Chapter 731: Tian Xie Shen

The man's expression turned grave as he stared at the black stone that had suddenly appeared on the board, and the immense power entwined around it—he knew this power all too well.

"No, this power, though stemming from the same source as the Sage Emperor, you—you've taken that step too!" The man suddenly understood: the evil egg that had escaped fifty thousand years ago had truly surpassed the former Sage Emperor and touched the pinnacle of cosmic power!

The man frowned deeply, his gaze heavy as he stared at the board.

This board was nothing more than an ordinary one; the stones held no special qualities—it merely functioned like a display, reflecting the outcomes he had deduced and foreseen. The true power lay within himself.

The man was the Supreme God of this universe, his strength reaching the heavens and earth, utterly mastering this cosmos. Even fifty thousand years ago, he had glimpsed a fragment of the future fifty thousand years ahead—but he was only the Supreme God of this universe; foreseeing events in other universes fifty thousand years hence was no easy feat.

Back then, he had merely glimpsed a fragment after breaking through; he could see no more. He did not know to what extent the stolen evil egg would grow, only that fifty thousand years later, he would perish, destroyed by a rising star from that world.

Even over these fifty thousand years, he had only intermittently glimpsed fragments concerning the evil egg—he knew the world it invaded was called the Great Thousand World, that the Sage Emperor's son called himself Tian Xie Shen, and that the Great Thousand World had poured all its strength into the Flame Sealing to imprison Tian Xie Shen.

He knew no one in the Great Thousand World had yet taken that step to reach his level, so he assumed Tian Xie Shen had not either.

But now, it seemed otherwise!

Tian Xie Shen had also glimpsed a fragment of the future! After all, he had been within the Great Thousand World at the time; though his cultivation differed, he was still within the same world, making it far easier to deduce events than for the man to peer across universes.

Tian Xie Shen had seen the vision of the future! When he invaded the Great Thousand World tens of thousands of years ago, he had seen it!

Tian Xie Shen was stronger than the Sage Emperor; his invasion of the Great Thousand World was not merely because it was a great world requiring resources and combat strength to empower his people and expand his clan for eventual retaliation.

It was also because, after surpassing the Sage Emperor and reaching that realm, he, like the man, had glimpsed a fragment of the future—he had seen his own death, his ultimate demise at the hands of the Great Thousand World!

Thus, Tian Xie Shen sought to alter that future—he could not allow those three peerless powerhouses to arise, especially the one who would kill him!

As the Supreme Ruler of this universe, the man indeed had the power to act before the future unfolded and alter its course—but in the end, he chose not to tamper with fate. He let it unfold as it would, which was why he placed down the black stone and allowed the future to come. What happened next, he would deal with later.

But just because he did nothing did not mean others would not act.

Imagine, if one day you foresaw your own death at a certain time—would you not try to change that future?

And Tian Xie Shen absolutely would!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!! The energy enveloping the board suddenly erupted in chaos—gales surged, energy gushed forth, coalescing into a human silhouette. The figure resembled the Sage Emperor from fifty thousand years ago, but the man knew: this was not the Sage Emperor, but the evil egg born from the combined power of the Sage Emperor's entire clan.

This silhouette possessed no power of its own; in a sense, it was akin to a message or a shadow of the future, merely a reflection of outcomes manifested through the man's own power.

"Hahaha! Ancestor Dragon! The future has already been changed! When I am fully resurrected, I shall conquer the Great Thousand World—then it will be your turn!"

"The Sage Emperor shall rise again!"

The man stared at the laughing silhouette in the sky, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes—if the future truly changed, if the Sage Emperor's son escaped death, was fully resurrected, and conquered the entire Great Thousand World, it would be a catastrophic disaster for both universes, greater than the one fifty thousand years ago!

They could see the future; altering it was not difficult—merely by deliberately changing certain events.

For instance, the man known as Ancestor Dragon had once considered a method: interfering with the future before the three peerless figures had left their true names. For example, Yan Emperor of the Endless Fire Domain, before breaking through the dimensional barrier and entering the Great Thousand World, had fought a legendary battle against his archenemy.

In the end, Yan Emperor defeated his archenemy with his overwhelming flame power, then self-detonated his flame body to seal the enemy's immortal soul, burning it for a thousand years.

All he needed to do was intervene at that final battle, allowing the enemy destined to be sealed to secretly escape—and thus create an "unknown future."

If the future unfolded as foreseen—Tian Xie Shen destroyed, the three peerless powerhouses born, the Great Thousand World strengthened, and they sought revenge—then Yan Emperor's archenemy could serve to restrain Yan Emperor.

