"Though much time has passed, I still remember your face." After speaking, Cheng Xilin inexplicably lowered his head and let out a laugh, a hint of madness in his tone.
Then,
He suddenly looked up at the Lord of Time, his deep voice resonating as he asked, "You sent me to another world, I experienced so much. What exactly are you trying to achieve by doing this?"
The Lord of Time, no longer the shrewd and cunning figure from their previous fortune-telling session, let out a soft sigh, his demeanor tinged with the weariness of age. He saw no need to conceal anything, for at this moment, fabricating truths was utterly pointless.
"The River of Time was thrown into disarray because of you. I am merely restoring order. Cheng Xilin, everything is predetermined. All that you have experienced, and all that He Li has experienced, time had already arranged.
The cause created in the past, the effect reaped in the future.
It's not always that cause precedes effect. When power becomes so immense that it cannot be contained by the world, the future can also influence the past."
"He Li, you used your future self to restrain the Desolate King, buying time for the Divine Realm. Did you not feel even the slightest bit of this?"
He Li frowned, about to vehemently deny it.
But then he heard the Lord of Time’s stern question, "Your future self spoke with you, why didn't you respond then? You were afraid your future self would influence your present self, weren't you?"
He Li looked towards Cheng Xilin's retreating back, remaining silent. That was right, he dared not. He was filled with dread for his future self, afraid to face it directly.
Some things, once known before they are done, only lead to more trouble and entanglement.
"Cheng Xilin, you do not belong to this period of time, yet you appeared. I observed the future, and you appeared in several time periods, influencing the flow of the River of Time. Your appearance has affected too many people."
After speaking, the Lord of Time sighed deeply and continued,
"I traced the River of Time upstream, searching for the origin of your appearance. Alas, I could not find it. You appeared out of nowhere and vanished just as mysteriously. You exist within the River of Time, but not within history. However, the River of Time is already in chaos. There was no other way; I had to pull you in,
Grant you power, and confine you with that power, so that you would always exist within this period of history, thereby restoring order.
Cheng Xilin looked at the Lord of Time in silence, his expression unreadable, but he asked He Li telepathically, "Do you understand what that old geezer is saying? I'm completely lost."
He Li rolled his eyes subtly, replying telepathically, "I control the laws of time, of course, I understand."
"Explain it to me, I don't quite get it," Cheng Xilin said.
He Li paused, then explained, "Simply put, you don't belong to the time and history of this world. But strangely, you appeared, and you even influenced important nodes in time and history.
The Lord of Time noticed you, but since you don't belong to the time and history of this world, he couldn't do much about you.
So,
The solution he devised was to pull you into this period of history, then grant you power, making you truly exist within time. With this tether, he could control you.
To put it bluntly, our pond has just the right number of fish; the food is sufficient, and the oxygen is plentiful.
But you kept coming to snatch food and then leaving. That old fellow couldn't do anything about you, and he was very frustrated. So, he came up with a plan: capture you and keep you in our pond, so he could monitor you at any time, kill you at any time, and consume you."
He Li's final analogy was simple, crude, and easy to understand.
Cheng Xilin finally understood. He re-examined the Lord of Time. He didn't belong here; it was only because the Lord of Time saw him in the River of Time that he was forcibly brought in for monitoring.
This led to him experiencing life and death tribulations on Earth, merging with the Golden Gate to block the Great Desolation, and finally venturing alone to the Divine Realm, fighting for nineteen epochs, all alone.
And his appearance here was for the convenience of monitoring him, to fill the gaps in his River of Time.
If that were the case,
Then what about his teacher and his teacher’s wife?
What about Teacher Jiang and Xiao You?
What was the point of his nineteen epochs of solitary combat, of billions of years of loneliness?
Was he truly just a fish trapped in a pond, as He Li had said?
"Heh... heh..."
"Hahaha... Hahaha!!!"
Cheng Xilin first scoffed, then burst into laughter, his laughter bitter and desolate. His feet had traversed the lands of nineteen epochs, witnessed the birth and death of countless stars. He had emerged from behind the Golden Gate, facing a hostile environment alone, engaging in countless fierce battles.
But the reality was, he was merely a fish trapped in a pond.
How laughable, how tragic.
He Li’s brow furrowed as he watched Cheng Xilin, and he called out, "Cheng Xilin..."
"I'm fine!"
Cheng Xilin slowly raised his head and said, "I will not be defeated. I killed my way from Earth to the Divine Realm, destroyed nineteen epochs, and slew countless gods. Without the courage to abandon everything, without the boldness to swallow the stars, how could I dare to venture into the cosmos alone?
My will is already firm and unshakeable. Even if, as you say, I am just a fish in a pond, who's to say a fish cannot leap over the dragon gate?"
As Cheng Xilin spoke, the horizon was filled with white electric arcs, and wherever his divine power reached, the entire universe trembled incessantly.
His gaze was fixed on the Lord of Time, and he asked He Li with a smile, "He is the Lord of Time, and you also control the laws of time. Two tigers cannot share one mountain. He Li, do you want to be the Lord of Time?"
He Li narrowed his eyes, the Corrupt Blood Forest Saber appearing in his hand at some unknown moment. He retorted, "What if I do?"
"If you want to be the Lord of Time, then help me kill him. That position will naturally be yours."
"Good!"
He Li agreed immediately. Not being eroded by time, and controlling the laws of time, was already a contradiction to time itself. Moreover, the Lord of Time had already set his sights on him; if he didn't kill him, the Lord of Time would kill him. He had no choice.
"Go!"
Cheng Xilin let out a low roar and leaped forward first, passing by the Lord of Time and directly entering the eternal void.
He Li followed closely, brushing past the Lord of Time, and entered the eternal void.
Cheng Xilin controlled electromagnetic force, and He Li controlled the laws of time. Naturally, they could sense that the Lord of Time who appeared before them was not his true form. They directly plunged into the eternal void, searching for the Lord of Time’s true body.
"Quickly repair the spatial rift, otherwise, if the rift collapses, the entire universe will be eroded by time, causing temporal turbulence."
"Got it, stop rushing me. Can't you see I'm already repairing it? What are you so anxious about!"
"Damn! I can't even say a few words?"
"Damn! You can't!"
...