Chapter 348
"Full view of the River of Time?"
Lin Yuan looked at Strongest One Xia Qin, who was seated on the throne.
The chaotic void, where universes float, and the vast power of time surges like a river, sweeping through everything.
Everything is within the River of Time, and except for the Strongest Ones who can step out of it, all life forms must endure the 'washing' of the River of Time.
This 'washing' refers to the lifespan limit; even those who have comprehended the rules of time can only temporarily leap out of the River of Time, but they will eventually fall back in and still face death from old age.
Lin Yuan had always thought that the River of Time was a conceptual metaphor, but now that Strongest One Xia Qin mentioned taking him to see the full view of the River of Time, he was somewhat astonished.
The River of Time? Is there really a full view?
"Everyone's understanding of the rules of time is different. My understanding of the rules of time may not apply to you."
"Given that, I'll take you to see the River of Time with your own eyes, and whatever you gain from it will be up to you."
Strongest One Xia Qin smiled faintly.The next moment.
Before Lin Yuan could respond, he felt a part of his soul suddenly break free from some kind of shackle, arriving in a mysterious space.
"This isn't the main universe anymore?"
Lin Yuan, who had a deep understanding of the rules of time, was very sure that this mysterious space he had arrived in was significantly different from the main universe, like a small fish leaving a river. In this space, his spiritual sense could no longer feel any fluctuations of time rules.
Lin Yuan barely managed to look around and noticed countless 'streams' flowing below.
These 'streams' were formed by an extremely pure concentration of time energy, surging from the past to the future, as if nothing could stop them.
"Is this the River of Time?"
Lin Yuan was shocked. He could vaguely see different 'fish' swimming deep within the river.
Some of the fish were very large, almost spanning half the width of the river, while others were very small, barely noticeable.
But all these 'fish' were within Lin Yuan's observation, while the fish themselves didn't seem to notice Lin Yuan's gaze at all.
It was as if beings in a two-dimensional world were unable to perceive the observation of beings outside their world, and the 'fish' in the river were the same. ꞦãꞐǑBËṣ
"The River of Time."
"This is the River of Time."
Lin Yuan was extremely excited, frantically watching the scenes before him.
[Your insight is unrivaled; observing the River of Time has rapidly enhanced your understanding of time rules.]
[Your insight is unrivaled; observing the River of Time has rapidly enhanced your understanding of time rules.]
[Your insight is unrivaled; observing the River of Time has rapidly enhanced your understanding of time rules.]
For a moment, a large amount of inspiration related to time rules flooded his mind.
Compared to the time rules within the microcosm, this River of Time was immeasurably more vast and encompassed countless lives.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan attempted to look upstream along the River of Time and saw that occasionally, a few 'big fish' would leap from the surging surface.
These 'big fish' only maintained themselves above the river for a few moments before falling back in, far less impressive than Lin Yuan's observation from an overlooking perspective.
"Those 'big fish' should be the beings who have comprehended the rules of time. They can leap out of the water temporarily, but only briefly."
Lin Yuan silently thought to himself.
After watching the past flow of the River of Time for a while, Lin Yuan turned his gaze to the direction in which the river was flowing—the future.
"Can't see clearly." Lin Yuan wasn't surprised.
The past is set; the future is uncertain.
Every moment can give rise to different futures.
Even the Strongest Ones, who can travel upstream to past times, cannot travel downstream to the distant future.
If a Strongest One dared to do so, they would likely get lost in the infinite timelines, never able to return to the present.
Lin Yuan continued to observe the River of Time.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan noticed the towering figure standing beside him.
At this moment, he was standing on the riverbank of the River of Time, relying on the protection of this towering figure.
And this towering figure was Strongest One Xia Qin.
No one below the level of a Strongest One can step out of the River of Time and onto the 'riverbank.' This is a law, just like how those who have died in the past are gone forever.
To break this law, even a Strongest One must pay a price.
