Qin Li’s heart ached.
An indescribable sorrow.
He had actually been hiding above the great sun all along.
Silently observing, seeking an opportunity to shift through spacetime for a decisive strike.
The World Tree had proven worthy of its name as the Great Dao, its long-term planning culminating in a fatal blow that reversed the tide.
He and the Great Dao had discussed it, agreeing that after the Heavenly Dao’s death, something unspeakable would occur, a destruction following the collapse of the macroscopic laws.
Thus, they didn’t kill the Heavenly Dao, only weakened it, thinking their plan flawless. Yet the outcome was always unexpectedly horrifying, a terror that shattered psychological defences.
“Damn it! Why did it turn out like this! After all this effort!” Not just the World Tree and the others, even Qin Li was on the verge of madness.
Why had they lost so miserably?
Hadn’t they accounted for everything?
Yet the enemy was unkillable, returning time and again, growing stronger each time.
It echoed the old saying: “The Dao rises one foot, the demon rises ten.” Each time Qin Li thought he could turn the tables, the enemy effortlessly crushed him, obliterating all hope.
Until every contingency was exhausted, he watched his family slaughtered before his eyes, his heart torn apart, his soul pierced with pain, unable to intervene. This was the most torturous agony.
In despair.
Qin Li still refused to give up.
He would seek life through death, heading to the Other Shore.
“As long as I reach the Other Shore, I can slay the Heavenly Dao!”
“I can revive everyone, fulfil every beautiful wish!”
With an obsessive determination, Qin Li yearned for that elusive realm and resolutely chose to traverse the river of time backwards.
Activating The Sole Flaw, he vanished from his spot.
Leaving only a shadow behind.
At this moment!
Qin Li’s strength was profound.
Three Daos united, an invincible immortal body.
Fully fused, he far surpassed the Supreme Immortal Venerable.
His combat prowess was formidable, only half a step below the World Tree.
Yet even with such cultivation, facing the river of time, he was utterly powerless.
The moment he began his reverse journey, he felt the endless force of time washing over him, like dozens of vast worlds crushing him from all sides. The further he went, the greater the pressure.
Even a supreme being wouldn’t last long before their body collapsed.
“I must reach the Other Shore!”
Qin Li held a single conviction.
He pressed forward relentlessly.
Where he passed.
Spacetime vortices formed.
A humanoid mystery, strange and unknown.
In Qin Li’s eyes, all things unfolded in reverse.
Rivers flowed backwards, harvested wheat grew abundant again, the elderly grew young, as if the heavens were a film played in reverse.
To the normal beings within the river of time, they saw only an incomprehensible burst of vibrant colour streaking across the sky, leaving a baffling trail visible to all, regardless of cultivation or location.
Boom!
Breaking a limit.
The pressure on Qin Li doubled sharply.
For he had surpassed his own lifetime, entering an unfamiliar temporal domain.
Looking back, he could see his birth and growth, his meeting with his wife, his bonds with friends, his promises to all beings.
But they were gone now, the river of time plunging into a dark endpoint.
“The Other Shore! The Other Shore!”
Qin Li pressed on without hesitation.
Ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years, a million years, the pressure kept mounting.
Even his invincible immortal body, fused from three Daos, trembled under the strain.
His skin cracked, his bones fractured, immortal blood spilled across history, leaving an astonishing immortal rainbow that dazzled all beings.
“Damn it! I haven’t even reached the recent ancient era!” Qin Li’s eyes burned red. Traversing the river of time backwards was far more gruelling than he’d imagined.
Continuing onward, breaking the three-million-year mark, he witnessed the fall of the Eternal Immortal Dynasty, a scene filled with tragedy and despair.
This moment mirrored that one.
And then.
The pressure of time surged dramatically.
Qin Li was forced back repeatedly, his flesh rotting.
Though his immortal body’s regeneration was remarkable, it couldn’t withstand such torment.
In an instant, it was as if billions of steel blades scraped his bones. His body and will endured immense suffering.
“Burn! Burn! Burn it all! If I can’t reach the Other Shore, I’d rather perish with my friends and family in the void!” Qin Li no longer held back,疯狂 burning his immortal body for power.
He entered the recent ancient era.
Pressing forward against immense pressure.
One step with ambition, ten steps with resolve, vowing to reclaim everything.
He was striving.
The World Tree fought with equal madness.
The Supreme Immortal Venerable too became a frenzied force.
