Chapter 761: Water Comes Naturally

In the Heavenly Dream Realm, the World-Connecting Tree links heaven and earth. A single ordinary leaf is dozens of miles wide, and its canopy spans over a hundred thousand miles, encompassing sprawling architectural complexes. This is where the Divine Court of the entire Heavenly Dream Realm resides.

Within a secluded hall in the Heavenly Dream Divine Court.

A white-haired old man sat cross-legged, while an old woman respectfully waited beside him, silently keeping watch.

The white-haired old man's power flowed into an ancient array hidden within the hall. Through this array, invisible fluctuations propagated far across the entire River of Spacetime.

“May the world enter my dream.” The white-haired old man’s consciousness entered a dream world.

The dream world mirrored the entire River of Spacetime. The white-haired old man observed various locations. Apart from a few places shielded by arrays set up by 'Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty experts,' such as the Eternal Tower, Black Demon Palace, Dragon Ancestral Land, and other high-level life worlds, he could peer into all other areas. Even places like the White Bird Pavilion could not block his gaze.

“City Lord Dongning, Pavilion Master White Bird.” The white-haired old man naturally also spied on the two most powerful beings in the contemporary River of Spacetime. In the illusory dream world, other beings were unaware of his surveillance. However, Meng Chuan and Pavilion Master White Bird both sensed it, though they couldn’t pinpoint the source of the ‘peering’.

“How can two half-step Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators withstand the Ancestor’s methods?” the white-haired old man mused silently.

Their Ancestor was an Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty expert, skilled in dream techniques and exceptionally adept at surveillance. A single dream could encompass every corner of the River of Spacetime, making it impossible to guard against.

He was a Seven-Tribulation Realm ‘Divine Spirit,’ and it was only by utilizing the array left by the Ancestor that he could project his dream across the entire River of Spacetime.

“Phew.” He ceased the array’s operation and opened his eyes.

“Your Majesty,” the old woman finally spoke.

“Using the Ancestor’s array, I observed various parts of the River of Spacetime. Compared to three hundred years ago, there are no significant changes,” the white-haired old man said. “The strongest contemporary figures, Pavilion Master White Bird and City Lord Dongning, are still only at the half-step Eight-Tribulation Realm.”

Although high-level life worlds had limited contact with the outside world, they regularly observed external changes.

The old woman nodded slightly. She was not a Divine Spirit but the contemporary strongest being in the Heavenly Dream Realm, a Six-Tribulation Realm mighty expert. Having cultivated to this realm, after her death, when the Ancestor next awakened, she would be granted a divine position, thereby becoming immortal like the heavens.

The white-haired old man, on the other hand, was a Seven-Tribulation Realm Divine Spirit, the strongest in the history of the Heavenly Dream Realm apart from the Ancestor. Possessing Seven-Tribulation Realm power allowed him to better utilize the numerous arrays left by the Ancestor. Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty experts, conversely, had to traverse various 'time segments' to maintain their youth. These Divine Spirits, however, had lived for an incredibly long time. Even through methods like slumber or reincarnation, their consciousness remained distorted. With the passage of too much time, they would inevitably change, gradually assimilating with their 'divine position.' This was unavoidable; without sufficient mental fortitude, even with prolonged life, they could not maintain their selfhood.

“By the way, look at the temporal traces on City Lord Dongning,” the white-haired old man chuckled. “I can vaguely deduce that he has been cultivating for over thirty-three thousand years. Compared to last time... City Lord Dongning must have a Primeval Spirit avatar located in a place with a time flow thirty-three times faster.”

“He is a half-step Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivator. Maintaining a thirty-three times faster time flow for him? How terrifying must the energy consumption be?” the old woman exclaimed, astonished. “I’ve never even heard of such a place.”

“Therefore, he must have had a unique fortuitous encounter, possibly venturing beyond the universe,” the white-haired old man stated.

Traveling beyond the universe was not uncommon. Pavilion Master White Bird, Emperor Wanxing, and Lord of the Demonic Eye Society had all experienced similar opportunities, being favored by Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty experts who were willing to take them out. Thus, they could naturally explore beyond the universe.

“Your Majesty, when do you plan to enter slumber?” the old woman inquired.

“In this era, with two half-step Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivators still alive, I will not enter slumber for now. I will wait until they pass away from old age before I do,” the white-haired old man replied.

“Given the thirty-three times faster time flow, City Lord Dongning will reach the end of his lifespan in five thousand years, and then we will see the outcome of his cultivation,” the old woman said with a smile.

“He won’t succeed.” The white-haired old man shook his head. “The Ancestor once said that reaching the Eight-Tribulation Realm is incredibly difficult. And a Primeval Spirit Eight-Tribulation Realm is even harder than a physical body Eight-Tribulation Realm.”

