Chapter 104 Just a Pawn 23
When the 0% fusion progress was announced, both Ren Yi and the system were dumbfounded.
Putting aside whether Xuanwei was even in the mood to fight for control of the fragments at that time, even if he had, the fusion progress should have regressed from 99%+, not dropped to zero in an instant!
Even if someone is the chosen one, they can't be this unreasonable!
The system, enraged, spammed a string of gibberish in Ren Yi's consciousness space. Thanks to this, Ren Yi quickly calmed down and immediately assessed the situation: [He rewound time.]
The illusion did not restart; Xuanwei solved the problem at its root by turning back time.
Now that we've returned to the past, everything that happened during that period is now nothingness, and the system's integration progress has naturally been reset to zero.
At this point in time, it should be when Ren Yi just entered the illusion.
The reason I say "should" is because Ren Yi is not currently in the illusion.
As an outsider, Ren Yi's existence is relatively independent of the small world. This is fine for the normal development of the world line, but it is prone to problems when it comes to the special dimension of "time".
If Ren Yi had a disguise, he might have been able to get away with it. But now, not only does he not have a disguise, but even the puppet he was temporarily using is gone. The special nature of his soul is exposed. Everything in this small world can be traced back, but Ren Yi cannot.
This has led to the current situation: time within the small world has been rewound to the past, but Ren Yi's timeline is still in the future. With this discrepancy, Ren Yi is like someone locked in another dimension, only able to watch the situation unfold from the sidelines.
Xuanwei deliberately reversed time, so this development was naturally different from the previous one.
Before Xue Zhao could even come looking for him, Xuan Wei directly tore open space and appeared in front of him. This was clearly something the Chun Jun Sect Leader couldn't do; Xuan Wei was using his own immortal power.
No matter where you are, "time" is the most complex and difficult-to-control dimension. Even with Xuanwei's abilities, things didn't look good after he reversed the time of the entire small world. What's more, he then bypassed the illusion and used his immortal power. At this moment, his aura became increasingly unstable.
Even so, the moment Xuanwei saw Xue Zhao, his expression immediately turned cold.
With a swift movement, an invisible force gripped Xue Zhao's neck, lifting him up. His voice, sharp as a blizzard, was chilling: "Where is he?"
He was asking about Ren Yi's soul.
With Ren Yi absent, only Xue Zhao's remnant soul is currently sustaining the illusionary entity's actions.
The remnant soul was intimidated by the power of Xuanwei, and its movements became somewhat stiff. However, its hatred for the Chun Jun Sect leader finally prevailed. It struggled to pry at the invisible force on its neck with one hand, while the other hand summoned a flying sword to attack.
Xuanwei waved his hand without even looking up, and the flying sword snapped into several pieces. His voice grew even harsher, "I'm asking you, where is he?!"
The remnant soul was already devoid of reason, and now that its life was threatened, it could only struggle and let out some meaningless roars.
This reaction prompted Xuanwei to make a judgment as well, and he tightened his half-raised hand expressionlessly.
In an instant, the avatar and its remnant soul in the illusion vanished into thin air, leaving not a trace behind.
system:[……]
Ren Yi: [...]
The system's voice trembled: [Host...]
The second half of the sentence turned into a crackling sound of electricity, but Ren Yi guessed what the system meant, and he gave a rather solemn "hmm".
If Xuanwei discovers that he is impersonating Yuan Que, his fate will probably be similar to Xue Zhao's, or perhaps even worse.
Upon hearing what the host said, the system almost burst into tears.
However, what happened next made the system so afraid to even cry out loud.
One person, existing outside the timeline, watched helplessly as Xuanwei repeatedly restarted this period of time, repeatedly questioning, "Where is he?" Xue Zhao's soul had been erased hundreds or even thousands of times.
Thousands of times, the system watching from the sidelines was completely dumbfounded.
However, this time the situation was different; Xuanwei did not appear in front of Xue Zhao immediately.
After the system subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief, its heart tightened again. It felt that given the level of madness that Xuanwei had shown, it was impossible for him to let "Xue Zhao" off so easily.
Although Xuanwei did not come over, the remnant soul, driven by hatred, went back up the mountain instead.
system:! ! !
It forced a screaming face to appear on its face, waving its arms and legs wildly, wishing it could hold up a sign that said "Run!!" to urge Xue Zhao to escape.
However, since the system's unified rule is now outside the timeline, nothing it does can interfere with the situation within the small world. The system can only watch helplessly as Xue Zhao delivers itself to Xuan Wei and begins to act without warning.
Without even Ren Yi's help this time, the remnant soul's overly straightforward sword intent was naturally at a disadvantage, and it was almost instantly pierced through the chest by a sword.
This development, which was the same as before, surprised the system, and Ren Yi finally felt the faint pull from the small world.
