Chapter 46

Inside the Immortal Abode.

Yang Mei looked at the two, his expression becoming increasingly unnatural.

"You can talk about your things."

"Why do you have to block me?"

A faint halo surrounded the old man and the youth.

It isolated everything.

Yang Mei was completely unable to hear the content they were currently discussing.

He could only see signs of the Time River rioting behind Li Xiang from time to time.

He and Hongjun seemed to be plotting something.

Yang Mei was still somewhat confused.

He had not yet sorted out the time-space relationship within this.

He had merely observed the Time River, wanting to drag Li Xiang's most powerful side from the future to the present.

To increase Li Xiang's strength to play against Hongjun.

To deflate this old fellow's ego.

Great figures attain the Dao once and for all; those who could potentially step into the Seventh Step had long since leaped out of the river.

Perhaps the time periods they leaped out were different—some in the upper reaches of the Time River, some in the lower reaches.

But!

These people must have all been standing on the bank.

As for the rest, those who could be fished out of the river by him,

logically speaking, were all beings who could never take the Seventh Step.

If no new timeline was born, then it was likely they could never take that step.

But now,

what was going on with this Li Xiang?

Fishing in the river and catching a whale?

A Ninth Step mighty figure.

This was simply absurd!

"Am I dreaming?"

"Or have I fallen into another time-space loop?"

For a moment, Yang Mei was a bit confused about the karma and logic within this.

He wondered if there was a pair of invisible hands in the dark.

Invisibly, everything today had been set long ago.

Everything he did today was a predetermined trace.

Yang Mei was lost in confusion.

"Did this person attain the Dao first, and then come to let me invite him?"

"Or was it because I invited him that he attained the Dao?"

When everything involves time, even Yang Mei becomes somewhat at a loss.

He could not distinguish who was the cause and who was the effect between him and Li Xiang.

The Ninth Step!

Unspeakable, unthinkable.

To speak of it is to be wrong; to think of it is to be fallacious.

*Rumble—*

While he was pondering, the Time River rioted again.

Looking up, it was the change caused by Li Xiang and Hongjun playing chess.

Ever since this fellow descended here to play against Hongjun,

every time they placed a piece, the Time River would riot once.

Very strange.

*Clack! *

Before the chessboard, Li Xiang gently picked up a piece and placed it.

He revealed a smile.

He and Hongjun were playing chess—a grand game that encompassed the entire heavens.

"This move is placed three million years ago; what do you think, Daoist friend?"

"Good!"

"This move should be activated at the beginning of heaven and earth; what do you think, Daoist friend?"

"Good!"

"This move, this move, and this move—stepping into the Seventh Step five million years later; what do you think?"

"Very good!"

Unlike the original chessboard,

the current chessboard had undergone earth-shaking changes.

If the previous chessboard was just a game simulating a war of the heavens,

then the current chessboard had directly manifested the true heavens.

The game they were playing now—every piece truly acted upon the heavens.

The chessboard was vast, and one after another, massive worlds shone brightly on it.

Vaguely, it seemed one could see many terrifying and majestic existences standing within them.

The two played their pieces, and a casual move changed the fate of a giant.

Using the heavens as a chessboard to plot the past and present.

The two played their pieces as if they were destiny.

This was a chess game that required bearing monstrous karma; those who were not giants could not observe, see, or hear it.

One must know,

every piece placed here changed the fate of a giant.

It would cause changes like the butterfly effect, causing earth-shaking changes downstream in time.

Such karmic power—if one were not careful, even those who had already reached the shore could be rolled up by this karma and fall back into the water.

Once in the water,

one sinks within, and one's fate is no longer one's own.

It is no wonder Li Xiang and Hongjun did not let Yang Mei eavesdrop.

It was called playing chess, but in reality, it was mostly Li Xiang placing pieces and changing the past, while Hongjun watched.

Before long,

more than half of the chessboard was filled with pieces.

Along with this, the entire Time River was nearing the edge of a complete riot.

Li Xiang was still suppressing the river, but his aura had become somewhat dim.

From his initial unparalleled strength, he had now become somewhat illusory.

