This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Chapter 122 A Demon Is Not a Demon

The impact of that sudden outburst was far more profound than they had imagined.

Both the underground ant cave and Yong'an City were like small boats swept by a storm, suffering tremendous impact.

However, Xiao Xingchen had no time to care about any of that at the moment.

He was filled with curiosity about himself. He had traveled through time and been reborn, and thought he could live a peaceful life. However, he was shocked to find that he was not the only time traveler. The previous eight had all been wiped out by unknown creatures.

He never thought his life would be in danger, after all, Xiao Jianren's life was long and traceable, all of which he had personally experienced.

But now, he was lost, as if he felt the call of death.

The most terrifying thing was that the three incense sticks on his head and shoulders were like three sharp swords hanging high, which made people's hair stand on end.

This was the second time he had seen those three incense sticks. The first time was at the Silent Temple, and those three incense sticks were deeply imprinted in his memory.

The incense was meant to suppress evil, but he had stuck it in his own hair. He couldn't understand what had happened or why he was so different from ordinary people.

Now, he places all his hopes on this fortune teller.

Judging from his earlier fear, he probably knew the origin of the three incense sticks.

That's why he stopped thinking about other things.

Today, he doesn't plan to leave unless he gets the fortune teller to talk.

Since we're all going to die anyway, why bother caring about anything else?

"Old man, can you please stop yelling? Do you know what will happen if I, a dying man, get angry? If you keep yelling, I'll drag you down with me when I die!"

Faced with this threat, Xinlao seemed to understand that arguing with a dying man was tantamount to asking for trouble, so he decisively chose to stop resisting. His ankles were grabbed, and he was dragged back like a pig.

Ruoxue watched this scene with a smile, shaking her head. They were truly two awful characters. But while she could enjoy the spectacle, since she was the one who had come to Elder Xin's aid, she decided to step in and mediate.

"Alright, sit down and talk properly. Master Xin is the greatest fortune teller in the world; he will surely give you a satisfactory answer."

"And you, before the Lord left, he sent me a message, asking you to come here firstly so that Elder Xin could do a fortune telling for you, and secondly to get rid of some troubles you have. This ant hole hides many experts. These people were all powerful figures who could roam the world decades ago. It wouldn't hurt to get to know them."

"I knew you wouldn't bring me here for no reason. Fine, all I want to know now is what's going on with those three incense sticks. Am I really going to die?"

Xiao Xingchen's mind was now filled with those three incense sticks. This time, he stared intently at the fortune teller, his gaze making the old man feel uneasy.

"Master, please count them. What exactly happened?"

Ruoxue also urged curiously.

The dejected Xin Lao lay listlessly on the ground, suddenly feeling as if he had lost his purpose in life, like a lost soul. This caused Xiao Xingchen to frown.

"This is the number one fortune teller in the world that you were talking about?"

"Yes, he was indeed the best in the world thirty years ago."

"Then why is he missing a leg and an arm?"

"Uh..." Ruoxue paused, and her next explanation almost made Elder Xin vomit blood again.

"You know, telling the truth can get you beaten. It's said that when Master Xin told the fortunes of other kings, he was beaten and had his leg broken and an arm dislocated."

"Pfft," Xiao Xingchen couldn't help but laugh. So that's what happened. If that's the case, then this old man's life was indeed quite tragic.

"What are you laughing at? Do you understand the principle that a doctor cannot heal himself? You can calculate everything, but you can't calculate yourself. Otherwise, I wouldn't be in this predicament."

Xinlao seemed to have been stimulated; his previous dazed and miserable state immediately transformed into one of boundless energy, which puzzled Xiaoxingchen once again.

"That's what makes Elder Xin extraordinary. He crawled for thousands of miles bleeding after his leg was dislocated, but he didn't die. This injury is nothing compared to his longevity."

Hearing Ruoxue's answer and looking at the old man with missing arms and legs, Xiao Xingchen couldn't help but give him a thumbs up, thinking to himself, "He's quite a talent."

"Hmph, that's all ancient history. Kid, what's your name? I see you're just average, how could you have provoked those things? That shouldn't be the case."

