Chapter Fifty-Five: The Great Prophecy

As Haitins spoke, he deftly produced a golden book and handed it to Qiankun. Fallen Leaf, unable to restrain himself, whispered telepathically, “Haitins, are you really going to give him the Grand Prophecy Art? That’s a forbidden divine spell of our church!”

“It doesn’t matter! The Grand Prophecy Art is not so easily cultivated. He may not succeed,” Haitins replied in kind, “Besides, do we have any room to resist? If I refuse, he might just kill us and seize the Grand Prophecy Art regardless.”

Fallen Leaf sighed inwardly, resigned: “That’s true! He cultivates the laws of wind, so he shouldn’t be able to master the Grand Prophecy Art.”

“Hmph, unable to cultivate? You underestimate me,” Qiankun thought coldly as he watched Haitins and Fallen Leaf depart. Did these two truly believe their telepathic exchange was beyond his hearing? Under the scrutiny of Qiankun’s soul power, the content of their mental transmission was laid bare before him.

He swiftly put away the golden book containing the Grand Prophecy Art, and in a flash, his figure blurred and he returned to his manor on Green Leaf Road in Finlay City. As a mid-tier deity who had mastered the principle of speed, Qiankun’s swiftness was beyond imagining.

“Hm?” Upon arriving at the manor, Qiankun immediately noticed traces of destruction caused by magical beasts. With a flicker of intent, his divine sense swept the grounds, and his expression darkened: “Dead? All of them are dead?”

“My lord!” In the Springwater Garden, as Qiankun landed on the lawn, a pair of guards rushed in and knelt respectfully on one knee.

“What are you good for? How did those magical beasts get into the estate and kill Windsor and the others?” Qiankun’s gaze was piercing as he fixed upon the leader, a warrior of seventh rank.

The aura of a god emanating from Qiankun made the guard captain’s body go weak, and he stammered, trembling, “My lord, too many magical beasts broke into the estate, and their strength was overwhelming—there were even beasts of eighth and ninth rank. We... we were no match for them.”

“Useless rabble!” Qiankun cursed, not bothering to waste words. Instead, he ordered, “Give Windsor and the others a proper burial. Tell Clyde he has greatly disappointed me. Now go, get out of my sight!”

The guard captain, relieved as if granted amnesty, hurriedly agreed and scrambled out with the other guards.

Once they had gone, Qiankun took a deep breath, slowly regaining his composure. He sighed softly, “Windsor and the others... so they’ve died? Well, they were merely passing figures in my long years—only a matter of sentiment.”

---

With the magical beast army’s retreat, Finlay City gradually returned to calm. Despite the heavy loss of life, those immersed in the pain of losing family and friends found a bittersweet joy in surviving disaster.

That morning, shortly after Qiankun’s return, Haitins had his men deliver the magic cores of the slain Purple-Eyed Golden Ape and Tyrannosaurus. In the afternoon, Clyde hurried over to request an audience with Qiankun, bringing with him a bevy of beautiful and seductive maidens.

Qiankun, however, did not see him, nor did he pay any heed to those beauties. As night fell, he quietly left Finlay City, heading toward the magical beast mountain range.

Within the Misty Gorge, in the cave where Sadius secluded himself for cultivation, Qiankun met Sadius and the Sanctuary Black Dragon, Aox, and also saw the twisted spatial vortex in the cave. Clearly, the black circular magic array sealing the spatial node had been destroyed, allowing Delin to escape from the dimensional prison back to the Yulan Continent by sheer luck.

“How was the sealing magic array destroyed?” Qiankun frowned, questioning Sadius.

Under Qiankun’s gaze, Sadius lowered his head and answered gloomily, “My lord Qiankun, it was... it was an old rival of mine—a Sanctuary-level Purple-Patterned Black Bear. It came seeking revenge, and during our fierce battle, although I killed it, I accidentally destroyed the sealing array.”

“Master, since the magic array was destroyed, the divine sword used to support it had no purpose. I gave it to Linley,” interjected Aox, the Sanctuary Black Dragon.

Qiankun was left speechless. The inertia of fate in this story was truly uncanny! In the end, not only was the spatial node’s sealing array broken, but even the Purpleblood Divine Sword found its way to Linley.

“That’s just as well; the plot shouldn’t change too much now,” Qiankun mused, eyeing Sadius and Aox, whose spirits were thoroughly crushed. He said irritably, “Enough, you two. It’s not entirely your fault. Still, I must say, you’re audacious to remain here. Aren’t you afraid more powerful beings will escape from this spatial node and deal with you? From now on, keep your distance!”

Sadius quickly replied, “Lord Qiankun, it was Lord Delin who ordered us to watch this place and notify him immediately if any powerful beings emerged.”

“He certainly knows how to delegate!” Qiankun remarked, then commanded, “All right, you may leave now. I plan to seclude myself here for some time. With me watching over this place personally, I doubt Delin will have any objections.”

---

After Sadius and Aox departed, Qiankun casually cut a smooth stone platform from the cave wall. He sat cross-legged atop it and took out the golden book containing the Grand Prophecy Art, reading it carefully.

The Grand Prophecy Art is a special magic belonging to the laws of fate, or more precisely, a divine art—profound and mysterious. It possesses certain prophetic powers, somewhat akin to the art of deduction in the world of cultivators. More importantly, it is a divine technique centered on the spirit and soul, with its greatest strength lying in soul attacks. Among the various elemental laws and rules, the soul attack methods of the fate laws are among the most enigmatic.

For ordinary people, the Grand Prophecy Art is exceedingly abstruse, requiring a strong soul and being extremely difficult to master. But for Qiankun, as a cultivator primarily focused on the soul, his understanding of the fate and soul was already deep, making it much easier for him to grasp.

“It’s easy if you know it, impossible if you don’t,” Qiankun chuckled to himself after pondering the Grand Prophecy Art.

Like other magics, the Grand Prophecy Art is cast using spells. However, its incantations are far more complex, as it does not draw upon the elemental energies of heaven and earth, but instead mobilizes the caster’s spiritual power, launching soul attacks with the aid of the laws of fate.

On his first attempt at reciting the Grand Prophecy Art’s incantation, Qiankun keenly sensed his soul affected by the invisible force of fate. A formless ripple emanated from his brow. Fortunately, the cave was empty; had anyone been present, they would have instantly realized the terrifying nature of the Grand Prophecy Art. Especially when wielded by Qiankun, whose soul was formidable—even powerful upper gods would be in danger of perishing from his soul attacks.

For Qiankun, cultivating the Grand Prophecy Art was easy, but it was merely an introduction to the mysteries of fate. The real difficulty lay in mastering the laws of fate and comprehending their profundity.

Yet for Qiankun, who had already begun, slowly grasping the mysteries of fate and becoming a god in its domain was merely a matter of time.