Chapter 145 Washed Away by the Long River of Time

Whoosh...

The vast river surged eternally onward, its currents birthing countless waves, each shimmering with a myriad of illusions.

Past, present, and future, upon this long river, infinitely converged upon a single plane.

What had happened, what was happening, what had yet to happen—endless fantasies flowed within the waves, within each drop of 'water.'

An Qisheng strode within this river. Though restrained by an invisible, alien force that prevented him from leaping out and observing from above, he felt a boundless sense of desolation, as if the entirety of the past and future unfolded before his eyes.

All the records of the myriad spirits and races regarding the passage of time paled in insignificance before this long river.

This was an unimaginable force, a domain that mortals could not fathom.

"Every drop, every speck is time itself. If one could freely traverse it, that would be akin to traveling through time and space..."

An Qisheng's mind stilled, facing this surging river with utmost caution.

Aside from the fleeting glimpses he had caught, he dared not look too closely, nor did he harbor any desire to delve into other timelines. That was not something he could easily accomplish at his current level.

Between seeing and doing, though separated by a mere thread, lay a vast ocean. To recklessly cross without knowing the depths was to invite certain destruction.

An Qisheng naturally understood this principle.

Therefore, even with great curiosity about this river, he suppressed his restless thoughts, keenly aware of the omnipresent Dao lines.

Following the 'medium' that only he could sense in the depths of his mind, he journeyed toward his destination.

'Almost there...'

Before long, An Qisheng's heart stirred, and his divine will scattered like smoke, merging into a ripple in the river, causing a splash of waves.

Buzz~~

War, bloodshed.

Iron and blood, ferocity, killing to seize treasures!

Enslavement, selling oneself, nurturing Gu with one's body, using a city to incubate demons, practicing cultivation with humans...

Exposed bones in the wilderness, a thousand miles without the crowing of a rooster.

A hundred ghosts walked in daylight, a horde of demons danced wildly, some slaughtering each other, others massacring entire regions...

This was a feast for the strong; the weak could only lament!

Countless scenes flashed before his eyes, changing in an instant, seeming less than a moment, blurring away as reality emerged.

A magnificent and vast panorama of ten thousand miles of rivers and mountains unfolded before him.

Six great suns hung high, the sky clear for ten thousand miles, with only a few birds soaring, occasionally diving down to snatch some unknown beast.

Upon the boundless plains, wild grasses grew taller than people, interspersed with patches of white bones.

Whoosh!

Above the several-man-high wild grasses, An Qisheng stood as if the wind had stopped, his thoughts stirring as a full range of sensations vividly appeared in his mind.

The slightly moist wind, the smell of soil, grass, and trees, the scent of insects, beasts, and birds, the chase and slaughter among wild animals in the mountains and forests, and even the decaying aura of bones beneath the grasses—all entered his heart.

"Shouyang Mountain!"

An Qisheng's eyes narrowed.

His memory was excellent, and despite the changes of time, he immediately recognized the mountain peak nearby as Shouyang Mountain.

Shouyang Mountain from a long, long time ago.

With his mental power, he could even calculate how many years this time and space differed from when he came.

"Seventy-three thousand two hundred years ago, Shouyang Mountain!"

Standing in the gentle breeze, An Qisheng exhaled deeply. Time and space contained boundless mysteries, and traversing them was itself a fortune that ordinary people could not attain.

With his eyes slightly closed, information about this time and space flowed into his mind.

The Great Zhou Dynasty had been established for nearly forty thousand years, and the Great Xia Dynasty's reign was thirty thousand. Seventy-three thousand years ago, the Great Xia Dynasty had not yet been established.

This era, unlike the buried Great Xia, had a complete record in Zeng San's ancient Confucian history.

Compared to the current world, this era, where sects stood tall and controlled everything, displayed the law of the jungle to the extreme.

Many sects, including the Dao Palace and Sumeru Mountain, stood high above, overlooking the masses, seemingly raising Gu, or simply indifferent.

The only advantage this era had over the world he came from was the abundance of cultivation texts scattered throughout the world by various sects.

For ordinary people, the only chance to survive was to cultivate!

"Screech~~~"

A long cry pierced the clouds, echoing above the heavens, followed by a massive shadow falling, covering the mountains.

A giant peacock descended from the sky, circling above the mountains, its wings obscuring the sun.

Only after a long time did the rumbling, thunderous sound of the air explosion, which had been left far behind, roll in like a tide.

The raging wind swept across hundreds of miles, blowing grass, trees, sand, and even the bones buried for countless years into the sky.

"Roar!"

Before the long cry faded, a roar echoed through the mountains, accompanied by a fierce wind.

Amidst the earth-shaking rumble, a striped tiger stood on a hill in the mountains, coldly observing, its eyes filled with bloody violence!

"Aooo!"

"Roar!"

"Chirp!"

"Ah!"

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

The tiger leaped onto the peak of the mountains and let out a long roar, causing the wind and clouds to change within tens of thousands of miles. As the hurricane swept through and sand danced wildly, giant demons rose one after another.

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A giant serpent coiled around the mountains.

A giant crocodile stood in a waterfall-like ocean.

A giant ape, pulling mountains in its hands, stood upright, thousands of feet tall.

