Level 90 was roughly the same as someone who had just stepped into the first rank Transcendent Realm. And even that level of cultivation might have been something that had slowly fallen over 10,000 years of erosion.
Tian Yan was a second rank cultivator. Xu Yuan was not surprised she could not beat that mad woman.
Most likely, the death of the Beguiling Divine Sakura had triggered some kind of reaction, causing that mad woman to run out of the boss room. Tian Yan had been caught right there in Sakura Leech Lake with nowhere to go.
At that thought, Xu Yuan felt a faint stirring in his heart. He wanted to go help. Of course, not help Tian Yan. He wanted to help that mad woman kill Tian Yan.
Right now, both he and Ran Qingmo were wearing disguises, one as the Saintess of the Splendor Bloom Sect and the other as the sect’s Grand Elder. Perhaps they could use those identities to lend a hand.
Although Xu Yuan had spent several days picnicking on the grassland with Tian Yan and had gotten along with her quite pleasantly, and although she had shown no intention of making a move against him for the time being, who could say what would happen later?
Based on information from before, as well as his recent conversation with the Sage’s remnant soul, Xu Yuan had roughly pieced together Tian Yan’s purpose in coming to find him.
The Heavenwatch Pavilion, hidden in the shadows, was not merely predicting the future. The fact that Tian Yan had personally appeared at the beginning and guided Ran Qingmo into kidnapping him was proof enough.
They were interfering with the future, steering it toward the version they wanted to see. After the calamity of the wraithfiends in the past, the world had shifted from sects carving up territories and ruling their own domains into the imperial realm that existed today.
For the Heavenwatch Pavilion, now declined from its former glory, to regain its old prosperity, the world would need another reshuffling. And the Chancellor's Manor’s plan to bring the sects to heel happened to fit their interests perfectly.
So they pushed things along from the shadows, riding the momentum.
But under those circumstances, Xu Yuan, this variable, had suddenly appeared.
Perhaps because he had transmigrated here. Perhaps because of something else. Whatever the reason, he had ruined the future the Heavenwatch Pavilion wanted to see, making the futures that the Heaven Derivation Art could calculate no longer clear.
So Tian Yan had come to his side.
Luo Daofan had once said that the Heavenwatch Pavilion had two ways of dealing with variables. Recruitment. Or death.
But the Heavenwatch Pavilion was no longer as prosperous as it once was. What could it possibly offer to make him, the Third Young Master of the Chancellor's Manor, willingly accept recruitment? Have Tian Yan seduce him?
Xu Yuan felt that the greatest possibility was that Tian Yan had been following him to create an anchor point, constantly deducing and evaluating what effect killing him, this variable, would have on the future.
He could not be one hundred percent certain of this conclusion. But he could be one hundred percent certain that letting Tian Yan continue following him would absolutely bring no good. Taking this chance to get rid of Tian Yan was undoubtedly the safest choice.
Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then lifted the mute restriction on the Sage’s remnant soul. “Hey, Old Luo. I need to ask you something.”
“Ask me something?” The Sage’s remnant soul sounded rather faint and resentful. “Young people these days. When I’m useless, you mute me without a second thought. When I’m useful, only then do you remember this old man exists.”
Xu Yuan rolled his eyes and went straight to the point. Is the Heaven Deriving Art strong in actual combat?
“What are you asking that for?” the Sage’s remnant soul replied at a leisurely pace.
Xu Yuan answered softly, “That mad woman I mentioned before should be about at the Transcendent Realm.”
“A first rank spirit puppet? The Splendorbloom Sect actually has a first rank spirit puppet?” The Sage’s remnant soul sounded a little surprised. Then he seemed to realize something and chuckled. “Boy Xu, are you thinking of using that first rank spirit puppet to kill Tian Yan?”
“More or less,” Xu Yuan said
“Then give up on that idea as soon as possible. A Transcendent Realm spirit puppet is very unlikely to be a match for Tian Yan.”
“What?” Xu Yuan was slightly stunned.
