Chapter 25: Heavenly Net, Earthly Web: Borrow the False to Cultivate the True

Divine afflictions are among the most mysterious entities in fate and numerology.

Throughout life, according to one’s birth direction, hour, and climate, the auspicious stars and malevolent afflictions aligned with one’s destiny vary.

These celestial stars and afflictions that correspond to one’s fate are collectively called divine afflictions, permeating and shaping a person’s destiny.

Due to differences in the Four Pillars and Eight Characters, each person’s divine afflictions are unique.

For instance, if someone has excellent romantic luck and constant relationships, they likely carry the [Peach Blossom] divine affliction.

Likewise, if someone frequently strays, especially after marriage, they likely carry the [Red Beauty] divine affliction.

If one excels academically and succeeds in civil service or graduate exams, they likely carry the [Cultural Star] divine affliction.

Those in high positions wielding power typically carry the [National Seal] divine affliction.

If one receives help from the opposite sex—such as inheriting a vast fortune after attending a girlfriend’s seventieth birthday—they likely carry the [Golden Carriage] divine affliction.

Those bearing the [Golden Carriage] affliction often have fates of living off others’ wealth, likely avoiding the tragedy of “youth unaware of the sweetness of dependence, old age gulping porridge and eating bran.”

Likewise, the two great afflictions [Solitary Star] and [Widow Star] are the most feared by men and women alike.

It is said: a man with the Solitary Star loses his wife early; a woman with the Widow Star easily loses her husband. If one’s fate carries either, marriage is mostly unhappy, and lifelong solitude is common.

The Divine Affliction lineage is the path capable of sensing and wielding auspicious stars and malevolent afflictions.

“The Divine Affliction Sect… this lineage has been passed down since ancient times. Didn’t it die out completely during the Daoist calamity over eighty years ago?”

Yu Fu’s cloudy eyes narrowed slightly as he glanced at Bai Buran beside him.

He knew Wen He was trained in the Divine Affliction lineage, but he had no idea where Bai Buran had found such a person—after all, in public knowledge and his own memory, this lineage should have been extinct.

“Fate’s calamities are ordained by heaven; all divine afflictions obey my command. Through ages, the masses drift with the tide, yet only this sect glimpses true nature.”

Bai Buran murmured softly, his eyes sharpening with a faint glow.

“The Divine Affliction lineage… only she remains…”

Here, Bai Buran paused slightly, then murmured again: “Perhaps… only she remains.”

“Zhang Fan…”

At that moment, a cold voice rang out again, pulling everyone’s attention.

Wen He’s face was expressionless, her eyes utterly still as she gazed at Zhang Fan and said coolly: “I won’t take advantage of you—just one move. If you remain unharmed, you win.”

At these words, Zhang Fan’s gaze darkened slightly. He was new to this world; no wonder others spoke with such arrogance.

Yet since entering Zhenwu Mountain and encountering Daoist cultivation for the first time, this was his very first real fight—he dared not be careless, and now he focused entirely, silent.

“Malevolent affliction…”

“Heavenly Net!!!”

Wen He formed a seal with both hands, her crimson lips parting softly.

Zhang Fan’s expression darkened; instinctively, he stepped back.

Upon the vast terrace, a gentle breeze stirred, yet nothing visibly changed.

But that was only from mortal eyes—if one observed with the Yuan Shen, one would see countless dust motes, swirling and dense, filling every corner of the terrace in an instant.

“What is this?”

Zhang Fan sensed something, reaching out to grasp the floating dust.

Hum…

At that moment, the drifting dust violently trembled, transforming into countless threads, crisscrossing, turning the entire terrace into a grid of nets.

“What the hell?”

Zhang Fan’s heart sank; before he could react, the crisscrossing grid had already trapped him like a cage.

Almost simultaneously, Zhang Fan stomped the ground with immense force, launching himself like a cannonball.

