Chapter 1197: A Single Thought That Overturned the World
Chapter 1197: A Single Thought That Overturned the World
Chen Tianhai felt a flicker of relief.
"To have taught such a disciple," he mused, "the mysterious Sage Emperor's actions probably won't be completely erratic."
An [Extreme Variable] was a special type of [Focal Variable].
The moment one appeared, it would have a cataclysmic impact on the existing world.
In an instant, it could shatter the future that the Transformation Dao Stone Mother had deduced.
The Dharma Spreader of old had been just such an [Extreme Variable].
Chen Tianhai's mind drifted back to that time.
The grand hall of the Taiyan Sect.
Anxious, Chen Tianhai pressed, "How can you be so quick to decide? I feel there's something inexplicably strange about that Dharma Spreader. Why not observe him a while longer?"
Xingji Daoren sounded annoyed. "The Transformation Dao Stone Mother has run over a hundred million calculations. What could possibly go wrong?"
"Do you think so many Longevity realm cultivators working together can't take him down?"
Chen Tianhai was momentarily at a loss for words.
The power gap between each major cultivation realm was a chasm, and the higher the realm, the more pronounced this gap became.
A Golden Core might be able to kill a Nascent Soul, but a Dao Integration cultivator trying to slay someone in the Longevity realm...
Such a thing was practically unheard of in the history of the Xuanhuang Realm.
Moreover, the operation to capture the Dharma Spreader was being personally led by Fang Dingge, the Sect Master of the Great Dao Sect.
It was said that a full six Longevity realm cultivators would be taking action together.
Sect Master Fang was meticulously cautious. Despite the enormous disparity in power, he wasn't underestimating his opponent.
He had kept the plan under strict secrecy, with only the sect masters and a few direct disciples among the Ten Great Immortal Sects aware of it.
He had even sent a message to the Taiyan Sect, requesting the use of the Transformation Dao Stone Mother to calculate any potential variables in the operation.
Such caution was difficult for Xingji Daoren to comprehend.
Still, Fang Dingge was the leader of the Great Dao Sect, and it wouldn't do to disrespect him. So, Xingji Daoren had used the Transformation Dao Stone Mother to exhaustively deduce every possibility.
The results of over a hundred million deductions all ended with the Dharma Spreader being captured alive without a hitch.
Theoretically, there was almost no chance of failure for the operation of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
But for some reason, a heavy, unshakable sense of unease still clung to Chen Tianhai's heart.
He had once disguised his identity to quietly observe the Dharma Spreader.
This was before the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance had even drawn the attention of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
The Dharma Spreader himself appeared to be a kind and benevolent old man, one who had forged a unique path for all those in the world who could not cultivate.
But after witnessing the fervent fanaticism in the eyes of the New Method cultivators who surrounded him, a chill ran down Chen Tianhai's spine.
What made his heart pound with dread, however, was that the Dharma Spreader seemed to have sensed his covert observation at the time and had glanced faintly in his direction.
It was a simple, calm gaze, yet it haunted him like a nightmare, surfacing in his mind time and again.
Only after a long time had the negative emotions from that one look slowly faded.
But this sudden news of the plan had reawakened the nightmare.
As the foremost direct disciple of the Taiyan Sect, Chen Tianhai was already halfway to the Dao Integration realm at a young age. He refused to believe that an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator could have such a terrifying effect on him.
Out of shame, Chen Tianhai never told his master about the strange experience. He did, however, repeatedly emphasize before his master that the Dharma Spreader was anything but ordinary.
Ultimately, he failed to change his master's mind.
After leaving his master's presence, the unease in Chen Tianhai's heart only grew more intense.
Suddenly, the thought of activating the Transformation Dao Stone Mother himself, to run one more deduction, sprang into his mind.
Chen Tianhai was terrified by his own impulse.
The Transformation Dao Stone Mother was the supreme treasure of the Taiyan Sect, the very foundation of its existence. It was tied to the Dao path of every Taiyan Sect cultivator, present and future. Only the sect master was qualified to use it.
Even as the foremost direct disciple, Chen Tianhai was only permitted to observe it from a distance, never to approach it on his own.
Once the thought took root, it was impossible to quell.
It left Chen Tianhai so distracted he could barely think straight.
Fortunately, he finally got his chance.
The Indeterminate Prison, one of the Ten Great Sects, seemed to have run into some trouble. They sent out a call for aid to the other immortal sects.
The Supreme Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Imperial Beast Sect were all too busy with the plan to ambush the Dharma Spreader to spare anyone.
Thus, the matter fell to Xingji Daoren.
From his master's expression before he departed, Chen Tianhai knew the turmoil in the Indeterminate Prison was serious.
Sect affairs were left in the hands of Chen Tianhai and the other elders.
This gave him his opening.
After a fierce internal battle, Chen Tianhai finally succumbed to the restless impulse he could no longer suppress.
Unbeknownst to anyone, he came before the Transformation Dao Stone Mother.
All previous deduction records were preserved. Chen Tianhai called up the results of the last one.
It was just as his master had said, though his master had even been conservative in his description.
He had run a full billion deductions, and the results were all identical.
Yet, for some reason, even after seeing the results with his own eyes, Chen Tianhai couldn't let it go.
He activated the Transformation Dao Stone Mother once more.
Azure light flickered continuously as infinite possibilities played out.
...
"Urgh..." A soft groan pulled Chen Tianhai from his reverie.
The connection to the Transformation Dao Stone Mother severed, and Sun Erlang returned from the simulation to reality.
His eyes were shut tight, as if he were still adjusting.
The aura around him was also undergoing a drastic, visible change.
In an instant, he transformed from a sharp-edged youth into a composed grandmaster, seasoned by a hundred tribulations.
"Thank you, Senior, for this opportunity!"
After a long moment, Sun Erlang opened his eyes.
His gaze was serene and profound.
"What did you experience, little friend?" Chen Tianhai asked, already knowing the answer.
"It was the era of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, before the great calamity. I was a common mortal in the countryside who, by a stroke of luck, witnessed a battle between two Golden Core cultivators who fought to their mutual demise. Mustering my courage, I collected the resources from their bodies."
"It took me three years to finally open the storage rings left behind by the two Golden Cores. From there, I officially began my journey of cultivation..." Sun Erlang recounted calmly.
Chen Tianhai knew that although Sun Erlang had summed it up in a single sentence, the process of just opening those two storage rings in the simulated world had been fraught with peril.
The friends of the two Golden Cores had come one after another, searching for the lost inheritance.
He had a mountain of treasure but no way in. In a desperate gamble, he spent his entire fortune to obtain the most rudimentary of cultivation methods. He stumbled his way into the Qi Refining realm, finally able to use the items in the storage rings.
Sun Erlang narrated his experiences in the simulated world, which ended with him reaching the peak of the Dao Integration realm, unable to break through any further.
Though Chen Tianhai had already seen everything the youth had gone through, he still listened with rapt attention.
"If it weren't for that single, impulsive thought of mine back then," Chen Tianhai mused, "perhaps the Xuanhuang Realm today would still look just like that."
(End of this chapter)
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