Chapter 1142: Deduction Never Rests
Elder Nan Gong seemed taken aback by Li Fan's question, pausing for a moment in surprise.
Then his expression grew heavy. "If such a person truly exists..."
"Then we absolutely cannot let him near the Deduction Jade."
"To spend centuries in solitude with a mind that remains completely undisturbed... He's either a madman or a man of extreme temperament..."
Li Fan cut him off. "I've heard of peerless geniuses who can meditate for a century without a single distracting thought. Isn't it perfectly normal for someone's spirit not to break just because they're confined?"
Elder Nan Gong gave a short, cynical laugh and shook his head. "That kind of genius," he stated with conviction, "would never end up here. Not unless he had an ulterior motive."
Li Fan was left speechless.
Beside them, Sun Luyuan's expression turned awkward.
"Alright," Elder Nan Gong said, changing the subject. "Welcome to the Protection Hall. I will now brief you on some special precautions. Beyond the general regulations of the Immortal Alliance, there are specific protocols for interacting with the Deduction Jade."
Sun Luyuan looked visibly relieved, as if this was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.
After offering Li Fan a few more words of advice, he took his leave.
After a briefing that lasted nearly an hour, Nan Gong guided Li Fan out of the pocket dimension.
Li Fan completed the official paperwork for his new post and collected the provisions issued to elders of the Protection Hall.
Dressed in the distinctive black and gold-trimmed robes of the Protection Hall, Li Fan followed Elder Nan Gong to the very center of the dome, stopping before the most luminous point of light.
"Once I see you inside and complete the final handover, I'll finally be free of this duty."
Nan Gong smiled, and it was clear his happiness was genuine.
"Oh, and one last thing," he added. "There are two other elders from the Protection Hall on watch with you. Unless it's absolutely necessary, do not communicate with them, not even through voice transmission."
"Inside the Deduction Jade's space, every ripple of a voice transmission is recorded. And those records are regularly reviewed by specialists."
Nan Gong relayed this through a subtle voice transmission, his own face remaining completely expressionless.
It was as if he hadn't spoken at all.
Li Fan simply clasped his hands in a gesture of gratitude.
Then, bidding Elder Nan Gong farewell, he flew into the white, star-like point of light.
The scene that greeted him was one he knew well: the dimension that housed the Deduction Jade.
A massive sphere, composed of innumerable, shifting characters, hung in the void.
Every instant, the characters on its surface swirled in an endless, intricate dance of transformation.
Occasionally, a whole section of characters would freeze, then vanish in a brilliant flash of light.
Then, the process of endless deduction and transformation would begin anew.
Beneath this great sphere, a lone desk floated in the emptiness.
A little girl, appearing no older than five or six, was slumped over it.
She stared listlessly at the words continuously materializing on its surface.
She looked just as she had every other time he had seen her.
Sensing his arrival, the Deduction Jade lifted her head slightly.
Upon seeing Li Fan's stern expression and the black-and-gold robe he wore, she pouted and dropped her head back down.
"Another plain-looking one."
Li Fan distinctly heard the Deduction Jade's quiet complaint.
He faltered for a second.
"Hehehe, you'll get used to it," an aged voice chuckled near Li Fan.
It was a voice transmission from one of the other Dao Integration elders stationed here.
"Zhang Xu," he introduced himself simply, before falling silent once more.
The other guardian, however, offered no greeting at all.
Li Fan paid it no mind and flew toward his designated "post."
This so-called "post" was, in reality, a specific point within the dimension.
It was like a critical node in a grand formation, offering a commanding, unobstructed view of every energy fluctuation in the vicinity.
The majority of one's time guarding the Deduction Jade would be spent in this very spot.
"This is truly worse than prison. No wonder none of the Sun family's Dao Integration cultivators wanted this post."
Li Fan mused to himself as he settled into his position.
He made a show of surveying the area, as if familiarizing himself with his new environment, but his mind was already searching for weaknesses in the surveillance.
Aside from the shifting light cast by the massive sphere of characters, the space was suspended in a quiet, almost suffocating stillness.
For the time being, Li Fan had no idea how he could bypass the restrictions to make contact with the Deduction Jade.
And so, about half a year passed in this manner.
The little girl, who had been hunched over her work, suddenly straightened up and stretched her arms high into the air.
She let out an excited cheer. "Yes! Time for a break!"
Having said that, she immediately flopped back onto the desk.
And fell sound asleep.
"Twelve hours."
The voices of Zhang Xu and the other Dao Integration guardian chimed in simultaneously.
Twelve hours. That was the Deduction Jade's precious rest period.
Once the time was up, she had to be woken precisely on schedule.
Watching the Deduction Jade sleep so soundly, Li Fan couldn't help but think, *This is rather inhumane.*
*She should get a full day off, at the very least.*
In the six months he'd been on watch, not a single cultivator had used an Audience Jade Token to enter the dimension, for reasons he didn't yet understand.
This meant the Deduction Jade had almost no chance to slack off.
After some thought, Li Fan decided to ask Elder Zhang Xu about it.
Since it was a matter related to his duties, Zhang Xu broke his silence after a moment. "Three years ago, a spy from the Five Elders Council managed to get their hands on an Audience Jade Token and infiltrated this space. They were planning something nefarious. We caught and stopped them before any real damage was done, but the incident still alarmed the Alliance's high command."
"Until the investigation is concluded and responsibility is assigned, all audience requests have been suspended."
"It will likely be years before they resume."
Zhang Xu offered this brief explanation and said no more.
Li Fan fell into thought. "Every Audience Jade Token is an immensely valuable reward granted by the Immortal Alliance only to those who have achieved extraordinary merits."
"So one ended up in the hands of the Five Elders Council. And from what Elder Nan Gong said earlier, infiltration by their spies isn't a rare occurrence. It sounds like something of this sort happens every few decades..."
"The Five Elders Council is no match for the Immortal Alliance in a direct confrontation, but when it comes to espionage and conspiracy, the Alliance is clearly outmatched."
Thanks to the frankly heaven-defying power of the Heavenly Profound Mirror's origin, Li Fan knew the whereabouts of nearly every Audience Jade Token currently in circulation.
"As one of the three guardians, I'm under strict surveillance, making it difficult to act directly."
"Perhaps I can take an indirect approach. Use an Audience Jade Token to create an opportunity to be alone with her."
Li Fan mused silently.
Twenty-four hours passed by in a flash.
And yet...
The Deduction Jade remained slumped over the desk, sleeping soundly.
She showed no sign of waking.
Li Fan could faintly sense a trace of resignation from the other two Dao Integration guardians.
"Brother Sun, you do it."
Zhang Xu sent in a cheerful voice transmission.
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