Chapter 745: Chapter 764: Space-Time Inversion, Returning to the Origin.
Time seemed to flow backward, space appeared to transform, and Ye Xuan felt a flash before his eyes, experiencing an immense distortion of heaven and earth. When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him left him stunned on the spot.
A thousand-foot waterfall cascaded down, its splashing droplets clear and sparkling, smashing fiercely into the pond, causing a multitude of waves to burst forth in breathtaking splendor.
Like a stream plummeting down three thousand feet, as if the Milky Way was falling from the Nine Heavens!
Amidst the thunderous sound of water, there sat a person in white by the side of the pond, back facing Ye Xuan. The person was intently gazing at the array diagram in hand, undisturbed even by the roaring noise of the waterfall hitting the pond.
“Brother White… Brother White?”
Ye Xuan stared at Liu Baiyi’s silhouette in amazement, fists clenched so tightly that his complexion turned extremely red. His eyes flickered with an intense tremble as they opened and closed.
Ye Xuan suddenly shouted out, taking a few hastened steps towards Liu Baiyi, pressing his hand excitedly onto Liu Baiyi’s shoulder. However, what happened next left him stunned on the spot.
Ye Xuan’s hand passed right through Liu Baiyi’s body, feeling nothing at all—it became evident that the Liu Baiyi in front of him was merely a scene from spacetime, brought back by the Kunlun Mirror that had reversed time and space within this realm to reveal the past.
Speechless, a bitter expression passed through Ye Xuan’s eyes. He finally realized that Liu Baiyi had long been dead, and the scene before him was nothing more than events that had already occurred.
“Life and Death Eight Gates, Qiankun Reversal, to turn life into death, it requires the shifting of the stars of the Heavenly Gang Thirty-Six Heavenly Stars and the Earthly Fiend Seventy-Two Stars to wield the power that can overturn heaven and earth.”
“No, if the stars are shifted, the Life and Death Eight Gates will be unstable; this method just won’t work.”
Within the retrospection of time and space, Liu Baiyi’s brows were tightly furrowed, his originally black hair now increasingly lifeless, with a good deal of white hairs interspersed, clearly draining himself in the creation of the Reverse Immortal Array Map.
“No, no, no, how can Brother Ye, who resides in the Earth Immortal Realm, compare to those terrifying immortals? This Reverse Immortal Array is meant to achieve victory with weakness over strength. If it cannot suppress those terrifying immortals, how can I pass this array to Brother Ye?”
Suddenly, Liu Baiyi lifted his head; his face was pale and his eyes bloodshot, filled with unwillingness.
Ye Xuan saw Liu Baiyi’s familiar face, his fists clenched tighter, veins throbbing on them, and a sorrowful expression crossing his eyes.
Although Ye Xuan knew that what was unfolding before him was merely a past scene of Liu Baiyi creating the Reverse Immortal Array, seeing Liu Baiyi exerting himself to the point of old age for the sake of perfecting the array was heart-wrenchingly painful.
“Qiankun Reversal, Sun and Moon Inverted, Life and Death Eight Gates, Transforming Immortals into Mortals, to bring down an Immortal Realm, one must disrupt the so-called Laws of Heaven and Earth. Then, this Kan Gate should be placed here…” With a look of joy, Liu Baiyi’s hand brought down the Array Pen, beginning to draw the Reverse Immortal Array Map once again.
A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed out from Liu Baiyi’s mouth. Yet, as if he felt nothing, he laughed with joy and continued to swiftly move the Array Pen, drawing the Reverse Immortal Array Map.
“Baiyi brother, why do you torment yourself so?”
Ye Xuan silently observed Liu Baiyi, particularly recalling the scene of his creation of the Reverse Immortal Array Map in years past, because Ye Xuan could clearly see that back then, Liu Baiyi was no more than a mere mortal. Yet for the sake of drawing the Reverse Immortal Array Map, Liu Baiyi had long abandoned sleep and sustenance, exhausting his energy, with his health deteriorating by the day.
Back in the day, Ye Xuan had heard from Xue Ji about Liu Baiyi’s experience in creating the Reverse Immortal Array Map. At that time, he only appreciated Liu Baiyi’s sentiment, but today, as he witnessed Liu Baiyi’s creation of the Reverse Immortal Array Map with his own eyes, it left Ye Xuan’s heart aching with bitterness.
Time passed, little by little, while Ye Xuan simply stayed by Liu Baiyi’s side, silently watching as Liu Baiyi tirelessly and exhaustively worked on the Reverse Immortal Array Map.
In the cavern, beside a pond, under the scorching sun—even though Ye Xuan had once procured a Cultivator’s body at the Golden Core Stage for Liu Baiyi—in such ceaseless, grueling labor, Liu Baiyi’s soul and body gradually approached their end.
Ten years, a hundred years, two hundred years, all the way to four hundred years.
When the four-hundredth year arrived, an excited, manic laughter came from Liu Baiyi. He held the Reverse Immortal Array Map in his hands, tears streaming down in exhilaration, even as his mouth kept bleeding. His body, as gaunt as a skeleton, had truly reached the end of its life. It was only his powerful will that had kept him alive until now.
“I’ve done it, I’ve succeeded!”
“Qiankun Inversion, Sun and Moon Inverted, Life and Death Eight Gates, Transforming Immortals into Mortals!”
Liu Baiyi, like a child, danced and gestured wildly. He clutched the Reverse Immortal Array Map tightly, his eyes bereft of light, but they shone with a grandeur he had never exhibited before.
Looking at this scene, Ye Xuan’s eyes were filled with extreme sorrow. If he had known back then that the Reverse Immortal Array Map was created in such a manner, he would have refused the item and certainly stopped Liu Baiyi.
Alas, time could not be reversed. What he saw now was merely a glimpse of the past, and nothing could be undone.
“One step, just one more step, and the Reverse Immortal Array Map will truly be complete. Let my undying spirit follow the Reverse Immortal Array Map to accompany Brother Ye in conquering the vast and boundless Earth Immortal Realm.”
“With my blood as the seal and my soul as the pact—consolidate!”
Liu Baiyi laughed wildly and rebelliously. With one finger, he pierced his chest, and a drop of his blood emerged from his heart and instantaneously entered the Reverse Immortal Array Map. This caused the map to shine brightly, and eight gates appeared in the void. Countless starlights fell from the Heavenly Vault, making the Reverse Immortal Array Map swayed unrestrainedly in the void.
When all was done, Liu Baiyi slowly collapsed to the ground, his body gradually becoming radiant, even as his soul began to fade.
But even as his soul was scattering, his trembling hands passed the Reverse Immortal Array Map to Xue Ji, repeatedly entrusting her to wait here for Ye Xuan’s return.
With his body obliterated and his soul dissipated, Liu Baiyi ultimately turned into a wisp of dust, vanishing between Heaven and Earth, leaving only his white garment to fall to the ground—Liu Baiyi ceased to exist in this world.
Mountains shook and the earth collapsed; as Ye Xuan watched Liu Baiyi’s soul scatter before him, he couldn’t bear the pain of parting with a dear friend, and he let out a heart-wrenching and indignant roar.
Seeing his friend perish before his eyes, Ye Xuan felt as if his heart was being wrenched out, the pain so intense it made it difficult to breathe—because Liu Baiyi had died for him, and had Ye Xuan not had Liu Baiyi’s Reverse Immortal Array Map, he might have already fallen at the hands of his mighty enemies!