Just like the three mighty figures who arrived at the beginning, he looked as if he were between existence and non-existence.

It seemed this was the price he paid for forcibly interfering with the Time River.

"Daoist friend, since it is so,"

"how about we call our game today a draw?"

Even at this point, he still seemed to be thinking about the chess game between him and Hongjun.

"Naturally, that is fine."

Hongjun smiled bitterly.

He had not expected Li Xiang to remember this matter again.

Seeing that the situation was mostly cleared up, Li Xiang reached out and tapped Hongjun lightly.

The Heavenly Book that had been presented on the board earlier landed by Hongjun's side.

"Daoist friend, you may take this object and give it to the one in the Purple Heaven Palace."

"I believe you will be able to see the path to transcendence in a few days."

*Clack! *

As soon as Li Xiang's words fell,

a black piece was generated on the chessboard.

Looking closely, it seemed one could see Hongjun's face within it.

This move changed Hongjun's future!

Instantly, the Time River fell into a frenzy, and surging giant waves swept through the heavens.

The Dao Ancestor is nearly the cause of all fruits; the backlash of the Time River caused by changing the Dao Ancestor's future had already transcended imagination.

The boundaries between the past, present, and future began to blur; departed giants and rising geniuses stood side by side.

Time fell into chaos.

"This is?"

Hongjun was surprised; he had never seen the Time River in such a violent state.

"No matter, a small problem."

The next moment, a pair of giant hands reached out from the void, setting everything right and restoring order.

But at the same time, Li Xiang's aura became extremely weak.

It seemed he could dissipate at any moment.

Playing chess through the ages, forcibly changing the direction of the Time River.

Naturally, one must pay a price.

"Since everything has been arranged,"

"I shall enter the river."

"In the future, if there are difficulties, I ask for your care, Daoist friend."

A Ninth Step mighty figure, after reorganizing the history of the entire Time River,

was actually preparing to step back into the river?

This made Hongjun feel it was simply inconceivable.

Great figures attain the Dao once and for all.

Not to mention a being like Li Xiang who had already reached the pinnacle of the Dao.

Even if forcibly interfering with the Time River would cause a backlash, Hongjun did not believe he would reach the point of near-demise.

Falling from the river into it.

Stepping from the supreme back into the mortal world.

One's fate is no longer one's own.

Therefore, there was only one situation that would allow such a mighty figure to enter the water.

He was doing it voluntarily.

This made it hard for him to understand why Li Xiang, having attained such a Dao, would still seek death like this.

Hongjun frowned and looked across.

To take the final step, Li Xiang plotted through the ages, forcibly changing the direction of the entire Time River to create the most suitable path to the Dao for himself.

Then, he actually intended to abandon his current status and re-enter the water.

This made Hongjun feel very hard to understand.

"Daoist friend, is this Tenth Step truly so difficult?"

"Re-entering the water, one's fate is no longer one's own."

"Once a mistake occurs, I fear you will be lost forever and never know your true self."

"At that time, let alone the final step, I fear even survival will become a dream; why do you suffer so?"

Li Xiang smiled and did not answer directly.

Instead, he looked up at Hongjun.

"If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening."

"You don't understand."

"That is why you are Hongjun, but Hongjun is not you."

He looked at Hongjun with a smile, and a phantom slowly dissipated from his body.

A soft voice slowly came from afar.

"If everything is truly a dream,"

"then I will walk the path to the Dao again, and leap over the Great Luo Heaven once more."

"If one hears the Dao in the morning, one can die in the evening."

The next moment, Li Xiang's eyes returned to their initial sharpness.

The sharpness was gone.

"Just now, what happened?"

Opening his eyes, Li Xiang asked subconsciously.

He seemed to remember something, yet seemed to remember nothing at all.

Before he could think carefully,

a purple Grandmist Qi appeared before him, circled his body, and then slowly merged into his body.

The next moment, a familiar voice slowly rang out.

【*Ding! *】

【System upgrade starting!】

【Current progress: 15%】

The update is a bit slow; please forgive me, everyone.

(End of this chapter)