Chapter 458: Divination

In the instant Li Huowang turned his head, his skull transformed into the Red Middle tile of blood-and-flesh mahjong: "Does this young man know us?"

"Fascinating." Su Lin gazed at Zhang Heng, his ink-black eyes fixed firmly on the man, smiling:

"We've heard of such things—information leaking into other worlds, similar to our past experience in the Jin Yong and Gu Long Wu Xia instances."

Han Li produced several magical artifacts and stepped back behind the group, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun.

Chu Lingyun, who had been using Mind-Reading to listen to Zhang Heng's thoughts, found the voices emanating from him suddenly became crystal clear.

'Dead for sure. Maybe I won't even get to die.'

'I've been parasitized?! I must already be parasitized by him!'

In an instant, a flood of chaotic thoughts surged forth—Great Love Immortal Venerable, Sect of Forgetting, Time Angel Parasitism, Team Annihilation Engine, Wild Heaven Emperor, Demon Master Han Guang—she gleaned fragments of information as Zhang Heng lowered his guard and his mind grew disordered.

At that moment, her breath halted; her previously healthy complexion turned instantly pale, and she could only turn her pleading gaze toward Shi Hao.

"Young man, they're just joking with you," Lu Mingfei suddenly stepped forward: "Our names are all aliases—didn't expect that, did you?"

"Hahaha, they bought it, they bought it!" Li Huowang pointed at the two with his thumb and laughed: "I told you these names are perfect for fooling newbies."

Su Lin shook his head and walked up to the two men, whose thoughts clearly lagged but who still hadn't lowered their guard, secretly gathering strength.

"We've all changed our names. You should know—the Cycle Space encompasses everything, even things like the Death Note. Generally speaking, it's better not to use your real name." Su Lin's voice was gentle, explaining in a way they could accept:

"What, do you think we're all characters from some novel? I'm a modern person too—look over there at Master Wulong. Do you really think he's the Wild Heaven Emperor?"

"And what about Li Feiyu over there? Do you think he's Han Li?"

Hearing this, Zhang Heng found the explanation plausible and began to accept it—but his gaze shifted to the young man who had suddenly appeared beside him, wearing a monocle on his right eye socket.

"You think I'm Amon?" The youth pinched the crystal-carved monocle, his white teeth and exaggerated smile curling: "Have you ever seen Amon?"

"." Zhang Heng had never seen the real Amon, but his intuition, enhanced by alien demonic forces, told him this living man was unmistakably the 'Amon' he'd read about in texts.

"Friend, Amon is a mythic being," Kleine retracted his exaggerated grin, settling into a formulaic smile:

"You think I'm not human? Am I not human? Am I human?"

"Look…"

Kleine extended his palm before Zhang Heng—undoubtedly, it was a human limb; his perception told him so.

But the next moment…

A tiny insect plopped onto the ground—a translucent creature, only a thumb's length, slender as a child's little finger, with twelve completely transparent segments.

"Sorry, drank a bit too much last night," Kleine bent down, picked up the insect, and returned it to his hand, where it dissolved into his body.

Zhang Heng: "."

Maybe I should detonate now—it might still be timely, and perhaps my soul could ascend to heaven.

"Still playing?" Su Lin smiled warmly: "Stop showing off that illusion—it's just embarrassing."

"My apologies. If we keep joking, our captain will get angry," Kleine removed his magical apprentice soft hat, letting it vanish into the air.

"Gentlemen, relax. Even if we weren't using aliases, we couldn't possibly harm you," Kleine offered a reason: "We earn points for completing Guide tasks."

Kleine projected the 【Guide】 task on his wristwatch—only after seeing the completion conditions did the two truly relax.

"Oh my god!" Zhang Heng rubbed his chest, his face twisted in anguish: "Seniors, you nearly scared me to death…"

Chu Lingyun realized the information she could now probe had diminished again—this meant Zhang Heng had fully regained his composure and rebuilt his mental wall.

Regardless of whether these people matched the entities Zhang Heng knew, at least for now, the two of them as newcomers held some value—and carried certain negative penalties.

As long as they remained cautious and subtle, and no conflicting interests arose, these veteran Cycle travelers wouldn't act against them.

"Let's leave this Huasheng Temple first," Su Lin surveyed the surroundings and said:

"I sent out a familiar to scout—there are some ordinary Tang Dynasty outfits nearby. Both of you change into them; this attire draws too much attention."