They burned everything, determined to delay the two Heavenly Daos.
“Two ants, truly annoying!” The First Heavenly Dao’s killing intent was boundless.
“After all, to take half a step to the Other Shore, we sacrificed some power. It’s the price we paid. Otherwise, their burning would be futile.” The Second Heavenly Dao moved like a shadow.
The World Tree battled drenched in blood, radiating fierce intent. “Haha! No matter what, we’ll hold you back, buy time.”
The Supreme Immortal Venerable had become a blazing fire. The wills of the Immortal Emperor, Divine Emperor, and Heavenly Emperor had vanished, leaving only pure combat instinct, muttering endlessly, “Qin Li, the Other Shore, you must win…”
Beyond the battlefield.
The Third Heavenly Dao grew weaker.
Yet it didn’t join the fight, instead mocking, “Fools, do you really think the Other Shore is so easy to reach?”
“Qin Li can’t traverse the river of time backwards. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent three eras plotting and amassing power!”
Suddenly.
Above the great sun.
Qin Li’s shadow cracked.
The Heavenly Dao sneered coldly, “He can’t hold on!”
The World Tree’s heart jolted, a crushing despair threatening to overwhelm him.
Yet he gritted his teeth, swung his sword in fury, tears streaming uncontrollably from his eyes, “Qin Li, I know this is selfish, but you’ve created so many miracles. Please, just one more time!”
“This is the last time…”
He was pleading.
Qin Li was in agony.
A true, devastating pain.
After burning himself, Qin Li gained immense power.
But the river of time was too vast. Before even completing the recent ancient era, his strength faltered, his energy waning.
“One more step, just one more step, I’m almost at the middle ancient era, then the upper ancient, the far ancient, the primordial…” Qin Li was emaciated, his essence nearly spent, his immortal marks dimmed, one foot already in the grave.
The Other Shore!
Too distant.
Qin Li couldn’t reach it.
Now, only his unyielding belief remained.
But belief was ethereal, unable to withstand the pressure of time.
“I’ve made it!”
“I’m about to reach the middle ancient era.”
Qin Li glimpsed the fall of the Second Sanctuary.
Like a moth to a flame, he plunged in, facing even greater pressure.
Boom!!!
A massive explosion.
Qin Li couldn’t hold on.
He stumbled back repeatedly, collapsing to the ground.
His invincible immortal body cracked inch by inch like porcelain.
“No! Is there no strength left? I still need to revive them…”
His body crumbled in the ages, his spirit faded in powerlessness. Qin Li could only feel pain, coldness, and darkness.
Another brush with death, but the torment surpassed the previous two.
For he truly had no contingencies left.
It was all ending.
Such unwillingness.
It began.
A montage before death.
Recalling a lifetime of hard-fought struggles.
The hardest to forget were always those peaceful days.
Faintly, he could hear his loved ones calling.
“Qin kid!”
“You’ve got to pull yourself together!”
“Husband! Get up! Keep going!”
Around Qin Li, specks of fluorescence swirled, twinkling like stars, calling out ceaselessly.
Suddenly.
Qin Li snapped awake.
This wasn’t a deathbed vision.
“You didn’t die? How…”
Qin Li realised instantly, overjoyed, “No, you’re not dead, because you died in the future, yet live in the past!”
Chaos explained, “More precisely, the universe’s restart and spacetime’s chaos allowed us to exist in the past. And thanks to that incredible immortal rainbow you left piercing through time, we could follow its trail here.”
“No time for chatter!”
Dugu Laomo shouted frantically, “Qin kid, get to the Other Shore, the heavens are about to collapse!”
Qin Li smiled bitterly, “Everyone, I’m sorry, I truly have no strength left, I can’t revive you, I’m sorry!”
“Don’t give up!”
Wugong Mountain Lord called out, “Remember the Divine Emperor’s theory?”
Lingtai Temple Master added, “If you can’t do it alone, then gather the spirits of all beings, forge a supreme will, and reach the Other Shore.”
“Husband!”
“Qin Li!”
“Father!”
“Dao Ancestor!”
“We swear to follow you to the death!”
The heroes of the heavens transformed into primal spirits, rushing to aid him.
“We can help too, we don’t always need your protection.” Chu Qingyin voiced the shared sentiment of the women.
“Good!”
Qin Li rallied with a final burst of life.
With a fierce inhale, he absorbed the primal spirits of all.
His withered body began to fill out, glowing with a pure white radiance.
