Chapter 418: Recorders of Past and Present (Twenty-Nine)

Beside Su Chen, an endless sea of ​​clouds appeared, but instead of lightning, countless shimmering, crystalline threads swirled around it.
Fate...grudges...merits and demerits...destiny...
All beings, in this moment, took form.
Su Chen closed the Book of Cause and Effect in his hand.
He understood one thing.
To become a True Immortal is to transcend the Five Elements, to be beyond past and future.
In other words, if you become a True Immortal, at this point in the timeline—past, present, and future—you possess uniqueness.
True Immortals already possess the characteristic of immortality, but this immortality is not enough; it is merely confined to a specific spacetime... Different spacetimes have different possibilities, and all the fragments of shattered spacetime are the countless possibilities that evolved from the shattering of that complete spacetime.
Why had Su Chen never heard of the birth of an Immortal King, yet a War Lord appeared in later generations?
The countless possibilities that evolved from shattered spacetime gave everyone an opportunity.
The so-called Immortal King is unique in time and space. It's not that you prove yourself to be an Immortal King, but that you are inherently an Immortal King, and that's why you can become one!
Originally, there were no changes, nor were there any changes. This is why so many True Immortal giants were complacent and idle, eventually losing their way. They knew that no matter what they did, they could never become an Immortal King; in the eyes of an Immortal King, it was all a farce.
Knowing the truth led to despair.
But now, the complete timeline has shattered, and the uniqueness of the Immortal King has been questioned. The original cycle of beginning and end has changed, causing time and space to lose its uniqueness. True Immortals who were previously unable to become Immortal Kings now have a way to advance.
In infinite time and space, in infinite timelines, perhaps there will be changes that allow you to become an Immortal King. This is why the Lord of War sought out Su Chen, because he has the potential to become an Immortal King in the future. Therefore, he will be an Immortal King, but that Immortal King will not be a true Immortal King; he will only be a pseudo-Immortal King because he will be killed by a powerful enemy and perish in this timeline.
The true Immortal King is unique across all timelines—past, present, and future. Even when weak, his future self, destined to become an Immortal King, would come to help him achieve immortality. However, his future self didn't appear to complete the logical loop of becoming an Immortal King. This made Su Chen think of a possibility:
The Struggle for the Dao!
He had the potential to become a Celestial King, and naturally, other True Immortals cultivating the Path of Cause and Effect also had the possibility of becoming Celestial Kings... Therefore, a Celestial King who had attained the Path of Cause and Effect blocked his path in another timeline and even tried to kill him. Fortunately, he had a backup plan; the existence of that War Lord helped him resolve the crisis.
His repeated deaths were not accidental. Someone didn't want him to successfully become a Celestial King of the Path of Cause and Effect... This was a formidable enemy from the future, wanting to help another Celestial King who had lost the Dao struggle against him reverse this logic and seize his Celestial King Dao Fruit. Only an existence above the Celestial King level could pull off such a scheme.
However, that being, despite all their calculations, miscalculated one thing... that he possessed the Book of Reversal of Fate. Even if he were killed prematurely, he would still return, and in the countless timelines that followed, he would still become a Celestial King. It was only because that being had enough patience to kill him so many times.
In this life, he didn't die... In truth, he was already dead, but someone had manipulated his fate, securing a sliver of life for him from the terrifying force behind the scenes. His future self, as a Celestial King, also entrusted the Lord of War with the help of intercepting the impending disaster.
Having understood everything, facing the tribulation of convergent cause and effect, he didn't fight it. Instead, he pointed his fingers like a knife and gently drew a line across himself.
"Severing cause and effect... Today I will attain enlightenment."
At that moment, Su Chen's figure completely vanished. The converged cause and effect of the heavens, the condensed punishment, suddenly lost its target. Everyone who had seen Su Chen forgot him...
In a distant time...
A little girl squatted on the ground in the icy snow, bewildered and helpless.
What...what was she doing?
The old man behind her also looked bewildered.
The two returned to the carriage and continued their journey.
The Records Pavilion was empty, eventually becoming the History Pavilion.
Having become a True Immortal and traveled beyond time and space, Dongfang Yunxiao seemed to realize he had forgotten something.
At the foot of the mountain, the masked figure, glimpsed only briefly, vanished completely from his memory...
Throughout the many timelines Su Chen traversed, there was no trace of Him. Only a Book of Cause and Effect remained, held in Su Chen's hands. It stood atop countless different timelines and dimensions, becoming a 'mistake' recorded upon all things.
Meanwhile,
At the forefront of an unknown timeline,
a figure wearing a bronze mask slowly appeared, holding an ancient book, stepping across a raging torrent.
Here, a figure slowly coalesced.
"You...how were you able to reach this point?"
Su Chen smiled.
"Your path began here, and it shall end here!"
Su Chen flicked his finger lightly.
The pseudo-Immortal King's Dao heart, yearning for enlightenment, suddenly cracked, filling his eyes with terror. No matter how hard he tried, that simple finger strike was like Mount Tai crushing a straw; he was instantly suppressed.
His heart was filled with remorse and utter fear. He knew the terrifying consequences of this person completing the closed loop again!
"I am a Celestial King! I am the Celestial King!"
He was utterly unwilling!
Su Chen ignored him and began to trace the cause.
"So that's how it is..."
Su Chen narrowed his eyes. Having become a Celestial King, his status surpassed that of a True Immortal. He could easily alter the path to enlightenment of a True Immortal; a True Immortal could not thwart it.
But... Su Chen was now a Celestial King of the Dao of Cause and Effect, while this person was merely a True Immortal of the Dao of Cause and Effect. If there was no way to thwart it, then he could simply rewrite his path to enlightenment, turning it into someone else's fruit. For a direct lineage Celestial King, it was merely a matter of changing a name.
Su Chen saw that after his twentieth reincarnation, he hadn't actually died directly, but had been reborn into a small world.
Since the battle to annihilate the Supreme Immortal King, the timeline has shrunk. Because the Supreme Immortal King was defeated, Su Chen easily reclaimed all the paths... and thus he survived until that great battle...
The scene shattered, as if everything was too complicated for a True Immortal to trace back to its source. When Su Chen tried to continue investigating, he was blocked by an invisible force. His former great enemy was directly killed and disappeared.
As for this formidable enemy... He had once defeated him, then willingly submitted to 'Calamity,' hoping to attain Immortal King status. Taking advantage of that great battle, 'Calamity' attacked Su Chen, annihilating him and directly altering Su Chen's path to enlightenment. Unfortunately... Su Chen's destiny wasn't confined to one lifetime. Each attempt to kill him ultimately gave others the opportunity to save him!
Su Chen looked ahead.
He had returned and should once again head to the battlefield!