Chapter 182: Divining Fortune and Misfortune

Faced with the countless mud golems, even the three hardened individuals couldn’t help but feel their scalps tingle and their hearts tighten in alarm.

“Run!” The shamaness made a snap decision. As the fastest among them, she let out a shout before rushing toward the executioner, hoisting him onto her back.

The executioner didn’t resist in the slightest, allowing himself to be carried.

“Go up from the left!” The corpse retriever hurled both of his grappling hooks, piercing the heads of two mud golems before yanking hard!

Rip! The mud golems’ bodies were not sturdy. With that pull, their heads instantly shattered into pieces!

Seizing the opening, the shamaness carried the executioner through the breach with ease, planting a foot against the rock wall and propelling herself upward with a powerful kick!

The corpse retriever, a step behind, was quickly surrounded as the mud golems sealed off the gap!

Thump-thump—Jingle!

The drum and bell rang out once more!

The three mud golems blocking the corpse retriever’s path instantly collapsed into puddles of sludge.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the agile corpse retriever dashed to the rock wall. He flung his grappling hooks upward, embedding them deep into the rock face!

Gripping the chains tightly, he hoisted himself up with all his strength, ascending the cliffside just before the mud golems could reach him…

A full hour later, the three finally made it back to the cliff’s edge!

The soldiers stationed there hurried to assist them, helping the slightly exhausted shamaness and corpse retriever back to the command tent. The executioner, having been carried both down and up, had lost little stamina and didn’t need any help.

Inside the tent, most of the mystics and experts had already left, leaving only a few behind.

Upon hearing that they had returned, Qi Yuan, who had come back earlier, promptly went to welcome them.

Seeing that none of the three bore any external injuries, Qi Yuan immediately asked about the situation in the valley.

With the sharpest mind among them, the executioner took on the role of storyteller, recounting everything they had seen and experienced.

After listening, Qi Yuan’s brow furrowed deeply. Turning to Daoist Master Mei, he asked, “Daoist Mei, with your extensive knowledge, do you have any idea what these underground-dwelling, mud-formed fiends might be?”

Daoist Mei shook his head. “A valley steeped in yin energy is bound to attract some malevolent entities—that’s normal. But for these entities to speak and actively take on a guardian role? That’s highly unusual.”

“You mean… these fiends were deliberately placed there to protect whatever lies beyond the glowing curtain?” Qi Yuan frowned.

Daoist Mei let out a bitter chuckle. “That seems to be the case…”

Qi Yuan continued, “If they were intentionally set there, wouldn’t that mean that whatever is behind that glow has already been claimed by someone? Or perhaps it already had an owner all along?”

The shamaness hesitated briefly before speaking. “The Great Deity told me… if I go down again, He will not descend upon me…” She paused before continuing, “Until now, the Great Deity has never shown fear before.”

At this moment, the shamaness’ posture once again hunched over. If Qi Yuan hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, he would have found it hard to believe that this frail old woman had just carried a full-grown man up and down Wind Blade Valley.

“So… the one down there is that powerful? Powerful enough that even your Great Deity doesn’t wish to provoke them?”

The shamaness nodded. “That’s right… From here on, I won’t be participating. Without the Great Deity’s aid, I’m nothing but an old woman with no strength in my arms or shoulders.”

“I hope you won’t take offense, Master Qi.”

Qi Yuan waved his hand. “No need to worry. Bringing back such critical information is already a great accomplishment. Regardless of success or failure, the three of you deserve the highest merit.”

“Go rest for now. If I have more questions later, I’ll find you.”

Hearing this, the three vanguards bowed and took their leave.

Once only Qi Yuan and Daoist Mei remained in the tent, the latter spoke again. “Master Qi, if I may speak bluntly… Among today’s vanguard, the shamaness was the strongest. And even she only had power thanks to the Great Deity.”

“Now that her deity has withdrawn, relying on the remaining mystics—who are far weaker than she was—makes it unlikely we’ll be able to overcome those mud-formed fiends.”

“Moreover, even if we complete the iron chain bridge, the Heavenly War Cavalry, having lost their warhorses, will be severely weakened… Facing those relentless, undying mud golems will likely result in devastating casualties.”

“Sigh…” Qi Yuan let out a long sigh and shook his head. “I know all this. But the emperor’s decree has already been given. If we don’t even attempt the descent…”

“I don’t think anything will happen… but you and these three thousand Heavenly War Cavalry will bear the crime of defying an imperial decree!”

Defying an imperial decree!

That was a grave offense!

If things went wrong, heads would roll!

Daoist Mei shrank his neck and said, “Master Qi, how about we wait until I divine an auspicious sign before going down?”

“Time, terrain, and people—terrain advantage is out of the question, but we have unity among men… If we can secure heavenly timing, then even if we descend, there may be no danger.”

Qi Yuan nodded. “Very well, we’ll follow your suggestion… Starting tomorrow, we will divine three times daily. If we get two auspicious signs and one neutral, we will descend into the valley!”

…

The next afternoon, more than twenty iron chains extending to the valley floor were completed.

By then, the ordeal of the three vanguard members from the previous night had already spread throughout the camp.

The Heavenly War Cavalry remained unfazed. Representing the honor of Great Qian’s elite cavalry, they had the courage to charge forward no matter what they faced.

Their creed was simple—either crush the enemy or die on the battlefield!

However, the hundred or so wandering martial artists and mystics were different.

Unlike the soldiers, they were not bound by military discipline or a willingness to sacrifice themselves. If it were just ordinary spirits or demons, they would have the confidence to fight.

But the problem was that they were now facing something even the Great Deity of the shamaness did not dare provoke!

If even a Great Deity was unwilling to confront it, could it possibly be anything good?

Who knew if those mud golems were just the beginning, with even more terrifying entities lurking behind them?

Thus, upon learning that Master Qi intended to descend into the valley based on Daoist Mei’s divinations, those unwilling to go down would gather daily to watch his divination. Whether in their hearts or murmuring aloud, they would chant:

“Ill omen! Ill omen! Great ill omen!”

Daoist Mei was helpless but said nothing. After all, fear of death was only natural…

And so it continued.

On the first day after the chains were completed, the three divinations yielded: [Ominous] [Ominous] [Ominous].

On the second day, the results were: [Great Ominous] [Ominous] [Great Ominous].

On the third day: [Great Ominous] [Great Ominous] [Neutral].

On the fourth day: [Neutral] [Ominous] [Great Ominous].

By then, five days had passed since they first set up camp in Wind Blade Valley, including the four days after the iron chains were completed.

Excluding the initial “Kan Hexagram” of uncertainty, Daoist Mei had drawn a total of [Five Ominous] [Five Great Ominous] and [Two Neutral]!

According to him, such a relentlessly fatal divination was exceedingly rare in the entire field of divination…