514: Chapter 514 The River of Time: Going Against the Current!

"Self-detonation of an Immortal Artifact?"

The crowd's expressions changed drastically, and they retreated one after another. Even the Golden Immortals of Daluo Heaven did not dare to be the slightest bit careless when facing the self-detonation of a damaged Immortal Artifact.

The power of this explosion, combined with the sacrifice of the Golden Immortal's flesh and blood, generated an unimaginable destructive force to space.

"Rip—"

Even the canopy set up by the myriad things mother qi cauldron was forcibly blown open to create a spatial crack under this extreme destructive force.

"Whoosh!"

Ying Jue's remaining half-body transformed into a dim streak of blood-colored light, escaping through that crack by a hair's breadth.

The blood-colored light flashed and vanished into the Void Realm, its speed so fast that even Lu Yuan could not intercept it in time.

"He got away?" Shui Changdong looked in the direction where Ying Jue had disappeared and sighed with some regret.

"He is just a stray dog; he cannot stir up any waves."

Lu Yuan's true self withdrew his gaze and did not give chase. His attention was now entirely on the "spoils of war" covering the ground—the massive Dao Fruits of eight Late Stage Golden Immortals, including the previous Ye Wuxu!

The corpses and remains scattered throughout the starry sky, the shattered fragments of Magic Treasures, and the various Laws released by the Golden Immortals before their deaths wove together a chaotic and mesmerizing scene in this starry sky.

"Return."

Lu Yuan withdrew his Future Self and Past Self. The Future Self transformed into a stream of light and merged into his body, while the Past Self retrieved the myriad things mother qi cauldron before dissipating on its own.

He stood alone in the blood-stained starry sky and spread his arms.

"Heaven Devouring Demonic Art, fully activate!"

"Rumble—"

A black hole, larger than any previous one, manifested in the starry sky.

The black hole, like the giant maw of a living creature, slowly rotated, emitting a terrifying suction force that devoured everything and shattered all things.

The starlight at the edge of the black hole was twisting crazily, being pulled into the black hole by its gravitational force.

The devouring power erupted, sucking the remains of the seven Late Stage Golden Immortals on the battlefield, their Primordial Spirit fragments, and the Law Dao Fruits they had cultivated their entire lives into his body, just like a great whale drinking water.

The remaining specks of light from the Laws, the Origin of life, and various chaotic yet exceptionally powerful Laws poured into Lu Yuan's body like rushing rivers.

Vast, ocean-like immortal power, pure Origin of life, and various chaotic yet powerful Golden Immortal Laws... were crazily scouring Lu Yuan's Meridians and Sea of Consciousness.

His power was climbing steadily; it was a feeling of being near-endless, as if brand new Small Worlds were forming within his body one after another, each containing enough power to create the world.

However, Lu Yuan's brows furrowed slightly. He felt that familiar sense of a Bottleneck. Although he had absorbed such a massive amount of energy, that sense of "qualitative change" needed to break through to Immortal Lord was still lacking by just a tiny bit. It was like a water vat filled with water; although the water was already overflowing, the material of the vat itself had not yet undergone a transformation, as if it were firmly bound by something.

"The quantity is already enough."

Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes, a flash of realization passing through his deep pupils.

He clenched his hands slightly, feeling the power surging like a river within his body, but this feeling of qualitative change was like being separated by a final thin veil—it was clearly within reach, yet seemed worlds away.

"What I lack now is not energy, but... an insight into the essence."

...

In the Forbidden Ground at the back of the Qingyun Dao Sect, beneath the lush and leafy Enlightenment Tea Tree, Lu Yuan sat cross-legged with an ancient jade table placed in front of him.

On the table, a purple clay teapot was bubbling and steaming. If the great experts of the outside world were to see the ingredients of this pot of tea, they would likely be driven mad with jealousy.

The tea leaves were taken from the very top tender leaves of this Enlightenment Tea Tree, which had absorbed the essence of the Nine Heavens Breath Soil and already transformed into a top-tier immortal root.

The water used to brew the tea was a drop of diluted primordial true dragon saliva mixed with a few drops of pure reincarnation immortal liquid. Even the fire used to boil the tea was that wisp of World Purifying Heaven Burning Flame capable of purifying all things.

This pot of tea could no longer be called tea; it was simply a pot of concentrated Origin of the Dao!

"Gurgle..."

The tea boiled, and a refreshing fragrance that struck straight into the depths of the Soul permeated the air.

Lu Yuan did not pour it into a cup; instead, he picked up the teapot directly, tilted his head back, and drank the entire pot of scalding tea in one gulp.

"Boom!"

The tea entered his throat and instantly transformed into an indescribable, mysterious power that rushed straight into Lu Yuan's Sea of Consciousness.

Lu Yuan closed his eyes tightly, and his Divine Sense was lifted infinitely high under the support of this power.

This feeling was like being detached from the restraints of the Physical Body, detached from the gravity of this world, and from an observer's God-like perspective, constantly rising, rising... passing through the clouds, passing through the strong winds, and passing through the turbulence of the Void Realm.

Finally, Lu Yuan's consciousness arrived at a place of nothingness.

Here, there was no concept of space, nor the existence of matter. There was only a surging, vast, and mighty river flowing through the nothingness.

The River of Time!

Lu Yuan's consciousness "stood" on the riverbank, watching the river water rolling forward. In every droplet of water, it seemed to reflect the birth, growth, aging, and death of a living creature.

"Is this the manifestation of time..."

A sliver of realization arose in Lu Yuan's heart. Ordinary Cultivators, even those at the Great Ascension Stage, could only be like duckweed in the river, carried downstream by the River of Time, unable to control their own destiny.

But upon reaching the Golden Immortal Realm, with the Immortal Golden Nature added to one's body, it was like planting a wooden stake in the river. Although one could barely stand firm and not be easily eroded by the passing years, one still could not change the direction of the river.

"What about the Immortal Lord?"

Lu Yuan's eyes flickered as he looked upstream.

An Immortal Lord is an existence that can truly touch the Laws of heaven and earth and command the world with their words. They no longer passively resist time, but take the initiative to interfere with it!

"Swim against the current and leave my own mark in the years!"

Lu Yuan made his decision. His Divine Sense transformed into a phantom, and without hesitation, he stepped into the surging River of Time, turned around, and began to swim upstream.

"Splash—"

Just as he took the first step, an unimaginable and terrifying resistance rushed toward him.

It was not the impact of the water, but the ruthless scouring of the Laws of time!

With every wave that hit him, Lu Yuan felt as if a layer of his Divine Sense was being brutally shaved off. This excruciating pain that struck directly at the Soul was a hundred times more terrifying than having one's Physical Body sliced to pieces.

"No wonder countless Prodigies throughout history have been stuck at the Peak of the Golden Immortal Realm and unable to advance for their entire lives. With this Heaven-Defying resistance, if one is the slightest bit careless, they will get lost in the past years, and their Soul will be destroyed."

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth and did not retreat.

"Second step!"

"Third step!"

He braced himself against the scouring of time and walked upstream. In his mind, the Profound Truth of the Art of Self-Transformation was spinning crazily, and the true meaning of "One Sword Ten Thousand Ages," which had once been used to slay powerful enemies, transformed at this moment into a sharp sword for him to resist the River of Time.