Techniques and Dao

Chapter 36 The Power of Wind and Fire
Fate is not determined by cause and effect, but by faith.

Now, all the trial participants need to do is leave this place so that they can report the intrusion of the Heavenly Eye Trial Immortal Array to the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and also investigate the cause of all these strange events.

"Anyone can take the Victorious Buddha's Path Guide, but Tianjizi is the only one who cannot." A golden light flashed from between the fingers of the red-haired Shadowless's tightly clenched right hand. She looked at the golden light and said to Huasheng, "But do you really think this method will work?"

"absolute."

Taishang Xiaojun said, "This is probably the loophole in Tianjizi's ultimate destiny. As long as this loophole exists, even if he himself knows about it, it will be extremely difficult to avoid."

“But it’s best not to tell him yet.” Hua Sheng put his index finger to his lips, making a shushing gesture. “Let the three of us give him a surprise.”

When Tianjizi touched the red and black blood tai chi, he encountered no resistance as the protective porcelain boxes had already been opened. The blood tai chi glowed, and the two red and black dots on it opened like flower petals, revealing two pillars rising from within. The pillars were not large, and an object was placed precisely at the top of each pillar.

The object rose slowly along with the cylinders, stopping when it reached waist height. It turned out that each of the two cylinders had an enamel box placed on top.

The two treasure boxes, one black and one white, retain the original yin-yang symbol. The white box is made of jade-like enamel with gold trim, while the black box is made of black glass with silver trim.

It is evident that although the magical array that enabled the game to be won was corrupted, the box containing the Victorious Buddha's Path Guide was protected by extremely powerful magical arts and remained intact. Therefore, as long as the Victorious Buddha's Path Guide is obtained, the Heavenly Eye Trial can be closed, and all the trial participants can be sent back to the Academy of Arts and Sciences.

These two treasure boxes are naturally the crucial "skillful boxes" in the game of skillful box capture.

Each of the two treasure boxes has four characters engraved on its lid. The white box is engraved with "Battle is also empty," and the black box is engraved with "The enlightened one surpasses the Buddha." The boxes are exquisitely crafted, beyond description as mere marvels of art.

“The Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide,” Tianjizi murmured, “is in that black box.”

Having said that, Tianjizi reached out to open the black box. Just as his fingertips were about to touch it, Taishang Xiaojun suddenly descended from the sky and snatched the black box away!

"Hey! If I can't get it easily, how can I live up to the 'seize' in 'cleverly seizing the game'?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun said smugly, holding the box in his hand.

Seeing that Taishang Xiaojun had snatched the black box, Tianjizi was not in a hurry and did not try to grab it.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun then flipped open the box with a snap, reached inside, and said with a smile, "Thank you for your kind words, thank you for pointing out the way, Master Registrar. I, Tai Shang Xiao Jun, will gladly accept this Shengfo Road Pass..."

Before he could finish speaking, Taishang Xiaojun suddenly realized that his hands were empty. He looked down and saw that although the box was exquisite, there was no Victorious Buddha's Path Guide inside; it was just an empty box.

"You, Tianjizi, you've even started lying now!" Taishang Xiaojun's tone seemed to reveal his unwillingness.

Tianjizi said, "This immortal never lies."

"Then why is there nothing inside?"

“If I open it, it will be there; if you open it, it will not.” After saying this, Tianjizi went to retrieve the white box. “Now, the Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide is in this white box.”

But just as Tianjizi was about to pick up the white box, it was suddenly slapped and flew forward. A figure flashed by, and the white box disappeared instantly.

The figure flew several dozen steps away; it was Hua Sheng. He not only snatched the white box but also waved the clever box in his hand, saying, "The Victorious Buddha's Path Pass is only in these two boxes. Now that we have both boxes, it seems it's not your turn, Tianjizi."

Tianjizi remained calm and composed, just as before, showing no intention of trying to snatch it.

Hua Sheng found it unbelievable and said, "Aren't you going to try and take it?"

I will not take it.

"Don't you think the Buddha's Luddar is hidden in this black and white box?"

“I do believe that the Buddha’s Ludwig is among them.”

"It's obviously not in the black box."

"good."

"Would you be willing to have your Buddha's travel permit taken from you?"

