The Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets, Forget the Heavenly Secrets

"Want a divination?"

"Who would dare ask for one now?"

The crowd that had gathered to watch the commotion immediately turned and left without hesitation upon hearing this.

Seeing everyone disperse, the old man sighed helplessly.

"Ah, the world misunderstands me deeply."

"Thank you, young friend, for stepping in earlier."

"I can see you possess extraordinary bearing—destined for greatness in the future."

"How about letting me—"

"No need. I was acting on orders, so no thanks are necessary."

Chen Yunxuan had no fondness for the old man. If not for Chen Chang'an's instruction, he wouldn't have intervened.

"Oh? Acting on orders?"

"Then it must have been on the word of that young friend over there?"

The old man glanced toward Chen Chang'an in the distance, then grinned cheekily as he walked over.

"Thank you for your assistance, young friend."

"I can see you possess extraordinary bearing—destined for greatness in the future."

"How about letting me—"

"Enough. Cut the act."

"After all this time, how are you still alive?" Chen Chang'an asked with a smile.

Realizing Chen Chang'an had recognized him, the old man dropped his pretense and smirked.

"Look who's talking. You're still kicking too."

"Ancestor, you... you know each other?" Chen Yunxuan was stunned.

He never imagined his ancestor would be acquainted with this charlatan. Could this man be someone extraordinary?

"This isn't the place to talk. Let's move elsewhere."

"Come, it's been too long. We have much to catch up on."

The group found an inn and secured a private room.

"The last time we parted was over three thousand years ago."

"Who would have thought Brother Chen and Brother Huang would still be as vibrant as ever?"

"Ah, it feels like a lifetime ago."

The old man's words left Chen Yunxuan even more astonished. He knew his ancestor had lived a long time, but this unassuming old man had also survived millennia?

Then what about earlier...?

"Senior, since you know my ancestor, you must be a figure of great renown."

"Why were you in such a predicament earlier...?" Chen Yunxuan asked, puzzled.

"Yunxuan, there’s much you don’t know."

"This man is the renowned third-generation master of the Tianji Pavilion—Wang Tianji!"

"His strength is formidable, but he’s done too many unscrupulous things and often faces retribution."

Retribution?

What did that mean?

And what was the Tianji Pavilion? He’d never heard of it.

"Teasing me in front of the younger generation, are you?"

"It’s just the punishment our lineage suffers for trying to pry into the secrets of heaven."

"Every thousand years, our bodies deteriorate—aging rapidly, losing all cultivation, and remaining powerless for a full decade."

"That’s when we’re most vulnerable, with no means to defend ourselves if danger arises." Wang Tianji gave a bitter laugh.

"If you know it’s your most dangerous period, why travel all the way to the Great Zhou Kingdom?"

"At your current pace, the journey alone would take more than ten years, wouldn’t it?"

The distance between Wang Tianji’s home and the Great Zhou Kingdom was vast. With his cultivation intact, it would be nothing, but now, powerless, how had he made the trip? And why?

"Wait!"

"Something’s off!"

"The first time I met you was during one of these powerless, aged periods."

"By my calculations, you shouldn’t be like this now."

Suddenly, Chen Chang'an realized something was amiss. He and Wang Tianji had met precisely because he’d encountered him in a weakened state.

But by the timeline, Wang Tianji’s next decline shouldn’t occur for another three hundred years.

Why had it come early this time?

Hearing this, Wang Tianji sighed.

"About a year ago, I had a sudden premonition and cast a divination."

"I found the threads of fate in chaos—something monumental was brewing."

"Then I discovered that an old friend would appear in this insignificant Great Zhou Kingdom, but I couldn’t deduce who."

"You know how few old friends I have left at my age. The only one who’d be here, yet beyond my divination, had to be you."

"From our first meeting, I couldn’t see through you. Your life’s path is shrouded, impossible to predict."

"So before my power faded, I rushed here, calculating a high chance of reuniting with an old friend."

"But I never expected..."

"Your descendant here would be the same!"

"Does your Chen family specialize in breeding freaks?"

Wang Tianji appeared calm, but seeing Chen Chang'an and Chen Yunxuan had genuinely shocked him.

Chen Chang'an was an old acquaintance, so his strangeness was expected.

But this young Chen Yunxuan also carried immense fortune—and was similarly unreadable.

Chen Yunxuan hadn’t anticipated the conversation turning to him.

"My Chen family has never produced mediocrity."

"So, your premature decline was due to that forbidden divination?"

"But you didn’t come all this way just to reminisce, did you?" Chen Chang'an asked with a smile.

"You’re wrong. It really was just to catch up."

"Maybe age makes one sentimental for old companions."

"I couldn’t decipher the heavens’ will, nor do I know what’s coming."

"So I decided not to dwell on it." Wang Tianji chuckled.

"Fine. Today, we reminisce—nothing else."

"Agreed!"

Once food and wine were served, Chen Chang'an and Wang Tianji drank heartily, laughing over old times.

True to their word, they never revisited the earlier discussion.

Chen Yunxuan sat quietly, occasionally refilling their cups, thinking to himself, "Following my ancestor truly broadens my horizons!"

"To think he knows figures like this."

After two hours, Wang Tianji patted his full stomach contentedly.

"A satisfying meal. It’s been too long since I enjoyed myself like this."

"Well worth the journey."

"But all gatherings must end. It’s time I took my leave."

Chen Chang'an glanced at him calmly.

"Leaving now?"

"Yes, it’s time."

"Very well."

Chen Chang'an simply nodded without further comment.

After Wang Tianji left, Chen Yunxuan asked, "Ancestor, Senior Wang has no cultivation now. Isn’t it dangerous for him to travel alone?"

"He won’t repeat past mistakes. That’s not his nature."

"Remember, he’s the third master of the Tianji Pavilion. Did you think he’d travel without protection?"

"Huh? So he has guards hidden nearby? Then why did you have me intervene earlier?"

"I was merely playing along to keep up the act with him."

"Yunxuan, what do you think of Wang Tianji?"

Hearing this, Chen Yunxuan fell into thought before replying earnestly, "Ancestor, I can't quite grasp this man. I don't know him well, and our brief encounter left little impression."

"But since he's an old friend of yours, he can't be too bad. He seemed decent enough."

Chen Chang'an glanced at Chen Yunxuan with a faint smile, making the latter tense up slightly.

"A man who dares pry into the heavens' secrets is far from simple."

"Did you truly believe he came just to reminisce?"

"He... may not be wicked, but neither is he purely virtuous!"