Hijacking the Timeline

Chapter 228: Unscientific Future Projections [2.4k]

Translator: CinderTL

Eastern District, Old Days Canyon.

The caravan escorting the bloodstone had barely entered the canyon when the situation took a sudden turn.

When one faction chose this location to seize the bloodstone, the other factions clearly couldn't sit idly by.

This resulted in an increasing number of domain creatures and human battle groups loyal to Domain Forces flocking to the canyon, joining the scramble for the bloodstone.

At this point, all factions dropped their pretense and went all out in the battle.

Standing far away and observing the fiercely contested canyon, Feng Qi's expression grew grave.

Just moments ago, the mask on Wang Yi's face had shattered.

But beneath it wasn't a disfigured face, but the familiar figure of someone with purple eyes and long purple hair.

Her appearance instantly reminded him of the Lord of the Mist.

Several hypotheses surfaced in his mind.

One thing was now clear:

When the Lord of the Mist, in his early days, encountered the then-inexperienced Mu Qing and had his Domain Clan Territory crushed by her, he chose to wander the outside world, becoming a Domain-Transcending Creature.

At the time, Feng Qi had speculated that perhaps it was then the Lord of the Mist began contemplating infiltrating Human Civilization, leading to later actions such as seizing control of the Tiger Soul Research Institute and promoting the Flesh and Blood Sacrifice.

But it now seemed that wasn't the case.

The Lord of the Mist clearly hadn't yet seized control of the Tiger Soul Research Institute. Its current identity was actually the leader of a domain combat team.

There was clearly still a process to go before it could seize control of the institute.

As for why the Lord of the Mist was here to seize the bloodstone, Feng Qi wasn't surprised.

Based on his understanding of the Lord of the Mist, its craving for "qi blood" had reached a frenzied level. Since the bloodstone could produce an infinite supply of pure Qi and Blood Power, it was an irresistible temptation for the Lord of the Mist.

By now, the battle for the bloodstone had raged for two hours, yet no faction had emerged victorious.

The cliffs on either side of the canyon had been ground down by the relentless combat, and waves of hurricane-force shockwaves swept from the battlefield.

Feng Qi, watching from a distance, stood like a spectator, his clothes flapping wildly in the wind.

But he had no intention of intervening.

In fact, he was prepared to flee at any moment.

In a battle of this scale, even if he and Liu Yue brought the Dawn Battle Group, it would be utterly useless.

The central combat zone was a chaotic meat grinder, with figures dying in the struggle for dominance.

At this point, seizing the bloodstone would be like grasping a death warrant.

It was as if the bloodstone had activated a global "taunt" buff, instantly making it the focal point of all attention and the primary target for concentrated attacks.

Yet, despite this, all factions still rushed to seize it without hesitation.

Feng Qi was deeply puzzled by this.

The Domain Forces were clearly not foolish. Why didn't they simply observe from a distance and wait for the other factions to weaken before emerging to claim the spoils?

But he soon understood why.

He realized that many factions possessed experts with ultra-long-range stealth abilities, capable of instantly vanishing across vast distances. If such an expert obtained the bloodstone, there was a high chance it could be stolen in an instant.

For example, the Blue-skinned Assassin who had seized the bloodstone earlier had used his mental energy to tear open a distorted spatial rift, attempting to escape through a spatial jump.

Fortunately, before he could fully enter, a white-furred domain creature had forcibly dragged him out of the rift, and he was then pulverized by concentrated attacks. Otherwise, the battle for the bloodstone would have ended then and there.

The Domain Forces vying for the bloodstone were clearly aware of this threat. They chose to go all-out to prevent such an incident, while simultaneously creating opportunities for their stealth-capable members to escape.

If he were to sit back and watch the various factions fight over the bloodstone, thinking he could reap the benefits later, he might find himself just watching as the bloodstone suddenly vanished, leaving him nothing but a spectator.

This was precisely why the battle was so fierce.

Looking at the canyon, now leveled by the energy shockwaves, Feng Qi was also astonished by the power of the Domain Forces.

The Lord of the Mist, whom he had been closely monitoring, was utterly outmatched in this conflict, even facing several life-threatening crises.

Yet, from a historical perspective, the Lord of the Mist had clearly survived this bloodstone conflict.

Whether this timeline would follow the same course was uncertain.

After all, his intervention had already altered the course of history in this timeline. Perhaps the Lord of the Mist wouldn't be so fortunate this time.

With this thought, he found himself hoping the Lord of the Mist would make it through.

