"What if I get lucky?"
Mu Lingyao said dismissively, "Maybe I'm that one-in-a-hundred-thousand lucky one."
"Alright, even if you get lucky and truly become that one-in-a-hundred-thousand lucky one, how many times can your luck hold out?"
Flower Butterfly Immortal said softly, "Don't forget, challenging the Tower of Stolen Gold doesn't start from the forty-fourth layer, but from the first layer. Starting from the ninth layer, the odds are one in ten; the tenth layer is one in twenty; the fifteenth layer is one in fifty; the eighteenth layer is one in a hundred."
Pausing briefly, Flower Butterfly Immortal continued, "That is to say, if you want to reach the forty-fifth layer and claim that billion-immortal-stone prize, you need to be lucky over forty times. You might get lucky once, twice, even ten times, but can you be lucky twenty, thirty, over forty times in a row?"
"Sister Flower Butterfly, I was just joking," Mu Lingyao said somewhat aggrievedly. "Why are you taking it so seriously? Really."
"I'm doing this for your own good. If I don't talk some sense into you, you'll get addicted. Every time the Tower of Stolen Gold opens, look how excited you get. Do you even know that the Tower of Stolen Gold is essentially a form of gambling? It's fine to play occasionally, but you absolutely must not get addicted."
"Alright, alright, I know! I find you're getting more and more long-winded as you get older."
No woman likes to hear others call her old, and Flower Butterfly Immortal was no exception. Hearing Mu Lingyao call her old, she laughed and scolded, "You little brat, who are you calling old?"
"No one! I was talking about myself. But... Sister Flower Butterfly, I remember you once said that although the Formations in the Tower of Stolen Gold are ever-changing and different each time they evolve, there are still patterns to follow, right?"
Hearing that the Tower of Stolen Gold's Formations had patterns to follow, Qian Ling also asked curiously, "Do the Tower of Stolen Gold's Formations really have patterns to follow?"
"Between heaven and earth, all Formations have patterns to follow, only... they're too difficult and too profound."
Flower Butterfly Immortal pondered for a moment, then said, "The Tower of Stolen Gold uses the Qiankun Bagua Formation as its main Formation. Each time it opens, the Qiankun Bagua Formation evolves countless Teleportation Formations, and the Formations evolved each time are different. To successfully advance to a higher layer, one relies on three parts Comprehension, three parts divine sense, and three parts reaction speed, thereby deducing the Teleportation Formation leading to the next layer from among the many Formations."
"However, saying this is easy, but doing it isn't so simple. Especially since the number of Formations increases with each layer. Someone might be able to deduce the Formation leading to the next layer from four, six, or even more Formations. But trying to deduce the Formation leading to the next layer from dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of Formations is as difficult as ascending to the heavens."
"Most crucially, the Formation evolves and activates in just a few breaths. Trying to deduce the Formation leading to the next layer in such a short time is nearly impossible."
Qian Ling nodded, agreeing in her heart.
She had also challenged the Tower of Stolen Gold, though she had only reached the sixth layer at most.
Based on her few experiences, she felt that challenging the Tower of Stolen Gold also relied on one's own Comprehension, divine sense, and reaction speed—all three were indispensable—though the element of luck played a larger role.
Just as Flower Butterfly Immortal had said, the Tower of Stolen Gold's Formations evolved and activated in just a few short breaths. Trying to deduce the Formation leading to the next layer from hundreds or thousands of Formations in such a short time was truly too difficult.
Not to mention hundreds or thousands of Formations, even deducing which one among two or three Formations could lead to the next layer was something she couldn't do.
Qian Ling couldn't do it, Mu Lingyao couldn't do it, and Flower Butterfly Immortal couldn't do it either. None of them dared to be completely certain which Formation would definitely lead to the next layer.
Qian Niao said, "But I've heard many people say that some can deduce which Formation leads to the next layer from four or five Formations."
