"Why didn't we resurrect Immortal in the future?"
When Immortal Ying Tian asked this question, the immortal realm fell instantly silent. The four immortals said nothing.
Indeed, that was the biggest question. Even if others couldn't resurrect the Immortal Fairy, couldn't any single one of them have done it?
It was just a matter of saying her name. If one of them wanted to say it, who could stop them?
"It's not just Immortal. You, me—all four of us might have run into trouble!" Immortal Jiuchong said coldly. That was the only possibility.
Though that answered the previous question, an even greater problem now loomed before the four immortals.
Just what had happened that even the Five Ancient Celestials would run into trouble?
"Could it be that the four of us are dead too?" Immortal Kirin blurted out, a sudden chill striking his own heart at the thought.
After all, it was entirely possible. If even the Immortal Fairy had perished, theoretically, the four of them could have been done in as well.
"You're describing the worst-case scenario, but that's unlikely," Immortal Suiyue said, shaking his head in analysis.
"Immortal died by assassination. That indicates the other party's strength might be inferior to Immortal's, or perhaps greater, but only by a limited margin without an overwhelming gap. In that case, as long as the four of us unite, surely the one in the shadows couldn't kill all four of us."
"By the way, Suiyue, since you said they used a Dao fruit to sever our connection with the future, can you determine just how far into the future they severed it from us?"
Immortal Suiyue frowned. "I can try, but the chances of success aren't high. Give me a moment."
Immortal Suiyue activated his Suiyue Dao fruit once more. Chaotic qi surged turbulently as his true body ascended completely above spacetime. Gazing down upon the entirety of spacetime, he found the future clear and unobstructed, with no signs of severance or blockage.
"How is it?"
"Just as I expected, it didn't work. The future is too clear."
"Where's the severance you talked about?"
Immortal Suiyue looked at Immortal Kirin as if looking at a fool. "This is why you should've listened to my lectures during our gatherings instead of slacking off."
Immortal Kirin bristled in anger. Having been pranked twice by Immortal Suiyue using the Suiyue Dao fruit, he was no longer afraid of Suiyue's tricks. *Do you really think I can't beat you?*
Though Immortal Suiyue mocked Immortal Kirin, he still explained, "The future is uncertain. The future I see is merely the one most likely to occur. The closer the observed future is to the present, the higher the probability; the further away, the lower the probability.
"Suppose the future I see is 'Future A'—the most likely scenario, where Immortal wasn't assassinated.
"'Future B' is the one where Immortal was assassinated. When I spoke with Immortal just now, the Suiyue Dao fruit established a connection with Future B. The so-called severance was severing my connection with Future B; it didn't sever Future A, Future C, or Future D."
"You mean Immortal might not necessarily be assassinated?"
"No. The future is a single straight line; it does not branch. Immortal definitely will be assassinated. It's just that from the Suiyue Dao fruit's perspective, this probability is very low, making it unobservable.
"Only when I cultivate the Suiyue Dao fruit to the point where I can observe all futures will I discover the exact point in time of the severance."
Seeing that this avenue with Immortal Suiyue led nowhere, the immortals did not lose heart and continued analyzing the situation.
"Only an immortal can harm an immortal. To assassinate Immortal means the culprit is an immortal. As of right now, are there any other immortals besides the five of us?"
Immortal Jiuchong had the most authority on this matter: "According to my research, I was the first to achieve immortality, followed in succession by the four of you, with Immortal being the last. There is no sixth immortal."
"In that case, there are two possibilities regarding Immortal's assassin." Immortal Ying Tian held up two fingers.
"One is that someone ascends to immortality in the future, possessing extraordinary talent.
"The other is that right now, we aren't the only five immortals—there's a sixth immortal!"
At these words, everyone froze in astonishment.
"That's impossible! The phenomenon of immortal ascension is utterly terrifying. How could a sixth person ascending to immortality possibly stay hidden?" Everyone had experienced the Immortal Ascension Tribulation—a world-destroying catastrophe so conspicuous that even a blind person would notice it. It was absolutely impossible to conceal.
"An Immortal Ascension Tribulation truly cannot be hidden. But what if the person condensed something like a Karma Dao fruit or a Destiny Dao fruit, using the might of that Dao fruit to conceal their existence? Why wouldn't that be possible?"
Concealing oneself and causing others to forget one's existence would naturally mean forgetting the terrifying Immortal Ascension Tribulation that took place.
An immortal commanding a Karma Dao fruit might not be able to surpass immortals, but that doesn't mean they cannot become an immortal.
"That would also explain the severance Suiyue mentioned—using a Karma Dao fruit to sever the karma between the present and the future.
"Or perhaps using a Destiny Dao fruit to sever the fate of Huang Doudou's survival, changing her from living to dead. If we learn too much about the future, the fate of Huang Doudou's death would be affected, which is why a severance appeared to prevent us from knowing too much!"
"Or if not that, there are other Dao fruits we don't understand. There are plenty of possibilities."
In truth, they didn't know much about Karma Dao fruits or Destiny Dao fruits either; these were all theoretical scenarios.
Until a Dao fruit was fully condensed, no one knew its specific power.
Take the Immortal Dao fruit, for example. In the rudimentary Dao fruit stage, Huang Doudou had only used the rudimentary Immortal Dao fruit to patch up her own state, or to flit in and out of statues.
Who would have thought that after condensing a complete Immortal Dao fruit, Huang Doudou could self-detonate anytime, anywhere, and resurrect as long as someone spoke her name?
"Or perhaps there's a third possibility regarding the assassin, but I certainly can't think of one right now." Immortal Ying Tian shrugged. Coming up with two possibilities in such a short time was already no easy feat.
The other three immortals shook their heads as well, unable to think of a third possibility for the time being.
"Should we tell Immortal about this?" Immortal Kirin asked. Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Suiyue both pondered the feasibility.
"Absolutely not!" Immortal Jiuchong was the first to step forward in objection.
"Given Immortal's personality, if she finds out she'll be assassinated in the future, she might very well say, 'If I kill myself first, I can't be assassinated,' commit suicide right on the spot, and quietly wait to be resurrected in the future!
"She might even pull off some other shocking stunt!"
Immortal Kirin: "..."
Immortal Ying Tian: "..."
Immortal Suiyue: "..."
That really did seem like Huang Doudou's style.
Immortal Ying Tian stretched lazily. "Let's prepare gradually. For now, I doubt anything will happen to Immortal anytime soon. Suiyue, you stepped away under the pretext of being a referee; counting the time, you should probably head back. If Immortal grows suspicious and comes looking for us, we'll be in trouble."
At the thought of the food cooked by the Immortal Fairy and Immortal Kirin's two wives, Immortal Suiyue felt like taking them all down with him in mutual destruction.
"Very well, who told me to be so unlucky?" Immortal Suiyue sighed, resignedly dragging his body as he prepared to return to the North Star.
"Right, it'll probably take you three a hundred years to finish this chess match, which will definitely form a historical reflection. Erase the reflection of us meeting the future Immortal. If Immortal's assassin sees this historical reflection, wouldn't it expose the fact that the future Immortal can still be resurrected?"
"Leave it to you to be so sneaky and cunning," Immortal Ying Tian praised, giving a thumbs-up.
"It's called leaving nothing to chance!" Immortal Suiyue snapped in indignation.
Chapter 553