The Qionghua Island Massacre

"This is fake. This is an illusion—an illusion conjured up by that Dao Master from Longxing Temple deploying his divine abilities!" Though Xu Ying thought this, he knew in his heart that it was no illusion. If it were an illusion, Hua, Lin, and Luo could never possess such consummate Dao methods—especially Dao Master Hua's attainments in the Dao of Strength, which surpassed even Xu Ying's own. If it were an illusion, it could not manifest profound mysteries of the Great Dao that were previously unknown to him. Therefore... "I truly have returned to the past, and I've even become the Dao brother to Dao Master Hua, Dao Master Lin, and Dao Master Luo, presiding over an extermination plot aimed at the Tianjing people and the Tianjing Dao Venerable." Xu Ying still found it somewhat difficult to believe, yet as though possessed, he had already nodded and agreed to lead Hua, Luo, Lin, and the others in rebellion, to wipe out the traitors in their race who supported Tianjing and storm Tianjing itself. "Yet if I truly lived through this, why does no one in the future remember me as the leading Dao brother? I should be even more illustrious than Hua, Luo, and Lin. The one enthroned at the very summit of Daoji Heaven should be me!" Xu Ying blinked. Could there truly be another Xu Ying currently enthroned at the summit of Daoji Heaven, harvesting the vast myriad universes? "No, if that were true, Dao Master Hua and Dao Master Lin would have recognized me long ago. Could it be that my disguise as a member of the other shore's sacred race is too convincing?" He shook his head. Hua, Lin, and Luo had already stepped out of Zhiren Hall to secretly contact the island's other masters, seeking out kindred spirits to strike and slaughter when the grand gathering began. As Xu Ying was pondering whether he had truly returned to the past, Tianchengzi's voice suddenly came: "Ying Xu, on the way here, you kept saying that the past could be changed, and I have always been searching for such a method. Is the method you mentioned to alter history truly feasible?" Xu Ying turned around, his gaze falling upon him, and laughed. "I knew it was your doing! I'm in an illusion right now, aren't I?" Tianchengzi's expression was indifferent. "No. We truly are one hundred and twenty million years in the past. This battle is known as the Qionghua Island Massacre, the beginning of the other shore's calamitous destiny." Xu Ying blinked and smiled. "Tianchengzi, which attempt of yours is this? Have you succeeded in altering history?" Tianchengzi's expression instantly changed. *** Grand Dao Lord Taiyi stood before his younger self, and the young Taiyi also looked at his future self before him, his expression dazed. Indeed, both wore the exact same mature, solemn demeanor. "I come from the future," Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said. "I am your future. Do you believe me?" "I do," the young Taiyi said. Grand Dao Lord Taiyi smiled. "I think we should talk." The two walked side by side, finding a secluded spot on Qionghua Island. Grand Dao Lord Taiyi laid down a seal and poured out, one by one, all the regrets he had accumulated over the course of his life. "My first regret was failing to prevent this Qionghua Island Gathering. This gathering is the beginning of the other shore's calamitous destiny," Grand Dao Lord Taiyi said. "Everything originated here. If not for the Qionghua Island Gathering, there would have been no subsequent massacre, and we would not have inherited Tianjing's calamitous destiny. It was during this very gathering that Dao Master Hua and the others forged their strategy to exterminate Tianjing." The young Taiyi listened quietly without interrupting. When Grand Dao Lord Taiyi finished recounting all his lifelong regrets, the young Taiyi said, "Right now is the Qionghua Island Gathering. If the future can be changed, with your strength, you can naturally change it." Grand Dao Lord Taiyi froze, looking down at his hands, and murmured, "The current me can change the past?" The young Taiyi said, "Though I do not understand much of what you've said, you speak with such solemn gravity that it must be of utmost importance. Since you have already made up your mind and stand here in person, why pin your hopes on the past me to change the future instead of doing it yourself?" Grand Dao Lord Taiyi's mind shook slightly. He slowly nodded and said in a hoarse voice, "I will do it myself." He stood up and dispersed the seal. Meanwhile, Grand Dao Lord Shenmo plucked up his courage, stepped beside his younger self, and said, "If I told you I am your future self, would you believe me?" The young Grand Dao Lord wore a solemn face and said, "If I told you I was your father, would you believe me?" Grand Dao Lord Shenmo flared with rage, itching to murder his younger self. Moments later, the young Grand Dao Lord had been beaten black and blue, struggling on the ground, unable to get up. Grand Dao Lord Shenmo squatted before him, resting his elbows on his knees, and said, "Do you believe me now?" The young Grand Dao Lord mumbled submissively, then suddenly said, "If I kill myself right now, will you vanish?" Grand Dao Lord Shenmo thought, *Was I really this obnoxious when I was young?