Chapter 213 The Taoist Stone of Taoism

“Moreover, the number of little medicine king cauldrons seems to be far more than just two.”

“If one's strength is insufficient, the little medicine king cauldron will not be an Opportunity; instead, it will be a death warrant.”

“However, to just watch such a treasure remain buried underground and ultimately be taken by others is truly not to my liking.”

“Perhaps, I can use this as a medium to stir up some trouble. If I can also figure out the secret of the returning Medicine King Cauldron, that would be even better.”

Li Fan's thoughts surged.

“But before that, I should still have Jiao Xiuyuan take action and dig out the little medicine king cauldron.”

“Speaking of which, how much did Jiao Xiuyuan lose? Why hasn't he replied to me yet?”

“Thousand Mile Hall has also not reopened.”

Li Fan was a bit helpless and could only use his Clone to send Jiao Xiuyuan another message.

Who would have thought that this time, the other party replied very quickly.

His tone was even a bit innocent.

“What? I didn't reply to you? How is that possible!”

“My injuries healed long ago! But there was a small problem, and Thousand Mile Hall can't open for now.”

Li Fan was a bit speechless: “You should check your message history again.”

A moment later, Jiao Xiuyuan quickly apologized: “Oh, it was my oversight! I really didn't notice! But you can't blame me. Right now, I'm overwhelmed with countless matters, truly countless matters!”

“I thought Fellow Daoist had lost too much and just ran away,” Li Fan teased.

“Heh heh, Fellow Daoist jests. The word 'business' is where my Dao lies. How could I give up so easily? It's just that the current situation is special. With my strength alone, trying to control Ten Thousand Puppets is really a bit difficult. I can't handle it, and to avoid making wrong business decisions and incurring greater losses, I can only temporarily close some less important shops.”

Jiao Xiuyuan spoke intermittently, similar to the stuttering state Li Fan was familiar with.

Li Fan couldn't help but ask: “Oh? Could it be that there's a problem with the Cultivation Technique Fellow Daoist Cultivates? I wonder if you can reveal it?”

“Heh heh, there's nothing that can't be said. Fellow Daoist is my partner. Last time, because of me, Fellow Daoist suffered quite a loss. Yet Fellow Daoist didn't complain at all, and I feel a bit bad about it,” Jiao Xiuyuan was very polite.

“You also know that the Cultivation Technique I Cultivate is called 'Ten Thousand Puppets Dao'. It involves controlling Ten Thousand Puppets to procure goods, gather intelligence, and negotiate business, reducing the operating costs of Thousand Mile Hall to the extreme.”

“But after all, a person's mental focus has its limits. Using one mind for two tasks, or one mind for three tasks, can barely be maintained normally. But trying to flexibly control tens of thousands of Puppets simultaneously is beyond one's capability.”

Jiao Xiuyuan spoke slowly, in fits and starts.

Li Fan happened to interject at this moment: “So how did Fellow Daoist ensure that such a large number of Puppets operated normally before? Could it be some kind of Cultivation Technique for multi-tasking?”

“The effect is indeed multi-tasking, but what it relies on is not some Cultivation Technique, but an ancient secret art!” Jiao Xiuyuan said somewhat proudly. “Back then, to find this secret art, I almost searched the entire Cultivation World.”

“Ancient secret art?” Li Fan's eyes narrowed, and he couldn't help but ask.

Seeing that Li Fan seemed very interested in this, Jiao Xiuyuan didn't keep him in suspense and asked directly: “Does Fellow Daoist know about the ancient Taiyan Sect?”

“Taiyan Sect?” Li Fan was slightly startled, and he couldn't help but think of Yi Xing's Tomb buried deep underground in Great Xuan.

That Yi Xing was an Outer Sect Disciple of the Taiyan Sect.

Moreover, he had once pretended to be a descendant of the Taiyan Sect in front of Kou Hong and Dao Xuanzi, tricking them into repairing the taiyan boat for him.

