Tome of Troubled Times-Chapter 902: Nothing but Cowardice in Disguise

The Great Dao is utterly simple.

The principle is simple, but how does one actually transcend?

At the very least, Zhao Changhe could not yet endure the full erosion of time. Yet even so, while his hair had indeed turned white, he was still laughing, bright and unrestrained.

This was not like that time when Ruoyu was afflicted by witchcraft and aged from head to toe, nor was it like the time he tested the laws of time at the Heavenly River, making withered trees bloom. His body had withstood the ravages of time. It remained strong, unchanged. His face was still that of a youthful man—handsome, radiant, full of life.

Only his hair had turned white. This was a partial sign of aging, perhaps, but nothing that would affect the fight. If anything, it even made him even more dashing. Plenty of people dye their hair white on purpose anyway. Granted, that trend skewed more toward women, but still...

This is starting to veer off topic. Anyway, the point was that such localized aging could be adjusted and reversed with some rest. More importantly, it meant Zhao Changhe could withstand the erosion of time cast by the Heavenly Dao Himself.

The gates to the Other Shore had already been pushed ajar, and light had begun to shine through.

As expected, combat was still the fastest path to growth. Even if this battle across levels meant constantly treading on the razor-sharp edge of a sword, Zhao Changhe felt only more alive and more thrilled than ever.

With a peal of wild laughter, Zhao Changhe crashed headlong into the planet below, slamming into the surface with a force that gouged out a colossal crater.

In the distance, the rush of wind signaled the arrival of curious cultivators drawn by the spectacle. From afar, it looked as though a massive meteor had just fallen from the heavens.

The bones throughout Zhao Changhe’s entire body were nearly shattered, and he coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet. But despite the pain, his heart grew steadier. He was certain that he had landed on a cultivation planet, and this meant that his earlier hypothesis had been spot on. This place was a region of the chaotic starry sea, and most of the planets within it were full-fledged cultivation continents.

This truly is a starry sea. That small cultivation world was probably barely even the start...

Zhao Changhe now even suspected that the Other Shore was not the pinnacle of cultivation and that there were likely even higher realms of cultivation.

Suddenly, bloodcurdling screams came from above. The cultivators who had come to investigate were being slaughtered by the Heavenly Dao.

Zhao Changhe’s eyes narrowed.

As expected, this Heavenly Dao guy really is a demonic cultivator. He doesn’t care for any rules.

Among the screams, he caught faint shouts, “It’s Luo Chuan...”

“Luo Chuan! You dare commit slaughter on Heavenly Profound Star? Do you really think that no one on this star can stop you?!”

So the bastard actually has a name. Luo Chuan, huh...

It sounded oddly mundane. Suddenly, it was as if this formless cosmic concept had suddenly grown flesh and stepped into the mortal realm, as if it had fallen from the heavens and become a man.

But deep down, Zhao Changhe had always known. These were all just lifeforms from different dimensions. There was nothing that was truly indescribable.

However, Zhao Changhe had no time to dwell on such things. Taking advantage of the chaos above, he melded into the earth beneath the crater in a flash, vanishing underground without a sound. He slipped seamlessly into aquifers, flowing silently toward the sea.

He avoided using the laws of space since Luo Chuan was far more skilled in that domain. It was better for him to try out other avenues. After all, the key difference between planetary terrain and the vast void of space was the existence of the five elements. If the mysteries of space-time were a losing game against Luo Chuan, perhaps the natural laws could offer an opening.

Luo Chuan, as a demonic cultivator, might very well be lacking when it came to his mastery of the elements. Zhao Changhe could not be certain of that, of course, but he had taken notice that Luo Chuan had been mainly using spatial jumps to chase after him.

Sure enough, the moment Zhao Changhe vanished, Luo Chuan landed in the crater with a frown on his face.

He instinctively probed the surrounding space for any ripples but came up empty. Now, he had no idea which direction Zhao Changhe had fled in.

He expanded his divine sense to cover the entire continent, but he still came up with nothing.

He swept his divine sense across the oceans, and even then, he found nothing.

Then, suddenly, he caught a trace of movement. Zhao Changhe was soaring into the skies above, almost beyond the planet’s atmosphere.

Earth, water, wind.

