Chapter 307: The Method of Testing Luck

“Lord Jiang.” Song Ying, the little white fox, and Aguna all came forward to greet Jiang Li when they saw him.

However, Jiang Li didn’t want to reveal his identity, so he signaled them not to make a fuss.

Their cultivation progress wasn’t slow. Yuan Wuxing had just entered the Divine Transformation stage, Qin Luan had reached the Nascent Soul stage, Song Ying was at late-stage Golden Core, Aguna was at mid-stage Golden Core, and the little fox’s strength was steadily recovering to about Nascent Soul level.

“This kid’s quick-witted. I like him.” Bai Hongtu found it amusing that he’d been called “Bai Hongguo” and wasn’t angry at all.

“And this is…” Yuan Wuxing hesitated as he looked at Bai Hongtu.

“Old Bai, the Sect Master of the Dao Sect.”

“So it’s Sect Master Bai.” Whether Mahayana stage or Tribulation Transcendence stage, these were figures far beyond their current reach. Yuan Wuxing treated Bai Hongtu with utmost respect.

But Bai Hongtu wasn’t one to stand on ceremony—he didn’t care how people treated him.

“Luck is determined at birth. How could worshipping possibly help?” A hoarse, unceremonious voice rang out as a large hand swept through, sending people flying.

“Take these statues and spirit stones back. You clearly have good fortune, so why resort to such cheap tricks?” The old man threw the statues and spirit stones to Yuan Wuxing and the others.

What he disliked most were those blessed with good luck who didn’t appreciate it.

The old man considered Qin Luan exactly that type of person.

With that, he opened the secret realm.

“He’s Daoist Dongxu?!” Qin Luan hadn’t expected this old man to be Daoist Dongxu himself, nor that after their scam in the Dongxu Secret Realm, the old man hadn’t expelled them.

“Congratulations, you’ve caught Daoist Dongxu’s attention,” Jiang Li teased.

“Daoist Dongxu is interested in me?” Qin Luan was stunned.

“Why else wouldn’t he have kicked you out, and even given you the spirit stones from the worship? He recognized your exceptional luck.”

Bai Hongtu shared Jiang Li’s view. While they didn’t agree with Daoist Dongxu’s theory that luck determined everything, they couldn’t deny the old man had real skills.

Though not quite reaching the level of Qi Observation techniques, he did possess some ability to vaguely assess luck—just not with guaranteed accuracy.

“If you perform well in the secret realm, Daoist Dongxu will seek to establish a favorable connection with you.”

Many cultivators who formed such connections with Daoist Dongxu later reached the Unity stage.

Daoist Dongxu brought all cultivators under a hundred years old into the secret realm. Jiang Li and Bai Hongtu, relying on their profound cultivation, sneaked in as well.

“On the path to immortality, some fall, some rise, while others live ordinary lives without ever touching the threshold. Why?”

“This old man has pondered for centuries and finally concluded—it’s luck!”

“Whether one achieves immortality has nothing to do with talent or effort. Luck is the fundamental determinant. The lucky might ascend instantly with a single Nine Revolutions Immortal Pill, while the unlucky could die from Qi deviation during cultivation.”

“Even a stray dog without background or comprehension can become immortal—that’s luck!”

Bai Hongtu transmitted to Jiang Li: “Do you know what happened to that stray dog later?”

“No.”

“Immortal Elder Changcun told me that after ascending, the dog caught the attention of a major power in the Immortal Realm who rewarded it with divine fruits and medicines…”

“And it went from Earthly Immortal to Celestial Immortal?”

“Then the power had it stewed.”

“……”

“You’re drooling too, right? I got hungry hearing Elder Changcun’s story as well.”

“I think you’re missing the point.”

The two whispered below the stage while Daoist Dongxu lectured above.

“Luck is determined at birth and cannot be changed. Future events merely reveal whether one’s luck is good or bad.”

“For example, take Bai Hongtu, Sect Master of the Dao Sect. Born into the Dao Sect and raised by Immortal Elder Changcun—this is the epitome of good luck. He started at others’ finish line.”

Bai Hongtu felt like punching someone after hearing this.

“Born privileged, so becoming strong is expected”—one sentence dismissing all his efforts.

If results bore no relation to effort, everyone might as well lie around waiting for opportunities instead of cultivating.

Unaware he’d drawn a Tribulation Transcendence cultivator’s ire, Daoist Dongxu continued: “A more subtle example of good fortune is Human Sovereign Jiang.”

“You might argue luck isn’t important—Human Sovereign Jiang rose from humble origins to become the peerless Mahayana cultivator. But I know during his Foundation Establishment stage, facing enemies, he burned his spirit root and prematurely activated a hidden Heavenly Spirit Root.”

“The world sees this as proof of his decisiveness, but I see it as proof of his luck saving him. Anyone else would have died—Five Elements Spirit Roots remain just that when burned, unable to transform into Heavenly Spirit Roots.”

“Human Sovereign Jiang becoming Mahayana must relate to this incident!”

Bai Hongtu turned: “Does it?”

“Not a damn bit.”

The highest cultivation below stage was only Divine Transformation. None dared refute Daoist Dongxu except Qin Luan.

“But spirit roots stop mattering after Unity stage, don’t they?”

Daoist Dongxu waved grandly: “There are always exceptions—and exceptions are luck.”

“Look at today’s Unity, Tribulation, and Human Sovereign Jiang cultivators in the Nine Provinces—all blessed with good fortune.”

“Does Commander Huang of the Human Sovereign Hall count as lucky?” Qin Luan pressed. Commander Huang was famously unlucky.

“Living to cultivate to Unity stage isn’t good luck?” Daoist Dongxu judged luck by results—in his theory, success equaled good fortune.

“Then when Human Sovereign Jiang failed your test five hundred years ago and you missed connecting with him—was that luck too?”

Yuan Wuxing hastily covered Qin Luan’s reckless mouth. How dare he mention Daoist Dongxu’s sore spot?

Yet Daoist Dongxu still didn’t get angry at Qin Luan.

His intuition said this Qin Luan had exceptional luck. Angering him would make them adversaries.

Becoming enemies with the lucky? The consequences spoke for themselves.

He cared not for cultivation gaps, only luck.

He admitted misjudging Jiang Li five centuries ago, but his discernment was usually accurate.

Changing the subject, Daoist Dongxu demonstrated his luck-assessment method.

A black box appeared in each person’s hands—even spiritual sense couldn’t penetrate it.

Daoist Dongxu held three different cards.

“These three card types are in the boxes, in unlimited quantities.”

He raised a gold card: “Gold represents Mahayana stage.”

A purple card: “Purple represents Tribulation Transcendence stage.”

Finally a white card: “White represents Unity stage.”

“You each get ten draws from the black box. Gold is best luck, white worst—completely random.”

“Naturally, since wealth is part of luck, those with more spirit stones can pay to draw more.”

Jiang Li found this scene strangely familiar.