Chapter 551: Shielding

Sensing that someone was peering at them across time, the atmosphere in the immortal realm grew instantly tense.

"Could it be that the Immortal of Time wants to see exactly how long we can keep playing chess before we use the Dao Fruit of Time?" The Qilin Immortal's expression was peculiar, though even he felt that taking several months per move in a game of Gomoku was somewhat excessive.

The three immortals fell silent for a moment, all feeling that this was indeed a distinct possibility.

"Fairy, did they see us?" Lu Yang was truly startled. He was separated from the three immortals by three hundred thousand years, and what he was seeing was merely a reflection of history. To be able to perceive his existence under such circumstances, wasn't that a bit too terrifying?

The Immortal of Eternity glanced at Lu Yang. "Don't flatter yourself. It's my presence they sensed."

If Lu Yang's cultivation level alone could allow the three immortals to notice him, they would have done so from the very beginning of the historical reflection.

Not to mention Mister Tiankui, whose cultivation was far higher than Lu Yang's, yet the three immortals had shown no reaction to him whatsoever.

"When it comes to 'seeing,' only the Immortal of Time can look from the past to see us in the future. Ying Tian and the other two merely felt a vague sensation; they cannot even perceive exactly who is watching them."

Even so, Lu Yang still found immortals terrifying enough.

So it turned out that not all immortals were like the Immortal of Eternity.

The Immortal of Eternity suspected that Lu Yang harbored deeply disrespectful thoughts about her, but she had no evidence.

The Immortal of Nine Heavens pondered for a moment, arriving at another possibility.

"It might not necessarily be the Immortal of Time. It could be an immortal of a later generation looking back at us across endless ages. After all, given the speed at which you two play chess, the three of us will have to stay here for a hundred years, which is more than enough to leave a historical reflection."

"You mean an immortal has seen our historical reflection?"

"Indeed, that is a possibility. Right now, there are only the four of us immortals. There are plenty of half-immortals, but every single one of them is disappointing and unable to attain immortality. It is only natural that a few immortals would emerge over the long course of future history."

The three of them burst into laughter. If a few more immortals did appear in the future, perhaps they could help share the misery brought upon them by the Immortal of Eternity.

"Hey, Nine Heavens, Ying Tian, Qilin, can you hear me speaking?" the Immortal of Eternity shouted, releasing her aura in an attempt to project it backward.

When she first began watching the historical reflection, the Ying Tian Immortal had not noticed her either. It was only when she unconsciously leaked her aura while declaring her intention to punish the mastermind that he had sensed her presence.

"This aura..."

The Ying Tian Immortal and his companions instantly grew vigilant. This aura was faint and fleeting, like incense on the verge of burning out, nearly non-existent, yet they could still sense the other party's presence based on this microscopic trace.

"This aura belongs to Huang Doudou!"

The three of them realized it at the exact same moment.

The Immortal of Eternity had beaten them from childhood all the way to adulthood. After attaining immortality, they were blown up by her all day long, and even their current refuge here was because of her.

They were far too familiar with this aura!

Huang Doudou, it was absolutely Huang Doudou!

Immediately, a cold sweat broke out across their backs. They hadn't said anything bad about Huang Doudou just now, right?

Phew, it seemed they hadn't.

"Can you three hear me speaking?"

The Immortal of Eternity tried a few more times, but seeing that the Immortal of Nine Heavens and the others remained entirely unresponsive, she shook her head and gave up in disappointment.

It seemed they truly could not hear her speak.

Lu Yang frowned. After the Immortal of Nine Heavens and the others noticed the future Immortal of Eternity, they ought to have spoken her name. Yet, he only saw the Immortal of Nine Heavens open his mouth without any sound coming forth, and the shape of his lips did not match that of the Immortal of Eternity either.

"The censorship is ruthless indeed."

Substituting the Immortal of Time for the Immortal of Eternity in this context would have been a glaring flaw that even a fool could see through. Simply and crudely censoring it was much less troublesome.