Even Chu Lingyun in her ancient garb stood out sharply from the clothing of passersby on the street.

"Huasheng Temple?" Zhang Heng paused, startled: "That sounds familiar."

"I once read the Journey to the West written by Huayang Cave Master at the Shide Bookstore in Jin Ling—there, the abbot of Huasheng Temple should be Master Sanzang," Chu Lingyun scanned the surroundings: overgrown weeds, rotting beams and broken walls—clearly a long-abandoned ruin.

At this reminder, Zhang Heng realized: "This is the Journey to the West world. I saw 'Tang Seng' in the team instance task—how could Huasheng Temple look like this?"

Hearing Zhang Heng's words, Su Lin's gaze lingered on the two for a moment, then said:

"Gentlemen, would you mind showing us your beginner tasks?"

Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun exchanged glances, hesitated not at all, and directly projected the information from their wristwatches.

After a moment, Su Lin nodded: "That's convenient—hide your wristwatches. Pay attention; the usage method should already be in your minds."

"Let's go—first, scout for information."

Within the chat group:

Kleine: "Modern attire. Your expressions just now were off—probably because of the names you picked. Your team's a menace."

Lu Mingfei: "You're the last one who can say that."

Su Lin: "That kid just wanted to self-detonate. You lot are unruly brats, beyond reckless."

Li Huowang: "Bro Su, I'm just practicing cultivation—these two just offered a pretty substantial amount of non-gang energy."

Kleine: "I'm the Fool. Isn't it normal to deceive others?"

Han Li: "Their task differs from ours—they're aiming for Liangjie Mountain as their endpoint, while we must play the scripture seekers heading west."

Su Lin: "After all, they're on beginner tasks. By the way—are we not beginners too? Clearly, it's all some returnee's fault."

Lu Mingfei: "Sorry, hóngdòu ní sīmìmǎsīmìdá!!!"

Su Lin: "This is such a hassle, Meng Qi—why don't we just move our Lingshan over? Fill it with sutras—Mahayana Dharma, I've got plenty."

Meng Qi: "Master Sanzang, that won't work."

After all, Li Huowang's Lingshan only has the two of them as 'Buddhas'—but if he returned to the Real World and moved over the Lingshan filled with the relics of countless Buddhist masters…

How could such a thing even be done? It felt like suicide. Better not.

When did my thoughts drift to such extremes?

Shi Hao: "So we go straight to the Emperor?"

Su Lin: "Let's stroll around first. This mission is odd—it hinted that the Tang Emperor is waiting for a high monk to journey west for sutras, but Tang San is already dead, and Huasheng Temple is abandoned. Who is he waiting for?"

Lu Mingfei: "Tang San?"

Su Lin: "Disgraceful disciple! I am Tang Sanzang now. Do you want me to say I've perished?"

Miss Kelaien: "You've slipped into the role quickly. That reincarnator named Chu Lingyun seems to come from a timeline similar to Ming Dynasty history—based on her attire, she's likely nobility."

Su Lin: "Let's ask them about other worlds later. Judging by how this reincarnation space selects reincarnators, those who made it here must've suffered greatly."

A selection process like breeding poison gu, targeting countless different worlds—even possibly different eras—who knows if any newcomers here are true ordinary people.

Meng Qi's thoughts mirrored Su Lin's: with Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun's strength, either one could crush the Geda Sect disciples he met when he first entered the Six Paths Reincarnation Space.

In Chang'an's marketplace, fragrant carriages and jeweled horses, emerald trees and terraced pavilions, jade chariots crisscrossed, golden whips clattered continuously; scholars of the Three Teachings and the Nine Streams gathered, forming a scene of splendid prosperity.

Su Lin walked down the street, curiously observing passersby and goods, pausing occasionally before roadside vendors with stoves lit, eager to buy food that looked appetizing.

"How much for the baked bread?"

"Three cash, with meat filling."

"How much for yangchun noodles?"

"Two cash."

"What about these buns?"

"One wen for two."

He patted his pockets, lamenting his empty purse, and sighed before walking away.

"Take out your alms bowl, Master," Meng Qi teased. "We disciples are nearly fainting from hunger—if we fight later without eating, we won't be able to protect you, our precious delicacy."

Lu Mingfei agreed: "You want the horse to run but won't feed it grass. Sigh—some abalone and steak would do."

