Chapter 815: Reverse Time, Sever Karma

Chapter 815: Reversing Time, Severing Causality

Ye Jiuyou departed first, returning to her Nine Abyss. The causal tracing Zhao Changhe had spoken of stirred her deeply, and she went back to her lair to seek out any clues.

After all, the spectacle of Piaomiao being caught bathing was amusing, but she couldn’t see it herself… She’d come back later to witness their blushing faces.

Left behind, Piaomiao held a single page of the book, staring at Zhao Changhe, neither of them in the mood for anything serious.

When Ye Jiuyou was there, it was bearable. But once she left, the two of them alone—man and woman—became unbearably awkward.

Piaomiao shifted imperceptibly… Upon waking, she still felt a certain stickiness. What in the world was that?

Her body was still weak, lacking strength, languidly wanting only to lie a while longer… There were heavy kiss marks on her neck, evidence of how fiercely it had been done.

Indeed, one could not deceive oneself by claiming it had nothing to do with her just because she had been in a forced slumber. The body was hers, and every trace would be felt once she took control. And it wasn’t even a complete slumber—the moment she awoke midway…

That had been her, Piaomiao, in the midst of it, body and soul.

Normally, Piaomiao wouldn’t have woken so late. Rather, she didn’t know how to face anyone, so she deliberately delayed. For a moment, she even considered letting Cui Yuanyang take over again… But then she thought, no—if she let Cui Yuanyang continue, what would she do today?

Even if she couldn’t face anyone, she had to steel herself and shove that rabbit-like fox back into the sea of consciousness to stay.

They stood awkwardly for a long while before Zhao Changhe finally spoke: “How is Yuanyang?”

Piaomiao’s face was expressionless: “Still unconscious. You…”

She trailed off, unable to finish. In truth, she wanted to ask—how could you bear to be so brutal with such a delicate, timid girl? You’re practically a beast.

Zhao Changhe said, “Between husband and wife, the more effort you put in, the happier she is.”

“…” Piaomiao forced out, “Don’t tell me that.”

Zhao Changhe said, “I know your cultivation hasn’t fully recovered to its peak, and you still need to control this body to train it. So I won’t press for anything else—only if we can make an agreement: let Yuanyang come out for a while each day?”

Piaomiao pursed her lips for a long time. In her heart, she wanted to refuse, but she knew refusal would mean a falling out. Finally, she could only say, “I can let her come out for one hour at the Chen hour each day. But can you promise not to do… that? That really isn’t urgent.”

She deliberately chose the Chen hour, meaning early morning, when surely they wouldn’t misbehave… Zhao Changhe found it oddly amusing and deliberately said, “If not that, can we kiss?”

Piaomiao was truly exasperated: “Handle it yourselves… I really don’t want to discuss this topic.”

Zhao Changhe said, “When I probed with my spirit earlier, I didn’t mean to touch you… I was trying to see if I could find a way to separate you two during dual cultivation.”

Piaomiao was so embarrassed she could bleed: “I know. What was the result?”

“No solution for now.” Zhao Changhe pondered a moment, then asked, “Earlier, Ye Jiuyou suggested I seek out Poxun… I think Poxun, who deals with the human heart, focuses on the different manifestations within the spirit. Perhaps I can find some reference from him?”

Piaomiao breathed a sigh of relief. As long as they talked about business, no more of those topics… She quickly responded, “Perhaps. Besides Ye Wuming, Poxun is probably the most likely to have a way. As for Jiuyou, she’s good at stirring things up even more, but sorting things out neatly is not her forte.”

“Alright, I’ll pay extra attention when the time comes.”

After saying this, they fell silent again.

After a long while, Piaomiao asked proactively, “You want me to hold the Heavenly Book. What do you need to do?”

“I need to observe time and peer into causality. Not touching it avoids Ye Wuming gathering all nine pages, so you or Ye Jiuyou must hold it—she can’t snatch it instantly from your hands.” Zhao Changhe said, “Earlier, Ye Jiuyou only held it for me to sense. Now that it’s in your hands, you also need to sense it. Let’s do it together.”

