A second before he killed the Golden Immortal, Hui froze. Hold on. Lets think this through!
I needed to wait for the other Hui to proc this mont, so I could see the Golden Immortals formation and know it was destroyed before making my move. After all, even if I fully turned back ti, if I did it without understanding the purpose and principles behind the Golden Immortals array, Id have to forever be on the watch for soone else to figure it out or even for the Golden Immortal himself to recover it. Now that I know what to look for, I can quickly counter it without fear.
But to simply kill the Golden Immortal? Hes an Immortal. Hes sure to have one, two, maybe even hundreds of backups and revival plans! Dangerous, too dangerous.
I dont want to ddle in ti. If nothing else, the fact that it breaks the laws of this world is a bad sign. And of course, Ive read plenty of ti-travel books, and Ive seen the Golden Immortals bad example. I dont want to get obsessed with perfection, or constantly turn back ti. That only ends poorly and in fact, for the Golden Immortal, even repeatedly turning back only the Immortal Realm led to the other worlds breaking down. I can only imagine how much damage turning back the entire world repeatedly would do.
But, just once perhaps just once, it could be permitted?
Master, what do you think? Hui asked.
Weiheng Wu scoffed behind him. Hui turned, startled. Master?
Youve already turned back ti to this extent. What harm is there in turning it back further? Weiheng Wu asked.
Ah thats true, Hui said, scuffing his foot.
Bear in mind, however, that this world is on the brink of destruction. It needs to heal, Weiheng Wu said. He lifted his hand, turning it over. Through his arm, Hui could see his face and his robes.
Hui startled. Master?
Weiheng Wu shook his head. Damage done to the world cannot be undone by turning back ti. The ti beyond realms progresses, regardless of what we do within the realms. Even if you turn back ti to before the Golden Immortal, the damage done to the world by his endless turning back ti and attempting to rge this realm with your world will remain. Whatever you attempt to do from here, wherever you go as the will of this world, I beg you to make this your last ti to turn back the world, until the world has healed, however many hundreds of thousands of years it may take.
Ah yes. I understand. I only have one shot. One chance to get this right.
Weiheng Wu nodded. Then, since you understand
His body vanished. His robes hit the ground. A few tiny gold sparks flew up into the air, rapidly vanishing.
Hui watched him go. He looked at his hands, then laughed quietly to himself. How Master-like of him, to leave with not instructions, but rely a puzzle to solve myself.
Farewell, Master.
The silence of the void gave him no answer.
One last chance to turn back ti. But where do I go? What point do I stop at?
He looked at the frozen Golden Immortal. At the crumbling Immortal Realm, all around him. Im already in ancient history, long before I arrived in this world. And the Golden Immortal in front of could still pose danger, even if I killed him here. Things like soul obliteration I know better than to rely on those, if even soone as lowly as can fake them!
Ti reversal is the ultimate counter to death reversal, and therefore, the ultimate limit of death reversal. By understanding ti, I can undo any true death, no matter what. By mastering ti, I can no longer be killed; more importantly, I can undo any death my friends or loved ones face.
Of course, the problem with ti reversal is that the Will of the World that is, Master, rejects it. Naturally. The world crumbles under the force of true ti reversal. To put it simply, true ti reversal exceeds the limits of this world.
Ah, there might be another world beyond, one where ti reversal doesnt threaten its existence. But I dont want to enter that world! No thank you, no thank you. No. Ill stay here. Ill remain in a place where I cannot be killed, with those precious to , where I can absolutely protect those precious to .
No. Rather than focusing on my limited strength, lets focus on solving the problem before .
Lets keep going. Further back in ti. I think, the right answer, is to continue going back. Return to when the Golden Immortal was a child, and prevent this from ever coming to be.
Ti turned back. Further and further. The Immortal Realm vanished, replaced by an ancient Immortal Realm, full of beautiful lakes and gardens, a trim, carefully-curated Immortal Realm. Hui watched over it for a mont, then vanished.
He appeared in the Underworld. An empty realm awaited him, acting on automatic principles.
Sitting in the depths of the realm, a man with long red hair looked up, startled. He rose to his feet, instantly reaching for his sword. Who are you?
No one, no one, Hui said, waving his hands. Ah! Its the man who was Lord of Hell before I arrived.
The man eyed him warily. I cant sense your cultivation.
Oh whoops. Hui quickly lowered his cultivation, forcibly appearing at a low realm. As you can see, Im rely a small bug, not worth bothering with.
And your authority with this realm?
