"Junior... Junior Brother."
Zhao Gongming's voice was dry, as though it had been scoured by the chaos gale winds for countless Yuanhu.
"We... just came out like that?"
"What else?"
Chen Changsheng asked calmly.
"Senior Uncle-Master has already approved the meeting application and even attached a personal letter. The project's first step has been completed."
Zhao Gongming opened his mouth, feeling his understanding of the world being repeatedly reshaped by a great force called "absurdity." Approval? Meeting application? Project?
That was a Sage! That was the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods!
How had it become, in his junior brother's mouth, some mundane affair that could follow a process, hold meetings, and even apply for a budget?
"Senior Brother."
Chen Changsheng saw his daze, his voice as steady as ever. "You must remember that process is our greatest reliance. Within the process, even a Sage is a 'project stakeholder.' Our relationship with him is one of equal cooperation."
Zhao Gongming staggered, nearly losing his footing.
Equal cooperation... with a Sage?
Looking into Chen Changsheng's clear eyes, he felt an emotion called fear for the first time in his life.
It was not fear of power, but fear of the unknown.
He felt that his junior brother's mind contained a terrifying world he could not comprehend at all, yet one that was truly and unreasonably transforming the entire Primordial World.
"Let's go, Senior Brother."
Chen Changsheng offered no further explanation.
"Senior Uncle-Master has initiated the process on his end. Our internal work must immediately follow suit."
"Before the kick-off meeting at the Purple Firmament Palace, we must produce a... Project Feasibility Report that even the Dao Ancestor cannot refuse."
With that, he took a step forward and vanished into the chaos.
Zhao Gongming stood there blankly for a moment before finally shaking his head with a bitter smile and hurrying after him.
Golden Ao Island, Calamity Aversion Department.
When Chen Changsheng and Zhao Gongming emerged from the teleportation array,
Sect Leader Tongtian, Daoist Duobao, and numerous disciples who had long been waiting there in anxious anticipation immediately rushed forward.
"How did it go?!"
Even Sect Leader Tongtian's voice carried a trace of barely perceptible expectation.
Zhao Gongming's lips moved, but he realized he had no idea where to begin.
Should he say that Senior Uncle-Master had agreed? Should he say that his junior brother had defined the Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods as a "problem project"?
Or should he say that they were about to head to the Purple Firmament Palace and hold an "Investiture of the Gods Project Kick-off Meeting" with the Dao Ancestor?
He feared that if he spoke, his master would think his Dao heart had collapsed and he had gone mad.
Chen Changsheng respectfully bowed to Sect Leader Tongtian.
"Reporting to Master, I have not failed my mission."
"Senior Uncle-Master is farsighted and understands the greater good. He has agreed to this disciple's request to reshape the Investiture of the Gods process. He has also issued a Sage Decree, summoning Second Senior Uncle-Master and the Two Sages of the West to gather at the Purple Firmament Palace and reconsider the matter."
Sect Leader Tongtian: "..."
Daoist Duobao: "..."
The entire hall once again fell into that familiar deathly silence, a mixture of absurdity and shock.
Sect Leader Tongtian's hand, which had been stroking his beard, froze in midair.
He had imagined countless possibilities.
Being rebuked by his senior brother, being driven out of Eight Views Palace, even being casually suppressed.
But he had never imagined that his senior brother, who was pure and effortless and seemed forever detached from worldly affairs, would actually... agree?!
And he had even taken the initiative to issue a Sage Decree and drag everyone to the Purple Firmament Palace for a meeting?!
"Good! Good! Good!"
After the brief silence, Sect Leader Tongtian erupted into booming laughter filled with boundless delight.
"As expected of my disciple! Well done!"
He heavily patted Chen Changsheng on the shoulder, feeling the resentment in his chest finally dissipate.
Chen Changsheng's expression did not change, as though he had merely completed some trivial task.
He turned to Daoist Duobao, who had been waiting solemnly at the side.
"Senior Brother Duobao, have you prepared the white paper and analysis report I requested?"
"Reporting to Junior Brother, they have long been prepared!"
As this was a matter of great importance, Daoist Duobao did not dare delay in the slightest. He hurriedly presented two thick documents bound in Purple Gold Jade Slips.
Chen Changsheng accepted them and nodded in satisfaction.
His gaze did not linger in the hall. Instead, he headed straight for the deepest part of the Calamity Aversion Department.
There were no treasure vaults or pill-refining chambers there, only an independent hall shrouded in layers of arrays and filled with an icy, murderous aura.
On the plaque at the hall's entrance were several grandly inscribed words.
[Data Modeling and Risk Actuarial Center]
As Chen Changsheng approached, the arrays capable of blocking the prying eyes of Quasi-Saints silently slid apart.
An aura utterly out of place in the Primordial World rushed toward them.
Inside the hall, there was no swirling immortal mist, only interwoven light and shadow.
Hundreds of enormous Water Mirrors were arranged like honeycombs, floating in midair.
Upon every Water Mirror, countless Great Dao Runes as fine as dust whirled and faded at a speed far beyond the deductions of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal.
Beneath the Water Mirrors, dozens of Inner Sect Elite Disciples sat upright with focused expressions, their fingers rapidly tapping the Light Screens before them as they entered command after command into the super-array built by the entire Interception Sect, known as Heavenly Derivation.
At the very front of the entire center stood two breathtakingly beautiful figures side by side.
One wore golden palace robes. Her bearing was noble, her expression cold, and a faint sharpness circulated around her. She was one of the Interception Sect's senior sisters, Holy Mother Jin Ling.
The other wore a plain white Daoist robe patterned with clouds. Her temperament was gentle, and her eyes were as deep as the sea, as though they could perceive every cause and effect in the world. She was Fairy Yunxiao, leader of the Three Xiāo.