In his eyes, the Lord of the Mist still had value. Even if he were to die, it should be in the main timeline, after all his utility had been squeezed dry—not on this Sacrifice Line.

If Lin Ran succeeded in the Anti-Parasitic Mist Lord project, it would mean that in the Dream Realm, another version of himself would gain a powerful ally.

Even if this ally couldn't match little black's strength, he could still contribute to the power growth of his future self.

In the Dream Realm, relying on Suction Cup to enhance his strength was clearly unrealistic.

After all, the Suction Cup had nearly lost consciousness, operating solely on enemy-or-ally identification. Once it attacked, it would show no restraint.

But Lin Ran, the Anti-Parasitic Mist Lord, would not act that way.

If the Anti-Parasitic Plan succeeded, his other self's power would increase dramatically in a short period.

If the Lord of the Mist died here, the "Anti-Consciousness Parasitism Project" in this timeline would be considered a failure.

The consequences would be immense.

The cultivation technique Flesh and Blood Sacrifice would cease to exist in history.

Whether this would ultimately benefit or harm the future, he couldn't say.

Though Flesh and Blood Sacrifice contained the seeds of human extinction, before the Lord of the Mist activated its switch, it was widely regarded as the greatest cultivation technique in human history.

This demonstrated its immense power to enhance cultivators' abilities, significantly accelerating the progress of human collective strength.

The disappearance of Flesh and Blood Sacrifice would inevitably alter history, slowing the development of cultivation studies and potentially preventing humanity from surviving until the 15th century.

In that scenario, even the Star City Shelter might not exist.

This was the primary reason he wanted to resolve the potential dangers of Flesh and Blood Sacrifice.

A Flesh and Blood Sacrifice cultivation technique without hidden dangers would only benefit, not harm, the development of human cultivation studies.

With this thought, Feng Qi frowned and turned to Liu Yue beside him. "A'Yue, if possible, try to save Wang Yi if anything unexpected happens."

Liu Yue nodded immediately. "Understood."

"Aren't you going to ask why?" Feng Qi asked in surprise.

"I trust you."

Seeing Liu Yue's impassive expression, Feng Qi grinned. "Let me explain anyway. Its true identity is the Lord of the Mist—the same guy I told you about who controls the Tiger Soul Research Institute."

"My Anti-Consciousness Parasitism Project requires it to remain alive. If it dies prematurely, it will have far-reaching consequences and cause the entire project to fail."

"Alright, I'll go ahead now. Otherwise, if something happens, I'm afraid I won't be able to save her!"

Understanding the critical nature of the situation, Liu Yue immediately responded. He summoned Jianlan, his sword, and soared toward the canyon on it.

Feng Qi jumped down from the truck and turned to the three captains who were also observing the battle. "Take the entire team back to the supply zone first."

Realizing the situation was spiraling out of control, the three captains immediately agreed without hesitation.

After a brief adjustment, the Dawn Battle Group's convoy turned back along the same route.

At that moment, Feng Qi began walking toward the canyon.

Just then, a figure materialized beside him.

Ever vigilant, he instinctively unleashed his mental energy. But upon seeing that the figure was Qin Shikong, he immediately withdrew it.

"When did you realize the escort group was compromised?"

Feng Qi smiled as he replied:

"Didn't Wang Yi's performance on the supply bridge strike you as suspicious? It was practically an open act. Given her battle-hardened experience and skill, it's unreasonable that she would so easily lose the bloodstone."

"As for the others, their behavior during the struggle for the bloodstone's protection rights defied logic. It didn't look like they were fighting for protection rights; it felt more like they were vying for ownership."

Qin Shikong nodded in agreement:

"On reflection, you're right. There were indeed too many inconsistencies."

"What about you? When did you realize?" Feng Qi asked.

"Like you, Wang Yi's behavior on the supply bridge raised many questions for me. I cast a divination hex, and the result was the 'Shedding Ornament' hexagram, also known as Mountain Land Stripping—the hexagram of many Yin forces stripping the Yang. I realized there was a problem within the team, but I never expected that, apart from the forces you and I lead, the rest were all Domain Forces."

"You can actually calculate that?"

Feng Qi's eyes widened in disbelief.

Cultivation studies, though fantastical, could be explained scientifically as the use of a newly discovered energy, "spiritual energy," to nourish and temper the physical body, thereby achieving physical evolution and increased strength.

Art magic, from a scientific perspective, involved using the trajectories of spiritual energy to accumulate and combine spiritual energy particles into higher-dimensional energy constructs, which could then be guided and released by the user.

