The spiritual energy was restored, and he became a mortal immortal in two days.

Qingzhou City, Park.

The afternoon sun dappled through the branches and leaves of the sycamore trees onto the stone path.

The park was bustling with activity.

There were elderly people playing chess, children playing, couples taking a walk, and vendors pushing carts selling candied hawthorns and cotton candy.

Chen Xuan sat at a stone table, opposite an elderly man with gray hair. He was an old chess player in the park, with good chess skills, but a bit stubborn.

"General!"

He placed his piece, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Little Chen, you made a mistake with this move."

Chen Xuan glanced at the chessboard, shook his head, picked up his "horse," and lightly jumped.

"A counter-attack."

Old Master Huo's smile froze on his face.

He stared at the chessboard for a long time, then finally slapped his thigh in frustration: "Oh no! How could I not have seen that move!"

Chen Xuan smiled but didn't say anything.

He took ten yuan out of his pocket and put it on the table.

This is the prize money for their chess game, ten yuan per game.

"Again! Again!"

Old Master Huo was not convinced and rearranged the pieces.

The two played three more rounds.

Chen Xuan won the entire victory.

He won another thirty dollars.

"I'm not downloading anymore!"

Old Huo waved his hand, looking annoyed. "How come you're having such good luck today? You won four games in a row!"

"Just lucky."

Chen Xuan put away the money, stood up, and said, "Elder Huo, I'll be leaving now."

"Okay, come again tomorrow!"

Old Huo shouted at him.

Chen Xuan nodded and turned to leave.

He walked along the park path, holding the forty yuan he had just won, wondering whether he should buy some groceries.

Lu Yao's cooking skills have improved recently; her braised pork is quite good, but she bought a little too little meat.

But just then—

"Young friend, please wait a moment."

An old voice suddenly came from the side.

Chen Xuan stopped and turned to look.

The speaker was an elderly man dressed in a gray Taoist robe, with white hair and beard, a gaunt face, and a bamboo staff in his hand. He looked like a hermit, with the air of a reclusive sage.

He stood under a sycamore tree, smiling as he looked at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan frowned slightly.

He could sense that this old man was no ordinary person.

Although the other party deliberately concealed their aura, the Daoist charm emanating from their very bones could not be faked.

Half-step Nascent Soul.

Moreover, their foundation is very solid, much stronger than the five patriarchs of the Lingyuan Sect.

"What's up?"

Chen Xuan asked calmly.

"This humble Taoist priest observes that your appearance is quite extraordinary."

The gray-robed elder stepped forward, scrutinizing Chen Xuan from head to toe. A hint of surprise flashed in his eyes. "Young friend, you have a purple aura between your brows and a dragon pattern in your destiny palace. These are signs of great wealth, high status, great opportunities, and great fortune!"

Chen Xuan didn't speak, he just looked at him quietly.

"If you don't believe me, young friend, you can tell me your birth date and time."

The gray-robed old man continued, "This humble Taoist can predict your fortune for the next thirty years free of charge, helping you turn misfortune into good fortune and overcome adversity."

He spoke very sincerely and didn't seem like a liar.

But Chen Xuan laughed.

"Predicting my fate?"

He shook his head. "You can't count."

The old man in the gray robe was taken aback.

"Why do you say that, young friend?"

He asked, "I have practiced the Taiqing Divination Technique for three hundred years. Although I dare not say that I can calculate everything under heaven, I am more than capable of predicting the major events of the next thirty years for you."

"Oh?"

Chen Xuan raised an eyebrow. "Then you calculate, where should I go next?"

The old man in the gray robe smiled slightly, made a hand seal with his right hand, and quickly calculated with his left hand in his sleeve.

After calculating for a long time, his brows furrowed even more deeply.

"This...is strange..."

He muttered to himself, "Why can't I figure it out?"

"Because my fate is not within the Heavenly Dao," Chen Xuan said calmly.

The old man in the gray robe suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Chen Xuan.

"Not within the Heavenly Dao?"

His voice was filled with shock, "How is this possible?"

