400 days.
Ren Zuo rembered very clearly; he had sat for a full 400 days. He had almost forgotten what it felt like to stand. Before the Dispersing Spirit Space was arranged, he used thods like spinal taps and bloodletting to harm his body and slow down the Qi Cyclone's movent. After setting up the Dispersing Spirit Space, he had to press his entire body against the "Scattered Spirit Magic Formation." This allowed external forces to extract his Spiritual Energy, but his lower body beca nearly paralyzed, leaving him capable only of sitting.
Generally speaking, lying down would be best. Soaking in a life-sustaining pod or being suspended upside down, full of tubes, wouldn't be bad either... But due to youthful vanity, Ren Zuo still chose to sit.
He had sat for a full 400 days, almost forgetting what it felt like to stand.
Feet firmly on solid ground, calf muscles tensing slightly, the waist moving the entire body, chest held high. Nature's most exquisite machinery began to operate, every gear turning just right, every cell in the body emitting a comfortable, low hum.
He stood up.
He was no longer in the Dispersing Spirit Space; only one other person was sitting here.
"I know you have many questions," the man said. "I'll answer three first."
In front of Ren Zuo, a man wearing a dazzling, iridescent golden robe, his features concealed in shadow, sat on an ergonomic platinum chair. Below him was a dark red planet. They were in the vast expanse of space, enveloped by a pale golden protective barrier. Ren Zuo could sense the imasurable, terrifying energy hidden within it. This was the Immortal Origin. This was the Supre Supre.
With his legs crossed, the Supre Supre interlaced his fingers and spoke in a languid tone. "First, it is the year 1999. Second, in 10 minutes, the 'Ark' civilization of the Immortals will descend upon the Solar System for a last-ditch assault. Third, I can send you straight back to Earth to see your parents. I need your help, but there are still 10 hours before you take the field. You have plenty of ti to revisit the happiness of your past."
"By the way," the Supre Supre said, pointing to Ren Zuo's crown, "if you want to go back, I suggest you change your clothes. The fashion of 1999 won't accommodate your advanced style."
Naturally, Ren Zuo was still dressed in his Qionghua Immortal's Garb. He laughed involuntarily. "I never thought I could actually co back."
Ren Zuo fully understood the Supre Supre's words.
Unexpectedly, Ren Zuo wasn't excited or thrilled. After thinking for a mont, he asked calmly, "How did I co back?"
The Supre Supre explained, "Future Echo. During the Third Cosmic War, Little Ren's participation and crushing defeat of the Ark Legion caused a Future Echo. This echo ford the Token that could be used to summon your future self."
The Token that summons my future self sounds very fantastical, but since it cos from the Supre Supre, it seems to make sense—the Supre Supre himself is a powerful being from the future of 2049.
Ren Zuo asked, "Then why not summon from 2049? Why summon from 2019?"
The Supre Supre replied, "It's just playing dirty to talk about toxicity without ntioning dosage. Being able to summon the Ren Zuo of 2019 doesn't an we can summon the Benevolent King of 2049. If we summoned the Benevolent King, the result would be no different from an invasion by the Ark Legion. Even if the Benevolent King tried to contain his power, he would still deplete all Immortal Origin in the Solar System."
"The year 2019 is just right. You're 23, at the peak of the Ren Family Bloodline's limits, proficient in countless Spells, but you haven't yet broken through to a world-shattering level. With Spiritual Energy Points, you can achieve the Ninth-Turn Unity, enough to turn the tide. What we call destiny are the choices we make inadvertently."
For so reason, Ren Zuo had an inkling. He felt the Supre Supre was soone he knew.
Ren Zuo asked, "Have we t before?"
The Supre Supre smiled slightly. "We are enemies. You are the only outsider who almost managed to deceive ."
Ren Zuo was taken aback, then realized the Supre Supre was teasing him and laughed. "It's normal if you're not willing to say; my apologies for being presumptuous."
He pondered for a mont and finally asked his real question: "Can I change the past?"
"No."
The Supre Supre's answer was so blunt and indifferent.
