The Sage-Level Project Team! Investiture of the Gods Tribulation!

"Sh... Junior Brother."

Zhao Gongming's voice was as parched as if Gale Wind had scoured it for countless Yuanhui.

"We... just walked out like that?"

"What else?"

Chen Changsheng countered calmly.

"Senior Uncle-Master has already signed off on the meeting request, along with a personal letter. The first step of the project is complete."

Zhao Gongming opened his mouth, feeling his understanding being reshaped over and over by a force called "absurdity."

Signed off?

Meeting request?

Project?

That was a Sage! That was the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods!

How had it become, in his junior brother's words, a mundane affair... that could go through a Process, hold meetings, and even apply for a budget?

"Senior Brother."

Chen Changsheng saw his daze, his voice still steady.

"You must remember: the Process is our greatest reliance. Within the Process, even a Sage is merely a 'Project Stakeholder.' We stand with them as equal partners."

Zhao Gongming stumbled, nearly losing his footing.

Equal partners... with a Sage?

He looked into Chen Changsheng's clear eyes and, for the first time, felt a genuine emotion called "fear."

Not fear of power, but fear of the unknown.

He sensed that his junior brother's mind held a terrifying world—one he could not comprehend, yet which was truly, in an unreasonable way, reshaping the entire Primordial World.

"Let's go, Senior Brother."

Chen Changsheng offered no further explanation.

"Senior Uncle-Master has already set the Process in motion. Our internal work must follow immediately."

"Before the 'Kick-off Meeting' at Purplexiao Palace, we must produce a Project Feasibility Report compelling enough that even the Dao Ancestor cannot refuse it."

With those words, he took a step and vanished into the chaos.

Zhao Gongming stood frozen for a moment, then could only shake his head with a bitter smile and hurriedly follow.

Golden Ao Island, Calamity Aversion Department.

When Chen Changsheng and Zhao Gongming emerged from the teleportation array, Sect Leader Tongtian, Daoist Duobao, and the many disciples—who had been waiting anxiously—immediately rushed forward.

"How did it go?!"

Tongtian's voice carried a barely perceptible note of hope.

Zhao Gongming's lips moved, but he found himself at a loss for where to begin.

Should he say that Senior Uncle-Master agreed?

That his junior brother had defined the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods as a "problem project"?

Or that they were about to go to Purplexiao Palace to find the Dao Ancestor and hold an "Investiture of the Gods Project Kick-off Meeting"?

He feared that if he opened his mouth, his master would think he had lost his Dao heart and fallen into demonic possession.

Chen Changsheng bowed respectfully to Tongtian.

"Reporting to Master, we have not failed our mission."

"Senior Uncle-Master, with his far-reaching vision and profound righteousness, has agreed to this disciple's request to reshape the Investiture Process. He has issued a Sage Decree summoning Second Senior Uncle-Master and the Two Sages of the West to Purplexiao Palace to reconsider this matter."

Tongtian: "..."

Duobao: "..."

The entire hall once again fell into that familiar dead silence, mixed with absurdity and shock.

Tongtian's hand, stroking his beard, froze mid-air.

He had imagined countless possibilities.

Being rebuked by his senior disciple brother, being thrown out of Eight Views Palace, even being casually suppressed.

But he had never imagined that his Pure and Effortless senior disciple brother, who always seemed aloof from worldly affairs, would actually... agree?!

And even proactively issue a Sage Decree, dragging everyone to Purplexiao Palace for a meeting?!

"Good! Good! Good!"

After a brief silence, Tongtian burst into earth-shaking laughter, filled with boundless exhilaration.

"As expected of my disciple! Well done!"

He patted Chen Changsheng heavily on the shoulder, feeling as though all the pent-up resentment in his chest had been fully expelled.

Chen Changsheng's expression remained unchanged, as if he had merely completed a trivial matter.

He turned to Daoist Duobao, who had been waiting solemnly at the side.

