Chapter 354

It was as if Lin Yi had finally remembered, and he answered the question that Xi had asked at the very beginning.

"I know."

Xi nodded. She had already seen it through her "eyes"—Lin Yi had indeed not yet attained the Dao; he was still an ordinary Dao Harmonizer, not a Dao Master.

It was just that the Dao Sword in his hand possessed the power of a Dao Master.

"What exactly did you see through the Dao of Time? Why give me such a 'great gift'? I don't seem worthy of such treatment from you, do I?"

Lin Yi asked.

"No, you are worthy."

Xi shook her head. As if affirming it, she spoke again, repeating, "You are worthy."

Behind Lin Yi, the phantom of the Creation Realm appeared. Three figures tore through space and emerged at Lin Yi's side. Then, the strange Dao Rhyme belonging to a Dao Master circulated, covering the entire Void Realm.

This made the brows of Sword and Emperor furrow slightly. They had originally felt that although the plan had failed, there was still a sliver of a chance to salvage it.

But now… the enemy had five Dao Master-level combatants, while they only had three…

As for those half-step Dao Masters… they could flee, and they could resist for a time, but if they were truly made to attack together, at most, it would only result in a stalemate.

Both sides could leave at will; they couldn't even be trapped!

Pei Yuhan was dressed in white, holding a long Sword, with it slung across her back. Her dark hair flowed like a waterfall, drifting with her Aura, and the Aura of the Dao Master of the Sword Dao on her was sharp and dazzling.

Her cold, clear eyes swept over them, causing many great cultivators to retreat, avoiding her edge to prevent their cultivation from being damaged by this Dao Rhyme.

Lu Jiajing's expression was peaceful, her clear, beautiful eyes like a lake of untroubled spring water. Her pale green hair hung down slightly, and her green dress perfectly outlined her slender figure.

She also held a long Sword in her hand, but it was not sharp; it only possessed a gentle, moistening quality, like rain nourishing all things silently.

Jiang Miaoxuan's black dress was like the night, and only her exposed wrists and neck were dazzlingly white. Her ink-colored pupils and waterfall-like hair made her skin appear even more translucent and white.

Her crystal-clear earlobes appeared faintly amidst her hair. Her skin was fair and delicate, and her features were exquisite, carrying an ethereal indifference unlike that of a mortal.

If anyone's gaze fell upon her, they would only feel the circulation of Yin and Yang, and the shifting of the Dragon and Tiger.

The three Fairies, plus Lin Yi and the Immortal Court Master, Qiming, faced these countless great cultivators, yet it was they who caused all these great cultivators to collectively take a step back.

They hadn't expected that they would just be coming to help out, only to end up facing five Dao Masters.

In the past, who didn't need millions of years to have a single chance to encounter a Dao Master?

If it were normal times, they would probably have stepped forward to ask for guidance, but now… they truly dared not. If they were mistaken for intending to attack, a casual strike from the other side would mean their death and the dissipation of their Dao.

Xi, Sword, and Emperor did not move their feet, and the Goddess of Life and the others did not act either, though their expressions were slightly more tense.

"Xi?" Sword's gaze carried a questioning tone.

"Xi?" Emperor also looked at Xi. Both of them were vaguely protecting Xi within their formation.

Because… if there was still a chance, it could only depend on Xi. Her Dao position, that one named [Present and Past], was the second Dao position of the Dao of Time!

Xi had just spoken so much with Lin Yi; naturally, it couldn't be just because villains are talkative.

She was pruning the branches and leaves of the tree of time, searching in the past for new possibilities, which meant… changing the future.

From the moment she first saw Lin Yi and discovered that he possessed the unexpected power of a Dao Master, she knew that as someone favored by time, she had been played by time.

The more one trusts time, the more one wants to toy with time, the more one will be toyed with by time.

But… even if she had been played, even if it seemed she had already failed now, the heavenly secret she had obtained with her Dao position and Life was not fake; there must still be a chance…

Xi believed this, and as a Dao Master holding [Present and Past], her true self had always been in the past, not the present. For her, the present was merely the future.

Since it was the future… let the future be the future.

…

Every branch and every leaf of the tree of time was a possibility; countless branches and countless leaves represented countless possibilities.

As the roots representing the "past" continuously extended, the trunk representing the "present" continuously grew.

One of the branches would become the direction of the trunk's growth; this was how the "future" became the "present."

But what if, before that, that branch had already been pruned?

Wouldn't the future become something controllable?

Xi walked among the countless branches and leaves, reaching out to gently stroke the leaves that seemed to drift with the wind, then letting go and reaching out again to the leaves beside them.

As she walked past, the branches and leaves behind her withered and fell.

…

The scene seemed to have become a storytelling session. The atmosphere, which should have been tense and ready to explode, was now strange and bizarre.

This left those great cultivators, who could be called Dao Venerables or Sword Masters, feeling somewhat baffled. They weren't fighting, just killing time here—were they playing a waiting game?

They all wanted to ask Lin Yi if there was still a chance to make a new choice, if they could choose to leave this time, but… they dared not.

First, they were afraid that if they made any moves, they would be killed by the other side; second, Xi and the other two were right in front of them. If they surrendered now, wouldn't they just be killed by them?

Therefore, everyone just looked at each other. Leaving wasn't an option, and staying wasn't either, so the atmosphere became increasingly bizarre.

However, the promise Lin Yi had made earlier made them feel slightly more at ease.

Even if they died and their Dao dissipated, it wouldn't affect others—at least their own friends and family would be safe.

"A very, very long time ago…" Xi reminisced.