Who wants to do it with you… Piaomiao suppressed her irritation and said, “Fine.”

Their goals differed. Piaomiao wanted to see if she could glimpse the way of time and space from the Heavenly Book; Zhao Changhe still traced causality through time. Last time, with Ye Jiuyou holding it, he naturally traced everything about her. This time, with Piaomiao holding it, his tracing target became Piaomiao.

Piaomiao’s connection with the Four Mountains and Rivers Swords had been seen before through the Qinghe Sword, along with many conversations between her and the ancient Azure Dragon—and the bathing scene was from that time.

This time, Zhao Changhe deliberately pointed directly to the origin, to see the initial cause of Piaomiao’s birth.

And he found it much easier than tracing Ye Jiuyou.

Piaomiao did not exist from the dawn of heaven and earth. She began to coalesce only after the world had many living beings and nations had formed—she was born quite late. This hardly counted as a “primordial demon god”; rather, she was a later deity, formed by human will.

When nations arose, “mountains, rivers, and altars” became a concrete image—the god of the state. The dragon qi and mountain-river veins that people spoke of manifested as a deity, taking shape amidst the vast rivers and streams. Emperors of successive dynasties worshipped the state altars, and they worshipped her.

This god originally had no name, being intangible and formless, merely the hazy, ethereal qi of mountains and rivers, so she was called Piaomiao. As she grew stronger and gradually took human form, she became a woman somewhat resembling Yuanyang, like one in the midst of waters.

It was said that Xia Longyuan lost the favor of the qi veins. If Piaomiao had been present then, it would have manifested as her ignoring Xia Longyuan and no longer lending him power. But she wasn’t there, yet things still developed that way—meaning this god could also be unnecessary… Like Han Chi, passive could remain passive, abstract could remain abstract; there was no need for a specific deity to act as spokesperson.

She could be killed.

Ye Wuming had already done so…

But Zhao Changhe felt he was a bit hypocritical. Though he had told Han Chi, “passive can remain passive,” for Piaomiao, he truly saw no reason to kill her. She had done nothing wrong; all her deeds were good. Why kill her? Perhaps it wasn’t hypocrisy—the standard was one: the distinction between good and evil.

Unlike Ye Wuming, who seemed to have an attitude of “even if orchids block the path, I will remove them” for her own goals. Good or bad, she would kill them all.

In short, what Piaomiao had said earlier was correct… For the present human world and its rivers and mountains, he, Zhao Changhe, was the pillar, and Piaomiao would be his great support. She was born for this.

If Piaomiao had any flaws, there were about two. First, she lacked human emotions, had no personal pursuits, and perhaps even lacked a sense of shame. She followed her role with great detachment, like Ye Wuming—if a good person obstructed the grand scheme of the land, she would remove that orchid as well. Second, she now harbored deep hatred for Ye Wuming.

These two points were somewhat contradictory… Because following the first meant she shouldn’t have the second.

Conversely, since hatred had been born, could the first still hold? After awakening, her sense of shame had exploded… With such love and hate, could she still be impartial? Could she still act absolutely for the sake of the mountains, rivers, and altars as in ancient times?

No longer.

If it were the ancient Piaomiao, she would never have mingled with Ye Jiuyou. She would have loathed Ye Jiuyou at first sight, and her primary goal would have been to help the current Great Han unify Guanlong… But today’s Piaomiao, after spending so long with Ye Jiuyou, only exchanged cold words, never fought, and never even asked about Guanlong.

“How is it? Seeing your origin, comparing it to today—what do you think?” Zhao Changhe suddenly asked.

This question was not in reality, but at the end of the river of time, at the moment of Piaomiao’s first coalescence.

The qi coalescing before him actually spoke: “You… how do you know I’m here?”

“I can see it. This qi vein is abnormal—it’s no longer pure, nor as natural, as if it’s actively gathering itself.” Zhao Changhe said, “I’ve already gained some mastery in the way of qi veins. I’m fairly skilled at this kind of observation now.”

