Fellow Daoist! That scoundrel has written a new book again.

In fact, Zhu Wuyao never even considered going into seclusion on the spot.

She was concentrating on her self-imposed isolation, looking at the manuscript in front of her, letting her mind wander and her thoughts drift.

A single choice can lead to countless branches, and even the slightest change can drastically alter the final outcome.

Knowing there's no turning back, Zhu Wuyao is instead able to calmly examine the path she's taken.

What can be changed?

What things would never change even if we did it all over again?

That spirit pen is the key item. Even if she could do it all over again, she would still want to keep the birthday gift given by the original owner's parents. Moreover, she needs a pen to write stories to make a living. Therefore, the inevitable consequence is that she will become connected with the path of divination.

The first change could be made: if she had changed direction when leaving Dongji City, she might not have encountered Shen Anzhi and Ye Xiaozhou.

When she encounters Wei Gui or Qingyun Sect disciples who come looking for her, she will have a greater chance of dying.

But she ended up in Beixuan City.

The second point that could be changed is whether she passed through that alley or the Ji family's house after leaving Huicaotang.

As long as she passes by, even if she comes back a thousand times, after picking the apple, she will always leave a note saying "I will return it another day"—this is something that cannot be changed.

The third place is the Longevity Inn.

If she had returned home earlier, the innkeeper of the Longevity Inn would not have been able to find her and would have tried to suppress the matter and cover up the existence of the Yin Sha in order to protect his mother, thus allowing himself to escape the situation.

But if they hadn't missed each other, Zhu Wuyao would still have made the same choice, and the final outcome would not have changed.

The fourth point is at Jiangshuang Bridge, the direction we took when we were escaping.

If they don't go to Nanli, they might be able to stay safe, but once they go, the choices they make will inevitably lead to the predetermined outcome.

……

Therefore, as long as the timing and circumstances remain unchanged, she will continue down the same path.

Thinking of this, Zhu Wuyao suddenly paused.

One's own behavioral patterns are constant and deterministic, and the choices made when faced with crossroads will not change, so... the final outcome depends on the timing and circumstances.

Theoretically, if a person has enough information, they can infer the behavioral patterns of everyone and calculate all the variables...

Therefore, by cleverly changing the time and place, you can get the desired result.

Such a computational workload is beyond human capability.

Only the Way of Heaven.

Do not compete with nature for skill...

Is this what they mean by fate being predetermined?

When Zhu Wuyao arrived in the cultivation world as a transmigrator, her behavior patterns were unpredictable; she was an unknown variable.

The Heavenly Dao cannot know what choice she will make when faced with a certain situation.

That's why the error occurred!

If it were the original owner of the body, she would not have pawned the spirit brush either. In fact, given her character, she would have made similar choices in the future.

The real variable lies in the apple she threw down and the wooden sign that followed.

This is where it truly contradicts the original body's behavior pattern, which is why the Heavenly Dao's computing system crashed for a moment at that time.

She successfully exploited the loophole.

If there is anyone whose fate is not determined by heaven, it is Zhu Wuyao, who has just arrived.

So what now?

A sense of crisis suddenly rose in Zhu Wuyao's heart.

She has been in this world for quite some years now; could she have become a quantifiable quantity?

On second thought, I calmed down.

She spent no more than two years in the outside world, either in the isolated Liquan Realm or in the realm of sentient beings that was not connected to the Heavenly Dao.

Even if their behavior patterns are deduced, it's not necessarily true that everything has been deduced.

The reason why Heaven can calculate a person's behavior patterns is because that person is under the watchful eye of Heaven from birth to adulthood.

If we say it's powerful, then it certainly is, because omniscience is, in a sense, equivalent to omnipotence.

However, it also has its limitations, a point that Zhu Wuyao had already confirmed in the various aspects of human life, namely—

The understanding of the Way of Heaven cannot exceed the sum of the understanding of all living beings.

If Heaven wants to understand the concept of a "mobile phone," then someone must create a mobile phone from scratch, under the watchful eye of Heaven.

Therefore, if one wants to change their fate, then it is—

"If you don't want Heaven to know, then you must know it yourself."

When one's actions exceed one's own cognitive scope, deviate from one's own behavioral patterns, and have not expressed a clear intention to others.

Then the Way of Heaven is unknown.

Of course, once it realizes the mistake, it will try its best to get everything back on track, but that's another game, which we won't discuss for now.

Zhu Wuyao gradually came to understand everything.

She looked away from the letter with a sigh of relief and gazed into the distance.

She saw the ever-changing purple aura atop the Star-Picking Tower, but the moment her gaze met it, it caused a disturbance.

His consciousness immediately connected with it and was pulled over.

She didn't even have time to react!

The aura that Zhu Wuyao emitted during his seclusion brought a sense of urgency to some disciples of the Star-Picking Tower, and this feeling would spread.

Seeing his fellow disciples choosing to set up barriers and engage in meditation, he felt that if he didn't follow suit, he would fall behind.

This is the power of involution!

Looking at the various sizes of barriers, Sect Leader Fang said with some helplessness:

“Young Song asked me a long time ago if he could comprehend the Purple Qi.”

Elder Xiaobai was a rigid man; he couldn't even get a liking for Xu San'er, let alone Song Kezi.

"Hmph, how could he possibly comprehend it?"

“I told him this a long time ago. Maybe one day he’ll look up and realize it.”

Little did they know, one of the necessary conditions for comprehending the Purple Qi was—

When neither Heaven nor man nor the purple aura knows, take advantage of their unpreparedness, suddenly look up, and at the same time be pondering the relevant matter in your heart.

Therefore, Gu Yiguan was capable, because she was intelligent enough to keep everything to herself and not show her emotions. After receiving an answer that was almost identical to Song Kezi's, she acted with wisdom.

Zhang Zhihan is also an option.

Because of his peculiar behavior, one moment he's contemplating the infinite universe, the next he's looking up to comprehend the purple aura—this is something he's perfectly capable of doing.

But Shen Anzhi cannot.

Because his temperament is predictable, his actions can be deduced.

But Song Kezi wouldn't listen; he insisted on trying and even asked:

"If I look up every day, will I be able to understand it faster?"

Sect Leader Fang had already said it back then:

"I feel like you'll never figure it out in your lifetime."

But Song Kezi stubbornly refused to believe it and insisted on continuing to try.

Sect Leader Fang is not omniscient.

If Zhu Wuyao knew the conditions for comprehending the Purple Qi as understood by Sect Leader Fang, he would certainly be able to make a more concise summary.

Isn't this the observer effect?

At the moment of observation, the act of "observation" itself will affect the observed.

Therefore, to comprehend the Purple Qi, one needs to place oneself in a state where one is not "calculated" and erase one's observer status.

Zhu Wuyao was just now analyzing the Dao of Heaven using theological and science fiction thinking.

When thoughts and actions are in a state of "unknowable" chaos, that sudden, unexpected look up can happen.