# 2023
Chapter Title: 2023
Lin Qiye froze in place.
Had they seen Chronos's body?
The answer was, of course, no.
Lin Qiye clearly remembered that the Great Xia side had specifically searched for Chronos's body back then, but none was found. Later, he had assumed the body might have been taken by the Black Goat, but he never saw the Black Goat's corruption controlling his body to fight afterward...
How Chronos had died had always been a mystery to Great Xia.
"Did you have Wang Mian rewind time to save Chronos?" Lin Qiye seemed to think of something, speaking in surprise. "You calculated this step long ago??"
"Something like that... Back when I was first baptized by the power of truth at Heavenly Court, I saw His power through the all-seeing vision of the Key to the Gate... I know how terrifying He is. In a sense, He is the most troublesome existence among the three Pillars..."
"So back then, you agreed to Chaos and completely defected to the Cthulhu Faction camp—all to kill the Key to the Gate?"
"The Key to the Gate is virtually immortal... The only thing that can kill the Key to the Gate is another Key to the Gate." An Qingyu brushed the dust off his black robe and stepped calmly onto the river of time, his gray eyes narrowing slightly.
"And I... am the one with the best chance of truly replacing the Key to the Gate!"
As An Qingyu's voice fell, Wang Mian and Chronos—the two time gods—struck simultaneously. The river of time beneath the canoe was nearly severed. Unless the Key to the Gate could kill them instantly, He could not cross this chasm to rewind the past!
At the same time, Merlin, who had been hidden in the void all along, stepped forward. A massive white formation array stretched across the sky above the river of time!
"Time forbidden curse, Eternal Eye."
Under the gaze of that magic circle resembling a giant pupil, the Key to the Gate's form paused once more. The power of three temporal dimensions pressed down upon it, barely suppressing the surging river of time!
At that moment, An Qingyu, positioned at the end of the river of time, suddenly lifted his foot and stomped hard!
This small section of the river of time was as if someone had cut off its head and tail directly, forcibly dissipating into the air. The Key to the Gate on the river of time was forced back into the physical world, shocked and furious!
"You actually schemed against me?!" The Key to the Gate, in his spectral form, spun around abruptly. His hand clenched in the void, and explosive spatial fragments became like spears, thrusting toward An Qingyu's body!
A crimson figure instantly appeared before him. Golden sword light directly repelled these spatial fragments, completely shielding An Qingyu behind!
Meanwhile, An Qingyu stepped out from behind him. Time and space wrapped around the Key to the Gate like chains!
An Qingyu's soul had been assimilated into the Gate of Truth as well, possessing the same authority as the Key to the Gate—only his current power was still somewhat inferior.
Lin Qiye coldly hummed. Grasping Ame-no-Murakumo, he flashed to the Key to the Gate's front and slashed down once more!
For the first time, genuine panic appeared in the Key to the Gate's eyes. He was like prey that had fallen into a trap, already deeply ensnared!
Clang—!!
The giant shadow of the Gate of Truth shifted before Him, once again blocking this sword. Immediately after, the Gate of Truth's portal opened automatically, and the Key to the Gate's spectral form rushed inside without hesitation!
Since He couldn't rewind time in the short term, the only option was to flee into the Gate of Truth!
Lin Qiye's eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to pursue, a hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"Let Him go." An Qingyu's gray eyes narrowed as he calmly watched the figure about to rush through the gate!
Upon seeing this, though still confused in his heart, Lin Qiye stopped in his tracks.
Just as the Key to the Gate was about to dash into that deep Gate of Truth, An Qingyu's voice suddenly rang out!
"—Cao Yuan!!!"
Boom—!!
A muffled explosion echoed. The next instant, an endless sea of murderous aura and flames erupted from within the gate!
A towering giant figure wielding a blade emerged from behind the portal. A furious roar shook the heavens!!!
The Key to the Gate, rushing head-on toward the gate, sensed the terrifying aura pouring forth. His pupils constricted sharply!
A blade edge burning with murderous aura descended like a meteor, swallowing the Key to the Gate's form. The blade's aura cleaved heaven and earth, splitting this continent in two, leaving behind a menacing chasm of killing intent!
The blazing sea of murderous flames filled heaven and earth. Even Lin Qiye could sense the threat within it... He stared blankly at the towering giant figure behind the gate, his body trembling slightly.
Cao Yuan... That was the Black King, Cao Yuan!
Now, the Black King was no longer the one bound by chains from back then. During this time within the Gate of Truth, something seemed to have happened to him. This blade light that had split the continent actually contained a terrifying Law within it!
Black killing intent flames danced across the earth. That towering giant figure gradually faded from view behind the portal, as if it had never appeared at all...
And the Key to the Gate's soul shattered into countless fragments of starlight, seeping piece by piece into the frame of the Gate of Truth.
"Where's Cao Yuan? Why doesn't he come out?" Lin Qiye asked urgently.
"He can't come out... Once you enter that gate, you no longer belong to this world's dimension." An Qingyu seemed to want to say more, but grayness suddenly surged across his eyes. His soul automatically drifted from his physical body, flying toward the Gate of Truth's main body that hung open before them...
"An Qingyu!" Lin Qiye called out upon seeing this.
He tried to grab An Qingyu's soul, but it slipped through his fingers like mist. He stood there, stunned.
"The Key to the Gate has fallen into eternal slumber. Now is the best opportunity for me to devour Him... However, I need some time." An Qingyu seemed to know his time in this world was running out, and spoke quickly.
"Can you win?"
"Yes." An Qingyu nodded firmly. "I will completely kill the Key to the Gate within the Gate of Truth. After that, I will inherit everything He has..."
Hearing this answer, Lin Qiye felt much more at ease. In any case, as long as they could win cleanly, that was all that mattered!
Then, as if remembering something, he asked again:
"By the way... Tell me how to defeat Azathoth. What should I do to 'ascend dimensions' the fastest??"
Hearing this question, An Qingyu's expression grew complicated. His form gradually drifted to the threshold of the Gate of Truth, and he seemed about to disappear at any moment...
"An Qingyu!? Answer me!" Lin Qiye's voice carried a note of urgency.
"Qiye..." An Qingyu's form was fading into the gate. His voice echoed in Lin Qiye's ears.
"No matter what happens, don't forget yourself... Go forward boldly. We will definitely find you... We definitely will..."
Before An Qingyu could finish his words, his form vanished completely. That magnificent Gate of Truth faded rapidly, as if it had vanished from this world entirely... The entire battlefield fell into deathly silence.