Chapter 1114: Jianghu悠悠

**Chapter 1119: The Vast World Drifts On**

The blue dunes shimmered with countless brilliant specks, as if every grain of sand within them was a gemstone. They converged, stretching endlessly, like colossal ocean waves solidified in a silent world. A searing heat from all directions spread through this silence, making everything here even more hazy. Only the brilliance emanating from the sand grains, like stars or countless moments, intertwined to create innumerable dreams. It was dreamlike and ethereal, a magnificent illusion.

"Senior, this is the Time Sand Sea. Once we cross this desert, we can reach that ancient teleportation array," Yunmen Qianfan said in a sweet voice. She was kneeling beside Xu Qing, who was reading a book on the wooden boat floating in the sky at the edge of the desert, and was busy peeling fresh fruit for him.

For her, this journey, like the undulating expanse of the desert, had kept her heart in constant flux, her thoughts dreamlike and ethereal. Every memory felt incredibly wondrous. He could make a cultivator of the Seventh Stage of Spirit Incarnation cry themselves to death with a single glance. He could kill four elders in a few breaths. He could suppress a deity with one hand. These scenes had made it clear to her that Senior Yan Xuanzi, before her, must be a Dominator!

Although she had seen other Dominator-level cultivators before—both her family's ancestor and the family's prodigy were Dominators, and she had also seen a few Dominators from other races from afar—none had been so close to her, accompanying her throughout the journey. This feeling of being protected from all dangers was a rare experience in her life and had deeply etched itself into her soul. Moreover, these past few days, she would occasionally ask Xu Qing about cultivation questions when he was drinking, and Xu Qing had not been stingy, offering some guidance. This guidance had greatly benefited her, and many confusions regarding cultivation methods had been resolved. In fact, in her opinion, this senior saw many issues more clearly than her own ancestor. As for why a Dominator-level cultivator would become a guest elder of her family and conceal his cultivation, she did not want to consider it and did not care. After all, her family was already in such a state; everything was irrelevant to her now.

"Senior Yan Xuanzi must have had unavoidable difficulties and secrets he didn't want outsiders to know," Yunmen Qianfan thought silently. She then picked up another immortal fruit and continued peeling it. At the same time, she noticed Xu Qing's wine flask was almost empty, so she skillfully replaced it. Her storage bag contained numerous items. Food and drink were only a part, but quite abundant. This was naturally not from divination; rather, after making her choice, she precisely positioned herself to be a versatile maid, striving to make Xu Qing comfortable throughout the journey, thereby increasing her chances of survival.

Xu Qing did not pay attention to her thoughts. However, it must be said that Yunmen Qianfan had indeed done an excellent job as a maid on this journey. And this woman was very clever, especially her initial proactive disclosure and prematurely unlocking the spatial soil's seal, all demonstrating decisiveness. Therefore, Xu Qing was also willing to fulfill his previous promise.

At this moment, he picked up the wine flask and took a sip, his gaze falling upon the desert ahead. He looked at its brilliance, its haziness, and the countless moments it held. Close by, the desert was like a painting, as if divine craftsmanship was etching laws. In the distance, the outlines of dunes were blurred, seemingly concealing ancient secrets. Beyond that, vegetation in the desert was sparse, with only a few occasional plants whose leaves had evolved into needle-like structures. This biological adaptation was to reduce water evaporation and slow down the loss of life. Life's tenacity was evident here. All things were like this. All beings were actually the same. In the sky, several eagles soared, their figures particularly striking under the aurora's light. The desert's silence was broken by the eagles' cries from the sky, yet it wasn't abrupt; instead, it added a touch of mystery and desolation.

"Why is this place called Time?" Xu Qing slowly asked as the wooden boat flew into the desert. Yunmen Qianfan, who had known everything about the various places they passed, hesitated this time. After a long pause, she spoke softly with some unease. "Senior, the reason for this desert's name is not recorded in any ancient texts. It's passed down by word of mouth among the people living on this desert. So, why it's called that, this junior does not know..."

Xu Qing nodded, his gaze sweeping over Yunmen Qianfan, and he spoke in a calm voice. "The places you've chosen on this journey have all been interesting, like Heavenly Water Lake and this Time Sand Sea. How many other places with special names or ancient legends do you know about?"

Upon hearing this, Yunmen Qianfan quickly retrieved a bamboo scroll from her storage bag and respectfully placed it before Xu Qing. "Senior, it's all here. I usually enjoy stories recorded about different topographies and environments, so I've always collected them. Here, aside from a few places within my family's sphere of influence that I've seen firsthand, the vast majority are things I've heard from others and haven't had the chance to truly visit. So, there might be inaccuracies."

