“Han!”

How could Li Changshou not understand what it meant when the name Han Xiaoying appeared alongside Ke Zhen’e?

[Ke Zhen’e, the blind master from the classic martial arts story “The Legend of the Condor Heroes” in his previous life, later rose to fame as part of the “Seven Freaks of Jiangnan” group, achieving tremendous success in the Jiangnan region—a typical case of “greater success in a group than solo.”

Han Xiaoying was the youngest sister among the “Seven Freaks of Jiangnan,” and Ke Zhen’e’s sworn sister.

The greatest contribution these “Seven Freaks of Jiangnan” made to the martial world in that story was nurturing “iron-willed” Guo Jing, Brother Jing.]

But now, most crucially, the name Han Xiaoying had come from Goddess Nuwa’s lips!

Li Changshou’s heart turned cold, and his entire being instantly tensed as wild thoughts began racing through his mind.

No, there could be a trick here!

In that instant, Li Changshou forced himself to regain composure, as a series of possibilities emerged in his mind:

Was Goddess Nuwa, like him, from a beautiful blue planet?

Could Sages truly peer across the river of time to see past and future lives?

Was the place he came from a parallel world to the Great Wilderness?

Did Goddess Nuwa possess mind-reading abilities?

Did the Mother of Humanity have capabilities other Sages didn’t?

Surely it couldn’t be that Goddess Nuwa had overheard him telling stories to Ling’e… no, that was impossible.

Let alone “telling stories of his previous life to Ling’e”—such an unstable act—Li Changshou had been extremely cautious even when reminiscing about his previous life in his mind since age eight, never allowing any crucial information to form in his thoughts!

Even when poetic inspiration struck his poetic abilities fell short, he never dared to recite any of the Three Hundred Tang Poems.

The Heavenly Dao of the Great Wilderness was omnipresent, and theoretically, Sages could use it to calculate everything in the Three Realms. How could Li Changshou make such a basic mistake?

Of course, that was only theoretical—even Sages had many limitations.

Over these many years, Li Changshou had only slept a few times and had never allowed himself to truly get drunk…

“What’s wrong, little disciple?”

He felt the spiritual consciousness from the Xuanhuang Tower in his mind.

“The Sage Goddess is asking you a question—why are you spacing out? Hurry up and please the Sage Goddess, so we can meet Sister Xiuqiu!”

Li Changshou immediately asked in his mind: “Tower Lord, do Sages have mind-reading abilities?”

The Xuanhuang Tower laughed mockingly: “In this world, there are countless people who secretly criticize the Sages. If they truly had mind-reading abilities, wouldn’t Purple Lightning be striking every day? However, if you stand before our Lord, he might be able to peer directly into your Primordial Spirit and see some of your thoughts. As for whether the Sage Goddess can do this, that’s unclear.”

Li Changshou’s Primordial Spirit trembled slightly, streams of immortal light flowing and completely enveloping his Primordial Spirit.

According to Tower Lord’s words, even Sages couldn’t directly read minds, so most of the dozens of possibilities in his mind could be eliminated.

At times like these, he couldn’t rush. He had to believe there was complete logic behind everything and trust his judgment…

In such a critical moment, if he couldn’t trust himself, who could he trust?

First, what was a Sage?

Sages were undying, indestructible through all tribulations, capable of refining wind, fire, water, and earth, with the power to destroy the Great Wilderness world.

But above Sages was still the Great Dao and the Great Wilderness world had the Heavenly Dao maintaining stability. The strongest ancient Sage, Ancestor Hongjun, had already given up his chance to become a Great Dao Sage, merging with the Heavenly Dao, his form of existence completely different.

Among the current Six Sages, the strongest was his own Sage Taiging, who was supreme in calculations and possessed several supreme treasures.

He remembered Sage Taiqing once showing him “primal information” he had calculated.

—When subduing Cultivator Wenjing, direct enlightenment of the Taiqing Great Dao had shown a scene predicting that Wenjing would be crucial in destroying the Western Twelve-Petaled Golden Lotus.

Lord Taiqing wanted Li Changshou to intervene, to redirect the chaotic storyline and ensure Wenjing would take that one sip…

That incident had given Li Changshou great confidence while also confirming three things:

[The current Six Sages weren’t truly omniscient and omnipotent, their power had limits, and they could only calculate certain future possibilities;

The future wasn’t fixed, multiple possibilities existed that could change at any time;

The Sage Lords were also seeking change, working to prevent things they didn’t want to see and ensure things they wanted to see would happen.]

Having reached this conclusion, barely a breath’s time had passed since Tower Lord urged him to speak, and Li Changshou had already decided how to respond.

Before a Sage, he had only one chance!

Though he had already received the Heavenly Dao’s acknowledgment, the matter of crossing over to the Great Wilderness absolutely couldn’t be known by anyone!

Another interpretation of “a tall tree catches the wind” was that extremely rare anomalies must invite destruction!

Li Changshou maintained his bow, frowning and blinking, speaking in a slightly confused tone:

“Reporting to the Sage Lord, Ke Le’er was a false name Ao Yi took to deal with the deep sea demon tribe’s troublemaking back then. At that time, some deep sea demons were impersonating Ao Yi to defame him, so this method was used as a counter.

