Chapter 1346: The Grand Finale

Old Timeline

"That's strange, why did the mastermind suddenly stop moving?" Lu Yang frowned, looking puzzled at the mastermind, or rather, the mastermind's corpse.

The change was too abrupt and sudden, creating an eerie atmosphere on the battlefield. No one dared to make a move, fearing it was a trick by the mastermind.

During the battle, Yun Zhi had gained a decisive advantage, causing the mastermind to rapidly decline. Its self-healing ability couldn't keep up with the rate of injury, and its aura plummeted repeatedly.

Anyone could see that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Yun Zhi would soon achieve victory.

Just then, the mastermind looked at Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy, flashed a strange smile, and then lost all signs of life.

"How did he suddenly die?"

Everyone was stunned; this development was beyond their expectations.

"Could it be that the mastermind realized he couldn't defeat Daoist Yun Zhi and chose to commit suicide for a dignified end?" Nine-Layer Immortal rubbed his chin, pondering seriously as he observed the mastermind's corpse with his divine sense.

At this, everyone simultaneously looked at the Immortal Fairy, remembering her feigned death technique.

"Go away, go away, why are you all looking at me?" The Immortal Fairy felt their gazes were strange.

"It shouldn't be a feigned death technique," Lu Yang stepped forward to defend the Immortal Fairy. "And it's unlikely to be suicide; that's not how the mastermind operates."

"The mastermind always acts cautiously, so there's definitely something seriously wrong here," Lu Yang mused, frowning, feeling as if he had overlooked something.

Boom—

Lu Yang looked up and saw that his senior sister hadn't stopped attacking despite the mastermind losing its life signs; she was still assaulting the corpse.

Whether it was truly dead or feigning death, destroying the corpse certainly wouldn't be wrong.

"Wait, did the mastermind never use the Dao Fruit of the Timeline?" Lu Yang carefully recalled the battle, realizing that the mastermind had not altered the timeline at all from beginning to end.

Could his sudden death be related to altering the timeline?

Thinking of this, Lu Yang activated the Dao Fruit of Tracing Origins and cast "Foresee the Future." He formed hand seals, and dark, flowing water spread out from beneath his feet.

This was the second time the Immortal of Ages had seen Lu Yang perform this spell. Logically, "Foresee the Future" was taught by him to the Immortal Fairy, who then taught it to Lu Yang. Yet, in Lu Yang's hands, for some unknown reason, it manifested with a completely different effect.

Moreover, he always felt that this spell was very familiar, as if it was one he should know, but he was certain he didn't.

"Foresee the Future" was originally a spell derived from the Dao Fruit of the Timeline by the Jianmu Tree, specifically for observing timelines. As Lu Yang became an immortal, he could finally perform the spell in its most complete form.

Everyone gathered around, heads close together, observing the situation in the other timeline.

"Hey, hey, hey, we're all immortals, can't we just use our divine sense to watch from a distance?"

"Divine sense isn't as good as our eyes! Go on, move a bit closer over there, make some space for me."

The dark river reflected a completely different timeline.

They saw Lu Yang possessing two Dao Fruits, Yun Zhi achieving harmony with the Dao, Lu Yang ascending to omniscience and rescuing Yun Zhi, and Lu Yang revealing the mastermind's true name and detailing its origins.

The further they watched, the stranger their expressions became.

"The mastermind thought he couldn't beat us, so he ran to another timeline to fight Daoist Lu, who had achieved omniscience?" The Qilin Immortal's whiskers twitched at the corners of his mouth.

Was he tired of not dying fast enough?

Everyone's gaze towards Lu Yang completely changed. None of them had imagined Lu Yang's talent would be so terrifying, reaching the realm of omniscience in another timeline.

"Haha, I told you Xiao Yangzi is the strongest!" The Immortal Fairy chuckled, even happier than Lu Yang, her eyebrows dancing. Her judgment of people had never been wrong.