“I will not accept it willingly if you take it away from me.”

"But you didn't come to steal it?"

Why would I rob it?

"If you don't take it, it's mine."

"Even if I don't try to take it, you still won't get it."

"Ridiculous!" Hua Sheng opened the white box, looked inside, and his expression changed instantly. He seemed surprised to find that the box was empty.

"Empty?" Upon seeing that Hua Sheng's box was also empty, Tai Shang Xiao Jun exclaimed, "Could it be fake!"

Hua Sheng glared at Tian Jizi: "Did you turn into a fake box?"

Tianjizi smiled and said, "You two are unworthy of being disciples of the Academy of Arts and Sciences. One of you is accusing me of lying, and the other is accusing me of making counterfeits. You two have probably underestimated me, Tianjizi, and also underestimated this clever box game."

Hua Sheng looked at the white box in his hand again and saw that it was indeed completely transparent. The box was not much larger than the guard's porcelain box from before, and it couldn't hide anything inside, let alone have any hidden compartments or mechanisms.

Moreover, he had thoroughly searched the inside, even finding the smallest thing in the box, the Shengfo Road Drawer, no bigger than a speck of dust. He assumed that the Supreme Lord Xiaojun, like himself, wouldn't have missed anything in the box. But the truth was, the box was empty.

If these two are genuine puzzle boxes, then even though the rules only contain a few words, they indicate that the Victorious Buddha's guide could not be located outside of the puzzle boxes.

Just as Hua Sheng was wondering what was going on, the lid of the white box in his hand suddenly snapped shut, startling him. He instinctively reached to open the lid, and then heard a snapping sound from nearby. Looking in the direction of the sound, he saw that it was Tai Shang Xiao Jun's box that had closed.

He saw that Taishang Xiaojun seemed to be startled when the black box closed by itself. Then Taishang Xiaojun opened the black box, and then the lid on Huasheng's side snapped shut.

"Wait! I think I've discovered something!" Hua Sheng said, "The white box can only be opened when the black box is closed. Conversely, if the black box is opened, the white box will close automatically."

Hua Sheng thought for a moment and continued, "In other words, these two Yin-Yang boxes can only be closed at the same time, not opened at the same time!"

Taishang Xiaojun asked, "What does that mean?"

Hua Sheng's mind raced, and he said, "Perhaps Tianjizi is right. The Victorious Buddha's Path Pass is inside this pair of cleverly designed boxes!"

"Huh? We opened both boxes, how come we didn't see it? Can this thing turn invisible?"

"It's not that it can become invisible, but..." Hua Sheng said, "The Victorious Buddha's Path Pass can be transferred between the two cleverly designed boxes. And each time it's transferred, it will remain in the box that's already closed!"

Hua Sheng meant that within these two cleverly designed boxes, there existed a kind of teleportation technique that kept Sheng Fu Lu Yin constantly inside the closed box. He seemed to think this explained Tian Ji Zi's viewpoint without contradicting the trial rules.

"What's going on? If it's always in a locked box, who can get it?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun looked at Hua Sheng with incomprehension.

Then, both of them looked at Tianjizi simultaneously.

Tianjizi laughed heartily and said, "It seems you've finally figured it out. This Victorious Buddha's Path Pass was obtained through proper means. He will choose the ultimate winner."

Tai Shang Xiao Jun gritted his teeth: "Bah! What kind of rules are these! Nobody can get it except Tian Ji Zi. Isn't this just pre-determining the winner of the Heavenly Eye Trial?"

"Hurry up and admit defeat!" Tianjizi said. "Give me one of your black and white puzzle boxes, and let me, Tianjizi, open it. Take the Victorious Buddha's Path Guide, end the Heavenly Eye Trial, and let us leave this place. It will be better for everyone."

Tianjizi walked up to Taishang Xiaojun, just about to take the black box from his hand, when Huasheng suddenly shouted, "Wait! Taishang Xiaojun, don't give it to him! If you do, you'll fall into his trap!"

Tai Shang Xiao Jun pulled his hand back: "What?"

Hua Sheng shouted, "The reason we can't get it isn't because of the rules at all!"

"Huh?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun's eyes widened. "You're saying he wasn't the pre-selected Tianji Zi? I almost thought that his annual championship wins were due to some kind of unspoken rule!"

