Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Lan Xihe had not been in the mood to cultivate for a long time now. She learned that many cultivators in the Great Void, especially the silver-armored guards and the black-armored guards, had gone to the Unknown Land. The guards were usually only dispatched when the imbalance had grown almost
uncontrollable.
She had inquired about many things but did not find out anything useful. The Hall Master did not seem to care about worldly affairs and Ouyang Ziyun did not have any important news either.
“What happened to the Pillars of Destruction?” Lan Xihe muttered to herself.
Time passed by quickly.
A flock of flying beasts flew past the sky above Zhixu’s Pillar of Destruction.
In the ancient formations.
Lu Zhou heard a crisp noise.
Perhaps, not much time had passed, but Lu Zhou felt as though a lifetime had passed.
He looked at the floating Birth Palace in front of him. The activation of his 22nd Birth Chard was still not complete.
Lu Zhou frowned slightly. “Something doesn’t feel right with the time flow.’
‘When he checked the system interface, he discovered that his lifespan was no longer decreasing.
“222”
‘The time flow returned to normal?”
Lu Zhou stared unblinkingly at the system panel.
‘There had been no change for two hours. This meant there was something wrong with the ancient formation.
Lu Zhou rose to his feet and looked at the life heart that had almost completely sunk into his Birth Palace. He ignored the pain and shrunk his Birth Palace before hiding it in his sleeve.
Then, he flashed and appeared in the sky. He moved his hands and discovered the wind had stilled. Even the black fog seemed to have stilled. The few flying beasts were frozen as well.
Zhixu’s Pillar of Destruction and the flying beasts in the sky above it was like a vivid oil painting. They had frozen as well.
Lu Zhou continued to raise his altitude, confused. When he reached a certain height, he heard the sound of energy resonance.
“It’s the formation barrier…”
Lu Zhou launched a palm seal, but the palm seal vanished harmlessly into the void.
‘Then, he flew forward at a high speed. However, no matter how fast he flew, he could not draw close to the flying beasts in the sky.
The feeling that something was wrong grew stronger and stronger.
Lu Zhou unleashed his grand technique and returned to the forest.
‘The forest was normal. Occasionally, he could see small animals flashed past from the corners of his eyes at lightning speed.
“What’s wrong?”
He looked up.
‘The wings of a huge flying beast twitched slightly. Its movement was rather stiff and slow.
“D8
Lu Zhou stared at the huge beasts. After a long time, the wings finally reached down. It took an equally long time for it to flap it up again.
“Did time slow down?” Realization dawned on Lu Zhou.
In order to confirm his thoughts, he sat down cross-legged and looked at his lifespan.
Remaining lifespan: 17,259,929 (47,287 years)
He had gained another 10,000 years after activating his 21st Birth Chart after losing 100 years to the ancient formation.
Now that time slowed down, what would happen?
The next day, Lu Zhou looked at his lifespan again, but there was still no change.
“Time has indeed slowed down.”
Lu Zhou closed the system interface when he saw Meng Changdong and Zhao Hongfu rushing over from afar.
“Pavilion Master.”
“Speak.”
“The ancient time formation has changed. Now time has slowed down,” Meng Changdong reported.
Lu Zhou nodded. “How’s everyone?”
“Everyone’s fine. The only thing is the slow time flow. I’m afraid this will affect our cultivation,” Meng Changdong said.
Lu Zhou asked, “During this time, did you find a way to break the formation?”
Zhao Hongfu shook her head.”Forgive me for my incompetence. The ancient formations cover the entire place.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Lu Zhou observed the changes in the light and darkness around him before he brought out the Golden Taixu Mirror. After imbuing it with his divine power, he shone it everywhere.
The inscriptions on the flowers, plants, and trees had flipped. Indeed, the ancient formation had changed.
Lu Zhou launched a palm seal toward a nearby tree. It passed through the inscriptions harmlessly and disappeared into the void.
Meng Changdong and Zhao Hongfu were slightly worried they would be trapped here for the rest of their lives when they saw that even Lu Zhou was helpless against the ancient formations.
“What should we do now?”
“Inform the others that since time has slowed down, focus on stabilizing their cultivation base instead. I’ll try to break the formation.”
“Understood.”
‘When Meng Changdong and Zhao Hongtu raised their heads, Lu Zhou had already flashed away.
Lu Zhou flew around within the ancient formations on Whitzard back. He planned to return to his original position after about two hours.
Ancient trees grew in all directions beneath the boundless sky as mist swirled in the surroundings, giving the place an air of mystery.
If it had just been an ancient time formation, it would not be a problem at all since they could just walk out of the formation. However, they were also trapped in the ancient space formation.
“What kind of person built these formations?” Lu Zhou wondered out loud as he walked.
When he finally returned to his original position, he shot up into the sky.
The space continued to lengthen and lengthen…
Lu Zhou brought out the Golden Taixu Mirror again.
Buzz!
