Chapter 1876: Gift

It was Him… The Mad Nuo…

Xu Xiaoshou paused for a moment, then finally reconnected with his memories, which stretched back either a hundred thousand years or ten epochs, according to this being.

“At that time…” He squinted, thinking deeply for a moment, recalling that along with this being, there should have been an Ancestor Ming and an Ancestor Shi.

Xu Xiaoshou then scanned the black world on the opposite bank of the river. He effortlessly extended his Intent throughout the entire world, quickly taking in almost the entire continent and ocean.

There were no living beings, no Ancestor Shi, no Ancestor Ming – only Nuo! Between heaven and earth, only Nuo remained!

Then a question arose… Xu Xiaoshou stared at the roasted lamb leg in the Mad Nuo’s hand. If all living beings were extinguished, where did this come from?

“Hmm…” Xu Xiaoshou tried to open his mouth.

Perhaps it had been too long since he had spoken, for he couldn’t immediately utter human speech. Soon, through his consciousness, he also noticed something strange.

The world the Mad Nuo inhabited was not on the same plane as Xu Xiaoshou on the other side of the river.

This meant that neither his spoken words nor his mental transmissions could be heard or felt by the Mad Nuo.

Xu Xiaoshou swallowed, moistening his throat, while quietly waiting for the scene opposite him to unfold.

He already knew this was like a recording. The real Ancestor Nuo might still exist, or might have long since ceased to be.

“But if it was a recording left behind long ago, how could it precisely pinpoint that I would turn around and see Him ten epochs later?”

Xu Xiaoshou might not have had an answer to this question before, but now, a brief thought yielded a result.

A touch of Intent could bring about a connection. Time did not progress linearly—past, present, future. Time could run in parallel. As he saw Him, the Mad Nuo in some spacetime would certainly have sensed it. His Dao was too self-contained; His Intent must be powerful. He could calculate time, leaving His words to project them to a version of himself in another spacetime. Xu Xiaoshou, currently, could not do the same. In fact, he originally shouldn’t have been able to see this scene at all, but over the years, he had honed his Intent.

“What level has my Intent Dao Disk reached now?” Xu Xiaoshou remembered he had a passive system where spiritual insights could be quantified.

Even though he hadn't used passive points to forcefully upgrade his Intent Dao Disk over these countless years, he was certain he had made significant progress on the Great Dao of Intent.

After all, the self before entering the world beyond the third door, relying solely on Intent, absolutely couldn't have crossed this vast River of Time and subsequently seen this image left by Ancestor Nuo.

“Latercomer, or perhaps my senior…” On the opposite bank of the River of Time, by the bonfire, Ancestor Nuo finally raised His head and looked over.

His gaze fell upon emptiness, as if speaking to thin air, yet He seemed utterly certain that at the very moment He spoke, there would be at least one listener in some distant, unknown place.

He calmly began His narration, His voice, a multitude overlapping, somehow conveyed a profound loneliness:

“Ancestor Ming has fallen.”

“Ancestor Shi has fallen.”

“My two closest companions, under the Calamity of Dao Annihilation, successively succumbed… In other words, they perished, they died.”

Like a clap of thunder on a clear day. Ancestor Nuo’s first few words were terrifying.

Xu Xiaoshou’s brow furrowed slightly, yet his emotions were difficult to stir further. He continued to listen:

“Those who die cannot be resurrected.”

“Those who return are not the same as before.”

“Lingering upon the River of Time, I have successively found more than ten fellow Daoists, and without exception, they all succumbed.”

He paused, then lowered His head, letting out a low, eerie chuckle:

“The great calamity! The great calamity!”

“The Calamity of the End of Dao has also annihilated all my demonic power…”

His laughter was desolate, filled with bitterness and sorrow: “But as expected, even the great calamity cannot kill me…”

Xu Xiaoshou was finally moved. How strong exactly was this Mad Nuo?

Were these ten Ancestor Gods? Ordinary Ancestor Gods couldn't withstand the great calamity at all. Even Ancestor Shi and Ancestor Ming succumbed, yet He could?

Then what about the Ten Ancestors of the Saint God Continent? In some spacetime, did the Mad Nuo on the other side of the river seek their help, and how did they fare?

