Chapter 553: Analysis of the Four Immortals

"Why didn't we resurrect the Immortal in the future?"

When Immortal Ying Tian posed this question, the celestial realm fell into an abrupt silence. The four immortals remained mute.

Indeed, this was the glaring enigma. Even if others lacked the power to resurrect the Immortal Fairy, could not any one of them have done so effortlessly? It was merely a matter of chanting her name. If they willed it, who could possibly stop them?

"It is not just the Immortal. You, I, all four of us might have met with disaster!" Immortal Jiu Chong declared, his voice cold. It was the only plausible explanation.

While this accounted for the previous puzzle, an even grander mystery now loomed before the four immortals. What exactly could have transpired to cause even the five ancient immortals to fall into ruin?

"Could it be that the four of us are gone as well?" Immortal Qilin suddenly interjected, a sudden chill striking his own heart at the words.

After all, it was a distinct possibility. Since even the Immortal Fairy had perished, it was theoretically feasible for the four of them to have been eliminated as well.

"You speak of the worst-case scenario, but it is highly unlikely," Immortal Sui Yue remarked, shaking his head in analysis. "The Immortal was assassinated in secret. This indicates the culprit's strength might be inferior to hers, or perhaps greater, but only marginally so—there was no overwhelming disparity. Under such circumstances, as long as the four of us stand united, whoever lurks in the shadows would surely lack the power to slay us all."

"Ah, Sui Yue, since you claim they used a Dao Fruit to sever our connection to the future, can you determine precisely how far into the future that severance extends?"

Immortal Sui Yue frowned. "I can try, but the probability of success is slim. Give me a moment."

Once more, Immortal Sui Yue invoked the Dao Fruit of Time. Primal chaos surged and billowed as his true form ascended entirely beyond the constraints of time and space. Peering down upon the vast tapestry of history, he found the future perfectly clear and unclouded, with no sign of any severance or obstruction.

"How is it?"

"Just as I anticipated. It will not work. The future is far too lucid."

"Then where is the severance you spoke of?"

Immortal Sui Yue stared at Immortal Qilin as if looking at a fool. "This is what happens when you refuse to listen to my lectures during our usual gatherings."

Immortal Qilin bristled with rage. Having been vexed twice before by Immortal Sui Yue using the Dao Fruit of Time, he was long past fearing such methods. Did the man truly believe he was invincible in combat?

Though Immortal Sui Yue mocked Immortal Qilin with his tongue, he nonetheless explained, "The future is inherently uncertain. What I perceive is merely the most probable outcome. The closer the envisioned future is to the present, the higher its probability; the further away, the lower."

"Suppose the future I see is 'Future A'—the most likely path, where the Immortal is never assassinated."

"The reality where she is assassinated is 'Future B.' Moments ago, when I conversed with her, I forced the Dao Fruit of Time to establish a link with Future B. The so-called severance is a rupture between myself and Future B alone. It has no bearing on Futures A, C, or D."

"Meaning, it is not set in stone that the Immortal will be assassinated?"

"No. Future is a straight line; it does not branch. The Immortal will certainly be assassinated. It is just that, in the eyes of the Dao Fruit of Time, the probability of this event appears so negligible that it cannot be observed."

"Only when I cultivate the Dao Fruit of Time to the point where I can observe all possible futures will I discover the exact moment of severance."

Though Immortal Sui Yue’s avenue yielded no immediate results, the assembled immortals were not discouraged, continuing their analysis of the situation instead.

"Only an immortal can harm an immortal. To assassinate the Immortal proves the assailant is one of our peers. Apart from the five of us, is there any other immortal in existence?"

Immortal Jiu Chong held the greatest authority on this matter. "According to my historical verifications, I was the first to attain immortality, followed sequentially by the four of you, with the Immortal being the last. There is no sixth immortal."

"In that case, there are two possibilities for the assassin who struck the Immortal down." Immortal Ying Tian held up two fingers.

