Like a floating mountain, the Kongshan Sect's flagship slowly drifted amidst the clouds.

The enormous cloud crane statue at the ship's bow stood seventeen zhang tall, its feathers lifelike, its form sleek and streamlined, majestic and magnificent.

If one looked from afar, it would be difficult to notice that on the neck of this colossal ferry's bow statue, there was a young cultivator, clad in tattered daoist robes, covered in bloodstains, on the brink of death, and utterly disheveled, tied to the slender neck of the cloud crane statue.

Chen Yan licked his parched lips and weakly lifted his eyelids.

The gap was simply too vast.

It was even more despair-inducing than when he, at the Qi Sea Realm cultivation level, had directly faced Huo Mu back in the outer court training grounds of the Kongshan Sect.

All beneath Immortal Ascension are but ants.

It wasn't until he personally faced an Immortal Ascension Realm cultivator that Chen Yan truly understood the weight of this statement.

However, Chen Yan had naturally never entertained the thought of defeating Qiu Siruo with his own power, or of making this tenth-generation steward of Heavenly Summit Mountain suffer even a little.

Chen Yan had merely wanted to use the Great Derivation Art to commit suicide.

But he couldn't do it.

Chen Yan watched with his own eyes as that wisp of Immortal Qi, condensed from his entire being and bursting forth from his fingertip, was frozen in mid-air.

Then, he watched helplessly as that Immortal Qi re-coalesced at his fingertip. His Martial Spring, which should have evaporated, actually had true qi flowing back into it, and his shattered meridians were repaired anew.

Time had been reset.

Chen Yan's time had been reset to a few breaths ago.

Words could hardly express the shock Chen Yan felt in his heart at this moment.

Because what Qiu Siruo was capable of had completely surpassed Chen Yan's imagination.

Reversing time and space.

Chen Yan was well aware that this ability to reverse time and space must be related to so-called cause and effect.

And to wield the great power of cause and effect meant the other party must inevitably endure the backlash of karma.

Therefore, after his time was reset a few breaths back by Pure Dust True Person, Chen Yan quickly made a judgment and once again activated the Great Derivation Art to derive Immortal Qi, seeking to end his own life.

But this was ultimately just overestimating his own capabilities.

In an instant, the churning energy of Chen Yan's Martial Spring fell into dead silence.

Or rather, Qiu Siruo had frozen the time of his Martial Spring at that fleeting moment.

After that, Chen Yan was tied to the bow statue of this enormous ferry, which then ascended above the clouds.

Chen Yan didn't know how much time had passed, only that he had been following this Kongshan Sect flagship, traveling northeast.

The fierce wind was like a blade, scraping across his cracked skin and tattered daoist robes, leaving behind only a bone-chilling cold and a numb pain.

This level of pain was nothing to Chen Yan.

However, his Martial Spring, frozen at a certain point in the past, could not provide Chen Yan with any more support. This left his consciousness extremely muddled, his vision blurring in and out, and he had almost completely lost his sense of time.

Only the churning sea of clouds below and the occasional glimpse of the vast, desolate earth reminded him of where he was currently being taken.

...

"Wake up."

In his dazed state, Chen Yan was roused by a familiar voice.

Chen Yan opened his eyes and saw that young female Immortal Ascension cultivator clad in moon-white daoist robes, standing atop the cloud crane statue's head, looking down at him tied to the statue.

Then, Qiu Siruo raised her eyes, looking ahead.

The tallest mountain of the Chenping Continent appeared majestically before them.

And at the summit of this majestic peak, over eight thousand zhang high, looking up another two thousand zhang, was that solitary, pure white palace suspended high in the nine heavens.

Heavenly Summit Mountain.

Chen Yan had long guessed that since he had fallen into the hands of Pure Dust True Person, she would most likely bring him here.

The Heavenly Summit Mirror fragment on his person had also already fallen into Qiu Siruo's hands.

Nowadays, the two Immortal Ascension cultivators of Heavenly Summit Mountain had obtained three fragments of the Heavenly Summit Mirror. To gather the complete mirror, they were only missing the two fragments currently preserved by the Lingxiao Temple and Wind Ravine Valley.

Death had become a luxury for Chen Yan.

Now, he could do nothing.

If Gu Jing and Qiu Siruo truly obtained the complete Heavenly Summit Mirror and used it to rewrite history—

Then, at which point in time would he find himself if he save-scummed again?

If he encountered another dead-end save...

That would just be how things were.

Sunlight spilled upon Heavenly Summit Mountain, shrouded by the sea of clouds, refracting into countless glittering points of light like shattered gold.

The distance between the Kongshan Sect flagship and Heavenly Summit Mountain grew closer and closer.

He still remembered his first time coming to Heavenly Summit Mountain; he had also ridden on this enormous ferry, over seven hundred zhang in length.

Back then, Chen Yan had pioneered the Purple Mansion Kongshan Art. He was the chief disciple of Kongyuan Mountain, a Dao Inquirer at Heavenly Summit Mountain, the grand-disciple of the Kongshan Sect's current Sect Leader Yun Yichen, and a heaven-chosen talent who was the talk of the Chenping Continent at the time.

When he first arrived at Heavenly Summit Mountain, the mountaintop plaza was crowded with all the young geniuses of the Chenping Continent at that time, yet these geniuses could only look up at him with envy and admiration.

Clad in Kongyuan Mountain daoist robes, wearing the chief disciple token.

His future was bright and promising.

Until the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm occurred, jolting Chen Yan awake from his dream-like fantasy.

And now...

Heavenly Summit Mountain was right before him.

He could see the location of the Profound Scripture Hall at the center of Heavenly Summit Mountain, and the Daoyan Arena.

The enormous ferry slowly approached the direction of the Heavenly Summit Mountain ferry dock. Tied at the bow, Chen Yan could clearly see several figures standing before the dock.

All were wearing the disciple robes of the Five Great Sects.

As the ferry descended to the Heavenly Summit Mountain dock, those several disciples immediately gathered around.

"We pay our respects to True Person Qiu!"

These disciples from the Five Great Sects repeatedly bowed respectfully towards Qiu Siruo's direction.

Qiu Siruo merely gave a light leap, nimbly jumping down from the ferry over a hundred zhang high, landing lightly on the ground.

"Untie him, take him to the prison, and keep a close watch."

The young woman in moon-white daoist robes walked towards the direction of the Profound Scripture Hall without looking back.

"Yes!"

Those several disciples of the Five Great Sects bowed respectfully once more towards Qiu Siruo's retreating back.

Immediately after, these disciples clad in the robes of the Five Great Sects leaped onto the ferry one after another, heading towards Chen Yan who was tied to the bow statue, and began untying him.

The weakened Chen Yan tilted his head slightly, looking at the unfamiliar face of the young disciple standing beside him, who wore the robes of the Lingxiao Temple.

He seemed to sense something.

And that young disciple also raised his head. The moment his gaze met Chen Yan's, Chen Yan could clearly feel the young disciple's spirit tense up for an instant.

His face pale, Chen Yan revealed a smile towards the young disciple clad in Lingxiao Temple robes:

"Long time no see, Chief Disciple Xiao."