The Mad Nuo did not elaborate on these matters. After His lament, He regained His composure, gripping the roasted lamb leg as He continued:

“I know who you are.”

“And I may as well tell you, the predicament of the River of Time did not originate from Ancestor Shi, but from me.”

He extended His hand. A broad, calloused hand gently tapped the void before Him.

It was as if He was remotely pointing to a being He couldn't even see, yet one who could certainly hear Him:

“This, is tempering.”

“Throughout the myriad worlds, the end of the Dao is nothing more than transcending the Dao laws of one's respective plane, becoming a God, attaining Ancestor status, reaching the supreme peak.”

“However, while it is easy to become an Ancestor God or a supreme being, it is difficult to discern one's true Self. Even Ming and Shi were no exception. Therefore, before the End of Dao, I severed the River of Time, leaving this predicament specifically to temper your will.”

At this point, Xu Xiaoshou recalled the previous predicament in the River of Time.

With just one turn and persistent effort, he had cultivated his Intent almost to its pinnacle, reaching an ineffable height.

All of this, was it the Mad Nuo’s doing? This guy…

Xu Xiaoshou no longer knew whether to feel resentment or gratitude. He quietly continued to listen.

The Mad Nuo was indeed mad, indeed arrogant, and indeed had the confidence to be so. He shook His head slightly and sighed softly:

“It’s not enough.”

“Under the Calamity of the End of Dao, Intent is easily dissolved, but the 'Self' is difficult to extinguish.”

“You must remember, Intent is not the Self; the Self is the Self. As for what constitutes the Self? This thing is often close to the Dao, often close to the Name. The Dao that can be spoken is not the eternal Dao; the Name that can be named is not the eternal Name. Thus, it cannot be explained.”

What was said was as good as unsaid. Xu Xiaoshou’s mind felt slightly muddled.

He had understood much over these tens of thousands of years, and the latter part of the Mad Nuo’s speech felt familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

Had he heard it, or had he comprehended it himself?

The Mad Nuo raised the roasted lamb leg high. With a sizzling sound, golden fat dripped from the slightly charred, crispy skin.

Tens of thousands of years without the taste of meat. The moment he saw this, Xu Xiaoshou’s mouth watered, and his stomach rumbled.

He wasn't an ascetic. In fact, he didn't particularly enjoy cultivating. He liked eating meat and sleeping. Facing the roasted lamb leg across the river, he was now utterly salivating.

But he couldn’t eat it. Xu Xiaoshou had thought the Mad Nuo was about to remove His mysterious Nuo mask and start devouring it, but to his surprise, the being’s arm twitched, transforming into the head of an unknown demonic beast. With a few crunching bites, it devoured the entire roasted lamb leg.

“Under the great calamity, all beings perish.”

“Ancestor Gods and supreme beings of all paths, the highest and most exalted, stars have fallen, their light obscured in the wilderness. I alone have preserved myself!”

“However, my Dao is not the only way to resist the great calamity. Shi and Ming should have far surpassed me, but they took a wrong step and lost everything.”

Ancestor Nuo threw the last bit of demonic beast bone from His hand into the bonfire, wiped His hands, stood up, and walked a few steps forward:

“Since you can see me, it proves that your Dao of Intent has achieved success. But this is merely the beginning, not the end.”

“I have helped you cultivate Intent, neither to demand repayment, nor to make you cultivate my Dao alongside me, nor to make you dedicate yourself to Shi or Ming after your success.”

“Whether it is my path, or Shi’s, or Ming’s, or any other… your Dao is yours to choose. I will not interfere at all.”

Ancestor Nuo stopped, standing fixedly on the opposite bank of the River of Time.

He raised His head, gazing into the decaying starry sky. His exotic Nuo robes fluttered and danced in the night. Standing alone, His aura was magnificent, and even His tone became resolute:

“Even if confined within the River of Time, I must still single-handedly resist the Calamity of the End of Dao. I have never complained, nor do I stoop to petty schemes… I alone am awake for eternity!”

“Should you succumb on your path, it is your fate and cannot be reversed.”

“Should your path ultimately lead to transcendence, and you wish to lend me a hand, then after the Heavenly Realm, seek the Ancestral Court, Mount Taiyao. Chant my name, and a great demon will come to receive you.”