If a Strongest One wants to resurrect a life from the past, they must resist the backlash from the universe.
Now that Strongest One Xia Qin had brought him to the 'riverbank,' he must have paid a similar price.
Lin Yuan had a feeling that the price Strongest One Xia Qin had to pay might be far more severe than resurrecting a deceased life.
Otherwise, why had he never heard of a Strongest One being able to take others out of the River of Time? After all, the fact that Strongest Ones can resurrect the dead is known to almost all powerful evolvers.
But bringing someone out of the River of Time? Lin Yuan had never heard of it until now.
Moreover, Strongest One Xia Qin had repeatedly tested Lin Yuan, even going so far as to have Deputy Tower Master Nalan test the general level of Lin Yuan's mastery of time rules.
All of this indicated that taking someone out of the River of Time required even a Strongest One to consider it carefully.
Lin Yuan continued observing everything about the River of Time, shifting his gaze to other positions along the 'riverbank.'
Soon, Lin Yuan saw another towering figure. This figure was burly, and just by standing there, he seemed to radiate endless power, a force so great it could shatter everything.
"Strongest One Gu Li?" Lin Yuan had never seen this Strongest One of human civilization in person, but he had a strong feeling that this was indeed Strongest One Gu Li.
And this towering, burly figure seemed to sense Lin Yuan's gaze, lowering his head and looking back with a hint of goodwill.
Lin Yuan continued to look further away.
The towering figures of one Strongest One after another from human civilization appeared.
Strongest One Yu Die, Strongest One Xu Shen, and others.
All of these Strongest Ones were incredibly majestic as they stood on the riverbank of the River of Time.
Soon.
Lin Yuan saw a tenth Strongest One.
This Strongest One wasn't from human civilization, his entire body shrouded in a dark mist. Lin Yuan had only observed him for a moment before this Strongest One noticed him.
"Hmph!"
A faint, disdainful snort echoed, and Lin Yuan's expression changed slightly. At that moment, the Strongest One Xia Qin beside him raised his right hand, and the snort disappeared completely.
"That Strongest One harbors a great deal of malice towards me."
Lin Yuan didn't dare continue observing and instead turned his gaze to other places.
The towering figure shrouded in the dark mist stood on the riverbank of the River of Time, coldly staring at Strongest One Xia Qin in the distance.
"Paying such a high price to forcibly take an ant who hasn't even comprehended the time rules out of the River of Time, utterly foolish." The towering figure thought silently.
The price for such an action was terrifying.
Almost every moment of it was comparable to the backlash from the universe that would be incurred by resurrecting ten or even dozens of eleventh-rank beings.
Strongest One Xia Qin was doing this at the risk of being unable to maintain his peak combat power for a significant time in the future.
"Human civilization..." The towering figure's thoughts fluctuated.
The rise of human civilization is the fastest among all peak races.
The primary reason for this is the unity among their people, to the point that even Strongest Ones are willing to pay some price to help a talented junior.
This is something unimaginable for other Strongest Ones, risking a price just to help a life below the ultimate level?
Is it worth it?
For the vast majority of Strongest Ones, the race is just a subsidiary, and the self is everything.
Lin Yuan's spiritual sense continued to observe further away.
Naturally, he saw one towering figure after another, symbolizing the Strongest Ones.
Some of these figures were indifferent to Lin Yuan's gaze, some showed goodwill, while most were dissatisfied, but all were blocked by Strongest One Xia Qin.
As Lin Yuan continued to observe, his comprehension of time rules rapidly increased at an alarming rate. Here, at the River of Time, the rules of time were at their most direct.
Ordinarily, a lifeform qualified to overlook the River of Time would have already comprehended the rules of time, and those unqualified to step out of the River of Time would never comprehend them.
But with Strongest One Xia Qin's help, Lin Yuan had broken this iron rule.
Time slowly passed.
He didn't know how much time had passed.
"It's about time. You should return."
