My brother is so cunning

Chapter 1120 The Fate is Set, So Let Me Ask You a Question about the Fate.
While Nuwa was contemplating and comprehending the Dao in the Sculptor's Workshop, Guang Chengzi had already arrived at the Tushita Palace, located beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens, riding on auspicious clouds.

This immortal abode, nourished by the residual heat of the Bagua Furnace, is perpetually filled with a faint fragrance of elixirs. The green ox lies under the paulownia tree in front of the palace gate, slowly chewing on its fodder. The two Daoist boys, Jin and Yin, stand guard on either side of the palace gate. When they see Guang Chengzi arrive, a hint of wariness flashes in their eyes.

Guang Chengzi descended from the auspicious cloud, cupped his hands and said, "This humble Taoist, Guang Chengzi, is here on the orders of the Primordial Heavenly Venerable to request an audience with the Supreme Lord Laozi. Please allow the three of you to announce my arrival."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Green Ox slowly raised himself up, yawned, and said in a drawn-out tone: "Guang Chengzi? It's not that I'm being disrespectful, but Laozi specifically instructed me this morning before he started refining the pill that I must concentrate on refining the 'Nine Revolutions Rejuvenation Pill' and that no one is allowed to disturb me—not to mention that you are from the Chan Sect, even if the Heavenly Emperor came, he would have to wait until the pill is finished."

Golden Horned Boy immediately chimed in with a fake smile: "Yes, Senior Guangchengzi, as you know, Laozi is most afraid of being distracted when refining pills. If the pills are ruined because of the messenger, we can't bear the consequences. If you're in a hurry, why don't you come another day? Maybe when you come next time, Laozi will have finished refining the pills and be in a better mood, so he can chat with you a bit more."

Guang Chengzi was so anxious that he couldn't wait any longer. He frowned and said, "Fellow Daoists, this matter concerns the safety of the Primordial World and is of utmost importance. Please be sure to spread the word that the Creation Celestial Venerable is disrupting the bloodlines of races and spreading heretical doctrines. If we do not stop him in time, it may endanger the foundation of the Three Realms!"

The seventh-rank official before the prime minister's gate, the Green Ox and the Golden and Silver Boys, were neither disciples officially appointed by Laozi nor celestial officials conferred by the Heavenly Court. Guang Chengzi dared not offend them easily and had to negotiate with them in a kind and courteous manner.

Upon hearing this, the green ox snorted softly and flicked its tail: "The safety of the primordial world? That sounds familiar—a few days ago, a 'big shot' came, saying he wanted to 'eliminate harm for all living beings,' but what happened? He didn't even get to touch the stone lions in front of Laozi's palace before Laozi dismissed him with a 'meddling' remark. Fellow Daoist, the 'safety' you speak of, could it be just your own perception of safety?"

Silver Horned Boy chimed in, "That's right! Laozi often says, 'Heaven and Earth have their own destiny,' so why keep shouting 'threatening the foundation'? Besides, didn't you ask around before you came? These past few days, the rules of the Tushita Palace have changed—anyone who comes to see you must first answer a few questions to see if they are 'truly devoted to the Primordial World,' otherwise, they won't even be able to enter the palace gates."

Guang Chengzi was taken aback: "What's the problem?"

Golden Horned Boy cleared his throat, deliberately raised his voice, and hid a hint of mockery in his eyes: "Let's test you on what 'the fixed numbers of heaven and earth' really mean. The question is: 'Any even number greater than 2 can be written as the sum of two prime numbers.' For example, 4 can be written as 2+2, 6 can be written as 3+3, and 8 can be written as 3+5."

Silver Horned Boy suppressed a laugh and said, "Fellow Daoist, your cultivation is profound and your knowledge is extensive. Could you tell me whether this statement is correct or not? If it is correct, how can you prove that all even numbers greater than 2 can be written this way? If it is incorrect, can you find a counterexample?"

Guang Chengzi was completely dumbfounded when the question was raised.

He has lived for tens of thousands of years, practicing breathing exercises, alchemy, and divination. He deals with talismans, formations, and omens of the heavens. However, cultivating immortality also requires learning the Eight Trigrams and the Book of Changes, and his mathematical ability is much stronger than that of ordinary people of his time.

The question doesn't seem too difficult. The numbers are all below 10, and only addition is used, without multiplication or division.

But upon closer examination, Guang Chengzi found himself completely clueless, and the more he thought about it, the more mysterious and unpredictable it seemed.

He opened his mouth, but couldn't say a word for a long time. His face turned from white to red, and then from red to green.

"You keep talking about destiny, always saying it's all about destiny. If you know so much about destiny, why don't you do the calculation?" The green ox urged from the side, making Guang Chengzi anxious.

Logically, this kind of mathematical problem should fall within the scope of the application of the supernatural power of divination by counting fingers. Guang Chengzi secretly used his divination power, pouring in a large amount of immortal power. His fingers were almost smoking from counting, but no inspiration came to him and the answer popped out.

The supernatural ability of calculating with one's fingers is like uploading the problem to be solved to a "cloud" server. It consumes immortal power and is calculated by the Heavenly Dao, thus allowing one to deduce the past and future and obtain a lot of information.

However, not everything can be predicted using this supernatural power. Otherwise, wouldn't all the gods be omniscient and omnipotent? And wouldn't the Tongtian Sect Leader have been able to predict the disastrous defeat of the Jie Sect in the Investiture of the Gods?

If the difficulty is too great, the amount of calculation required is too large, or the conditions given in the problem are insufficient, even divination will not yield results. This is what immortals often refer to as "the secrets of heaven are chaotic and unclear."

But despite having such a simple math problem, Guang Chengzi, with his millennia of cultivation, poured in a massive amount of immortal power, yet couldn't solve it at all.

Little did he know that this problem was Goldbach's Conjecture, hailed as the jewel in the crown of mathematics, a problem that even mathematicians at the pinnacle of human mathematical achievement have not been able to fully solve even after more than a century.

This problem remains one of the few conjectures, and it's not even certain whether a supercomputer can ultimately prove it.

Even if the Heavenly Dao were truly a supercomputer that consumes immortal power rather than electricity, Guang Chengzi, a mere peak Golden Immortal, would still find it far too difficult to calculate this problem.

As for why Laozi's ox and attendant would pose this question to Guang Chengzi, it's because they had long been corrupted and won over by Wen Rui. Ever since they joined the Guardians of the Galaxy, they would often ask Laozi for leave under the pretext that the Guardians had important missions to protect the Three Realms, and then go to the mortal world to drink and have fun.

These two immortal boys are still very attached to worldly desires. They might not even be interested in elixirs, jade, or magic treasures. In Laozi's Tushita Palace, even the dregs of medicine found in the trash can contain pure immortal power.

But if they had the chance to go to a mortal club and have a few girls feed them oranges, they would immediately forget all about home and be as happy as gods.

Seeing Guang Chengzi's embarrassed expression, Qingniu couldn't help but sneer: "What? Fellow Daoist, as the supreme Golden Immortal of the Chan Sect who expounds the Dao of Heaven, you can't even answer such a simple question? Did the Dao of Heaven not whisper in your ear, or not hand you a cheat sheet? This is something that those mortals who study 'science' are pondering. You keep saying that the Creator Heavenly Venerable spreads 'heretical doctrines,' yet you don't even understand the basic questions that others study. How can you determine that his doctrines are problematic?"

The Golden Horned Boy continued muttering sarcastically, "They know nothing, yet they accuse others of spreading heresy. It's good to have a big mouth, you can say whatever you want, and your words are law... Even the Jade Emperor wouldn't dare to be so arrogant..."

(End of this chapter)