We discussed it then and created a fictional identity for Ke Le’er as a good friend of Ao Yi’s wife Jiang Si’er.

This time, to eliminate the many karmic demon lords beneath Mount Yaosheng, and to attract more corrupt karmic demon tribes to Mount Yaosheng, this disciple employed a small strategy, having Ke Le’er use the beauty strategy, while this disciple took the role of Ke Le’er’s elder brother to cause trouble, achieving the tactical goal of slowly boiling the demon tribes.

This Ke Zhen’e was just a name this disciple came up with casually, meaning to suppress evil and protect the bright sky.

That… Han Xiaoying you mentioned, My Lord?

This disciple… has never heard of such a person, but this certainly doesn’t mean your question was incorrect!”

“Never heard of her?” The voice from the pavilion carried a hint of doubt.

Li Changshou hurriedly said: “Please forgive this disciple, My Lord!”

The pavilion fell silent for a moment, while Li Changshou’s mind continued racing.

Something was wrong, there was something wrong here.

Was the Sage Goddess truly of the same origin as him? If so, why… why?

Why didn’t she catch the “Jiang Si Ke Le” reference?

And those terms like “slowly boiling the demon tribes” and “tactical goal” were completely different from the usual Great Wilderness vernacular.

If the Sage Goddess had summoned him this time to “exchange signals and confirm each other’s existence,” then the subsequent reaction…

Why was it completely off?

There weren’t enough logical anchors to form a conclusion, and Li Changshou needed more information!

A sigh emanated from the pavilion, and that voice carrying the mysteries of the Great Dao spoke again:

“If you haven’t heard of her, then you haven’t. There’s no need to be so afraid. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence.

Listen to the second question.”

Li Changshou breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said: “Please bestow your question, My Lord.”

“What do you think should follow the line ‘Behold, the Yellow River’s waters descending from heaven’?”

Lord!

Ah… after all, even the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan were known, so throwing in some Li Bai poetry wasn’t anything to be shocked about.

Like hell, it wasn’t something to be shocked about!

What was Goddess Nuwa playing at?

Was she calling him here to exchange signals?

It was known that with a Grand Magus’s abilities, one could block Sages’ and the Heavenly Dao’s probing within a hundred-zhang radius, so the conversation between the Sage Lord and himself could be kept secret.

Under these circumstances, the two questions the Sage Goddess had asked revealed too much information, yet also seemed to harbor deep misgivings…

A storm raged once again in Li Changshou’s mind.

Hypothesis:

[If I were Goddess Nuwa and a transmigrator who discovered another suspected transmigrator, how would I handle it?]

Elimination, to protect my origin and prevent my secret from being exposed.

There would be no second option.

Reverse analysis:

[Under what circumstances would Goddess Nuwa probe with questions? And why explain her origin and position before the probing?]

This…

Insufficient information to deduce, but it already indicates the problem.

“My Lord Sage…” Li Changshou smiled somewhat awkwardly, his expression showing slight difficulty as he spoke again slowly:

“This disciple believes there is an issue with the line itself.

The Yellow River is the great river of the Southern Jambudvipa Continent, legendary in the Great Wilderness as the burial place of the Ancestor Dragon, though this disciple’s knowledge is shallow and uncertain of the specifics.

But when this disciple previously investigated the Southern Continent’s waterways, the Yellow River’s waters didn’t come from heaven, but originated in the central region of Southern Jambudvipa.

If we were to make it more logical, this disciple could continue…

‘Behold, the Yellow River’s waters descending from heaven, rushing vast into the Eastern Sea.'”

The pavilion fell silent again for a moment.

As countless thoughts coursed through Li Changshou’s mind, he decided to turn from passive to active.

He needed more information to verify the remaining possibilities in his mind!

Call her ‘Lord’? Better to take a small offensive step and address her as Senior Aunt!

“Senior Aunt, do you have a particular fondness for poetry and rhythm?”

The Sage Goddess’s voice, imbued with the Dao, rose again: “I’ve heard some here and there, but no particular preference. Your continuation wasn’t quite right—the second line should be ‘rushing to the sea never to return.'”

Li Changshou’s eyes brightened as he murmured: “‘Behold, the Yellow River’s waters descending from heaven, rushing to the sea never to return?’

Though it defies common sense, the artistic conception is profound. This disciple also finds it… most wonderful!

I truly wonder what talent could produce such fine verses.”

After Li Changshou finished speaking, he suddenly heard a sigh from the pavilion…

A sigh?

This sigh contained the rhythm of the Great Dao and carried faint emotions, suggesting the Sage Goddess’s state of mind had fluctuated slightly.

Li Changshou quickly analyzed, mentally writing a thousands-word analytical thesis on this single sigh, and arrived at a bold idea!

Could it be…

Then Goddess Nuwa spoke again:

“Though it may be futile, here is the third question for you—have you heard this nursery rhyme?”

A strand of Dao rhythm floated from the pavilion, wrapping around Li Changshou’s ears. He heard a gentle female voice humming a certain melody near his ear.

