Chapter 127 The Lower Limit

Ye Chu Xiao did not immediately answer Tang Sudong's expectations.

It could be said that Tang Sudong's appearance had indeed resolved many of his doubts.

But there were still unresolved points.

"Are there still doubts?" Tang Sudong asked.

Ye Chu Xiao nodded frankly and said, "Indeed. If you and Xiao Chi had an understanding from the start, then some of my initial speculations would seem redundant."

Tang Sudong was a man of great caliber; he understood what Ye Chu Xiao was worried about in an instant.

"Perhaps, to him, the late Emperor also had to die!" Tang Sudong said, seemingly with a sense of regret.

Ye Chu Xiao understood.

What he was puzzled by was, since Tang Sudong had intended to help, why did the late Emperor still have to pass away, and why was it necessary for the identity of Jin Buyi to exist?

This seemed to make no sense.

Tang Sudong gave the answer: the late Emperor was indeed outstanding. Precisely because he was outstanding, he was a threat to Xiao Chi.

Therefore, Xiao Chi must have made arrangements in advance to have the late Emperor 'die' at the appropriate time.

Of course, at the time, Tang Sudong must have only thought that the late Emperor had faked his death, rather than returning and reverting.

He himself was also in the trap of this personality disguise, believing in the 'truth' he saw before him.

Jin Buyi, Ran Xing, and the late Emperor were all Xiao Chi, yet not all of Xiao Chi. They were derived from Xiao Chi, choosing a possibility and evolving into secondary personalities.

Xiao Chi used different personalities as chess pieces, plotting for a hundred years, all for the sake of fulfilling his selfish desires and refining the world for his own use.

Thinking of this, Ye Chu Xiao did not continue Tang Sudong's words but instead asked, "How does the old gentleman know that I, Ye Chu Xiao, am not a selfish and arrogant person? To entrust such a great matter to me?"

Ye Chu Xiao admired sages like Tang Sudong who sacrificed themselves to benefit all beings.

But this did not mean that he would unconditionally trust and revere him.

Sages were like the scorching sun, brilliant and magnificent from afar, but easily burned and scorched when approached.

Ye Chu Xiao admired and respected people like Tang Sudong, but he absolutely did not want to become like him.

Tang Sudong said, "Why must Qiankun (Heaven and Earth) be selfless? I only wish that the mountains and rivers remain."

Ye Chu Xiao understood.

This was a matter of comparing the lower limits.

With Xiao Chi's actions, if he refined the world, then in order to go further, he might choose to sacrifice the entire world, using it all to fulfill his own great power.

Ye Chu Xiao was different. His personal morals were not to be judged, but on matters of principle, he was not lacking.

In a situation where Tang Sudong had no choice, choosing to give Ye Chu Xiao a push and pull him out to compete with Xiao Chi was not difficult to understand.

At this time, Ye Chu Xiao had a deeper understanding of Tang Sudong's previous moment of silence and hesitation.

Perhaps the hesitation at the time was not necessarily aimed at Xiao Chi.

At least... it was definitely not just that.

"Does the old gentleman regret it?" Ye Chu Xiao asked.

This seemed a bit redundant, but Ye Chu Xiao just wanted to ask.

Just consider it Ye Chu Xiao's own curiosity.

Tang Sudong's gaze was gentle, as if passing through the barrier of time, seeing the future, seeing the vast mountains and rivers.

"Never!"

The answer was decisive.

At this time, Ye Chu Xiao also understood that Tang Sudong's sacrifice was not an escape from reality or a desperate gamble in a situation where he was powerless to change reality.

He still hoped to establish everlasting merit.

To completely solve the chronic diseases of this world.

Regardless of what additional benefits various defects of the Heavenly Dao might bring, defects were defects, and weaknesses were weaknesses.

All the avoidance, hedging, and guidance described the cultivator's resistance and fear of these defects.

Cultivation was a process of perfecting oneself.

However, the defects of the Heavenly Dao were opening gaps in the cultivator's body and soul.

The deeper the cultivation, the larger the gap.

Sacrificing oneself to the Dao was not escaping reality.

It was precisely taking the first step and laying a solid foundation for countless years to come.

"I have heard that cultivating to the Wuding Realm (Unfixed Realm) can eliminate defects to some extent. Xiao Chi's split is also a defect. Why didn't he eliminate it?" Ye Chu Xiao asked.

Tang Sudong said, "Perfection is a choice, and defects are also a choice. Whether to achieve greatness through perfection or through imperfection is a matter of different definitions of cultivation."

"The Wuding Realm is full of choices, and different choices will lead to different directions."

"You can even see many Wuding Realm cultivators who are completely unrelated. Their differences will be reflected in all aspects."

Tang Sudong's explanation ended here, and he obviously did not continue for Ye Chu Xiao's sake.

