Chapter 546: Motives and Explanation

"So, Second Senior Brother was in the Buddha Lands for *this* reason?"

Lu Yang was greatly surprised. He had thought Second Senior Brother was simply clumsy, had provoked First Senior Sister, and was subsequently banished thirty thousand *li* to the West by her. He had imagined Second Senior Brother had to beg for a living in the Buddha Lands, wandering the streets, impersonating a Buddha statue in temples, leading a very pitiful and destitute life. It turned out he had completely misunderstood the situation.

"It's a pity that after all these years, he hasn't found any useful clues. Instead, he's been deported from the Buddha Lands several times and has to sneak back in each time." First Senior Sister shook her head regretfully. "It's incredibly difficult to find clues about an immortal who controls time."

"Perhaps I could visit the Five Elements Sect and closely examine the Jianmu Tree."

"Since the Jianmu Tree has regained its vitality, if the Immortal of Time is still alive, is it possible for him to re-inhabit the tree's body?"

The Immortal of Immortality nodded. "That's possible. After all, an immortal's body is difficult to remold, so if the original body can be used, it will be."

"Also, I encountered Immortal Ying Tian and the others in the Five Elements Sect's immortal realm."

"What happened? Please elaborate, Senior." First Senior Sister prepared herself, wondering how Lu Yang and the senior had gained so much from a single trip to the Five Elements Sect.

The Immortal of Immortality described her experiences in the immortal realm in detail, focusing on the Immortal of Time's action of opening a spatiotemporal channel and speaking with her. Of course, she didn't know that Immortal Ying Tian and Immortal Qilin were playing Go-moku simply to avoid eating.

Yun Zhi's brows furrowed slightly. "When I entered the immortal realm, there were no historical reflections. I can't believe such significant events were hidden within that immortal chess game."

Lu Yang was puzzled. According to the Immortal of Immortality, anyone who gained enlightenment from the chess game would see historical reflections. Why hadn't First Senior Sister seen them?

The Immortal of Immortality rolled her eyes, thinking Lu Yang was truly helpless and too slow-witted without her. "Immortal Ying Tian made future generations see historical reflections for the sake of grandeur. What's the point of showing historical reflections to Yun, who is on par with me?"

Lu Yang realized she had a point. Even if First Senior Sister gained some insight, she wouldn't be overly surprised by Immortal Ying Tian's methods. "Compared to the others, Immortal Ying Tian seems to have been the strategist among the Five Ancient Immortals, considering things so thoroughly."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Of course, *I* am the strategist. Could Immortal Ying Tian and the others be smarter than me? If they were as smart as I am, they would have thought of teaming up, secretly eliminating me, and then resurrecting me in the future. Then there would be no problems at all, right?"

Lu Yang was speechless.

It had to be said, that was indeed a method, though not one a normal person would conceive. "I thought you might say the four immortals would tell your past self about the communication, and your past self would commit suicide on the spot to prevent being killed."

"That's plan number two." The Immortal of Immortality was meticulous and thorough in her actions; she wouldn't consider only one method.

As if she hadn't heard the internal discussion of the Immortal of Immortality's lineage, Yun Zhi analyzed, "It's a fact that you were assassinated, Immortal. The other four immortals, learning from you that you would be killed, must have made preparations. If those preparations weren't on you, then they must have been on themselves, preparing a life-saving contingency."

"Given this, the four Ancient Immortals might still be alive, and the Immortal of Time is no exception. They're hidden behind history, never making a move. Is their condition terrible, or is there another reason?"

"Considering that neither of you could hear information about the senior in the historical reflections, and that the spatiotemporal channel was interrupted, it seems another force prevented all of this." Even if the Dao Fruit of Time was weak, it wouldn't transmit only five characters. Moreover, the Immortal of Time himself had mentioned something interfering.

"It appears some power has altered history, preventing future generations from obtaining information about the senior from the past." The change of signature on the Immortal Recipe from 'Immortal of Immortality' to 'Immortal Ying Tian,' and the ancient immortals replacing 'Immortal of Immortality' with 'Immortal of Time' when speaking, all prove this point.

"It seems the information in ancient texts cannot be fully trusted; some parts have been modified." "Dao Fruits capable of doing this are likely those of Karma, Destiny, Consciousness, or Command and Obey."

First Senior Sister murmured to herself, then looked up and met Lu Yang's gaze. Thinking that Lu Yang was still young and shouldn't be exposed to too much of this, she said no more.

Lu Yang thought to himself, *First Senior Sister, can you either not say anything at all, or finish what you're saying? What's the deal with stopping halfway?* Among these, he only knew about the Dao Fruit of Karma, whose specific abilities he could deduce a thing or two about based on the Second Generation Imperial Advisor. The Dao Fruit of Karma could deceive the heavens, making even immortals forget one's existence! Only an immortal could kill an immortal. Did First Senior Sister mean there was a sixth immortal in ancient times, who possessed the Dao Fruit of Karma and used it to erase their own presence? The other three Dao Fruits must also have similar effects!

If there truly was a sixth immortal, and considering how powerful the Immortal of Immortality was, that sixth immortal's Dao Fruit must have been highly effective against her! Lu Yang secretly appealed to the Immortal of Immortality, certain she knew the effects of these Dao Fruits.

What he didn't know was that as he looked at the Immortal of Immortality with his eyes, First Senior Sister also gave her a warning look. The Immortal of Immortality also felt Lu Yang shouldn't know so much, and resolutely refused to explain what these Dao Fruits could do.

"By the way, what was the mastermind's motive for killing the Immortal?" This was what Lu Yang had never been able to figure out. Assuming the opponent possessed the Dao Fruit of Karma, yet the Immortal of Immortality was peace-loving and had close ties with the four Ancient Immortals. What reason would compel someone to risk their life and provoke such formidable enemies by killing her?

"Motive... reason...""Motive... reason...""There must be one, a reason related to his own interests..." He suddenly understood something, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Could it be a Dao Fruit of the devouring type? The more Dao Fruits it devours, the more powerful it becomes?"

"Let's tentatively call this the Dao Fruit of Devouring."

"What if, in ancient times, there weren't five immortals, but seven? The sixth immortal possessed the Dao Fruit of Karma, and the seventh immortal possessed the Dao Fruit of Devouring. The seventh immortal devoured the sixth, gaining the ability of the Dao Fruit of Karma, thereby concealing their own existence. To grow stronger, the seventh immortal targeted the Immortal of Immortality, secretly striking to devour the Dao Fruit of Immortality and become an immortal and undying being. However, something went wrong—perhaps the four Ancient Immortals arrived in time, preventing the seventh immortal from succeeding in their devouring attempt! This also explains the existence of the Immortal Cult: he established it, intending to devour the nascent form of the Dao Fruit of Immortality!"

"Everything made sense now!"

The Immortal of Immortality also excitedly patted Lu Yang's shoulder, feeling this was the truth. "That makes perfect sense!"

Yun Zhi interrupted their conversation. "Alright, Junior Brother. Don't get too involved in this matter; it's too dangerous. What you need to do now is focus diligently on your cultivation."

"Oh."