Bai Qi was very well prepared. His "Junior Martial Uncle" Chen Zhao had previously spent many gold coins, such as on the Cross-Sea Incense which protected the divine soul and prevented interference from external demons.

There were also several bottles of Nourishing Spirit Pills obtained from the Alien Evil Monarch, which sped up the progress of condensing thoughts and reduced the arduous effort required for cultivation.

These were all confirmed to have no issues and were very beneficial for the practice of Dao Skills.

As soon as the new year passed, he had Groom Xu Sanyin, along with Uncle Changshun and a few guys from the fish stall, help with the work, and then gathered skilled plasterers and masons to specifically open up a meditation chamber in the backyard.

The so-called meditation chamber is a place for cultivation practice.

Not only must it be cleaned constantly to keep it spotless, but it also has to harness the wind and gather water.

According to feng shui principles, water is where life energy resides, a place of thick accumulation, symbolizing auspiciousness and nobility; using water to gather life energy and preventing wind from dispersing it.

Hence, when arranging the feng shui layout of a residence, water should be prioritized, followed by the concealment of wind.

"Qi Yan and Master Lv Nan are quite knowledgeable, they even know a bit about setting up a residence, speaking eloquently about the five illusions and five realities.

The lineage of Wild Grass Mountain is indeed exceptional."

Bai Qi sat cross-legged on the mat, posing in the five hearts toward the heavens meditation posture, temporarily unable to restrain his chaotic thoughts.

In this meditation chamber of his, a pond was dug in the front to draw water from Huangsha Creek for irrigation, and two artificial hills stood like tightly shut doors, blocking the dissipating flow of life energy. If there was time in the future, raising a few good fish and transplanting some bamboo clusters would further enhance the feng shui accumulation.

It's truly comfortable!

"There really is some knowledge in it."

Being within it, Bai Qi often felt his mind and body refreshed, practicing the "Subduing Jiao Yellow Springs Sutra," defeating the fierce creatures of the heart sea, rarely feeling absent-minded, anxious, or restless.

In the Second Realm of Dao Skills, Meditation Visualization has a real barrier.

It's called "The Way is a foot high, the demon is a yard higher!"

The more condensed the thought, the more terrifying the illusions encountered.

According to the Dao Skill classics stored within Dezhen Tower, there were even legends where Ghost Immortals in meditation conjured solid heart demons, transforming into a multitude of eighty-one thousand, whether enticing, tempting, showing scenes of intercourse, or resembling relatives, constantly shaking their minds.

Thus, the incense, elixirs, and sacred cultivation grounds that protect the mind and spirit become extremely precious.

"Master's 'good friend' Qiu Changtian seems to be the renowned Feng Shui Daoist of Yihai Prefecture.

If willing to give some face, when I progress further in Dao Skills, a great formation can be set up using treasured materials as the eyes, to absorb the energy from four directions.

By doing so, whether delving into the classics or contemplating Daoist Skills, everything will naturally fall into place."

That was Bai Qi's thought as he had Deng Yong from the Broken Blade Sect select a suitable residence for him in the Inner City of Black River County, planning to move in with Ah Di and Groom Xu Sanyin after a while.

At that time, hiring a few kitchen maidservants, laundresses, and tea-pouring maids would complete Bai Qilang's life of a grand master.

When the time comes to enter the third practice and breakthrough the skin barrier.

He can then consider going from the County Magistrate to County Master.

This is called progressing step by step, ascending steadily!

"Life is becoming more and more hopeful..."

Bai Qi chuckled at himself, in front of him, there were two Crane-Beaked Incense Burners, which he specially acquired from He Jingfeng.

Inside, he lit several pieces of Cross-Sea Incense, the smoke rising spirally and remaining, like floating clouds.

In a moment, in the meditation chamber sealed from noise on all sides, wisps of visible fibrous strands drifted.

As Bai Qi and Bai Ming, the two brothers, breathed, it gently swayed and flowed.

"Wait a minute, none of these external items are my own? Could it be, like Master, I also have an extraordinary talent for mooching favors from others!"

Bai Qi looked at Bai Ming, who had already started meditating, hearing his brother's steady and almost inaudible breath, nodded with satisfaction:

"Without distractive thoughts, completely free from all ties, indeed a good seedling for cultivating the Dao."

Besides the Crane-Beaked Incense Burners, there was also a small four-legged cauldron on the low table.

Bai Qi took out the yellow Memory Fragrance that Qi Yan had gifted him and lit it.

After a while, as Bai Ming exhaled and inhaled, the breath merged, a stream of blue smoke about half a finger length rose slowly, then grew to about a foot high.

"I wonder how high this blue smoke will reach when the Memory Fragrance is completely burned."

Bai Qi speculated, with the Cross-Sea Incense given by Chen Zhao, his brother Bai Ming's thoughts were more condensed, and the final performance should not be bad.

Two feet, three feet!

Bai Qi silently watched the blue smoke curling from the Memory Fragrance, soaring upwards.

Straightening to about three feet, it seemed to touch an invisible barrier, unable to go any further.

"Three feet! Extraordinary!"

Bai Qi inexplicably felt the satisfaction of finding out his younger brother had excellent exam results, with abundant external supply in the future, passing as a student of the Daoist School would be no problem.

Buzz!

It was like a stone dropped into a calm lake, stirring ripples of energy.