"First, someone in the future attained immortality, possessing unparalleled talent."

"Second, there are not just five immortals in the present—there is a sixth!"

As these words echoed, everyone froze in unison.

"Impossible! The tribulation of ascending to immortality is terrifying beyond measure. How could a sixth person achieve immortality and manage to conceal it?" Every single one of them had endured the Immortality Tribulation; it was a cataclysm capable of obliterating heaven and earth. Even a blind man would perceive its occurrence. It could absolutely never be hidden.

"The Immortality Tribulation indeed cannot be hidden. But what if the adversary forged a Karma Dao Fruit or a Destiny Dao Fruit, using its divine might to shroud their very existence? Why should that be impossible?"

To shroud one's existence and cause oneself to be forgotten would naturally erase the memory of that terrifying Immortality Tribulation from history. An immortal wielding the Karma Dao Fruit might be unable to transcend beyond immortality, but that did not preclude them from entering the realm of immortals in the first place.

"This would also explain the severance Immortal Sui Yue spoke of—employing the Karma Dao Fruit to break the causal ties between the past and the future."

"Or perhaps they utilized the Destiny Dao Fruit to sever Huang Doudou’s destined survival, altering her fate from life to death. Because we know too much about the future, Huang Doudou's destined death would be disrupted. Hence, the severance appeared to bar us from learning too much!"

"Failing that, there are countless other Dao Fruits we know nothing about. The possibilities are vast."

In truth, their understanding of the Karma and Destiny Dao Fruits was superficial at best; these were merely theoretical concepts. Without condensing a complete Dao Fruit, no one could truly grasp its exact potency.

Take the Immortal Dao Fruit, for instance. During its embryonic stage, Huang Doudou merely used it to restore her own physical state or flit about within statues. Who could have foreseen that upon condensing the complete Immortal Dao Fruit, she would gain the ability to self-detonate at any time and place, and resurrect the moment someone called her name?

"Or perhaps there is a third possibility for the assassin, though I cannot think of it for the time being." Immortal Ying Tian shrugged. To conceive two distinct possibilities in so short a span was already an extraordinary feat.

The other three immortals shook their heads in turn, unable to fathom a third scenario for now.

"Should we inform the Immortal of this matter?" Immortal Qilin inquired. Both Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Sui Yue began pondering the feasibility of the idea.

"Absolutely not!" Immortal Jiu Chong was the first to step forward in opposition.

"Given the Immortal's temperament, if she learns she is to be assassinated in the future, she might very well say, 'If I commit suicide first, I cannot be assassinated,' and kill herself on the spot to wait for her future resurrection!"

"She might even perform other shocking antics!"

Immortal Qilin fell silent.

Immortal Ying Tian fell silent.

Immortal Sui Yue fell silent.

That did indeed sound precisely like Huang Doudou's style.

Immortal Ying Tian stretched lazily. "Let us prepare gradually. I doubt anything will happen to the Immortal anytime soon. Sui Yue, you slipped out under the pretext of officiating a match. Calculating the time, you ought to head back. Otherwise, if the Immortal grows suspicious and comes looking for us, disaster will strike."

Recalling the culinary creations of the Immortal Fairy and Immortal Qilin's two wives, Immortal Sui Yue felt a sudden urge to embrace mutual destruction.

"Very well, who else but me to bear this misfortune?" Immortal Sui Yue sighed, dragging his weary frame as he prepared to return to the North Star, resigned to his fate.

"By the way, it will likely take you three a century to finish your game of chess, which will undoubtedly leave behind a historical reflection. Erase the reflection of our meeting with the future Immortal. If the one who assassinates her glimpses this historical shadow, would it not expose the fact that the future Immortal can still be resurrected?"

"You are indeed sinister and crafty," Immortal Ying Tian praised, offering a thumbs-up.

"This is called leaving nothing to chance!" Immortal Sui Yue snapped in annoyance.