Zhao Changhe’s mastery over any single one was perhaps nothing spectacular, but his mastery across all of them was awe-inspiring. In the brief moment, he had nearly evaded pursuit entirely, and this while he was heavily wounded.

Since many years ago, Luo Chuan had been aware that Zhao Changhe dabbled in many laws, never delving too deeply into any. But after retracing his path of cultivation over the last thirty years, Zhao Changhe had undergone a profound metamorphosis.

The murderous intent in Luo Chuan’s heart surged. He could not allow a natural-born warrior like this to grow any further. He alone was already a threat; the Ye sisters were not even necessary.

Luo Chuan blinked after him, intercepting him outside the atmosphere. But just as he carried out that spatial jump, Zhao Changhe dove right back down, heading straight toward an immortal mountain on a remote island.

A single glance was all it took to realize that this mountain housed the cave abode of a powerful cultivator, protected by layers of terrifying restrictions and a mountain-guarding array that radiated an overwhelming presence.

Luo Chuan’s attack followed close behind, but Zhao Changhe dodged with a flash, letting the strike crash into the mountain’s defenses. The array retaliated instantly, launching a brilliant five-colored beam into the sky.

“So you don’t mind dragging others into your battles, huh?” Luo Chuan sneered, deflecting the counterattack. “Some hero you are.”

Zhao Changhe ignored him, calmly adjusting his appearance to resemble Wang Daozhong. His left hand reached into his robes and rested upon the Heavenly Tome.

When he first crashed onto this planet, the collateral damage had been unintended. This time, the move was entirely deliberate.

He had overheard someone earlier say, “Do you really think that no one on this star can stop you?!” There was no way the top cultivators of this planet would sit idly by while a foreign demonic cultivator ran rampant.

As Zhao Changhe surveyed the land and sea, he noticed spirit veins converging on this very immortal mountain. He thus concluded that this had to be the domain of one of this place’s true guardians.

If there was ever a time to borrow strength, it was now.

As expected, just as Luo Chuan mocked him, the mountain-guarding array opened. A colossal sword emitting golden light roared forth, accompanied by a calm, elderly voice, “Heavenly Profound Star is not a playground for your kind, demonic cultivator. Leave now, or prepare to face consequences.”

Luo Chuan laughed coldly. “I’m pursuing a personal vendetta. Stay out of it, or I won’t show mercy.”

The other party’s voice remained level. “The same goes for you, Fellow Daoist. This is not the place for private duels.”

Boom!

The colossal sword slammed into Luo Chuan, unleashing a storm of chaotic energy over the sea and sky.

At the same time, a giant hand burst from the mountain, seemingly intent on swatting Zhao Changhe off the planet entirely.

Zhao Changhe, however, did not even try to dodge. He poured every ounce of strength into the hand touching the Heavenly Tome. “Now!”

.* * *

Amid their frantic flight, the Ye sisters remained in constant spiritual communication.

“How’s your injury? How much longer do you need to recover?” Ye Jiuyou’s tone was laced with urgency.

“It’s a wound inflicted by the Heavenly Dao. It isn’t severe, but it isn’t something that can be healed quickly,” Ye Wuming answered calmly. “But if all I need to do is suppress it, give me ten more breaths.”

“Will forcing a suppression make it harder to heal afterward?”

“Yes.”

Ye Jiuyou asked nothing more, and Ye Wuming offered no further explanation. So what if it would be harder to heal afterward?

Their focus turned back to the battlefield, where Zhao Changhe’s saber had carved them a path to life. This was always how he fought. When he went all out, a single blow could settle a battle. But more often than not, he emerged covered in wounds, because the vast majority of his fights were against enemies stronger than himself.

Ye Wuming’s gaze returned to Miaojiang, where countless Spirit Tribe witches were weaving incantations, solemnly forming a massive witchcraft array. Ye Jiuyou and Piaomiao both had their eyes closed in concentration, performing their respective rites. The atmosphere was oppressive and solemn.

There was no point in rushing. Not only could Ye Wuming’s wounds not be resolved that quickly, but the nature of witchcraft was fundamentally different from ordinary arrays. It was not something that simply activated on command. Some rituals even required cycles like forty-nine days to take effect. Yet precisely because of this extensive preparation, when these spells finally erupted, they would be truly unstoppable.

