Chapter 779: Immortal Ruins Are More Formidable

These words seemed to have a profound impact on Chen Tianhai, or perhaps on the members of the Taiyan Sect within the Stone Mother of Dao Transformation.

In an instant, all the blue phantoms in the Sky City ceased their activities and turned their attention towards Xu Bai. It was as if the entire city had fallen into absolute stillness, with only the profound blue subtly flowing.

A moment later, Chen Tianhai gently stamped his foot once more. The walls of the space he was in became opaque, obstructing the view from both inside and out. Chen Tianhai also reverted to the appearance of an ordinary cultivator.

“Given the current circumstances, we cannot indeed rule out the possibility you mentioned,” Chen Tianhai’s tone grew heavy. “In fact, as one of the few entities capable of threatening us, we have repeatedly deduced the potential situations within the Immortal Ruins.”

“However, firstly, there is too little known information. And secondly, all methods used to probe the Immortal Ruins have proven ineffective. They have all gone in and never returned. Therefore, we cannot verify the reliability of our deductions.” Chen Tianhai explained, looking at Xu Bai as he spoke.

Xu Bai smiled. “But you no longer have any Stone Mothers of Dao Transformation. What will you trade with me? Do I look like the type of person who would be so generous as to simply give away benefits to others for free?”

Chen Tianhai appraised Xu Bai thoroughly, nodding. “Judging by your appearance, you certainly do. However, we do not pin our hopes on others. I believe there is something you will find interesting.”

Chen Tianhai extended his left hand and plunged it directly into his own head. Fortunately, there was no gruesome scene of brains or blood. The moment his hand touched his brain, it dematerialized into an illusion. At the same time, Chen Tianhai’s head appeared to be divided into countless small, flickering blue squares. This sight was quite peculiar.

After a moment of probing, Chen Tianhai finally withdrew his hand. He then displayed what he held in his palm to Xu Bai and Fang Zaiji.

“What is this?” Xu Bai narrowed his eyes slightly.

A miniature version of the Sky City floated silently in his hand. Unlike the Stone Mother of Dao Transformation, it was not a deep blue. Instead, it was like glass—brilliant, crystalline, and fragile.

“This is a single-use replica of the Stone Mother of Dao Transformation,” Chen Tianhai explained without any discernible emotion. “It was inspired by the Myriad Immortal Alliance’s Profound Heavenly Jade Scroll, an independently functioning entity that nevertheless possesses some of the Stone Mother’s capabilities.”

“What is it for?” Fang Zaiji’s eyes lit up, and he reached out to grasp the miniature Sky City. However, he grasped nothing but air. Both Chen Tianhai and the Stone Mother replica instantly turned ethereal, completely intangible. Fang Zaiji pursed his lips.

“The Stone Mother replica contains all the information from the original entity, as well as the energy required to conduct a single simulation. You can use this simulation to experience the future as deduced by the Stone Mother of Dao Transformation.” As if to underscore Chen Tianhai’s words, the Stone Mother replica in his hand suddenly erupted with a dazzling light.

Within the white light, countless scenes seemed to flash by rapidly.

“A simulation? Is it reliable?” Fang Zaiji, clearly hearing of such a thing for the first time, appeared rather skeptical.

Xu Bai, meanwhile, gazed intently at the Stone Mother replica, deep in thought. The brightness of the white light gradually diminished, and the rapidly shifting scenes within it slowly came to a halt.

“Huh? Why are the Sect Master and I in here?” Fang Zaiji, noticing something amiss, asked in surprise.

“According to the results of this simulation, you will agree to our trade request.” Chen Tianhai crushed the Stone Mother replica in his hand. A moment later, just as he had stated, scenes of Xu Bai trading with them instantly materialized before their eyes. Although a closer look would reveal that some details still differed from the real world, witnessing one’s own “future” firsthand was nonetheless somewhat unsettling.

“He’s truly overly confident. Sect Master, let’s not be deceived by him,” Fang Zaiji said, sounding rather annoyed.

Xu Bai, however, cast a faint glance at Fang Zaiji. “Mr. Fang, are you trying your goading tactics on the wrong person? I think you’re simply envious of this item, aren’t you?”

With his little scheme exposed, Fang Zaiji offered an awkward smile.

“However…” Xu Bai gazed at the segments of scenes that continued to replay and transform before him. After a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, “When the Profound Heavenly Jade Scroll enters the body, the Profound Heavenly Mirror can see all the secrets of a cultivator’s physical form. Your Stone Mother replica isn’t like that as well, is it?”

Chen Tianhai smiled. “That depends on you. The closer the data is to reality, the more accurate the simulation results will be. We have been secluded in this Tai Xuan Cave Heaven for thousands of years. Although we periodically calibrate the Stone Mother of Dao Transformation’s deduction results, in truth, we can only achieve superficial consistency.”

“The Xuanhuang Realm holds many secrets; even that Dharma-Transmitting Celestial Venerable would probably not claim to be omniscient. The Stone Mother replica does not possess the all-seeing ability of the Profound Heavenly Jade Scroll. Instead, the user must personally provide and complete their own data. If one wishes to deliberately conceal something, that is also possible. However, the deduced results might deviate accordingly,” Chen Tianhai said with a serene expression.

“The Myriad Immortal Alliance said the same thing back then: that the Profound Heavenly Jade Scroll could be considered a separate entity, not connected to the Profound Heavenly Mirror, and that all cultivators could use it with peace of mind.”

“But what happened afterward…?” Fang Zaiji scoffed somewhat derisively.

“Our Taiyan Sect is different,” Chen Tianhai’s expression suddenly turned very serious. “Here, lies are absolutely forbidden. The world within the Stone Mother is built upon genuine deductions. Any false information could potentially lead to the collapse of the subsequent deduced world,” Chen Tianhai explained briefly. “You may not believe it, but that does not change the fact that this is true.”

Upon hearing these words, Fang Zaiji showed a skeptical expression, while Xu Bai nodded. “I believe you.”

“Then let us proceed with the trade.”

Such decisiveness greatly exceeded the expectations of the two individuals present.

“Sect Master…” Fang Zaiji hesitated, as if about to speak but then thought better of it.

After a brief moment of surprise, Chen Tianhai quickly retrieved another Stone Mother replica from his head. Xu Bai, as if having anticipated this, also took out a projection stone from his storage ring.

In an instant, the trade was complete. Chen Tianhai immediately played the images recorded in the projection stone: the Medicine King Cauldron flying out of the Xuanhuang Realm and being drawn in by the Immortal Ruins. It was played three times.

The light and images then vanished, and Chen Tianhai’s expression turned solemn. “It seems you were right. If the data you provided is indeed true, then the Immortal Ruins’ attractive force has indeed been steadily strengthening over the years.”