The old woman nodded slightly, then added, “By the way, Your Majesty, my disciple ‘Meng Hu’ was once good friends with City Lord Dongning; they ventured through the Demonic Mountain together.”

“How is his Hundred-Lifetimes Dream progressing?” the white-haired old man pressed. Meng Hu, as a contemporary Five-Tribulation Realm cultivator in the Heavenly Dream Realm, also drew attention. After all, in high-level life worlds, producing even one Six-Tribulation Realm cultivator per era was considered excellent, and often there were none.

“He has experienced more than half of it and has not yet fallen,” the old woman said with concern. “However, the further one progresses in the Hundred-Lifetimes Dream, the deeper and more dangerous it becomes.”

“If he passes through it, he will gain fortune from misfortune and can achieve the Six-Tribulation Realm in this life,” the white-haired old man stated. “If he fails, it means his mental fortitude is insufficient.”

In the Outer Void, at the White Bird Pavilion’s library.

Meng Chuan was reading books from the collection.

“Hmm?” Meng Chuan frowned slightly, vaguely sensing being spied upon.

“Which high-level life force is secretly spying on me this time?” Only after Meng Chuan became a half-step Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivator did he realize that powers at this level occasionally spied on various parts of the River of Spacetime. Before he grasped the rules of spacetime, he hadn’t noticed. Now that he did, he still couldn’t tell which one it was. After all, there were dozens of powers at this level in the River of Spacetime, each backed by an Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty expert.

Soon, the sensation of being spied upon vanished.

“Meng Chuan.” Pavilion Master White Bird also arrived at the library.

“Pavilion Master, did you sense it too?” Meng Chuan looked at Pavilion Master White Bird.

“Yes,” Pavilion Master White Bird nodded. “But don’t worry about it. They can only hide in their old nests and spy secretly. How many of them would dare to openly challenge us?”

These high-level life worlds dared not cause trouble. If they provoked significant issues, their Eight-Tribulation Realm Ancestors would not intervene! The time of Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty experts was precious; they simply had no time to constantly attend to generations of descendants. Those who dared to cause trouble outside… well, they would just die. From the perspective of an Eight-Tribulation Realm mighty expert, they overlooked the timeline, where, for instance, over a 'billion-year' period, the number of descendants in their home world was countless, and very few could capture their attention.

Naturally, Meng Chuan and Pavilion Master White Bird understood they were being ‘spied upon’ but could only tolerate it.

“By the way, the Phoenix clan should be visiting us both soon,” Pavilion Master White Bird said. “I assume they’ve agreed to your request.”

Meng Chuan smiled. “Over a hundred years ago, I requested to borrow the Phoenix clan’s collection, stating that any compensation was negotiable. Have they only just decided? I thought there was no hope left.”

Pavilion Master White Bird explained, “The Phoenix clan, much like the Dragon clan, requires internal high-level discussions for decisions. The clan leader cannot make a unilateral choice. Some high-ranking members might be in seclusion, others might oppose. Assembling the high-level members and going through several rounds of deliberation, taking over a hundred years to make a decision, is already considered fast.”

Meng Chuan felt a surge of anticipation upon hearing this.

After delivering the good news, Pavilion Master White Bird departed, and Meng Chuan continued reading.

Having cultivated to Meng Chuan’s current stage, enhancing his ‘mental fortitude’ naturally required deeper comprehension, hence his devotion to reading! He read both Eight-Tribulation Realm and Seven-Tribulation Realm classics. Because his goal was set on ‘at least Seven-Tribulation Realm classics,’ the White Bird Pavilion’s library wasn’t enough. He sought help from various powers and was willing to spend significant treasures in exchange. He never sought an unfair advantage, exchanging at fair prices just for a single read.

However, the more precious the classics, the harder they were to find; many were held in the collections of high-level life worlds like the Dragon and Phoenix clans. With the Phoenix clan seemingly inclined to agree this time, Meng Chuan was quite hopeful.

“With my realm, I can easily learn Seven-Tribulation Realm ultimate techniques, and I can understand much from Eight-Tribulation Realm classics.” As Meng Chuan read and cultivated, his understanding of the countless phenomena in the universe deepened, and his mental fortitude slowly improved. He believed that if he continued this way, he would surely have a chance to bear the evolution of spacetime rules in this lifetime.

“The Mandara Finger Technique, a mental finger technique? So deeply influencing the mind, how truly fascinating and uniquely innovative.” Meng Chuan looked at the ultimate technique in his hand, created by a half-step Eight-Tribulation Realm cultivator, finding it quite insightful.

Just as he was in a pleasant mood, delving deeper into the comprehension of this finger technique—

A loud boom!

Meng Chuan put down the book in his hand, feeling his Primeval Spirit world explode as if the heavens and earth were being forged, thundering as it began to evolve spacetime…