The狸猫 heard Chu Tian say they couldn't stop him.
With a dismissive air, it sat on the ground and licked its paws.
"Your current level is still stuck at 10,000 years ago. We've been cultivating diligently here for 10,000 years! We might not be able to defeat you in a fight, but we can certainly keep you occupied!"
It spoke with great confidence, laced with utter disdain.
"Oh? Is that so? Then how did I get past you the previous times?"
Chu Tian asked with a half-smile.
"Haha, the previous times, we didn't even come to block you. Do you think you could have gotten through if we had?"
Zhu Jiuyin chuckled in a deep, rumbling voice.
"Oh, so you know many things? Zhao Lei and the others should know too, right?"
Chu Tian was surprised. These two beasts had secretly come to block him. Could it be that Zhao Lei and the others had deciphered the truth through each reincarnation of events?
"Naturally, they don't know. They all believe these things haven't happened yet. Only I... can see through all of this and retain the memories!"
The 狸猫's eyes flickered, nine points of light rotating within its pupils.
Chu Tian understood. It must possess some innate divine ability that allowed it to see through reincarnation, a truly heaven-defying power.
This meant that Miao Zuo's residual soul's earlier statement, "Finally seeing him again," carried no other hidden meaning. It was merely an expression of emotion. He likely didn't know that this meeting had already occurred eight times before, and this was the ninth, the so-called final one.
"Heh, so... all of this was unfolding according to a predetermined path. I was truly just a pawn!"
A sudden sense of powerlessness washed over him. All of this had happened before. And he had been operating according to a certain trajectory all along.
"What a pity..."
Chu Tian seemed to enter a trance-like state. The corner of the 狸猫's mouth twitched backward. However, at this very moment, Chu Tian softly uttered these two words and slightly raised his head.
"What a pity for what?" The 狸猫's bared teeth suddenly froze.
"If it were three days ago, your move would indeed have worked on me!"
*Buzz...*
Only then did the 狸猫 notice that Chu Tian had raised his head, but his eyes were tightly shut. On his brow, a golden diamond-shaped pattern emitted a dazzling radiance.
"I must say, this is the most potent illusion I've encountered, but for you to attempt to shake my resolve with such a method is a grave mistake!"
"Break!"
*Boom!*
The pitch-black space seemed to be pierced by a brilliant light, emitting a cracking sound.
"Put away your abilities. I don't wish to harm you!"
Chu Tian kept his eyes closed, facing the direction of the 狸猫.
"You..."
The 狸猫 looked at Chu Tian, its eyes darting, a look of unwillingness on its face.
"I told you we couldn't stop him, but you didn't believe me!"
*Bang...*
Zhu Jiuyin's colossal body exploded into foam, and a one-eyed muscular man appeared. As this change occurred on its side, the entire space shifted. The previously dark scene vanished completely. Nine wheel-like objects appeared before their eyes. These nine rotating wheels sealed the space within them.
"Zhu Jiu, you..."
"Don't persist. I don't want you to get hurt! It's over!"
The one-eyed man looked at the 狸猫 with a hint of helplessness. The 狸猫 lowered its head, its body trembling.
*Crack, crack, crack...*
The nine chakras slowly merged. In Chu Tian's gaze, they gradually disappeared. Finally, the space returned to its hazy gray color. The light emanating from Chu Tian's brow also vanished. He opened his eyes and looked at the two figures before him. The 狸猫 had also transformed into a young woman. Chu Tian smiled faintly, feeling a sense of astonishment. He hadn't expected these two to be able to transform into humans. Zhu Jiuyin had become a one-eyed burly man. The exposed eye was no different from that of an ordinary person. The eye hidden beneath the eyepatch was closed. That was the eye through which Zhu Jiuyin possessed its abilities. What he found particularly strange was this 狸猫. He hadn't expected it to possess such powerful abilities. From the nine chakras, Chu Tian felt the power of nine cycles of reincarnation. If his divine sense hadn't been greatly strengthened on the first level of the Ascension Stairway, he wouldn't have been able to see through the illusionary space created by the two of them. More importantly, there was the divine spark on his brow. Initially, the 狸猫 hadn't used the power of reincarnation. But when Chu Tian said they couldn't stop him, the 狸猫 had unleashed the power of reincarnation to try and erode Chu Tian. Chu Tian didn't know what its specific objective was, but because of this action, it had triggered Chu Tian's divine spark. Chu Tian knew that failing to achieve victory in eight previous cycles had indeed affected his state of mind. However, the divine spark's anomaly, carrying his soul power, had autonomously retaliated, awakening Chu Tian. He had to admit that the 狸猫's current abilities were indeed formidable, reaching a level capable of affecting his divine spark. With the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Chakras gone, Chu Tian instantly sensed the location of his clone. After all this, the exit wasn't blocked by them; it had been sealed by their spell.
...
Lin Qingyuan, Lin Qiaoqiao, Ling'er, and Chu Tian's clone, Chu Qiankun, had all returned to the surface. The four of them had been traveling for over a month in Ling'er's exotic beast carriage. This long journey had taken them from the central regions of the Western Desolation all the way to the eastern territories. Upon arrival, the air was filled with the moist scent of salt. They were now very close to the sea, the largest forbidden area in the entire Yin-Yang Realm: the Sea of the Netherworld. The spiritual energy here was imbued with moisture, making it the place with the most water-elemental Yin spirits. Arriving here, Ling'er took out a map to orient herself. The Western Desolation was vast, and Ling'er's exotic beast was powerful enough. Traveling day and night for a month without stopping, ordinary horses would have surely collapsed. The four people in the carriage were going crazy. This exotic beast was incredibly spirited, as if it could run for another month without any issues.
"Stop looking at the map and find a town to rest. If this continues, I'll be dead before we reach our destination!"
The one speaking was Chu Qiankun, his face pale. His transparent body, which he had upon first appearing, had somehow transformed into a physical form. Lin Qingyuan and the others were also quite curious about this. It was as if the longer he stayed in this world, the more accustomed he became to its laws. The previously Yin-spirit-like Chu Qiankun, after a month's time, appeared to have grown flesh, which was very strange.
"If only we had a flying ship. Not only would it be fast, but it would also be comfortable, feeling no different from flat ground."
Ling'er also looked exhausted, but she still glanced at the map.