"Why is it impossible?"

Chen Xuan countered, "The Way of Heaven has flaws, and all things have loopholes. There will always be a few people who are the fish that slip through the net of the Way of Heaven."

The old man in the gray robe fell silent.

He looked Chen Xuan up and down again. This time, his eyes no longer held the casualness of before, but instead showed a solemnity and awe.

"Who exactly are you, young friend?" he asked with difficulty.

"An ordinary person."

After Chen Xuan finished speaking, he turned to leave.

"etc!"

The old man in the gray robe called out to him.

Chen Xuan stopped walking without turning around.

"Young friend, my Taoist name is Taiqingzi, and I am the abbot of Taiqing Temple."

The old man in the gray robe slowly said, "Taiqing Temple is an ancient sect with a history of ten thousand years, specializing in divination, fortune-telling, and numerology."

"In my three hundred years of cultivation, I have never seen anyone with such a unique destiny as you, young friend."

"Therefore, I would like to ask you for a favor, young friend."

Chen Xuan turned around and looked at him.

"What kind of help?"

"Young friend... please cooperate with me to deduce the destiny of Heaven."

Taiqingzi's voice was very serious, "This humble Taoist wants to know what kind of destiny can transcend the Heavenly Dao."

Chen Xuan stared at him for a long time.

Then, he shook his head.

"Not interested."

After he finished speaking, he turned and left without lingering.

Taiqingzi stood there, watching his departing figure, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

Then, he looked at the news coming from the temple. The release of the Empress's autobiography had shocked many people.

"This world is getting more and more terrifying."

"Now, even a young person I meet by chance can't see through me."

He shook his head, helpless, with a hint of self-mockery and a bitter smile.

.......

On Lingxiao's intranet, the autobiography "Phoenix Nirvana" continues to be updated.

The era of swordsmanship, 175 years.

Autumn, September.

I first met Prime Minister Chen when I was fifteen years old, and three years have passed since then.

For the past three years, I have gone to that deep mountain stream every year to look for him.

Sometimes I stayed for a month, sometimes for three months, and the longest I stayed was half a year.

He taught me cultivation, formations, and the way of the sword.

Although he didn't say much, every word he uttered was insightful and enlightening, often giving me a sudden understanding.

Over the course of three years, my cultivation level progressed from the early Foundation Establishment stage to the early Golden Core stage.

This was already shocking and unconventional in the Tianfeng Dynasty at that time.

Even those so-called peerless geniuses need at least ten years of arduous cultivation to progress from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core.

But I only took three years.

Because I have him.

That autumn, I prepared to head south again.

But just before he was about to leave, bad news came from the palace.

My father has passed away.

I knelt before the spirit tablet and wept for three days and three nights.

My father treated me very well. Although he knew that I would leave the palace for several months every year, he never stopped me.

He said that the phoenix should soar through the heavens, not be confined to this deep palace.

But everything changed after my father left.

The brothers began vying for the throne.

The eldest prince had won over most of the civil officials in the court, the second prince controlled half of the military power, and the third prince secretly colluded with several ancient powerful clans.

They engaged in open and covert struggles, undermining each other and turning the once prosperous Tianfeng Dynasty into a chaotic mess.

I don't want to get involved in these whirlpools.

All I want to do is leave and go find him.

But I never expected—

They actually set their sights on me.

Before my father passed away, he entrusted me with the "Heavenly Phoenix Crown," the symbol of the throne.

If my brothers fight each other for the throne, I will keep the Heavenly Wind Crown hidden until a suitable candidate is chosen, at which point I will hand it over.

This was originally my father's trust in me.

But now, it has become a death warrant.

That day, I had only traveled a hundred miles from the capital when I was stopped.

What stopped me was my second elder brother, Wu Mingtian, and his three thousand black-armored soldiers.

"Third Sister, where are we going?"

Wu Mingtian, mounted on his horse, looked down at me with a fake smile on his face.

"Go south," I said coldly.

"What are you going to do in the south?"

He continued, "To go find your lover in the deep mountains?"