Chen Tianhai felt somewhat relieved.
"To teach such a disciple, that mysterious Holy Emperor's actions likely will not be too unpredictable."
An "extreme variable" was a special type among "focal variables."
Once one appeared, it would exert a subversive impact upon the existing world.
In the blink of an eye, it could completely overturn the future world deduced by the Dao Transformation Mother Stone.
Back then, the Dharma-Transmitting Heavenly Venerable had been an extreme variable.
Chen Tianhai's memories seemed to return to that past.
The Grand Hall of the Taiyan Sect.
"I have already given Dadao Sect our reply: a mere Dao Integration cultivator is nothing to fear," the previous sect leader of the Taiyan Sect—Chen Tianhai's master, Daoist Xingji—said in a deep voice.
Chen Tianhai's expression was somewhat anxious. "How could we reach a conclusion so hastily? I feel there is an inexplicable strangeness about that Chuanfa. Why not observe a while longer?"
Daoist Xingji was somewhat displeased. "The Dao Transformation Mother Stone has already deduced it over a hundred million times. What problem could there be?
"Could it be that so many Longevity realm cultivators joining hands still won't be able to take him down?"
Chen Tianhai was struck speechless.
Between every major cultivation realm, the gap in strength was like heaven and an abyss, and the higher the realm, the more pronounced this fault line became.
A Golden Core might be able to kill a Nascent Soul, but for Dao Integration to slay Longevity...
It had been exceedingly rare in the Xuanhuang Realm since ancient times.
Moreover, this operation to capture Chuanfa was led personally by the Sect Leader of the Dadao Sect, Fang Dingge.
Rumor had it that a full six Longevity realm experts would strike together.
Sect Leader Fang was exceedingly cautious; even with such an overwhelming disparity between their strength and the enemy's, he did not underestimate his foe.
Not only was the matter kept strictly confidential—known only to the sect leaders and a few direct disciples within the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao—
he had even sent word to the Taiyan Sect, wishing to rely on the Dao Transformation Mother Stone to calculate any variables that might arise during the operation.
Such excessive prudence was truly baffling to Daoist Xingji.
However, as Fang Dingge was the head of the foremost Dadao Sect after all, Daoist Xingji could not simply refuse him face. Thus, Daoist Xingji used the Dao Transformation Mother Stone to thoroughly deduce various possibilities.
Over a hundred million deductions all concluded with Chuanfa successfully captured alive.
Theoretically speaking, it was virtually impossible for the ten immortal sects' operation to fail.
Yet for some reason, a heavy, lingering unease remained in Chen Tianhai's heart.
He had once disguised his identity and stealthily approached to observe the Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Venerable, back before the Alliance of Ten Thousand Immortals had drawn the notice of the Ten Sects of the Immortal Dao.
Chuanfa himself appeared to be a kind, benevolent elder who opened up a distinct path for those in the world who could not cultivate.
Yet witnessing firsthand the fanaticism in the eyes of those new method cultivators surrounding Chuanfa, Chen Tianhai had felt a chill run down his spine.
What made his heart palpitate even more was that Chuanfa seemed to have noticed his covert observation at the time and cast a faint glance in his direction.
That simple, calm glance was like a nightmare that repeatedly surfaced in Chen Tianhai's mind from time to time.
Only after a very long time had the negative emotions stirred by that glance slowly faded.
Yet upon suddenly learning of this plan, the nightmare was reawakened.
As the foremost direct disciple of the Taiyan Sect, Chen Tianhai had already stepped half a foot into the Dao Integration realm at a young age. He did not believe that an ordinary Dao Integration cultivator could exert such a terrifying influence on him.
Out of personal shame, Chen Tianhai had not explicitly told his master about the strangeness he had experienced. However, he repeatedly emphasized before his master that this Dharma-Transmitting Immortal Venerable was extraordinary.
In the end, he had failed to change his master's attitude.
After leaving his master's presence, the unease in Chen Tianhai's heart only intensified.
Suddenly, a thought sprouted within him: to activate the Dao Transformation Mother Stone once more and run another deduction.
Chen Tianhai was startled by his own thought.
The Dao Transformation Mother Stone was the supreme treasure of the Taiyan Sect, the very foundation upon which the sect was built. It concerned the Dao journeys of all Taiyan Sect cultivators, present and future. Only the sect leader of the Taiyan Sect had the authority to use it.
Even though Chen Tianhai was the foremost direct disciple, he was only permitted to look at it from afar and could not approach without authorization.
Once the thought arose, it could no longer be quelled.
It even left Chen Tianhai distracted and restless.
Fortunately, he finally found an opportunity.
One of the ten sects, Indeterminate Prison, seemed to run into trouble and sent a distress signal to the other immortal sects.
Sects like Taishang, Heavenly Sword, and Beast Taming were tied up with the planned capture of Chuanfa and could not get away, so the matter was left to Daoist Xingji to handle.
Judging by Xingji's expression before his departure, whatever upheaval occurred in Indeterminate Prison was certainly no small matter.
He entrusted the sect's affairs to Chen Tianhai and the various elders.
This gave Chen Tianhai his chance.
After a fierce internal struggle, Chen Tianhai was ultimately unable to suppress the impulse in his heart.
Without anyone's knowledge, he arrived before the Dao Transformation Mother Stone.
All past deduction records were preserved. Chen Tianhai brought up the results of the previous deduction.
Sure enough, it was just as his master had said—in fact, his master had even understated it.
He had deduced a full one billion times, and the results were completely identical.
Yet for some reason, even after seeing the deduction results with his own eyes, Chen Tianhai was still unwilling to let it go.
He activated the Dao Transformation Mother Stone once more.
Azure light flashed ceaselessly as boundless possibilities played out one after another.
...
"Ugh." A groan interrupted Chen Tianhai's train of thought.
The connection with the Dao Transformation Mother Stone severed, Sun Erlang returned from the simulation to reality.
His eyes remained tightly shut, seemingly still adjusting.
The aura on him was also undergoing drastic changes at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It was as though a sharp, spirited young man had transformed in an instant into a composed grandmaster who had weathered a hundred tribulations.
"Thank you for this blessing, Senior!"
After a long while, Sun Erlang opened his eyes.
His gaze was tranquil and profound.
"What did young sir experience?" Chen Tianhai asked, though he already knew the answer.
"During the era of the ancient Ten Great Immortal Sects, before the calamity descended, I was originally a mortal from the countryside. By chance, I witnessed two Golden Core cultivators fight and perish together. Plucking up my courage, I gathered the supplies from their corpses.
"It took three years to finally open the storage rings left behind by the two Golden Cores. From then on, I officially embarked on the path of cultivation..." Sun Erlang said calmly.
Chen Tianhai knew that although Sun Erlang brushed over it in a single sentence, in that simulated world, the process of opening those two storage rings alone had been thoroughly thrilling.
Old friends of the two Golden Cores had arrived one after another, searching for the whereabouts of their legacy.
Sun Erlang possessed a mountain of treasure, yet had no way to access it. Staking everything, he exhausted his family's wealth and finally obtained the crudest of cultivation methods. Stumbling along, he eventually entered the Qi Condensation realm and was able to use the resources in the storage rings.
Sun Erlang recounted his experiences in the simulated world in vivid detail, ending at last with reaching the peak of Dao Integration with no hope of breaking through further.
Though Chen Tianhai had already observed the young man's journey, he still listened with keen interest.
*If not for that single mistaken thought of mine back then, perhaps today's Xuanhuang Realm would still be like this,*
Chen Tianhai thought to himself.
Chapter 1197