Gazing at that handsome face, both familiar and strange, Yi Wu's heart trembled in an instant. Her delicate frame shook, and two clear trails of tears streaked across her tender cheeks, falling like pear blossoms in the rain, so pitifully moving.
It was him. Ye Chen. Her Yue-gege. The him from the future, who had achieved the strongest Dao Fruit.
It was precisely this him who had come against the current of the River of Time, repelled the alien Emperors and Sovereigns, and fought back into the Mythical Epoch.
Yet, she felt not a shred of happiness. On the contrary, she felt immense sorrow. Her heart felt as if it were about to split open, bleeding.
Because she saw the future Ye Chen—a Supreme One, an Emperor, peerless throughout the ages, invincible in the world. But also, a world of utter solitude.
She saw in his profound eyes an eternity of vicissitudes, as if an entire epoch had been buried within.
Yet they were also filled with desolation, filled with helplessness. When he looked at her, at the Goddess, at Chen'er, at the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord, at the Peacock King, there was such joy, as if he were about to weep with happiness.
It was an unimaginable scene.
What kind of future could it be, to make him, who was invincible in the world, reveal such emotions?
Clearly already peerless in the world, yet appearing so helpless. She desperately wanted to go over, to hold the future Ye Chen in her arms, to give him warmth.
But it was insurmountable. The barrier of time lay between them, strands of temporal laws manifesting, standing between the two.
So close, yet worlds apart—it was exactly like this!
Yi Wu also saw the future version of herself beside him, even more peerless in grace and beauty, even more stunning and breathtaking to the mortal world. Yet, no matter how she called out, that future self did not awaken. That peerless, delicate frame clearly held not a trace of vitality.
It terrified her, and she seemed to understand something, to understand why Ye Chen's future self was so helpless.
"If only I could truly descend... how wonderful that would be..."
The future Supreme One let out a soft sigh, tinged with helplessness. He also looked at the present Yi Wu, and at the Goddess and Chen'er outside the Tongxuan Ancient Gate, his gaze filled with boundless tenderness—a stark contrast to the profound, emotionless self from moments before.
This left many people bewildered. What did these words mean?
Because the helplessness and desolation from before had only been revealed to the Yi Wu before him and the Ye Chen of this era. Others could not see it.
The future Supreme One's gaze finally settled on Yi Wu as he whispered, "Have you realized? I'm sorry. I couldn't save you in the future. I could only force my way to this era, hoping to change the future, to prevent that blood-soaked era from appearing."
"Yue-gege, what happened in the future? Why did she—my future self—come to this era? Why did you return?" Yi Wu, having grasped some of the truth, urgently pressed for answers.
This area of void was shielded, imperceptible. Even Sovereigns were no exception, unable to know their conversation, nor to learn that the future Supreme One was Ye Chen's future self.
Because no matter how powerful the future Supreme One was, he was still from the future, not of this era. He did not wish for others to know he was Ye Chen's future, fearing that if word spread and certain individuals, or even the alien race, deduced it through divination, it would imperceptibly add endless risks to his present self.
The hope of changing the future now rested on the self of this era.
Faced with Yi Wu's questions, the future Supreme One remained silent. Yi Wu could tell it wasn't that he didn't want to answer, but that he couldn't.
The causality was too great, involving matters that could potentially alter history. The terrifying backlash of causality might even leave the future Supreme One severely wounded and on the brink of death.
No one could completely change history. The arrival of the future Supreme One was merely to stop others from intervening from the past on the River of Time, to alter the future. It was only because it involved this level that confrontation occurred.
"Wu'er, I'm sorry. Now is not the time for you to know. You should forget all of this. You cannot bear that unbearable future." The future Supreme One suddenly whispered, his voice filled with a tenderness rarely seen in ordinary times.
Yi Wu seemed to understand something. Her almond-shaped eyes widened as she exclaimed, "Yue-gege, you can't—"
Before she could finish, the future Yi Wu's entire body radiated with divine light. Strands of mysterious law power emerged and poured into the Yi Wu of this era, causing confusion to appear in her eyes. This portion of her memory was forcibly erased.
Because the blood-soaked future, the heavy days to come, he would bear alone.
Boom—
The Taboo Immortal Lightning grew even more intense, heaven-destroying and earth-shattering, as if intent on utterly annihilating everything.
Because he had acted against someone from the past, which the heavens and earth did not permit. The reason Emperors and Sovereigns from the Mythical Epoch on the River of Time could confront and act against each other to a certain extent was because both were existences capable of influencing events throughout the ages. Thus, they could act. But attempting to kill would inevitably incur the greatest causality in the world.
The future Supreme One alone bore the punishment of the Taboo Immortal Lightning.
Ye Chen within the Samsara Black Hole watched all of this quietly. He did not stop it, nor would he. Because his heart and that of his future self were connected. He understood the other's intent and shared the same sentiment.
No matter how bitter or difficult the future, he could only bear it alone.
The future Supreme One looked at the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord, a flash of respect appearing in his eyes. Though fleeting, it was still caught by some, surprising them. What relationship did the future Supreme One have with the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord?
The Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord was also somewhat puzzled, but upon looking at Ye Chen within the Samsara Black Hole, he seemed to understand and remained silent.
Although the future Supreme One's gaze swept over the powerhouses, his true purpose was to look at the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord, the Peacock King, and those familiar figures like the nine great imperial dynasties' Heavenly Kings—though this was not easily detectable.
Looking at these once-familiar people, a trace of excitement flickered in the future Supreme One's eyes—happiness, but also guilt.
Only in this era could he see them alive and well. In the future, he saw only cold corpses, the source of his pain.
He desperately wanted to stay in this era, but he could not. Time could not be reversed. Not even someone as powerful as him could manage it. He had to return to the future eventually; otherwise, the causality would be too terrifying.
He had many things he wanted to say, but looking up at the heavens, he felt only helplessness. Because he simply could not speak. The Heavenly Dao would sense it, and the backlash would be too terrifying.
Finally, he swept his gaze over everyone once more, also glancing at the Three Immortal Maidens, the Heavenly Gate's Gate Lord, the Peacock King, and the others. Then, stepping upon the River of Time, he walked away step by step, his figure growing increasingly blurred and hazy.
The future Yi Wu also transformed into a stream of light, piercing through the River of Time and vanishing, no longer visible. But from within her, a ray of dawn light shot out, streaking toward Ye Chen.
Boom—
At this moment, Taboo Immortal Lightning appeared. It did not strike at Ye Chen, but at that immortal light. It involved some taboo content, triggering the Immortal Lightning to appear and attempt to obliterate it.
But the Supreme Emperor's figure, having reached the end of the River of Time, manifested once more. A giant hand covered the heavens, shielding the vast majority of the Taboo Immortal Lightning.
The Chaos Cauldron Furnace even shot toward the sky, directly exploding, transforming into endless primordial Chaos Qi, attempting to forcibly erase all heavenly punishment.
This sight shocked the world. What a peerless Supreme One from the future, so domineering as to forcibly erase even the terrifying heavenly punishment of Taboo Immortal Lightning.
However, a few bolts ultimately broke through, shattering the immortal light. Only a single point of spiritual light entered between Ye Chen's brows, carrying a single character: "Immortal!"