Chapter 48 - 10 I got it!

Taiyi Heavenly Venerable Ai Citan was fishing. Of course, this does not mean he was posting any thoughtless content in the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm. After all, that would require a certain level of boredom he simply did not possess. He was truly fishing. It's just that the location of his fishing was somewhat unusual. He was fishing within a dark, sunless secret realm, suspending the pond and himself in the void. This place was originally a world within a world, a Heaven and Earth within a cave. The founder of this Grotto Heaven cut it off from the Shenzhou Heaven and Earth and did not even bother to evolve the ground, let alone refine smaller celestial bodies like the sun, moon, and stars. And the Modern Carefree Practitioner who later occupied this Grotto Heaven apparently had no interest in adding any scenery either. Logically speaking, such a place should not support the existence of any Life Beings, let alone allow for fishing. But the Taiyi Heavenly Venerable was, after all, the strongest Cultivator in Modern times, so keeping a pond of fish was no big deal. After residing here for thirty years, he used Great Power to twist a space, creating an undetermined Gravity Field in the void. The soil and water placed in the Gravity Field were transformed by the Cultivators of Burning Gold Valley, and as for the fish fry, they were synthesized from nothing by Cultivators from Spirit Beast Mountain, each species of which did not exist in Shenzhou. Whenever he had no pressing matters, he liked to fish here for a while. This was his biggest hobby next to playing the erhu. Fishing not only relaxed him, but it also did not interfere with his contemplation. The fishes here had all been modified by the Hands of the Heavenly Selection God Monarch, and had evolved rapidly. The fishes of the Taiyi Heavenly Venerable were getting harder and harder to catch. Fortunately, he was always very patient. However, not everyone who resided here had such patience. Wave Motion Lord Schrodinger sat cross-legged opposite Ai Citan, with several ripples appearing beneath him that kept him afloat on the water's surface. His right arm rested on his knee while his right hand propped up his chin, wearing an impatient expression. He had changed his posture eight times within a quarter of an hour. Finally, the patience of the Wave Motion Lord ran out. "This is so boring!" Ai Citan reached out and, from the void, produced another fishing rod: "Here." Schrodinger waved his hands dismissively: "No need, no need. Xiao Ai, do me a favor." Although Schrodinger was a bit older than Ai Citan, the Taiyi Heavenly Venerable was the very picture of an old man with the face of a child, with disheveled hair that had long turned white. Seeing that Wave Motion Lord considered himself to be forever young, it was somewhat awkward how he called the older-looking Taiyi Heavenly Venerable "Xiao Ai." Ai Citan seemed to understand Schrodinger's intention, but he shook his head: "I can't." "How many years of friendship do we have between us?" "I have a heavy responsibility and cannot leave it recklessly." Schrodinger covered his forehead, sighing heavily: "It's really boring here." "It's high time you got rid of your fondness for beautiful things." Schrodinger jumped up and shouted: "Reading at night accompanied by a woman's presence is a refined pleasure! A refined pleasure!" "If you can't read without a woman's sleeve, that's a problem." Schrodinger heaved a heavy sigh and sat back down on the surface of the water. Having been friends for many years, Ai Citan felt somewhat sorry for him: "Didn't you use the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm to hook up, ahem, with someone?" Schrodinger shook his head: "You know me. When there's a beauty by my side, inspiration flows like a fountain. The scholarly exchanges of the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm, alas — no good, I need to ask Feng Luoyi to set up a specialized area in the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm for daily exchanges, and it would be best to work out the imitation of reality." Ai Citan wanted to say, what's the difference between that and a spring dream? He might as well ask a Grandmaster of