A strange glint flashed in Chen Tianhai's eyes.
"My Taiyan Sect has lived in seclusion for thousands of years, rarely communicating with the outside world. Yet your master actually knew where we were hiding.
"He must possess some understanding of us. Even knowing what he does, he took the initiative to send you to establish contact...
"He is certain that we would inevitably be interested in someone like him, who exists 'Beyond the Variables.'"
Hearing this, Sun Erlang could not help but freeze. "Is... is that so?"
Yet thinking of his master's unfathomable background and his seemingly omniscient divine abilities, Sun Erlang immediately felt at ease again.
"There is no lack of transcendent variables in this world. Some have even profoundly influenced and altered the destiny of the Xuanhuang Realm.
"Though our Nine Scrolls of Heavenly Deduction claim to deduce everything under heaven, if visitors from beyond the heavens or True Immortals descend—events that transcend heaven and earth itself...
"We are naturally powerless."
Chen Tianhai spoke without the slightest hesitation or concealment.
"However, we of the Taiyan Sect do not reject or fear the emergence of things Beyond the Variables." His tone was faint and distant, carrying an unspoken implication.
"Visitors from beyond the heavens?" Sun Erlang pondered thoughtfully.
Yet immediately afterward, he suppressed the slight ripple in his heart.
Regardless of Master's origins, his current identity was the sole Destined Holy Emperor of Great Qi, upon whom the rise and fall of hundreds of millions of living souls depended.
As his master's eldest disciple, he would always stand steadfastly before him.
"Then, Senior, does this mean you agree to our proposal of an alliance?" Sun Erlang asked after a brief silence.
"If there are odds in our favor, why would we refuse?" Chen Tianhai smiled faintly, evading a direct answer.
"Then what does Senior mean?"
"Since our simulated deduction has suffered such a deviation, we must naturally calibrate it. As the Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi desires an alliance with us, surely it will not refuse an inspection by its ally?" Chen Tianhai said calmly.
"This..."
The request caught Sun Erlang somewhat off guard.
When he came, his master had not instructed him on how to handle such a matter.
"Erlang, on this journey, you may decide all matters on your own. This Taiyan Sect is important...
"And yet, it is not important."
Sun Erlang suddenly recalled the final words his master had spoken before his departure.
"If I shrink back even before a mere Taiyan Sect, how will I contest the Xuanhuang Realm against the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals in the future?"
Heroic resolve welled up in his chest, and Sun Erlang blurted out, "The Sacred Dynasty of Great Qi has a place waiting in anticipation. We welcome the Taiyan Sect at any time."
A burst of blue light inexplicably welled in Chen Tianhai's eyes.
He gave no reply, lost in unknown thoughts.
"Since you have said so, young sir, our Taiyan Sect will dispatch an envoy to accompany you to Great Qi and see for ourselves."
Only after quite a while did Chen Tianhai finally speak.
For some reason, Sun Erlang suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had just walked the brink between life and death.
"Then Senior, when do we set out?"
"No hurry. A guest from afar is honored. You have traveled thousands of li to come here, young sir, which is no small feat. Our Taiyan Sect has not had a visitor in thousands of years.
"Furthermore, you returned Yi Xing's remains."
Chen Tianhai pondered for a moment, then asked, "I wonder, young sir, are you interested in our 'simulations'?"
"Naturally, I am curious."
Chen Tianhai nodded. In an instant, the surrounding floor and decor vanished.
The two of them seemed to appear in the void, where an azure crystal hovered ahead, emitting a soul-stirring brilliance.
"This is the Dao Transformation Mother Stone," Chen Tianhai said in an enigmatic tone.
"Dao Transformation Mother Stone?" Sun Erlang repeated the four words.
Looking at the mysterious crystal not far away, Sun Erlang was horrified to discover that he could not discern any details on its facets.
It seemed infinitely divisible; beneath every mirror-like facet and edge, countless minuscule facets extended upon closer inspection.
After merely peering at it for a brief moment, Sun Erlang felt a dizzying wave of vertigo.
He immediately looked away.
"The Dao Transformation Mother Stone is the very foundation of our Taiyan Sect. Back then, though the Archmage passed down the Nine Scrolls of Heavenly Deduction, the art plumbs the depths of heaven and human creation, truly beyond ordinary mortals to study. Even a peerless genius seeking to cultivate the Nine Scrolls of Heavenly Deduction to great completion would exhaust their heart's blood and face an early grave." Chen Tianhai shifted his position, appearing beside the colossal azure crystal. His silhouette seemed on the verge of fusing with the Dao Transformation Mother Stone.
"If even geniuses find cultivating it so arduous, how much more so for ordinary people? The nature of the Nine Scrolls of Heavenly Deduction doomed our Taiyan Sect to have only a handful of disciples in each generation. With our talents withering, the sect could never grow strong. Perhaps one day, we wouldn't even be able to preserve our title among the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao.
"This was originally the outcome deduced for our Taiyan Sect.
"Were it not for the Dao Transformation Mother Stone."
Chen Tianhai's tone changed abruptly.
"Even a tiny fragment of the Mother Stone allows a mortal to instantly possess deductive capabilities rivaling a Dao Integration powerhouse! What a magnificent creation!
"Young sir, those sheets of white paper that Yi Xing kept by his side before his death—did you bring them?" Chen Tianhai looked at Sun Erlang and suddenly asked.
Only then did Sun Erlang suddenly remember, hurriedly taking out the sheets of white paper.
"These white sheets have a name: the Reverse Calamity Treasure Box. In days of old, it was a common tool Taiyan Sect disciples used to practice their deductive capabilities.
"There are forty-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine sheets in total. One needs only to restore them to their original order to reconstruct the treasure box's form.
"Would you like to try, young sir?" Chen Tianhai scattered the white sheets into the air, letting them drift about haphazardly. Then, looking at Sun Erlang, he asked with a smile.
"Restore them to their order?"
Sun Erlang had studied those sheets of white paper before; every single one was identical, bearing no special markings whatsoever.
"Purely by luck, with no special secret method?" Sun Erlang ventured to ask.
Seeing Chen Tianhai's expression, Sun Erlang did a quick mental calculation, and his face instantly turned slightly pale.
He decisively refused.
"Exactly. For ordinary people, this is a task that could never be completed even in an entire lifetime. But for a Taiyan Sect disciple in possession of a Dao Transformation Stone...
"...it takes but an instant!"
Chen Tianhai flicked a finger, and the white sheets drifting across the sky began to dance wildly.
Sheet by sheet, they aligned one after another in order.
Finally, all the sheets fell into place. Following a burst of blinding light, the treasure box opened.
Inside were a jade slip and a translucent blue stone.
The emergence of the Dao Transformation Stone from within the box seemed to resonate with the Dao Transformation Mother Stone.
Under the illumination of the Mother Stone's radiance, the color of that Dao Transformation Stone appeared all the more profound.
Chen Tianhai first put away the jade slip, then caressed the blue gemstone.
With a melancholic look, he then turned to Sun Erlang and said, "Young sir, this Dao Transformation Stone is gifted to you."
Only when the Dao Transformation Stone landed in his palm did Sun Erlang snap back to reality.
"Huh?"
Chapter 1195