The Protagonists' Chat Group: Beyond the Boundaries — Chapter 395

Chapter 395: Changing the Future, Do Emperor Ye and Emperor Chu Still Exist?

After successfully breaking through to the Quasi-Immortal Emperor Realm and recuperating within the Major Thousand Worlds for some time, Shi Jian began to meticulously consider his next steps in Cultivation.

He had effectively consumed and refined all the readily available supreme resources in the Major Thousand Worlds.

To find another crucial opportunity for Breakthrough—the final step to Immortal Emperor—he needed to access a larger, richer platform of power.

Currently, within the existing framework of the Perfect World universe, Shi Jian could find no clear, immediate way forward for exponential growth.

As for the ultimate source of darkness—the realms Above the Heavens—he knew he couldn’t go there yet; the time was not right, and the potential consequence was too high.

Regarding Di Gu Ge (the original Immortal Emperor who fell to darkness), Shi Jian worried that a premature confrontation might prematurely affect the entire Major Thousand Worlds, so he decided to leave that variable alone for the time being.

He had almost entirely cleared the accessible map of the Major Thousand Worlds of all major dark threats.

However, to be precise, the Dark Land still held significant instances of danger.

The Strange Race—the true source of the dark turmoil—had set up four massive outpost checkpoints in the Dark Land: Soul River, Ancient Underworld, Heaven Emperor Burial Pit, and Four-Level Floating Earth!

Within these outposts, there were numerous Quasi-Immortal Emperor-level dark existences lurking. Sometimes, even true Strange Immortal Emperors would come to oversee them.

Whenever a Quasi-Immortal Emperor appeared in the Major Thousand Worlds, the Strange Race would immediately sacrifice them, leading to one terrifying Emperor Fall Era after another.

However, there was a slight accident during Di Gu Ge’s time. They were caught off guard, allowing Di Gu Ge to violently Break through to the Immortal Emperor Realm.

Of course, later, Di Gu Ge was contaminated by a drop of dark blood from Above the Heavens.

After Di Gu Ge transformed into a Dark Immortal Emperor, the Strange Race had an easy time—the dark side harvested the Major Thousand Worlds effortlessly.

This contamination saved the Strange Race from having to intervene directly. The World-Ending Old Man and the other Quasi-Immortal Emperors finished all the dirty work for the final, true darkness.

Over countless epochs, the Strange Race’s outposts had never directly interfered with the major events on the surface.

They probably still didn’t know about the sudden, terrifying rise of Shi Jian and Shi Hao.

In the original novel’s timeline, the Strange Race similarly didn’t pay attention to the matters of the Major Thousand Worlds during the early stages, allowing Shi Hao to grow exponentially.

By the Late Stage of his growth, when they finally discovered Shi Hao’s existence, they could no longer afford to provoke him directly. So, they simply played dead, allowing him to ascend.

In the Late Stage of his timeline, Shi Hao returned from Above the Heavens and discovered the existence of these four outposts.

He broke into the outposts and then violently dug out the original Reincarnation Road in the Ancient Underworld, completely wiping out all the Strange Race members within.

Just as he was about to deal with the remaining outposts, a final, catastrophic great battle erupted Above the Heavens.

Shi Hao was in a hurry to join the crucial battle, so he left the remaining outposts alone for the time being.

He thought he would return to deal with these scattered outposts after the main battle concluded.

Before leaving, he left a stone tablet in the Dark Land to warn future generations of cultivators about the lurking danger.

Then he departed to help the struggling forces Above the Heavens.

As a result, his trip to Above the Heavens led to the battle there becoming directly deadlocked. He found the location of the Disaster Land (the Plateau) and, like the Flower Powder Emperor of that year, directly led his followers to the ultimate front, forcing their way in!

Arrogant Heaven Emperor (Shi Hao’s ultimate title) was naturally terrifyingly strong. However, facing the infinitely resurrecting Strange Ancestors on the Plateau, he was ultimately held back and unable to escape the fight.

It was under such dire circumstances that Ye Fan (Emperor Ye) grew up in the besieged Major Thousand Worlds in a later timeline.

Ye Fan, the Great Emperor Ruthless (Huang/Ruthless Empress), and the others entered the Immortal Realm and began to come into contact with things related to the Strange Race.

They then planned to repair the shattered Immortal Realm, integrate the remaining power of the Major Thousand Worlds, and prepare for the ultimate, inevitable battle.

