Feng Xue said:

"Xiao Lingdang, interpret this!"

"Yes, Master. The primary hexagram is Li above Qian below—Fire over Heaven, Great Possession. Line Nine Two: 'A large cart carries, there is somewhere to go, no blame.' This indicates great gain; as long as handled carefully, there will be no major harm."

"The changing line is the second line: Li becomes Fire, favorable to remain correct, prosperous. To raise a female ox is auspicious. This means rigidity leads to breakage; you must rely on the righteous path, calm your mind, and avoid aggressive confrontation."

"The mutual hexagram is Dui and Xun intersecting, hinting at a bent beam, imminent crisis—requiring extraordinary means to break the deadlock."

After a period of growth, Xiao Lingdang's divination skills seemed to have improved, but Feng Xue didn't understand divination, so he couldn't tell whether this was genuine progress or merely because the database had grown fuller and the system just talked more.

Still, overall, it was a divine divination—better to believe at least a little.

"Great gain, rigidity leads to breakage, rely on the righteous path, avoid aggressive confrontation? That means I shouldn't rush ahead, but stay calm and rely on local forces? And what about the bent beam? Extraordinary means to break the deadlock… the only thing I can think of is sheer luck?"

Feng Xue rolled his eyes, then relaxed. Overall, the hexagram aligned with his own instincts. As for the bent beam…

Fine, he'd just use sheer luck to break the deadlock!

"By the way, there isn't constant luck here… I need to check out the port city train station—see if there are any old locomotives lying around. Damn, why doesn't this place have a train museum? Then I could just leave a 'Flying Thunder God' mark and never have to bother again."

Feng Xue muttered to himself, about to head out for the train station, when he opened the door and saw Bai Yi approaching.

"Oh? Going out?" Bai Yi greeted cheerfully. Feng Xue smiled:

"I just got back, but since I've got nothing to do, I thought I'd take a walk. Are you here to pick up the Emperor's Flow?"

"Exactly!" Bai Yi raised her hand, revealing a white rat pinched between her fingers. "This is my junior. Talented, but born at the wrong time—without opportunity, it would just perish. But isn't this perfect timing?"

(End of Chapter)