"I will wait here for you.
“You will receive a sequence number, indicating the queue for usage of the Derivation Jade. Regardless of whether you go first or last, once the derivation is complete, we will regroup here," the black-robed cultivator gave his instructions concisely.
Seeing the passage ahead solidify, Han Yi gave a slight nod of acknowledgement and then impatiently rushed inside.
“Thank you for the trouble, Senior," Li Fan said, bowing to the black-robed cultivator before stepping calmly into the space.
Ximen Yue was the last to enter the black stele.
The black-robed cultivator watched as the motley light on the stele was gradually swallowed anew by darkness. His body then turned utterly still, transforming into a statue-like figure standing guard before the black monolith.
***
"Derivation Jade applicant: Xiao Fan.
"Number: 17
“Derivation Level: Nascent Soul.
"Please wait here patiently. Estimated remaining wait time: seven days and six hours."
As light gradually returned to his vision, a languid voice resounded in Li Fan's ears.
Looking around, he found himself in a sealed space.
The room was not particularly spacious, and its furnishings were rather simple. It contained only a table and chairs, a few potted plants, and one bookshelf.
One wall displayed Li Fan's application information along with a countdown timer.
Han Yi and Ximen Yue were nowhere to be seen. Li Fan guessed that each applicant was confined to their own separate space.
Within this space, the spiritual qi within his body remained dormant, making cultivation impossible.
Seven days was not a short time, yet not terribly long either.
With nothing else to do, Li Fan walked to the bookshelf to examine the volumes placed there.
Unlike jade slips, which could be read with divine sense, these books appeared to be pure paper products, requiring him to turn the pages manually.
Having begun his life as a scholar; reading was no difficulty for Li Fan.
He immediately selected a few books, sat down, and began to read them slowly.
Time flowed slowly as Li Fan lost himself in reading. After finishing several books, he gained a general understanding of the Derivation Jade he was about to encounter.
The Derivation Jade, a treasured artifact of the Myriad Immortals Alliance and the very foundation of the Enforcer Hall, bore the responsibility of creating and deriving new techniques.
At every moment, entirely new techniques that had never existed before were being derived through its processes. This was something that could not be interrupted.
However, techniques were divided by realm, and the difficulty of deducing a Dao Unity technique was naturally incomparable to that of a Foundation Establishment one.
When the Derivation Jade was engaged in deducing low-level techniques, it operated in a state of low energy consumption, leaving surplus capacity that could be used to assist cultivators in deriving their own techniques. In contrast, when it was deducing high-level techniques, cultivators had no choice but to wait.
Each Audience Jade Token granted a different amount of allotted derivation time depending on its level.
The allotted time for a Dao Unity-level token was roughly two days, while a Nascent Soul-level token like Li Fan’s provided only about six hours.
Cultivators could choose from one of two modes of the Derivation Jade.
The first was to supply only the general attributes and requirements of the desired technique, allowing the Derivation Jade to deduce it spontaneously from nothing.
Although this method incurred no additional cost, creating a technique from scratch often resulted in a final product that was less than ideal.
Moreover, if the requirements were set too high and the deduction time exceeded the allotted limit, it was very likely that the cultivator would receive only an incomplete or flawed version of the technique.
The second method was to provide the Derivation Jade with a blueprint technique, and request it to derive an advanced technique based on it.
The advantage of this method was the ability to tailor the technique more precisely to one's ideal specifications. Furthermore, the time required for derivation would be greatly reduced.
After the first version of the technique was generated, one could have the Derivation Jade readjust it if one was dissatisfied with its effects. This could continue until the allotted time expired.
The drawback was that the level of the blueprint technique could not be lower than that of the technique to be deduced. Otherwise, the derivation efficiency would plummet, becoming almost no different from the method of creating a technique from nothing.
Techniques derived by the Derivation Jade through personal requests were taught directly to the requester by the Derivation Jade itself.
Furthermore, they were not entered into the Myriad Immortals Alliance's technique repository and the cultivator retained complete and autonomous rights over it.
The blueprint technique was also not limited to certain sources and similarly would not be recorded in the technique repository.
Having carefully read through all the necessary precautions one by one, Li Fan adjusted his original plan.
After a short while, he had reached a final decision on how to proceed in this life.
However, in these instructions...
Li Fan's expression turned somewhat odd.
He had keenly noticed the use of pronouns like "she" and "herself" when the text referred to the Derivation Jade.
Could it be that the Myriad Immortals Alliance's Derivation Jade is actually a cultivator?
That is somewhat unexpected.
Li Fan looked at the countdown on the wall: three days remained.
He began reading other books related to derivation theory. Most were works of insight and experience by some of the Myriad Immortals Alliance's renowned technique weaver masters after using the Derivation Jade.
Li Fan had previously spent nearly twenty years fusing techniques and insights to deduce the Intent Spirit Illusion Art.
Barely qualifying as half a technique weaver master himself, he now found the reading quite engaging and not the least bit tedious.
Time passed swiftly. Soon, the previous announcement voice sounded again.
"Cultivator Xiao Fan, your turn is approaching. Please get ready."
Li Fan returned the book to the shelf, took a deep breath, and focused his mind.
The countdown on the wall slowly reached zero.
Everything in the space turned into an illusion, dissolving into motes of light that drifted towards a certain direction.
Li Fan floated within the space, momentarily stunned.
Glancing around, he saw himself in a vast, empty void.
In that instant, a flash of insight struck him. Li Fan followed the previous motes of light, flying forward.
Soon, he beheld a colossal sphere made up of countless characters, perpetually transforming in infinite permutations.
Occasionally, the entire tapestry of characters on the sphere would pause briefly, emit a shimmering light, then vanish. After which, the endless transformation and derivation would begin anew.
Beneath this colossal sphere, a desk floated in the void.
A little girl who looked only five or six years old was sprawled across the desk.
She watched the characters on the desktop with a listless, bored expression.
Is she the Derivation Jade?
Li Fan slowly flew closer, but discovered that upon reaching a certain point, he could advance no further.
Seeing that the little girl showed no sign of noticing him at all, he gave a light cough.
"Might I ask—"
The little girl spoke without looking up, her voice soft and childlike, "What are your requirements for the technique? Do you want to create it from scratch or derive it from an existing blueprint?
"Write it down."
She then patted the tabletop with her chubby hands. A flash of light later, a sheet of paper appeared.
The little girl picked up the paper and tossed it to Li Fan.
The more Li Fan studied the Derivation Jade, the stranger he felt.
But he didn't delay. Taking hold of the paper, his thoughts flowed, and lines of text immediately appeared upon it.
"Blueprint techniques: the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture and the Heaven-Swapping Art.
“Reference secret art: Visage Follows the Heart.
"Derive a technique that can completely transform one person into another."