Chapter 1568: Order (I)

The ninety-nine profound gates of the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace] shone with a golden radiance, forming ninety-nine layers of suppression. It was as if countless eyes hung around the mass of silver light, all converging upon a single point.

It has already reached the point where it requires a Dharma relic to suppress it...

Yet the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman] offered no resistance. Instead, it issued warning after warning with unwavering loyalty, illuminating every possible future transformation, continuously evolving within the confined space of the Dharma relic.

Lu Jiangxian silently examined the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman] before him. Understanding gradually dawned, and he began to grasp why it needed to be suppressed by a Dharma relic. Raising one hand and holding it aloft, a point of silver light emerged from his palm.

[Power of Deduction].

This was precisely what had once descended in response to the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman], its mystical essence attaching itself to Liu Changdie. Later, upon entering the range of the Immortal Mirror, it had been retrieved by Lu Jiangxian from Liu Changdie due to the resonance of talisman qi. It had been used several times, leaving behind only this faint remnant.

This trace was far from sufficient for any real deduction, and was perhaps only enough for a single calculation of fortune or misfortune. As Lu Jiangxian's Dao conduct grew ever deeper, he became increasingly reluctant to expend it on deducing techniques, and so he kept it in reserve until now.

Now, as he held that starlike glimmer of silver light in his palm, it began to surge as though boiling. The silver radiance in the white-haired man's eyes grew ever brighter. Guided by the resonance between the two strands of talisman qi, the silver light in his hand rapidly transformed, revealing the figure of a middle-aged man in white.

It was Liu Changdie. But the Liu Changdie within the vision was pale, dispirited, and weak in cultivation. This was the version of him once projected by the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman]. As torrents of mana and talisman qi poured in, time began to reverse, and every scene started rolling backward.

It eventually settled upon a youthful version of him. Yet unlike when Lu Jiangxian had once examined his memories and found them abruptly cut off, the scene continued to rewind. A streak of silver light flowed back out of his body, crossing countless obstacles and revealing once more the landscape of Wanlin Heaven.

At this moment, the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman] was nothing like its current docile state. Its intense silver light writhed in near frenzy, shaking the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace] without end. The ninety-nine profound gates swayed chaotically as spirit light was thrown into disarray, unsettling heaven and earth. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Yet no matter how it struggled, the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace] held it firmly suppressed. Still, in a fleeting instant, the silver light flared and surged, its inherent rank rising abruptly as it slipped free...

Lu Jiangxian's heart tightened sharply as a flood of information surged into his mind, bringing memories rushing back.

This is... the moment that strand of talisman qi was bestowed back then!

Back then, the Li Family was merely a small clan of Lijing Prefecture. After repairing the fragment, Lu Jiangxian had bestowed talisman qi upon them for the first time, calling it [Evade Death, Prolong Life]. But as it was the very first strand of talisman qi, his methods and mastery were insufficient, and it had once stirred widespread resonance from all directions...

That must have been the moment...

The [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman] had been suppressed within Wanlin Heaven by the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace] for an unknown span of time. Possessing considerable sentience, it had carried out endless calculations day after day, seeking a way to escape. That moment of resonance caused its inherent rank to surge, allowing a fragment of its mystic to break free from the palace's suppression.

That fragment of mystic had drifted aimlessly until it settled upon Liu Changdie, deducing future scenarios for him. When it eventually came into Lu Jiangxian's hands, it had not been fully expended and likely still held several uses for deduction. Step by step, it had guided Liu Changdie's cultivation forward, urging him to unveil the veil of Wanlin Heaven and thereby release the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman]!

In the end, that mystic was intercepted by Lu Jiangxian. Some unknown Dao lineage later severed Liu Changdie's own Dao lineage, forcing him to cultivate the locked metal[1]. Ultimately, it only fulfilled his opportunity to form a Purple Mansion Realm, though at least it allowed him to preserve his life.

But now, upon closer inspection, this object could no longer be called the [Heaven Expanding Profound Talisman]. It had already transformed into a Dharma relic known as [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture].

