Returning to the Hakurei Shrine, Lin Luo briefly explained the situation to everyone, omitting the specifics of the Inverse Causality, but making the potential danger of saving Reimu perfectly clear. As he had anticipated, almost no one voiced an objection.

Of course, Lin Luo said absolutely nothing about the danger to himself.

A moment later, Lin Luo, Yukari Yakumo, and the other two arrived at Reimu's room to begin the rescue operation.

"Alright, let's start with the basics: how exactly do we save her?" Lin Luo looked towards Yukari Yakumo and asked, as Shenqi and Kazami Yuuka also fixed their gazes on her.

"Before we save her, you all must understand that Reimu isn't truly dead. In essence, her vital functions have been suspended," Yukari Yakumo stated gravely, then pointed a finger at Reimu's body. "Perhaps you cannot see it, but at this moment, her body is being entwined by strands of Inverse Causality."

"Inverse Causality strands? You can see those things?" The three of them were momentarily stunned.

Yukari Yakumo nodded. "Under normal circumstances, you couldn't see Inverse Causality strands; you could only sense them. But this situation is special. Reimu, as the victim, caused the Inverse Causality to actively shift. It has transformed from a purely conceptual existence into something semi-corporeal and semi-conceptual, visible to the naked eye... Of course, even with partial physicality, it’s impossible for an ordinary person to see it. Furthermore, no matter how powerful someone is, if they don't understand the cause of Reimu's death, they still won't see it. Likewise, if you can't see it, you can't save her."

Is she referring to me?

Lin Luo grumbled inwardly, then inquired, "Then how can we see it?"

Yukari Yakumo replied, "Currently, only I can see it because I know the exact cause of Reimu's demise and am intimately familiar with everything in Gensokyo. If you wish to see it, you must be in the same state as I am—your breath, heartbeat, mental state, and even your intent must align to the same frequency."

Hearing this... the faces of the three immediately changed.

Breath and heartbeat were easy to manage; that was simple enough. But aligning their mental state and intent to match Yukari Yakumo’s frequency was a monumental problem... because those two aspects were tied not only to one's mindset but also intimately linked to personal strength, including the distinct variations in individual enlightenment, which resulted in vastly different intents.

Especially for Kazami Yuuka and Shenqi, who were still some distance away from the Quasi-Heavenly Rank; achieving the intent of that rank felt virtually impossible.

"However... it's not entirely impossible," Lin Luo said, seeing their grave expressions. "We have four people, two Quasi-Heavenly Ranks. Theoretically, by using soul separation, a portion of my and Yukari's souls could temporarily inhabit your bodies to induce a hypnotic state... which could achieve a similar intent. The prerequisite, though, is that you must fully accept our souls."

Yukari Yakumo nodded... This was the only method she knew.

Shenqi and Kazami Yuuka exchanged glances, hesitation flickering across their faces. Accepting another's soul meant they would temporarily lose their own personalities; both their thoughts and souls would cease to be entirely self-directed. Even after the possession ended, side effects akin to schizophrenia might linger. Yet, for the sake of the greater good, they agreed a moment later.

"Since we've come this far, there's no reason to retreat," Kazami Yuuka stated decisively... Her gaze lingered briefly between Lin Luo and Yukari Yakumo before she walked over to Yukari Yakumo, closing her eyes. "Begin."

Emotionally, she didn't relish accepting Yukari Yakumo's soul possession, but she knew... based on their mutual understanding, possession by Yukari Yakumo was the most suitable. At a time like this, for the sake of success, she had to set aside that small stubbornness. As her words faded, she indeed shut down her consciousness.

On the other side, Shenqi naturally chose Lin Luo. In reality, with only two options, she had no choice. She offered Lin Luo a natural smile before also closing her consciousness.

Next, Lin Luo and Yukari Yakumo split their souls in two, attaching them to Shenqi and Kazami Yuuka respectively, and began the delicate process of aligning their mental states and intents.

This adjustment was incredibly troublesome; it wasn't as simple as adjusting a clock by fiddling with the hands. It required the intent to permeate bit by bit, with operational precision so fine it was unsettling. If handled incorrectly even slightly, both souls risked severe damage.

