Chen Xia of the Future

Chen Xia had countless possibilities. These possibilities were like countless timelines, each one different, each one a time river of its own.

Some time rivers were vast beyond compare, reaching the Great Dao, spanning eternity. Others were short and feeble, drying up before they even began.

In short, they were failures.

Chen Xia opened his eyes amidst the countless time rivers. His entire body was darkened, like a wanderer amidst time, roaming between one river and the next.

He was looking for himself.

Passing many minor rivers, Chen Xia gazed down. Memories flashed by continuously, more like a replay. He could only grasp the general idea. As for specifics, even he couldn't recall clearly.

This was not the time river he sought.

Since the goal was to summon a future self, then naturally it had to be the most powerful one.

Chen Xia searched again, his spirit scrolling through, browsing the time rivers ceaselessly.

Suddenly his expression froze.

He had finally found it.

But it wasn't a time river.

It was a sea.

Tremendous pressure instantly came crashing down upon him. This vast, oceanic torrent of time rumbled to a halt. A plain voice emerged from its depths.

"Who the hell is peeping at me?"

With just this one utterance, countless time rivers froze in place. Black and white colors washed over everything. There were even faint signs of reversal.

An enormous hand stretched out from the oceanic torrent, casually tearing open a vast sea region. A figure stepped out from within.

Seeing Chen Xia, the figure was also startled. Then he laughed and said,

"So it's myself!"

They were both Chen Xia.

But the future Chen Xia was already somewhat different. His attire was no longer a green robe. His face had some faint wrinkles, as if pieces of the starry sky were embedded upon it.

The two stared at each other. Chen Xia scratched his cheek and waved his hand.

"Hello."

"I should be the one saying hello," the future Chen Xia corrected. Then he chuckled and asked,

"Summoning a future self?"

"Mm," Chen Xia nodded. Since it was himself, the future Chen Xia naturally also knew of this technique.

"Such nostalgia. I also learned this art in the Immortal Realm. I too summoned a future self back then," the future Chen Xia lamented.

"The situation was urgent. I didn't have time to choose carefully, just randomly pulled one out. In the end that damned Great Saint beat us both. Luckily I escaped quickly."

One could hear the dissatisfaction in the future Chen Xia's tone.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xia also frowned and asked hesitantly, "Then won't we also get beaten by two if we go out?"

"Heh," the future Chen Xia disdained with a laugh. "Nowadays I'd even dare to slap the Heavenly Dao a couple times. Who else could possibly beat me?"

"Let alone two against one, even one on one would be enough. You just cheer me on from the side."

Chen Xia hurriedly nodded. He had found the right person after all.

The future Chen Xia suddenly added, "But with your current strength, forcibly summoning me will only allow me to make one move. If I stay too long, the backlash will strike you instead. Do you know the price you must pay to summon me?"

"What price?" Chen Xia asked, puzzled.

The future Chen Xia waved his hand with a laugh. "Don't worry, you'll know when it starts hurting. To lessen the price a bit, I'll only use the Great Saint's strength this time, and make just one move."

"Can you win with one move?" Chen Xia asked.

The future Chen Xia bared his teeth in a grin. The wrinkles on his face glowed faintly, truly resembling stars lighting up. He laughed and said,

"I already said, just watch me."

He spoke thusly.

All the time rivers around them vanished abruptly, as if they had never existed.

Chen Xia opened his eyes, finding himself at the bottom of the Martial Fortune Torrent, barely staying afloat with the aid of the Way of Time and his sword intent.

He was near the Starry Sky Arena.

Abruptly, an extremely terrifying aura spread out. The entire sky was like a blurred human figure formed from all the stars, overlooking the Starry Sky Arena from above.

Chen Jiu, covered in martial fortune torrents, looked up and clicked his tongue in wonder.

"You've really summoned a terrifying existence!"

In the Forbidden Zone, terrifying energy erupted within the desolate graveyard. A thousand-zhang vertical eye abruptly opened upon the ground, staring at the sky. An alarmed, doubtful voice murmured,

"The Great Saint or the Zhun Di?"

Beneath the Forbidden Zone, all cultivators who could see the sky were shocked still by this sudden blurred figure. They stared blankly, at a loss for words.

Never before had they witnessed such a grand divine ability within the realm.

It was truly like the descent of a star god!

The figure stretched out a hand, pressing down upon the entire Starry Sky Arena.

This palm was like a sky.

Vaster than the sea!

It was a true apocalyptic divine ability.

The martial fortune torrents instantly began roiling, rapidly decreasing as they compressed inwards.

Yet the apocalyptic palm restrained its terrifying aura at this moment, focusing only on a single point.

Chen Jiu.

No obstruction was possible, nor could any appear.

This smooth palm strike landed. Everything in its path was obliterated.

The entire Starry Sky Arena could not withstand the force and began to crumble and vanish.

Well, Chen Xia no longer needed anyone's permission now. He could just walk right out, with nothing left to stop him.

Within Qing Province, the Surging Sea started churning violently, like a slapped dog rushing towards the shore, even causing all of Qing Province to tremble.

Qiu Yi stood at the entrance of the Little Cinnabar Hall, her cold gaze filled with some worry as she watched the sea, hoping Chen Xia would return unharmed.

If it came down to it, just come back and play chess. She could let Chen Xia take two horses and even let him win. She had given him all the advantages already.

The hazy figure in the starry sky vanished abruptly, as if it had never existed. The terrifying aura also completely disappeared.

The master of the Forbidden Zone's thousand-zhang vertical eye narrowed, murmuring in puzzlement,

"Who was that?"

Although he spoke thusly, no great cultivator within the realm went towards the starry sky.

To the Forbidden Zone, the starry sky was both a source of spirit energy as well as a confinement imposed by the Heavenly Dao.

Any cultivator who approached the starry sky would become lost and fall within it.

The only way out was through the Star Gate.

Within the starry sky, the future Chen Xia had directly torn open the time river to come out. He even froze the surrounding thousands of li of time. Standing shoulder to shoulder with Chen Xia, he chuckled and said,

"I didn't expect you to fight him here."

Chen Xia asked in puzzlement, "You know him?"

"Mm," the future Chen Xia nodded. "He's one of the few who could exchange a couple moves with me after I reached the apex. In truth I would still win if we really fought. But he wouldn't lose either."

It was a contradictory statement that Chen Xia didn't fully grasp the meaning of.

The future Chen Xia shook his head. "You'll understand later. And the one you summon next time may not necessarily be me."

"Are there others as powerful as you?" Chen Xia asked curiously.

The future Chen Xia thought for a bit before explaining,

"We have countless futures, not interacting or influencing each other. I could make a move only by using your divine ability. The ensuing price will also be paid by you."

"And since you have countless futures, naturally there will be many supreme existences. Just among those I've encountered, there were..."

Speaking to this point, the future Chen Xia raised his hand and counted off,

"A lazybum, a smelly chess basket, and a half-dead guy who slept for millions of years..."

"Hmm, we really are quite eccentric."

He concluded thusly.

The grey and white colors of the starry sky suddenly began trembling.

"The Heavenly Dao here is unhappy. I should get going, otherwise you'll suffer the consequences," the future Chen Xia said.

"Mm, bye," Chen Xia waved.

But the future Chen Xia shook his head. As he faded back into the starry sky, he left with one final sentence.

"There are no goodbyes in our lifetimes."