Watching Zhou Bai in the sky, Zhu Long's dragon eyes, akin to a solar corona, emitted a vigilant glow, and its mountain-like body rose, directly triggering a minor earthquake.

Lightning brewed around him, hurricanes howled, and lightning streaks cut across the sky. A storm seemed to arrive within a hundred-mile radius due to Zhu Long's changes.

'This kid... feels even more dangerous than when we last met. Has he progressed this quickly?'

Zhou Bai sighed, "You so-called strong ones... why does each one of you want to fight before speaking properly?"

As he spoke, Zhou Bai let out a soft shout, the Mixed Element Star Constellation Calamity transformed into black flames, erupting from him and hanging in the sky like a black sun.

Just as the tense atmosphere between man and dragon seemed on the verge of erupting into battle, Qian Wangsun walked out from the back of the mountain-sized dragon fang, "It's alright, Zhu Long. Zhou Bai just wants to talk to me."

Zhu Long coldly said, "He carries a murderous aura."

Qian Wangsun smiled slightly and flew towards Zhou Bai's position, "I believe he won't kill me."

Zhou Bai looked at Qian Wangsun, turned, and flew towards the distant ice cap. Qian Wangsun followed him, and they stopped under an ice cliff.

Once they stopped, Zhou Bai immediately asked, "Do you know what will happen when I go to Mars?"

Qian Wangsun nodded, "You will return with the Heavenly Demon army to support humanity. Our development rate is still too slow; resource collection, system reform, personnel training, monitoring, the calculation of Lingji models... the existing Heavenly Demon army can assist us greatly."

Zhou Bai continued, "You know what situation I'll encounter on Mars, don't you?"

Qian Wangsun nodded again.

Zhou Bai sighed again, "Before I initiated Time Reverse, Christina received a projection warning. I tracked the signal before Time Reverse; was it you?"

Seeing Qian Wangsun nod again, Zhou Bai's form flashed like lightning, directly appearing in front of him, and grabbed Qian Wangsun by the throat.

Accompanied by a thunderous crash, Qian Wangsun was pressed directly against the ice cliff, with rumbling collapses, the ice mountain behind began to crumble inch by inch.

Zhou Bai coldly said, "You cannot calculate the facts after Time Reverse, meaning you have no idea whether Christina can be restored after your plan is complete, do you?"

Qian Wangsun coughed a few times, slowly leaving a few strands of blood from the corners of his mouth, he wiped his mouth, calmly saying, "I've calculated many times, this is the safest way to rule the Heavenly Demons without losing control, the method with the highest success rate."

Bang!

The giant force surged from Zhou Bai's hand, directly smashing the Protective Gang Qi on Qian Wangsun's body, with waves of air gushing out, clearing the matter within a hundred meters.

Zhou Bai coldly said, "Even if it sacrifices Christina?"

Qian Wangsun indifferently said, "Christina's consciousness might change due to the massive memory, but from what I've seen in other futures, her chance of recovery is high."

Zhou Bai angrily said, "But what if she doesn't recover? You should at least inform us of the plan in advance!"

Qian Wangsun stared into Zhou Bai's eyes, saying, "If I told you, you'd never go inherit the Heavenly Demon Pool's computing power, nor would your and humanity's strength increase as rapidly as it has."

"Moreover, I gave Christina the choice; she willingly risked herself to save you."

With a thought, Zhou Bai's rampant gravitational force sent Qian Wangsun flying, directly punching a tunnel in the ice cap.

Zhou Bai looked at Qian Wangsun, half of his body swallowed by broken ice, slowly saying, "Qian Wangsun, it's fine to use your foreknowledge to calculate or prevent my rampage, but don't casually deceive our companions to take life-threatening risks. They're not chess pieces in your hands."

...

Qian Wangsun indifferently said, "Yes, they are. The weak become pieces for the strong, the strong become pieces for the strongest, and even the peak of existence in the universe is but a pawn of the Heavenly Dao."

"Even with the gemstone from the past, the nine cosmic calamities, the Heavenly Demon army, and my foreknowledge, just the two of us can't protect an entire civilization."

"The growth of a civilization relies on the presence of every existing being, not just certain individuals. Some necessary sacrifices must occur in the dark..."

Zhou Bai pulled Qian Wangsun from the broken ice, their faces almost touching, Zhou Bai stared into Qian Wangsun's eyes, slowly saying, "Don't scheme behind our companions' backs. In the future, state your plans directly, let those willing to sacrifice be the ones to sacrifice, rather than forcing or deceiving them..."

...

Zhou Bai looked at Qian Wangsun, half swallowed by broken ice, slowly saying, "Qian Wangsun, it's fine to use your foreknowledge to calculate or prevent my rampage, but don't casually deceive our companions to take life-threatening risks. They're not chess pieces in your hands."

Foreseeing Zhou Bai's next reaction, Qian Wangsun sighed, thinking to himself: 'I must not provoke Zhou Bai's antipathy towards me.'

He then answered this time, "I understand, I won't hide anything from you in the future, rest assured."

Zhou Bai nodded without speaking.

The silent atmosphere lingered between the two for a long time until Zhou Bai slowly said, "You know about the Anger Realm, right?"

Qian Wangsun's expression slightly turned serious, "The intelligence provided by the Anger Realm and Christina this time is indeed invaluable. In fact, I've previously had suspicions about the space-time structure of our world."

"The space-time structure of our universe isn't what we previously thought it to be."

At this moment, Qian Wangsun once again recalled the Heavenly Demon Zhou Bai that once appeared above him, solemnly, "According to current intelligence, the Heavenly Dao not only controls the natural laws, can alter the universe's operation, but also grant cultivators extraordinary powers.

It can even manufacture gemstones that enable Time Reverse and Time Pause based on the mystical aspects of the Heavenly Dao."

"And according to claims from the Anger Realm, the Heavenly Dao is a creation of an unknown source, and your gemstone also originates from the sixty-four hexagrams that can reach the Heavenly Dao."

"This implies that Time Reverse and Time Pause are powers granted by the Heavenly Dao."

"The space-time structure of our universe is likely related to the Heavenly Dao."

Zhou Bai said, "Are you suggesting the creators of the Heavenly Dao made it possible for time to reverse and pause in the first place?"

Qian Wangsun said, "It's possible, and if we consider it more extremely, the current state of the universe could be designed by them."

Despite having long suspected, hearing Qian Wangsun articulate it weighed heavily on Zhou Bai's heart.