“You even made a friend? What’s his cultivation level?” Zhi Ji looked at Zhi Yi with surprise and delight. Zhi Yi had always buried herself in cultivation, her emotional intelligence was low, and she wasn’t much good at anything else. As for useful friends, she had none. He never imagined forcing her out to temper herself would lead to her making a friend.
Zhi Yi opened her mouth, hesitating before saying, “I’m not sure, but he’s much stronger than me…”
Lan Xiaobu’s strength appeared to be just First-Turn Sage, but Zhi Yi was certain he wasn’t, how else could he slaughter Tai Xu Hall’s lord like a chicken? Tai Xu Hall’s Jiang Jiechang was a Ninth-Turn Sage, no weaker than Li Zhou Palace’s lord.
Hearing Zhi Yi compare this friend to herself, Zhi Ji’s heart sank, a quiet sigh in his mind. Stronger than you? How many proven sages are weaker than you, Zhi Yi?
“I see, tell me where this Lan Xiaobu is,” Zhi Ji said, masking his helplessness, not wanting to dampen her spirits, so he asked casually.
Zhi Yi lowered her voice, “The Beast Soul Dao took something of his, he’s probably gone there, or rather, gone to reclaim what’s his.”
Zhi Ji stared at her, dumbfounded, “Alone? He dared go to the Beast Soul Dao alone to stir trouble?”
Zhi Yi nodded, “Yes, he’s on his own.”
Zhi Ji sighed, tucking away the jade slip, “Focus on claiming the Time Tree, don’t worry about the rest, if anything goes wrong, I’ll definitely seek out this Lan Xiaobu for help.”
He said this only to keep Zhi Yi from getting distracted during the contest, as for actually seeking Lan Xiaobu, it never crossed his mind.
…
“Palace Lord Shan, the auspicious hour has arrived, the Time Tree contest should begin,” Beast Soul Dao’s Lord Yi Xie, brash and impatient, spoke up first.
Shan Bu’ang fumed inwardly, starting the event was his call, how dare an outsider like Beast Soul Dao butt in? Before he could retort, Saint Desolation’s Lord Da Xuanqiong nodded, “Yes, it’s time, we should start.”
Shan Bu’ang swallowed his anger, stood with a forced smile, “Though we wish the Time Tree would stay on Time Mountain forever, a heaven-opening treasure has its own will, so it’s not us vying for it, but who it chooses. Even if I know it’s impossible, I wish every contestant here the Time Tree’s recognition. I now declare the contest open, all participants, climb Time Mountain, vie for the Time Tree.”
After a few brief words, he sat, lips smiling, eyes glinting coldly.
Tens of thousands eager to claim the Time Tree surged toward the mountain at Shan Bu’ang’s word, Zhi Yi among them, silently resolving to win it, no matter what, on the surface, she had the highest cultivation.
To all on Li Zhou Star, Time Mountain was sacred, even those grasping time rules could only linger at its base.
Though Zhi Yi had meditated on time rules there, this was her first climb, at the foot, she felt no pressure like the others, but once she stepped onto the mountain, endless eons seemed to rush past.
This boundless flow of ages made her feel that a single misstep wouldn’t just eject her, it’d erase her into nothingness, beyond the ages, a crushing weight of the Dao threatened to grind her to dust.
Not just Zhi Yi, many of the thousands of contestants vanished into oblivion after their first step, only now did they realize Time Mountain’s terror, those still standing struggled desperately, hoping someone would claim the tree soon and take it away, or they’d perish, they learned too late, the mountain allowed ascent, not descent.
Zhi Yi didn’t dare guess her position, feeling the crushing breath of ages, she sought a path through time she could cross.
In just a dozen breaths, her hair turned white, yet she steadied herself, time rules swirled around her, not from the small Time Dao Scroll, but from Lan Xiaobu’s jade slip insights.
Time ticked on, one month, two…
When her time rules formed a reverse flow around her, Zhi Yi took a tentative step, wrapped in her rules, she wasn’t erased.
In that moment, she thanked Lan Xiaobu endlessly, without him, forget claiming the tree, she wouldn’t survive this.
At first, she wanted to track her rank, later, she focused only on refining her time rules and advancing under their shield, only with them could she keep going.
Zhi Yi didn’t know her place, but the plaza’s onlookers were stunned.
The scorned Zhi Yi started as a mediocrity, trapped at the lowest tier, yet after two months, she moved, surpassing the ordinary, reaching the top tier, only nine stood there, including latecomer Zhi Yi, plus Zhen Yuan, Tang Qi, Chong Shuanglou, Tong Qianqian, Han Yueshan, Cai Gu Yuan, Chen Manxing, and Han Yi.
Except for the unknown dark horse Han Yi, the other seven being top-tier was expected, but Zhi Yi, the bystander, joining them left everyone baffled.
Even Palace Lord Shan Bu’ang and Zhi Ji of the Zhi family were at a loss.
Though Zhi Yi ranked ninth, she was in the top tier.
She felt her draining lifespan return, no longer clinging to her own rules, she began sensing Time Mountain’s, cautiously blending them with the small Time Dao Scroll and Lan Xiaobu’s jade slip insights.
These time rules clashed, without her own grasped rules, she’d have perished, as time passed, she gradually understood the Time Tree’s rules, merging them with her own.
Why grasp time rules? To cultivate the Dao, why cultivate? For longevity, before, Zhi Yi thought higher cultivation meant nearing longevity, now, through Lan Xiaobu’s rules, she caught a thread of longevity’s intent and mystery.
Seizing that thread, the Time Tree’s rules grew clearer, after grasping its first strand, her pace surged.
Shan Bu’ang’s hands bled from clenching, his palace’s two contestants now ranked fifth and eighth, Zhi Yi, trailing far behind, surprised him, but in his eyes, she couldn’t represent Li Zhou Palace, to him, it was Cai Gu Yuan and Chen Manxing.
If this continued, what chance did Li Zhou Palace have?
Tian Mo Hall’s Lord Zhen Changtian chuckled, turning to Huang Quan Ancestor, “Brother Huang Quan, who’d have thought your Tong Qianqian from Huang Quan Star would take first, hard to see coming.”
Indeed, no one pegged Tong Qianqian for first, yet there she was.
Huang Quan Ancestor smiled faintly, “Saint Desolation’s Chong Shuanglou and Beast Soul Dao’s Tang Qi are second and third, they could overtake Qianqian anytime, she lacks stamina, I know.”
His words claimed weakness, but his tone oozed confidence.
“Huh…” Saint Desolation’s Da Xuanqiong gasped, as if witnessing something unbelievable.
No need for him to explain, everyone saw the shift.
Last in the top tier, Zhi Yi overtook eighth-place Cai Gu Yuan, then seventh-place Han Yueshan, now eyeing sixth-place Han Yi, at her pace, passing sixth was only a matter of time.
Shan Bu’ang’s eyes lit up, nearly standing, the disregarded Zhi Yi gave him such a shock? He fired a message to Zhi Ji, demanding details.
…
At Beast Soul Dao, Lan Xiaobu had been there over two months, all spent in Gong’s cave.
He’d checked the Great Dao Pure Spirit Pool, Gong was right, it purified the Dao and doubled as a teleport array, acting outside risked Bai Xixi escaping.
Three or four months, he could wait, so he set dao cocoon flags around the pool, monitoring it constantly, the moment Bai Xixi emerged, he’d know.
As her exit neared, he added a temporary teleport array outside, ready to jump in, subdue her, and crack her world.
But at this critical juncture, someone knocked on his cave’s barrier.
