“In order to alter the past, the timeline itself must be wrong.”
“Are you saying that, if the timeline of the future is also wrong, it can be changed?”
“Destiny took action before Wei Nu attempted what she was going to do. That created a temporal paradox that created a branch stream in the River of Aeons. That’s why I awoke, to merge that branch back to the main stream, which altered the past. However, if the future is wrong, the one to change it won’t be me.”
“It would be the future you,” Lu Yin blurted out.
Zhao Ran said, “Or perhaps another ferryman of the River of Aeons.”
Lu Yin stared at Zhao Ran intently as six words echoed in his mind: it all starts and ends with a cup of tea.
These were the words that Destiny had left behind. Was it possible that the God of Death’s attack had also been a kind of coordinate left behind in the River of Aeons?
Zhao Ran had offered the only answer that she could give. Lu Yin was not personally able to see the future. Without building a bridge across the River of Aeons, there was no other way.
If Lu Yin could one day alter the future in a different manner from what Zhao Ran had described, then he would finally have an explanation for the God of Death’s attack.
But right now, he needed to focus on finding Master Qing Cao and seeing if that man knew about the God of Death’s circumstances.
...
In the Tianyuan, four universe-class battleships were drifting through outer space. Cultivators from the Spirit Nidus had gathered from all directions, all of them excited.
“We can finally go back! I never want to come back to this megaverse.”
“I miss home so much. I didn’t miss it this badly even during that expedition to the Consciousness Megaverse.”
“That’s because you knew that you could return. This time was different. People said all along that we might never be able to go back. Thank Lord Lu for his wisdom in letting us return.”
“It was Seraph Su who negotiated with him. Thank Seraph Su...”
All of the cultivators were talking, excited to be heading home.
However, there were some who were still uneasy. “Is it really good for us to go back? The Nine Odysseys Megaverse plunders the Spirit Nidus’s spirit seeds. We won’t even be in control of our own lives.”
“Do you really believe that the Nine Odysseys Megaverse will give us justice? Or allow us to go free?”
Countless people fell silent.
They had only gone to support the Tianyuan because Lu Yin had said that they would be allowed to enter the Nine Odysseys Megaverse afterwards. Lu Yin had acknowledged that, and Su Shidao had told everyone that they could follow him to the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. However, what good would going to that megaverse do? Would the Nine Odysseys Megaverse really allow them to go free?
Lu Yin had never said that he would grant them freedom.
In a moment, the hearts of the cultivators aboard the battleships grew heavy.
They could leave the Tianyuan and return to the Spirit Nidus, but what awaited them there?
Su Shidao stood on the deck of the vessel, staring off into the distance with a complicated expression. He was staring in the direction of the Heavens Sect.
Every cultivator from the Spirit Nidus wished to return, but they also wanted freedom when they returned. They did not want to live while being suppressed by the Nine Odysseys Megaverse. Spending a lifetime cultivating only for that effort to ultimately benefit someone else; what meaning was there in returning to such a fate?
It might be better for them to stay in the Tianyuan. At least the people of the Tianyuan did not oppress them.
The people of the Spirit Nidus had also been taught the Nirvana Tree Path. Lu Yin had not discriminated against them.
Su Shidao sighed. He did not know what to do.
He suddenly found himself missing the High Seraph. While the man had lacked any sort of moral code, he had at least served as the spiritual pillar for all of the Spirit Nidus’s cultivators.
A figure appeared behind him, and Su Shidao whipped around to see Master Qing Cao.
He stared at the Immortal in shock. “The... the invincible being?”
Master Qing Cao observed Su Shidao. “You needn’t return. Stay here in the Tianyuan.”
“Junior Su Shidao greets the invincible being of the Spirit Nidus.”
“Mm.”
Su Shidao looked up in confusion. “We’re not going back?”
Master Qing Cao shook his head. “The Spirit Nidus is not safe. The Tianyuan is.”
“But... everyone wants to return.”
“You can’t.”
Su Shidao wanted to say more, but he could not find the words. No one from the Spirit Nidus could argue before Master Qing Cao.
Just as Master Qing Cao was about to leave, another person appeared. Lu Yin had arrived.
Su Shidao was startled to see the younger man.
Lu Yin looked at Master Qing Cao. “Senior, no matter what, they deserve an answer. There’s nothing wrong with them wanting to return to the Spirit Nidus.”
Master Qing Cao met Lu Yin’s gaze. “You’re testing me.”
Lu Yin calmly asked, “Why would you say that?”
Master Qing Cao replied, “There’s no need to test me. They’ll stay here in the Tianyuan. It’s safe.”
Lu Yin’s eyes narrowed as he stared at Master Qing Cao.
To the side, Su Shidao quietly excused himself. There were some things that he could not afford to overhear.
“Did you come here specifically for me?”
“There’s something I’d like to ask you about, Senior.”
“There’s no need to repeat what’s already been said. I have no interest in answering you again.”
Lu Yin said, “Senior, you attacked Yuan Qi in the past, didn’t you?”