Hanamori shouted, "No! Quite the opposite! It's precisely because the rules are absolutely fair that we can't get them!"

"Huh?" Taishang Xiaojun said in surprise, "What do you mean? If it's fair, why shouldn't we get it?"

"It was caused by fate!"

Upon hearing this, Tianjizi frowned.

Hua Sheng said, "I've been thinking that the core of each trial is reflected in the questions themselves. Why is the Heavenly Eye Trial called the Heavenly Eye Trial? It's because this game constantly tests the inner strength of the trial participants, whether they have the insight of 'Heavenly Eye'! As long as you have this insight, you can distinguish between truth and falsehood in the 'Candlelight Battle' and find the hidden candles. At the same time, you can accurately calculate the sum of all the numbers in the 'Divine Mind Calculation' without seeing the numbers of each trial participant!"

"The original purpose of Tianmu is to test one's insight! And the supreme fortune that Tianjizi possesses allows him to exhibit behavior that demonstrates superb insight! But these are essentially two different things: the difference between calculating the result and guessing the result!"
"So the same goes for the 'Clever Box Seizure'! Those with superb insight, the so-called 'Heavenly Eye,' can accurately find and open the clever box containing the Victorious Buddha's Path Guide in the Yin-Yang Clever Box."

Hua Sheng continued, "So I think the truth is that, in order to ensure the fairness of the trial and prevent the location from being revealed in advance, the immortal master who set the rules made Sheng Fu Lu Yin appear randomly in the black and white puzzle box."

Taishang Xiaojun asked, "So that means that before the clever box was opened, no one knew which box the Victorious Buddha's Path Guide was in?"

“That’s right. I think what’s in the puzzle box isn’t a physical object, but something called probability.”

"Probability?" Tai Shang Xiao Jun scratched his head. "I know what probability is, but how can you put probability into a box?"

“Since it’s called the Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide, I think the Victorious Fighting Buddha, Sun Wukong, was most likely involved in setting the questions. But what Sun Wukong put in wasn’t the Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide itself, but something we in the mortal world call probability. So even the supervising immortal master doesn’t know which box the actual Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide is in, let alone any trial participant knowing in advance,” Hua Sheng analyzed. “When this pair of Yin-Yang puzzle boxes are closed, the boxes should simultaneously contain either the Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide being present or absent, and no one knows the result before opening them. They even intend for themselves to not know the result.”

Hua Sheng thought to himself that, objectively speaking, the trial of the Divine Calculation Bureau was biased towards the Shadow Extinction sisters, since the supervising immortal master and the trial participants were one and the same. But if Sun Wukong participated in the design of the final round of the Heavenly Eye Trial, then he obviously did not want the immortal master to know the result in advance.

Tai Shang Xiao Jun pressed further, "Then why weren't they in either of the two puzzle boxes? Could it be that our so-called Heavenly Eye ability is inadequate?"

“It’s not that our insight is too weak, but rather that we are currently in the same situation, and among several trial participants, one’s luck is so good that it makes the luck of the others worse,” Hua Sheng replied. “Because this trial participant possesses something called Supreme Luck, which will guide him to obtain the Victorious Buddha’s Path Guide!”

Tianjizi casually dusted off his sleeves, interrupting Huasheng: "Even if you knew this, so what? No one but me can get the Shengfo Road Pass." "No! We expected it! We just didn't expect it to be in this kind of situation." A sly smile appeared in Huasheng's eyes. "So, we will change this situation."

Just as Tianjizi was still at a loss for what to do with Taishang Xiaojun and Huasheng, he noticed that the two of them were looking at the boxes in their hands and walking towards him. Taishang Xiaojun put the black box back on the Blood Taiji pillar.

Hua Sheng returned the white box in his hand to its original place: "Today, I'm going to gamble with your luck!"

Tianjizi was taken aback at first upon hearing this, then laughed loudly, "You mortal ant, do you think you're worthy to gamble with me?"

Hua Shengdao said, "It seems that the Registrar doesn't dare?"

Why gamble with our luck anymore?

"It's necessary! You and I will wager the Victory Buddha's Road Pass; only the winner can take it!"

