Destiny in Cinders

An Jing thought that You Ruhui would be the best at evaluating land and property the moment he learned that she could easily perceive the flow of terrestrial veins. Other fengshui geomancers needed to rely on landscape features to inspect terrestrial veins and after a good six months of analysis, only to end up concluding something along the lines of: ”The fengshui in this place is decent, but it’s not suitable for building houses. Instead, it’s a prime place for burials.” Truly, an infuriating waste of time.

You Ruhui, on the other hand, merely needed a look to determine which spot was ideal for cultivation or hiding. She was just that convenient. Though Yvelbane could also see the trajectory of terrestrial veins, seeing was all it was capable of. It couldn’t determine what the flow entailed or what effects they would have with any accuracy greater than mere guesses. Well, I wouldn’t expect a sword immortal to know the intricacies of geomancy...

”Huh?” You Ruhui hesitated for a moment. ”But my ability to observe terrestrial veins comes from the authority my imperial blood has over them. Even though the dragonjade has amazing capabilities that allow me to evaluate terrestrial veins outside of Grand Chen, we’re in a whole different world...”

She was confident in her capabilities but had never wondered how they would fare in another world. ”I suppose I’ll give it a try.”

”Great. As a test, try to evaluate the terrestrial veins of this trash-disposal facility,” An Jing said. Even if her terrestrial-vein perception didn’t work in Skysource, she still had the knowledge that an advanced geomancer would possess. She would definitely be able to pick out a good spot.

”Let’s see...” She had been rather curious about Skysource the whole time. Crossing into a completely different world wasn’t something that princesses of Grand Chen with imperial blood typically got to experience, after all.

As one of the few people from Void Embrace to travel to Skysource, the imperial blood within her seemed to be calling for her to annex this foreign land for her country. She shut her eyes before snapping them open to channel her wonder, Ebony Sun Eyes, causing a ring of rainbow light to shine around her iris, illuminating everything in the world.

An Jing wasn’t too sure that it would work out. After all, the Cosmic Heart’s shard was from Void Embrace, so it didn’t have anything to do with Skysource. It would be enough for him if You Ruhui was able to roughly chart out the trajectory of the terrestrial veins. But sometimes, reality surpassed even the most modest expectations.

”Huh?” Scanning her surroundings with Ebony Sun Eyes, she couldn’t help but voice her surprise. ”I’m actually able to see the trajectory clearly... The terrestrial veins of the disposal facility harbor traces of filth, yet there’s an unmistakable sign of life. It is part of the cycle that transforms all things into new forms. This is a blessed land where things that gather to rot find new life! This little building we’re in is situated right in the middle of the terrestrial veins’ intersection and the vine formation outside taps into this thriving will to life. That’s how it grew so luscious and vibrant!”

”What?!” An Jing was quite stunned to hear her complete evaluation. Wait, you’re really able to see it? Even in Skysource? He knew that Metalhand hadn’t just relied on money to set up a thriving vine formation at the disposal facility. He had tapped into the terrestrial veins, but who could’ve expected the terrestrial veins of a disposal facility to be that potent? To think that the line of logic of decay and rebirth would apply in this manner.

The cultivator who had planned where to build the disposal facility to process the waste from Deepnight City was no doubt an expert with regards to terrestrial veins and fengshui. Deepnight City was a megapolis situated at the center of Skysource’s spirit veins, which no doubt branched off into countless smaller spirit veins. There were definitely more places in the safe zone that were used for all sorts of different purposes. Planning out how the facilities were built across the complicated network of smaller spirit veins without hindering each other’s operations had to have been nothing short of a major undertaking for the geomancer, but You Ruhui seemed to be able to see through everything with her eyes alone.

”How intriguing... I feel it... An Jing... I feel that this world is linked to Void Embrace somehow!” She looked around excitedly. Even though she felt more strain while using her wonder here compared to doing so in Void Embrace, she could still keep it up for quite some time. ”It feels like... they’re siblings? Or twins... The dragonjade tells me that these two worlds share a common source!”

”Indeed.” An Jing didn’t hide anything from her. ”You should also be aware of the ancient myth of a true immortal who used the heavens and earth as his ark and the starscape as his sails to transport five cities and twelve towers with 108,000 citizens to the wide, primordial expanse. That was how humanity began in Void Embrace.

”That’s the creation myth of Void Embrace. What do you think happened after that? What happened to the great immortal that left Void Embrace? What about the home he came from? Are there other great immortals out there who would leave seeds of humanity in other worlds?

”As the dao precepts they use are similar, the worlds they create must be similar too! Perhaps that’s why the Cosmic Heart can be used in both worlds!”

You Ruhui listened intently, eyes wide open as An Jing continued, ”Skysource and Void Embrace are most likely sibling worlds. They are not as different as we initially imagined and are definitely related.”

An Jing recalled the immortal warship he saw when he first came to Skysource and the crazy satellites that orbited it. There were yet more mysteries that lay undiscovered in Skysource, no doubt terrifying ones.

”So that’s how it is...” You Ruhui closed her eyes, causing the light from her pupils to dim. Observing the terrestrial veins did sap quite a bit of power, which left her somewhat fatigued, especially with how she had just suppressed the terrestrial veins of Keensight not too long ago. ”I guess that means I’ll be able to scout out the property you wanted. I’ll have to rest and recover first, though.”

”Let’s do that tomorrow, then.” An Jing was in no rush. He went to a corner in the room, wrapped himself in a blanket and fell asleep. He had quite a few things to tend to the next day, such as verifying whether the Soul Domination Mantra had been altered by the heavenly fiends. If not, he would make two copies in jade slips and give them to Huo Qing and You Ruhui. Additionally, he also had to return the bulletproof spirit vest to Huo Qing and deal with the ingredients he obtained by eradicating the fiend.

”Sigh...” You Ruhui blinked in disbelief. She didn’t think that An Jing would be able to fall asleep so quickly. But soon, a wave of fatigue washed over her, causing her to yawn. She slipped under a blanket and curled up on the couch before dozing off.

When Huo Qing was done with his studies, he entered the room, only to see its corners occupied. Shaking his head in resignation, he found a corner close to An Jing and fell asleep under a blanket in no time.

The four of them had a restful, dreamless slumber in the dimly lit room, sheltered from the light breeze outside. They woke up naturally during daybreak.