"Don't you find it strange? Huang Doudou has been continuously releasing her aura. Is there something she wishes to convey to us?"

The Ying Tian Immortal frowned, playing with the chess piece in his hand. He assumed that the Immortal of Eternity had inadvertently caught sight of their historical reflection and, in a fit of playfulness, had released her aura.

If that were the case, doing it once would have sufficed. Why release it so many times in succession?

Was she addicted to the game, or was she trying to transmit information, yet unable to do so because the gap in time was too vast?

If it were the latter, why have the Immortal of Eternity transmit the information? Wouldn't it be far more effective to have the Immortal of Time do it?

Wait, could it be that a disaster occurred in the future, rendering the Immortal of Time unable to transmit information?

"Nine Heavens, go fetch Time. Let him see what is happening. I suspect Huang Doudou has business with us!"

"Also, do not let the local Huang Doudou know about this," the Qilin Immortal added. No one knew what would happen if the two Immortals of Eternity from the past and future were to meet—whether a time tunnel would open, or if they would instantly annihilate each other in a massive explosion; no one could say for certain.

"Alright."

Even without the Ying Tian Immortal and the Qilin Immortal saying more, the Immortal of Nine Heavens could deduce these implications himself.

The Immortal of Nine Heavens transformed into a streak of light, tearing through space. A single step covered tens of thousands of light-years as he crossed countless galaxies to arrive at the North Star, which was governed by the Immortal of Eternity.

Upon the North Star, immortal mist lingered. A single breath of it could extend a mortal's life and eradicate a hundred illnesses.

He saw countless cultivators kneeling by the riverbank, bowing three times and prostrating nine times toward a statue of the Immortal of Eternity erected there, before reverently ladling out a bowl of river water.

These were the local specialties of the North Star, the Mother-Child River and the Twin River.

When he arrived at the immortal manor of the Immortal of Eternity, he found her in the kitchen exchanging culinary insights with the Qilin Immortal's two wives. The Immortal of Time sat on pins and needles, presumably looking for an excuse to flee.

"Oh, Nine Heavens is back! Finished chopping the parasol wood?" The Immortal of Eternity poked her head out, a few smudges of flour on her face, smiling cheerfully from the kitchen doorway.

It startled the Immortal of Nine Heavens so badly he froze right on the spot.

He had done his utmost to conceal his aura, yet he had still been discovered by her.

"Finished chopping, though it took quite a bit of effort." He was a man who had weathered great storms, after all, and he reacted swiftly, lowering the parasol wood from his shoulder.

"Thank you for your hard work, Big Brother Nine Heavens." A young genius of the Phoenix clan smilingly carried the parasol wood into the kitchen, whereupon an endless chorus of dragon roars and phoenix cries echoed from within, leaving it a mystery as to what kind of meal they were preparing.

The Immortal of Nine Heavens said in a loud voice, "Ying Tian and Qilin, those two terrible chess players, don't know who cheated during their game, but someone insists they didn't make that last move. Time, go over there and help judge between them."

The Immortal of Time looked at the Immortal of Nine Heavens with immense gratitude. A true brother indeed; it was not in vain that I conceded the honor of being the first to attain immortality to you.

"Alright, I'll head over right away."

Immediately afterward, the Immortal of Time noticed something amiss. He saw that the Immortal of Nine Heavens bore a solemn expression, indicating that this was not merely a ruse to help him escape, but that his assistance was required for an entirely different matter.

What matter could possibly require his help, and why go to such lengths to bypass the Immortal of Eternity?

The Immortal of Time vaguely realized that something significant had occurred.

The first two immortals to achieve immortality crossed the boundless galaxies, returning the way they came at a speed faster than the Immortal of Nine Heavens traveling alone.

Along the way, after listening to the description provided by the Immortal of Nine Heavens, the Immortal of Time wore a grave expression and remained utterly silent.

(End of Chapter)