"A Dao Master of the Dao of Heavenly Secrets told me that this world was sick. We observed together, calculating for over fifty-eight thousand years, and finally confirmed this fact: this world is dying."

"So, she and I searched together for hope to save the world. After three hundred and fifty thousand years, she severed her own Dao position and sacrificed her Life, finally obtaining a sliver of heavenly secret."

"In the future, there is an existence who possesses a special power that can help us seek the rebirth of the world."

The many great cultivators behind Xi all changed color slightly. They undoubtedly believed in Xi; after all, Xi was a Dao Master, while they were only Dao Harmonizers. They were still trapped within fate, while Xi had transcended fate.

Lin Yi listened quietly. He always felt he had overlooked something. There was always a strange feeling lingering in his heart, making him want to wipe away the mist on the glass in front of him to see the answer behind it clearly.

As a Dao Master, could one perceive that layer of the Inner World film on the surface of this world?

Lin Yi pondered this question. What Xi called the world being sick indeed referred to the "Inner World" covering the surface world.

Lin Yi's intuition told him that this did not belong to his previous situation—the "Immortal Emperor Qiming committed suicide because she perceived the Inner World" which was merely a speculation but ultimately wrong.

Xi and the others had truly discovered the existence of the Inner World.

Then, had the other Dao Masters perceived it? Lin Yi sensed through the Dao position on Sword, but gained nothing.

Before he used his special "vision," everything in front of him was normal.

Lin Yi asked as soon as he thought of it, "Have the other Dao Masters discovered it?"

"…No." Xi paused her story slightly and shook her head gently.

"Even Sword and Emperor by my side only believe in me, which is why they became the executors of this plan."

"Have you sought out other Dao Masters?" Lin Yi asked again.

"I have, but they did not believe."

Xi nodded and answered frankly, but her figure became increasingly illusory, and her voice carried a buzzing sound, as if from a radio with a bad signal.

Lin Yi knew that Xi was doing something with her Dao position, but he couldn't detect it, which made him feel slightly helpless. He could only continue to exchange information with her here.

Xi continued, "So, after she died, I established the Time Holy Court and began searching for this sliver of vitality."

"Finally, three million five hundred thousand years after that, I found a trace, and that is… you."

"Me?" Lin Yi felt he was about to grasp something, but he was still just a little bit off.

"Yes, you. Within you, there is a special power that can suppress, or even reverse, the death of the world."

"It is like making a withered stump grow and sprout again, although I do not know what that is…"

"But… I only need to catch you after you have walked here and refine you to obtain that hope."

Xi did not hide anything and stated it very frankly.

"And at that time, Qiming will also completely attain the Dao and become one of us."

"To prevent an extra Dao Harmonizer from appearing by your side, causing our capture plan to go wrong, we must catch you before Qiming attains the Dao."

Xi continued.

"So, in Qiming's suicide, you had a hand in it?" Lin Yi asked back; he seemed to understand something.

"Yes." Xi nodded. "Whether it was those Immortal Kings and Demon Sovereigns, or Xiao Xiyue, or your schemes in the Shengan Domain, the attainment of the Dao by Life, or even that Saint, Qiu Ding…"

"I was involved in all of them."

"Although I could not see you, and even the people around you had their fates disrupted and could not be observed, through calculation, these links all fell into place just as I had expected."

"Additionally, that Saint… he was indeed a Saint. He saw through part of my intentions, so he simply used his own cultivation to gather the Luck of the Human Race and severed part of Qiongming's Origin."

"Along the way, he also cut off the hundred races, allowing the Human Race to flourish… killing many birds with one stone. Heroes are indeed as numerous as carp crossing the river…"

"I have a doubt: why can I not see Your Excellency? Even those Dao Masters, I can see a thing or two of them. Could it be… that Your Excellency attained the Dao of Time in the future?"

"And so, Your Excellency's past was also obscured?"

Although Xi was asking, her tone was very calm.

Regarding this, Lin Yi was not sure, but he knew why Xi couldn't see Pei Yuhan and the others clearly—it was probably the System's "protection."

After pulling them out of the Inner World, it also incidentally added a shield from the temporal level.

After all, in the Inner World, things like time stopping and world modulation were quite common.

Although he had only seemed to encounter one on his journey—that True Desire Sect leader—perhaps the Xi in front of him counted as one too?

Lin Yi lowered his eyes slightly and did not reply. He had already confirmed that speculation. With a thought, he opened the System panel, and his gaze fell upon a task on it.

[Immortal Emperor Yueming: Sever the great hand extended by the Time Holy Court toward the Yueming Domain.]

[Reward: Dao position Yin-Yang Union]

"I think I understand." Lin Yi put away the System panel, raised his head, and locked eyes with Xi. There was no pity on his face, only regret and a touch of realization.

"Oh? You understand?" Xi was somewhat puzzled.

Looking at Lin Yi's expression, it didn't seem like he was just answering casually to indicate he knew. It was as if he had deduced something from her words.

"I understand." Lin Yi nodded calmly. "So that's it; you are a link in my attainment of the Dao."

"I… am a link in your attainment of the Dao?" Xi's voice paused. Her figure was already extremely illusory; using the Dao position [Present and Past] was not without its costs.

…

The 6,197,319,431st time.

Xi landed, gently touched the branch in front of her, paused briefly, shook her head, and walked toward the next tree crown again.

…

The 461,976,464,646th time.

The tree crowns behind Xi all withered and even began to decay. As the power of time circulated, they eventually turned into fly ash; these possibilities were erased.

Of course, possibilities did not represent the real future; they were just "possibilities." Therefore, Xi still had to walk toward the next tree crown.