The system immediately disregarded Xue Zhao's situation and rushed to remind him, "[Host!]"
Their current situation outside the independent timeline is still very dangerous, so of course they should go back as soon as possible if they can.
Ren Yi agreed and hurriedly tried to return to the small world, but failed.
On the other side, Xuanwei, who shouldn't have been able to see this side, suddenly raised his eyes.
The system, which was about to let the host try again, suddenly froze, panicking: [Is he watching us?]
Ren Yi was still focused on his second attempt and didn't hear what the system said, so he couldn't help but hum "Hmm?"
The system stammered: [N-nothing.]
Normally, Xuanwei shouldn't be visible.
That's right! He can't see!!
The system tried to convince itself, but it still felt uneasy about the look in Xuanwei's eyes when he raised his head just now.
It couldn't help but feel a new worry: even if the host successfully fused the fragments, could they really leave this world?
Xuanwei seemed to have finally found a way to retrieve Ren Yi's soul, and he attempted to replicate the original timeline.
The method was correct, but the remnant soul was not under Ren Yi's control and acted entirely on the instinct of hatred. Even after being pierced through the chest by the sword, it continued to attack relentlessly and soon perished under Xuan Wei's sword again.
Time has rewound and restarted once again.
The repeated restarts have also affected Xuanwei. He is gradually losing his ability to maintain the avatar of the Chun Jun Sect Master within the illusion, revealing his original form as the Emperor of the Nine Heavens, with even his hair turning frost-white from the ends. The entire illusion is on the verge of collapse; Ren Yi can even see cracks at its edges, like a shattered mirror, but Xuanwei is forcibly holding it together with his immortal power.
Xue Zhao went up the mountain again and was pierced through the chest by the sword once more. When he was about to continue attacking, he was finally intimidated by the aura that Xuan Wei deliberately released. Driven by his survival instinct, he retreated. However, he had only taken two steps back when he staggered to the ground due to his severe injuries and never got up again.
Xuanwei restarted the game again, expressionless.
The journey from the Chun Jun Sect leader's location to the sword-forging furnace, a distance so short that one could see the end at a glance, was not smooth. Sometimes Xue Zhao's injuries were too severe to continue, sometimes the pressure released by Xuan Wei was too overwhelming, directly causing the remnant soul to dissipate, and sometimes Xue Zhao fought back with all his might and attacked again... As for going in the wrong direction, that happened even more often.
But this time, Xuanwei seemed unusually patient, restarting the process again and again, forcing the remnant soul to follow the predetermined path.
The system looked at Xuanwei, who had no extra expression, and felt that this "replay" scene was even more terrifying than when he had casually annihilated Xue Zhao's remnant soul.
The emperor, high above in the nine heavens, casually plucked the strings of fate.
The creatures below are unaware and oblivious, yet they cannot escape the constraints of those invisible threads, and can only walk on a predetermined path like puppets on strings.
The system shuddered, its voice trembling.
With a sob in her voice, she said, "[Host,...or maybe we should just call it quits?]"
It felt that impersonating Yuan Que was too risky; if it were exposed, the host's fate would be very unpleasant.
Ren Yi's expression was also solemn, but he still slowly shook his head.
Now that things have come to this, it's too late to regret it. We have to grit our teeth and keep pretending.
System: QAQ~
The scene below seemed to be playing on a loop, but it was actually moving forward until Xue Zhao fell off the mountain pass.
In the instant the two timelines closed, Ren Yi finally returned to "Xue Zhao's" body through that faint connection.
The surging heat scorched his exposed skin, but in the next instant it turned into an icy chill. Ren Yi felt himself being carefully held in someone's arms, avoiding his injuries, and he floated lightly to the ground... Hmm? On the ground?
Ren Yi looked down and realized that he had landed not on the ground, but on ice.
The volcano, which had been refined into a sword-forging furnace by the Chun Jun Sect leader, was now completely sealed by a huge layer of ice. Through the crystalline layer, flames that were still dancing could be vaguely seen.
Upon seeing the frozen flames, the system suddenly had a thought: Could it be that Xuanwei, that heartless madman, might freeze its host like this one day?
The system couldn't help but let out a "whoosh," then quickly spat out those terrible thoughts into the recycle bin. Only after it was completely cleaned up did it remember the important matter—checking the fusion progress.
Then it cried even louder.
The host went through all that trouble, getting stabbed and jumping into lava, only to end up with nothing.
Ren Yi: [Xiaoyi? ]
The system understood its host's meaning and explained, choking back tears: "[It's not here; the fragment is no longer in the sword.]"
Ren Yi: ? ? ?
Xuanwei looked at Ren Yi, who was gripping the sword hilt tightly, his face gradually showing confusion and bewilderment. The joy of finally finding Aque's soul had not yet faded, but the expression on his face darkened.
...the celestial soul.
Aque is searching for the Immortal Soul.
--Why?
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