Strongest One Xia Qin's voice echoed, and Lin Yuan felt his spiritual sense quickly begin to fade.
"Hmm?"
On the Milky Way Main Star, Lin Yuan suddenly opened his eyes.
"I'm back?"
Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, his heart unable to calm down for a long time.
Who would have thought that he had just overlooked the full view of the River of Time, and with the body of a ninth-rank being, he had broken free from the River of Time's constraints. Even if it was only temporary, it was an unprecedented opportunity.
"I also saw the true forms of many Strongest Ones"
Lin Yuan thought to himself. He had never clearly understood what a Strongest One really was before. Even with the scenes of Strongest Ones fighting on large battlefields, Lin Yuan had always found it difficult to comprehend.
The level involved in the battles between Strongest Ones was too high, and without reaching that level, it was impossible to fully understand.
"Strongest One Xia Qin's voice seemed a bit weak when he sent me back?" Lin Yuan didn't know how much of a price the Strongest One had paid to take him out of the River of Time.
But judging by that slightly weary tone, Lin Yuan knew the price must have been significant.
"I wonder if I'll be able to become a Strongest One." Lin Yuan reflected on the feeling of breaking free from the River of Time, experiencing an unprecedented sense of freedom.
Even with Lin Yuan's substantial foundation, there was no guarantee that he could become a Strongest One.
Even comprehending the legendary chaotic rules would only greatly aid in becoming a Strongest One.
Whether he could ultimately become one was another matter.
The birth of every Strongest One is not a certain event.
"Now, my understanding of the rules of time..." Lin Yuan carefully felt the changes within himself.
After taking a trip to the 'riverbank' of the River of Time, Lin Yuan gained a new understanding of the rules of time, an understanding completely different from before, one that only those who had personally seen the full view of the River of Time could possibly have.
"Time."
"How wonderful."
Lin Yuan extended his hands, and subtle fluctuations of time seemed to ripple as he lightly stirred them, creating faint time ripples.
"I'm not far from fully comprehending the rules of time now." Lin Yuan took a deep breath, thinking to himself.
Normally, no evolver would dare say they were certain to comprehend the rules of time before they actually did so.
Because the rules of time are too vast, and until one reaches that point, no one can be sure if they can fully comprehend them.
But Lin Yuan was different; he had seen the full view of the River of Time and had a concrete understanding of both the past and future of the River of Time.
Thus, his comprehension of the rules of time was much clearer than that of other beings who were also working on understanding them.
He knew exactly where he was and approximately where the endpoint was.
"Comprehending the rules of time at the ninth rank and making my inner world 'independent,' so that when I break through to the tenth rank, I can receive the origin infusion from the chaotic void..."
Lin Yuan's thoughts surged.
The reason Strongest One Xia Qin paid the price to take Lin Yuan out of the River of Time and give him a push in comprehending the rules of time was to help Lin Yuan fully comprehend the rules of time before advancing to the tenth rank so that he could draw the origin of the chaotic void into his inner world.
The fact that a Strongest One would go to such lengths made Lin Yuan even more eager.
"Now, the most important task is to fully comprehend the rules of time."
Lin Yuan focused his thoughts. With Strongest One Xia Qin giving him such a push, if he still couldn't fully comprehend the rules of time at the ninth rank, Lin Yuan would indeed feel a bit ashamed.
"At my current speed of comprehending the rules of time, I should be able to fully comprehend them within thirty years."
Lin Yuan evaluated himself and gained an extremely accurate understanding.
"Thirty years at most."
Lin Yuan assessed the transformation level of his inner world and immediately had a clear sense of it.
For any ninth- or tenth-rank evolver, thirty years is almost nothing. The fact that Lin Yuan could fully comprehend the rules of time in such a short period was truly astonishing.
It should be noted that before seeing the full view of the River of Time, Lin Yuan had already planned to wait until the tenth rank to fully comprehend the rules of time.
Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
The Yang Primordial Spirit was cultivating one of the three major protective secret techniques of the Mysterious Emperor Lineage, Steps of Space and Time.
Lin Yuan's true form and primordial spirit had different focuses. Currently, his true form mainly focused on comprehending the rules of time.
As for the other two primordial spirits, they focused on comprehending various secret techniques, evolution paths, and more.
Why not have the two primordial spirits join the true form in comprehending the rules of time?
Lin Yuan had tried that, but it didn't help much, and the efficiency wasn't significantly improved.
The true form comprehended the rules of time, while the two primordial spirits comprehended various secret techniques and evolution paths. The two could influence each other.
For example, when comprehending the Steps of Space and Time, it was common to suddenly gain insight into the essence of the rules of time, which would then feed back into the comprehension of time rules.
Conversely, the deeper the understanding of the essence of time rules, the more it would help in comprehending the Steps of Space and Time.
"After seeing the full view of the River of Time, I've gained a deeper understanding of this secret technique." Lin Yuan took a step forward and instantly appeared on the other side of the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm, his expression thoughtful.
Steps of Space and Time is named after 'space and time,' so it naturally involves the rules of time.
In fact, the reason why Steps of Space and Time allowed Lin Yuan to reach millions of light-years in a single step is due to the incredible application of time rules. The power unleashed by the fusion of space and time exceeds Lin Yuan's imagination.
In the deepest part of the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
A six-armed figure sat cross-legged.
As the consciousness of the secret realm, nothing within the secret realm could escape his control. However, Lin Yuan had now refined the core of the secret realm, giving him life and death power over the six-armed figure.
"How has the master advanced so much in the Steps of Space and Time?" The six-armed figure was dumbfounded as he watched Lin Yuan repeatedly appear in different places within the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
He clearly sensed that Lin Yuan's crossing of vast distances wasn't relying on his 'authority' within the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm but rather the instantaneous teleportation achieved through Steps of Space and Time.
But this was too incredible, wasn't it?
To reach such a level with Steps of Space and Time, even without fully comprehending the rules of time, he must be very close.
But the new master of the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm was only at the ninth-rank life level.
A ninth-rank life, so close to fully comprehending the rules of time.
How would those tenth- and eleventh-rank beings react?
The six-armed figure found it all unfathomable.
Lin Yuan's rapid progress in the secret technique Mysterious Emperor Strike was already remarkable.
After all, some people are particularly good at cultivating certain secret techniques, but with Steps of Space and Time?
Advancement in this secret technique relies on solid rule comprehension, with no shortcuts or tricks.
"His Majesty once said that the earlier the rules of time are comprehended, the better. Comprehending the rules of time at the tenth rank is already an extremely rare feat in the chaotic void."
"But judging by the master's current progress, he is very likely to comprehend the rules of time at the ninth rank."
The six-armed figure suddenly recalled some of the things that His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign had said.
According to His Majesty, aside from a few innate time beings, comprehending the rules of time at the tenth rank is already a remarkable achievement for postnatal beings.
As for the ninth rank? The six-armed figure had never heard His Majesty mention such a possibility, and he wasn't sure if it was simply impossible or if even His Majesty hadn't predicted it.
Milky Way Main Star.
Lin Yuan held the microcosm in his hand, continuously comprehending the time rules operating within it.
The time rules in the microcosm were far from forming a River of Time, merely a relatively complete segment of the rules.
However, it still significantly reduced the difficulty of Lin Yuan's comprehension of the rules of time.
"In this microcosm, all the rules, including time rules and space rules, form a stable balance, which is the most precious aspect."
Lin Yuan observed every detail within the microcosm, silently thinking to himself.
As Lin Yuan prepared to continue comparing the time rules within the microcosm with his understanding of time rules,
Suddenly.
At that moment.
Lin Yuan's brow furrowed slightly.
"Someone is looking for me?"
Lin Yuan did not stop his cultivation but instead diverted a portion of his mind to connect to the virtual world.
...
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