"Senior Brother Duobao, are the white paper and analysis report I asked you to prepare ready?"

"They are ready, Junior Brother!"

Knowing the gravity of the matter, Daoist Duobao dared not show the slightest negligence. He quickly presented two thick documents bound in Purple Gold Jade Slips.

Chen Changsheng took them and nodded with satisfaction.

His gaze did not linger within the main hall; instead, he strode directly toward the deepest part of the Calamity Aversion Department.

There, there was no treasury of artifacts, no alchemy chamber, but an independent hall shrouded in layers of formations, exuding an aura of cold and stern severity.

On the plaque above the hall's entrance, several large characters were carved in a bold, flowing script.

[Data Modeling and Risk Actuarial Center]

As Chen Changsheng approached, the formations capable of blocking even a Quasi-Saint's prying gaze silently parted to both sides.

A breath of air utterly alien to the Primordial World rushed toward him.

Inside the hall, it was not filled with swirling immortal mist, but with interwoven light and shadow.

Hundreds of massive Water Mirrors, arranged like a honeycomb, floated in midair.

On each Water Mirror, countless Great Dao Runes, fine as dust, churned and flickered at a speed far surpassing the deduction capabilities of a Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal.

Beneath the Water Mirrors, dozens of elite inner disciples of the Jie Sect sat upright, their expressions focused, their fingers rapidly tapping on Light Screens before them, inputting commands into the super array named "Heavenly Derivation," built from the collective strength of the entire Jie Sect.

At the very front of the center, two strikingly beautiful figures stood side by side.

One wore a golden palace robe, her bearing noble, her expression cool and aloof, with a faint sharp aura flowing around her. She was one of the Jie Sect's senior sisters, Holy Mother Jin Ling.

The other wore a plain white Daoist robe adorned with cloud patterns, her demeanor gentle, her eyes deep as the sea, as if she could perceive all causes and effects in the world. She was the leader of the Three Xiāo, Fairy Yunxiao.

They were not meditating or cultivating like ordinary immortals, but quietly gazing at the largest central Light Screen, which integrated all the data, their brows slightly furrowed as if lost in thought.

"Junior Brother Wuwei."

Sensing Chen Changsheng's arrival, Holy Mother Jin Ling and Fairy Yunxiao turned simultaneously and nodded slightly at him.

Though their tone was that of peers addressing a fellow disciple, it carried a natural respect for his status as "Dao Protector."

"Greetings, Senior Sister Jinling, Senior Sister Yunxiao."

Chen Changsheng returned the courtesy with due respect.

He knew that these two, along with their junior sisters Qiongxiao and Bixiao, as well as Holy Mother Wudang and Holy Mother Gui Ling, were the true pillars of the Jie Sect, their cultivation and combat prowess no less than that of Duobao and Zhao Gongming.

When the Calamity Aversion Department was first established, it was these senior sisters who, relying on their profound understanding of formations and causality, had set up this unprecedented data center in the shortest possible time.

Back then, even as the Dao Protector, Chen Changsheng had felt somewhat embarrassed to directly ask these peerlessly elegant senior sisters for help.

First, because the earlier minor matters were fully handled by Senior Brothers Duobao and Zhao Gongming, with the other disciples assisting—more than sufficient.

Second, these senior sisters were all very considerate. Even if Chen Changsheng did not assign them tasks, they would voluntarily come to help whenever a major mission arose.

But this time, the matter was of utmost importance, so Chen Changsheng had no choice but to step forward and formally, proactively invite the senior sisters to help oversee the situation.

"Junior Brother, has your visit to the Eight Views Palace yielded a result?"

Fairy Yunxiao asked softly, her voice like an orchid in a secluded valley, instantly calming the mind.

"Indeed."

Chen Changsheng nodded, concealing nothing, and directly laid out Grand Supreme Elder Lao's decision in full.

When the words "Re-discuss the Investiture" reached their ears, even with Holy Mother Jin Ling's cool detachment and Fairy Yunxiao's serene composure, a flicker of disbelief and shock passed through their beautiful eyes.

