Though the spatial descent lasted only an instant, in that instant Meng Qi had already felt the surging force of backlash. It was trying to hurl him out of the Illusory Long River, cast him into the currents of time, and send him back to the "current point" in the future. Whether those currents would tear him to shreds, or whether his reentry into the river would stir up a vortex that swept him away and wore him down, was of no concern to that force.
In that moment, Meng Qi and Master Lu seemed rejected by heaven and earth, battered by rolling waves and nearly losing control. Fortunately, Cause of All Fruits activated on its own, and his Other Shore Trait arose in response. The River of Time appeared illusorily around him, barely holding back heaven and earth's fury.
This was the force of heaven and earth correcting history and drawing the worldline back into alignment.
Meng Qi had already sensed it during the fierce battle at Chunyangzi's tomb, but it had not been nearly so terrifying then. At the time, they had not truly affected the course of history, and there were still many ways to undo the damage. But now, he had taken Chunyangzi's inheritance and fled into the distance, straying beyond the bounds of normal developments. The backlash came at once, fierce and violent.
If there had been no chance to rebuild the tomb and establish the inheritance anew, Meng Qi was sure he could not have resisted the River of Time's corrections unless Absolute Blade awakened to protect him. Only an Other Shore Great Figure could manage such a feat; even a perfected Creation realm expert would need a corresponding temporal treasure.
As the "waves" washed over him, Meng Qi's memories blurred, then cleared. To