* "Follow me. I will impart my life's insights to you," Grand Dao Lord Shenmo said as he stood. "If you possess my insights at this stage, I will surely achieve the seat of Dao Master with ease!" *** Inside Zhiren Hall, Xu Ying smiled, watching Tianchengzi's expression, and said, "Tianchengzi, you are the master of Longxing Temple, aren't you? Back then, you died at the hands of Dao Master Hua. At the moment before your death, you wanted to return to the past and alter history. So you returned to the Qionghua Island Gathering one hundred and twenty million years ago. You wanted to kill Dao Master Hua right here." He continued leisurely, "Yet you discovered that even if you returned to the past, you could not change it. Presumably, you have assassinated Dao Master Hua here countless times, yet you have never managed to kill him." Having deduced the truth of this place, he said, "You cannot return to the present world. If you return, you will die. Thus, you can only repeat this experiment over and over, determined to eliminate Dao Master Hua." Tianchengzi shook his head. "Ying Xu, you guessed most of it correctly. I indeed wanted to return to the past, but I didn't come to eliminate Dao Master Hua." Xu Ying was taken aback. Tianchengzi said, "I came to eliminate everyone on Qionghua Island!" Xu Ying's eyes widened. "Eliminate everyone?" Tianchengzi said, "I was indeed grievously injured by Hua Shengsheng, lingering between life and death. His path of proving the Dao through strength had already reached the realm of attaining the Dao; he was the Grand Dao Master of the Dao of Strength. He was not merely the Grand Dao Master of the other shore, but also the master of the Dao of Strength across two hundred and fifty-six universes." In the era when he fell, the other shore already laid claim to two hundred and fifty-six universes. Though not as numerous as the myriad universes today, Dao Master Hua's combat strength was already extraordinary. Tianchengzi continued, "Out of desperation, I returned to the past, to the very inception of the other shore's calamitous destiny. On this day, Dao Master Hua united with us to slaughter the other attendees, formally initiating the other shore's calamitous destiny." Xu Ying pondered and said, "You mean to say that if you personally step in and slaughter everyone on the island, you can cut off the calamitous destiny?" Tianchengzi said indifferently, "Precisely. When the other shore's first calamitous destiny erupted back then, I sensed something was wrong. The other shore was clearly still a burgeoning universe—how could calamitous destiny break out so early? I investigated history again and again, returning to the past, until I finally discovered that today's gathering is the true source of the other shore's calamitous destiny." Xu Ying surmised, "You saw the Dao Masters slaughtering one another, hanging like dried rabbits stored away by Hua, Lin, and Luo. You believed that as long as you returned to the past and killed them, the other shore would never suffer calamitous destiny. Am I right?" Tianchengzi said, "You are very clever." Xu Ying said, "Yet if the truth is truly as Dao Master Hua claimed—that the Dao Venerable and other Dao Masters intend to come to the other shore to cultivate from scratch—how would you stop them?" Tianchengzi said, "The Dao Venerable of this era is still just a mortal. He cannot cross the starry void to reach this place unless his disciples and followers on the other shore receive him here." Xu Ying finally understood. "And the Dao Venerable's disciples and followers are gathered on this very island right now. So by killing everyone, you also prevent the Dao Venerable from ever arriving on the other shore!" Tianchengzi nodded gently. "Once I deal with them, I can even head to Tianjing and slaughter the Dao Venerable, Xuanhuang, and all the other Tianjing masters." Xu Ying said, "However, you can't kill everyone. You can't even eliminate a single person. And because you are on the brink of death, unable to return to the present world, you are trapped here forever. You cultivated the Space-Time Great Dao and became a Dao Master, yet the bitter irony is that in the moment before your death, you turned yourself into a prisoner of space-time." Every word was a blade to the heart, like Dao Master Tongtian's Immortal Slaying Sword piercing into Tianchengzi's Dao heart again and again. A murderous glint flashed in Tianchengzi's eyes, his expression dark. Xu Ying continued, "How many times have you tested this here? A thousand? Ten thousand?" Suppressing the killing intent toward him, Tianchengzi said, "Five hundred and forty-eight thousand, nine hundred times." Xu Ying gave a start, then laughed. "If your method could succeed, it would have succeeded long ago. But you weren't completely foolish, Tianchengzi; you actually thought to comprehend reincarnation. Your Reincarnation Great Dao is already quite formidable. After mastering space-time reincarnation, you kept trying, only to discover that you still could not change history." Tianchengzi gave a cold snort. Xu Ying smiled. "Fortunately, you met me. The path I pointed out to you is the true