Just as Lu Jiangxian had once sensed, the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] could project the future, calculate hidden mysteries, trace past causes and future outcomes, and govern matters yet unsettled, while also preserving the workings of heavenly secrets. More importantly, it was deeply entangled with the Metallic Essence and Heaven-Governing. It also bore great relation to the Golden Positions, making it an object of universal significance.

In Lu Jiangxian's view, this object could be regarded as a [Heaven-Governing Order].

The term [Order] had once been mentioned by Si Xunhui, and even members of the Li Family had heard of it. With the Si Family's connections, they had only managed to remember the term, knowing only that it was another name for a Dharma relic, yet unaware that there was a deeper distinction between an [Order] and a [Dharma relic].

An [Order] was not something just anyone could possess. It was formed when a great divine ability cultivator aligned themselves with a Golden Position, borrowing a fragment of inherent rank from the great void. Rather than calling it a [Dharma Relic], it was more accurate to say it was a fragment of the Golden Position system itself. Fruition Positions, Intercalary Positions, and Surplus Positions all belonged to this category. Such an object belonged less to a True Monarch than to the Golden Positions themselves.

Take the Pristine Terrace Heart-Awakening Sword of Pristine Water as an example. Based on Lu Jiangxian's deductions, Du Qing's divine ability alone was likely insufficient to form a [Pristine Water Order].

Instead, it must have been formed when the Feathered Serpent attained the Dao and ascended to the seat of Pristine Water. Using its immense divine ability, it had pledged its identity as the master of Pristine Water as collateral, borrowed inherent rank from the Pristine Water Fruition Attainment, and combined it with various heavenly materials and even Metallic Essence. Only then was the [Pristine Terrace Heart-Awakening Sword] forged.

When the Feathered Serpent perished overnight, the very collateral used ceased to exist. As an Order, the [Pristine Terrace Heart-Awakening Sword] fell back into the Pristine Water Fruition Attainment and vanished without a trace. Naturally, it could never have ended up in the hands of the dragons.

When Du Qing later ascended to the position of Pristine Water, although he lacked the immense divine ability needed to borrow inherent rank directly from the Fruition Attainment, the work had already been completed by the Feathered Serpent. As long as he held the inherent rank of the Pristine Water master, he could once again draw the [Pristine Terrace Heart-Awakening Sword].

The object could only display its full mystical power in Du Qing's hands. The moment it left his grasp, however, it would dissipate into nothing.

This [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] was precisely the same. Most likely, it had been sealed here while the [Heaven-Governing] position still existed, and had never been moved since!

Lu Jiangxian was completely certain that as long as the True Monarchs still intended to preserve such a Dharma relic, they would never remove the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] from the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace]! The moment it was given even the slightest chance to breathe, it would immediately fall back into the [Heaven-Governing] position and vanish. To retrieve it again, someone would have to ascend to that position.

Back then, the master of Wanlin Heaven had suppressed the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] here for the very purpose of preventing it from disappearing!

Lu Jiangxian saw it clearly. The reason the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] had been refined into an Order was itself a kind of workaround. The Immortal Mirror's control over talisman qi was overwhelmingly powerful. Only by opposing it with a Golden Position of equally supreme level could it be preserved within an [Order].

As clarity gradually formed in his mind, Lu Jiangxian turned his gaze toward the Power of Deduction in his hand.

"The [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture] being suppressed by the [Exalted Yang Immutable Palace] is already a settled matter. Those outside the grotto heaven are nothing but True Monarchs... yet they have delayed taking it out all this time. Who knows what they are planning?!"

He quietly sat within the Dharma relic. The silver light in his hand continued its deductions, and through the resonance of talisman qi, every aspect of the [Great Expansion Heavenly Plain Scripture], along with its countless hidden mysteries, unfolded before his eyes in perfect clarity. Even the continuously emerging calculation results surged into his divine sense at an overwhelming, torrential pace.

No matter what, the longer this drags on, the better.

1. This is referring to Stored Metal. ☜

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