"This space is downright stingy—gives us missions but doesn't even issue local currency. No startup funds at all." Su Lin ignored the others' remarks, adding another flaw to his assessment of the reincarnation space's flawed mechanics.

Han Li spoke up: "Since leaving Huasheng Temple, I've felt my cultivation suppressed. Forcing spell use would drain us heavily."

"I feel the same," Shi Hao nodded, gripping his shrunken Nine-Toothed Rake, sensing the incomplete Huangfu Tiangang Thirty-Six Transformations with surprise:

"It seems an invisible force envelops heaven and earth. Though divine power can still be forced into use, the cost must be immense—and this effect covers a vast area, restricting spiritual sense as well."

"This world isn't simple," Su Lin's true self sighed inside the historical rift, wrapped in a cotton quilt, feeling the previous sheet had given him more security—he should've kept the sheet and kicked the person out.

He pulled out the food projections he'd seen earlier, ignoring Ke Ke Ke Laien's eye-roll, and sampled their flavors himself.

Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun walked silently behind the group, aware of their position—they merely followed these "veterans," gathering fragments of information from the scraps the others revealed.

Curiosity remained, especially in Chu Lingyun.

She felt this team lacked tension, as if they'd come to Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty merely for sightseeing—not idle wandering, yet not anxious about the mission either.

Such calmness meant either deep concealment or absolute confidence in their strength.

"Can't these items be stored in storage bags?" Meng Qi tried using his Sleeve of Heaven and Earth to store the black iron rod—it failed; he could only shrink it to the size of a toothpick: "It seems we're meant to reveal our identities. Master, where's your cassock?"

"I can't store it in my Sea of Qi either," Shi Hao said.

Can't be stored? Su Lin glanced at his system inventory—the sutra-seeking monk's cassock, alms bowl, and nine-ringed staff—and was surprised.

"Hand me your weapons."

From Meng Qi to Lu Mingfei, Su Lin collected everyone's weapons and stowed them in his system inventory, sensing no resistance.

"Alright, should we just run away from the reincarnation space now? You two over there—want to escape with us?"

It'd be worth it—right now, using a Cross-World Rune to flee the reincarnation space wouldn't be impossible. Taking this key mission item would force the organizers to restock.

Zhang Heng couldn't help speaking: "How do we leave the reincarnation space? Where to?"

"Back to the Main God Space," Su Lin joked. "Our Main God Space has decent perks. Think about it."

"Main God Space?" Chu Lingyun was baffled.

Zhang Heng thought: these guys are really odd—choosing such a weird team name, now doubling as HR for the Main God Space, recruiting during missions.

"Before we run, give my stuff back," Lu Mingfei extended his hand for his Dragon Scale Sword.

"So you don't want to leave," Su Lin returned the items, smiling. "Fine. I'll lead you all on the journey west for the sutras."

He was just joking. Aside from that, he'd already placed a massive order with Tony Stark for Iron Man suits, waiting to cash in after completing his first mission by flipping items in the reincarnation space—and everything else could be sold there too.

First-hand to second-hand, second-hand to third-hand—each flip added a little markup, plus market research to spot scarce goods and pocket massive spreads.

Thus, the title "Interdimensional Trader" truly belonged to Su the Man.

"Isn't that the Divine Diviner from the West Gate? Let's go take a look!"

Su Lin glanced beside him: several commoners rose from tables near a roadside vendor, abandoned half-drunk jars of fragrant wine, and hurried toward a crowd gathered nearby, jostling and noisy.

"Young Master, I've packed up for the day!"

"Old Master, I've had nothing but misfortune lately—won't you give me a reading? I'll repay you handsomely!"

The argument grew loud; from the murmurs of the crowd, Su Lin and the others learned the reason.

"Diviner Yuan Shoucheng?" Su Lin and the others exchanged glances, pushing through the throng to the front.

Inside the tavern, a middle-aged man with an unusual yet elegant appearance, dressed as a sorcerer in black robes with white embroidery, sighed helplessly, poured wine into his cup, and said:

"Very well. I see you've done good deeds in life and knew your elders. Go spend a night at a temple or Daoist shrine with strong incense, take some incense ash the next day, then go to the wild shrine south of the city and apologize to the clay idol."

"Don't you dare indulge in lewd acts with maids in remote wilderness again!"