Due to the immense passage of time, the Seal left by Arrogant Heaven Emperor in the Major Thousand Worlds began to loosen and fail.

The four outposts of the Strange Race, and the strange creatures hiding deep within, began to strike with their full, terrifying force.

Ye Fan, Great Emperor Ruthless, and the two others had also violently Broken through to the Quasi-Immortal Emperor Realm by this time—a true achievement in that desolate era.

They then directly confronted the Strange Race’s outposts head-on.

Within the Strange Race’s outposts, there were a large number of entrenched Quasi-Immortal Emperor-level existences.

Even though Ye Fan and the other two were exceptionally talented, at the Quasi-Immortal Emperor Realm, they simply couldn’t fight one against ten.

Therefore, the three of them were ultimately beaten so badly that they were forced to flee in disarray and humiliation.

This was the source of the famous online joke: Arrogant Heaven Emperor was spawn camping the main enemy, leaked a few super soldiers (the outposts), and as a result, Emperor Ye and the others were soundly defeated.

The Emperor Ye trio couldn’t defeat an entire nest of entrenched Quasi-Immortal Emperors.

Then, they crossed the River of Time, wanting to communicate with Arrogant Heaven Emperor and seek his direct help, essentially telling him he leaked the super soldiers and asking him to leave some serious backup and resources.

However, the few of them reversed time and space several times, but always came at the wrong time, encountering the un-grown Arrogant Heaven Emperor, which was Shi Hao.

Later, seeing that the Arrogant Heaven Emperor couldn’t be brought down, the Disaster Land sent three Quasi-Immortal Emperors to the past, intending to kill the un-grown Arrogant Heaven Emperor before he could ascend.

Then Emperor Ye and the other two detected the dangerous incursions.

A group of people followed the River of Time to the era when Arrogant Heaven Emperor was fighting the Four Dark Emperors.

And thus, they created the famous scene of “4 vs 1 with ease, 7 vs 1 sweating profusely” during the fight against the original dark emperors.

The Emperor Ye trio successfully defeated the Strange Trio who had crossed the River of Time.

However, they still couldn’t establish effective communication with the original Arrogant Heaven Emperor.

After they returned to their original, desperate era, they jointly sent Ye Qingxian to the past—hoping to establish effective, long-term communication with Arrogant Heaven Emperor through her.

It was at this time that the Arrogant Heaven Emperor was held back by the infinitely resurrecting Strange Ancestors, and the powerful people who followed him fell one after another in the endless fight.

He himself was almost severely injured and died in the chaotic battle.

It was the loyal Liu Shen who carried him, step by painful step, out of the cursed Plateau.

Finally, Liu Shen fell, sacrificing herself, and the Arrogant Heaven Emperor was left severely injured but alive.

Arrogant Heaven Emperor performed an unprecedented, massive reflection across all ages, resurrecting many people and throwing them into a special, unknown world he created, directly hiding them away for safety.

After Above the Heavens was definitively defeated, the Major Thousand Worlds also eventually fell.

The Emperor Ye trio were already barely surviving. Countless strong cultivators here died in battle, leaving only the trio struggling to hold on against overwhelming odds.

However, they were simply outnumbered and outmatched by the unending darkness.

Finally, Wushi (Non-Beginning/Borderless Great Emperor) stayed behind to cover their retreat and died in battle. Great Emperor Ruthless jumped into the perilous Bridge of Life and Death.

Ye Fan also suffered severe, life-threatening injuries and hid within the mysterious Three-Life Bronze Coffin. The Major Thousand Worlds suffered a catastrophic, final defeat.

The entire Major Thousand Worlds was ultimately sacrificed by the Strange Race to fuel their dark rituals. The universe was shattered into ruins.

…

After a long period of quiet recuperation, Ye Fan and Ruthless Emperor successively broke through to the true Immortal Emperor Realm.

Then they resurrected Wushi. Realizing that they couldn’t just act recklessly, the three of them also began to use strategies and deep plotting.

Then Wushi went to the Heaven Emperor Burial Pit as a dangerous undercover agent. Ye Fan continued to Cultivate and gather power, and Great Emperor Ruthless attracted firepower outside.

It wasn’t until Ye Fan broke through to the absolute Dao Sacrifice Realm and Arrogant Heaven Emperor also recovered that a vital connection was finally established between the two Heaven Emperors.

