"She is my own sister, and I can’t just push her into the fire pit..."
"Alright, alright, alright, as brothers, today you have to explain to me what the hell is a ’fire pit’?"
...
Amidst the noisy commotion, the atmosphere in the dining hall became even more lively.
Mo Hua, however, fell into deep contemplation nearby.
Though much was spoken in jest, what these disciples said was also true.
"What am I participating in the Sword Discussion Conference for?"
This question deserves deep thought and must be clearly considered.
That evening, upon returning to the Disciple’s Residence, Mo Hua was still pondering this question.
What am I seeking?
Reputation—I am already quite famous enough.
The protruding rafter is the first to rot; the plump pig is the first to be slaughtered. For me, high fame might not necessarily be a good thing.
I lack nothing in merit points, and have no intention to join the Inner Gate.
I am a Loose Cultivator, with no family interests to compete for, nor a position as Family Head to inherit.
As for marriage...
That matter is still far off, and there’s no need to consider it now.
Besides, as Mo Hua understands the little senior sister...
If I truly participate in the Sword Discussion Conference, little senior sister will most likely worry about whether I am hurt, rather than caring what ranking I achieve.
My ranking doesn’t affect me being her junior brother.
Mo Hua calculated and realized, in fact, he really has no needs.
The only possible need might be the reward for the first place in the Sword Discussion Conference.
But these rewards have already been set, and Mo Hua has seen them.
One is a personal choice of top-grade cultivation technique inheritance from the Four Great Sects and Eight Great Gates.
Another is likewise a personal choice of top-grade Taoist skill inheritance from the Four Sects and Eight Gates.
In addition, there are also treasures from sects, such as superior-grade pills and runes.
The items are undoubtedly top-tier, but they are all prepared for the true "heaven’s chosen". For Mo Hua, with his weak foundation, they are not very practical.
Even those cultivation techniques and Taoist skills are not suited to his Spiritual Root.
Besides this, the only reason left to participate in the Sword Discussion Conference might be to help Elder Master Xun, help Taixu Gate, to overcome this difficult situation.
After all, he received too much kindness from Elder Master Xun and Taixu Gate.
Of course, also to spare the Sect Leader from losing more hair...
But that’s all; it wouldn’t be worth devoting too much effort.
Moreover, Mo Hua has considered that this matter is actually quite risky.
Elder Master Xun was indeed right previously; once involved in the Sword Discussion Conference, under the watchful eyes of all, all his hidden cards would gradually be uncovered.
This point is extremely fatal.
After all, many of his hidden cards are unspeakable.
And if he doesn’t use his hidden cards, he simply has no ability to partake in such a grand Sword Discussion event.
The Sword Discussion Conference is not a child’s play; it gathers the heaven’s chosen, countless formidable figures.
This is a long and arduous battle.
Mo Hua is not naive enough to think he can achieve a good ranking without giving his all.
Even if he exhausts himself to the fullest, revealing all his hidden cards, whether he can last till the end remains uncertain...
High difficulty, great risk, low reward.
Mo Hua deliberated for a long time, only to helplessly discover that the objective situation is just like this.
Attending the Sword Discussion Conference casually is the best.
Strive to help Taixu Gate advance a few more ranks.
As for other aspects, there’s no need to consider them.
Mo Hua sighed softly.
He pondered over it several more times, even used the causal calculation to make a slight prediction, finding that no matter how he thought or deduced, "going with the flow" was the best choice.
Mo Hua felt somewhat uninterested.
But the situation is as it is, the causality is as it is.
One cannot act detached from reality.
Mo Hua let it go, his mood also calmed greatly, becoming somewhat indifferent to the matter of the Sword Discussion Conference.
While the disciples were all trying their utmost to prepare for the Sword Discussion Conference, Mo Hua, as always, practiced the Ultimate Formation and studied formation principles.
The days flowed by like gentle water...
...
Meanwhile, in Taoist State.
Heaven Shu Pavilion.
The high pavilion, shrouded in mist and inaccessible, housed an elder with a head full of white hair, still dozing.
In the hazy smoke, the elder slept contentedly.
It was unknown how long had passed when the elder finally awoke from his nap, slowly raised his eyes, and looked at the chessboard in front of him.
The chessboard, made from dead wood, bore no special traits, but in the elder’s cloudy yet abyss-like gaze, it flickered with faint light, as if containing heavenly secrets, with causality intertwined.
The elder stared at the chessboard, his voice like a twilight bell, slowly musing:
"The chess game... is set up, and the pieces are in position, but... something is still missing."
The chess pieces are lifeless, progressing only in the established direction.
The chess game is naturally stagnant, calm and unremarkable.
It needs a variable, a "living piece" to enliven the whole situation...
So... who has the capacity to be this "living piece"?
The elder’s eyes were deep, and as his Divine Thought surged, causality flowed uninterruptedly.
Simultaneously, his withered fingers reached into the chess pot, felt around for a moment, and pinched out an ordinary black chess piece.
The elder’s gaze showed slight surprise, finding it peculiar even to himself.
"In such a grand chess game, could there really be someone to act as this living piece?"
Curious, the elder attempted to deduce the identity of this "living piece".
But after a moment of trying, he gave up.
For if it is a "living piece", it must remain undetermined; to calculate it would turn it into a ’dead piece’.
"Forget it, never mind..."
"Once there’s a living piece, there’s a fish; when there’s a fish, there must be ’bait’ to get it to move on its own..."
What "bait" should be given?
The elder began deducing again, pondering how to "fish".
The myriad cultivation techniques of Heaven Shu Pavilion, like running water, flowed through his mind one by one, but causality showed no fluctuation...
The elder passed over the cultivation techniques, then began calculating Taoist skills, pills, runes, formations... .
But after calculating over and over, even some exquisite inheritances as "bait" still couldn’t lure this "fish".
The elder remained indifferent, unsurprised.
In such a grand scheme, one who can act as a "living piece" representing the variable is surely not an ordinary person, but a true "big fish".
If it is a big fish, then ordinary "bait" cannot entice it.
The elder then raised the stakes, choosing the "bait" from Heaven Shu Pavilion’s secret heritage.
This time, there were indeed fluctuations in causality.
But that was all.
This "big fish" seemed merely interested in sniffing the ethereal aura, slightly moved by desire, but quickly adhered to its core, dismissing greed, swimming back to the depths, and lying dormant.
Finally, the elder appeared somewhat astonished.
"Even this couldn’t entice it?"
"What a considerable ’status’..."
"Is this really fishing for a fish, or a dragon?"
The elder felt a pang as he lamented inwardly: "Reluctance to part with a child won’t catch a wolf..."
He gritted his teeth, and his finger split the void directly, beginning to seek from Heaven Shu Pavilion’s sealed ancient heritage.
Through a stream of extraordinary names, the elder searched for a while before finally uncovering a heritage imbued with glowing golden causality.
The heritage, with causality shimmering like gold, indicated that using this to fish would definitely lure this "big fish" out.
The elder unveiled the ancient heritage.
The heritage was an archaic jade slip, upon which five ancient and unique characters were engraved:
"Yin Yang Rebirth Formation."
These five characters carried an aura of primordial chaos, where yin and yang rotate, life and death reverse, causing the room to suddenly stifle.
The elder’s expression gradually solidified, and his eyes grew frighteningly profound.
Yin Yang Rebirth...
Whose "rebirth"?
Could it be...
An unwavering heart rippled with layers of shock.
The elder’s gaze was deep like an abyss.