The boy sighed. “I’ve heard that line so many times. Before you make your attempt to escape… why?”

“That world you long for, is the world I long to escape. The shining steel and brilliant light you saw exists, but so does darkness to equal… no. Darkness even deeper than this world’s filth. I have no desire to live in that world once more.” Hui bowed respectfully. My world? No, no, no! Ah, it’s nice to have microwaves and webnovels and the internet, but in return, I have to deal with those terrifying loan sharks, not to mention everything else that’s fucked up about my world… ha! He’s an idealist, an absolute idealist who doesn’t know the first thing about the way humans can destroy a world, even without any magical power at their fingertips. In fact, they might be better at it without magic. After all, magic doesn’t leave pollution or nuclear waste behind, and that’s just some of the most obvious points.

Although cultivators can leave an area uninhabitable for mortals, it won’t be totally uninhabitable for far longer than anyone’s lifespan, in fact, until the end of the world. That, and whatever magic creates, magic can overturn. Sufficient cultivation and comprehension can overcome almost everything. The same is not true for science. And even if they manage to figure out how to clean up some source of pollution, it’s almost never fast enough before a new source crops up.

“Then, I suppose you’ll have to continue to cycle in this loop, until you come to realize the horror that is stagnation, and long for progress, as I do,” the Golden Immortal returned.

Hui bowed silently. Although this run counts as a loss, it’s not a total loss. I recovered a lot of information. I know the Golden Immortal’s goal, and I know that he can’t accomplish it without me willingly helping him… or something. I’d expect him to be able to use me to somehow open a portal even without my consent, but maybe he’s willing to wait… or maybe he just can’t accomplish it without my help.

Either way, the result is the same, and the most important thing is that it’s to my advantage. After all, between me and a denizen of this world, I know who has better mental fortitude. It might only be one strong point, but it’s my strong point!

He looked at the Golden Immortal, lounging on his throne. Hold on. I know my instincts say to run and fake death, but… I’m going to die, and this loop is going to end, no matter what. Why don’t I give my new techniques a try before I go?

Hui circulated his qi, pushing it to the limits, then beyond. His Vermillion Bird body conducted qi far better than his ordinary body, and even then, he pushed further. His body burned from the inside out, barely holding together. He drew back his hand.

“It’s useless,” the Golden Immortal commented dryly.

“Even if it’s useless, I wouldn’t be a small bug if I didn’t try!” Hui returned. I’m going to die. That’s not in question. But, before I go… why don’t I see how powerful this man is? And what better way to find out, than to punch him with my own fist?

Besides, he’s kind of a smug asshole kid. And that face is so punchable. Yes… I think I’ll be able to rest easy if I can land one blow before I go!

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“Whatever you’re attempting, I assure you, I’ve seen it before. It didn’t work then, and it won’t work now,” the Golden Immortal said, bored.

“Mhm, I know,” Hui agreed. His body on the verge of breaking down, he pushed all his qi into his fist. To the limits! All my power, in one blow! Valorous Blow, here I come!

The Golden Immortal sat back with a yawn. “Hurry it up. I only have the rest of time.”

In the space between lifting his hand to cover his mouth and lowering it, Hui burst forward. He activated Phoenix Escape. Fire coated his body as he burst toward the Golden Immortal, reaching the boy in a flash.

The boy startled. He looked up.

Lifting his fist, Hui slammed Valorous Blow down into the boy’s face. Blood and bits of gore flew like confetti, splattering over the stone back of the throne. The boy’s headless body slumped.

Hui stepped back, wary. Flames flickered over his body, Phoenix Escape still active. No way that killed him. Even an ordinary Immortal wouldn’t necessarily die from removing their head, and on top of that, I haven’t seen his soul emerge, nor sensed him entering the Underworld.

The boy’s headless body lunged. It reached for Hui’s throat.

Hui jumped back. Fingernails scraped at his neck, but with the full power of Phoenix Escape behind him, he barely managed to dodge.

Closing his hand on nothing, the Golden Immortal turned toward Hui. He laughed. The sound issued from nowhere and everywhere, bizarre in the extreme. Blood flowed, and his head reformed, growing up from the stump fully formed, almost like an old digital model rezzing back in.

How troublesome. A fellow believer in death-faking! I’ve never encountered so serious a threat before!

“I am the Immortal Realm. The Immortal Realm is me. You cannot defeat me without also destroying the Immortal Realm,” the Golden Immortal said, laughing.

“Oh, really?” Hui said, startled. It’s that easy?

“Huh?” the Golden Immortal said.

Hui coughed. With despair, he cried, “Oh, no, really? The whole Immortal Realm? However will I defeat that?”

The Golden Immortal squinted at him. “Why do you do that every time I say that line?”

“Er, pay no mind, pay me no mind,” Hui said, waving his hand. He turned. If he isn’t going to kill me, then why don’t I just leave? There’s still more I can learn from this loop. Like—

Cold ached through his center. Hui looked down, then stared. A gaping wound cut through his core, hollowing out his entire chest.

Pain smashed into him in the next moment. Hui stumbled to the side, clutching his chest. Ow, ow, ow, shit! Fuck! Why?

“You didn’t think I’d tell you all that and let you go, did you? I’ve told you too much. These conversations of ours are amusing, but I can’t let you continue with this knowledge.”

The Golden Immortal twisted his hand. Reality swirled around him, distorting to his will. “Don’t worry. You’ll be the same as ever. You might even remember this loop. You just won’t remember me.”

“Ah, Senior! There’s no need for that! This buglike existence couldn’t possibly hurt—” Hui cried.

“You couldn’t hurt me, no, but I need that mind of yours untainted by the knowledge of my goal, if I’m to make you truly suffer the pain of stagnation.”

Oh. Well, I guess it makes sense. It’s more hopeless to not know why we’re trapped in this loop than to know, and know that I’m resisting him the whole time. Hui nodded. He grasped his chest, then toppled onto his face, playing dead.

The instant the Golden Immortal’s attention left him, he reached out quickly. You hear all that?

Shut up, I did.

Good. He let go, bleeding out.

The world flowed around him. Reality became fluid, and time turned in reverse. As the light faded from his eyes, he caught a glimpse of a translucent figure hidden up in the rafters of the building. Pale white skin almost glowed in the darkness, big black eyes as dark as hell. It stared at the Golden Immortal, but feeling Hui’s eyes on it, it turned, watching him from afar.

The Elusive Ghost…?

The ghost lifted a hand to its lips. They gaped open into an empty, black smile, as it slowly extended a single finger.

Shhh.

The last of Hui’s vision faded, and the world went dark.