Chapter 2713: The River of Time

Two months later, inside the wall cave, Lu Ye’s body trembled, Dao power dispersed in all directions, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

His cultivation of the Minor World secret technique had reached a bottleneck. He could only make further plans after leaving the Time Pagoda.

So he turned to normal cultivation, which involved engraving Dao marks onto his Dao body.

He then discovered that this task was indeed as difficult as Yuan Xi and Lian had warned!

When he previously fused with the Dao, engraving Dao patterns was not easy either, but he could rely on the Talent Tree, so there was no risk of failure.

Engraving Dao marks was different; the Talent Tree's power could not be utilized at all. He had to rely entirely on himself.

Thus, he finally understood the pain other Dao Unifiers experienced.

In two months, he tried several times but not once succeeded. Each failure caused a certain degree of impact to his Dao bone; although it wasn't serious, he still needed to recover to prevent the next attempt from causing worse effects.

This failure undoubtedly meant he needed several more days of recovery.

The cultivation environment on the ninety-ninth level was very peaceful. All cultivators qualified to be here were high-level Dao Unifiers. They came here for arduous cultivation, so basically everyone would find a suitable spot for themselves and wouldn't wander around.

Individuals like Su Yun were ultimately exceptions.

Moreover, he had been well-behaved recently, as if he had been thoroughly beaten.

Thus, Lu Ye stayed in his wall cave for many years. During this time, apart from Su Yan visiting him a few times, he didn't meet anyone else.

Until one day, while Lu Ye was engraving Dao marks, he suddenly felt the surrounding void vibrate.

He was at a critical moment of engraving. With such an interruption, success was naturally impossible. He frowned and opened his eyes. With a slight perception, he knew what was happening.

There were signs that the barrier had been touched. Lu Ye raised his hand. When the barrier opened, Su Yan's figure appeared before him: "Senior Brother, the Time Pagoda is about to close."

Lu Ye nodded. He had also realized this issue.

"How many years have we been here?" he asked.

Su Yan replied, "Approximately one hundred and twenty years."

"One hundred and twenty years..." Lu Ye slowly exhaled a turbid breath.

The time flow rate on the ninety-ninth level was nearly a hundred times that of the outside world. In other words, since he entered here, only a little over a year had passed in the outside world.

However, he had already spent decades near the Ancestral Abyss barrier before this. Plus, there was his subsequent entanglement with Qing Tang and others. All things considered, the Time Pagoda had not been open for long this time, lasting less than two years in total.

Lu Ye examined his own condition.

This trip to the Time Pagoda had brought him significant gains. Not to mention killing so many Dao Unifiers, he exchanged numerous treasures from the Star Abyss Treasury for the Talent Tree to devour, advancing its transformation progress.

He himself had also advanced to Dao Unifier, and had obtained the Fruit of Time and the Minor World secret technique from the Ancestral Abyss barrier.

Currently, there were no changes in the Little Flower Realm. It still had a hundred Dao marks, providing him with a hundred basic strength enhancements.

On his own Dao body, there were also fifty more Dao marks.

Remarkably, he had spent over a hundred years here, focusing on this matter, yet he had only engraved fifty Dao marks!

Compared to how easily he had engraved Dao marks in the Little Flower Realm before, it was truly a world of difference.

This experience of over a hundred years made Lu Ye deeply realize one thing: engraving Dao marks onto one's Dao body was a tremendous test of one's perseverance, because it required repeatedly enduring the pain and frustration of failure, and rising again from the ruins of constant disappointment and self-doubt.

He finally understood why many Dao Unifiers lived for countless years without much improvement in their strength. A cultivator's progress after condensing their Dao body was truly too difficult.

Each increase in power required immense effort.

As they spoke, two more figures streaked over.

It was Zhu Yin and Su Yun. They hadn't made any prior arrangements, but after realizing the Time Pagoda was about to close, they coincidentally all came to Lu Ye.

"Brother-in-law, why do you look a bit haggard?" Zhu Yin asked, looking at Lu Ye with some surprise.

"Clearly, you haven't been doing anything good," Su Yun scoffed. He looked at Lu Ye, then at Su Yan, which earned him a sharp glare from her, causing him to shrink his neck.

"Ah, it's a long story," Lu Ye sighed, unable to express the bitterness in his heart. "How about you all?"

Without asking, Lu Ye could also sense that the three people around him had all significantly improved in strength.

The three of them had only recently advanced to Dao Unifier; Su Yun had even advanced within the Time Pagoda. This stage was precisely when their accumulated efforts would pay off.

They only needed to cultivate systematically, constantly refining their Dao bones, and their strength would steadily improve.

Su Yun immediately smiled proudly: "After we get out, I can begin my second resonance."

Over a hundred years of arduous cultivation indeed qualified him for a second resonance. It wasn't just him; Su Yan and Zhu Yin were in the same position.

Even Lu Ye, if he wished, could also do so.

Compared to when he first arrived on the ninety-ninth level, Lu Ye's sharp aura had been completely restrained. When he wasn't actively channeling his power, others couldn't detect him at all.

