This Young Master is not Cannon Fodder

Chapter 503: Dire Future

Tianyi sighed when he saw that his sneak attack failed. Since he failed, it was better to retreat. He couldn’t defeat Xi Longtian, but the latter couldn’t sense him. Though, he didn’t know if that would remain true if he stayed or during their next encounter.

He always felt like Xi Longtian had known of his presence, which was why he didn’t go all out against Zi Zun and Xia Yushan.

With one last shake of his head, he left the Xi Dynasty. He didn’t have much attachment to the Xi Dynasty. If it was the Xi Dynasty of the prime timeline, he might have done something to remove Xi Longtian, but an alternate timeline? He didn’t have so much time to waste. Especially since he knew that the Xi Dynasty was flourishing under Xi Chen’s reign in the prime timeline.

He didn’t chase after Xia Yushan or Zi Zun. Instead, he directly teleported back to the Buzhou Immortal Sect. Specifically to the central peak, where Grand Elder Xia was.

“Don’t you know Xi Longtian’s real identity? He’s not a mere clone,” Tianyi asked after reporting everything that happened.

“I do, but if Yushan can’t even overcome this, he won’t be able to survive the destruction of this timeline and enter the prime timeline,” Grand Elder Xia said. Yes, he had already known about Zi Zun and Xia Yushan’s plan to kill Xi Longtian.

Tianyi opened his mouth, but no words came out. He could offer to take Xia Yushan into his inner universe and attempt to ferry him into the prime timeline. However, he didn’t know if this method would encounter a backlash. Even if Xia Yushan couldn’t live in the prime timeline, he could survive in the Nine Heavens Universe.

However, Tianyi didn’t forget that this Xia Yushan was of the same origin as his. True, because they didn’t grow up together, Xia Yushan would likely not form an inner devil or become hostile, but Tianyi never forgot Xia Yushan’s confession. Even in this alternate timeline, Xia Yushan still fell in love with Jiang Daoyi, and a large part of his hostility toward Xi Longtian was because of her.

He wasn’t so magnanimous as to bring a man that eyed his wife to his side.

Grand Elder Xia must have known of the potential of his inner universe, but he didn’t say anything. Perhaps he had already seen Xia Yushan in other timelines. If a man, cultivator or not, experienced so many timelines, it would invariably make them more detached from others and emotions. Cases of immortal emperors going mad had occurred because of their attempts to merge all their alternate selves, after all.

Suddenly, Grand Elder Xia’s expression changed. “Yushan’s soul lamp was extinguished.”

It took a moment for Tianyi to process the meaning. “You mean he died? Who could have done it? The Dragon Emperor? No, I still have a watcher on him. He hasn’t left his territory.”

“I probably know,” Grand Elder Xia said with a sigh.

“Who?” Tianyi asked. He may have had some friendship with Xia Yushan in the beginning, but after drifting apart, those feelings dimmed with time. He even drifted apart from Xia Yushan’s friend group. Not to mention that it was already good he didn’t have a deep grudge now. All that was left was curiosity.

Grand Elder Xia didn’t whet his appetite either. “The Anti-Heaven Alliance.”

“Them? What about the Cloud Goddess? She’s a deity born of faith. Even if she has the power of an immortal emperor, she lost the qualification to absorb her alternate selves when she underwent apotheosis as a monarch,” Tianyi said.

“She’s dead. They say she’s been missing because she left the Huang Realm, but I suspect assassination,” Grand Elder Xia said. “The one who leads them now is the Leakless Sect.”

“Leakless Sect?” Tianyi repeated. Old memories surfaced, and he asked with interest, “How about the San Jiuling of this world?”

“He doesn’t exist in this world. Or rather, the version you know doesn’t exist here,” Grand Elder Xia. Upon seeing Tianyi’s surprise, he continued. “We suspect he’s a reincarnator like you.”

Tianyi sighed. “A pity.”

He wouldn’t dwell on it too much. Because of their respective stance, they would never become friends despite their shared origins. “So, do you want my help?”

Although he didn’t care for the Xi Dynasty, it wasn’t the same for the Buzhou Immortal Sect. Call him biased or selfish, but he grew up in the Buzhou Immortal Sect. Even if it was in a different timeline, he didn’t mind aiding them.

Grand Elder Xia shook his head. “There’s not much value, and the outlook isn’t good. Grand Elder Voidink has also disappeared. As for the thing behind Broken Heaven Valley, it already disappeared. There isn’t even a single immortal emperor in the sect right now. The Anti-Heaven Alliance has more than sixty percent of all the first-rate forces on Heaven Continent.”

“That’s much more dire than I thought,” Tianyi said. He didn’t point out that Grand Elder Xia was an emperor in terms of realm.

“There’s not really much point in salvaging this timeline,” Grand Elder Xia said rather coldly. It was as if this timeline had nothing to do with him, especially after Xia Yushan’s death.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to help?” Tianyi asked. “Even if my strength is reduced, it’s still enough to create thousands of incarnations that can detonate and kill true immortals.”

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“Rather than waste your energy on this, you should focus your energy on infiltrating the Numinous Sword Sect,” Grand Elder Xia said. “Since the Buzhou Immortal Sect of this world is going to disappear, I’ll hand over some divine artifacts, fragments, and realm artifacts. You can keep the divine artifacts in your inner universe since they will disappear once you take them out in the prime timeline, but the realm artifacts can still be brought out.”

“Disregarding the fact that it feels morally wrong, stripping the Buzhou immortal Sect of this world of its treasures, the Immortal Court is going to be quite wealthy and shock the others,” Tianyi muttered. “Are you sure you don’t want me to help?”

“Yes.”