"But Fairy, what you said seems to be about something in another timeline," Lu Yang corrected.

"Eh, don't worry about which timeline it is, just tell me if what I said was correct or not."

Lu Yang nodded sincerely. When had the Fairy ever been wrong? What the Fairy said was always right.

Lu Yang from the new timeline seemed to sense something, crossing the timeline to meet their gaze.

After ascending to omniscience, he clearly knew everything that had happened in both timelines.

Everyone was startled, except for Lu Yang from the old timeline, who remained composed. He knew himself best and most enjoyed seeing others' surprised expressions.

"Thank you for helping us resolve the trouble."

"Not at all, I should be thanking you. If you hadn't pushed Fu Xu to his death, our timeline wouldn't have come into existence."

"That's true."

"...Could you be a little more polite?"

"Why would I be polite to myself?"

The two Lu Yangs conversed happily across the timelines.

"Senior Sister needs me for something, let's talk later." Lu Yang from the new timeline waved to everyone, bidding a temporary farewell. The future was long, and there was no rush to chat.

"Anyway, the matter is resolved," Lu Yang said with a smile, signaling for everyone to return home.

"How was the battle?"

On Tianmen Peak, Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and others were on tenterhooks, filled with apprehension. After all, the mastermind was the most powerful enemy they had ever encountered.

"We're back!" The Immortal Fairy returned triumphantly, her beaming smile always bringing a sense of relief.

"Big Boss, Second Boss, Xiao Zhi!" Yun Mengmeng rushed forward and hugged the three greatest contributors to the battle.

"I made you worry," Yun Zhi said, her tone a touch softer than usual. Since the battle wasn't planned in advance, Yun Mengmeng must have been very worried about them.

"No, not at all! You're all so powerful, I knew you'd succeed!" Yun Mengmeng said with a cheerful smile. She always had an irrational trust in Xiao Zhi and the others.

"Lord, was that person's corpse not brought back?" Qing He stood beside her, asking respectfully.

"No, Yun Yatou destroyed the corpse so thoroughly there wasn't a speck left."

Qing He shook her head regretfully. As the assassin of the Lord, the mastermind deserved death a thousand times over. She had wanted to desecrate the corpse to vent her hatred, but alas, she had no such opportunity.

"Immortal Sister, quickly tell us, what was the battle like?"

The celebration feast had been interrupted midway by the battle. Now that the fight was over, everyone resumed the latter half of the banquet.

"Well, there's a lot to tell!" The Immortal Fairy preened, thinking that if she hadn't intervened, Yun Zhi would have already merged with the Dao.

"...I had long predicted that Xiao Yangzi's strength alone wouldn't be enough. So, at that critical moment, I decisively intervened and, together with Xiao Yangzi, pulled Yun Yatou back."

Getting excited, the Immortal Fairy even forgot to eat her steamed bun. She stood up, gesturing to describe the scene, feeling incredibly cool.

Yun Mengmeng, Qing He, and Ao Ling, the three women, had sparkling eyes and also thought the Immortal Fairy was especially cool.

Lu Yang quietly munched on his steamed bun, a bad feeling brewing.

Yun Zhi suddenly sat between Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy, her face expressionless, and pressed down on their shoulders.

"Senior Sister, is something wrong?" Lu Yang whispered, feeling inexplicably guilty.

"I'm here to thank you. During the battle, you said quite a few things to stop me from merging with the Dao."

"Junior Brother, you said my smile was especially beautiful. Is it like this?" Yun Zhi revealed a cold smile, chillingly beautiful and intimidating, making Lu Yang's legs tremble and his hand holding the bun unsteady.

"Since you, Fairy Senior, have recovered your immortal body, and you, Junior Brother, have also become an immortal, why don't we have a sparring match?"

"Yun... Yun Yatou, what are you doing? I'm warning you, if I become omniscient, you'll have hell to pay!"