Tianjizi smirked dismissively: "How do you want to bet?"

Hua Sheng said, "You and I will each open a box. Whoever's box contains the Sheng Fu Lu Yin will win."

Tianjizi pointed at Taishang Xiaojun and said, "If I remember correctly, you have each opened the two boxes at least ten times."

Hua Sheng said, "It was different just now. This time it's just you and me."

"How do you think the outcome will be different?"

"The outcome will be very different. Because I will win." Hua Sheng did not smile.

"Hmph!" Tianjizi wanted to laugh, but when he looked at Huasheng's appearance, he felt his smile disappear. He said, "Since you are so confident, then fine, you choose first. I will open the remaining puzzle boxes so that you won't say that I won unfairly."

"No! You choose first. If you choose the remaining puzzle box, give it to me," Hua Sheng said, expressing his opinion.

"You!" Tianjizi clearly felt insulted. "I choose first? Don't forget, after I made my choice, I already took the Shengfo Road Pass. You won't get the remaining puzzle box whether you open it or not!"

What you said makes sense.

"Stop talking nonsense! Which one do you choose?"

"No, you choose first."

"You! You scoundrel!" Tianjizi felt a nameless rage rising within him. How dare this little ant mock him! Tianjizi shouted angrily, "Do you want to lose even faster?"

Hua Sheng said unhurriedly, "No, what I mean is, you choose the puzzle box first, and I'll take the last one. To be fair, I'll open the puzzle box first. If there's nothing in my puzzle box, then the Shengfu Road Pass will naturally be in your hands, and then you can open your puzzle box."

"Hmph! What's the difference?"

“Yes,” Hua Sheng said. “Because if I open the puzzle box, I might be the one who wins.”

Tianjizi felt his anger becoming increasingly difficult to control: "Fine! Whatever, the result is the same anyway!"

Just as he was about to choose the puzzle box, Hua Sheng suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

"What now?" Tianjizi wanted to smash this ant in front of him into ashes with a single palm strike. "Have you been in the immortal array for too long and don't want to leave?"

“That’s still not fair,” Hua Sheng replied.

"Why isn't it fair?"

"Because it's a gamble, it needs to be fair to both sides."

"What's unfair?"

"You have great fortune, but I don't."

"You! You scoundrel! Are you trying to play me?!" Tianjizi couldn't contain himself any longer and shouted, "Hurry, hurry, as the law commands!"

A hurricane shot from his palm toward Hua Sheng, but Hua Sheng managed to block Tian Jizi's magic with a simple gesture.

Tianjizi was greatly alarmed, thinking to himself, "What's going on?"

Looking again, a figure emerged from behind Hua Sheng—it was the red-haired Mie Ying, who hadn't spoken since earlier. It turned out that she was the one who held back, preventing Hua Sheng from being blown away by Tian Ji Zi's wind manipulation technique.

"You, a celestial being, are helping this ant!" Tianjizi shouted.

Mie Ying was clearly not buying it, saying, "I don't care who wins, I just don't want to see you win."

"So you're standing on this mole ant's side?"

“You’re wrong, Clerk. I’m not on either side,” Mie Ying said. “I don’t want to see you win, but that doesn’t mean you can’t win. I just hope this bet between you and Hua Sheng is fairer.”

"How do you intend to apply the law fairly?"

"You cannot use Zhiyun."

Tianjizi angrily retorted, "Supreme Fortune is not a celestial technique! It doesn't disappear just because I don't use it! I was born with Supreme Fortune and have never been separated from it!"

Mie Ying tossed his red hair and said, "If I can make your ultimate luck disappear for a while, would you dare to gamble your luck with this kid?"

Tianjizi never expected Mieying to say such a thing. To him, Zhiyun was like his own limbs; he had never imagined that one day he would be separated from it. Moreover, if he were to be separated from Zhiyun today, would it mean he would no longer possess it? Would he cease to be different from others?
He had never considered this question before, because he never needed to.

Tianjizi said, "What a joke. How could you possibly make me lose my destiny?"

Mieying opened his palm, revealing two bright, rapidly spinning orbs of light that illuminated the surrounding area.

At the same time, a thunderclap resounded, and the light emanating from the orb prevented the heavy rain from reaching them, as if a giant glass dome had suddenly been placed over them.