Now, he would no longer be like a bright lamp in the dark, easily detected wherever he went.

But Lu Ye was not preparing to undertake a second resonance. For resonance, the stronger one's foundation, the greater the gains.

So he wanted to wait longer, to strive for perfection.

Moreover, his current strength was already sufficient. He didn't urgently need a second resonance to improve himself.

The more he knew now, the more cautious he became about relying on external forces. Using external forces was fine, but he would never treat them as his sole reliance.

Another figure streaked over, standing not far away. It was Eight-Tails.

She came specifically to express her gratitude.

Being able to cultivate on the ninety-ninth level for over a hundred years was far better than her previous expectations. Originally, she was qualified to stay on the seventieth level, but due to being hunted by enemies, she ended up on the fiftieth level. In comparison, she had effectively gained double the cultivation time.

And she hadn't paid a huge price; she had merely taken the risk of accompanying Lu Ye during a certain period.

After thanking Lu Ye, and then Su Yan and the others, she withdrew.

Another tremor occurred.

Zhu Yin spoke: "Brother-in-law, when the Time Pagoda closes shortly, this treasure will vanish into the River of Time. In that brief moment, the River of Time will reveal itself to the world. If you're interested, you can observe it. For us Dragons, every appearance of the River of Time is an excellent opportunity. Observing it might give you some insights."

Lu Ye nodded: "Understood!"

Legend has it that the River of Time contains all of the universe's past, present, and future, making it incredibly mysterious. But what the River of Time truly looks like, no one knows and no one has seen.

Only for the brief moment when the Time Pagoda vanishes into the River of Time do cultivators have a chance to glimpse it, and even then, only a small corner.

"Why does he want to see the River of Time?" Su Yun asked from the side, a puzzled expression on his face.

What use was it for Lu Ye, an external official of the Phoenix clan, to look at the River of Time? But then again, he himself also wanted to see it, as such an opportunity was rare.

Tremors came one after another. This was a sign that the Time Pagoda was preparing to vanish into the River of Time, and also the pagoda spirit warning the cultivators inside that it was about to close, instructing them to prepare to leave.

There were nine tremors in total. After the ninth tremor, Lu Ye felt a dizzying sensation, and dimly, it seemed as if a repulsive force came from all directions, pushing him away from where he stood.

Lu Ye immediately stabilized himself. His gaze swept around, and he saw the figures of many cultivators.

These were undoubtedly the cultivators who had entered the Time Pagoda before. At that time, there were about thirty thousand in total, but now, those who emerged alive were undoubtedly much fewer.

Lu Ye also saw many Dragons revealing their true forms. Their figures were immensely vast, guarding all directions, with Dragon might permeating the air.

The voice of a Dragon Elder came from beside his ear: "The Time Pagoda has closed. All unrelated personnel, leave Dragon City immediately. Any who dare to linger within two hours shall be slain without mercy!"

As the voice faded, the numerous cultivators collectively bowed towards Dragon City, and then dispersed.

Regardless of the Dragon City's reasons for being willing to share a treasure like the Time Pagoda with cultivators from the entire Inner Realm, those who received benefits inside should express their gratitude.

In this world, apart from Dragon City, no other Dao Unifier city could be so generous.

Lu Ye was currently staring with wide eyes at a wondrous sight.

It was like a mirage, ethereal and indistinct. A long river of dazzling starlight stretched across the sky, its origin unknown, its destination unseen. The river itself was composed entirely of countless points of light, varying in brightness.

The River of Time!

The moment Lu Ye saw this river, many insights emerged in his mind. Even the Fruit of Time on his Talent Tree became active.

Without any specific thought, he immediately confirmed one thing: his mastery over temporal power had advanced to another level!

This was a very remarkable thing. He did not possess a Dragon Vein, and his temporal power was mainly borrowed. His three years of cultivation with Zhu Yin had only barely allowed him to grasp the basics, yet now, simply by looking at the River of Time, the gains were so immense that they even surpassed those three years of cultivation.

No wonder Zhu Yin had just said this was a great opportunity.

Just as Lu Ye was about to observe more closely, a point of starlight within the River of Time suddenly brightened.

He involuntarily looked towards it. The next moment, his expression froze, and he stood rooted to the spot.

From its appearance to its disappearance, the River of Time was visible for approximately five breaths of time in total.

Within these five breaths, all Dragons and Dragon-kin were observing the River of Time. Regardless of whether they gained anything, they all recovered their senses after five breaths.

Only Lu Ye remained motionless on the spot, his gaze blank and vacant.

Ten breaths later, this area was isolated, and the Dragon Sovereign and Phoenix Master descended simultaneously.

"What's going on?" The Dragon Sovereign had been secretly observing Lu Ye since his appearance. The problem with the Ancestral Abyss barrier had been resolved entirely due to Lu Ye's efforts. A human body harmonizing space-time power was simply a divine blessing to the Dragon clan.

From now on, he would no longer have to worry about the Ancestral Abyss issue.

So he quickly noticed the abnormality here.