This was a very reasonable line of thought.
If the existence of Heavenly Summit Mountain was connected to the two Sages born in that extremely distant era, in Chenping Continent... or rather, Tianji Continent, or even Yuxu Continent, then a new question now stood before Chen Yan and Mr. You at this very moment.
That was, was the current Chenping Continent still under the control of some Sage?
When Chen Yan and Mr. You exchanged glances, they clearly realized that the other harbored the same doubts.
"Currently, of the forty-nine immortal paths in Chenping Continent, eleven have been occupied."
Mr. You said.
"Eleven?"
Chen Yan pondered for a moment, then continued:
"Up until now, how many Ascending to Immortality Dao Bases have you collected, sir?"
Since his self from eight thousand years later trusted this young man before him so deeply, it was only natural that he would know about his collection of Ascending to Immortality Dao Bases for the stone platform in Fusheng City.
What's more, the very reason he had returned to this era was likely related to that stone platform in Fusheng City.
"Six."
Mr. You replied honestly.
"If it's six..."
Chen Yan began calculating in his mind. If he didn't count the Dao Basis of Realman Star-Paying Respects, which was used as a key, then when he arrived in Fusheng City eight thousand years later, there were a total of nine Ascending to Immortality Dao Bases placed in the city.
Calculating it this way, the six Ascending to Immortality Realm cultivators from the Great Chaos of the Immortals, plus Mr. You, and Yan Yunhe, who had chosen Military Disintegration back then, the number came to exactly eleven.
"Currently, there probably isn't a Sage's Great Dao in Chenping Continent."
Chen Yan shook his head.
"But if, as you said before, the laws of heaven and earth in Chenping Continent are incomplete, and the Great Dao was repaired through patching, then considering my own experiences, is it possible that someone doesn't want Chenping Continent to bear the Great Dao of an Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivator?"
Mr. You raised his question.
This was indeed possible.
Because someone didn't want Chenping Continent, with its incomplete laws of heaven and earth, to bear the Great Dao of an Uncarved Simplicity Realm cultivator, that existence had set its sights on Mr. You when he was about to break through to the Uncarved Simplicity Realm.
In other words, there were currently no Sages in Chenping Continent.
But...
What about the whereabouts of the Tianji Sage and the Yuxu Sage?
Had they fallen?
Or was there some other possibility?
"What's certain is that Chenping Continent is not the entire world. Outside Chenping Continent, there must be other realms... Perhaps only by reaching the Uncarved Simplicity Realm can one cross between realms."
Chen Yan said.
"Is it possible that the two Sages you mentioned are now in other realms, silently watching over Chenping Continent from the shadows?"
Mr. You asked.
"Do you mean, sir, that 'that existence' who targeted you back then was likely one of the former Sages?"
Chen Yan said.
Upon hearing this, Mr. You remained silent, just staring directly into Chen Yan's eyes, as if tacitly agreeing with his statement.
Because Mr. You truly did suspect as much.
As for the likelihood of this speculation...
Chen Yan suddenly recalled the day he stood on the Inner Court street of Qingxuan Immortal Sect, looking up at the sky as the two Seven-Colored Flowing Gold Goddess Statues flew past, along with the sound of that bronze bell that resonated across heaven and earth.
Even to this day, Chen Yan still didn't know what that bronze bell sound represented.
When Heavenly Summit Mountain was destroyed, what connection did the enormous Goddess Statue, thousands of feet tall, have with those two he had seen that day? He didn't know either.
But what was certain was that all of this was indeed likely related to the existence of Sages.
If Heavenly Summit Mountain was the Sage's legacy left in Chenping Continent, then why had Heavenly Summit Mountain suddenly and without warning been destroyed approximately sixty thousand years ago?
Chen Yan felt he seemed to have taken a step closer to the truth, but at the same time, he felt he hadn't, and had instead fallen into an even greater mystery.
"What does it matter, even if we know more about the truths of the past?"
Mr. You first picked up his teacup, then turned his gaze back to the cultivators coming and going on the street below the teahouse.
In this current era, the entire cultivation world of Chenping Continent was longing for the arrival of another golden age of cultivation, with everything thriving and prosperous.
But the more one knew, the easier it was to feel sorrow.
Chen Yan's gaze also followed Mr. You's line of sight toward the street.
Watching the bustling crowd, he couldn't help but start to feel dazed.
Having once traversed the chaotic flow of time, he suddenly felt a sense of unfamiliarity with this world for some reason.
But at the same time, it was also all too familiar.
"I'm going to become a Sage."
Mr. You's voice suddenly came through, pulling Chen Yan's attention back to the young cultivator in plain-colored daoist robes sitting before him.
"Become a Sage?"
Chen Yan was slightly startled.
"That's right. Although I have roamed Chenping Continent for over a hundred thousand years, everything I've experienced in those hundred thousand years hasn't impacted me as much as this half-incense stick's worth of conversation between us."
Mr. You said.
"I have many confusions now, confusions that my current cultivation and insight cannot comprehend... Perhaps only by becoming a Sage can I understand more."
"There's no hope."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yan just shook his head.
"The trajectory of history is already predetermined. Until Chenping Continent is completely destroyed and reduced to nothingness eight thousand years from now, sir, you still won't have become a Sage."
"I know. That's why Fusheng City exists."
Mr. You wasn't discouraged by Chen Yan's words at all.
"I have my own arrangements for future matters. But as for now, I need you to witness my becoming a Sage. After that, everything is entrusted to you."
It sounded almost like a last testament.
Mr. You was well aware of the outcome he would face if he forcibly attempted to become a Sage.
And facing Mr. You's resolve, Chen Yan's attitude was very clear.
"Alright."
The handsome young man in plain white daoist robes simply nodded in agreement.
"Three months from now, still at Heavenly Summit Mountain."
Mr. You said as he picked up the bronze mirror on the tea table, then gently applied force with his fingertips, causing the bronze mirror to split back into five equal parts along its original seams before tucking them into his sleeve.
"I'll go return these fragments of the Heavenly Summit Mirror, borrowed from the Five Great Sects, back to them... As for the matters regarding Su Hongzhen and Zhou Jinyun, I suggest you properly arrange their futures, these two youngsters. You probably won't be staying in this era for much longer."
As soon as the words left his mouth, Mr. You, who had been sitting across from Chen Yan, vanished in an instant.
It was as if he had never been there at all, existing only in Chen Yan's memory.