"Heavenly Longevity Rule is an ironclad law, an Absolute Rule. Even a master of an Emperor Path Grotto-heaven can only live for twenty thousand years. Even with a Dao Canon in hand, death is still inevitable!"
"You actually crossed over to thirty thousand years in the future without showing any trace of resisting the Heavenly Longevity Rule?"
Tian Xiaoxiao's disbelief was written all over her face, as though she were looking at a monster.
Ni Xinzhao smiled. "That does indeed defy common sense somewhat. But the world is filled with miracles. Once you understand how things began, it doesn't seem strange anymore."
"Could it be that Dao Lord again?" Tian Xiaoxiao couldn't help asking. After piecing together her intelligence, she felt that Tong Mingqiong was the most likely possibility.
As a True Immortal who controlled the future, he should have interfered with Red Heaven to the greatest extent. Perhaps he really could accomplish such a miracle!
"More or less. As long as you have an Absolute Rule to resist it, it can be done. Back then, Tong Mingqiong became an immortal and took control of the future. It was only natural that he would leave behind a hidden move."
Yun Ye had no need to hide anything now. He glanced at the sky. "As a True Immortal capable of seeing the future, he had already learned his own Dao Canon Law before becoming an immortal. Time looped countless times, and the Dao Canon changed countless times. Although its level never changed, he had essentially gained complete mastery over the power belonging to the future domain."
"Unlike other True Immortals, who cannot wield their Dao Canon Laws, after Tong Mingqiong became an immortal, he mastered his own Ultimate Future Divine Law. With the support of the Absolute Rule, he could use a Reincarnation Art that extended the future. The logic is simple: if a person is clearly already dead, yet still possesses an infinite future, what would happen?"
"A next life would appear! The Ultimate Future Divine Law can actually accomplish something like this. No wonder the True Immortals were willing to increase the possibility of attracting the World Gods, tearing apart the Future Dao Canon and sealing it in various places—even throughout the multiverse. This Dao Canon truly possesses such terrifying power..." Tian Xiaoxiao murmured.
She understood all too well what this Reincarnation Art entailed. The Celestial Fox clan already counted as demons and monsters with profound research into it, yet reincarnating as a human still came at a tremendous cost. Moreover, once reincarnation was complete, the Heavenly Longevity Rule would take effect and the countdown on one's life would begin.
Aside from being unable to evade the interference of the Heavenly Longevity Rule, reincarnation also could not clear away the soul's accumulated dust. Even after obtaining a new body, one's consciousness and manner of thought would remain unchanged. There was practically no room for growth, making it difficult to blaze new trails.
Before reaching the Venerable Position, these things did not affect much. With the knowledge and power of a Manifest King, one could cultivate smoothly. But upon reaching the stage of touching the laws of heaven and earth at the Venerable Position, one's progress would plummet. This realm was too mysterious, becoming increasingly idealistic. The dust on one's soul would have an enormous impact on advancement.
Becoming an emperor was even more difficult. One had to command the Three Heavens, merge them, and open up the Fourth Heaven. This process required more than control—it demanded comprehension of the Great Dao. A dust-laden soul and a decayed body and mind made this step exceedingly difficult to cross. To defy heaven, one could only rely on external forces...
The Slaughter Power was Tian Xiaoxiao's choice, for example.
And this was merely the result of a top-tier Manifest King's reincarnation. She had been born with a powerful body and soul, a naturally long-lived species whose soul accumulated far less dust than a human's. If a human used the Reincarnation Art to reincarnate, with a slightly lower cultivation realm, they would most likely be unable even to pass the trial of the Three Purities Divine Thunder.
It was no longer possible to seize a body and cling to life for several thousand years as one had in the past.
The Three Purities Divine Thunder struck precisely at decay!
"Is it really all right to tell me these things?"
Tian Xiaoxiao spoke.
"We've signed a contract and will advance and retreat together. With your sincere assistance, more demons and monsters will be willing to defect to us. Besides, this kind of power can't be concealed after being used once."
