Qingque's explanation wasn't particularly hard to understand, and everyone present more or less grasped some of the principles behind the jade abacus.
Over here, after hearing Stelle's remark, a flash of realization crossed March's mind. "That does sound about right, but the name 'jade abacus' sounds much nicer."
"And besides, what ordinary computer would have such a mysterious origin? Technology personally guided by the Erudition Aeon..."
"In Miss Herta's space station, I've never seen anything related to the Erudition Aeon."
Qingque shrugged. "Anyway, don't get hung up on what it's called. As long as the mechanism works effectively, what difference does it make whether it's a jade abacus or a computer?"
"Let's go. We're almost at the core of the Matrix of Prescience. The Master Diviner should already be waiting for us."
Then, under Qingque's lead, everyone followed the steps downward until they reached the core of the Matrix of Prescience. From afar, with just one glance, they could see a small figure standing there.
That figure had pink hair tied up in a style resembling a flying bun, adorned with a golden cloud-and-moon hairpin. Two low twin tails hung down.
She wore a white and purple one-piece dress patterned with auspicious clouds, with an astrolabe decoration on her chest.
Her legs were wrapped in white stockings like drifting clouds, and she wore a pair of black short boots.
She looked young, but there was a trace of authority between her brows.
Beside her, they saw a familiar figure, it was the projection of General Jing Yuan.
"Fu Xuan, how's the progress?" Jing Yuan asked. His tone was relaxed and natural. Even at such a tense moment, the Divine Foresight General carried a leisurely air, as if watching clouds drift by.
Fu Xuan let out a sigh. Compared to Jing Yuan's carefree manner, she looked rather tired.
"Acting brings misfortune, no benefit."
After Fu Xuan finished speaking, Jing Yuan said lightly, "Fu Xuan, please speak plainly."
"..."
Fu Xuan fell silent for a moment, then began to explain the hexagram. "A great calamity is imminent, that is the fortune of the Divination Commission today."
"The Matrix of Prescience has stopped operating, the talismans have dimmed, and there are still Stellaron-corrupted evils within the department."
"The Cloud Knights are busy protecting the people, and though I wish to restore the formation, I have no manpower to use."
"In such a situation, we still have to trace the source of the ominous sign that replicates others. If that's not a great calamity, what is?"
Looking at Fu Xuan, Jing Yuan chuckled softly, "Haha, the one standing before me is the Fu Xuan known as 'foreseeing before it happens, with nothing escaping her sight.' Avoiding misfortune and seeking fortune isn't your specialty?"
Fu Xuan raised her brows. "No need to pour me that chicken soup, General. The rise and fall of fortune is the natural order of heaven. Don't think you can dodge it with clever tricks."
"The Divination Commission only lays out fortune and misfortune before us and tries its best to make the right choice. We do not possess the divine power to turn the heavens and earth upside down."
Meanwhile, Nero and the others had drawn closer.
From time to time, a sentence or two of Jing Yuan and Fu Xuan's conversation drifted into their ears.
Yanqing suddenly paused for a moment, then quickly caught up again.
Hearing Fu Xuan mention the power to overturn heaven and earth made him think of the move Tianqing that he had learned from Nero.
Because that move had left such a deep impression on the young genius, it naturally brought to mind its incantation.
"The impure sinks and the pure rises, heaven and earth turn upside down, the land overturns and the sky collapses." Which line of this wasn't describing a heaven-defying divine power?
Although the incantation sounded overly exaggerated and flashy, when he thought back carefully, on that day when Nero used that sword move for him, it really did throw that entire cavern realm into chaos.
Yanqing was a very driven and resilient child. That sword move had even left him dispirited for quite a long time, which showed just how vast the gap was between it and what he himself could do.
Thinking about it carefully, Yanqing didn't feel that the incantation was just empty words.
After all, when Nero used that move, although it didn't truly overturn heaven and earth, it still plunged that cavern realm into darkness, with flying sand and raging winds.
Even now, recalling that scene made one feel lingering fear.
Yanqing still remembered how the cavern where the two of them often sparred had suffered that day. As Nero executed his sword move, one could see...
'Violent winds howled, black clouds twisted together. The fierce wind roared like blades, black clouds churned and covered the sky, purple lightning surged and roared like a dragon!'
The dense forest was crushed, rivers flowed in reverse. Trees were pressed to the ground, rivers surged upward into the sky, and with a single sword, radiant light poured forth!'
