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Chapter 63: All in Vain

"The old Taoist priest has such keen eyesight!"

Chu Ming smiled and stepped back.

This old Taoist priest has a keen eye; his ability to read faces and observe auras has undoubtedly reached a state of perfection.

Now that Chu Ming has activated the Withering and Flourishing Technique, he looks exactly like someone suffering from five types of tuberculosis and seven types of injuries, on the verge of death.

It's like trees in winter, all the leaves have fallen, and on the outside they look no different from withered trees, but inside there is hidden vitality.

Chu Ming did not refute the old Taoist, but instead acknowledged that although the old Taoist was older than him, he had fallen behind in terms of cultivation and it was normal that he could not see through the old Taoist's true nature.

Let alone the old Taoist priest, now that Chu Ming has activated the Withering and Flourishing Technique and collected his essence, energy, and primordial spirit, even those demons and evil spirits would only think that Chu Ming is an ordinary person whose essence and energy are depleted.

It is precisely because of these methods that Chu Ming has been able to successfully entrap people time and time again. After all, although demons and evil spirits are confused, they can still seek good fortune and avoid misfortune. Knowing that there is danger, why would they go and invite bad luck?

As Chu Ming admitted this with a smile, many people around him subconsciously moved a step away from him, and their gazes towards him revealed a hint of sympathy.

Many people believe that Chu Ming's words indicate that he knows his own situation and is probably here to see the last scenery of his life.

Many people have had similar fantasies to some extent: suddenly learning that they have a terminal illness, and instead of choosing treatment and prolonging their lives, choosing to go to places they once wanted to go but were unable to go due to various realities, so that they would have no regrets in the end.

Chu Ming stepped back. At first, people paid attention to Chu Ming, but in the blink of an eye, their attention turned to the old Taoist priest. The main reason was that no one had refuted what the old Taoist priest had said.

Such a lively atmosphere is quite rare.

While laymen watch the spectacle, Chu Ming, an expert, is seeing the intricacies.

Chu Ming knew that the old Taoist's fortune-telling did not rely on any supernatural ability to predict the past five hundred years or the future five hundred years, but rather on the true skills of physiognomy passed down for thousands of years.

In Chu Ming's view, this is a different kind of big data.

Human behavior actually exhibits a great deal of similarity and overlap.

Like the first middle-aged man who spoke, although he didn't wear any designer brands, his skill was evident in the details. The air of sophistication in his every move and the results of his body care all proved that he was no ordinary person.

However, his expression appeared somewhat haggard, indicating an imbalance of internal energy and excessive internal heat. This was not a sign of physical illness, but rather a symptom that appeared after mental agitation.

Clearly, the middle-aged man had encountered some trouble.

The old Taoist priest had a keen eye and saw through many things at a glance, which led to his words.

A middle-aged person's mental state undoubtedly makes him more prone to making foolish moves. If he can calm down, things will naturally become much easier, and he may be able to turn things around.

Of course, whether middle-aged people can't calm down or are powerless to change things even if they do, that's none of the old Taoist's business. The old Taoist isn't a god; he's just pointing out the best path for middle-aged men.

Those who are not destined to be together are mostly people who are physically healthy, energetic, and gentle in nature.

As for the subsequent marital breakdown, one could tell from the other party's expression how mean-spirited he was. For someone like the old Taoist, a person's character is usually written on their face, just like looking at the lines on their palm, which are very clear.

A person with a harsh and domineering personality is considered to have a "husband-killing" face in ancient times. Marrying such a person will likely lead to chaos and unrest at home, making it difficult for the man to focus on his career.

Conversely, a girl with a kind, gentle, wise, and far-sighted personality is considered to have a "lucky face" for her husband.

This is not metaphysics; physiognomy is a discipline that is similar to the study of human behavior.

The old Taoist priest said he was telling fortunes, but in reality he was guiding these people and helping them accumulate good fortune. The saying "calculating half of it is fate" also means that while man proposes, fate decides the outcome.

The divination can never be fully completed!

In Chu Ming's view, the old Taoist was accumulating good fortune and doing good deeds, which was exactly what he was doing.

That's how the art of physiognomy works. Those who don't understand it feel it's unfathomable, but conversely, someone like Chu Ming, with his profound wisdom, can grasp the key points with just a little thought.

……

Even the most prosperous times eventually come to an end, until only a sliver of the setting sun remains on the horizon.

The old Taoist priest finally stopped telling fortunes and instead dispersed the crowd, heading towards the wooden building on the distant hillside.

Many people reluctantly left after watching the old man and the young man walk into the wooden building.

The wooden building is a restricted area and is not open to tourists.

"You Ran, what have you learned today?" On the top floor of the wooden building, the old Taoist lit an oil lamp. The small flame crackled, and from the window, it seemed to perfectly match the setting sun on the horizon.

"Master, you're amazing!"

The young Taoist boy named Ruan Youran spoke in a clear, melodious voice.

"What I'm thinking is similar to what you said, Master, but I can't put it into words," Ruan Youran said.

"The only difference is that I feel like that white-haired brother isn't so easy to kill. He gives me the feeling of... like..." Ruan Youran scratched her head before saying, "...like a tree in winter!"

"Tree? How can a person be like a tree?" The old Taoist chuckled. He knew that his disciple was extraordinary, possessing a strange and innate insight.

Of course, this insight is not always present; it comes and goes, sometimes accurate and sometimes not, which is quite strange.

The old Taoist priest was well-versed in Taoist scriptures and knew that some people were born different. According to the Taoist scriptures, some people were born with supernatural powers.

Just like Confucius's double pupils and Laozi's white hair, those are all supernatural phenomena.

"Master, what exactly are we here to do?!" Ruan Youran asked.

This was the first time in so many years that he had left the Taoist temple.

"We've come here to retrieve something, something left behind by our Yuqing lineage's patriarch eight hundred years ago!" the old Taoist said.

"This is crucial to the rise of our Yuqing lineage. For this day, our lineage has guarded this secret for eight hundred years!"

"What is that?"

Ruan Youran asked.

"I don't know exactly what it is, but it can only be retrieved after eight hundred years. Before my master passed away, he told me that it might be the only hope for this world to transcend the mundane in the Dharma-ending Age!"

"I am old, my energy and spirit are waning, and any hope I may have is meaningless. But you are different. You were born with divine power and have been cultivating the martial arts of my Jade Purity lineage. Your potential is limitless. If it were you, you might very well be able to go against the tide in this era of declining laws and achieve extraordinary things!"

At this point, the old Taoist suddenly sighed, "I don't know when it started, but this world has suddenly become strange. Now even evil things that only existed in ancient books have appeared. Even the Celestial Masters who are closest to transcendence in this world can pass away so easily!"

"As the Taoist scriptures say, there are countless eons in the universe, and perhaps now is the time when such an eon is about to begin..."

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(End of this chapter)