Rather than cultivating through breathing exercises like ordinary immortals, they silently watched the largest central Light Screen before them, which integrated all data. Their brows were slightly furrowed, as if they were pondering something.
"Junior Brother Wuwei."
Sensing Chen Changsheng's arrival, Holy Mother Jin Ling and Fairy Yunxiao turned at the same time and gave him slight nods.
Though they addressed him as a peer, their tones carried a natural respect for his identity as Dao Protector.
"Greetings, Senior Sister Jinling and Senior Sister Yunxiao."
Chen Changsheng returned the greeting respectfully.
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 Interception Sect. Their cultivation and combat strength were no less than Daoist Duobao's and Zhao Gongming's.
When the Calamity Aversion Department had first been established, it was these senior sisters, relying on their profound understanding of arrays and karma, who had constructed 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 several peerlessly elegant senior sisters for help.
For one thing, Daoist Duobao and Zhao Gongming had been enough to oversee those earlier minor situations, with the other disciples assisting them.
For another, the senior sisters were all exceptionally considerate. Even when Chen Changsheng did not assign them anything, they would voluntarily come help whenever a major task arose.
But this time, the matter was of tremendous importance. Chen Changsheng had no choice but to personally and formally invite the senior sisters to help oversee the situation.
"Junior Brother, did your trip to Eight Views Palace yield a result?"
Fairy Yunxiao asked softly. Her voice was like an orchid blooming in an empty valley, instantly calming one's mind.
"Indeed."
Chen Changsheng nodded and concealed nothing, directly laying out Grand Supreme Elder Lao's decision in full.
When they heard the words "reconsider Investiture of the Gods," even Holy Mother Jin Ling, with her cold composure, and Fairy Yunxiao, with her calm detachment, showed a flash of incredulous shock in their beautiful eyes.
"Junior Brother, you mean..."
Even Holy Mother Jin Ling's voice wavered slightly.
"Senior Uncle-Master was truly persuaded by you?"
"It was not this disciple who persuaded him. Senior Uncle-Master's Dao has always been within the process."
Chen Changsheng answered calmly.
He handed over the report titled <Feasibility Analysis Report on How the Heavenly Dao Credit System Can Assist Sage Teachings>.
"Senior Sisters, we do not have much time."
"The meeting at the Purple Firmament Palace may be convened at any moment. Before then, I need you to conduct... comprehensive data modeling of the entire 'Investiture of the Gods Tribulation' as an independent project."
Data modeling.
The moment those four words were spoken, every elite disciple in the center held their breath.
Holy Mother Jin Ling accepted the report and swept it with her divine sense. The shock on her face deepened further.
"You mean to include all disciples of the Three Teachings in the calculation range, from the Sages above to registered disciples of the third and fourth generations below?"
"Correct."
"To deduce every individual's origins, cultivation, magical treasures, karma, and even... weaknesses of character?"
"Not a single one can be omitted."
"Even... the Heavenly Court, the Western Sect, the Remnants of the Wu and Yao, and all Great Rogue Cultivators who might be drawn in must be treated as 'external risk variables' and subjected to stress testing?"
Fairy Yunxiao's voice had already taken on a trace of gravity.
"This is the most critical link."
Chen Changsheng nodded, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"I need a report."
He swept his gaze across this hall that gathered the Interception Sect's greatest wisdom and spoke, word by word, of an ultimate objective that could drive any Sage mad.
"A report capable of precisely calculating the chain reactions that may result from any disciple making any choice during the Investiture of the Gods Tribulation, as well as the exact costs in fortune, Merit, and karma that the Interception Sect must pay."
"I need to know the cost of losing one Outer Sect Disciple."
"The cost of losing Senior Brother Zhao Gongming."
"Even..."
He paused, and his voice became incomparably calm.
"The cost of losing a Sage."
As his words fell,
the entire Data Modeling and Risk Actuarial Center sank into deathly silence.
Everyone had been utterly stunned by Chen Changsheng's chilling words, which quantified life, karma, and even Sages themselves as nothing more than "costs."
This was not preparation for war.
This was clearly using an unprecedented, cold, merciless godlike perspective to dissect the entire Great Tribulation of Investiture of the Gods!
After a long while,
Fairy Yunxiao slowly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, all shock within them had transformed into understanding and resolve.
She solemnly gave Chen Changsheng a Daoist salute.
"I understand."
"Only by knowing the cost can we... avoid risks."
"Only by seeing the price clearly can everyone learn to... revere life."
She looked toward Holy Mother Jin Ling beside her.
Holy Mother Jin Ling also took a deep breath. A never-before-seen fighting spirit ignited in her cold phoenix eyes.
It was not the fighting spirit to contend with others, but the will to contend against heaven and fate!
"Junior Brother Wuwei, rest assured."
"Within three days, the 'Investiture of the Gods Tribulation V1.0' sandbox deduction model will go live on schedule!"
Seeing the steadfast light in his two senior sisters' eyes, the weight in Chen Changsheng's heart finally lifted.
He knew that from this moment onward, his Process Dao had truly taken its deepest root in the Interception Sect.
He gave the two senior sisters a deep bow.
"Then I must trouble you both, Senior Sisters."
With that, he turned and walked out of the hall that carried the Interception Sect's future.
He slowly raised his head, his gaze piercing through Golden Ao Island's Mountain Protection Array toward the eternally unchanging Purple Firmament Palace above.
The internal Project Team had already begun its feasibility analysis and risk assessment.
Authorization from the highest director had also been secured.
Everything was ready.
Now, they only had to wait for that final arbiter who governed the Heavenly Dao to summon all shareholders and convene this board meeting capable of overturning the entire Primordial World.
Before you continue