"Those things? What do you mean by that, sir? What are you referring to?"

Xiao Xingchen was taken aback and hurriedly asked,

"Those three incense sticks, this is the first time I've ever seen them. Do you know what they're called?"

"what name?"

The two of them simultaneously cast curious glances at each other.

"Alas, I've been telling fortunes for a hundred years, and I've only ever heard about it from my predecessors. It's called 'Soul-Burning Incense,' and it involves very deep secrets. I always thought it was just hearsay, but I never expected to see the real thing today."

"What is the Soul-Burning Incense?" Ruoxue asked, puzzled.

“Burning the soul, naturally, means burning his soul. When the incense burns out, it means the soul of this body is about to perish. But you are very different. You have already burned two sticks of your soul, and the third one could go out at any moment. But you look at me full of energy and don’t seem like a person who is about to die at all. This is something I can’t understand right now.”

Xiao Xingchen was taken aback. "Burning the soul"—that was easy to understand; it meant the soul was extinguished and the body died. According to the old man, he should be dying soon.

"Master Xin, do you know why I lack yang energy?"

“I’ve said it before, from the moment a person is born, three flames ignite in their hooves: the first governs immortality, the second governs the state of non-birth and non-death, and the third governs the harmony of yin and yang. This is an unchanging truth throughout the ages, but you seem to be somewhat special.”

"What makes it special?" he pressed.

"Uh..."

Xinlao looked at Xiaoxingchen again, his gaze shifting uncertainly, and finally uttered a sentence.

"I dare not say, if I were to reveal any secrets here, I might very well be punished,"

This made Xiao Xingchen want to punch someone; it felt like he'd already taken his pants off, and then someone told him he was about to have sex. But he didn't give up.

"If you put it more tactfully, or rephrase it, there's bound to be one that suits us,"

Mr. Xin shook his head and changed the subject.

"You are destined to be a demon, your life is destined to be full of hardships. You should know that demons are abandoned by heaven and earth. Do you really think that those abandoned by heaven and earth are those demons? Everyone is wrong. Those abandoned by heaven and earth are precisely those with the destiny of demons like you. Since heaven and earth do not tolerate you, it is not surprising that you have three Soul-Burning Incense sticks burning on your body."

"What does this mean?" Xiao Xingchen was horrified.

"The implication is that someone like you is the culprit behind the extinction of the demon race. Heaven and earth cannot tolerate demons, and some people misunderstood this, wiping out the entire demon race. However, they did not know that the demon they truly sought was someone like you, a demon in human form, defying the heavens, born to be the source of chaos. To nip the chaos in the bud, heaven and earth have been exterminating demons for tens of thousands of years, and the result... in the process of exterminating and exterminating, the demon race was wiped out, but you were the only one who escaped the net. Truly, fate is like a demon, unfathomable, and everything is fate."

Xin Lao's words left Xiao Xingchen and Ruoxue stunned and speechless. They never expected that it would reveal such a shocking secret. It turned out that the real reason for exterminating the demon was this.

"How do you know such detailed information?"

Questions arose again. Xiao Xingchen's gaze was sharp and piercing. If even Heaven and Earth were wrong, did this old man know too much?

"Hmph, we are the lineage of divine divination, with a history spanning over ten thousand years. How could such a matter be hidden from us? My ancestor, my ancestor's ancestor, my ancestor's ancestor's ancestor..."

"Stop, elder, please stop for a moment. Since you have so many patriarchs, are your patriarchs still alive?"

"Of course they're gone. It's said that my first patriarch said the same thing: 'You've killed the wrong one. The demon isn't a demon.' But before he could finish speaking, he was killed. Then the second patriarch went to clarify, but nobody listened. He was killed just like that. More than a dozen patriarchs died in succession. In the end, we learned our lesson and decided to shut up and ignore whoever wanted to talk."

"Good guy,"

Xiao Xingchen couldn't help but sigh, "Just how many patriarchs did they kill to end up with these missing limbs? Clearly, empty talk is no good."

It turns out that this lineage of talent isn't limited to just the one in front of him; the boastful talk of this lineage of diviners is actually a continuous tradition. He really wanted to write a big "I'm impressed."