The longer the wind-up, the greater the power. Even the Zhao Family Village’s video games were designed with that principle. It was the natural law of the world.

Against an enemy like the Heavenly Dao, there could be no compromise. Half-measures would only waste their one chance.

But the more drawn-out the setup, the more pressure fell on Zhao Changhe’s shoulders. Ye Wuming had watched him fight through life-and-death situations countless times, but this was the first time she was watching from the role of someone being protected. The experience felt indescribably strange.

Suddenly, the world trembled. Zhao Changhe had plunged into a planet, unleashing a devastating slash as he emerged. The cost was the utter collapse of worldly stability.

But no one had the time to care about the quaking heavens. All eyes were riveted to the moment Zhao Changhe’s hair turned white in an instant. Everyone fell into stunned silence.

Ye Wuming clenched her fists so tightly that her nails pierced her palm, drawing blood.

“So his name is Luo Chuan,” Ye Jiuyou murmured, hatred seeping from every syllable. “Good. Now I know.”

Knowing a true name carried special weight in witchcraft.

And the one Ye Jiuyou truly hated most had never been Ye Wuming but the Heavenly Dao.

“It’s time...” Tang Wanzhuang, who had been observing all along, recognized the subtle shifts in the battle. “This is our moment.”

Ye Jiuyou sliced open her finger, letting a drop of blood fall upon the corpse puppet’s forehead.

Rumble!

The corpse puppet suddenly sat upright and, without hesitation, plunged a hand into its own chest, pulling out a massive, blood-drenched heart. Then, it crushed it in one violent squeeze.

On the other side, Luo Chuan, in the midst of countering the attack of a colossal sword, suddenly convulsed as a searing pain tore through his chest. His heart felt as though it were about to explode.

Fortunately, his cultivation was unmatched. At the last possible moment, he shielded his heart and survived. But that moment of pain allowed the sword to cleave through his defenses. With a flash, Luo Chuan vanished into the distance, fleeing ten thousand li away.

In the subterranean sky beneath the Imperial Palace, the Four Idols shone brightly. The Night Emperor had returned.

The members of the Four Idols Cult watched in stunned silence as Ye Wuming disappeared from the center of the formation, her aura gone without a trace. Worse, their connection to her, the very link of the Four Idols Formation, had also been severed. The connection now ran from the Night Palace above... straight into Jiuyou below.

There had never been a single Night Emperor. That title had always been a construct, an order forcibly split by the Heavenly Dao. Now, with that order collapsing into chaos, and light and shadow merging as one, the true origin of the Heavenly Tome reemerged. The split spirit of the Heavenly Tome was being made whole again.

Ye Jiuyou’s eyes opened.

Piaomiao’s head turned sharply toward her, startled. Ye Jiuyou’s aura had changed. She now bore a pattern of order that was not her own, a law not belonging to her fate or qi veins.

That aura was chillingly familiar. It was the aura of the Night Emperor Ye Wuming.

Piaomiao knew the feeling well. She had once shared her soul with another, and she would never mistake this sensation.

The Ye sisters had merged.

And astonishingly, it was Ye Wuming who had taken the initiative to dissolve her own identity, fusing into Ye Jiuyou and letting her be the main body.

Now, when Zhao Changhe reached out to the Heavenly Tome, he was no longer touching Ye Wuming; he was touching Ye Jiuyou.

The tome opened wide, gathering the laws of space and time, light and shadow, life and death, illusion and reality, the five elements... All converging on a single page, forming a swirling vortex of chaotic darkness like a black hole, aimed straight at the fleeing Luo Chuan.

The fusion of the Ye sisters had pushed their power into the Other Shore. Furthermore, they were not merely at its early stage but had immediately reached the mid stage.

Under the combined assault of witchcraft, the colossal sword, and the Heavenly Tome, Luo Chuan finally reached his limit. His body was torn apart as he was unable to withstand the onslaught. His heart, which he had just shielded, burst violently, fragments of shattered viscera erupting with a spray of dark blood. In the blink of an eye, he vanished without a trace.

At that very moment, Zhao Changhe was struck head-on by the colossal hand from within the immortal mountain. In the nick of time, Ling Ruoyu within the Night Palace activated its defenses. Starlight shone across the heavens and formed a shield around them. The colossal palm shattered the starlight, but most of the attack’s force was dispersed, leaving only a fraction to land on Zhao Changhe. Still, though most of the attack had been blocked, the remaining power was still enough to send him flying like a ragdoll off the planet’s surface.