The Sage’s remnant soul said lightly, as if it were nothing worth making a fuss over, “Even a true first rank Transcendent cultivator might not be Tian Yan’s match, much less a mere spirit puppet.”
Xu Yuan’s heart sank. He stared at the Sage’s remnant soul without speaking.
The Sage’s remnant soul sighed softly and said, “The reason a first rank cultivator is called Transcendent is because they can manifest a Dao field. Boy, don’t tell me you don’t even know what a Dao field is.”
Xu Yuan’s expression did not change. “I’ve never cultivated to the first rank before. How would I know what a Dao field is?”
The Sage’s remnant soul clicked his tongue and said in a low voice, “Roughly speaking, it means creating a domain suited to oneself.”
He glanced at Ran Qingmo. “Take this little girl as an example. If she ever reaches first rank, her Dao field would probably be a world of ice and snow.”
As he spoke, the Sage’s remnant soul brought the topic back around. “But a spirit puppet, being a mindless puppet without true intelligence, cannot possibly possess a Dao field. Its strength only comes from the toughness of its body and its ability to use source qi, both of which happen to reach the threshold of the Transcendent Realm.
“And Xu boy, you’re underestimating the Heaven Deriving Art far too much. A single word from the Heaven Mantra alone is enough to make someone invincible among those of the same level, let alone Tian Yan, who has learned all four chapters.”
After a brief pause, the Sage’s remnant soul’s tone grew slightly solemn. “When it comes to real combat, forget spirit puppets. Even a genuine first rank Transcendent cultivator might not be able to do anything to Tian Yan.”
Xu Yuan frowned. “You mean Tian Yan can fight a first rank cultivator while only being second rank?”
The Sage’s remnant soul let out a long breath, his tone turning careless once more. “That’s more or less what I mean.”
Xu Yuan’s breathing hitched slightly.
After several seconds of silence, the Sage’s remnant soul sighed faintly, his voice suddenly filled with the earnest gravity of an old man lecturing a junior.
“Xu boy, don’t put too much blind faith in realms. Realms are something people came up with, too. If victory and defeat could be decided purely by whose realm is higher, then everyone could just flash their cultivation level the moment they meet. Whoever’s weaker can slit their own throat and save everyone the trouble, right?”
The Sage’s remnant soul glanced at Ran Qingmo, who was quietly listening from the side, and gave a low chuckle. “Back at your residence in Stillwater, my spatial methods were able to take Qin Mo and escape from some second rank cultivators. Yet this girl froze me solid with a single sword strike. Haven’t you ever wondered why? Once you reach second and first rank, yes, the gap exists. And yes, it is huge. But in truth, both sides still possess the ability to kill the other.
“Take your elder brother, Xu Changge, and the sword he cultivates. Under certain circumstances, such as an ambush, some relatively powerful Transcendent cultivators might not even get the chance to resist before he kills them.
“And conversely, take that second rank cultivator who tried to save Qin Mo and me above your residence. Do you know why your elder brother took so long to kill them? Clearly, he could already bypass realms and kill Transcendent cultivators.”
Xu Yuan said nothing.
The Sage’s remnant soul chuckled softly. “Because even if your elder brother had the ability to kill them instantly, as long as their trump cards had yet to be revealed, those two still had the ability to kill him. In battle, the smallest mistake can lead to a result a thousand miles off. You have to be careful, then careful again.”
Xu Yuan roughly understood what the Sage’s remnant soul meant. It was like the games from his previous life.
A Level 18 assassin with six divine items could easily one-shot a Level 16 assassin with four divine items. But the reverse was also true. The assassin with four divine items could still one-shot the one with six divine items. It was just that pulling it off would be far, far more difficult.
After a pause, Xu Yuan looked back at Ran Qingmo and asked, “Ran Qingmo, is that mad woman a spirit puppet?”
Ran Qingmo thought for a moment, then shook her head. “Probably not. When I used the observation aray earlier, I think I saw her... manifesting a Dao field.”
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