"Senior Sister, you're mistaken! At that time, the Fairy ordered me to do it; it wasn't my intention!"

The Three Ancient Immortals and the Two Great Xia Immortals drank immortal wine not far away, neither listening nor looking, pretending to be unaware of the tragic events unfolding on Lu Yang's side.

"What fine wine!" Meng Junzi took a sip, his eyes gleaming. The aroma of the wine wafted with immortal energy.

"A vintage from 400,000 years ago, the only jar in the entire world," the Qilin Immortal laughed heartily. Today was certainly worth opening it and drinking to their hearts' content.

"It's a pity Ying Tian isn't here," Nine-Layer Immortal sighed. The Four Ancient Immortals shared fortune and joy, and a gathering with one missing always felt a bit incomplete.

"Ying Tian's reincarnation is only at the Integration Stage. Daoist Lu said he'd only awaken his first life's memories at the Tribulation Transcending Stage. There's no point in calling him over now."

"Well, in that case, this fine wine is just for us brothers then," the immortals chuckled brightly. They had indeed considered Immortal Ying Tian, but if he wasn't blessed to enjoy it, then it wasn't their fault.

Under the shade of the trees, Lu Yang and the Immortal Fairy lay side by side, adorned with decorative bandages—medals from their fight with Yun Zhi. Lu Yang even had one eye bandaged.

"If it weren't for most of our two Dao Fruits' power maintaining Yun Yatou's cultivation realm, how could she have won?" the Immortal Fairy grumbled indignantly.

Nearby, Yun Mengmeng, Qing He, Xia He, and Bai Shuang fussed over them, offering food and nourishing dishes, all providing meticulous care.

Meng Jingzhou, who had just ascended Tianmen Peak, saw this scene and nearly fainted from anger.

"Old Meng? Why are you here?" Lu Yang sat up and asked.

Meng Jingzhou looked at his good brother and asked pointedly, "Did you not invite me to the celebration banquet?"

"Ah, ha ha ha, I didn't forget, I just meant... weren't you working as a fortune teller in the Imperial City? It was too far, so I didn't call you."

"I was at our sect at the time."

Lu Yang: "..."

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

The atmosphere suddenly became very awkward. Fortunately, Meng Jingzhou hadn't come to settle scores; he brought up another topic.

"Old Lu, you haven't been keeping up with the news lately, have you?"

"No."

Meng Jingzhou thought to himself, 'I knew it. Enjoying life here is definitely better than surfing the internet.'

"Since you became an immortal, various civilizations have been paying a lot of attention to you. Posts and videos related to you never have low popularity."

"Is that so?" Lu Yang grinned. Then he should probably search for himself online.

"But there are also some unfavorable rumors circulating."

"Unfavorable rumors?"

"There are rumors that you've had a great influence on the cultivation world, and that some of its negative trends were caused by you."

"Nonsense! How could that have anything to do with me?!" Lu Yang bristled with indignation. This was pure slander! He had lived a life of integrity, cultivated diligently, and done countless good deeds. The Dao-Seeking Sect, a paragon of righteousness, even looked to him as an example.

Meng Jingzhou nodded sincerely, his righteous indignation palpable: "Yes, that's what I thought too. So I'm interviewing you on behalf of the newspaper. So, you believe the trends in the cultivation world have nothing to do with you, right?"

"Of course! I've repeatedly emphasized that the cultivation world's trends were already skewed; I didn't lead them astray. Everyone says history is written by the victors, so why, after my victory, are there still people slandering me?" Lu Yang, the Sword Immortal, stated this in an interview with reporter Meng Jingzhou, expressing great anger.

The next day.

"'I repeatedly emphasized that the cultivation world's trends... were led astray by me... History is written by the victors... I won!'" Lu Yang, the Sword Immortal, stated this during an interview with reporter Meng Jingzhou, expressing great anger. —Reported by *The Cultivation Daily*.

(The End of the Book)