He didn't expect that the method of multi-tasking he had sought unsuccessfully would actually be related to the Taiyan Sect?

Jiao Xiuyuan saw Li Fan freeze and not answer, thinking that Li Fan didn't know about it, so he simply introduced it: “The Taiyan Sect was famous throughout the world in ancient times for its art of deduction and calculation.”

“Its sect-protecting Cultivation Technique: 'Nine Scrolls of Heavenly Deduction', was extremely profound and infinitely powerful. Upon Major Achievement in Cultivation, it was said to be able to deduce all people and all events within a thousand years.”

“Heh heh. Of course, my secret art has nothing to do with these 'Nine Scrolls of Heavenly Deduction'.”

Jiao Xiuyuan's tone suddenly shifted, causing Li Fan's breathing to hitch.

“But this secret art was something that every Disciple of the Taiyan Sect had to learn back then,” Jiao Xiuyuan explained.

“Oh? How so?”

“Fellow Daoist, think about it, as the saying goes, 'pull one hair and the whole body moves'. In this world, every person and every event constantly influences each other.”

“One change gives rise to a hundred changes, and a hundred changes give rise to ten thousand changes. And how vast is this world.”

“The number of variables is truly unimaginable.”

“Even with the ability of a Dao Integration cultivator, trying to sort out these variables one by one is an impossible task.”

“And the extent to which one grasps these variables is closely related to the accuracy of the deduction results.”

“Therefore, every Disciple of the Taiyan Sect dedicated their lives to improving their ability to control variables.”

Jiao Xiuyuan narrated slowly.

“This ability, to put it plainly, is a Cultivator's deduction ability. Some Cultivators are exceptionally gifted, with extraordinary calculation power. Even with countless complexities, in their eyes, all variables are orderly and crystal clear.”

“But such Cultivators are, after all, very few. Even in the ancient Taiyan Sect, they were extremely rare.”

“So how did ordinary Taiyan Sect Disciples improve their deduction ability?”

Jiao Xiuyuan paused.

Li Fan cooperatively asked: “Is this the function of your secret art?”

“Precisely!” Jiao Xiuyuan excitedly revealed the answer.

“Cultivators are not different from others; they are good at making use of external things! If one doesn't naturally possess this ability, one might as well borrow from external objects!”

“This secret art is called 'Mystic One Transformation Dao'.”

“In ancient times, there was a supreme treasure within the Taiyan Sect. Its name was: hua dao stone.”

“On the surface, this hua dao stone shimmered with flowing light, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed as if countless worlds were being born and destroyed within it.”

“But in reality, these worlds of birth and destruction were not just illusions.”

“Instead, they were the manifested results of the hua dao stone's self-deduction and calculation. Although illusory, they were in fact not illusory.”

“The 'Mystic One Transformation Dao' art is a secret method to merge one's mind with the hua dao stone.”

“Thereby borrowing the terrifying deduction ability of the hua dao stone for one's own use, reaching the level of peeking into heavenly secrets and exploring Karma.”

Jiao Xiuyuan's tone became more and more fluent.

“Back then, almost every Disciple of the Taiyan Sect had a hua dao stone. They were all separated from the largest 'transformation stone mother'.”

“The higher the quality of the hua dao stone, the stronger its deduction ability.”

“The reason I could easily control these Ten Thousand Puppets before was because of the hua dao stone and the 'Mystic One Transformation Dao'.”

“And the reason I'm having a bit of trouble now is also related to the hua dao stone.”

“The previous collapse in lingwu grass prices caused me to lose too much. All Ten Thousand Puppets experienced a violent mental shock simultaneously. The hua dao stone that was unified with my spirit wasn't of particularly good quality either. It couldn't withstand it and directly cracked, losing its deduction function.”

Jiao Xiuyuan sighed when he mentioned the sad past.