"Silly girl, don't believe those rumors in the future. Sister can tell you responsibly that all rumors about the Tower of Stolen Gold are lies."
Mu Lingyao said, "The Tower of Stolen Gold's Formations do indeed have patterns to follow, and the Formation leading to the next layer can indeed be deduced, but it's only a deduction. No one dares say the result of the deduction is definitely correct."
"But then why do many people manage to climb very high every time they challenge the Tower of Stolen Gold?"
"How to put this... Although the result of the deduction cannot be confirmed as definitely correct, it at least has some reference value."
Qian Niao didn't quite understand. "Reference value?"
"Let me put it this way: if you meet ten strangers, and one of them is a bad person, can you tell which one is the bad person?"
"Since they're strangers, I definitely wouldn't know them. If I don't know them, how could I know which one is the bad person?"
Mu Lingyao gave an analogy: "But if it were an experienced senior, someone who has seen much of the world and met many people, with sharp eyes, they could roughly guess which few might be bad people based on the subtle behaviors or even a glance of the ten strangers. Then they could make a judgment from among those few. Of course, it's only a judgment; the senior still couldn't be certain which one is the true bad person."
Hearing Mu Lingyao's explanation, Qian Niao roughly understood and said happily, "So, when challenging the Tower of Stolen Gold, the sixth layer has seven Formations with a one-in-seven chance. Most people can only rely on luck. But for those with high Comprehension, strong divine sense, and fast reaction speed, although they can't accurately determine which Formation leads to the next layer, through deduction, they can identify a few Formations that might be the Teleportation Formation to the next layer. Then they can make a judgment from among these Formations. In other words, the original one-in-seven chance can become lower through deduction—maybe one in four, one in three, or even one in two..."
"Little Qian Niao is so clever."
After praising her, Mu Lingyao added, "Sister Flower Butterfly's Comprehension, divine sense, and reaction speed are all higher than mine, so she always climbs higher than I do in the Tower of Stolen Gold."
"Ah, really? Sister Flower Butterfly, what's the highest layer you've ever reached?"
Before Flower Butterfly Immortal could speak, Mu Lingyao spoke first: "Her? She's reached the nineteenth layer."
Hearing that Flower Butterfly Immortal had once reached the nineteenth layer, Qian Niao was filled with admiration.
"That time I reached the nineteenth layer, luck played a big part. If I were to challenge it again, I might not be able to climb that high."
Flower Butterfly Immortal wasn't being modest; that was simply the truth. Back when she reached the nineteenth layer, she challenged it several more times afterward but never reached the nineteenth layer again. Not only did she not reach the nineteenth layer, sometimes she was teleported out before even reaching the ninth layer.
"Even so, Sister Flower Butterfly, you're still amazing. If the Tower of Stolen Gold opens every time, wouldn't you win a lot of prizes each time?"
"Silly girl, do you think your Sister Flower Butterfly is a god? She also misjudges sometimes. If she could win steadily every time she challenged the Tower of Stolen Gold, wouldn't the organizers lose everything? Let me tell you, the Tower of Stolen Gold's waters run deep. The organizers also guard against people like Sister Flower Butterfly. They evolve some Formations that look very much like they lead to the next layer, but are actually just illusions."
Perhaps recalling some amusing incidents, Mu Lingyao said, "Your Sister Flower Butterfly has fallen for it several times. Once, she was teleported out by an illusionary Teleportation Formation on the fourth layer. Another time, she was teleported out on the third layer. You have no idea what everyone's expressions were like when Sister Flower Butterfly was teleported out. It was hilarious. That time, Sister Flower Butterfly was utterly embarrassed. Since then, she rarely goes to the Tower of Stolen Gold anymore."
"Why?"
"Afraid of losing face, of course. The illustrious Flower Butterfly Immortal, once a master who reached the nineteenth layer, ended up getting thrown out on the third layer. How embarrassing is that?"