Realms

Level ninety was roughly equivalent to newly entering the Transcendent Realm, and even that level of cultivation had likely deteriorated slowly over the course of ten thousand years. Xu Yuan was not surprised that Tianyan, as a second-rank Origin Realm cultivator, was no match for the crazy woman. The death of the Meishen cherry tree had probably triggered some reaction that lured the crazy woman out of her "boss room," trapping Tianyan directly at Cherry Leech Lake. At this thought, Xu Yuan felt a faint stir of interest. He wanted to go help. Of course, not to help Tianyan, but to help that crazy woman kill Tianyan. Right now, both he and Ran Qingmo were disguised in borrowed mantles—one as the Qionghua Sect Saintess, the other as the Grand Elder. Perhaps they could use these identities to join the fray. Even though the days they had spent having an "outing" on the grassland with Tianyan had been quite pleasant, and she showed no intention of making a move against him for the time being, who could know what the future held? Connecting past information with his recent conversation with the Saint's remnant soul, Xu Yuan had deduced Tianyan's general purpose in seeking him out. The Overseeing Heaven Pavilion lurking in the shadows did far more than merely deduce the future. Tianyan personally showing up to coax Ran Qingmo into kidnapping him was proof enough. They were actively intervening in the future, guiding it toward the outcome they wished to see. After surviving the aberrant ghost calamity back then, the world had evolved from divided rule among sects into the present unified imperial dynasty. Having declined to this state, if the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion wanted to restore its former glory, it had to undergo another reshuffling—and the Chancellor's Manor's ambition to rein in the sects aligned perfectly with their interests. They pushed things along from the shadows. Yet amidst all this, Xu Yuan—an anomaly, a variable—had abruptly emerged. Perhaps due to his transmigration, or perhaps due to something else, he had disrupted the future the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion wanted to see, muddying the foresight derived from their Heaven-Deducing Art. That was why Tianyan had come to his side. Old Man Luo had mentioned that the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion dealt with variables in two ways: Recruitment or death. Now that the pavilion had fallen from its former heights, what terms or treasures could it possibly offer to make the Third Young Master of the Chancellor's Manor willingly accept recruitment? Have Tianyan deploy a honey trap? Xu Yuan figured that Tianyan's most likely reason for trailing him was to establish an anchor point, continually deducing and assessing the impact that killing this variable would have on the future. Although he could not be one hundred percent sure of this deduction, he was one hundred percent certain that nothing good would come from letting Tianyan continue to follow him. Seizing this opportunity to kill Tianyan was undeniably the safest choice. After a moment of contemplation, Xu Yuan lifted the silence restriction on the Saint's remnant soul: "Hey, Old Man Luo, let me ask you something." "Ask me something?" The remnant soul's voice sounded quite wistful. "Youngsters these days... When I'm useless, you mute me without hesitation, and only when you need something do you remember this old man." Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and asked point-blank, "How strong is the Heaven-Deducing Art in actual combat?" "Why do you ask?" the Saint's remnant soul replied unhurriedly. Xu Yuan said in a low voice, "That crazy woman I mentioned earlier should be roughly at the Transcendent Realm." "A first-rank spirit puppet? This Qionghua Sect actually has a first-rank spirit puppet?" Surprise tinged the remnant soul's voice before understanding dawned, and he chuckled. "Brat Xu, are you thinking of using that first-rank spirit puppet to kill Tianyan?" "More or less," Xu Yuan said. "You'd better abandon that thought right now. A Transcendent spirit puppet is unlikely to be Tianyan's match." "What?" Xu Yuan was slightly surprised. The Saint's remnant soul remarked nonchalantly, "Even a genuine first-rank Transcendent Realm cultivator might not be a match for Tianyan, let alone a spirit puppet." "......" Xu Yuan's heart sank. He stared at the Saint's remnant soul without speaking. The remnant soul sighed softly and said in an easygoing tone, "The reason a first-rank Transcendent Realm cultivator is called 'Transcendent' is that they can deploy a Dao domain. Brat, don't tell me you don't even know what a Dao domain is?" Xu Yuan kept a straight face. "I've never reached the first rank. How would I know what a Dao domain is?" The Saint's remnant soul smacked his lips and whispered, "It is roughly equivalent to creating a domain suited to oneself." He glanced sideways at Ran Qingmo. "Take this little girl, for example. If she could reach the first rank, her Dao domain would probably be a realm of ice and snow." With that, the remnant soul brought the topic back: "Meanwhile, mindless puppets like spirit puppets cannot possibly possess a Dao domain. Their strength lies only in their physical resilience and the application of Source Qi reaching the threshold of the Transcendent Realm. "Besides, Brat Xu, you underestimate the Heaven-Deducing Art far too much. Just a single Heaven Character True Words section allows one to stand invincible among peers of the same realm, to say nothing of Tianyan, who has mastered all four sections." Pausing, the Saint's remnant soul adopted a slightly graver tone: "In terms of actual combat, forget a puppet—even a genuine first-rank Transcendent might not be able to do anything to Tianyan." Xu Yuan frowned. "Are you saying Tianyan can fight across realms, matching a first rank as a second rank?" The Saint's remnant soul let out a long breath, his tone turning indifferent once more. "That is roughly what it means." "......" Xu Yuan's breath hitched slightly. After a few moments of silence, the Saint's remnant soul sighed softly, speaking with earnest sincerity: "Brat Xu, don't place blind faith in cultivation realms. Realms are defined by people. If victory and defeat were determined solely by realm, wouldn't it be simpler to just flaunt your cultivation levels upon meeting, and the one with lower cultivation could simply commit suicide?" Saying this, the remnant soul glanced at Ran Qingmo, who was quietly listening beside them, and chuckled softly: "Back at your manor, my spatial techniques allowed me to escape with Qin Mo under the noses of several second-rank Origin Realm experts, yet this girl froze it with a single sword strike. Have you ever considered why? "At the levels of the Origin Realm and Transcendent Realm, there certainly is a gap—a massive one, in fact—yet both sides actually possess the ability to obliterate the other. "Take your eldest brother Xu Changge's sword dao, for instance. Under specific conditions, such as a sneak attack, even fairly powerful Transcendent Realm cultivators might be killed by him without having any chance to fight back. "Conversely, take those second-rank Origin Realm experts who tried to rescue Qin Mo and me in the sky above your manor earlier. "Do you know why it took your eldest brother so long to kill them? Clearly, he already possessed the power to kill Transcendents 'across realms.'" "......" Xu Yuan remained silent. The Saint's remnant soul chuckled. "Because even if your eldest brother had the capability to kill them in an instant, until all hidden cards were played, those two also possessed the capability to kill him. In battle, a fraction of an inch's error leads to a thousand miles of difference. One must be cautious and cautious again." Xu Yuan understood the general gist of what the Saint's remnant soul meant. It was just like games in his past life. An eighteenth-level assassin with a full six-item build could easily burst down a sixteenth-level assassin with four items, but conversely, the four-item assassin could still burst down the six-item assassin just the same—it was just vastly more difficult to pull off. After a brief pause, Xu Yuan turned back to Ran Qingmo and asked, "Ran Qingmo, is that crazy woman a spirit puppet?" Ran Qingmo pondered for a moment, then shook her head. "Probably not. When I watched her earlier through the Sky-Peeking Array, she seemed... to have deployed a Dao domain."