Chapter Fifty: Fang Zheng's Mysterious Disappearance in the Future Timeline

One must know that just as walking on the ground leaves footprints, and swimming in water leaves ripples, all things and all events are in a process of mutual interference.

Even shifting through the void will inevitably leave fluctuations in space—even though such fluctuations would travel at the speed of light, rapidly spreading and distorting. Yet, they can still be used to trace back coordinates in reverse.

Even if someone deliberately disturbed and wiped away the fluctuations, in an extremely fleeting instant, before the ripples completely and utterly subsided, subtle fluctuations would remain that could be used to calculate the coordinates.

However, Taiyin furrowed his brow tightly, unable to discover any trace of fluctuations.

Decisive on the spot, he immediately cast the Taiyin Silver Mirror Retrospection Technique.

A silver mirror manifested in the void, beginning to pierce through the void and retrace time.

This Silver Mirror Retrospection Technique was the reverse application of the lunar phase divination method; rather than divining the future, it was used to mirror the past in order to obtain intelligence.

The scene from a short while ago began to emerge in the mirror.

Taiyin saw Fang Zheng arrive in this small world, converse with several horned dragons, and saw him place the bedrock and the stream of blood.

Then, he vanished into thin air...

In other words, Fang Zheng's sudden disappearance was not a void shift, but a genuine disappearance into thin air.

Frowning deeply, Taiyin gazed at the pool of blood beneath his feet. "Where on earth has little friend Fang Zheng gone?"

Taiyin knew very well that even an entity of the exact same level as himself, who was currently living out his fourth life, could never abduct someone right under his very nose.

If someone truly could abduct Fang Zheng under the continuous observation of his own fully awakened Taiyin Lunar Blade and the Emperor of Mankind Seal divine spirit, it would mean that this mysterious existence's power far exceeded his imagination!

If that were not the case, and it was indeed a genuine disappearance into thin air, then this gave Taiyin a rather ominous premonition.

From their few days together, Taiyin understood that Fang Zheng was not a lifeform in the conventional sense.

Throughout the journey from the Immortal Path to their days of coexistence, Taiyin had learned of many marvelous traits about him.

For instance, Fang Zheng's body lacked continuity; instead, from moment to moment, his body—like a series of frozen statues—jumped and changed its posture, piecing together what merely looked like a continuous form.

In the eyes of ordinary mortals, Fang Zheng's movement was continuous, but even to some martial artists with a modicum of strength, Fang Zheng appeared as a bizarre entity composed of frozen statues.

Between every frozen posture, even Taiyin was unable to capture any intermediate process.

If these frozen bodies lacked any continuous transition from one action to the next, simply vanishing directly, then it probably looked just like this right now.

Therefore, based on the observations, the most likely possibility at present was that Fang Zheng had vanished of his own accord.

"Could it be that he returned to that square world?" Taiyin guessed in his heart.

"Yet, little friend Fang Zheng showed no outward sign of wanting to leave just now."

"Given his temperament, he shouldn't have left without a word. Could it be that some accident occurred?"

During his conversations with Fang Zheng a few days ago, Taiyin had become very familiar with Fang Zheng's temperament and abilities. He also knew about that mysterious square world and Fang Zheng's dread of its monotonous and tedious nature.

If Fang Zheng had truly returned abruptly to that dull and tedious square world, he would definitely have tried every possible means to leave it once more.

For instance, continually attempting to strike the so-called Nether Portal with lightning, or trying to open a new white portal to depart.

Sighing softly, Taiyin raised his hand to pack away the nearby bedrock and blood pool, retracting the moonlight that had frozen time and unsealing this suspended small world.

Looking at the three members of the Jiang family who had suddenly returned to normal from their stagnant state and were bowing to him, Taiyin fell silent for a moment, and said to the Sun Holy Emperor:

"If Fang Zheng attempts to leave the square world once more, the new world he goes to... perhaps will no longer be our world..."

Taiyin's expression calmed, and he strode outward. "Let us go, Sun Holy Emperor. Fang Zheng has vanished abruptly, and the original plan has changed."

"As we are now, we can no longer continue to resurrect the Emperors of all ages. Guarding the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths is going to be a bit more troublesome."

"Mm." The Sun Holy Emperor nodded.

His tone was steady. "Since the plan has changed, let us go and formulate a completely new plan."

"However, those supreme beings in the restricted zones nowadays have an infinite supply of immortal Qi; they probably won't continue to instigate the Dark Turmoil."

"If the plan has changed and it is impossible to annihilate all those fellows who devour all living beings while simultaneously protecting the universe, we can only gather allies first and keep watch cautiously."

A cold glint flashed in Taiyin's eyes. "If there were no need to protect all living beings, your efforts and mine combined would be enough to slaughter them all."

"Yet in battle, the endless living beings of the universe are difficult to safeguard. We can only meet constant changes with steadfastness, and wait until they attack the Immortal Path before considering our next move..."

Time flowed on. Above Beidou, a massive rift brimming with immortal light suddenly split open across the void.

Instantly, all the life restricted zones on Beidou Star opened up, and pathways of golden light gathered from other restricted zones throughout the universe.

The boundless power of faith converging from the entire universe permeated the air, and Mount Sumeru on Beidou Star lifted entirely from the ground, cradled in the palm of a golden-radiant Buddha figure.

That was the divine soul left behind by Emperor Amitabha; having waited for myriad ages, he was about to fulfill his past vow and walk into the Immortal Domain together with all Buddhists.

Within the Ancient Forbidden Land, a figure wearing a bronze mask and gazing with dull, lifeless eyes stared into the distance.

Across the universe—excluding a few supreme beings like those in the Underworld—a total of over thirty supreme beings from the restricted zones arrived together at Beidou Star.

Taiyin, the Sun Holy Emperor, Gai Jiuyou, the Great Completion Eucharist of the Ancient Forbidden Land, the Void Emperor's corpse-spirit Huangdi, the Hengyu Emperor's corpse-spirit Shennong... All the allies Taiyin could find who were willing to protect all living beings were gathered here.

Taiyin's faction and the restricted zone supreme beings' faction stood in quiet confrontation, remaining mutually vigilant.

Taiyin did not want the aftermath of battle to damage the universe, and the restricted zone faction did not want their condition impaired before successfully assaulting the Immortal Path.

Although over a dozen restricted zone supreme beings—such as the Light and Darkness Supreme, the Changsheng Tianzun, and the Stone Emperor—wore sneers, eager to immediately settle that age-old enmity, they were likewise held back by other restricted zone supreme beings who had not devoured living beings.

Both sides tacitly agreed that all grudges and grievances would be settled only after the Immortal Path.

Regardless of success or failure...

The instant the massive rift in the void split open, more than thirty restricted zone supreme beings struck into it together.

Endless destructive light pervaded the area, and the newly emerged gigantic rift was forcibly torn open.

The barrier of laws at the entrance of the Immortal Path was directly pierced by that destructive immortal light, and the empty void behind it was likewise forcefully beaten into a pathway by that devastating power.

A dazzling grand avenue formed, and the power unleashed by over thirty supreme beings forged a supreme avenue from dao runes, leading directly into the distance and piercing through to that mysterious realm afar.

Only then did all the supreme beings waiting for the opening of the Immortal Path step inside.