"That old man is none other than the West Valley True Monarch."

West Valley True Monarch is the one printed on the "West Coin" of Zhou Xuan's Four Directions Coins...

"What happened after that?"

"After that, I became muddled and didn't know what was happening. But from then on, my fate took a turn—I stopped loving reading. It's okay to look at some miscellaneous, leisurely books, but when it comes to studying something profound, my head aches terribly, and I feel worse than death."

Xu Jingshan said, "With this strange illness, naturally, I couldn't succeed in my studies. But from then on, I embarked on a path of selling mountain goods. Fortunately, I made good material for business, and within a couple of years, I was thriving.

Reflecting on it later, it must be the West Valley True Monarch blaming me for wasting the Literary Saint Destiny and taking it back; from then on, I lost my affinity with scholarly pursuits."

Zhou Xuan asked keenly upon hearing this, "Did you marry your first wife before or after your studies?"

In Jing Country, some people marry early, at fourteen or fifteen years old. Xu Jingshan was already seventeen when he took his exams. At that age, getting married is more than expected, so it needs to be clarified.

"After the exams."

Upon hearing the response, Zhou Xuan sorted through his thoughts and felt that what Xu Jingshan sought, though it was just a matter of marriage and children, was especially tricky to accomplish.

"You were born with the Literary Saint Destiny, only because Master Zheng saw your destiny and took you back to his family, hoping that after you paved a future, you would take care of the Zheng Family, inadvertently altering your fate.

This was the first fate change, triggering the Heavenly Star.

When you took your exams, you met the West Valley True Monarch, who blamed your lack of prospects and took away your destiny, severing your connection with profound studies. This was the second fate change, initiated by the True Monarch."

Zhou Xuan folded his arms and pondered Xu Jingshan's appearance, saying, "What truly delivered you to today's miserable situation is likely because your destiny was taken away. It was taken away by the True Monarch. To alter your fate back, the principle is simple:

Just let the West Valley True Monarch return your Literary Saint Destiny..."

So, the question arises: where is the West Valley True Monarch?

"Time Realm."

Zhao Wuya chimed in.

"Why in the Time Realm?" Zhou Xuan asked.

"The Four Divine Monarchs of the Taoist, they're all in the Time Realm."

Zhao Wuya pointed in the direction of the Heavenly Dome, saying, "Brother Xuan, do you know the stars in the sky? Four of them are magic artifacts left by the Four Divine Monarchs, guiding the Taoist disciples.

Your Four Directions Coins can be verified because the Divine Monarch stars shine their guidance."

"So, to find the West Valley Divine Monarch, I must go to the Time Realm?"

"You can't go yet; you lack eight Incenses."

Zhao Wuya explained.

Disciple from the Human World of Jing Country, who has gained eight Incenses and become a Demigod, will hear the call of the Time Realm.

With this call, one can enter the Time Realm.

"Those who have been to the Time Realm usually don't return to the Human World. It's said that inside there are countless demons and spirit monsters, simply surviving is exceedingly challenging."

Zhao Wuya continued, "This Yama's Trigram, it's likely to be futile again... These trigrams, each one has rich returns, but alas, they're like flowers in the mirror and the moon in the water, seeming real yet vanish upon touch, very exasperating."

Zhao Wuya no longer hoped to change Xu Jingshan's fate; he planned to exchange a few more pleasantries and leave,

Do some inexpensive fortune-telling business on the street; that's not bad either. With each transaction, there's incense settling, though meager. Persist daily, seeking dragons and casting trigrams everywhere. In five, six, seven, eight years, wouldn't you rise to seven Incenses?

Why bother doing an article on this "Yama's Trigram,"

Following his inner plan and after a few superficial words, he was about to turn and leave, but as he was about to walk away, Zhou Xuan stood frozen in place.

"Brother Xuan, let's go. What the West Valley True Monarch did can't be undone by us mere Taoists in the Human World."

"Brother Xuan..."

As Zhao Wuya kept urging, Zhou Xuan seemed not to hear, holding his cheeks in contemplation.

"Brother Xuan, we should be on our way."

"Don't rush; I've thought of a problem."

Zhou Xuan gazed intently at Xu Jingshan, addressing Zhao Wuya, "Ya Zi, the Gua Master of Yama's Trigram is guided by certain beliefs and blessings, seeking me to resolve worldly troubles, right?"

"Yes."

"Xu Guangtou... Xu Wensheng was guided by the West Valley True Monarch to find me for the trigram,

and the solution to his worldly troubles was to find the West Valley True Monarch."

Zhou Xuan said, "So, the question arises, the West Valley True Monarch surely knows that neither of us can enter the Time Realm to seek him. Then why guide Boss Xu to await us?"

"Uh..."

"He knew we couldn't accomplish it, yet guided Boss Xu to find us. Isn't this unnecessary displacement?"

Zhou Xuan said, "Thus, the way to unravel the seven-leaf sage's trigram might be unclear, but Boss Xu's trigram surely can't be solved in the Time Realm."

"Then where could it be?"

Zhao Wuya also figured something out and hurriedly asked.

"Boss Xu, don't you have anything special about this shop?"

"No." Xu Jingshan looked around.

"I find this shop somewhat familiar. I am both a Taoist and a storyteller. Storytellers use dreams as a device; there's a dreamlike aura here in your shop."

Zhou Xuan walked to a painting on the west wall and reached out to touch it.

As soon as he touched the paper,

Zhou Xuan felt a delicate elasticity—shockingly, the texture was that of human skin,

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