To be honest, he almost sang along in his mind…

Twinkle, twinkle, little star, how I wonder what you are?

Up above the world so high, like a diamond in the sky?

Ah, it was just a common tune—he had expected something like “The Fisherman” or “Seven Miles of Fragrance.”

Accompanied by this melody, scrolls of images seemed to appear in Li Changshou’s mind, options popping up one after another, only to be continuously rejected!

The possibility of Goddess Nuwa being a transmigrator, though extremely slim now, still couldn’t be completely ruled out.

But Goddess Nuwa must have had contact with ‘blue planet culture,’ with information from the world he had experienced in his previous life!

Moreover, it had deeply affected Goddess Nuwa!

Did other Sages know about this?

If other Sages knew about this, it certainly couldn’t have escaped his own Sage Lord, and his Sage Lord had already transmitted teachings, scriptures, and alchemy methods to him, effectively taking him as a disciple…

This had many logical inconsistencies.

A light breeze blew past, and Li Changshou realized he had maintained his bowing posture for too long.

Just as the melody ended, a voice came from inside:

“Someone, escort the Water God to the front hall, and prepare a banquet to host Grand Magus Xuandu and the Water God.”

Failed to answer the questions, lost the chance to enter the pavilion?

Outside the pavilion, a barrier that Li Changshou hadn’t even noticed slowly dissipated, and fairy maidens in colorful dresses approached from the edge of the island, heads bowed, respectfully acknowledging the command.

The Sage Goddess spoke again:

“Water God, go rest for now. I shall appear shortly, as I still have a matter or two to inquire about.”

Li Changshou responded clearly: “This disciple obeys the Lord’s decree.”

Passed…

Not just passed, but the Sage Goddess’s last few sentences had given Li Changshou enough logical anchors!

Following the graceful figure of the fairy maiden, Li Changshou descended the steps, beginning to sort through today’s brief conversation from the start…

Though it was just three questions and answers, plus two or three casual exchanges, from Goddess Nuwa’s identity, position, and various circumstances here, Li Changshou had already used the process of elimination to fill out a relatively clear thread.

The reason he was summoned today had nothing to do with the demon tribes.

Goddess Nuwa had made her stance clear from the start—demon tribes were one of the myriad races, and most demon tribes who had connections with Goddess Nuwa were already dead. Whether demon tribes lived or died had little relevance to Goddess Nuwa, but due to karmic restrictions, she would still protect the demon tribes’ last thread of survival fortune.

He was called here today because of that name—’ Ke Zhen’e.’

Goddess Nuwa must have been watching the battle at Mount Yaosheng but waited half a month before calling him over, possibly because she was also uncertain, hesitating, weighing…

After calling him over and sending the Grand Magus away, she asked him the first question, even deliberately using a ‘casual and somewhat playful’ tone, intending to observe his reaction.

Li Changshou felt that his micro-expression management at that time shouldn’t have gone wrong—after being startled, he showed only confusion and incomprehension.

From the Sage Goddess’s reaction after the first question, and how Li Changshou’s thrown-out ‘homophone reference’ received no response, plus the two subsequent questions the Sage Goddess still asked, it was sufficient to prove that the Sage Goddess was not a transmigrator!

At this point, if one dared to make bold assumptions while carefully seeking verification, could it be possible…

[That once upon a time, a transmigrator appeared in the ancient or prehistoric period, copying stories, poems, and songs, and had even connected with Goddess Nuwa before she became a Sage?]

If this were the case, it would explain clearly why the Sage Goddess seemed to be ‘searching’ rather than ‘confirming’!

Following this line of thought, where had that ‘predecessor’ gone?

Because they were too unrestrained, acted recklessly, or had their identity discovered, were they directly destroyed by brick or by the Heavenly Dao?

When all possibilities are eliminated, no matter how improbable, what remains must be the truth.

Judging from how this hypothetical ‘predecessor’ recklessly copied blue planet culture, this ‘predecessor’ might have been so unrestrained that they finally broke themselves!

To verify this hypothesis, he only needed to completely rule out options like ‘Goddess Nuwa is a transmigrator,’ ‘Goddess Nuwa had contact with the blue planet world,’ ‘Goddess Nuwa calculated into later generations,’ and so on…

How to rule these out?

Still needed more limited information…

“What’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”

The Grand Magus’s voice came through, and Li Changshou looked up.

By now he had reached the main hall and saw the Grand Magus sitting there eating immortal fruits.

Li Changshou sighed and said softly: “Senior Brother, we’ve come to this main hall again, won’t we be punished by the Sage Lord?”

Grand Magus Xuandu shook his head with a light laugh, winking at Li Changshou, seemingly asking what had just happened.

Li Changshou deliberately showed a bitter smile, and just as he was about to consult with the Grand Magus, hoping he might provide some intelligence, he heard by his ear:

“Do not mention what I said to others.”

As soon as these words fell, a golden light flashed throughout the main hall, and a figure walked out from within the golden light. That unique pressure of the Great Dao possessed only by Sages filled this magnificent great hall.

Li Changshou’s heart trembled.

The Sage Goddess who had just scared him half to death had arrived.