Yangshen Pavilion to plant an Illusion Technique for him. But seeing his friend's invigorated eyes, he dismissed the idea. After all, this place truly was boring enough to drive one mad. It's true that Modern Cultivators forget themselves in pursuit of Dao, but the mindset of Modern Heart-Holding maintains the belief in "True Self as one, True Heart difficult to change." As they do not sever desires and emotions like Ancient Method Practitioners do, prolonged deep contemplation of the Great Dao is indeed a test of one's mental strength. So, he passed the buck to Feng Luoyi. Brother Feng, you must protect the integrity of the Wanfa Sect and the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm! Just then, an excited shout echoed throughout the entire Grotto Heaven. "I've got it! I've got it!" The Wave Motion Lord stood up, his expression turning serious: "That voice, is it Bao'er?" Ai Citan nodded: "Most likely he has perceived some new Divine Skill." Thousands of years ago, the Great Cultivator of ancient Mathematics Dao, Geometric Demon Lord Ji Midu, had an inspiration while taking a bath and figured out the Rigid Irregular Body and the Art of Calculation. He was so excited that he flew into the sky with his Sword Control and shouted, "I've got it! I've got it!" Unfortunately, the Demon Lord was so elated that he completely forgot to use Mana to create clothing for himself. Even more unfortunate, his disciples took this as a refined event, and to this day, it remains one of Wanfa Sect's celebratory activities—although very few actually dare to do it. The shout of Quantum Venerable Master from just before had a hint of Geometric Demon Lord's spirit about it, causing Wave Motion Lord Schrodinger even to speculate maliciously whether the other was wearing clothes or not. Anyone who heard that shout would feel that Quantum Venerable Master had made another profound discovery! "I still think his Mysterious Path has gone astray and it will be hard to make any breakthroughs." Schrodinger looked at Ai Citan: "You're okay, right?" Ai Citan made no attempt to hide his excitement: "What's the harm in losing to him a few times? Back in Erwei Manor, when were we ever afraid of him?" "Well said!" Schrodinger also kindled his fighting spirit: "Let Shenzhou's beauties wait for me a little longer! I'm going to meet him now." But Ai and Schro weren't the only ones to hear Bao'er's shout. Daoist Bu Rong Po Li heard it too. He kept urging Fentian Marquis Kelvin, who was assisting him with Flying Escape, to go faster. In the operation to capture Daoist of Uncertainty, Daoist Bu Rong, together with his junior brother, fought to exhaustion and both fell into the Beiming Sea. During the battle, Po Li had an argument with Hai Senbao over words. Amid their dispute, they mentioned their unexpectedly deceased mentor, Sommerfeld. The fiery-tempered Po Li lost control of his emotions, and in a fit of rage with the might of the Heavenly Sword, he unleashed power beyond Bai Ze God Monarch's expectation. As a result, the two brothers continued to fight until their last breath. The Beiming Sea is a land of extreme cold; Po Li fell in and was frozen solid, nearly losing his life. Fortunately, a millennium ago, Fentian Marquis had eradicated Beiming Cold Chi, and since then, the Beiming Sea had no more Great Demons. The group of demons were intimidated by Po Li's Carefree Qi Intent and did not dare to harm him. Just now, Fentian Marquis was using the Heavenly Entropy Technique to remove the cold qi from Po Li's body, but upon hearing his grandmaster's "I've got it!" Po Li couldn't sit still. He begged Fentian Marquis to bring him along. Fentian Marquis' residence was not far from Quantum Venerable Master's. Po Li soon saw Bao'er, who was deep in thought over his desk. Master Po Li said excitedly, "Uncle teacher, have you figured out the principle behind the Collapse of the Wave Motion Heavenly Transformation?" Bao'er looked up, somewhat puzzled, "Figured out?" Bao'er was naturally dull and indifferent, forcing Po Li to ask again, "Are you asking me or are you answering again?" "Ask." Po Li was somewhat disappointed, "I thought you had figured it out. What were you just thinking about?" Bao'er scratched the back of his head and replied, "A word