[Intertwined Fate 1: Lu Xuan (Red)
Entry 1: Cultivation Realm Feedback
Entry 2: Realm Comprehension Feedback]
[Intertwined Fate 2: ??? (White)]
…
"Each tribulation unlocks a new target to be selected? But for a tribulation to occur, I must help subvert someone's fate, and the deviation can't be too little.
"However, my insight into the novel is limited because it went on an indefinite hiatus. I can't really pick and choose fateful protagonists to help without foreknowledge.
"Hm, it seems like I need to study some fate, destiny, and Qi fortune related techniques in the future. This will make my life much easier."
Still on the same artificial mountain, his clothes damp with the residue of morning dew, Mingyuan had his eyes closed as he murmured to himself.
The more he understood his system, the more he felt like his dream of achieving immortality as a salted fish was impossible.
Part of him knew that as long as he waited it out, Lu Xuan would inevitably reach the peak of this world.
However, another part of himself didn't want to wait that long. Since each tribulation could increase the intertwined fate slot by one, and his entries were bound to the trust level between himself and his target, perhaps the low-key approach was flawed from the beginning.
Well, not entirely flawed, but could be improved.
For example, switching the identity from a servant to a Master or a Godfather can make wonders.
He had the property, land, and resources to nurture disciples. He would soon have the technique to read innate fortune, and he had some knowledge of future characters with great potential.
It would only take the slightest effort to bring them under his wing, change their fate, and skip all future suffering, while securing future tribulations.
Starting with three or four disciples for now should be fine, he doesn't need to immediately connect his fate with theirs.
Nurturing trust and goodwill was more than enough.
Quickly, a plan began to take shape in Mingyuan's mind. After Lu Xuan returned from the secret realm, he would enter a power-up phase where things would calm down for a while.
Taking advantage of this window of opportunity, Mingyuan decided to leave the sect and travel to the Heavenly Secrets Province, the known hubbub for charlatans and oracle cultivators.
According to the storyline, a once in a ten thousand years genius oracle will make her debut a few years later when she regains her sight and awakens the eyes of heaven.
She would shock the heavens, and would soon be whisked away to the Immortal Realm by a mysterious faction.
Before that happens, Mingyuan has to mark her as his second choice of intertwined fate.
Not only that, but he decided to take her away and adopt her as his first orphan.
Now, she was just a blind orphan slaving away at an abandoned temple. No one would care if he bought her and took her away.
Mingyuan would take care of the girl for the following three years and nurture sentiment, raising the level of fate as much as possible before her sight awakens.
The days quickly passed as Mingyuan perfected his plans and mapped out his future growth trajectory.
Bai Rouxi noticed the shift in Mingyuan's mindset. He seemed a little more proactive than before, though his habit of spacing out didn't change.
A few months later, Lu Xuan returned to the sect together with a batch of newly promoted Golden Core disciples.
Now, their identity has changed and they've become Core Disciples, just a level beneath Legacy Disciples.
It didn't take long for Lu Xuan to find Mingyuan's residence.
…
Wang family compound, Ming Garden.
Inside the cozy gazebo, Mingyuan played host for Lu Xuan while munching snacks and listening to his stories of peril and adventure.
"Oh? The outside world seems rather terrifying," Mingyuan, as usual, feigned being scared while listening.
Lu Xuan rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, extremely dangerous. It's best you shelve your plans and stay seated in the sect."
On another note, Lu Xuan leaned in curiously and asked, "What's your current cultivation level?"
Mingyuan lit a herbal cigar and inhaled a thick dose of spiritual energy, leaning back into his chair. "Just reached late-stage Nascent Soul a few days ago, about to perfect it in a few weeks."
Lu Xuan gave Mingyuan a deadpan look.
If he truly reached Nascent Soul, the whole city would have noticed his tribulation.
Lu Xuan simply didn't believe it.
After chatting back and forth for a while and confirming that Mingyuan truly intended to travel outside for three years, Lu Xuan wished him good luck and left.
At the very least, Mingyuan kept the mansion and the compound open to both Bai Rouxi and Lu Xuan.
Racing against time, Mingyuan left on that same day, consecutively shuttling through one cross-province teleportation station to the next.
In just a few days, he reached the Heavenly Secrets Province, a known region for neutral forces.
…
Liu Village welcomed a mysterious guest today.
A young cultivator with an unfathomable temperament. With mystical skills, he healed the sick and wounded, chased away the wild beasts, and taught the robust children how to fight with swords.
This mysterious cultivator, surnamed Wang, settled in the broken temple on the rear mountain behind the village.
He took the blind orphan girl as his adopted daughter. Liu Tianji, a darling little thing who just turned fourteen years old.
If it weren't for the contributions of her late parents, the village would have long since abandoned her to fend for herself.
Although she was wary at first, it didn't take long for the girl to warm up to the only person in the world who showed her care and warmth.
It didn't take too much effort from Mingyuan to increase the fate value from White Fate to Red Fate, and it was quickly approaching the Yellow Fate.
As for the two entries, Mingyuan selected the Realm Comprehension Feedback and the Technique Mastery Feedback.
The former was for Liu Tianji's insights into the laws of fate and destiny, not to mention her innate connection to heavenly secrets.
As for the latter, she would soon learn all kinds of valuable divination techniques and principles after ascending.
As for the third entry, Mingyuan wasn't so desperate for her cultivation base feedback.
…
"Father, you called?" Liu Tianji, with a white cloth covering her eyes and dressed in a religious nun's robe, slowly entered the temple's main hall.
"There's some unusual movement down the mountain, I suspect wild beasts are migrating south. Stay inside these few days and don't run around." Mingyuan spoke softly and patted her small head.
With his current divine sense, the entire mountain was within Mingyuan's sensory range.
Although he secluded himself from the mundane affairs for a year and the villagers no longer had the guts to act all friendly and casual around him, Mingyuan wouldn't ignore their plight.
As long as it didn't inconvenience his plans, helping out now and then was okay.
The past year or so, whenever a great danger approached the village, a streak of sword intent would strike from the ruined temple and solve the problem.
Liu Tianji pursed her lips, hesitated, and mustered up the courage to say, "Father, I'm confused… You're so powerful, so…"
Mingyuan smiled. "You wanted to ask why I stayed behind and chose you, a blind and weak orphan?"
Mingyuan reflected that perhaps the knot in her heart is what's blocking the fate connection from leveling up to the Yellow Fate level.