It made sense that they had gone to such lengths to bring a fortune-teller into the Foreign City. With spiritual powers suppressed here, immortals couldn't sense the aura of the Wu Tong tree heart, but a skilled fortune-teller could divine its location through similar objects. The stronger the fortune-teller, the more accurate the reading. Since the Wu Tong tree was a sacred relic on Phoenix Island, Yun Xiao must have gone through considerable trouble to obtain even this withered branch.
"Bai Shuo?" Nan Wan’s voice was low and edged with impatience as he fixed his gaze on her.
"No need to worry, Exalted One. I’ll divine the location of the Wu Tong tree heart immediately," Bai Shuo said, holding the dried branch reverently. A faint wisp of energy rose from it, and she closed her eyes, murmuring incantations. The energy slowly drifted toward her forehead, merging with her spiritual core.
[Note: Here, Bai Shuo appears to be performing a mystical form of divination by allowing the residual energy from the Wu Tong branch to enter her spiritual core, which will guide her in locating the Wu Tong tree heart.]
Ming Xin, observing her strange ritual, looked puzzled. This fortune-teller had read his fate with a single glance before. Could she really locate the tree heart just by letting its energy enter her spiritual core? It looked suspiciously like the flashy tricks of a street charlatan.
Within her spiritual core, the two ancient turtle shells Bai Shuo relied on for divination began to turn slowly, guided by the Wu Tong’s energy. She had secretly hidden the turtle shells inside her core as soon as they entered the Foreign City; she didn’t actually know the art of divination and was entirely dependent on these old relics. Anyone with even a trace of spiritual energy could use them. If Nan Wan discovered this, she and her companions would likely be thrown out of Yun Xiao’s group—maybe even kicked a few times for good measure.
The turtle shells stopped turning and faintly displayed three characters. At the same time, the energy from the dried Wu Tong branch was entirely consumed, and it crumbled into ashes.
Nan Wan's expression changed, but before he could speak, Bai Shuo opened her eyes and looked at him. "Exalted One, I’ve found it."
A glint of joy flashed in Nan Wan's eyes, and he grasped her wrist. "Where?"
A blue mark appeared instantly on her wrist, and Bai Shuo winced. "Ouch, ouch—you're hurting me!"
"Get away from her!" Fan Yue shoved Nan Wan back a few steps and shielded Bai Shuo protectively.
Taken aback by the shove, Nan Wan instinctively took a few steps back, while Ming Xin’s sword was halfway drawn, ready to strike at Fan Yue.
"Stop!" Nan Wan commanded, his gaze locking onto Fan Yue’s cold stare with a touch of unease. He quickly suppressed his annoyance, looking back at Bai Shuo. "I was hasty. Bai Shuo, can you tell me where the Wu Tong tree heart is located?"
"The spirit energy of the dried branch was weak, so I could only glimpse the location of the first part of the heart. To find the other two, we’ll need to acquire the first heart fragment—only then will the remaining locations reveal themselves."
"And where is the first part?" Nan Wan asked.
"In the Others’ Tomb," Bai Shuo said slowly.
"The Others’ Tomb?" Ming Xin muttered. "What kind of place is that?"
Bai Shuo shrugged. "I don’t know. The dried branch only showed that the first fragment is hidden there. As for where the Others’ Tomb is exactly, I’m in the dark."
The Foreign City had remained isolated in the wilderness since its creation, with no outsiders allowed entry. The celestial and demon clans knew virtually nothing about the Others, let alone where a place called the "Others’ Tomb" might be.
However, if it was a tomb, it would likely be a burial ground for the ancestors of the Others, which shouldn’t be too hard to locate.
"Exalted One, there are only two days left. We must find the Others’ Tomb quickly, or we’ll run out of time to locate the other fragments," Bai Shuo urged, her tone full of apparent concern for Nan Wan.
"Ming Xin, start searching. Everyone, go," Nan Wan ordered curtly.
"Yes, senior," Ming Xin replied, understanding the urgency, and promptly turned to leave.
"Bai Shuo, you will stay next door to me. Once we locate the first heart fragment, we’ll need your skills to find the rest."
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