Before him stood a wealthy, slightly plump young master, whose round face first brightened, then flushed red and pale—he dropped several gold coins, bowed, and took his leave.

He left in disarray, squeezing through narrow gaps in the crowd, as if fleeing the onlookers' stares.

"Everyone, disperse," Yuan Shoucheng picked up a few small dishes with chopsticks. "If you want readings, come to Chengxi tomorrow. Let an old man eat his meal in peace."

The sharper ones realized Yuan Shoucheng had deliberately humiliated the young master—approaching now might reveal private secrets.

The crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only Su Lin and his group standing.

"Several of you…" Yuan Shoucheng looked up, then his gaze changed. "A person of great virtue, profound Buddhist cultivation—could you be Master Tang Xuanzang himself?"

Meng Qi said in the chat group: "Something's off—it feels like they're waiting for us here on purpose."

Su Lin replied: "What can we do now that we've bitten the hook? The NPC's gotta give the quest prompt."

Lu Mingfei: "I know this one—first input up, up, down, down, left, right, B, A, B, A."

Su Lin ignored Lu Mingfei's nonsense for now, chuckled, sat down before Yuan Shoucheng, picked up a pair of clean chopsticks from the bamboo tube, and began eating.

"Do you know us, Mr.?"

"Of course." Yuan Shoucheng glanced at the chopsticks in their hands and said: "Master."

"Waiter!" Su Lin called to the child with a cloth draped over his shoulder: "Add another table, order a few more dishes, and bring several pitchers of Xianglao wine."

"My disciples, sit down—how can you stand while speaking to Mr.?"

"Mr., please continue."

A flicker of surprise and unease crossed Yuan Shoucheng's face as he swept his gaze over them all, then fixed it on Su Lin: "By chance today, I may offer a divination for you and your disciples—would you accept?"

"Excellent." Su Lin clasped his hands together in thanks: "Thank you, Mr."

Yuan Shoucheng smiled faintly, drew a divination slip from his sleeve, and was about to calculate with his fingers when Su Lin interrupted: "Please, Mr. —first, calculate for my disciples."

"Very well." Yuan Shoucheng looked at the group already eating—except Zhang Heng and Chu Lingyun—and fixed his gaze on Meng Qi: "Five hundred years flow like water; a heart bound by the ambition of the Equal of Heaven—I shall first divinate for you."

"Go ahead." Meng Qi nodded, then signaled the newly arrived waiter to add a dish of braised pork.

Yuan Shoucheng smiled, his eyes gathering flickering spiritual light, a faint ethereal aura emanating from him: "Subdue demons, quell evils, fight with divine prowess."

He murmured these words aloud, yet inwardly felt strange—his past was obscured, an unusual rarity—so he turned his focus to probing the future.

Misfortunes intertwined, destined never to proceed smoothly, with no afterlife to speak of—if he perishes, he vanishes utterly—pitiful.

"Great calamity approaches; only by perfecting oneself can one endure. If this western journey succeeds, then..."

A crisp snap.

Yuan Shoucheng suddenly froze—the wine cup slipped from his hand and shattered on the floor. His body trembled; the flickering spiritual light in his eyes turned into black and white, spreading across them.

"How—how is this possible? You... Your Grace..."

A wild wind howled; the sky instantly darkened with storm clouds. The clear weather vanished in an instant, thunder rolling overhead.

Yuan Shoucheng staggered, leaping up from his seat in panic. The black and white light in his eyes reflected Meng Qi's figure; his hands, moments ago poised for calculation, now hung uselessly, unsure where to rest.

"You are..."

His eyes held only stunned disbelief, as if lost in countless futures he could not escape. After a moment, he slowly sat back down, suppressing the two words he had nearly shouted, replacing them with: "Great Sage."

"The divination remains incomplete—your mastery humbles Old Sun." Meng Qi smiled.

"Excessive praise." Yuan Shoucheng remained in a daze. When he finally snapped out of it, the host had already served all the dishes.

Yet none of the surrounding diners or waiters had noticed the strange events just now.

"My turn." Shi Hao swallowed a steamed bun whole, then grabbed several pieces of meat, shoved them into his mouth, and chewed casually before swallowing.

The food here held no special qualities—only hope that the demons tasted better.

Yuan Shoucheng gave a slight nod, placed a set of divination sticks and tortoise shells on the table, and began calculating for this man.

(End of Chapter)