Thus, cultivation studies were entirely scientifically plausible.

But "divination" was pure metaphysics, devoid of logic, more like a conclusion derived from cracking the secrets of time and causality.

He had never believed in divination before.

Yet Qin Shikong's abilities made him doubt his skepticism.

Such abilities clearly couldn't be acquired through cultivation. His mind immediately turned to the Rune Modification Experiment.

Only rune augments could gain innate abilities granted by rune crystals, and these included some truly extraordinary talents.

"Are you a rune augment?" Feng Qi asked tentatively.

"No," Qin Shikong replied immediately, shaking his head. Then, his expression turned curious. "Why do you ask?"

Just as Feng Qi was about to answer, Qin Shikong's face suddenly tensed, and he hurled his bronze Eight Trigrams Plate forward.

Ripples spread through the air as a blue-skinned figure materialized from the ripples, immediately pinned down by the plate.

Seeing this, Feng Qi swiftly intervened.

His mental energy surged outward, clamping around the Blue-skinned Assassin's neck, and he yanked sharply.

The blue-skinned assassin proved weak. With a sickening crunch of bones, its body slumped lifelessly.

"The assassination attempts have been getting more frequent lately. So annoying," Qin Shikong said with a helpless sigh.

Feng Qi froze. "You've been targeted by these domain creatures?"

Qin Shikong nodded. "I don't know why, but they keep coming after me. It used to be rare—maybe once every few years—but lately, it's been happening more and more."

Listening to Qin Shikong's explanation, Feng Qi suddenly understood why he possessed such a remarkable divination ability.

If his guess was correct, Qin Shikong must possess a miracle item.

Only a miracle item could grant such extraordinary abilities that defied logic and the laws of physics.

With this thought, he turned his gaze to the Eight Trigrams Plate in Qin Shikong's hand and asked curiously, "When did you first gain your divination ability?"

Qin Shikong didn't hesitate to answer, smiling as he replied, "I've had it since I was very young. As you know, I'm a scavenger. I was about five years old when my parents and I were attacked by a Domain-Transcending Creature during a migration. The attack devastated our migration team."

"Even though the creature was severely injured, its curse was unstoppable. The warriors in our team were powerless against it, and their vital essence became nourishment for the creature's recovery. That was the first time I witnessed the cruelty and evil of domain creatures."

"Fortunately, the Scavenger Battle Group was nearby. They rushed to our aid the moment they received our distress signal, or none of us would have survived."

"That attack by the Domain-Transcending Creature also cost me dearly. Affected by the curse's residual energy, my vital essence has been continuously draining ever since, and I'm at constant risk of death."

"My parents went mad, throwing themselves at the already dead Domain-Transcending Creature, desperately searching for an antidote to the curse. They stuffed small fragments they found on the creature into my mouth and even force-fed me a tube of its blood."

"Miraculously, my curse was broken, and I inexplicably gained the ability to see the world's trajectory."

"World trajectory?" Feng Qi was stunned.

"Specifically, at certain moments, the world I see transforms into a network of countless intertwined threads. Each thread represents a fate line, moving forward along its predetermined path... Of course, there are exceptions; fate lines can bend, which is why my divination isn't always accurate."

Feng Qi was dumbfounded by Qin Shikong's explanation.

He finally understood why Qin Shikong could predict the future.

He had previously assumed the Eight Trigrams Plate in Qin Shikong's hand was linked to a miracle item, granting him the ability to divine the future. He never imagined this power came from within himself.

Based on Qin Shikong's description, his parents must have forced a miracle item carried by the Domain-Transcending Creature into his mouth.

After swallowing the miracle item and merging with it, Qin Shikong gained the divination ability it bestowed.

This allowed him to see the world's trajectory lines, enabling him to infer future changes based on their trajectories.

This explained why the Blue-skinned Assassin wanted to kill Qin Shikong.

Clearly, they sought to seize the miracle item within Qin Shikong's body.

Understanding the specific reason, Feng Qi couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then is the Eight Trigrams Plate in your hand just a decorative piece?"

"Not at all. My ability is quite unstable. The Eight Trigrams Plate helps me see the trajectory lines more clearly; it's like my observation medium, allowing me to better enter the state of observing the timeline. Additionally, the night sky can also serve as a medium for observing the timeline."

After listening to Qin Shikong's explanation, Feng Qi suddenly understood and continued, "What about the Daoist robe you're wearing?"

"That's purely for show. It just fits my fortune-telling persona."

Feng Qi: ...

(End of the Chapter)

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