In his meditative state, Bai Ming's brow suddenly twitched, conjuring a touch of verdant color, much like the water ripple mark on Bai Qi's forehead.

The contracting blue smoke from the Memory Fragrance shuddered violently, like a tightly pressed spring suddenly bouncing up, rising another foot abruptly.

"Is this Lady Willow God's blessing? My brother, like me, has a... wood纹 on his forehead?"

Bai Qi pondered to himself, and it seemed that the blue smoke was not finished, growing another half a foot like a bamboo shoot in spring rain!

"Four and a half feet? A once in a century sight!"

Looking at his brother's calm little face, Bai Qi considered, seems it can still rise a little?

Five feet... five and a half feet... six feet!

Until that Memory Fragrance burned out, merging with Bai Ming's breath, the drifting cyan smoke settled around six feet.

"Could it be, my brother truly has the grace of an Exiled Immortal!"

Bai Qi thought to himself, four to five feet is a once-in-a-century event, what is six feet?

A rare occurrence of a millennium?

If Bai Ming were such a prodigy, it's unreasonable that Master Ninghai Zen hadn't noticed!

"Could it be inaccurate?"

Bai Qi lit another red Life Fragrance, waiting for it to burn out, then pressed the incense ash into his palm to examine fate attributes.

After about half an hour, Bai Ming opened his eyes, feeling a faint throbbing at his brow, a sign of thoughts being refined and cultivation improving.

Following his brother's instructions, he pressed both palms into the slightly warm incense ash in the tray, creating very clear impression marks.

The left was the main seal, the right was the partial seal.

"Metal, Water, Fire."

Bai Qi, feeling a bit overwhelmed, took out a book he just found in the Dezhen Tower called "Comprehensive Explanation of Fate Attributes" and compared it with Bai Ming's palm marks.

"Earth, Wood... The last one slightly stronger than the other four elements. Overall, it's a well-balanced fate attribute for all five elements, offering a wide choice in Cultivation Techniques.

As for comments, let Uncle Dao or Master explain, it's a bit beyond me.

Qi Yan's fate is a lotus growing in fire, real gold giving birth to yang, the main seal is fire and a lotus flower, the partial seal is gold, transforming into a great sun, it looks quite extraordinary, I'll explain yours later."

Bai Ming responded with an "oh," showing no particularly excited expression. He only cared if he could help his brother; how powerful he himself was, was of little consequence.

"Brother, what about you? There's still a Memory Fragrance and a Life Fragrance left."

Bai Qi was contemplating whether to assess his own fate and aptitude when he suddenly heard a bell ringing.

Because the quiet room was well-insulated and disturbing cultivation was taboo, a copper bell was used for urgent messages.

Bai Qi stood up, opened the two wooden doors, and saw Xu Sanyin standing outside:

"What happened?"

Old Xu wiped his sweat:

"Boss, the house caught fire!"

...

...

Qiu Changtian rode a small donkey awkwardly along the official road outside Yihai County City, his clothes looking slightly disheveled.

He mumbled, cursing under his breath:

"Just had a quick pee, did Master Xuanji really need to make such a fuss? Nearly ruined my precious robe."

The skinny donkey opened its mouth and said:

"What you did was really terrible, ruining the feng shui of Zhi Xin Temple, it'll take more than half a year to cleanse that bad energy."

Qiu Changtian held his head high:

"Entrusted by someone, loyal to their affairs! Daoist Chongxu and I hit it off at first sight, how could I just brush it off."

The ragged black donkey snorted:

"Master, is your end truly near? Before you go, for the sake of me accompanying you over mountains of swords and seas of fire, tell me the whereabouts of your hidden treasure..."

Qiu Changtian gave the donkey's head a big slap, making it droop:

"Silence with your nonsense! I travel light with no worldly belongings! Every year a minor disaster, every three years a medium calamity, every nine years a major disaster. To avoid being struck by Celestial Lord's thunder, I've performed how many ceremonies and set up feng shui arrays, yet you covet my modest savings!

If I had known, I wouldn't have saved you from that black market!"

The donkey plodded along, its mouth curled like it was laughing:

"You made quite a bit, going in and out, with Zhao Pijiang from Celestial Water Prefecture alone giving you seventy or eighty boxes of treasures.

Strange, why would such a Divine Power Giant need you? Doesn't his house have plenty of Daoists?"

Qiu Changtian snorted coldly:

"His main seal is the Greedy Wolf, the partial seal is the Fire Bell. As it's said, the Greedy Wolf in the Fire Bell's grave, resplendent wealth and noble status, destined for windfall wealth and military merits.

Unfortunately, unfortunately, the Fire Bell is a partial seal, not a main seal; if the Fire Bell were the main, it could suppress the Greedy Wolf's malevolence, ensuring longevity.

As it is, it's aggressive as fire, greedy as blood... That Grand General Zhao has quite an appetite!"

The donkey curiously asked:

"Did Zhao Pijiang ask you to read his fate?"

Qiu Changtian shook his head:

"His fate structure was already examined. The Zhaos want me to read the fate of... a noble person."

Noble person?

The donkey was shocked, who could be more venerable than Zhao Pijiang, the one controlling Celestial Water Prefecture with power?

"Prince Yong."

Qiu Changtian did not shy away:

"The Holy Emperor's eldest brother, the deposed Crown Prince expelled from the Eastern Palace."