However, conversely, if the two parties possessed a deep understanding and recognition of each other, the difficulty dropped significantly. Take Yukari Yakumo and Kazami Yuuka, for instance; after only ten minutes, their states achieved complete synchronization.

In contrast, because Lin Luo wasn't very familiar with Shenqi, when Yukari Yakumo and Kazami Yuuka synchronized, he had only completed one-third of the process.

Finally, after half an hour, Lin Luo also achieved synchronization with Shenqi. Then, his consciousness linked with Yukari Yakumo’s, and it took a long while longer before the four of them truly reached complete synchronization.

If an outsider were present at this moment, they would be astonished to find that although the four looked different, their auras were synchronized to an extreme degree. Even the faint spiritual energy radiating from them was identical, as if they were a single, unified entity—not four people, but one person, incomplete should any one be missing!

"I see it!" At this point, Lin Luo and the others turned their gaze to Reimu and indeed saw several faint, almost ethereal threads. Upon closer inspection, there were five threads, densely entangled, without visible beginning or end, utterly chaotic. If their concentration wavered even slightly, they would feel dizzy, making it difficult to count the strands.

These were the semi-corporeal Inverse Causality strands!

Indeed, they shared the fundamental characteristic of a purely conceptual existence—chaos!

"But why are there five?" Lin Luo asked in confusion. Since they were all within the sphere of the Inverse Causality, there should theoretically be only four strands, or perhaps even multiples like eight or sixteen due to entanglement, but... five made no sense at all!

Could Reimu herself possess an Inverse Causality?

"The extra one is the Dragon God," Yukari Yakumo replied.

Because the four consciousnesses were linked, she sensed Lin Luo's surprise and, before he could speak, Yukari Yakumo explained, "Honestly, I find this strange too. Although the Dragon God is the foundation upon which Gensokyo was built, speaking frankly, this shouldn't have anything to do with our Inverse Causality... Why is there an extra fifth strand?"

By the time she finished speaking... even she felt confused.

"What exactly is the Dragon God?" This was a question Lin Luo had long wanted to ask. After all, Yukari Yakumo had previously mentioned that if Gensokyo were destroyed, even she couldn't recreate it; they would have to rely on the Dragon God again, exchanging a life for the soul of Gensokyo. But if even a Quasi-Heavenly Rank being couldn't achieve that, what level was the Dragon God?

"The Dragon God is not a living being," Yukari Yakumo shook her head. "In fact, the appearance of the Dragon God back then was quite peculiar. Previously, I just thought the Dragon God was the Dragon God... But only recently have I realized that the Dragon God isn't what we imagined. It is actually a rule... the rule of equivalent exchange."

"Merely a conceptual existence?"

"Yes." Yukari Yakumo nodded. "The reason I was persuaded by you earlier is greatly related to the Dragon God. Because I know the Dragon God is the materialization of the rule of equivalent exchange, when Shenqi suggested that the Inverse Causality might possess self-awareness... I began to waver."

"Forget it, let's not dwell on this question for now. We'll find the answer sooner or later... provided we don't die before then," Lin Luo said, seeing her troubled expression. "We only have one thing to do now: bring Reimu back!"

Hearing this, Yukari Yakumo stopped wrestling with the thought. "I must say, the workings of this world are truly strange. With our strength, we should be utterly incapable of dealing with the Inverse Causality. But the active eruption of the Inverse Causality transformed it from a conceptual entity into a semi-physical one... Although its power increased, relatively speaking, an existing physical entity can be captured by us. Therefore... as long as we tear off the five strands of Inverse Causality wrapped around Reimu, she can awaken."

"That's it?" Lin Luo was instantly surprised.

"I said earlier that saving Reimu was difficult... because she hasn't truly lost her life; the Inverse Causality has merely suppressed it. Once the suppression from the Inverse Causality is gone, she will be fine... Of course, this is only because she is the Host; for an ordinary person, even their existence might vanish."

Yukari Yakumo stated matter-of-factly, then looked at Lin Luo with utter seriousness. "The truly dangerous part is the burden after saving Reimu. I must confirm again: are you absolutely certain that the power of the Third Heaven Rank cannot kill you?"

