Chapter 49 You're Wrong
As Li Tianhe gazed at his twelve-winged butterfly pocket watch, he once again thought of that afternoon many years ago.
—A warm, peaceful afternoon, almost making one forget all the troubles.
Sunlight filters through the leaves, casting dappled patterns on the ground, which sway gently in the breeze.
Li Tianhe lay lazily on the balcony of his father Duke Lister's manor, closing his eyes comfortably and enjoying that moment of leisure and tranquility.
At that moment, the whole world seemed to freeze, as if time in the entire universe had entered a silent pause.
Li Tianhe gently sank into his dream. However, the world in his dream was not as warm and peaceful as he had expected, but rather a bizarre space filled with indescribable chaos and unease. He arrived at an endless corridor, surrounded by an ancient and profound atmosphere.
"Searching for secluded places in a dream? It has a bit of the artistic conception of those ancient immortals."
At both ends of the corridor, two enormous ouroboros are encircled. The two snakes, their bodies winding and coiling, eventually meet at their tails, each occupying a circle, together forming an infinity symbol—∞.
One of the ouroboros rotated clockwise, devouring its own tail, its long body stretching out like an extended timeline, infinitely extending into the unknown distance.
The other, an inverted ouroboros, rotates counterclockwise, its head deeply inserted into its anus, extending infinitely into the endless, dark depths of its intestines.
These two snakes intertwined and merged endlessly in the dream. They seemed to represent the two poles of time, and could not be simply understood as a linear flow; their presence filled the entire space with an eerie sense of oppression.
The clockwise snake represents the ever-flowing future, while the counterclockwise one represents the inescapable past. They intertwine, pulling and entwining each other, forming a twisted corridor without beginning or end.
Ultimately, Li Tianhe deciphered some real information from them. It seemed that the forward-looking ouroboros believed that what you thought was the "now" did not exist, and that the "now" was actually in its future. Everything in the myriad worlds was its own memoir written in the "now." The reverse-looking ouroboros, on the other hand, believed that what you thought was the "now" did not exist, and that the "now" was actually in its past. Everything in the myriad worlds was the outline of its own novel that it had not yet finished writing in the "now." Together, they formed a higher-level Great Evil God's Mysterious Corridor, codenamed "Desolate Buddha." They believed that the "now" of the entire world was the result of the struggle and tug-of-war between the two ouroboros.
However, Li Tianhe did not show the slightest fear in the face of this ultimate entity that surpassed all human imagination.
He gazed calmly at the two ouroboros, his eyes revealing an almost innate arrogance and confidence. He said indifferently, "Your understanding of time is wrong."
In that instant, the surrounding corridors seemed to freeze. Time seemed to be cut off, and the air itself seemed to solidify.
Li Tianhe continued, "What I have already experienced is called the past, what I am experiencing now is called the present, and what I have not yet experienced is the future."
This single sentence, simple and calm, concealed a kind of arrogance and domineering power that transcended all else. In Li Tianhe's tone, there was not a trace of hesitation, as if this were his true understanding of the world and destiny.
Li Tianhe's words struck the souls of the two ouroboros like a thunderbolt, abruptly halting their rotation. The powers of future and past suddenly lost their meaning before his eyes, and the projections of the two entities symbolizing the origin of time felt an irresistible pressure under his cold gaze. Finally, their figures gradually blurred and vanished silently.
Li Tianhe, however, stole a sliver of power from the eerie corridor in this dream. He transformed this power into the strange twelve-winged butterfly pocket watch in reality. It was a power that could control the flow of time, a power that could dissolve the boundary between illusion and reality.
As time goes by, dreams gradually shatter.
The instant the portal opened, Li Tianhe gently released a wisp of illusory time-manipulation power. Instantly, the surrounding world seemed to be paused. Time stood still, and the air itself seemed to solidify.
Li Tianhe walked unhurriedly toward the teleportation portal, and everything around him fell silent. Even the faintest breeze and the lightest footsteps were swallowed up by this moment of illusory time.
At that moment, time stood still. Li Tianhe stood in the illusory timeline, everything around him slowed down and fell silent. Whether it was the tense pace of the Silver Moon Guardians, the devout prayers of the Moon Shadow Priests, or the massive, imposing war machines, everything seemed shrouded in a thick smog, unable to move. He was in what felt like a world that didn't belong to reality, an untouchable illusion.
