"Your master already knows what happened today." Sect Master Tongtian spoke slowly, his voice echoing through the great hall of Biyou Palace with an indescribable air of authority and insight. "Well done. We disciples of the Interception Sect don't go looking for trouble, but we're never afraid of it. Those Chan Sect folk who pride themselves on their lofty status needed someone to wake them up."
"This disciple was only defending the reputation of the Interception Sect. I dare not claim credit." Zhao Gongming lowered his head, his tone respectful.
Sect Master Tongtian gave a slight nod, but his gaze never left Zhao Gongming.
His gaze seemed calm, yet appeared to contain the truths of heaven and earth. It pierced through Zhao Gongming's flesh, looking straight into the source of his magic power.
He clearly "saw" the trace of an aura flowing through Zhao Gongming's body, one that differed from the mainstream immortal path of the Primordial World—yet was far more ancient and profound. He also "saw" the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls.
The Sea-Calming Divine Pearls were a spiritual treasure he had bestowed upon Zhao Gongming. Yet now, their radiance was subdued and their aura as deep as an abyss. Within the pearls, an uncanny Dao rhythm seemed to flow: Chaos opening up, with earth, water, fire, and wind surging forth. It had nearly fused with Zhao Gongming's Nascent Soul, giving off an aura that even made him take notice.
"You've taken responsibility for what happened. Good." Sect Master Tongtian changed the subject, his gaze sharpening as it fell directly upon the phantom image of the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, as if he meant to see right through them. "But, Gongming, there's something I've been wondering about. I need you to clear it up for me."
Zhao Gongming's heart tightened, but he remained composed. "Please ask, Master. This disciple will tell you everything he knows."
"The Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls you possess were bestowed upon you by me long ago." Sect Master Tongtian's voice was calm and even, but every word rang clear, carrying a Sage's scrutiny. "They are indeed an Innate Spirit Treasure, capable of calming seas, suppressing mountains, and manifesting all manner of phenomena. Their power is considerable. But I know the limits of their rank. Yet now, looking at them..."
He paused, a trace of scrutiny and deep puzzlement flashing in his eyes. "The pearls' aura has changed. The Dao rhythm within them is profound and vast, seeming to encompass Qiankun and form the beginnings of a world of their own. Their potential far exceeds anything I knew of, and they seem to have touched the very edge of an Innately Supreme Treasure. Such a transformation cannot be achieved through ordinary nurturing and refinement. Gongming, how did you do it?"
A Sage's question might have sounded mild, but it weighed as heavily as a mountain.
He wasn't merely asking how a treasure had improved. He was probing the extraordinary change in Zhao Gongming, a variable so far beyond the ordinary that even a Sage found it astonishing.
Zhao Gongming had prepared for this. At the question, he drew a deep breath but didn't answer immediately. He paused as if gathering his thoughts, then raised his head to meet Sect Master Tongtian's gaze openly. Deep in his eyes lay just the right amount of gravity and lingering fear.
"Master, you see clearly. This disciple wouldn't dare hide anything." Zhao Gongming's voice was steady as he began to recount the story he had already rehearsed. "Some time ago, I felt an urge to seek an opportunity to break through, so I ventured into a forbidden region. It lay where the Eye of the North Sea met the Guixu. Space and time were in disarray, and baleful energy surged through the area. Ordinary Golden Immortals couldn't even stand there. Relying on the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls to protect me, I managed to venture inside, but accidentally fell into a rift in space and time."
He spoke at an even pace, but the details grew more vivid. "Beyond that rift lay no part of the Primordial World, but a nearly lifeless, shattered remnant of Chaos. It seemed to be the fragment of a Chaos Demon God's dwelling, left behind after his death before World Creation—or perhaps the remnant of some ancient catastrophe that was never recorded in history. It was filled with raging currents of Chaos Qi, shattered fragments of laws, and... an extremely ancient, uncanny aura that seemed capable of devouring and assimilating all things."
"I was trapped there, barely escaping death. To protect me, the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls unleashed their power on their own, fighting and devouring the Chaos Qi and broken laws. The process was perilous, and my Nascent Soul nearly collapsed several times. Just as I was about to give out, perhaps spurred on by my desperate situation, or perhaps through sheer chance, a faint spiritual light emerged from the heart of that shattered land. Drawn by the aura of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, it actually entered the pearls of its own accord."
At this point, Zhao Gongming let a hint of lingering fear and confusion show on his face. "After that spiritual light entered them, the Twenty-Four Sea-Calming Divine Pearls underwent an uncanny transformation. Their power surged, and my bond with them grew closer. Inside, they even began to evolve on their own, as if... as if they were beginning to form an inner world of their own. As for me, after being washed by the lingering power of that spiritual light and the Chaos Qi, my body and magic power seemed to take on a trace of an ancient quality. I also obtained a fragmentary ancient method for refining the body with Chaos and circulating primordial energy. I call it the Nine Revolutions Chaos Art. I've studied it day and night, and only then have I made some progress."
He bowed again, his tone earnest. "Every word I've said is true. That secret realm completely collapsed afterward, leaving no trace. Such an opportunity was so mysterious and unfathomable that even now it feels like a dream, and I can hardly describe its wonders. As for the transformation of the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls, I'm still feeling my way through it. I only know that their power and potential have increased greatly; I'll need more time to understand their mysteries. It was all thanks to your protection that I was lucky enough to obtain this. I deserve no credit."
His words laid the blame on "the remnants of a Chaos Demon God," "a mysterious spiritual light," "an ancient inheritance," and "an opportunity born from desperation"—a perfectly plausible explanation.
The Primordial World was vast. Since World Creation, there had been too many mysteries unknown, treasures unseen, and methods unpassed down. Even Sages couldn't know everything.
Especially when it came to Chaos Demon Gods: their remains were mysterious beyond measure and possessed the power to change the very nature of a spiritual treasure. It was not impossible.
Sect Master Tongtian listened in silence, his gaze deep, as if judging the truth of Zhao Gongming's words, or perhaps trying to deduce the origins of the "shattered land of Chaos" he described.
The hall fell silent for a while, with only the faint flow of Dao rhythms.
After a moment, the sharpness in Sect Master Tongtian's eyes gradually faded, and his expression returned to calm.
He didn't use a Sage's power to force his way into Zhao Gongming's Nascent Soul and search his memories. That would have been an act of distrust and harm toward his personal disciple, something no master should do.
There were vague spots in Zhao Gongming's explanation, but no obvious gaps in its logic. More importantly, that ancient aura and the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls' transformation could not have been produced by any common methods of the Primordial World.
"I see." Sect Master Tongtian slowly nodded, a faint smile appearing on his face. "An opportunity involving Chaos is the hardest to fathom—and the most dangerous. That you gained such a boon is a matter of your own fortune. This Nine Revolutions Chaos Art sounds quite extraordinary. Since you've obtained it, you should diligently cultivate it, but you must also be cautious. The Dao of Chaos is vast and profound, yet perilous and unfathomable. Don't be greedy for quick gains or rush ahead recklessly."
"As for the Sea-Calming Divine Pearls..." His gaze swept over the phantom image of the twenty-four azure pearls again, his tone carrying a hint of emotion and expectation. "Now that they've changed and contain the potential to form a world within, perhaps this is the destiny they were meant to fulfill. The Twenty-Four Heavens... if they can be successfully formed, it will be a grand event for the Primordial World. Nurture and refine them well, and perhaps you'll help them reach an even higher level. If anything puzzles you in the future, you may come to me."
With that, he accepted Zhao Gongming's explanation and stopped probing further, offering encouragement and guidance instead.
Before you continue