A black cat, with eyes as red as blood.

A terrifying bear emerged from the earth, shaking off the mountains on its body.

Together with the giant tiger, the six demons stood on the ground, all roaring at the sky, their earth-shattering demonic aura raging in the sky, intimidating the circling peacock.

"Screech~"

The five-colored peacock cried out, its long neck extended, unlike the six demons, who were tense and ready to fight. Its phoenix eyes were filled with disdain and arrogance.

It seemed indifferent to the six great demons, who were facing it as if facing a great enemy.

It seemed to be waiting for something.

"Great demons, a peacock..."

An Qisheng was not surprised that the six demons ignored him. He merely watched the scene before him, and a guess vaguely formed in his mind.

In the sky, the peacock circled. On the ground, the six demons glared.

An invisible oppressive aura rendered the mountains silent until a deep and heavy bellow sounded:

"Moo~"

This bellow was insignificant compared to the previous roars of the six demons, but the moment it sounded, the six demons, including the peacock soaring in the sky, shuddered.

"This is..."

An Qisheng's heart stirred as he looked toward the source of the sound. Amidst the several-man-high wild grasses, a young man with a simple face was slowly leading an ox cart.

On the slightly crude ox cart sat an old man and a young child.

The old man wore a faded Daoist robe, his white hair hanging down his back. His eyes were half-open, and beside him was an ignorant child.

"Screech!"

The peacock cried out, flapping its wings and nodding slightly in respect.

The six great demons in the mountains also ceased their battle cries and restrained their earth-shattering demonic aura.

"They're all here."

Without anyone noticing, the old man on the cart had opened his eyes.

"Teacher?"

The young man leading the ox stopped and bowed slightly. "The mountains here are not high, and the waters are not spiritual. How can this place be suitable for you to preach?"

"Mountains need not be high; with immortals, they are spiritual."

The old Daoist slowly spoke, his bright eyes not looking at the peacock in the sky or the great demons on the ground, but at a certain spot in front of the nearby mountain:

"If it is not famous for a time, it may not be nameless forever."

His gaze fell upon An Qisheng, who stood with his hands behind his back, watching him with a subtle expression, as if looking at himself:

"What do you want to tell me?"

Across time and space, they looked at each other.

Watching himself cut off one of his incarnations, An Qisheng frowned. The invisible barrier reappeared, preventing him from further contacting the old Daoist on the cart.

This was the restriction of the established order of time and space upon those who defied it, as well as an inexplicable alien force hindering him.

Or rather, waiting for him to touch this Dao line that governed time and space.

The old Daoist's eyes were clear, yet they carried a meaning that ordinary people could not understand:

"The net of heaven is vast; its meshes are wide, yet nothing escapes."

The young man leading the ox cart was stunned, not knowing what his teacher was saying.

After only a glance, the old Daoist withdrew his gaze and casually pointed to the place he had just looked at:

"Wen Ming, if you come here one day, do not forget to take a piece of Xishi stone and erect a stele here." (Xishi stone - a type of jade)

"Ah? Yes."

The young man was puzzled but nodded and firmly remembered his teacher's words.

Although he did not know why he would come here in the future, he knew that if his teacher said he would come, he would definitely come.

"Let's stop here."

The old Daoist waved his sleeve, and the old ox pulling the cart cried out, prostrating on the ground, unharnessing the reins, and respectfully turning around, kneeling before the cart.

The young man's expression turned solemn as he knelt before the cart as well.

Before long, the peacock in the sky folded its wings, transforming into the size of a palm, and landed on the wild grasses not far from the cart.

The six demons in the mountains did the same, dispersing their giant forms, returning to the height of ordinary people, and kneeling beside the old ox, their respect unparalleled.

It was a peaceful yet incongruous scene.

An old Daoist and a child sat on a cart, with strange beasts kneeling and bowing before it, as if waiting for something.

"It has been three thousand years since we parted. Your cultivation has improved. Very good, very good."

The old Daoist swept his gaze over the beasts before the cart, nodding slightly with approval, but also with regret: "I have nothing more to teach you."

"Teacher..."

"Teacher is like a near-saint. We are terrified."

"Teacher, please do not abandon us."

The beasts spoke human words, all filled with apprehension and fear. The black cat, in particular, seemed like an abandoned cub, wailing in sorrow.

Only the peacock scanned them with its phoenix eyes, looking at the child on the cart, its voice clear and sensitive:

"Is he your last disciple, Teacher?"

"Peacock!"

The young man before the cart coldly swept his gaze over. "He is also your junior brother."

"You are my teacher, but he is not my brother!"

The peacock raised its head, not looking at him but looking at the cart.

But even facing the old Daoist directly, it did not lower its head. "Do you hate me for eating tens of thousands of people when I was ignorant and had not yet attained enlightenment? Is that why you chose him?!"

"Foolish child!"

Looking at the peacock, the old Daoist sighed. "Humans have human ways, and demons have demonic ways. Why bother?"

"I cannot bear your Dao. I will not follow the path of the Heavenly Desolate Old Demon!"

A look of disappointment flashed in its phoenix eyes, which quickly turned into firmness. With a long cry, it flapped its wings and tore through the void:

"Seeking the Dao lies only in taking the direct path!"