'Beasts trembled in terror, green mountains split apart, thick earth rose and floated, the heavenly river poured down, old dragons hung upside down, divine weapons shattered! Armies could not withstand it, ancient beasts could hardly survive!'
'Truly a remarkable technique!'
Thinking about it again now, Yanqing could only sigh. Nero really was worthy of being a genius who used ancient sword control techniques, completely without relying on flying mechanisms.
Even he couldn't help but feel envious of Nero's talent.
For someone like this, Yanqing's deepest impression matched exactly the description of the protagonist in "Cosmic Sword Immortal", "This one person alone can dominate for tens of thousands of years; this single body alone can embody peerless brilliance for hundreds of millions of years!"
Sometimes, Yanqing couldn't help but think that perhaps he, who sparred with Nero every day, was actually the one who understood him best. In this regard, even the General might not compare to him.
At this moment, Jing Yuan, who was talking with Fu Xuan, spoke again, "Precisely because of that, we need Fu Xuan to take action."
"To capture the source of this elusive ominous sign, none other than the foresight of Fu Xuan will do. As for manpower support, Fu Xuan, could it be that you haven't already guessed?"
"Didn't you already know that I arranged a squad for this matter, along with a special force? Look, they've arrived."
Qingque said, "Master Diviner, we're all here!"
Fu Xuan smiled faintly and glanced at Jing Yuan, "...Though the General uses people by seizing every opportunity without holding back… it's not like he doesn't know how to be considerate.
"Setting aside the Astral Express group, these five should be the most capable combination among the younger generation right now, right?"
Jing Yuan shrugged slightly and said nothing.
Only the faint smile at the corner of his mouth showed that gathering these five together for the mission was his deliberate arrangement.
The difficulty of the mission involving the ominous sign that replicates others was one reason, so naturally he needed reliable people.
Whether it was Nero, Yanqing, Qingque, or Bailu and Huohuo… all of them were exceptionally talented and possessed extraordinary destinies.
No matter how they usually acted, their strength was unquestionable, and their reliability didn't need much worrying.
As for the second reason… it was probably because of that gathering he happened to see that day in Aurum Alley.
Afterward, Fu Xuan turned to Nero and the others and said, "Although this child Qingque usually seems unreliable, she does try her best at critical moments."
Qingque raised her hand and scratched her head.
Being praised like this to her face by the Master Diviner was honestly a bit embarrassing.
It wasn't that Boss Qingque had suddenly become thin-skinned. It was mainly because not long ago, she had been thinking about showing up late and leaving early…
Then Fu Xuan continued, "Since everyone is here, I won't waste more words."
"The Divination Commission is short on manpower. I need you all to help restart the foundation of the Matrix of Prescience, while also taking the opportunity to eliminate the Stellaron-corrupted evils."
"We don't really understand this formation!" Stelle spread her hands.
"No matter. Qingque will guide you along the way. As for eliminating the Stellaron-corrupted evils, I'll have to trouble you all more."
After the tasks were assigned, Nero's voice came from the side. "I was thinking, in the end, this Matrix of Prescience is just a machine."
"I happen to have some methods that I'm fairly good at when it comes to this. Why not let me give it a try? That way, maybe we won't have to be too busy."
Everyone followed the voice and saw Nero take a few steps forward and squat in front of the ritual platform at the core of the Matrix of Prescience.
Seeing this, Mr. Yang's eyebrows twitched wildly, and some questions he had never been able to figure out surged back into his mind.
Thinking back to what happened to Pascal that day, he still hadn't figured it out.
But this place was the Xianzhou, basically Nero's home turf. Presumably, it shouldn't be a problem…
Just as Mr. Yang thought that people on the Luofu should already be familiar with Nero's methods and probably wouldn't be surprised or confused by his "divine move," he heard Fu Xuan ask, "What method?"
Squatting by the ritual platform, Nero raised his hand high and said, "This one!"
Fu Xuan's gaze lingered on that jade-like white arm for a moment, confusion flickering in her eyes as she couldn't understand what Nero meant.
Although she did know that Nero had once fixed a malfunctioning automaton with a simple pat, an automaton was an automaton, and the Matrix of Prescience was the Matrix of Prescience.
If even the Matrix of Prescience could be repaired with just a pat from him, then if the people from the Artisanship Commission found out, wouldn't they feel that everything they had learned was useless, beating their chests and crying bitterly?
In serious cases, some might even want to die to prove a point…
Fu Xuan shook her head. "Nero, don't tease me."