Ren Zuo asked, "Why not?"
The Supre Supre said, "It's according to the space-ti interference laws of the Lord of the Stars, the Spiritual Energy traceability rule written by the Spirit King, the unique observation results of the Heavenly Maiden Sovereign, the publications of the Blood Lotus Sect Master... and more. If you need them, jot this down. Remind in 2049, and I will compile a three-million-word docunt of supporting evidence for you. Satisfied?"
The expression on Ren Zuo's face froze. He understood the Supre Supre's aning: *You need a reason? Then I can find hundreds of them to answer you.*
But did reasons really matter to him?
Ren Zuo's voice began to tremble. "But... but aren't you changing the past right now?"
"Yes," the Supre Supre replied.
Ren Zuo strode forward, grabbed the Supre Supre's collar, and demanded loudly, "Then what's wrong with adding one small thing!? You can save the Milky Way Galaxy, save the whole world, so why can't you, why can't you save my parents..."
"You want to fight the Ark Legion, to battle for the Solar System, I have no problem! I can! I'm willing to fight with all my life, until the very last drop of my blood!
"But—but I just want to help my mom wash the dishes, massage my dad's shoulders...
"Can't you...
"Fulfill my wish?
"You possess this power, so why can't you use it to...
"Make the world a better place?"
Looking at Ren Zuo, tears now streaming down his face, the Supre Supre remained calm. "Why do you think I haven't made the world a better place?"
"Do you think I should travel back to the Stone Age, lead Primitive People to leap into the cosmic era, and stride towards the stars ten thousand years in advance? Hmm?"
Ren Zuo froze, looking dumbfoundedly at the Supre Supre. His hand gripping the collar naturally loosened.
"Think carefully. Do you believe Earth's stability is because of you? Because of the Unadorned Sword Emperor? Or because of the World Tree Angel?"
Counting on his fingers, the Supre Supre said, "Let think. Around that ti, you should have experienced the Trial of the Three Gods, Data Invasion, Secret Realm's Corruption, the Demons and Ghosts outbreak, the Source of Disaster, the Lunar Deity Trial, and an Otherworldly Invasion. These events were interspersed with two assassination attempts on the Spirit King, as well as the sches of so naless ambitious individual..."
"You probably don't even know about so of the crises, do you? Because they were snuffed out in their infancy."
"Yet, despite so many mysterious events, Earth continued to develop steadily, with everyone eagerly awaiting the new era... Your generation has enjoyed the most relaxed resurgence of Spiritual Energy that I've ever seen."
The Supre Supre gestured for Ren Zuo to squat. Though sowhat puzzled, Ren Zuo knelt on one knee.
Then, as the Supre Supre ruffled his hair, he said, "We've done all we could."
"Every peaceful day is composed of countless miracles."
"But so tragedies are knots that cannot be untied; they are dead ends. They're beyond your control and mine."
"If the timing is too early, we are just as powerless."
"Moreover, change isn't without cost. The most important point is that the observer being changed cannot be aware that they've been 'interfered with by the future'," the Supre Supre said. "Once caught in the suspicion chain between the present and the future, the resulting Butterfly Effect could cause the future to collapse outright."
"Not everyone is willing to submit to the future's arrangents, unless it's a matter of survival for the Milky Way Galaxy."
"We've been carefully and secretly altering the past. Your present is already our finest work."
Ren Zuo said in surprise, "But aren't you currently leading all of Earth against the Aliens? Don't they all know you're from the future?"
The Supre Supre said, "So now you should understand why, even though a cosmic war of such imnse scale, uniting people globally, occurred in 1999, no one rembers it."
Ren Zuo was stunned for a long mont. He suddenly felt like he was being petted like a dog by the Supre Supre, his handso silver hair getting mussed. He couldn't bear it any longer and stood up.
Ren Zuo asked, "So, after this war ends, Earth will..."
The Supre Supre replied, "It will experience 18 years of peace, until Spiritual Energy truly begins to resurge. After you return, you will also forget this conversation, rembering only your own heroic exploits."