He paused, then lowered His head and murmured in a deep voice:

“That is all.” Having spoken, He turned and departed.

With a thunderous roar, the River of Time and the predicament dissolved, shattering into nothingness.

“Buzz!” His consciousness vibrated violently.

This time, surprisingly, there was no nightmare.

Xu Xiaoshou broke free from the temporal predicament, returning to the primordial chaos he had entered after his Time Dao Disk underwent super-Daoization.

The three doors before him had all dimmed and vanished.

Along with the surrounding chaos, it also began to crackle and dissolve with a booming sound shortly after.

“It’s time to go back…” Xu Xiaoshou realized this was the end.

Through the super-Daoization of his Time Dao Disk, he had seen not only Ancestor Shi, but also Ancestor Ming and Ancestor Nuo, and had even gained many additional Ancestor God secrets.

He had thought he would be trapped. Yet, unexpectedly, the world beyond the third door, while a predicament and influenced by Nuo and Shi, was not truly a predicament. Instead, he had gained some good fortune.

“The Mad Nuo…” That being’s final words had somewhat stirred his blood.

The great calamity had affected Ancestor Shi, Empty Hatred. After Ancestor Ming, Ancestor Shi also succumbed. Yet, it hadn't shaken the Mad Nuo’s true heart in the slightest.

“My Dao!”

“As expected of the only Ancestor God who truly ‘discerned the Self’!”

In the world beyond the second door, when the Mad Nuo had retracted His killing intent, Xu Xiaoshou had thought He was going to collude with Ancestor Shi.

Unexpectedly, He had instead severed the River of Time, presenting him with a temporal predicament to cultivate his Intent, and even revealed all the truth.

“After the Heavenly Realm…”

“Ancestral Court, Mount Taiyao…” Xu Xiaoshou was somewhat puzzled as to where these places were.

If the Heavenly Realm mentioned by the Mad Nuo – err, Ancestor Nuo – was the same as the Thirty-three Heavenly Realms he understood…

The Heavenly Realm had collapsed. After the Divine War, the Heavenly Realm had collapsed beyond repair, leaving only the Divine Ruins, built from the triangle of the Heavenly Realm.

To go to the Heavenly Realm, or even beyond it, he might have to wait for Empty Hatred to successfully reconstruct the temporal realm using the Six Ancient Gates.

If viewed this way, then the Ten Ancestors, Ran Ming, and other Ancestor Gods were actually at the pinnacle of power, on par with Ancestor Shi, Ancestor Ming, and Ancestor Nuo, with no distinction in strength.

The only difference lay in "discerning the Self."

Failing to discern the Self would inevitably lead to ultimate failure, as one could not resist the Calamity of the End of Dao—this was the most crucial point in Ancestor Nuo’s words!

“The great calamity…” What kind of calamity it was, he still didn't know.

But the Saint God Continent originally connected to the Heavenly Realm, and beyond the Heavenly Realm was the Ancestral Court, Mount Taiyao. Xu Xiaoshou deeply etched this point into his memory.

If he had the spare power, he would go and meet Ancestor Nuo. But these matters were too distant. The immediate priority, naturally, was to quickly regain his focus and return to the current situation.

“I wonder how things are with Eight Venerable An…”

“I hope my tens of thousands of years, a hundred thousand years, or even ten epochs here, were merely a blink of an eye, unrelated to the Saint God Continent…”

“Gurgle.” The boiling teapot still rumbled, white steam rising from its spout.

Inside the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower, there were still two figures: Empty Hatred and Eight Venerable An, seated together.

“It’s been an hour.” Empty Hatred looked out the window, his words carrying an implication.

Eight Venerable An naturally knew what this meant. He could also see and hear Hua Changdeng’s words from outside the tower.

But no matter what…

“Xu Xiaoshou is unstable.” As Xu Xiaoshou sat cross-legged, demonic energy occasionally overflowed from around him, surges of spiritual power would intermittently ripple, and he would even periodically fall into a state of suspended animation.

He was definitely trapped. Super-Daoization of the Dao of Time was indeed as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Even Eight Venerable An didn't know what Xu Xiaoshou was experiencing at this moment, but he had made a solemn promise, one that could not be easily shaken.