The two of them worked together to plan, resurrecting everyone in the Major Thousand Worlds and sending them into the unknown world created by Arrogant Heaven Emperor.

They also reflected the Clones of everyone, allowing them to travel the Major Thousand Worlds to continue the fight.

The two of them also manifested Clones to fight, while their true bodies hid in specialized jars—until Heaven Emperor Chu (Chu Feng) was born…

Strategic Decisions and Timelines

Joking aside, while it was said that the small soldiers left by Arrogant Heaven Emperor were defeated by the Emperor Ye trio, the few outposts left by the Strange Race were indeed terrifyingly strong.

Quasi-Immortal Emperors were piled up inside, and there were probably a few Immortal Emperor-level beings as well.

Shi Jian is not afraid of group battles. With his current Quasi-Immortal Emperor combat power, breaking into the Dark Land and directly attacking a few outposts is not a major problem.

At most, it would take hundreds of thousands of years of grinding combat, fighting to sustain the fight and dragging all the enemies to their deaths.

But still, the same old saying applies: he is not confident that he won’t prematurely affect the Immortal Realm’s stability by fighting too fiercely.

“During the battle at Emperor Pass, Ye Fan didn’t appear!”

“There was no Ye Qingxian in the Major Thousand Worlds during my era!”

“When fighting the four Quasi-Immortal Emperors, Ye Fan and the others didn’t appear, nor did the Strange Quasi-Immortal Emperors from the outposts…”

“Clearly, this Strange Plateau and its outposts must have been entirely pacified by me and the people in the Chat Group in this new timeline…”

Shi Jian pondered carefully. In the original novel’s timeline, it was only after the three Heaven Emperors (Shi Hao, Ye Fan, Chu Feng) gathered and ascended that the Strange Plateau was finally ended!

Shi Hao alone could not fully defeat the Strange Race forever. That’s why the full trilogy—Perfect World, Shrouding the Heavens, and Sacred Ruins—was necessary.

But now, with the Chat Group, the Strange Race is naturally not a problem; it’s just a matter of scheduling the next instance raid.

That is to say, the Strange Race will be entirely ended much earlier by Shi Hao and Shi Jian’s combined faction.

If that’s the case, the future timeline will naturally change drastically. The future heroes won’t be beaten into a panicked retreat.

Ye Fan and the others also won’t need to cross time and space to try and contact the Arrogant Heaven Emperor.

“Ending the Strange Race is a supreme good deed, but by doing this, aren’t I making Ye Fan and Chu Feng’s original history and struggles disappear?”

Shi Jian thought about it carefully and concluded that Ye Fan and Chu Feng still absolutely exist.

And, if nothing unexpected happens, they will definitely become existences above the Dao Sacrifice Realm.

It’s just that their experiences and the defining traumas of their lives will be completely different from the original timeline. The crushing pressure they faced in the original work will be gone!

To put it simply, Shi Hao, Ye Fan, and Chu Feng, who ultimately became existences above Dao Sacrifice, have already achieved an eternally unique existence.

They have reached the point where the past is the future, and the future is the present—they exist across all timelines simultaneously.

Shi Jian changed the current timeline, affecting the history that leads to the future Ye Fan and Chu Feng.

But he cannot affect the Ye Fan and Chu Feng who have already become existences above Dao Sacrifice.

Opening multiple timelines is trivially easy for existences above Dao Sacrifice.

After the three Heaven Emperors became existences above Dao Sacrifice, they often opened single timelines to try and change the past for the better.

Shi Hao had opened several timelines: he once accompanied Emperor Footprint to fight the three Emperors of Canghongyu… and he also once fought his way onto the Plateau with Emperor Flower Powder.

He felt deep pity for these two: one went alone to the World Sea to quell the dark turmoil, only to be ambushed by three Quasi-Immortal Emperors, escaping with only a wisp of Emperor Fire.

The other also fought their way into the Plateau and was ambushed, eventually perishing.

Perhaps it was because he also had the experience of being ambushed that Shi Hao felt such profound pity for them.

Then he reversed time and space, opening separate timelines, ambushing the Four Dark Emperors with Emperor Footprint… and fighting his way onto the Plateau with Emperor Flower Powder…

The Divine Ability of existences above Dao Sacrifice is truly unimaginable.