Continuing to reveal more would make things too clear.

If Ye Chu Xiao deduced the method of entering the Wuding Realm, then he would never be able to enter this realm again.

Ye Chu Xiao digested Tang Sudong's words and asked after a moment, "What should I do?"

"Frankly speaking, facing Xiao Chi, I feel like a dog trying to bite a hedgehog."

Ye Chu Xiao mocked himself, but it was not entirely self-deprecation, but a genuine feeling.

When he realized that Jin Buyi was actually just a replacement personality, Ye Chu Xiao felt that the trouble behind the struggle for the Heart Pill was far more complicated than he thought.

The best outcome would be to separate Jin Buyi from Xiao Chi.

Take advantage of the time difference to win the Heart Pill competition and, ideally, break through to Wuding.

In this way, even if Xiao Chi ultimately returned and refined the world, Ye Chu Xiao would not lose out from a personal perspective.

He could leave the Daheng world and seek more possibilities in the wider heavens.

However, things cannot always be executed with such an optimistic attitude.

Ye Chu Xiao still knew very little about Xiao Chi.

The other party's layers of disguises were like armor, blocking Ye Chu Xiao's probing gaze.

And these information barriers composed of disguises often led Ye Chu Xiao into traps of thought, taking a lot of effort to climb out.

If he had not met Tang Sudong this time, Ye Chu Xiao would have almost been misled again.

If he used the 'late Emperor' described in Little Tail's description and the Imperial Diaries as a template to deduce Xiao Chi, he would definitely lose miserably when the other party finally launched his attack.

"If someone uses spells that you have never seen or understood to attack you, how do you deal with it?" Tang Sudong asked Ye Chu Xiao.

Ye Chu Xiao suddenly realized, "Of course, he attacks his way, and I attack my way. I don't understand him, and he may not understand me either. Whether it succeeds or fails, we'll know when we clash."

"The same goes for dealing with Xiao Chi. I don't understand Xiao Chi because Xiao Chi is too far away from me, and his personal information is extremely well hidden. The late Emperor, who reigned for a hundred years, has almost completely erased the traces of Xiao Chi's existence. The only remaining old subordinates, such as the Old Dragon King and the Dragon Queen Yuan Meng, may also be deliberately left 'traps,' another output point for information errors."

"Since I can't understand him, then don't try to understand him. Just use what I'm good at and make my own arrangements. In the limited time, make all the preparations. When the final battle comes, victory or defeat is still unknown."

"Instead of unknowingly falling into a maze like this, being led by the nose, embarking on a path of constantly pursuing the 'truth,' and neglecting basic preparations."

Tang Sudong nodded in approval, obviously very satisfied with Ye Chu Xiao's quick understanding.

"Please teach me, old gentleman!" Ye Chu Xiao finally cupped his fist and bowed to Tang Sudong.

Tang Sudong raised his hand slightly, "This old man has also left some things behind, all placed with the Knife Hero Yan Po. You only need to find him and say to him, 'The Han Mountain flower has bloomed,' and he will hand everything over to you."

After saying that, Tang Sudong got up and instead gave Ye Chu Xiao a deep salute, "Little friend Ye! Everything is now entrusted to you."

"If there is a crisis, you can also use spiritual communication and summoning techniques to call out this old man's name."

"Although this old man is playing chess with the heavens, I still have a little remaining strength to help you twice."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chu Xiao couldn't help but feel pleasantly surprised.

Regarding Xiao Chi, Ye Chu Xiao's only greatest worry was the other party's Wuding Realm cultivation.

Since everything was fake, how could one know that the reduction in realm was all real?

If Xiao Chi returned and used his Wuding cultivation to crush him, then even if Ye Chu Xiao was covered in artifacts, he would probably only have the power to escape, and it would be difficult to defeat the enemy.

With Tang Sudong's support, it was equivalent to having a winning move at a critical moment.

Tang Sudong was playing chess with the heavens; this was his sacrifice, but it was also his merit.

Tang Sudong, who was 'summoned,' would no longer just have the strength of an ordinary Wuding.

Time gradually dissipated, and everything that had been reversed began to flow rapidly.

When Ye Chu Xiao came back to his senses, he was standing in the prison cell.

His heartbeat accelerated slightly... it was Ying Shu next door, using some method to try to forcibly connect the network line to communicate with Ye Chu Xiao.

Ye Chu Xiao ignored her, forcibly disconnected the network line again, and then calmly left the Ministry of Justice's dungeon.

The nominal head of the Ministry of Justice's dungeon had indeed been replaced by Jin Buyi's people, but it was too much to say, at least within five years, this person would not be able to understand the relationships, interests, and various aspects within the Ministry of Justice's dungeon.

In this situation, Ye Chu Xiao was still in charge of the Ministry of Justice's dungeon.