way: first cultivate space-time, then comprehend reincarnation, and afterward master karma. Travel to the past when the Hongyuan first opened, and journey to the future when the Tribulation of Nirvanic Extinction arrives. In this manner, you can master all methods of space-time, slaying people of the past and cutting down people of the future, completely erasing a person from both time and space! Only then can you alter history." Tianchengzi said, "What you say is very true, and makes great sense." Xu Ying's expression turned grave. "Since you think it makes so much sense, why don't you undo the ouroboros? Tell me the truth: how many times have I reincarnated in this space-time?" Tianchengzi looked at him in astonishment. "Neither Grand Dao Lord Taiyi nor Grand Dao Lord Shenmo noticed. You actually realized?" Xu Ying's heart jolted violently. He had only been guessing that this might not be his first time falling into Tianchengzi's space-time cycle of reincarnation, which was why he asked how many cycles he had undergone. He had not expected that he had truly long fallen into Tianchengzi's space-time reincarnation. "Ying Xu, in my space-time reincarnation, you have already cycled eight hundred and fourteen times. This is the eight hundred and fifteenth!" Tianchengzi smiled. "You, like me, have become a prisoner of space-time!" Xu Ying's face changed drastically. Without another word, he activated the Hongyuan Reverse Realization Great Dao Record while simultaneously channeling karma and reincarnation to inspect his karmic ties with this space-time! Immediately, he saw the traces of eight hundred and fourteen cycles, along with the threads of karma left upon his Karma Golden Wheel by this space-time reincarnation! Behind Xu Ying's head, the Dao eye of karma opened within the golden wheel, revealing the karmic threads of everyone on Qionghua Island crisscrossing in frantic, chaotic tangles, like a web spun by a mad spider! He could not help but suck in a sharp breath, speaking rapidly: "Tianchengzi, I have cultivated karmic reincarnation! I can save you, help you break free from this space-time loop!" "Too late," Tianchengzi shook his head. Right at that moment, terrified screams echoed from outside: "Murder! Taiyi is killing people!" Xu Ying rushed outside the hall, only to see Grand Dao Lord Taiyi on a murderous rampage! With a flick of his finger, he pierced Dao Master Lin's forehead; with a casual sweep of his palm, he severed Dao Master Luo at the waist! Grand Dao Lord Taiyi moved like a tiger among a flock of sheep, taking a life with every strike, slaughtering the island's experts until rivers of blood flowed. Xu Ying looked up to see the ouroboros in the sky swallowing its tail faster and faster, growing even as it devoured itself! "I severed past space-time, carving out a single day from one hundred and twenty million years ago. During this day, the greater the alteration to history, the more violent the turbulence of space-time correction becomes," Tianchengzi said unhurriedly behind him. "With Grand Dao Lord Taiyi slaughtering indiscriminately, the turbulent currents of space-time correction will surge in until everything is set right." As he spoke, Dao Master Hua sprinted in their direction, crying out, "Dao Brother Ying, save me—!" *Bang!* Grand Dao Lord Taiyi struck Hua's head with a single palm; brain matter burst apart instantly, and his primordial spirit was reduced to ashes! Xu Ying's face was splattered with Dao Master Hua's blood. Above him, he saw the ouroboros suddenly swallow the entirety of its body into its belly, vanishing head and all! "Tianchengzi, you must remember!" Before Xu Ying's eyes, space-time collapsed and reconstructed. He shouted urgently, "I can save you! Find me and tell me all of this!" *Boom!* The Space-Time Great Dao of the other shore's universe corrected the changes wrought upon it by external forces, completely smoothing away the ripples caused by Taiyi altering history! At that instant, everyone saw the ouroboros above their heads suddenly swallow itself whole and vanish. Once space-time calmed, Xu Ying descended from the sky. In one hand, he raised the Apricot Yellow Banner, and in the other, he supported the big bell, channeling the Hongyuan Reverse Realization to prepare for Grand Dao Lord Shenmo's pursuit. At the same time, Grand Dao Lord Shenmo, alongside the other shore's eighth Dao Realm experts, Immortals, True Kings, and Dao Lords, also entered this space-time. Above all of their heads, a colossal ouroboros appeared simultaneously. Biting its own tail, the great serpent was swallowing itself bit by bit. "Tianjing has run aground?" Xu Ying fled tens of millions of li, evading Grand Dao Lord Shenmo. Sizing up Tianjing lying so close to the other shore, he was slightly taken aback. "Fellow cultivator, Daoist Hua is convening all cultivators to attend the Qionghua Island Gathering and deliberate upon the great catastrophe." A carriage approached from behind him. Dao Master Luo sat inside, extending an invitation: "That you survived the Great Extinction proves your cultivation is surely extraordinary. Would you care to ride together?" As though possessed, Xu Ying nodded. "Thank you, Dao brother."