game." "Ah?" Could a word game be a metaphor for some problem? Bao'er stepped aside to let Po Li see his desk, "I was just solving a word game. This one is quite difficult." Not only Po Li, but even Kelvin looked somewhat bemused. Po Li couldn't help but say, "Uncle teacher, are you... that bored?" Bao'er handed over several sheets of rough drafts with a bitter smile. "Exhausting all schemes but failing to solve the puzzle." These words... Uncle teacher, if you can't speak, don't show off your knowledge... Po Li shook his head as he took the drafts from Bao'er. "Indeed, it's still these things..." Po Li sighed as well. Seeing the pair of teacher and student somewhat dejected, Kelvin spoke up, "It's only a temporary difficulty. There's no need for you two to be like this..." Bao'er returned to his seat and softly said, "If Senbao were still here..." "Don't mention that name, uncle teacher!" Po Li's face slightly twisted, "That traitor!" Then the two Mysterious Palace Carefree fell into silence again. Kelvin wanted to say something to comfort them but didn't know what to say. At that moment, he noticed the small copper mirrors hanging at the waists of the two suddenly light up simultaneously. That was the terminal of the Ten Thousand Immortals True Mirror. The mirror lighting up meant the high-level members of the Immortal Alliance had important matters to discuss. The two from the Mysterious Palace glanced at each other, then excused themselves to Kelvin and entered into the Illusion. In their eyes, the surrounding scenery turned into flowing light and shadow, rapidly transforming, and eventually, it became a different scene. Here was a Council Hall, not many people inside, most were just a virtual shadow—this was one spreading out a part of their spirit to enter the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm. Only four fully entered: "Commonfolk's Champion" Feng Luoyi, "All Laws Crown" Chen Jingyun, "Laser Lady" Ma Juli, and "Sky-Splitting Sword" Deng Jiaxuan. As for the virtual shadows, Po Li saw at a glance, most were Carefree Practitioners from the Wanfa Sect. Chen Jingyun was being reprimanded by the virtual shadow of his own teacher, the former Vice Sect Leader of the Wanfa Sect, Hua Ruogeng, which was leaving Chen Jingyun not knowing whether to laugh or cry. Po Li knew Feng Luoyi best, so he went forward and asked, "What's going on?" Feng Luoyi shrugged, "Master Chen set up an unsolvable Seven Bridges within the Hongmeng Qi Formation and trapped himself, someone needs to go rescue him." Here, Feng Luoyi couldn't help but laugh in admiration, "Master Chen's dedication to seeking the Dao is rare even among the Carefree Practitioners." "The Wanfa Sect isn't exactly lacking in madmen." As a fellow Wanfa Sect Cultivator, Feng Luoyi nodded, looking quite proud. The scolding from Hua Ruogeng did not last long. It was quickly agreed within the Wanfa Sect to send someone to break through the formation. After that, the Wanfa Sect members scattered, leaving only Bao'er, Po Li, Feng Luoyi, and Chen Jingyun. Feng Luoyi gestured for the two from the Mysterious Palace to take a seat. Six people formed a circle. After a while, Ancient Method Practitioner Gu Ci also appeared in the Council Hall. Seeing everyone gathered, Chen Jingyun spoke up, "I've called everyone here because there is an issue. Masters Po Li and Gu Ci, do you both remember the first battle to capture the Daoist of Uncertainty?" Po Li frowned and was not pleased that Chen Jingyun brought up this matter. Gu Ci, however, nodded readily, "Yes." "At that time, there were two Security Guardians who helped you temporarily divert the attention of the Daoist of Uncertainty, correct?" Ma Juli nodded and added, "I remember at that time in the village, there was a boy who received an Ancient Cultivator's inheritance and had a breakthrough to Qi Cultivation, and the girl from Burning Gold Valley used the child to draw away the attention of the Daoist of Uncertainty." Gu Ci and Po Li nodded in agreement, indicating that it was so. "That boy has entered the Xinyue Immortal Institute," Chen Jingyun continued, "It seems he has a problem." ———————————— PS1: The word game joke, Mr. Niels Bohr from Earth really did that~ PS2: QAQ Please vote for recommendations