Eastern Sea, Shuangji Strait.
The sound of crashing waves seeped through the thick fog, faintly drifting into the strait.
Song Jiadan sat cross-legged atop a steep cliff, his eyes closed in meditation.
His lower body had entirely turned to gray stone. His upper body remained that of an elderly man, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles, thoroughly aged and decrepit.
Suddenly, his eyelids twitched. He had sensed the token of the Song family's Supreme Grand Elder, the Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal Song Qiyuan.
With a mere thought, the mist churned and parted, revealing an empty passage.
Moments later, two figures emerged from the passage.
One male, one female — both Gu Immortal.
The female immortal was dressed in white, like a lotus fairy, pure and captivating. Her lively eyes held a hint of spirited energy as they glanced about. The male immortal appeared middle-aged, composed and dignified, walking a step behind her.
"Uncle Jiadan!" Song Yishi called out in a loud voice from a distance.
Song Jiadan wanted to offer a smile, but he simply couldn't. He was no longer able to change his expression — the muscles in his face had completely petrified.
His Wisdom Path cultivation was rather unique. He could leverage Heavenly Will to divine the circumstances of affairs and matters, and his readings were often remarkably accurate.
But every advantage came with a drawback. His was that he had lost his freedom entirely. His lower body had turned to stone and fused with the Shuangji Strait. When his lifespan finally ran out, his entire body would become nothing more than a block of stone, devoid of all life.
In the end, Song Jiadan could only speak in a flat, slow voice with an expressionless face: "Little Yishi, Cousin Xiaqi. It's been a long time."
The ones who had come to the Shuangji Strait to visit Song Jiadan were Song Yishi and Song Xiaqi of the Song family.
"Uncle Jiadan. Here is the token grandfather gave us. Please verify it first." Song Yishi stepped forward and presented the token to Song Jiadan.
After confirming its authenticity, Song Jiadan nodded and asked: "What is it you wish to divine this time?"
Song Xiaqi spoke up: "This time, we've come about the Tiannan Inheritance within Dengtian Wild."
Song Jiadan mused: "The spatial dao marks in Dengtian Wild are numerous, chaotic, and constantly shifting. I cannot go there in person, so I can't assess the terrain on-site and calculate the optimal path in real time. However, neither the Lai family nor the Cai family possess any particularly formidable Wisdom Path Gu Immortal. I believe that with my Wisdom Path Immortal Gu, you should be able to seize the lead."
Song Yishi chuckled softly: "Uncle Jiadan, something new has come up regarding Dengtian Wild."
"Oh?"
Song Yishi then recounted how the Burning Sky Demon Woman and Fang Yuan had both broken into Dengtian Wild.
Song Jiadan immediately grasped the true purpose behind their visit. A look of understanding crossed his face: "So you wish to hire this Wisdom Star to help the Song family obtain the Tiannan Inheritance."
"Exactly. The Wisdom Star is not a member of the Zombie Alliance — he's merely a friend of Bai Yun Sheng. He's a Northern Plains Gu Immortal who came to the Eastern Sea because of the Earth Tide. Since he's willing to work for the Zombie Alliance, there's no reason our Song family can't hire him as well. His attainments in the Wisdom Path are quite impressive. If our Song family falls behind and the other two families get to him first, we'll be in a very passive position," Song Xiaqi said.
"So you've come this time wanting me to divine this Wisdom Star's affairs?" Song Jiadan continued.
Song Yishi nodded repeatedly: "Nothing ever gets past you, Uncle. That's right! If we're going to hire the Wisdom Star, we naturally need to know everything about him first. He's not one of our own, after all. Most crucially, he's a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal himself. If he tries to play tricks or scheme behind our backs, the Song family will not only suffer losses but also lose face. So we've come asking Uncle to use your skills and see whether you can put this Northern Plains Wisdom Path Gu Immortal in his place."
Song Jiadan lowered his gaze, a flicker of hesitation in his eyes: "But this Wisdom Star, Chen Dao, was able to break through the methods I deployed against Sha Mo, and he even distinguished himself brilliantly within Dengtian Wild. That tells me he not only possesses significant Wisdom Path attainments but also has no shortage of Wisdom Path Immortal Gu. Against such a powerful Wisdom Path practitioner, if I rashly attempt to divine him, it would likely violate the unwritten rules between Wisdom Path Gu Immortals. And if I'm not careful, it could arouse his hostility and bring a powerful Wisdom Path enemy upon our family."
In his previous life, Fang Yuan had been disguised as the Star Constellation Scholar. Because he had peeped at Song Yishi bathing beforehand, Song Jiadan had had legitimate cause to act.
In this life, Fang Yuan was disguised as the Wisdom Star and had left no such leverage. More importantly, he had demonstrated such superior Wisdom Path capabilities that even Song Jiadan felt a sense of wariness.
Song Yishi and Song Xiaqi exchanged a glance. The former said nothing more, and the latter took over: "Everything has its advantages and disadvantages — it's all a matter of weighing the trade-offs. Before we came, we already discussed this matter with the Supreme Grand Elder and the Second Elder. We ask Cousin Jiadan to take action."
Song Jiadan nodded. Though he was a Wisdom Path Gu Immortal, he was not a decision-maker within the family.
Since that was settled, he harbored no further hesitation.
After a brief period of mental preparation, he set to work immediately.
A long while later, Song Jiadan slowly opened his eyes, a trace of exhaustion visible in them: "I cannot divine him."
"What? Uncle, you're one of the three strongest Wisdom Path Gu Immortals in the Eastern Sea. How is that possible?"
"Could this Chen Dao really be that powerful in the Wisdom Path? Already on par with you, Cousin?"
Both Song Yishi and Song Xiaqi were stunned.
Song Jiadan shook his head slowly: "The human heart has its limits, and Heavenly Will is unfathomable. Perhaps this Chen Dao truly is formidable, and he has blocked all of my divination methods. Or perhaps... he simply isn't in the Eastern Sea."
"Not in the Eastern Sea? Then where else could he be? The Earth Tide has already receded, and it will be quite a long time before the next one," Song Yishi said, thoroughly confused.
"Every Immortal aperture is a small world unto itself, isolating its owner from the outside. My cultivation is only at the Seventh Transformation. It's hardly strange that I cannot divine him."
"I see..." Song Yishi murmured to herself, her tone tinged with disappointment.