Yun Ye smiled.
"Dao Lord... truly terrifying! If the world knew that the Dao Lord could evade the Heavenly Longevity Rule, heaven knows how many people would be willing to serve him!"
Tian Xiaoxiao's expression was complicated.
The Heavenly Longevity Rule did not have as many loopholes as people imagined. For humans to transform into demons and monsters, it was not enough for their bodies to change—their hearts and powers had to change as well.
Otherwise, even if they no longer considered themselves human, cultivating human methods would still cause them to be punished by the Heavenly Longevity Rule. Likewise, if they abandoned only their powers while retaining human cognition, the Heavenly Longevity Rule would still exert its influence, drastically shortening their lifespans.
Many of the true spirits who joined the Immortal Dynasty had never cultivated human methods, but they were affected all the same. Their lifespans began to decline, and panic and opposition gradually arose among them.
Demons and monsters already found growth difficult and were inferior to humans in that regard. If their lifespans were shortened as well, would they not be doomed never to rise, their foundations slowly exhausted by humanity?
Lifespan and the future were vital to every living being. Unless one could not even eat one's fill and lifespan had no meaning at all, the Dao Lord's power possessed a fatal allure. Once it was made public, many cultivators from hostile factions would probably defect on the spot.
All one could say was that it was fortunate the Future Dao Lord stood on the side of the New Heaven Immortal Dynasty.
"Unfortunately, a cultivator's soul has limits. Unless all memories are erased, the future cannot continue indefinitely."
"Besides, as I said before, the Future Dao Lord only has several hundred thousand years to resist the deviation of his path. He cannot split off too much power."
Ni Xinzhao had personally experienced future reincarnation. She did not believe this was a direction that could solve every problem.
If using too much of the future caused the Future Dao Lord's path to deviate ahead of time, the result would be catastrophic.
Personally experiencing the future meant that every minute and every second was real time. Likewise, extending the future for someone else required an equal amount of time.
For an infinite True Immortal, this was no obstacle. Any other True Immortal with this power could use it without limit.
But the Future Dao Lord could not. His path's deviation was calculated according to time. The more time he used, the faster he would approach the Ruling Dao.
"I more or less understand why Azure Heaven failed to sever humanity's future completely in history... Was it influenced by Red Heaven's Dao? So it hesitated in its methods, allowing several True Immortals to become immortals against the tide?" Tian Xiaoxiao felt that she was drawing ever closer to the truth of history.
"That's more or less how it was. After all, during the Azure Heaven era, there was still no rule that magnified the fluctuations caused by a True Immortal's descent. True Immortals had even freer rein back then." Yun Ye nodded.
"Come to think of it, who exactly completed the Fluctuation Rule..."
"The True Immortals are here!"
Tian Xiaoxiao's question received no answer. Both of them looked toward the horizon as two existences suffused with imperial aura and shaking the Three Heavens descended.
Blue and black hues dyed the horizon, proclaiming their presence. The two existences were connecting Azure Heaven and Profound Heaven, using them as the foundation of their imperial paths.
They were none other than Azure Heaven and Profound Heaven!
"They came too slowly. They've cut off our vision for long enough, yet they're only making their move now..."
"But it doesn't matter anymore. There's only one word: death!"
Yun Ye waved a hand. The space before him collapsed, crossing countless distances to reveal a scene from the Outer Universe. In the pitch-black void, two figures were suffused with imperial power. Azure Heaven and Profound Heaven divided the world, seemingly locked in opposition.
The imperial-path bodies of the two descended True Immortals cast their gazes over.
For a moment, even the void grew unstable.
One gaze was filled with aggression, devouring all the power it saw—fortune, karma, the future, spiritual energy, and even the pitch-black void...
The other gaze was calm and untroubled, yet it looked down on everything. It was only a gaze, but Tian Xiaoxiao's body was already cracking, as though she were faintly on the verge of being crushed.
There have been so many things to deal with at home, and I ended up posting this late again.
Before you continue