Chi Tian is truly out of options, isn't this underhanded

Chi Tian did not let his guard down. In fact, after witnessing Chen Yi's terrifying capabilities, his vigilance had already peaked!

Yet, he still failed to dodge this halberd strike!

Because this was a strike that sealed off all escape routes—a halberd imbued with the law of causality!

The "cause" lay in the palm strike he had unleashed earlier, which his opponent had endured head-on, thus fulfilling the contract!

And the "effect" was this halberd strike, which he could only receive head-on—unavoidable, inescapable!

Thud!

Chi Tian's meticulously refined Path of Escape was shattered in an instant by this halberd. Moreover, since he could not evade causality, the strike sent him crashing back into the hidden annals of history, slamming him into the earth with such force that the entire continent was obliterated!

"Hahaha, what tremendous strength!"

"Sir, what is the meaning of sacrificing a Taiyi avatar to forcibly keep this Emperor here?"

"Now that this Emperor isn’t leaving, you may as well reveal yourself. There’s nothing we can’t discuss—no need for such violence, lest we both suffer!"

Amid the swirling dust, Chi Tian slowly rose to his feet, laughing as he extended an olive branch. A massive dent caved in his skull, and golden-red immortal blood essence spilled out, making him look utterly wretched!

Though such injuries meant little to Chi Tian—he could recover in an instant—doing so would gain him nothing. In fact, it might even make his opponent think the beating wasn’t harsh enough, further stoking their fury.

After all, he had refined Cui Changsheng. If he didn’t let his opponent vent their rage, how could they possibly sit down for a proper talk?

Details determined success or failure. There was no need to pay a heavy price for mere pride. Patience, restraint—these were the keys to securing the most favorable terms!

"Quiet. I’ll deal with you later!"

Chen Yi rejected the offer outright, merely hurling a halberd into the ground before Chi Tian as a warning. Then, he turned back to reconstructing Elder Cui Changsheng’s Dao body.

Chi Tian: "..."

So domineering! So arrogant! So brazen!

Did they really think they had him cornered?

If push came to shove, he’d drag them down with him!

And if Wuji got involved, no one would escape unscathed!

"Hahaha, very well! This Emperor shall prepare a warm welcome and await your next move!"

After weighing his options, Chi Tian decided to bide his time. He even extinguished the burning Dao traces of Cui Changsheng’s essence as a gesture of goodwill.

After all, Cui Changsheng wasn’t truly dead. This was just a misunderstanding—one he had ample sincerity to resolve!

Surely, his opponent wouldn’t want mutual destruction either... right?

Truth be told, Chi Tian was out of ideas.

If he fought, his opponent’s bizarre methods made it uncertain whether he could retreat unharmed. Worse, a single misstep might attract Wuji—and that would spell true catastrophe!

If he didn’t fight, he’d be at their mercy, reduced to a lamb for slaughter!

Though neither option was ideal, not fighting seemed the lesser evil. The Purple Star faction might not be able to kill him, but Wuji definitely could—and would etch his name into history as a cautionary tale!

What Chi Tian didn’t know was this:

His voluntary act of goodwill actually saved Chen Yi a great deal of effort!

Reversing the timeline—especially one entangled with the causality of two Dao Ancestors—was incredibly taxing. The energy drain far outpaced recovery, forcing Chen Yi to burn his avatars’ essence just to keep going!

Just peeling away the Dao traces Chi Tian had refined had already exhausted one six-star avatar, while another was left weakened after that cross-temporal halberd strike!

So now, Chen Yi was putting up a front, refusing to show weakness. He had to admit—he’d overestimated himself.

Six-star avatars could contend with Dao Ancestors, but only novices like Cui Changsheng, who had barely condensed forty-nine Dao traces. Against a veteran like Chi Tian—who’d refined over a hundred traces and even once held the title of Immortal Emperor—two six-star avatars could only fight evenly, never suppress him!

As the saying went: "Even among Dao Ancestors, there are hierarchies." A single Dao trace marked a world of difference. The fact that a rookie like Cui Changsheng had been refined by Chi Tian was proof enough!

That Chen Yi’s two six-star avatars, comparable to Dao Ancestors, couldn’t fully pin Chi Tian down only reinforced this point!

After that cross-temporal halberd strike, if Chi Tian had still insisted on fleeing, Chen Yi would’ve had no choice but to either descend in person or watch helplessly as he escaped—maybe shouting "Don’t you dare run!" for good measure...

Fortunately, Chi Tian was intimidated. Not only did he stay put, he even helped dissolve the causality, extended goodwill, and offered negotiations.

How... considerate!

Chen Yi wasn’t about to refuse.

Without missing a beat, he subtly slowed Cui Changsheng’s reconstruction while his two six-star avatars quietly activated the Emotion Weaving system. Through his true self’s omnipresent will, they drew on an endless stream of belief energy!

Meanwhile:

The Entropic Reversion system bypassed celestial laws for reverse sublimation.

- The Paradox Engine doubled energy output via logical contradictions.

- The Doomsday Pendulum stacked states to accelerate recovery.

- The Void Syntax system covertly rewrote the laws of ancient history.

- The Topological Fold system warped Chi Tian’s perception, stacking advantages for the coming battle...

If not for his avatars being pure Chaos Origin constructs—which couldn’t sustain the Ecospheric Bubble system—Chen Yi could’ve expanded their capacity further, maintaining peak efficiency without burning essence!

If only Flying Star Heaven’s Dao or that shut-in disciple Chen Hao could see Chen Yi’s seamless combo, they’d surely chorus: "Now that’s dirty!"

Poor Chi Tian remained oblivious. As a orthodox cultivator, he couldn’t even detect these unheard-of heresies, let alone fathom what awaited him.

He kept diligently dissolving causality, saving Chen Yi’s energy—all to negotiate better terms later.