"Time."
In this moment, Li Wei achieved enlightenment.
He glanced at the Yin-Yang Fish Diagram, then at the "Power of Laws" obtained from the "Yin Water Star," and finally at the "Myriad Dao Divine Bell Pagoda."
The Myriad Dao Divine Bell Pagoda was a Supreme-grade Dharma Treasure, representing the foundational heritage of the former Myriad Dao Immortal Palace.
It possessed Time Laws that allowed cultivators to cultivate at speeds many times faster than normal.
Then there was the power of Laws from the Yin Water Star, which contained a vast amount of "Glacial Laws" and a trace amount of "Time Laws."
The Yin-Yang Fish Diagram possessed both Yin and Yang sides; it seemed he had never truly developed the Diagram's true power.
His Void Refining Space was slightly different from Li Yaozu's.
Within the extremely cold space, beneath the solid ice, there was a flowing white light, almost imperceptible!
With these three elements converging, it seemed that when he utilized his spiritual power to activate the Yin-Yang Fish Diagram, he was also activating that faint "Time" within his Void Refining Space.
"What is time?" Li Wei stood dazed for a moment.
In this instant, everything within the entire space seemed to have fallen still, leaving only him murmuring to himself.
"Time does not exist; it is a blank sheet of paper. If there is nothing on the white paper, then for the person looking at it, nothing has happened.
If I hold a pen and draw a horizontal line, the length of the mark left by that pen... that is time."
No one can fully explain what time is, or perhaps everyone simply has a different definition.
But at this moment, in Li Wei's heart—which laid no claim to great scholarship—a definition formed.
Or perhaps, it was that trace amount of "Time Law" that gave him the definition!
In a flash, Li Wei opened his eyes again. Zhao Tingyu was still fleeing!
"Heaven, Earth, and the Mortal Realm!"
"Pagoda, Suppress!"
A white light flashed in Li Wei's eyes.
He was finally no longer using that trace amount of "Time Law" unconsciously.
He could clearly see that the reserve of the Time Law had diminished slightly.
Including the previous two times, he estimated that he could use it approximately eight times in total before the Time Law within the Void Refining Space needed to recover.
In that incredibly brief moment, Li Wei confirmed that everything within the entire Void Refining Space suffered a momentary stagnation.
One snap of the fingers is 7.2 seconds.
Twenty instants make one snap.
Twenty thoughts make one instant!
The cold glint of the spear tip flashed, and Li Wei was already behind Zhao Tingyu.
"One Thought!"
[Congratulations. Through the trace "Time Laws" within the Void Refining Space, you have comprehended a new technique: One Thought!]
[You can stop time for the duration of "One Thought."]
...
Inside the Immortal Domain.
The Immortal Zhao Clan had no choice.
The final option Li Chang'an had presented to them was, in fact, the best one.
Li Chang'an had already retreated into the distance with the two Void Refining experts.
Yet, Li Chang'an could not suppress the grim look on his face.
He saw it.
Ding Yuanxiao—who had been averting his gaze just moments ago due to Li Chang'an's words—and the heads of the various families of the Duravia Trade Prefecture were all frozen in terror.
Some had even collapsed to the ground.
Throughout the entire Immortal Domain, streaks of radiance—some faint, some intensely colorful—drifted up into the air like smoke, only to plummet back toward the earth.
"What is this... what's happening... what in the world is going on?!!"
"The light on my body! My light!"
"I haven't lost any spiritual power, and my body is fine... so what is this? What exactly is this?!!"
Ding Yuanxiao spread his hands in bewilderment, gazing at the golden radiance rising from his body.
He recalled a time thousands of years ago, when his family elders had taken him to the Imperial Capital, begging the Pavilion of Heavenly Secrets to help examine his aptitude.
The Elder of the Pavilion had said:
"Qi Yun appears as gold. This Qilin, son of your family, possesses abundant destiny; he will suffer few illnesses and disasters.
Even with his fiery and confident temperament, he will walk the path of Immortal Cultivation smoothly.
But remember this: listen more to the words of good friends."
"Gold... Destiny... My Destiny!"
Ding Yuanxiao looked with disbelief at those towering pagodas absorbing the radiance, then turned his gaze to the three Zhao Clan Elders.
"You... you are stealing my Destiny!!!"
In this moment, he seemed to see the look of pity in Li Chang'an's eyes from afar.
The Li family... seemed to have known all along!
Within the range of this Immortal Domain, everyone's Destiny was being stripped away!
No wonder.
No wonder that when these Immortal Clans were ambushed by the Li Clan, the Immortal Zhao Clan had no intention of sending support.
Instead, they had told them to abandon their clansmen and flee into the Immortal Domain.
"Why?!! Why are you stealing my Destiny?!!"
Ding Yuanxiao stared venomously at Zhao Jingmiao, screaming himself hoarse.
"My Ding family has been loyal to your Zhao Clan from start to finish! Even in this great war, I brought my clansmen to aid you! Give me back my Destiny!!!"
Yet, the Destiny clinging to Ding Yuanxiao continued to be relentlessly siphoned into the towering pagoda.
The Zhao Clan members did not immediately charge out to battle; instead, they trapped the elders of the various Immortal Clans from the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
Fairy Bai remained expressionless, her eyes devoid of even a shred of pity.
These defeated commanders had already been shaken by Li Chang'an's words.
Even if they returned to the battlefield, they would offer no combat value; they might even turn on her own clansmen just to secure their own survival.
"You are a dying man; what use have you for this Destiny? Rest assured—using Destiny such as yours to strengthen my Zhao Clan is the true Righteous Dao! Hahaha!"
Zhao Buqun's laughter echoed through the skies above the Duravia Trade Prefecture.
He understood. He understood everything now!
Ding Yuanxiao trembled uncontrollably.
In this moment, he finally realized that the Zhao Clan had never once placed any value on their lives.
Perhaps from the very beginning, the Zhao Clan's true objective in coming to the Duravia Trade Prefecture was to absorb everyone's Destiny amidst the chaos of these times.
That was the Zhao Clan's true purpose!
This formation of the Zhao Clan, which altered the atmospheric phenomena of heaven and earth, was never meant to shelter the people.
It was... a trap!
They were merely a herd of livestock, raised to be slaughtered.
"Save me!"
In the starry night, Ding Yuanxiao roared ferociously toward the outside of the Immortal Domain, "Brother Sun, save me! Members of the Li family, the Grand Formation is open! Fight your way in! Save us!!!"
Outside the Immortal Domain.
Li Chang'an had already retreated into the distance with the two seniors, standing alongside his clansmen.
Together, they gazed at everything unfolding within the Immortal Domain.
Following Ding Yuanxiao's roar, everyone—from the experts of the various Immortal Clans in the Duravia Trade Prefecture to the commoners—began to shout and wail.
Many of them did not understand what the lights on their bodies represented, but they knew something terrible was happening.
Those lights were being relentlessly harvested by the Zhao Clan!
"Elders..."
Li Chang'an turned around, looking at the many elders of his family.
Yet, everyone in the clan looked upon the scene before them with indifference.
Li Yaowen's voice sounded faint and distant.
"Over a hundred years have passed.
They chose the Immortal Zhao Clan themselves.
We must respect the choices of others."
---
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