"What is this?" Tianjizi asked.

"I'll show you something amazing today! These are the Wind and Fire Wheels!"

"The Fire Wheel King's Wind and Fire Wheels?" Tianjizi involuntarily took a small step back.

Mieying clearly noticed the slight ripple in Tianjizi's heart and slowly said, "Don't be afraid, I'm not going to use the Wind and Fire Wheels to deal with you."

"Hmph! The Wind and Fire Wheels, though I have never seen them, may not be unable to compete with them!" Tianjizi was clearly unwilling to give up his dignity.

Mieying said, "I'll say it again, I have no intention of competing with you. I just want the bet between you and Huasheng to be fairer."

Tianjizi said, "How do you intend to create this kind of fairness using the Wind and Fire Wheels?"

Mieying said, "Perhaps you don't know, the Wind and Fire Wheels are not only a magical artifact, but also have another function."

Tianjizi listened without saying a word.

"The Wind and Fire Wheels can create a kind of immortal array barrier. This barrier is called..." Mie Ying deliberately paused, saying each word carefully, "Quantity, space."

"Quantum space?"

"That's right. You've never heard of it!"

"Hmph! What a charade!" Tianjizi was clearly unconcerned. "This is nothing more than the knowledge of those fame-seeking mortals. I have no interest in it."

"It seems you do have some knowledge," Mieying said. "In that case, you should know that quantum space exists. Not only that, you should also know that in this space, due to the uncertainty of quantum mechanics, the things called quantum mechanics in the mortal world move without any regularity and occur randomly."

"So what..." Tianjizi was about to say "So what?", but he stopped himself.

“It seems you’ve noticed this as well. If everything becomes unpredictable and random in a certain environment, then luck will also become random. Although luck in the world is supposed to be like this, it’s clear that the laws of the ordinary world don’t apply to you, Tianjizi. That’s why we need to create this quantum space.”

Mieying laughed and continued, "In short, the one who wins here might not necessarily be you, Tianjizi!"

Tianjizi was stunned. He had never paid attention to these dry, so-called scientific knowledge in the mortal world before, and even looked down on them. But now, the magical weapon, the Wind and Fire Wheels, made him have to have some doubts.

With a flick of his wrist, two fiery wheels, accompanied by raging flames and immense heat, began to spin rapidly around the group. Instantly, the deck where Tianjizi stood became unbearably hot. The fiery wheels spun faster and faster, becoming extremely dazzling on the entire deck, instantly evaporating the rainwater on the ground. The surrounding scenery was enveloped in dazzling spots of light.

The deck began to vibrate rapidly and rhythmically, and the two clever boxes on the blood-red tai chi pillar also began to jump continuously, as if someone was trembling.

"Celestial Child! This is the quantum space, this is beyond the boundary of your ultimate destiny!"

She pointed at Tianjizi and shouted, "Now do you dare to choose a clever box?"

What is quantum uncertainty or randomness?
In layman's terms, a quantum is the smallest unit that can exhibit the properties of a certain substance or physical quantity. Quantum physics is the discipline that studies the laws governing the motion of microscopic particles, and it is the fundamental theory that studies the structure and properties of atoms, molecules, atomic nuclei, and elementary particles.

Quantum mechanics discovered that the transfer of energy has a minimum unit, called a quantum, and that many natural processes are discontinuous. Because the study of microscopic particles revealed that we cannot determine the location of a particle, but only its probability of occurrence, the distribution of particles is a probabilistic event. This breaks down determinism, which emphasizes strict causality.

In short, there is no absolutely objective entity or external event in the quantum world. The uncertainty principle means that we cannot simultaneously and precisely measure the position and velocity of electrons or other microscopic particles, and our observation itself can interfere with the measurement results.

In our daily lives, we theoretically assume that the results of observations are objective and independent of the method of observation. However, quantum mechanics has proven that different observations lead to different results. In other words, physics or other sciences cannot study a so-called "objectively real world."

Humanity does not know the objective nature of the universe, only what it looks like as we observe it. Everything only has meaning when it is observed. In other words, "humans are actually trapped by perception." Because the world we see is not the world as it truly is. When perception differs, the world appears different.

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(End of this chapter)