Of course, other people could also affect that probability.
For example, if String Tuner were still alive, he might have noticed under the Mechanical God's empowerment. But he was already dead.
And the Mechanical God's other subordinate, Pseudo-God Star Shadow, was nothing but a freeloader with no initiative to work.
The Mechanical God could only keep watch over both sides personally.
The longer Sage Master was held here by He Ao, and the more strength Sage Master displayed, the deeper the Mechanical God's attention would be, and the more likely He Ao's plan was to succeed.
So He Ao had to keep Sage Master occupied.
Stealing the Prophet's Talent Sequence and stalling Dreamer were both methods he used to hold Sage Master back.
In fact, He Ao had almost been unable to hold him back at the end. Sage Master was not only powerful, but also exceptionally perceptive.
This old man was instead the person most likely to see through He Ao's thoughts and arrangements in the entire scheme.
But He Ao had not expected the Mechanical God to pull off such a trick at the end, instantly completing the most difficult step and saving He Ao a great deal of time.
Of course, the ritual had still not been completely finished then. The Mechanical God still had a chance to discover the flaw and change everything.
So He Ao still had to hold Sage Master back and draw the Mechanical God's attention.
But Sage Master had already been preparing to flee by then.
He Ao had no choice but to expose a flaw and let Sage Master see the hope of completely erasing him, only then keeping Sage Master in the Abnormal Timeline.
To stall for those brief moments, He Ao lost two lives.
One came from the Undying