“Yes… Even this you can see. It’s somewhat unexpected.”

Zhao Changhe said, “But I advise you not to do this… Tampering with causality may destroy you. Stop before it’s complete.”

“Why do you think I’m making this attempt? Don’t you know?”

“Is it to go back and trouble Ye Wuming, or to use this method to separate yourself early and avoid the matter between Yuanyang and me?”

“Both.”

“Such an obsession is very unlike Piaomiao.” Zhao Changhe said solemnly, “What I fear now is… that you will fall into demonic ways.”

“So?”

“Forgive me.”

In reality, Zhao Changhe suddenly struck out, a finger pointing at Piaomiao’s body before him.

Piaomiao raised her hand to block, and both their spirits left the Heavenly Book at the same time.

Piaomiao looked coldly into Zhao Changhe’s eyes: “Whether I fall into demonic ways or die in the chaos of time, wouldn’t that solve a headache for you? Why bother meddling?”

“The human world may not need Piaomiao… but it must never have a demonic Piaomiao.” Zhao Changhe said flatly, “Today’s mountains and rivers—I am guarding them.”

Piaomiao’s expression flickered.

Zhao Changhe said word by word, “Piaomiao, you have failed in your duty…”

Piaomiao pressed her lips tight, and after a long while, she said, “Sorry. I have become selfish.”

Zhao Changhe did not dwell on her fault; instead, he praised, “Your attempt just now already had the flavor of traversing time and altering causality… It’s truly impressive. I want to learn this too, but I can’t grasp the key—I can only look at past images through tracing. You’ve already managed to travel directly. Can you give me some guidance?”

Piaomiao asked in surprise, “You… don’t blame me?”

“In your situation… if it were me, I would be even more extreme. I can’t be too harsh.” Zhao Changhe smiled. “Besides, I’m selfish too—I really want to learn the way of time and space.”

Piaomiao’s gaze toward Zhao Changhe finally softened: “Yuanyang likes you. It’s not without reason.”

After a pause, she added, “Time travel—I haven’t directly achieved it… As you said, just now it wasn’t completed; no one knows whether the final result will be success or a great catastrophe. I’ll share what I’ve realized with you; you can consider it for yourself.”

With that, she pointed a finger at Zhao Changhe’s brow. He did not resist, letting her guide him with that single touch.

Zhao Changhe closed his eyes to digest for a moment, lost in thought. The theory wasn’t difficult—like the constant practice of seeing is being, where the spirit descends from ten thousand miles away; it was the same here. Since one could see the upstream of the river of time, naturally one could also see is being, and likewise go there. It was just that the power required was far greater than traversing two-dimensional space, so Piaomiao could do it directly, but he couldn’t grasp the key.

After all, it was limited by cultivation… The level of the Second Realm of Imperial Realm was far from enough for playing with this.

But it seemed he could do some other training.

Zhao Changhe pondered for a moment, then looked up at a nearby branch.

Snow weighed down the branch, and there were no green leaves on its tip. Zhao Changhe stared fixedly for a very long time, as if seeing its upright past before it was covered by snow.

Then he pointed a finger, and the branch gradually lifted its head, the snow covering it falling with a rustle.

To an outsider, this finger would have been scoffed at—just a burst of energy straightening the branch and shaking off the snow, something even a beginner in martial arts could do. But Piaomiao watched with eyes wide in shock.

This was not caused by energy… This was time, fundamentally tracing back the past of this branch.

If he went deeper, it would be the withered poplar blooming.

This technique, Ye Jiuyou could do it, and Ye Wuming could too, even more powerfully… But none of them had imagined that Zhao Changhe, having only just comprehended the Book of Time and Space not long ago, with Piaomiao’s assistance, could actually pull off this move—it was a law-level divine skill, wasn’t it!

Zhao Changhe frowned in thought again, then suddenly formed his fingers into a blade and made a virtual slash.