"Junior Brother, do you mean..."

Holy Mother Jin Ling's voice carried a faint tremor.

"Senior Uncle-Master was truly persuaded by you?"

"It was not this disciple who persuaded him, but Senior Uncle-Master's own Dao has always been within the Process."

Chen Changsheng replied calmly.

He handed over the report he was holding, titled Feasibility Analysis Report on How the Heavenly Dao Credit System Can Assist Sages in Their Teachings.

"Senior Sisters, we have little time."

"A meeting at the Purplexiao Palace could be called at any moment. Before that, I need you to treat the entire 'Investiture of the Gods Tribulation' as an independent project and conduct... a comprehensive data modeling."

Data modeling.

The moment these two words were spoken, the breath of every elite disciple in the center seemed to catch.

Holy Mother Jin Ling took the report, swept her divine sense over it, and the shock on her face deepened.

"Do you mean to include all disciples of the Three Sects—from the Sages down to the third and fourth generation Registered Disciples—in the scope of the calculation?"

"Exactly."

"Deduce each of their origins, cultivation levels, treasures, karmic ties, and even... personality weaknesses?"

"Not a single one can be left out."

"And even... subject the Heavenly Court, the Western Sect, the Remnants of the Wu and Yao, and every Great Rogue Cultivator who might be dragged in, as 'external risk variables,' to stress testing?"

Fairy Yunxiao's voice had already taken on a hint of gravity.

"This is the most critical link."

Chen Changsheng nodded, his tone brooking no dissent.

"I need a report."

He swept his gaze across this hall that embodied the highest wisdom of the Jie Sect, and spoke, word by word, the ultimate goal that would drive even any Sage to madness.

"A report that can precisely calculate, during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, the chain reaction triggered by any disciple making any choice, and... the cost—quantified to the last number—in qi, merit, and karma that my Jie Sect must pay."

"I need to know what the cost is for one Outer Sect Disciple to die."

"What the cost is for one Senior Brother Zhao Gongming to die."

"And even..."

He paused, his voice turning utterly cold.

"What the cost is for one Sage to die."

The words fell.

The entire Data Modeling and Risk Actuarial Center fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone was utterly stunned by Chen Changsheng's chillingly detached speech—quantifying life, karma, and even Sages into mere "costs."

This wasn't preparing for war.

This was dissecting the entire Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods with an unprecedented, cold, godlike perspective.

After a long while.

Fairy Yunxiao slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, all the shock within had transformed into clarity and resolve.

She solemnly performed a Daoist salute toward Chen Changsheng.

"I understand."

"Only by knowing the cost can we... avoid the risk."

"Only by seeing the price can everyone learn... to revere life."

She turned to look at Holy Mother Jin Ling beside her.

Holy Mother Jin Ling also took a deep breath, a flicker of unprecedented battle intent igniting in her cold, phoenix-like eyes.

It was not the battle intent to fight men, but to fight heaven, to fight fate!

"Junior Brother Wuwei, rest assured."

"Within three days, the 'Investiture of the Gods Tribulation V1.0' sandbox deduction model will be online on schedule!"

Chen Changsheng looked at the firm light in his two senior sisters' eyes, and a great weight finally lifted from his heart.

He knew that from this moment on, his "Process Dao" had truly taken root in the Jie Sect.

He bowed deeply to the two senior sisters.

"Then I leave this to you, senior sisters."

With that, he turned and walked out of this hall that bore the future of the Jie Sect.

He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the Mountain Protection Array of Golden Ao Island, toward the higher, eternal direction of Purplexiao Palace.

The internal project team had already begun feasibility analysis and risk assessment.

Authorization from the highest director was also in hand.

Everything was ready.

Now, all that remained was for the final arbiter who held the Heavenly Dao to summon all shareholders and convene this board meeting—one enough to overturn the Primordial World.