He now drifted through space, unconscious, carried forward by nothing but momentum, floating aimlessly toward some unknown corner of the universe.

Within the segmentum, countless monsters stirred and opened their eyes. “What was that magical treasure just now? The power of that attack just now rivaled a black hole.”

“That was too dangerous,” Ye Jiuyou muttered as she darted forward, snatching Zhao Changhe’s bloodied body and dragging him back into the Heavenly Tome.

The pages of the Heavenly Tome fluttered open and shut before streaking through the void like a meteor as it fled toward the edge of the segmentum.

By the time others arrived, not a trace of it remained.

* * *

At the edge of the segmentum, within the dimensional void.

The Heavenly Tome now lay hidden in silence, its pages sealed shut.

Within its world, time flowed gently and undisturbed. Those of the mortal realm remained blissfully unaware of the monumental battle that had just transpired. All they knew was that natural disasters unseen in thirty years, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, had erupted without warning, only to subside just as abruptly. As soon as the disasters came to a close, the imperial court immediately began organizing disaster relief.

Inside the Night Palace, Ye Jiuyou sat with Zhao Changhe’s bloodied body, her lips pressed into a thin line.

Her spiritual sea was in utter disarray. A splitting headache wracked her mind as two souls now coiled and twisted within her, locked in conflict, their mutual rejection unmistakable.

Even though Ye Wuming had willingly fused with her, even though Jiuyou herself had accepted her, and even though the two had once been one in origin, the resentment and repulsion built up over two entire eras were not so easily erased. This was no longer a matter of intent or will but instinct.

The moment the dust settled, the rejection and repulsion from both sides flared almost simultaneously.

Ye Jiuyou, in particular, roared with fury, “Get out! Who said you could fuse with me in the first place?!”

Ye Wuming responded coolly, “If you’ve got what it takes, then erase me. Just like Piaomiao could have erased Cui Yuanyang at any time. Don’t tell me you’re going soft now.”

“Why don’t you erase yourself?” Ye Jiuyou sneered. “Don’t tell me it’s because Zhao Changhe told you not to die without his permission?”

Ye Wuming said lightly, “You’re overthinking it. He’s severely wounded because of me. I won’t rest easy until I’ve seen him recover.”

Ye Jiuyou said, “Then why don’t you get the hell out?!”

Ye Wuming remained silent.

Ye Jiuyou, too, said nothing more.

The fusion had been exhilarating in the moment, but separating now was far more complicated. It was like mixing two buckets of different-colored paint; they could separate again with effort, but it would take time. Neither of them had experience with this kind of fusion.

And the one who did have experience... was currently unconscious. His hair was white as snow, and his body covered in blood.

The will to argue with Ye Wuming completely left Ye Jiuyou. She reached out to gently caress Zhao Changhe’s face and murmured, “He’s always like this...”

Ye Wuming said nothing. Indeed, he’s always been this way. He has never changed. Except this time, the one he acted for wasn’t someone else, but me.

Technically speaking, he had acted for her thirty years ago as well, but it had never felt quite as direct as it did today.

As he had said himself, the arrow back then could be explained away as him disrupting her plans, or as a choice to rebuild anew. It never truly struck a real chord in her.

But this time was much, much different. This time, there was no ambiguity. He had acted blatantly and undeniably for her. And if that was true now, then perhaps it had been true then as well.

He said that what he felt was not merely desire, and indeed, no one would throw away their life for mere desire.

He was proving his own words with action. The pages of the Heavenly Tome turned, imprinting his will upon the world.

“So what was it?” Ye Jiuyou suddenly asked. “Did you choose to fuse for the sake of that critical moment in the battle, or for some great enlightenment about the Other Shore... or were you simply running away?”

Ye Wuming stared quietly at Zhao Changhe’s white hair and replied offhandedly, “Running away from what?”

“Running away from his demand that you apologize... Running away from the relationship between the two of you that you eventually had to face,” Ye Jiuyou said coldly. “Since thirty years ago, all your so-called perfect plans have been nothing but cowardice in disguise.”