"Absolutely, definitely, and confirmed!" Lin Luo nodded heavily.

"Very well." Yukari Yakumo immediately nodded. "Lin Luo, you will take the lead. When you pull the Inverse Causality strands from Reimu, the three of us will simultaneously enact a secret technique to concentrate the entire Inverse Causality onto you, and then..."

"And then you all pray that you don't select that 10% failure chance, and you also pray that no power exceeding the Third Heaven Rank appears," Lin Luo finished with a smile.

"..." Yukari Yakumo was left speechless. In truth, after that point, all they could do was indeed pray.

A moment later, all preparations were complete. Lin Luo extended his hand with immense caution, slowly reaching toward the Inverse Causality strands... This was too grave a matter for him to let his guard down in the slightest; he focused his concentration to the limit.

Then, the moment his finger touched an Inverse Causality strand, a piercing agony that permeated his very soul struck him, nearly causing him to lose consciousness. However, he forcefully endured the pain and gave a mighty yank!

Since the four were currently in a state of near unity, the moment Lin Luo pulled the strands free and activated the secret technique, Yukari Yakumo and the others exerted their strength simultaneously, without the slightest pause.

The near-perfect synergy boosted the success rate, which was already at 90%, even higher. In an instant, Lin Luo concentrated all the Inverse Causality onto himself. Then, it was visible: Reimu's fingers twitched abruptly, and her eyes slowly opened.

Seeing Reimu revived, a huge stone lifted from Lin Luo's heart. Almost simultaneously, Lin Luo immediately utilized Instant Movement, vanishing from the Hakurei Shrine, vanishing from Gensokyo.

The Instant Movement of typical powerful beings could only manage a few hundred or a few thousand meters at most. However, the Instant Movement Lin Luo used now was unleashed with the full power of a Quasi-Heavenly Rank cultivator—it was an entirely different concept. A single stride covered tens of millions of light-years, and he even jumped directly from the lower dimensions into the Thirteenth Dimensional Space, utterly distancing himself from the mortal realm.

Moreover, Lin Luo didn't just take one step; he continued to teleport forward ceaselessly, each movement spanning tens of millions of light-years... The world was boundless, both low-dimensional and high-dimensional, infinitely vast. Thus, even at this speed, Lin Luo had not reached the edge of the world.

Of course, if the power unleashed by the Inverse Causality were above the Heavenly Rank, it would be enough to destroy the entire world. However, generally speaking, the Inverse Causality would not directly harm the world; rather, it targeted the people and events that triggered it. Therefore, the farther he ran, the safer Gensokyo would be.

The prerequisite was that he couldn't run out of this world, as the Inverse Causality of this world could only be resolved within it.

He didn't know how far he had traveled. Although Lin Luo felt no fatigue, a strangeness settled in his heart because, after such a long time, the Inverse Causality still hadn't erupted.

What's going on? Does doing this prevent the eruption, or is the detonation point still in Gensokyo? No! The Inverse Causality strands have definitely been concentrated onto me; it absolutely must target me. But... Huh?!

As Lin Luo pondered in confusion, a terrifying might suddenly descended from the heavens, striking him squarely.

"Wha—!"

Lin Luo’s face changed instantly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Inverse Causality had arrived, and it was a divine might attack. Lin Luo could clearly feel that this pressure originated from the Heavens... it was Heavenly Might!

And its power was definitely above the Heavenly Rank. Just this single wave of Heavenly Might that pressed down not only severely wounded his body but also annihilated nearly half of his Divine Soul!

If this had erupted in Gensokyo, perhaps only he and Yukari Yakumo would have survived!

A single wave of Heavenly Might was enough to completely annihilate Gensokyo. If something even more terrifying followed, it was unimaginable!

Indeed, concentrating all the Inverse Causality strands onto himself was the correct choice; this power was too terrifying!

Lin Luo felt a secret sense of relief, but before he could recover, the Thirteenth Dimensional Space shook again, and another wave of Heavenly Might struck down!

BOOM!!!