Moreover, this would not alter the future, since only the outcome of the final battle would be changed.

Furthermore, Yan Emperor's continent was uniquely special: though part of the Great Thousand World's domain, it also possessed Source Qi. Its location was akin to the boundary between two universes, allowing faint traces of Source Qi to "drift" or "seep" over from this universe.

Thus, this small dimensional world was the ideal place to alter the future.

Yet in the end, the man abandoned this approach—not because he could not, but because he dared not.

At his level, one grows ever more reverent toward fate and the future. Fifty thousand years ago, when he broke through to the supreme realm and surpassed the long-reigning Sage Emperor, he had seen only a fleeting fragment of the future, barely even its shape.

After fifty thousand years, he had only gradually begun to discern more of the future's image. This proved that even at his realm, he could not fully control the future—only glimpse it.

To act would unleash consequences impossible to predict.

But Tian Xie Shen did not intend to act as he did—he intended to utterly transform the events of the future! Tian Xie Shen sought to change his own death!

Though Tian Xie Shen had reached that realm, his strength was inferior to Ancestor Dragon's, so he could only glimpse fragments concerning himself—he saw glimpses of his battles with Yan Emperor and Wu Zu, and because of these two interferences, the third master of the Mu Mansion fully matured, becoming the first in the Great Thousand World to step into that realm.

In the end, he died at the hands of the Mu Mansion's master.

Killing the Mu Mansion's master directly would not alter Tian Xie Shen's fate, for those two others would also reach that realm—there were three of them!

To change this future, the simplest solution was: never let Yan Emperor appear!

What if, during the final battle between Yan Emperor and his archenemy Hun Tian Di, when the Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade clashed with the Henggu Chi, the Emperor-Slaying Ghost Blood Blade suddenly grew stronger—and Hun Tian Di defeated Yan Emperor? What then?

That battle was the turning point of the worldline—the Great Thousand World needed Yan Emperor, but Tian Xie Shen needed Hun Tian Di!

Hearing Tian Xie Shen's words, the man's eyes flickered with scenes—he rapidly calculated the outcome based on this conclusion and the fragments of the future he had seen over fifty thousand years. But the result plunged his heart into ice; his face darkened, his eyes turned grim!

If the one who broke through was Hun Tian Di, the worldline would be utterly overturned.

Hun Tian Di would ally with the Domain Beyond to seek power, become the lord of the faction guarding the Great Thousand World's borders, the Endless Fire Domain would become the Hun Sect, and Yan Emperor would become Hun Tian Di!

The future would be rewritten: in the Great Thousand World's final battle, Wu Zu and Hun Tian Di would join forces to resist the freed Tian Xie Shen—but as they struggled against the weakened Tian Xie Shen, Hun Tian Di would strike Wu Zu from behind, then ally with Tian Xie Shen. Wu Zu would perish, and no one in the Great Thousand World would leave behind a true name.

In the end, the Great Thousand World would be utterly defeated. Hun Tian Di would leave behind a true name. Tian Xie Shen would be fully resurrected. Both universes would sink into boundless darkness!!

The man's eyes instantly turned icy; his body radiated waves of energy—the sea around the mountain peak boiled, towering waves surged ten thousand zhang high, the sky crackled with lightning and thunder, as if the heavens themselves were collapsing.

The wrath of the Supreme God could destroy heaven and earth.

Tian Xie Shen had been sealed fifty-nine hundred years ago—he could not possibly interfere in that battle unless he had a way to cross the river of time and send his power into the future!

And this energy projection before him was the past remnant left by Tian Xie Shen—fifty-nine hundred years ago!

"I should have killed you back then!" The man's eyes blazed with murderous intent. After killing the Sage Emperor, he knew the remaining clan members had taken the evil egg and fled. He had not pursued Tian Xie Shen beyond the universe because he had glimpsed a fragment of the future—he knew Tian Xie Shen's fate: he would die at the hands of the Mu Mansion's master. So he refrained from meddling, fearing worse karmic consequences.

"Hahaha! You missed the best opportunity! The future will change because of me! I am The Great Overlord!!" The past echo of Tian Xie Shen laughed wildly, the sound piercing and grating.

Yet—just then—the laughter abruptly ceased.

The past echo of Tian Xie Shen stared blankly at the stone table's chessboard, his expression filled with disbelief: "How is this possible? Why hasn't the future changed!"

Hearing the echo's words, the man turned to look at the chessboard—and his eyes narrowed sharply: the stones had not changed a single bit! The board was identical to the future he had seen fifty thousand years ago!

(End of Chapter)