Chapter 461

Impossible to understand.

Is it the yin energy here that has disrupted time, or does this world involve reincarnation and life-death cycles, thereby affecting the flow of years, or some other reason?

Kamikawa Mitsu could not investigate further.

At this moment, the spacetime around him was chaotic.

The scenery in all directions alternated, as if two timelines were intersecting, swapping and overlapping each other.

These two timelines were one: the present world of blood-soaked yin soil; the other: the yin soil world of a great battle long past.

The past and present worlds crossed, the scenes sometimes blurred, sometimes real, sometimes chaotic—like a cinema projecting two film reels simultaneously onto a single screen, their images superimposed.

Did my arrival disrupt this place?

Or did I arrive here precisely when time became disordered?

Kamikawa Mitsu thought rapidly.

There was too little information to determine the cause.

The time distortion continued, intensifying; Kamikawa Mitsu did not know what would happen next here.

Then he would respond to all change with stillness.

Kamikawa Mitsu stood firm, not daring to move, but activated his Immortal power—ready to react instantly, using Script Points and his own Immortal energy at the first sign of anomaly.

Then.

The scenery around him changed.

It was not Kamikawa Mitsu returning to the past.

Nor was the past overlapping with the present.

It was as if a supreme being beyond time was gazing down upon the past, standing in the present, observing the past.

Around him appeared a hazy yet clearly visible past world of yin soil.

The past.

The yin soil world was vast, dim and gloomy, eerie yet not bloody—strikingly similar to Kamikawa Mitsu's memory of the Netherworld.

The Netherworld was filled with ghostly qi, cold yin winds, mountains and rivers shrouded in dark nether qi—this was the world of the dead, where souls rested and reincarnated.

But here, a great battle had occurred.

Countless beings fought here: ghosts, demons, Buddhas, gods, devils, immortals—all present, indistinguishable as good or evil, impossible to tell which side belonged to the yin soil world.

Of course, perhaps neither side did.

These beings were all extremely powerful, mostly gods and demons, with even stronger ones among them—each wielding divine arts with devastating ferocity.

Casualties were horrific; after a short while, bones piled into mountains, turning the land into a chaotic graveyard.

Kamikawa Mitsu withdrew his gaze and turned to another direction.

There too, battle raged—many gods and demons clashed; several among them displayed exceptional strength, swinging fists, forming divine seals, unleashing arts to slay or repel massive beings.

Presumably, these were the elite of both sides.

Like two ancient armies clashing, with ranks: squad leaders, company commanders… up to generals.

These few gods and demons were, in effect, the company commanders of their respective armies, holding considerable power and status.

Their strength was formidable; they effortlessly cut off advancing beings and forced back reinforcements.

Powerful as they were,

it did not mean they were invincible—opposing sides had their own company commanders of equal rank and power.

These beings noticed the situation and advanced without a word, attacking.

Divine arts flashed like lightning, countless and myriad, covering the entire region—too many to tell which one came from whom.

Those few powerful gods and demons were pierced through their bodies.

"Roar!!"

Kamikawa Mitsu's gaze flickered—he saw a thousand-armed giant roaring.

Tall as a great mountain, its gaping mouth spewed fangs, terrifying beyond measure; its thousand arms swung together, with only a handful of beings able to resist.

Those who could not were crushed into pulp.

"This is the final battle—we cannot retreat! We must reset everything!"

A deep, heavy roar erupted across the sky, shaking all beings here—those of lesser strength either bled from seven orifices or exploded.

A figure emerged from the ancient city, walking with hands clasped behind his back; countless ferocious beasts lunged at him, yet died before even touching his robes.

The company commanders rushed forward to meet him; colossal beasts stomped down stars, swallowing sun and moon—immensely powerful—but before this figure with hands behind his back, they were like straw men.

A flash of light, countless figures flew apart—no one could halt his steps.

Only when another towering figure descended from the heavens—as if punching through the mortal realm into the Netherworld, entering from the world of the living—did he finally halt the figure's advance.

Kamikawa Mitsu did not focus on that towering figure; from start to finish, his gaze remained fixed on the one with hands behind his back.

He had seen this figure before—not just once, but the body now lay quietly in his storage ring.

This was the Re-Tong Immortal corpse!

"Did he notice me?"

Another strange scene appeared—the figure with hands behind his back, as he advanced and pushed forward, seemed to pass by where Kamikawa Mitsu stood and glanced toward him.

That gaze was no casual glance—it was a look of recognition, as if he had noticed something.

Yet after looking, his brow slightly furrowed, a flicker of confusion passed through his eyes—Kamikawa Mitsu knew that look well: when someone mistakes an illusion for reality, they express exactly that expression.

"What did that mean?"

Seeing the Re-Tong Immortal glance away and no longer look at him, Kamikawa Mitsu turned his attention to the words the figure had spoken.

Final battle?

Who was he fighting?

Without warning, Kamikawa Mitsu once again surveyed this realm—this final battle had erupted here for a reason; it must be significant, or they would never have chosen this place for such a great war.

"Rebirth, the Other Shore—could it be because of this?"

Kamikawa Mitsu spoke, his brow furrowed, solely because of the other's final words: "You must reset everything!"

For some reason, he unexpectedly recalled the original battlefield—without any warning.

It must be that this brutal battle of mine rivals the brutality of the original battlefield, which is why I thought of it.

Kamikawa Mitsu pondered himself, shook his head, and continued thinking.

"Why did the double-pupiled one say 'do not retreat,' not 'do not lose'?"

Generally, in a great battle between two sides, victory or defeat is what matters; retreating is acceptable—even in the final battle, one may retreat to regroup and fight again.

Of course, retreating might trigger a chain reaction, and the result of that reaction is defeat—that's why they said 'do not retreat.'

But if that were the case, they should have instinctively said 'do not lose.'

Retreat inherently means defeat; ordinary minds would naturally say 'do not lose'—this is a fixed pattern of thought.

Yet the other clearly said 'do not retreat.'

Unless…

This final battle can be lost—but one must not retreat.

You may lose, but not a single step back!

"Maybe this guy is unusual, afraid to use the word 'lose'?" Kamikawa Mitsu murmured, then thought it unlikely.

They've already reached the final battle—they must have endured at least one or two brutal wars before. Those who fight now surely carry a death-defying resolve; if they feared defeat, they would never have joined—they'd have abandoned armor and weapons.

There is no such thing as the enemy fearing the word 'lose' would shake morale.

This is a transcendent war, not an ancient one. Ancient people might have been ignorant, but transcendent beings cannot be. Even if he said 'do not lose,' they'd understand it has nothing to do with the war being lost—it's merely stating a consequence.

……