The original timeline is set—an absolute point of reference. Even if Shi Jian changes the current timeline, it will not truly affect the core existence of Ye Fan and Chu Feng at their ultimate peak.

His current Realm allows him to grasp a few subtleties of time. If he takes another step, it would be reversing time and space, like Arrogant Heaven Emperor giving Shi Hao a cheat. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to give himself a cheat as well.

Shi Jian had read some novels in his previous life where the protagonist’s Golden Finger for his rise was given to him by his future self…

The protagonist rose because of the Golden Finger. After becoming invincible and no longer needing the Golden Finger, he threw it back to his earliest self.

Where did the protagonist’s Golden Finger come from? His future awesome self crossed time and space to give it to him. How did he become so awesome in the future? Because he had the Golden Finger. Where did his Golden Finger come from? …

Shi Jian used to think that the timeline in such novels had a brain-dead beauty because the setting of such a Golden Finger was a complete paradox.

But now, he can accept this setting very well, because—it doesn’t follow logic.

This level of strong cultivators already possesses the characteristic of not following logic. Therefore, what is unreasonable becomes absolutely reasonable.

Existences above Dao Sacrifice have this characteristic.

So, Shi Jian estimates that he probably cannot affect Ye Fan and Chu Feng, who are above Dao Sacrifice.

However, on his current timeline, the appearance of these two people will likely be a very, very, very long time from now, as the dark crisis has been resolved.

“Di Gu Ge cannot be fought yet, and the Strange Race’s outposts cannot be fought yet, either!” Shi Jian concluded.

“It seems I need to visit other worlds and seek new resources!”

Shi Jian pondered, but he was a bit hesitant now, unsure whether to go find Yang Qi or visit a random instance world.

Cultivating Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength, Yang Qi’s world (Sage Monarch) is clearly more suitable for him to exert himself.

Many resources in Yang Qi’s world are uniquely suitable for the Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength. It is the best Cultivation Holy Land for this particular technique.

However, he and Yang Qi both Cultivate Divine Elephant Suppressing Prison Strength, and both are massive consumers of energy and resources.

Occasionally meeting up to clear an instance is fine, but if they were to permanently reside there for Cultivation, and both needed to devour energy resources daily…

Shi Jian estimated that Yang Qi would definitely share a large portion of Cultivation resources with him, given their relationship.

However, Shi Jian would feel awkward accepting such a massive handout. If you ask a friend to treat you and then eat like there’s no tomorrow, making them pay a hefty sum, that’s one thing.

But staying at a friend’s house every day, eating and drinking for free for thousands of years, that would be unbearably awkward.

“Let’s find a world for an instance run, then…” Shi Jian quickly made up his mind, prioritizing his pride and the friendship.

Speaking of which, it had been a long time since he had cleared a relaxing instance run. Breaking through to Quasi-Immortal Emperor alone had taken him tens of thousands of years in seclusion.

Shi Jian entered the Chat Group’s instance space and began to select a suitable world. With his current strength, only the most top-tier Major Thousand Worlds could substantially help his Cultivation.

Shi Jian was selecting among the myriad stars when suddenly, a person materialized in the instance space.

It was none other than Shi Hao!

“Brother, you’ve come out of seclusion?” Shi Hao’s Aura was now even stronger, indicating that he had also been Cultivating intensely during this time.

However, he had not yet Broken through to the full Immortal Emperor Realm. His Cultivation was a hundred times more difficult than Shi Jian’s.

Shi Jian only needed to constantly copy and paste; with enough energy, he could constantly Break through.

Shi Hao had to consider far more complex elements in forging his ultimate path. Now, clearly, he had just returned from an instance world.

Shi Jian nodded: “I have completely refined the energy of the four Quasi-Immortal Emperors and Broken through to the Quasi-Immortal Emperor Realm.”

“Once you Break through to Immortal Emperor, we will make a move on Di Gu Ge, and then head to Above the Heavens!”

Shi Hao first showed immense happiness upon hearing that Shi Jian had Broken through, then he spoke with a focused intensity:

“Brother, I feel like I can already touch the threshold of Immortal Emperor now, and I can try to undergo the final transformation. But my recent instance world wasn’t suitable for that transformation process…”

“I was just about to find a more suitable instance world for the final change…”

Shi Jian smiled upon hearing this: “I’m also preparing to find an instance world for continued Cultivation myself!”

“Then shall we clear an instance together, brother? A proper adventure before the final war!”