‘The Golden Taixu Mirror was like the midday sun shining in the sky.
The people of the Evil Sky Pavilion flew into the sky immediately.
“Pavilion Master?”
“Master?”
Allof them looked confused.
At this time, they saw golden and blue energies shrouding the trees, plants, air, and ground. It was as though everything was tinted in the two colors. At the same time, seals drifted slowly in the air. It was a dazzling sight.
“This…”
Suddenly, Lu Zhou tossed the Golden Taixu Mirror up into the air. Then, he joined his palm and silently recited the mantra for the power of infinite deduction.
‘With infinite deductions, it’s possible to know and not know and to see and not. There are all kinds of changes in the laws of nature that are known by all living beings in this world.’
Lu Zhou saw countless possibilities before him.
Figures flew back and forth in all directions, leaving afterimages in their wake. Some appeared in distant corners and some died.
Scenes after scenes of various possibilities continued to flash before his eyes.
Perhaps, Lu Zhou was using too much divine power, blue electric arcs flashed around his body as he stood majestically in the air.
Behind the group of people, Jiang Dongshan, who had grown a beard, widened his eyes as he exclaimed in shock, “It’s you?!”
Jiang Dongshan gulped and instinctively took a step back.
At this time, Lu Zhou opened his eyes and used the power of sight. His eyes glowed blue immediately.
Upon seeing this, Jiang Dongshan took another step back.
Thump!
Jiang Dongshan crashed into a towering ancient tree, causing the leaves to fall. Then, he quickly returned to Mingshi Yin’s side.
‘Mingshi Yin glanced at Jiang Dongshan from the corners of his eyes as he said, “You look very nervous.”
Jiang Dongshan was startled. He shook his head and hurriedly said, “No, no, no. I’m just a little surprised.”
“You’re surprised because time has slowed down?”
“Yes, yes, very sud… What? Time has slowed down?” Jiang Dongshan raised his head.
Indeed. The wings of the flying beasts in the sky were moving, but they moved at an incredibly slow speed. It was so slow that it was as though they had been frozen.
“Look at those stupid birds! I’m afraid they won’t be able to fly away even after 100 years. Perhaps, to those who are looking at us from outside the formation, our movements are slower than tortoises.”
“Uh, Mr. Fourth’s analogy is quite accurate..” Jiang Dongshan said awkwardly.
Buzz!
Lu Zhou’s towering golden avatar, imbued with the divine power, appeared. A dazzling but faint circle of light could be seen on the astrolabe as well.
“Pavilion Master is about to become a Saint?!” Qin Naihe exclaimed in shock.
“A Saint?”
“The circle of light on the astrolabe is a sign that one is about to become a Saint. If I’m not mistaken, this isn’t the true height of the avatar,” Qin Naihe said.
Jiang Dongshan frowned.
At this moment, the golden avatar spun around before a golden streak of light shot into the forest.
Following that, the Golden Taixu Mirror shone down.
At this time, Meng Changdong saw a path in the formation formed by seals. He exclaimed excitedly, “It’s the exit!”
“The exit?”
“As it turns out, the Pavilion Master was looking for the exit!” Meng Changdong said.
Zhao Hongfu was surprised and puzzled. “It’s indeed the exit. How did he find it?”
“How’s this possible?!” Jiang Dongshan said.
Whoosh!
After the golden avatar vanished, Lu Zhou put away the Golden Taixu Mirror and descended on the ground.
Everyone followed suit.
Lu Zhou stood with his hands on his back and said, “We’ve found the exit of the ancient formations. However, the time is not right for us to leave now.”
“Why?” Little Yuan’er asked curiously.
Lu Zhou looked at Little Yuan’er and said, “There are silver-armored guards, black-armored guards, and a divine beast.”
Then, Lu Zhou pointed at a huge flying beast that was moving incredibly slowly.
“Divine beast?”
Everyone instinctively turned to look at Kong Wen.
Kong Wen, who was like a walking encyclopedia of fierce beasts, stroked his chin as he looked at the beast. After a moment, he said, “I don’t recognize it. However, based on its characteristic and aura, it’s indeed a divine beast.”
With a divine beast, it was indeed very dangerous to leave.
Lu Zhou was not in a hurry, he swept his eyes past everyone as he said, “It’s a good thing that the time has slowed down…”
Everyone was confused. They did not know what Lu Zhou meant.
Lu Zhou nodded in satisfaction as he said, “We’ll make plans after the divine beast leaves. As for now…”
Lu Zhou raised his hand, and the Purple Glazed Ceramic floated up, spinning rapidly.
“Let’s try to pass your Birth Trials..”
Creak!
Everyone, except for Qin Naihe and Jiang Dongshan who were Venerable Masters, was frozen.
Lu Zhou could sense the others had reached a bottleneck in their cultivation. Since they could not go to the Sky Hook Ropeway, he would use the Purple Glazed Ceramic to simulate a suitable environment. He would use this time to help them break past their respective bottlenecks.