Tianyi wanted to persuade Grand Elder Xia, but no matter how he persuaded, Grand Elder Xia denied his aid. Instead, he lectured Tianyi. “Grand Elder Nine Heavens, you must prevent yourself from growing attached to the timelines. You must always place the prime timeline as the priority.”

“Even in this situation?” Tianyi asked.

“Yes.”

Tianyi almost wanted to ask him if he cultivated the Emotion Severance Sutra, but he knew that it was impossible. He had seen Xia Yushan after he cultivated the Emotion Severance Sutra, and Grand Elder Xia didn’t exhibit any of the signs.

So, he relented.

When Tianyi saw less than ten divine and realm artifacts, he couldn’t help but look suspiciously at Grand Elder Xia.

“Don’t look at me like that. Most of the divine and realm artifacts are stored in the forbidden zone. These are the ones that were distributed before it disappeared,” Grand Elder Xia said. He pointed to a small pile of broken artifacts. “Divine artifact fragments, on the other hand, we have much more of them. Even if you take these fragments into the prime timeline, they won’t merge with their counterparts.”

Tianyi nodded. He waved his hand and the artifact fragments, divine artifacts, and realm artifacts vanished. “I’ll be thinking of a way to enter the Numinous Realm now. See you back in the prime timeline.”

“You’re not going to stay and watch?” Grand Elder Xia asked.

“What’s the point? The Anti-Heaven Alliance is only history in the prime timeline. There are no secrets that need to be guarded against. With you here, I’m not needed. Besides, watching the Buzhou Immortal Sect getting destroyed is going to make me depressed.” Tianyi added an afterthought. “And this will probably be the best time the Numinous Sword Sect will lower its guard. Who knows, maybe the Cloud Goddess’s disappearance is their work.”

Grand Elder Xia nodded. “See you back in the prime timeline.”

Tianyi left the Huang Realm, but he didn’t directly fly toward the Numinous Realm either. A true immortal that suddenly appeared in the Numinous Realm without the appearance of an Immortal Ascension Heavenly Tribulation will definitely arouse the Numinous Sword Sect’s wariness.

Instead, he planned to enter a middle-rank realm beneath the Numinous Realm. Ascending directly from a high-rank realm would leave too many holes in his story if they were to investigate him. It was easier to just ascend from a middle-rank realm. After all, the number of low-rank realms was astronomical and finding which low-rank realm someone ascended from was much more difficult.

Although this method took longer, it also gave him time to recover from his injuries swimming in the Six Paths of Samsara.

The denizens of the Zhong Realm looked up in the sky. The cultivators could feel a change in the air, and although the common mortal could not do the same, they sensed something in their souls.

A tear appeared in the sky, showing a world. It was akin to a reflection, but it didn’t show the Zhong Realm. No, it showed the lower world connected to the Zhong Realm. Once it stabilized, spiritual qi from the Zhong Realm poured into the lower realm.

The mortals who saw this couldn’t help but discuss in excited voices or kneel in worship. On the other hand, the cultivators frowned. The hopes that had arisen in their heart vanished. Ascenders from a lower realm appeared around once every hundred years, but it had been ten thousand years since the last person from the Zhong Realm broke the limit and ascended to a higher realm. Many of them were beginning to think that no higher realm existed and that the records were just lies.

No one alive had seen anyone break the limit of the Zhong Realm and ascend.

Still, that didn’t stop the cultivators of the Zhong Realm from flying toward the spatial tear. Every ascender was a genius. They might have taken more time to reach the same height as the people in the Zhong Realm, but that was because of the inferior cultivation environment. Once they stepped into the Zhong Realm, they had high hopes of reaching the peak.

As such, any ascender was solicited by all forces. If the ascender rejected the forces, the forces would monitor him and see if the ascender would threaten their rule. Generally, most ascenders who did not join forces were assassinated. Even if they did not show any signs of disrupting the rule of the current powers, that might change once they reach the peak.

By the time they arrived, a man had already stepped out of the hole. Once he stepped out, the hole healed.

The cultivators observed the man that was standing on top of a cauldron. He wore light green robes with a jade hairpin holding his hair. They couldn’t see his face because it was covered by a mask.

Before any of the representatives could talk, they smelled an enticing scent. Soon, their brains felt mushy, as if clouds were inhibiting their thoughts. As their eyes grew blurry, they saw the new ascender turn around. When they awoke, they discovered that the ascender had disappeared.

The cultivators were more sure than others that the ascender had a problem. Otherwise, why would he knock them out at first chance?

More than that, they suspected that the ascender had received some sort of powerful inheritance. The greed of the Zhong Realm’s forces made them seek out the new ascender, but no matter how they scoured the land, they could not find a trace of the ascender.

Sixty-three years later, the cultivators saw a tremendous storm cloud appear in the wilderness, raining bolts of lightning down. It was far more powerful than the Core Formation or Acupoint Opening Heavenly Tribulation, and someone couldn’t help but guess that someone wanted to ascend.

When they arrived, they saw the green-robed man pelted by lightning bolts. Although the cultivators originally had malicious thoughts, none of them took action. They wanted to know if the legend was true. If someone could ascend, the hope of ascending would reignite in their hearts, and the stagnant pool that the Zhong Realm had become would turn lively once more.

Eighty-one bolts later, the storm clouds dispersed, and the masked man rose into the air. He radiated an aura far more powerful than the peak combatants of the Zhong Realm. He looked over at them, making the cultivators present nervous.

Although they hadn’t done anything to the masked man, that was because the masked man had hidden himself well enough. What if he wanted revenge after gaining power?

Thankfully, their worries did not come true.

“In one week, I will hold a sermon to enlighten all beings in the world.”