“To regain fluent control over these Ten Thousand Puppets, I need to find a new hua dao stone.”

“This is a rare item. It's priceless but unavailable.”

“When the great calamity descended and the Taiyan Sect was destroyed, the transformation stone mother disappeared without a trace. Now that so much time has passed, finding another hua dao stone is truly as difficult as ascending to heaven.”

“However, I've recently found some information. If all goes well, I expect to resume work soon.”

Jiao Xiuyuan's tone became excited again.

“hua dao stone, Mystic One Transformation Dao.”

Li Fan pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked: “The Taiyan Sect was destroyed thousands of years ago. How is it that Fellow Daoist knows so many secrets about the Taiyan Sect so clearly? Could it be that Fellow Daoist is a descendant of the Taiyan Sect?”

“Fellow Daoist, please don't joke. Of course I'm not a descendant of the Taiyan Sect. The reason I know these secrets is simply because I happened to dig up the tomb of a Taiyan Sect Disciple…”

Li Fan fell silent upon hearing this.

The two fell into a strange silence for a moment.

“Haha, Fellow Daoist, don't misunderstand. Digging up graves is something I only do occasionally. The source of my Thousand Mile Hall's goods is legitimate; those from tombs are definitely only a minority.”

“Heh heh, Fellow Daoist, don't worry. I'm not particularly concerned about this. What I believe in is that no matter the source, as long as it's useful, it's fine,” Li Fan said.

“Tsk tsk, what Fellow Daoist said perfectly aligns with my beliefs!” Jiao Xiuyuan became excited again.

Li Fan remembered the original intention of contacting Jiao Xiuyuan and then said, “Speaking of which, I have something I need Fellow Daoist's help with.”

Jiao Xiuyuan immediately said: “Fellow Daoist, just say it. I'll definitely help if it's within my capabilities.”

“Fellow Daoist should know about the ancient Medicine King Sect, right? When I was looking through ancient texts today, I discovered that the Disciples of the Medicine King Sect used a small cauldron to plant and Cultivate various spiritual plants and herbs.”

“This small cauldron forms its own space within, and can even automatically generate wood-attribute Spiritual Qi, accelerating the growth of herbs.”

“I happen to need this kind of small cauldron to Cultivate a rare herb.”

“However, the Medicine King Sect ruins seem to be quite dangerous, so I'd like to trouble Fellow Daoist to make a trip and find some small cauldrons for me.”

“Of course, Fellow Daoist's remuneration will certainly not be lacking. Although Fellow Daoist and I share common aspirations and get along well, business is business and cannot be vague,” Li Fan said slowly with a smile.

Jiao Xiuyuan agreed wholeheartedly upon hearing this.

“Fellow Daoist speaks well, business is business. Just for that sentence, I'm definitely helping with this! A small cauldron, right? This kind of item that every Disciple would be issued and isn't particularly rare shouldn't be hard to find.”

“Fellow Daoist, just await my good news.” Jiao Xiuyuan readily agreed.

“In that case, I'll trouble Fellow Daoist Jiao!” Li Fan thanked him in advance.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, without mentioning the hua dao stone and the 'Mystic One Transformation Dao', Li Fan ended the communication.

“Tomb of a Taiyan Sect Disciple, hua dao stone…”

Within the tianxuan mirror, the scenes of the former Mortal Grand Tutor leading his people to explore Yi Xing's Tomb resurfaced in Li Fan's mind.

“Back then, as a Mortal, I didn't pay attention.”

“Now that I recall, there seemed to be another world within Yi Xing's Tomb.”

“The Immortal Severing Land was devoid of Spiritual Qi. Yet, within that tomb, there were mountains standing tall and a sea of clouds that lingered for a thousand years.”

“Clearly not a Mortal's mechanism, it should be some kind of Formation or Restriction.”

Li Fan suddenly stood up.

“Since that's the case, I'll return to Great Xuan!”