Ren Zuo turned his head, looking at the distant blue star, and fell into deep thought.
Monts later, he suddenly asked, "Is Ren Naiser making so many videos to publicize your great achievents?"
"Sothing like that, but it's just one insignificant reason," said the Supre Supre. "Ren Naiser... all I can tell you is that he is an anchor."
"An anchor Looking Back at the Past from the future."
"The videos he posts are like save points in a ga. To achieve a perfect ending, you naturally save after each story segnt. That's all."
The Supre Supre paused, then said, "One minute until the war begins. Then I won't have ti for you. Are you going back?"
Ren Zuo withdrew his gaze from the blue star and shook his head. "I'm not going back."
The Supre Supre said, "You won't get another chance like this."
Ren Zuo looked toward the vast, distant starry sky. "My son isn't even five years old yet, and suddenly an adult appears telling them, 'I am your son from the future'—forget it."
"What's the big deal?" the Supre Supre said with a laugh. "There was a little girl who found her mother, who was pregnant with her first child, and told her, 'I'm your second daughter.' The first daughter hadn't even been born when the mother saw her grown-up second daughter... I still can't forget the look of shock on her face. But the touching scene of their reunion is also unforgettable."
Ren Zuo suddenly asked, "Do they know now that their son will beco a Nine-Turn Cultivator in the future?"
The Supre Supre nodded. "They know."
Ren Zuo said in a low voice, "That's good. I'm not good at keeping things to myself; I couldn't hide it from them. Since it will all be forgotten anyway, it's better for them to continue cherishing the hope that their son will succeed in the future and admire his heroism in the universe, rather than listen to pour out my lancholy and sorrow."
"If you've co to terms with that, it's fine," said the Supre Supre.
Ren Zuo spoke calmly, "As people grow up, they eventually have to make peace with this world."
"Ti's up."
The Supre Supre suddenly slapped the armrest of his chair. Ren Zuo felt a surge of Spiritual Energy erupt from Mars, like a tidal wave sweeping through the universe!
Immortal Origin activated!
Ren Zuo scanned his surroundings and asked in confusion, "Where's the enemy?"
"On the far side of Jupiter. Light takes ti to travel from Jupiter to Mars, and besides... I need ti as well," said the Supre Supre.
A Cosmic Chessboard materialized in the air before him. With a snap of his fingers, twenty-seven chess pieces appeared.
"All forces, stand by."
In the blink of an eye, Ren Zuo saw a 300,000-strong army appear behind the Supre Supre! Because they were within the Immortal Origin, all of them were in their future Joining the Way status!
Ren Zuo recognized many people: Hasuka and Dai Ze of the Iron Sun; Sakura Kyoko of Martial Soul Hall; Roy and Zack of the Watchers; Euphy and Tisrael of the Wizard Council; Cha Xian'er of the Great Wall; You Jiu, and himself...
Cha Xian'er, 30 years later, was even more beautiful and striking, full of heroic spirit.
Himself, 30 years later, was still an ageless Immortal with an air of transcendent wisdom.
You Jiu, 30 years later, still had his unruly, indolent deanor. He wasn't wearing sportswear but rather beach shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, and flip-flops, yet comically, he wore a tie...
Wait.
Ren Zuo stared at the tie, a sense of deep familiarity washing over him. Recalling what You Jiu had said before he ti-traveled, Ren Zuo's lips twitched.
Could it really be...?
"Next, so special chess pieces," the Supre Supre said suddenly. "Actually, there are benefits to you not going back to visit."
"For example... you can finally have a face-to-face conversation with the person you've always wanted to et."
Ren Zuo looked at the Supre Supre in surprise. He sensed what was about to happen.
A Fiery Fla-orange Defender chess piece materialized in the Supre Supre's palm. Beside him, a towering, hazy figure began to appear.
Even before the figure fully manifested, the resonance of their bloodline sent shivers down Ren Zuo's scalp and made his blood boil!
"Co and et your ancestor," said the Supre Supre.
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