Time Travel But No Reincarnation Reversal — A Temporal Conundrum in the God-Cultivating Era Preceding A Record of a Mortal's Cultivation and Immortal Realm Arc

[Content Summary] "A Record of a Mortal's Cultivation" has released its Immortal Realm Arc. According to Wang Yu's synopsis, there are mentions of "time travel" and "reincarnation reversal." Furthermore, Wang Yu himself has abandoned his usual straightforward and steady narrative style, opting for a bizarre and unexpected opening. While many are complaining now, when Wang Yu finally reveals the true mystery, it will surely surprise many! However, this article simply wants to point out that before Wang Yu adopted this creative approach, Tan Hua, seven years ago in "Exiled Immortal," had already used this method of "time travel without reincarnation reversal" to set up a massive temporal puzzle for us. This article will reveal this astonishing puzzle one by one.

I. Zhang Xiao Hua and Xiao Hua: Intertwined Protagonist Identities

Zhang Xiao Hua, the protagonist of the first part of "Exiled Immortal," "Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu," achieved enlightenment through martial arts in the mortal world, finding his proof of godhood – the Demigod Body and the space behind his head;

Xiao Hua, who is Zhang Xiao Hua after crossing realms and teleporting to Xiaoyu Continent at the end of the first part. Due to his Demigod Body, he was soul-searched by two Nascent Soul old monsters, causing amnesia (much like Han Li in A Record of a Mortal's Cultivation's Immortal Realm). He was taken in by his master, Xiao Yuehong, and his name was changed to Xiao Hua (a homophone of Xiao Hua). Later, his sect was destroyed, and from then on, True Person used Xiao Hua as his real name.

Xiao Hua, as the protagonist of the second part, "Light Escape," appeared twice in the first part, "Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu":

The first time was when Yue Mingxin's primordial spirit projection spoke, "It's better to forget each other in the Jianghu than to rely on each other in times of hardship, Xiao Hua, True Person Xiao... your words... I only understand them today..." (Please refer to "Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu. Chapter 1142: Spring dreams leave no trace, autumn tents hold empty fragrance" for details);

The second time was with Ya, who had a dual soul within one body (also known as Di Shitian, a Demon General in the Demon Realm). Facing Zhang Xiao Hua, Ya suddenly became hysterical and shouted, "Xiao Hua? True Person Xiao... you... how did you get here?" ("Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu. Chapter 1213: Volume One Grand Finale Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu").

This is where Tan Hua's planning and the charm of Exiled Immortal lie. The protagonist travels to a different world tens of thousands of years in the past through the "Heavenly Prison," "time light knot," and the Soul Cultivator's "Nanyuan Beizhe." The karma generated by the characters within affects the protagonist's present. Tan Hua, what kind of incredible imagination do you have to pull off this time travel?

II. Earth Core, Mount Yao Immortal Mansion, Heavenly Phoenix, Outsiders, and True Person Xiao's Entry into the Ruins of Shenzhou

The Earth Core, Mount Yao Immortal Mansion, Heavenly Phoenix, and Outsiders are all plot holes that Tan Hua left unfilled in "Forgetting Each Other in the Jianghu." However, Tan Hua hinted at them by stating "True Person Xiao enters the Ruins of Shenzhou," foreshadowing "True Person Xiao's second entry into the Ruins of Shenzhou" to fill the plot holes of Mount Yao Immortal Mansion and Heavenly Phoenix, and "True Person Xiao's third entry into the Ruins of Shenzhou" to fill the plot hole of the Earth Core. True Person Xiao achieves sainthood against the light, becoming the Primeval God, the first ray of light, to fill the "Outsiders" plot hole. In fact, "Outsiders" is precisely "True Person Xiao's fourth entry into the Ruins of Shenzhou"!

In the chapter "Familiar Starry Sky" of "Light Escape: The Four Great Continents," Xiao Hua, with the help of the time light knot, traveled to his homeland, the Ruins of Shenzhou, billions of years ago. He left behind the lineage of the Incense Transmission Sect in the Ruins of Shenzhou. This lineage was also discovered by Yue Mingxin in the first part. Some readers wonder why the lineage of the Incense Transmission Sect is superior to the Misty Sect and the Divine Blade Sect. The reason lies here.

III. Primordial Spirit Projection and Primordial Spirit Projection's Main Body

This is how Tan Hua shows us his temporal puzzle:

1. Xiao Hua is teleported from the Moon God Ruins to the Ruins of Shenzhou, which is billions of years in the past;

2. Yue Mingxin, Yang Haoya, Huan Wuxin, and Di Shitian (also known as Ya) are teleported to the Ruins of Shenzhou, an unknown number of quadrillions of years after Xiao Hua's teleportation!

3. Tens of thousands of years after Yue Mingxin and the other three teleported, Zhang Xiao Hua was born. Except for Di Shitian, who continued his name as a demon, Yue Mingxin and the other two perished, leaving only their primordial spirit projections!

4. A few hundred years after Zhang Xiao Hua's birth (during the 20,000 years of seclusion in the Heavenly Prison, only a little over a hundred years passed in the outside world), he arrived in the same realm where Yue Mingxin and the others were, establishing karma and filling the plot holes of the first part.

IV. Heavenly Prison, Star Moon Palace, Time Light Knot, Ghost Grassland

The Heavenly Prison is the most novel setting in Exiled Immortal. Its fragments of time in the Primordial Divine Realm, and the time light knot surrounding the Four Great Continents, are places that even the Dragon God, Maitreya Buddha with his Six Revolutions Golden Body, and the Happy Heaven Demon cannot escape. With the help of the Star Moon Palace, a divine realm superpower, Xiao Hua experienced a series of miraculous encounters and opportunities. This is what sets Exiled Immortal apart from other cultivation novels, including A Record of a Mortal's Cultivation, and makes readers' eyes light up with admiration!

V. Stone Bracelet, Light Trace, Light Escape

The light stone bracelet, which carries little weight, is the foundation of Zhang Xiao Hua's cultivation and an item of a divine realm superpower. It can perform light trace, allowing things to flow back to their origin. The source of Zhang Xiao Hua's Big Dipper Divine Fist and his Light Escape, where he merges into light, is all here. Zhang Xiao Hua becoming a saint against the light means becoming the first ray of light, the Primeval God. Therefore, time travel is natural and inevitable in Exiled Immortal, and there will be much more time travel in Exiled Immortal.

In conclusion, we have not yet seen Han Li's time travel in "A Record of a Mortal's Cultivation: Immortal Realm Arc." However, Tan Hua, seven years ago, had already laid the groundwork for Xiao Hua's time travel in "Exiled Immortal" when writing the first part. In the second part, "Light Escape," he caused the protagonist to lose his memory. The current "Exiled Immortal: Immortal Realm Arc" naturally progresses in a straightforward manner. However, I believe that the cultivation system of Immortal Marks in Exiled Immortal, with its vast framework and rigorous system, is certainly not the best among current cultivation novels, but it is definitely refreshing!