Eh? He can sense that I have authority with the Underworld? Well I suppose he should also have authority with the Underworld. It makes sense that we could sense one another. Hui glanced at the ground. At so point in the far future, I suppose you could consider sothing like the Landlord of this realm.
The man laughed. He lifted his hands. I was sent to this realm. I dont desire to be its master. Ill recognize my better.
Im quite fine with you being the Lord of Hell, if you wish, Hui said.
No, no. You need reapers, do you not? Ill take that role. And I had another in mind
Hui chuckled. If I cant refuse it, I might as well accept it. I think shell be a good fit.
The man startled. You already know?
Er, forget I said anything, Hui said, waving his hands. He glanced around, then found a small flat place to sit down and settled in to ditate. You two can handle the Underworld. Ill be busy for a while.
The man with red hair saluted.
Hui closed his eyes. As I am, Im almost too powerful for the realm. In fact, I dont know that I could enter the mortal world. The Underworld is probably fine, as long as Im carefulwell, especially given my authority in the Underworld.
Strange that it still recognized . But then He sent a tiny bit of qi into the realm. Sohow, its the Underworld that I re-forged, not the original one. Do the realms progress, regardless? But then, the Immortal Realm
Or maybe its because Im here, and Im the one who turned back ti. Perhaps I subconsciously left the Underworld in its reforged state.
In any case, I need to focus on my goal. The Golden Immortal!
Though I suppose hes just an ordinary mortal for now.
Hui sent his divine sense forth, sweeping the mortal realm. A few monts later, a familiar qi signature t his. Hui locked on. There! Focusing, he sent a small strand of his qi to the mortal world.
On the surface of the mortal realm, a small cultivator in blue robes appeared. He looked around, quietly fixing his ponytail. Wind blew, sending fallen autumn leaves into a flurry around his ankles.
In the distance, cultivators on swords flew down toward a small village. Young children gathered around, excited, led by eager yet nervous guardians. Among them, a familiar face stood out.
As the other cultivators flew down, Hui walked casually into the village. The villagers regarded him nervously, but he smiled back, gentle as could be. He approached the Golden Immortal.
The boy looked up at him. A little younger than the Golden Immortals later appearance, his face wasnt quite as bratty yet, his eyes still big and innocent. He stared up at Hui in fear and awe.
Mister, are you an Immortal?
I could kill him. Right now. He would never know anything. He lifted his hand toward the boys face.
Mister?
Huis hand landed on the boys head, and he rubbed his hair. Would you like to beco an Immortal, too?
The boy stared at him. You could do that for ?
I could teach you, yes, Hui offered.
He nodded aggressively. Yes!
Hui looked at the Golden Immortals guardian, a young woman barely older than him. She nodded, releasing her sons hand. Thank you, Great Immortal!
Im no one great, no one at all, Hui insisted. He looked at the boy. Whats your na?
Yao Gong! the boy replied.
Yao Gong. Co with . Ill teach you everything there is to know. And Ill make sure you dont focus on those dreams, and instead beco an earnest and un-warped Immortal!
The boy nodded. Yes, Master!
The woman nudged her son. Quickly, now. Like I taught you!
Startled, the boy dropped to his knees and kowtowed to Hui.
Theres no need, no need, Hui said, helping the boy up. Yao Gong, lets go. This ti, youll grow up into a fine, upstanding young cultivator.
And if you dont, then
He turned to the scouting cultivators and bowed, clasping his hands. Greetings, Seniors.
Greetings, the scouts replied, clasping hands back.
Are you looking for new disciples?
Ah, yes, one of the scouts said, slightly off guard.
Hui grinned. Would you take ?
The scout shook his head. Were only recruiting young disciples, not
Hui exuded a little bit of cultivation pressure. I dont want to scare them, but I dont want to be so unimpressive that they turn away, either. How about fifth stage?
The scouts eyes widened. A mont later, three of them collapsed to the ground under Huis pressure. The remaining two struggled to stand.
Startled, Hui quickly bit back his pressure. Apologies, apologies. Forgive . I didnt an to
Please co with us!
The scouts grabbed at Huis hands, their eyes shimring with tears. Please join our sect!
Ah whoops. I did forget that this was the ancient era. I suppose standards for cultivators were different back then or else this is a low-realm area. He licked his lips, a little nervous. Ah yes.
Yao Gong stared up at him, amazed. My new Master is that powerful? Wow!
Hui nodded at Yao Gong. Shall we?
Yao Gong nodded. Disciple hears and obeys!
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