That tree suddenly vanished completely, as if it had never existed in the world.

The three women instinctively clenched their fists.

This was no longer just time… It seemed mixed with something else.

It was as if he had cut off the cause of this tree being planted from its very root… He was severing causality!

This was only for a small tree, relatively simple; using it on a person would be much more troublesome, and he might not be able to do it. But he had already taken this step—how far could it be to using it on a person? And on a demon god?

Piaomiao was almost dumbfounded. Was this ability to draw inferences and this talent the root of how this man had reached the top of the Heavenly Ranking in just two and a half years?

Somewhere, Ye Wuming sneered with her arms crossed. Already stunned by this? I’m used to it…

But there was one thing that surprised her. Originally, Ye Wuming thought Zhao Changhe would be eager to try traveling back to ancient times to do something, but now it seemed he didn’t want to, and he had even stopped Piaomiao’s time travel.

He seemed unwilling to create any unknown variables… To uncover the mysteries of antiquity, watching a movie was enough; there was no need to go there. The reason he studied time was probably that even learning skills was secondary—his ultimate goal was to find a way home.

Ye Wuming pursed her lips. With this little understanding of time and space, it was still early for him to go home…

Zhao Changhe let out a long breath and bowed to Piaomiao: “Thank you for your guidance.”

Piaomiao said woodenly, “I didn’t guide you in anything… This move of severing causality, I can’t do it myself.”

Zhao Changhe said, “I once traced back your conversation with the Annihilation Flame in the Qinghe Sword.”

Piaomiao was startled: “And?”

“It said that the death of the Heavenly Dao would not normally cause the annihilation of the world; the reason it turned out this way was that the Heavenly Dao, before its death, also felt that this world should be destroyed. What does that mean? That it wasn’t the death of the Heavenly Dao that caused the collapse of the era, but the Heavenly Dao dragging others down with it in death, destroying the world?”

“Its words were spoken from its own standpoint, trying to find a Heavenly Dao rationale for its own annihilation, so they may not be entirely credible… But they shouldn’t be completely without basis.”

“Regardless of whether it’s justifying itself… Can I assume that the Heavenly Dao might not have died completely?”

Piaomiao narrowed her eyes: “What are you implying?”

“The thing suppressed by the Cold Serpent, that fullness of hatred and destruction… Is it related to the Heavenly Dao’s will to annihilate the world?” Zhao Changhe sighed. “I’ve been tracing back to the origin, trying to find related traces, but I haven’t succeeded.”

Piaomiao was silent for a moment, then finally sighed: “I think the only one in this world who can answer these questions is Ye Wuming.”

As she spoke, Ye Jiuyou appeared beside them with great interest, poking her head in: “How was it? Did you see it? Did you see it?”

Piaomiao: “?”

Zhao Changhe spread his hands: “No, I traced Piaomiao’s origin. Purer than yours, but unfortunately much later than yours, so I couldn’t see more of what I wanted.”

Ye Jiuyou fumed: “Why was I the one who got seen, and she doesn’t have to be seen? No, you keep watching! Watch until you see it!”

Piaomiao was baffled: “What are you two talking about?”

Ye Jiuyou came clean: “Watching you bathe! When tracing important causality, if you happen to be bathing… Uh, no, pretend I didn’t say that.”

Zhao Changhe covered his face.

Piaomiao looked at the two of them with a strange expression for a long while, then finally blurted out: “If he wants to see me, he only needs to tell Cui Yuanyang to take off her clothes… In fact, he’s already done everything, so what’s there to see? So what exactly are you expecting?”

Ye Jiuyou opened her mouth, then closed it.

Strange, what just happened? Why did Piaomiao suddenly lose her shame, able to say such things so calmly?

What was this man made of? Cooperating with anyone made the relationship between both sides better?

“Wait a minute.” Piaomiao finally realized: “So you’ve been seen naked…”

Ye Jiuyou: “…”

Piaomiao calmly stuffed the Book of Time and Space back into her hands: “Then you two continue watching slowly. My business is done.”