“As long as Xu Xiaoshou doesn’t awaken, I won’t leave the tower.”

“If something truly happens to Xu Xiaoshou, I will explore the River of Time with my sword, and even the Ten Ancestors won’t be able to stop me.”

Eight Venerable An twirled the wine cup in his hand, his words clearly tinged with alcohol.

To say he wasn't nervous would be a lie. But to say he couldn’t protect Xu Xiaoshou or bring him back, he didn’t believe that.

Among cultivators under heaven, the strongest merely became enshrined as Gods or Ancestors. Opening the Gate of Profundity, one could naturally reach this realm.

As he was now, he couldn’t see or clearly perceive. But after opening the Gate of Profundity, everything would surely surface.

At that time, no matter what, even if he had to risk everything, he would pull Xu Xiaoshou back. Even if it meant a one-for-one exchange, Eight Venerable An still believed that the heights Xu Xiaoshou could reach in the future might surpass his own.

“Sigh.” Empty Hatred’s face showed a troubled expression. Inviting a god was easy, sending one away was hard. Eight Venerable An clearly intended to rely on him; at that point, perhaps even Empty Hatred would have to step in and help Xu Xiaoshou.

Just wait! He hoped Xu Xiaoshou could wake up on his own!

After the super-Daoization of the Dao of Time, everyone saw different things. Empty Hatred also didn't know what Xu Xiaoshou had seen.

“Mmm.” The Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower was in silence, when suddenly a strange sound came from beside them.

Empty Hatred and Eight Venerable An both turned simultaneously, their gazes fixed on Xu Xiaoshou, who was sitting cross-legged on the floor.

After a soft groan, the latter slowly opened his eyes.

“You’re awake?”

“Awake?”

Grand temporal Dao rhythms surged from his body.

When he caught sight of Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes, even Eight Venerable An was moved.

He was instantly drawn in by the profound depths in Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes, as if experiencing a hundred thousand years of vicissitudes in a single instant, glimpsing a dilapidated and decaying cosmic Dao, almost falling into it.

After only a moment of distraction, Eight Venerable An’s lips curled slightly:

“It seems you’ve gained quite a lot.”

A familiar scene… Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes once more. What met his gaze was not a cobweb-draped ceiling, but the antique charm of the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower.

He was slightly dazed, lost in thought for a long while, before finally bringing his consciousness back to what felt like a hundred thousand years ago, or even ten epochs ago.

“I am Xu Xiaoshou.”

“I am in the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower, comprehending the Dao of Time, cultivating super-Daoization, hoping to see the Heavenly Ancestor and obtain his incarnation.”

“Empty Hatred, that scoundrel, wants to scheme against me… Oh, no, he’s not Ancestor Shi; he’s just Empty Hatred, just an innocent incarnation of Ancestor Shi. Should I settle this score?”

He made an effort to stir his emotions. Xu Xiaoshou did not want to become a prematurely aged young man, with a mindset so old that he was out of touch with his peers, just because he had experienced the vicissitudes of time.

He still had people he wanted to see, whom he hadn't yet met…

“Eight Venerable An, how endearing.”

“Empty Hatred, he’s a person too.”

“Right, it’s this wooden turntable, identical to the one Ancestor Nuo took from Ancestor Shi’s divine court, which is also the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower.”

Xu Xiaoshou’s gaze swept over everything: from the people around the tea table, to the objects on the table to his left, and even the entire internal structure of the Ancient and Modern Forget-Sorrow Tower.

The surroundings and people were clearly unchanged. Yet, he felt a profound sense of temporal wistfulness, sensing that what he saw now was both similar to and vastly different from what he had seen before comprehending the Dao of Time.

“A high-level perspective is truly something else.” He returned a smile to Eight Venerable An, whom he hadn’t seen in ages, signaling his safety.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't immediately announce his success. Instead, the wooden turntable reminded him of his passive system.

He hadn’t seen his system in hundreds of thousands of years. He felt a little nostalgic…

He peered inward at his Purple Mansion Origin Court, his consciousness slipping in, and glanced at the familiar red interface:

“Time Dao Disk (90).”

“Intent Dao Disk (99).”