Everything in the area was changing, with the stele being the only thing that was unchanging. Standing before the stele, Xiang Shaoyun remained unaffected. He had a feeling that the stele was the only thing that could resist the power working all around him. The key to solving this situation could probably be found on the stele as well.
Without any hesitation, he flew toward the stele. The stele was massive—several kilometers high and several meters wide. On its mottled surface were ancient markings. There was no order to the markings, and they did not look like any characters or symbols. Rather, they looked like some irregular totems or imprints left behind by a super expert.
In short, nobody could understand the markings. If so, how could anyone hope to understand anything from looking at them? Even with the Light of Wisdom, Xiang Shaoyun couldn’t figure out anything about the markings.
He flew up and down as he took a rough glance at the entirety of the stele before sinking into deep thought. He was sure that the stele hid this place’s secret since he could sense some unique undulations from the chaotic markings.
The undulations felt like they were resonating with a certain part of his body or perhaps a certain power in his body. The resonation was the crucial point he was focused on. After thinking about it for a bit, he was still completely clueless. Thus, he decided to fly toward one of the markings and touch it with his hand.
The moment he touched the marking, something astonishing happened. He started growing younger, from a youth to a teenager, then to a child, and to even younger. He was stunned.
“What’s going on? Why am I growing younger?” Xiang Shaoyun exclaimed in alarm.
Anyone else would be overjoyed to regain youth, but Xiang Shaoyun was at the peak of his youth. He had no interest in reliving his childhood. However, everything had happened too quickly. He wasn’t the least bit prepared for it, which was why he was so shocked.
He hurriedly pulled his hand back. The moment his hand left the stele, he returned to his original appearance.
Only then did he release a breath of relief. He seemed to have come to a realization, and he muttered, “This is the Spacetime Grotto. They are aging while I am growing younger. This is a manifestation of the passage of time. Is this stele hiding the secret of time?”
At that thought, he reached out for a different marking. After touching it, his appearance did not change. However, he could feel time flowing by him while he himself was frozen in time, watching on as everything he had experienced replayed before him as if he was a third party.
It was a unique experience, one that endlessly astonished him. He wondered just what kind of expert had left something like this behind, granting him such an experience. He reached out for yet another marking.
This time, he started aging. In a flash, he reached the end of his life. The sensation of looming death was much more terrifying than the sensation of returning to childhood. He panicked.
Everything felt too real. Even if he knew that everything was an illusion, he still broke out in cold sweat. Even after pulling his hand back, he still felt fear in his heart. He was forced to take some time off to calm his mind.
Xiang Shaoyun couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration, “The power of time is too terrifying. If a cultivator manages to comprehend this power, they would probably become undefeatable. Who can hope to stop such a cultivator?”
The dao of time only existed in legends. Only the ultimate geniuses with the best physiques during the primordial times had been able to cultivate this dao. In fact, no time cultivator had appeared again in the distant ancient past, the ancient past, and the present era.
One could say that being able to even feel the dao of time was a massive opportunity for Xiang Shaoyun. After adjusting his condition, he reached out for a different marking, sensing a different change this time. To be born, to grow old, to get sick, and to die. Happiness, anger, sorrow, and joy. Time flowed constantly, and the heaven and the earth were the only constant.
After witnessing different sceneries, living through different experiences, and experiencing different passages of time, Xiang Shaoyun’s memories from his two past lives and present life became much clearer in his head. He saw the model of time, and he learned more about cause and effect, allowing him to get a clearer look at the memory fragments he had buried in the river of time.
The memories of his conflict against the top organizations of the eight regions became exceptionally clear. Back then, he was encircled by the eight super experts beyond the Saint Realm. His Overlord Skyslaying Saber was broken in the battle, and he ultimately met his end with the destruction of his entire body.
If he hadn’t made all his preparations prior to his death, he wouldn’t have been able to reincarnate and leave his inheritance for this life.
After experiencing the enlightenment from the markings, the three lifelines on each of his palms became incredibly clear, proving his identity as someone who had lived three lives.
Very few people could awaken their memories from two past lives. Someone like that was most definitely the pet of the heavens. Such past memories would greatly enhance one’s life experience. It was extremely important for any cultivator and ensured the cultivator would make fewer mistakes in cultivation.
Standing before the stele, Xiang Shaoyun had his eyes shut as he recalled everything he had experienced earlier. Unknowingly, an ancient aura started radiating from his body. He still looked youthful, yet he felt like an old man. Or to be precise, he now seemed much more mature and reliable.
However, experiencing all that did not mean that he could manipulate the power of time and rescue the old man, the eight-winged bee, and the flower fairy. Currently, they were on the verge of death. They no longer had the energy to even speak. All they could do was keep their eyes open, maintaining the final bit of clarity they had and hoping that a miracle would appear. Without a miracle, this would be their end.
After all, they were in a completely different situation than Xiang Shaoyun. They were suppressed by the restriction while Xiang Shaoyun wasn’t. Thus, they couldn’t leave the restriction and could only helplessly wait for death.
After an indeterminate amount of time, Xiang Shaoyun opened his eyes. Strands of radiance swirled in them, as though he had gained a lot from the stele. He soared into the sky, heading toward the very top of the stele. When he reached the top, he saw two deep palm prints on it. Those two palms were the key to the stele’s secret.
Without hesitation, he reached for the two prints.
