353: Time Rewind

[With the pillar of light as the center, the space within a hundred-mile radius suddenly "solidified."]

[It wasn't a stop, but rather being peeled away.]

[Time lost its flow there, and space was "clipped" out from the present world, forming an absolutely isolated, transparent "amber."]

[The next moment, the radiance reached its peak and then abruptly vanished.]

[The light pillar, along with the already blurred figure within it and the area of space not far away where Qin Yu was located—]

[Disappeared into thin air.]

[No traces remained, no aftershocks, not even a sliver of energy leaked out.]

[It was as if an invisible hand had lightly and thoroughly... erased them from this scroll of heaven and earth.]

[At the edge of the light screen, Liu Xuanyin, who had just stabilized the spirit boat, suddenly looked up, staring fixedly at the empty sky and the gap in the light screen, losing all his composure for the first time.]

[That wasn't an Evasion Technique.]

[That was... absolute control over space and time.]

[The people had been "vanished" right before his eyes.]

[The next second,]

[Above the firmament, a figure appeared without any warning.]

[There were no spatial fluctuations, no ripples of spiritual power, as if he was meant to be there all along, existing with this world.]

[Venerable Tianming stood quietly in the Void Realm, his robes still and his hair unmoving.]

[He lowered his eyes slightly, his gaze sweeping over the empty space below—]

[There were still some rule-based ripples remaining there after the space had been brutally "clipped," which ordinary people could not perceive.]

[He raised his right hand, his fingers brushing across the Void Realm in front of him in a seemingly slow but actually swift manner, as if plucking invisible zither strings.]

[Where his fingertips passed, subtle Law patterns flashed and vanished, then faded away.]

[His brow twitched imperceptibly.]

["Heh..."]

[A very light sneer, yet it made Liu Xuanyin's heart suddenly tighten.]

["To think you could actually... escape from right before my eyes." Venerable Tianming slowly withdrew his hand, his tone so flat that no emotion could be heard. "I have underestimated you."]

[He turned his face, his gaze falling upon Liu Xuanyin.]

[That look was not sharp, yet it gave Liu Xuanyin a chill as if his Divine Soul were being pierced by something invisible.]

["Liu Clan," Venerable Tianming spoke, his voice not loud, but every word was clear, echoing in every inch of the air, "have you lived in peaceful days for too long?"]

[Liu Xuanyin's expression instantly stiffened, and his fingers hidden in his sleeves tightened abruptly.]

[A surge of frustration and anger rushed to his head—]

[You, a dignified Mahayana Venerable, were stationed here, and didn't you also let them escape?]

[You can even say such words?]

[But not a trace of it showed on his face; instead, he buried his head even lower, his tone solemn:]

["The Venerable is right to lecture us. It was our dereliction of duty this time. Since we have already identified their roots, no matter how vast the Immortal Realm is, there will definitely be no place for them to hide. Please rest assured, Venerable."]

[Venerable Tianming did not look at him again.]

[It was as if he had just casually dropped an insignificant comment.]

[He turned around, his figure fading away silently like ink dissolving in water, as if he had never existed.]

[Only one instruction remained in the firmament, like a brand, coldly engraved in everyone's Sea of Consciousness:]

["That woman must be captured alive."]

["As for that man..."]

[Before the lingering sound dissipated, killing intent had already condensed.]

["—Kill."]

[On the other side,]

[You and Qin Yu were already within the Tianhuang Secret Realm.]

[At this moment, the "qingming mirror" itself, like an optical disc, was fleeing aimlessly within an unknown void.]

[It turned out that everything just now had been discussed between you and Qin Yu.]

[Of course, this mainly relied on the power of the "qingming mirror" and the "xuantian treasure mirror."]

[However, your self-detonation was not fake.]

[It was only at the moment your self-detonation broke through the Air-Sealing Formation that you successfully escaped with the help of the synergistic power of the "qingming mirror" and the "xuantian treasure mirror."]

[From your self-detonation to break the Formation, the backtrack of your Physical Body, and then escaping into the void, this series of actions was completed in an instant.]

[This was entirely because of the Heaven-Defying ability of the "xuantian treasure mirror," which made the process extremely fast, so fast that people simply had no time to react.]

[Because the power of time only covered you, using "Time Backtrack" to restore your Physical Body, the Air-Sealing Formation was not affected by the power of time and did not backtrack.]

[After a hole was broken in the Formation, the power locking the space weakened, and the "qingming mirror" immediately wrapped around you and Qin Yu, escaping into the void.]

[All of this happened at the very moment Liu Xuanyin retreated.]

[Even the hidden Venerable Tianming did not have time to act.]

[In fact, when you killed Liu Jinfeng, you also quietly used the Time Stasis effect of the "xuantian treasure mirror" on her, which was why she didn't have time to react.]

[Because of the Power of the Great Dao and the concealment of your own aura, that moment of Time Stasis was not discovered.]

[But even without that, Liu Jinfeng could not have escaped your "Lonely Slaying Annihilation" move.]

[You did this for two reasons.]

[First, to prevent Liu Jinfeng from having any other means to narrowly escape by chance.]

[Second, to test whether the person in the shadows could detect it.]

[It was precisely because of this that the subsequent series of operations—self-detonation to break the Formation, Physical Body backtrack, and void escape—occurred.]

["Brother, what do we do now?" Qin Yu asked you anxiously.]

["Don't worry, I'll perform a divination for you first!"]

[After saying that, you spread your hand and began to divine for Qin Yu.]

[Seeing the divination result still showing as "Neutral," you frowned slightly.]

[This was clearly Venerable Tianming obscuring Qin Yu's heavenly mandate.]

[With your current shallow means, you certainly couldn't calculate her true life pattern.]

[This made you feel a bit troubled.]

["How is it?" Qin Yu asked.]

[You looked at her seriously and said resolutely: "If I die, you must live on well and don't think about seeking revenge for me."]

["What nonsense are you talking about? We both have to live!"]

["It's no use. Once our identities are exposed, no matter how large the Immortal Realm is, we won't escape the tracking of Venerable Tianming and the hunt of the Liu Clan."]

["Won't other forces care about us?"]

["What do we have... that would make others willing to offend the Liu Clan and two Mahayana Cultivators? Even the former Qin Immortal Clan could be destroyed, let alone the two of us?"]

["What about Venerable Yuqing?"]

["I don't want to involve him. And even if we seek refuge with him, we will likely still end up dead. Even if I die, I won't let that Old Thief Heavens Mandate get his way."]

[Qin Yu immediately fell silent.]

[At this time,]

[The voice transmission of the "xuantian treasure mirror" sounded in your mind:]

["Master, the consumption this time was too great. I'm going into a deep sleep. You must, must be careful!"]

[You frowned slightly.]

[The power of the "xuantian treasure mirror" was indeed Heaven-Defying, actually allowing you to backtrack your Physical Body and Primordial Spirit at the very last moment of your self-detonation death.]

[This power of time was indeed extraordinary.]

[Unfortunately, doing so seemed to consume a great deal of its energy—you could feel it falling into a lethargic state, its aura becoming very weak.]

[A look of determination flashed in your eyes. You immediately decided to part ways with Qin Yu, so as to at least avoid being wiped out in one go.]