Xu Qing took the bamboo scroll. After scanning it with his divine sense, a faint light appeared in his eyes. The bamboo scroll contained geographical information written in text, including different landforms like mountains, lakes, rivers, and basins, along with their names, stories, and approximate locations. "Fallen Evil Pond, Heavenly Wind Cave, Fire Empty Mountains, Immortal Fallen Plain, Main Path Cliff, Earth Rule Pool, Cloud Mud Basin..." Looking at these names, Xu Qing's interest grew immensely. "Even if only a small portion of them are truly special places like Heavenly Water Lake and this Time Sand Sea, they would still be of considerable help to me." Thinking of this, Xu Qing put away the bamboo scroll. In his opinion, the value of this bamboo scroll was no less than the soil containing spatial power.

Then Xu Qing looked at Yunmen Qianfan again. "Are you in a hurry to go to Black Cloud City?"

"Not at all, not at all, no rush at all!" Seeing Xu Qing satisfied, Yunmen Qianfan felt even more invigorated. As long as she could be of help to Xu Qing, she felt it was an embodiment of her value. Besides, the guidance she had received throughout the journey made her even wish the journey would be longer. So, upon hearing Xu Qing's question, she happily responded.

Xu Qing nodded slightly, took a step forward on the boat, instantly vanished, and reappeared on a dune in the vast desert. He sat down cross-legged there, his eyes gleaming with insight. "Here, time is chaotic, or rather, countless times flow at different rates, yet they intertwine here, making everything seem normal again." As he murmured, Xu Qing's divine sense spread out, enveloping the surroundings.

Yunmen Qianfan had already grown accustomed to Xu Qing's constant moments of insight. Seeing him sit cross-legged, she immediately put away the wooden boat, landed beside Xu Qing, and began to busy herself. Soon, she had erected a canopy around Xu Qing and laid out a cool mat woven from spirit herbs. Finally, she sat beside him, propping her chin, her beautiful large eyes constantly gazing at Xu Qing. Although Xu Qing's current appearance was that of a middle-aged man, somewhat weathered and showing signs of age, in her eyes, he possessed a special charm.

"When Senior was young, he must have been dashing and dignified," she mused. "And he has many stories... Many times, he gazed at the distant world. Was he reminiscing? Recalling his family, his old friends? And that melody, 'The Vast World Drifts On,' valiant and unparalleled, yet with a touch of melancholy. When it played, I vaguely imagined the back of a woman... Was that... Senior's Dao companion?"

Amidst her inner murmurings, a hot wind blew, scattering Xu Qing's long hair and making his robes flutter. This wind also fell upon Yunmen Qianfan, making her dress cling to her delicate figure, outlining her undulating curves, very graceful. The scene was beautiful. It was as if divine craftsmanship in the ethereal realms also paused, beginning to write upon the desert, forming scenes of sand art as the desert flowed.

Thus, time passed. Five days went by.

Xu Qing's divine sense had already covered an infinite range, encompassing this desert while also penetrating every grain of sand. Five days ago, at the first sight of this desert, Xu Qing had felt the chaos of time here. As for the specific reason, he wasn't sure at the time; he only felt that his sundial's needle would stick, sometimes speeding up, sometimes slowing down, and sometimes stopping altogether. And his Extreme Time Dao also seemed more turbulent than usual. Until now, through five days of observation and research, combined with his own understanding of time, he vaguely had a hypothesis.

"The seemingly countless and vast grains of sand here actually... feel as if they are a single entity," Xu Qing pondered in his mind. "This 'oneness' doesn't mean the desert is a single entity, but rather... the consistency of its individual components!"

"To be precise," he continued, "although every grain of sand here has subtle differences in its surface abrasions and size, in reality, they might have all been identical at the very beginning. Regardless of size, abrasions, including all subtle details, they were identical. Such a vast quantity makes it seem as if they were copied." This was an insight he gained after five days of observation, research, and exploration.

Xu Qing raised his hand and scooped up a handful of sand grains, gazing intently. "It's as if... once, there was only one grain of sand here. Perhaps the blowing wind, or some external influence, caused this grain of sand to move. Each movement altered the flow of time experienced by it. Each change was equivalent to creating a new timeline, and an additional grain of sand. Over the passage of years, under the caress of wind or mysterious power, the timelines here grew more numerous, and the sand grains increased. Every grain of sand started at the same point, but quickly developed its own unique timeline, on which they experienced different frictions and trajectories. Ultimately, this formed the desert visible before my eyes. This is also why there are so many timelines here, and why they intertwine."

Xu Qing raised his head, looking towards the end of the desert. "This place is very miraculous, or rather... this place itself is actually a treasure related to time. But very few people can take it away, because the method to do so is to correct the time of every single grain of sand here, causing this desert to return from chaos, and eventually the sand grains decrease one by one until only the original single grain remains. I cannot do that yet. But... this place has shown me a deeper manifestation of the power of time."

Xu Qing's eyes flashed. "Time branching!"