Hum…

The crisscrossing grid trembled lightly but did not break; instead, it tightened further, and within moments, Zhang Fan’s movable space was compressed to a ten-meter radius.

“A cage!?” Zhang Fan’s brow shot up.

“Men fear Heavenly Net, women fear Earthly Net… this is the Beast Trap technique!” Bai Buran murmured from afar.

Men fear Heavenly Net, women fear Earthly Net.

Heavenly Net and Earthly Net are malevolent afflictions.

If a woman’s fate carries [Earthly Net], she will suffer bloodshed, especially during childbirth—so examine the Four Pillars of women who die in labor; they likely carry [Earthly Net]. If a man’s fate carries [Heavenly Net], he will suffer imprisonment and lifelong misfortune—so examine the birth charts of prisoners; they likely carry [Heavenly Net].

“Heavenly Net is ordained by fate—how can mortal strength break it?”

Wen He held the seal with both hands, her cold eyes gleaming. Beneath the Heavenly Net, brute force is useless—even the Yuan Shen is bound.

This is the art of the Divine Affliction lineage.

This is the terror of the Malevolent Affliction path.

“It’s over!”

On the terrace, Zhang Fan lay flat on the ground, limbs spread, body taut—despite bulging veins, he could not move.

“Heavenly Net binds the body—there is no escape,” Bai Buran muttered, shaking his head.

For Zhang Fan, merely at the Qi Gong stage, this technique was flawless.

“Is it over?”

At this moment, Zhang Fan’s eyes were closed, his mind calm and unified, as if a voice within questioned him.

His body gradually relaxed, as if under the Heavenly Net, not even a shred of strength remained—he felt his Shi Shen churn wildly, his Yuan Shen growing still, countless thoughts and images flashing and surging through his mind…

“Aaah… Mama… Mama…”

A heart-wrenching cry pierced through the dust-covered memories, rising and falling among the countless intertwined thoughts.

“Is that me?”

In that moment, Zhang Fan became a spectator, seeing his twelve-year-old self…

That year…

That day…

Torrential rain, thunder and lightning intertwined—his mother died in a car accident. Young Zhang Fan stood beside her, drenched in blood, crying helplessly, struggling uselessly, shaking his mother’s lifeless body—no response came.

After that day, he forgot many things.

Zhang Lingzong said he took him to a doctor; the doctor diagnosed traumatic selective amnesia.

Darkness spread, with only thunder and lightning intertwining, countless thoughts surging, countless images flickering…

Zhang Fan felt unprecedented pain—he sensed his Yuan Shen sinking, about to be consumed by these emotions and thoughts.

“Shi Shen churns, Yuan Shen grows still!”

“All things are impermanent, all appearances are illusions…”

“Like the lotus unattached to water, like the sun and moon unbound by empty space…”

A faint voice echoed in Zhang Fan’s mind—his own whisper, or perhaps the voice of his already awakened Yuan Shen.

“If all is false, what meaning do existence and experience hold?”

Countless thoughts intertwined; a voice within Zhang Fan screamed, roared, questioned.

Long silence. In the flickering images, only thunder rumbled, ceaseless and unyielding.

Then, the whispering voice sounded again, drifting faintly through the depths of his mind—only four words: Borrow the False to Cultivate the True!!!

…

On the terrace, Wen He slowly walked toward Zhang Fan, raising her hand to signal Bai Buran and Yu Fu.

“It’s over. I’ll release him.”

Boom…

Suddenly, a violent wind surged like a roaring beast, shaking the air violently.

“Back!”

Bai Buran barked a warning; a terrifying surge erupted from Zhang Fan’s body, flinging Wen He ten meters away.

“That’s…”

Yu Fu’s aged face trembled violently—he saw Zhang Fan, once bound, now radiating fierce yang energy, blazing like a furnace, glowing with profound radiance.

“The Reverse Immortal Method—Northern and Southern Sect origins!!”

Bai Buran’s gaze darkened, finally showing grave seriousness.

(End of Chapter)