Li Tianhe walked unhurriedly past the soldiers, who seemed bewildered by tension; past the mysterious priests gazing into the future; past the group of lunar craftsmen busily preparing for war, manipulating massive machines. His steps were light, yet his eyes were filled with boundless curiosity and ease, as if the boundless crisis and oppression had nothing to do with him. The stillness of time made him the sole witness to this world; he was like a wandering ghost, drifting through this no longer functioning city.
Crossing the empty plaza, Li Tianhe walked towards the deep teleportation portal. It hung in the distance, like a bottomless black hole, radiating an indescribable pressure, as if anything entering it would be swallowed forever. However, all of this posed no threat to Li Tianhe. He simply stared curiously at the portal, watching its constantly flashing light, as if every second held some endless unknown, waiting for him to uncover it.
Stepping through the portal, Li Tianhe looked around. Despite being a product of a fabricated timeline copied and pasted, everything around him was still astonishing. This fictional world of gods, merely a part of a temporal distortion, was enough to make Li Tianhe stop and observe. He saw an unfathomable aura of decay permeating the air—the power of the Abyss Curse, devouring the surrounding air like a poisonous miasma, corrupting everything.
Li Tianhe walked curiously past the decaying body of the Abyss Curse, gazing at the distant street. The street teemed with pedestrians, and the magnificently dressed soldiers of the Holy Terra Empire marched in perfect unison, their silver helmets gleaming brightly. Their faces were solemn, their eyes revealing a rigid faith and unwavering resolve, as if their very existence carried some great mission. The buildings lining the street soared into the clouds, symbolizing the empire's boundless authority and holiness; every brick and tile seemed to have been blessed and gazed upon by the gods, radiating an indestructible solemnity.
Bound by the illusory timeline, Li Tianhe slowly traversed these scenes, his gaze following the rhythm of his steps. Along the street, dozens of temple statues stood on either side, each gazing upon the world with its own distinct face, creating a mysterious and sublime spectacle.
Finally, his gaze settled on the very center of the crowd, where a majestic and aloof figure came into view—Bai Zhe. His presence seemed to define the city, all eyes fixed upon him. His cloak billowed, his golden armor gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, and his expression was cold and resolute, as if anyone who challenged or opposed him would be instantly crushed. He stood there, with the worshipful gazes of thousands behind him, as if his every move determined the future of the world.
Li Tianhe gazed at Bai Zhe, his eyes relaxed, a playful smile playing on his lips. In this frozen moment, all rules seemed to have lost their meaning. Li Tianhe had never bothered to follow any rules or regulations, especially not in this fabricated world. Of course, at this moment, he could do anything, unrestrained.
A mischievous impulse was instantly aroused, and Li Tianhe unhesitatingly pulled out a brush he always carried with him from his pocket and began to scribble on Bai Zhe's face. The design quickly and exquisitely appeared—a simple yet humorous little turtle pattern, which was placed perfectly on Bai Zhe's sacred and solemn face.
He looked at the graffiti and couldn't help but laugh out loud. Although the laughter seemed particularly faint in the frozen moment, it was still full of irony and amusement. Bai Zhe's face now bore a mark that was completely incongruous with his dignified status.
He glanced at his masterpiece with satisfaction, and a sudden surge of irrepressible humor welled up inside him.
However, despite his unlimited freedom and dominion within this illusory timeline, it could never perfectly reproduce the grandeur of the entire world of gods. It could only copy and paste a small portion of the scene at the portal, and those brief, fragmented moments. Li Tianhe knew he could not linger in this moment for long; the illusory timeline was about to collapse, and the flow of reality would return.
He glanced around one last time, then stepped lightly toward the deep portal, his pace unhurried, for everything was already set in stone. As he entered the mysterious gate of light, all the scenery began to blur, and the illusory world gradually collapsed, turning into an invisible darkness.
That brief second felt like an eternity.
Time resumed its flow, and Li Tianhe remained lazily reclining on the donkey's back, exuding an aura of decadence and languor, almost as if detached from the world. He took out a bag of dried figs, seemingly completely unconcerned about the impending war. He chewed them lightly, a nonchalant smile on his face; this was simply part of his life—unhurried, going with the flow.
He had already easily completed the task of the Moonlight Trial