And it was more convenient to act than before.

After all, if there were benefits, they were Ye Chu Xiao's, but if there was a scapegoat... he could righteously throw it out.

After leaving the Ministry of Justice's dungeon, Ye Chu Xiao did not go directly to find Yan Po.

Instead, he went to find Shi Huang and Yuan Shen to communicate and exchange ideas, spreading the news through them that he had a batch of artifact embryos to sell. Any Yijing Realm cultivators who were interested could inquire with their price.

If the price was right, he would sell them.

At the same time, he directly took out five artifact embryos and placed them with Shi Huang as collateral, proving that what he said was true.

Shi and Yuan were both surprised by Ye Chu Xiao's generosity, and they both vaguely sensed his current realm and cultivation. Although they tried to test him, they stopped asking when they saw that Ye Chu Xiao was not revealing anything.

It was just that, in addition to the exchange of interests, the past scene of mutual benefit was probably difficult to reproduce.

Just like Tang Sudong reminded him, if he didn't understand Xiao Chi, then he should simply fight his own way.

Each of them would make their own arrangements and see who was more clever.

No matter how capable Xiao Chi was at making arrangements, could he calculate the changes in power in the Daheng Dynasty, could he calculate the various powerful figures in Daheng and even this world, could he calculate all the visitors from the heavens?

Once the news of the artifact embryos being released spread.

Not to mention the strong figures inside and outside Daheng, many cultivators with resources and qualifications to cross worlds would also come.

Ye Chu Xiao's arrangements were of course among them, but the bigger goal was to first make the water even muddier in order to hide himself.

Of course, for various considerations, Shi Huang and Yuan Shen originally did not want to support Ye Chu Xiao.

However, Ye Chu Xiao gave them a lot, promising to let them privately trade an artifact embryo at 50% of the price, and at the same time promising not to actively use the transaction to provoke trouble. Only then did he obtain the support of the two.

After initially making arrangements with Yuan and Shi, Ye Chu Xiao, under the identity of Ye Chuqi, rushed to the new stronghold of the Original Decree Sect in the capital and reported this matter to the Qiongqi Elder of the Original Decree Sect, mentioning that 'Elder Brother' Ye Chu Xiao had a large number of artifact embryos.

At the same time, he expressed that after receiving further training from the Original Decree Sect, he could stab his own elder brother in the back and steal a part of the artifact embryos from his elder brother and hand them over to the Original Decree Sect.

The Qiongqi Elder expressed his sincere praise for 'Ye Chuqi's' single-mindedness towards the sect and his willingness to betray his family for the greater good. He also instructed him to try to find out the source of the goods.

Although artifact embryos were not artifacts, they were not something that could be forged casually.

This thing was priceless in most worlds.

It was an important strategic resource.

Having successfully thrown the bait, the Original Decree Sect would not simply 'move at the news'.

Always remember that the Original Decree Sect was not a small sect. It was a large sect spanning the heavens.

In the past, only the disciples in Daheng were working hard to rescue Ying Shu.

Now it was different. Ye Chu Xiao gave them a fragrant bait, and the Qiongqi Elder could use this bait to lure cultivators from many worlds to cross the world.

Interworld travel required costs, and artifact embryos offset this cost.

"If I can use some idle artifacts to hire a reliable Wuding cultivator as an outside aid, that would be even better."

"But I'm not in a hurry for this. After all, Wuding cultivators are difficult to fathom, and I don't want to create any more complications."

Ye Chu Xiao made some advance assumptions and arrangements, and then quietly sneaked out of the capital and went to the Cold Mountain where Yan Po was located.

In the bamboo forest of Cold Mountain, Yan Po still lived a simple life.

When Ye Chu Xiao appeared in front of him, Yan Po did not have any extra expression.

"The Han Mountain flower has bloomed!" Ye Chu Xiao said the password Tang Sudong had told him.

Upon hearing this, Yan Po's expression changed drastically.

His originally calm expression collapsed to the other extreme.

"You... how do you know?" Yan Po stepped forward in an instant, almost face to face, and questioned Ye Chu Xiao.

Ye Chu Xiao said, "Naturally, Tang Sudong, Lord Tang, told me personally!"

"Are you really his disciple?" Yan Po asked.

Ye Chu Xiao was a little embarrassed upon hearing this.

In the beginning, in order to get close to Yan Po, he had indeed pretended to be Tang Sudong's disciple.

Now that he was about to take over Tang Sudong's legacy, it seemed that his words had come true. Although he had no official title, he was actually Tang Sudong's successor.

"He only told me this sentence."

"But I don't know what this sentence means, or what its significance is," Ye Chu Xiao changed the subject.

Yan Po dropped the firewood he was carrying on his shoulder and patted the dust off his body, "You'll know soon. Some things may be late, but they will never disappear, let alone not arrive."