“Keep watch,” Lu Zhou said.
“Yes,” Qin Naihe replied.
Jiang Dongshan nodded. “Don’t worry, senior. I’l protect them.”
Then, Lu Zhou flashed away.
Lu Zhou flashed to the end of the lit-up path. Although he had found the exit through the power of infinite deduction, without confirming it, he was not very assured.
As long as he took another step forward, time would return to normal. However, there would be a problem: the time nodes for him and the others would be very different. If he walked out and walked in again, there was a possibility that everyone would have already died of old age in there.
Needless to say, Lu Zhou did not walk out. Instead, he leaned against a small tree trunk and sat cross-legged.
Then, he brought his Birth Palace out. The activation of his 22nd Birth Chart had been completed earlier.
Then, he brought out the Halcyon Bird’s life heart.
Whether it was 100 years or 1,000 years, it was said there that there was never enough time for cultivation.
Lu Zhou muttered softly to himself, “I’ll have to walk this path sooner or later. 23rd Birth Chart… No matter how painful it’ll be, it can’t compared to increasing our chances of survival.”
Lu Zhou decisively pressed the life heart into the ‘Immense Glory’ position in the earth region that neighbored the ‘Voracious Flame position.
After he activated his 23rd Birth Chart, he would call for the Fire Phoenix to borrow its life heart and activate his 24th Birth Chart.
‘The most important thing was not just the quality of the Birth Charts, but the suitability of the life hearts and the positions in the Birth Palace as well.
After the life heart began to sink into his Birth Palace, Lu Zhou closed his eyes and meditated on the Heavenly Writing.
Outside the ancient formations; around Zhixu’s Pillar of Destruction.
More than 1,000 silver-armored guards flew back and forth.
“We didn’t find anything!”
“We didn’t find anything there either!”
“There’s energy fluctuations in the direction of the ancient formations. I’m afraid there’s a time displacement so we can’t rashly enter…”
At this time, one of the silver-armored guards flew to the back of a giant beast. He looked down at the mountain range and said, “Let’s go to the Great Abyss.”
“Understood!”
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Over 1,000 silver-armored guards flew onto their mounts’ backs and left Zhixu’s Pillar of Destruction.
Not long after the silver-armored guards left.
In the distant sky above a mountain north of Zhixu’s Pillar of Destruction, two rays of light shot up. When they converged, Lan Xihe appeared, standing against the wind.
The Sun, Star, and Moon Wheel circled her faintly-glowing body.
Lan Xihe looked around. In just a moment, she appeared near the cliff. She looked at the traces left behind near the cliff.
Lan Xihe looked at the ancient forest up ahead and said, “Pavilion Master Lu, since you’re here, why don’t you come out and meet me?”
Alas, there was no response.
Only silence could be heard on the mountain and in the forest crawling with vines.
“Pavilion Master Lu, please come out and meet me,” Lan Xihe said again. Her voice traveled even further this time.
She looked at the trees and grass in the forest
Swoosh!
At this moment, a small flying beast flew in front of her. The space rippled slightly before the flying beast vanished into thin air.
Lan Xihe frowned. “Ancient formations? So he’s really not here?”
Lan Xihe continued looking in the direction of the ancient formations.
Lan Xihe was afraid of missing any movement so she waited by the cliff for three days. Unfortunately, there was nothing.
She sighed. ‘It’s fate, I guess..”
As though she had turned into the sun and the moon, she flew into the sky and disappeared from sight.
In the ancient formations.
Lu Zhou felt like he had lost the concept of time, and his nerves had grown numb.
Once ina while, he would open his eyes to look at the sky and the exit.
He saw the silver-armored guards on their divine beasts moving even slower than a tortoise.
After a long time, when he opened his eyes again, he saw the silver-armored guards had finally left. He thought he could finally leave when he saw Lan Xihe appearing near the cliff.
Lan Xihe was like a statue as she stood by the cliff and stared in the direction of the ancient formations for a long time.
Lu Zhou could not tell if she was there for three days, three years, or 100 years.
After an unknown amount of time had passed…
A thunderous rumble rang from the mountain as cracks began to appear on the ground. They defied time and space, birds and beasts, the Pillar of Destruction, and all living things as they snaked hundreds of thousands of feet away, disturbing everything in its path.
Boom!
‘When Lu Zhou opened his eyes, he discovered Lan Xihe had disappeared. He was surrounded by yellow withered leaves.
The small tree he had leaned against had grown into a tall tree.
A deep gully about 1,000 meters wide appeared in front of him.
Lu Zhou flicked his sleeve.
His Birth Palace had long become smooth and flat.
At this time, the cracks moved again, showing signs that the ancient formations were breaking.
At this moment, an energy seal suddenly shot toward Lu Zhou.
Lu Zhou shot to his feet and pushed his hand out, launching a huge palm seal that seemed as big as the sky.
Then, he said, “Everyone, gather!”
