770. Hostage Chatting (Patreon)

They flew down toward the ancient Immortal Realm. Its time reversal slowed as the end approached, as the Immortal Realm itself grew smaller and smaller.

“Senior, how long did you rule the Immortal Realm?” Hui asked, no longer able to stop himself. Master only lasted a few hundred years in the mortal realm, at best. So why does this Immortal Realm have a primordial era? If the Golden Immortal took over that recently…

“Ages. Absolute eras. I have been Heavenly Emperor for thousands of years.” The Golden Immortal looked at Hui. “It was only in the depths of my boredom that I remembered my dreams as a mortal, and thought to alleviate that boredom by summoning that world here.”

Ah. So Master… that is, the Will of the World, only had to move after he began to disrupt the world. It makes sense. The Will of the World would not inherently reject any given Heavenly Emperor, as long as they didn’t disrupt the balance of the world. But once he did, the Will of the World created an avatar for itself—Master—and so we find ourself here.

He quietly rubbed the hand that wasn’t grabbing at the Golden Immortal’s grip on his head together and dropped a seed into the void outside of the chaotic time. There’s no guarantee this works, but at least I’ve got something. A small chance. I’d make more, but I can’t make enough that the Golden Immortal wouldn’t be able to catch them all, so it’s better to make just one and hope he overlooks it.

From here on out, it’s my job to keep looking for opportunities. Now that I’m out of the chaotic time, there should be more chances for me to find a foothold somewhere to pass my thoughts and memories forward!

I’ve learned so much. As long as I find a way to pass this forward, this loop counts as a massive success.

Though… ugh. I really did want to defeat the Golden Immortal, but I’m starting to feel like it might not be possible. He’s just too powerful, and due to the loop, and him controlling the loop, it’s impossible for me to catch up. Even if I pass forward knowledge, all it takes is one lost loop for me to return to square one.

But that’s okay. There’s still more knowledge to gain in this loop, and if things go the way I’ve been nudging them to, I might win the one piece of information I desperately need in order to put the Golden Immortal in checkmate!

After all, if you can’t win, then at least put your opponent on the back foot. If he wants me locked in a loop forever with him, then fine! I’m going to lock him in with me. What I lack right now is any sort of foothold or power. But, if it all goes according to plan…

The Golden Immortal landed on the primordial Immortal Realm and marched on. Caught by the face, Hui stumbled backward, most of his body dragging on the ground due to the Golden Immortal’s short stature. After a moment, he gave up and let himself be dragged. I’m not going to fight yet, so I might as well save my energy.

“I give up. You’re too annoying. I’m done with this stupid cat and mouse game,” the Golden Immortal grumbled.

“Oh, really? I was just thinking about my next move,” Hui said cheerfully.

The Golden Immortal glared at him. “Give up. You can’t defeat me. How many times do you have to fail to understand?”

“Er, I don’t think I’ll ever give up, so…” Hui smiled sheepishly. Interesting. A weak point? I wonder if I can give him a heart demon. He’s already unstable, after all…

Clicking his tongue, the Golden Immortal said no more. He dragged Hui in silence.

“Eh, Senior, what are you doing? Where are we going?” Hui asked.

Silence.

“You know, you don’t have to drag me by the face. You must be straining that small hand of yours. Maybe you could drag me by the collar instead?” Hui suggested.

“If I let go, will you fol/low me on your own?”

Hui thumped his chest. “Senior, of course, of course. You can trust this small cultivator. Of course!” Of course not, that is! Let me go! I’ll spread my seeds all over this ancient Immortal—ahem! I mean, I’ll leave lotus clones all over this Immortal Realm.

Even as he thought it, he dropped a few lotus clones behind them, tossing them onto the Immortal Realm. I have no idea if this will work, but it can’t hurt to try!

The Golden Immortal shook his head. “And you think I’d believe you?”

“No, but a small cultivator can hope,” Hui returned with a shrug.

“Why did my opponent have to be you? I could handle facing a noble warrior, or a vicious demon, or an elegant scholar, but… how… what happened? What made you like this?”

“I’ve always been like this, Senior. Senior should know.”

The Golden Immortal snorted. Silence fell once more.

Around them, the Immortal Realm’s time continued to wind back, so slowly as to almost flow at ordinary speed, except in reverse. Plants vanished, retreating into themselves, then dropping back into the earth. Behind them, the Immortal Realm fell away, leaving only a small disk of land behind.

There, the Immortal Realm’s time stopped. A small disk of barren land, with nothing and no one, not even a scrap of plant life. Outside of the disk, primordial energy swirled, but within, only the faintest whisp of qi circulated.

In the center of the disk, a simple stone altar sat, plain and unadorned. It thrust up from the land, a natural rock formation carved roughly into a brutal shape. The Golden Immortal lifted up Hui and slammed him down on the altar. Instantly, gold lines spread out, in the air, on the ground, creating an orb of interconnected qi lines that circulated independently around Hui. The formation locked Hui down, freezing him on the altar.

“Now. Behave, and become the heart of my formation. Even if you fight, I’ll force it through. I don’t care anymore if it lowers the chance of success. I don’t care if it might obliterate you, body and soul. I’ll just gain a better comprehension of time and piece you back together if I fail, even if it takes another thousand years, but I’m so tired. I can’t wait any longer and not even try. Something has to change.

“Behave, and we’ll connect these worlds anyways, no matter what you want!”

Hui’s eyes lit up. Excellent. Exactly what I wanted!