Amidst a vast expanse of starry sky, two sword cultivators walked slowly.
One wore a cyan robe, the other a cloud-white robe.
Both held sheathed longswords in their hands.
The surrounding stars were as silent as death.
At this moment, the cyan-robed sword cultivator suddenly laughed. “Brother Xiao, when we get there, do you strike first or shall I?”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator smiled faintly. “Either is fine.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator laughed heartily. “It seems you have already lost interest in the fellow ahead. Though that is only natural. All along the way, no one has forced us to draw a second sword. Alas, it is truly rather dull.”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator gave a low sigh, his expression dimming. “To seek a single defeat, is it really so difficult?”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator said, “That True God’s strength is indeed formidable, but unfortunately she is entangled by the cosmic tribulation…”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator nodded slightly. “Indeed a pity. I wonder how far her true power actually reached.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator smiled, then gazed into the distant depths of the starry sky. The starfield stretched without end, and everything around remained deathly still.
Beside him, the Xiaoyao sword cultivator also looked toward those distant depths and said softly, “We have travelled upstream through time for fifty billion years now, have we not?”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator nodded. “Roughly that.”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator nodded as well. “I hope the powerhouses of these fifty billion younger years are not too weak…”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator laughed. “Let us hope so.”
With that, their figures flickered and vanished directly at the edge of the endless starry sky.
Half an hour later, having traversed countless spacetime domains, the two finally arrived before a majestic divine hall.
The hall was unimaginably huge. A single stone pillar at its entrance towered hundreds of thousands of zhang high. It stood within the starry void like a colossal cosmic beast, extraordinarily grand and magnificent.
The entire hall exuded an aura of age and desolation.
The cyan-robed sword cultivator glanced over the hall and said, “I wonder what level of civilisation this place belongs to.”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator replied, “Let us go in and see.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator gave a slight nod, and the two walked toward the hall. The surrounding starfield remained as silent and oppressive as death.
Soon they reached the main gate. The gate itself rose tens of thousands of zhang high. Standing before it, the two appeared as insignificant as specks of dust.
They looked at the great doors, forged from some unknown metal that emitted a faint ghostly light containing a peculiar energy. On either side of the doors stretched blood-red runes a thousand zhang long, apparently some kind of seal.
Extremely eerie.
The cyan-robed sword cultivator suddenly flicked his sleeve. A surge of sword intent swept out, and the massive doors were forced open. At once, an ancient aura gusted from within the hall, yet it could not come close to the pair.
The moment they stepped inside, a sense of vast emptiness struck them.
The interior was extraordinarily spacious. Twelve heaven-supporting iron pillars stood within, each tens of thousands of zhang tall and nearly a thousand zhang wide, utterly imposing.
At the midpoint of every iron pillar stood a mysterious figure holding a long spear. Their eyes were tightly shut. They wore golden helmets and golden war armour, enshrouded in mysterious auras.
The pillars themselves were covered in dense, unsettling blood-red runes.
The cyan-robed sword cultivator surveyed the pillars, then looked farther ahead. Several hundred zhang away stood a throne, and behind the throne rose a broad greatsword.
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator also scanned the surroundings and said, “I wonder what civilisation this was. Why these powerhouses chose to slumber here remains unknown.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator answered, “Lifespan.”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator paused, looked around once more, and soon frowned. He had discovered that the lifespans of all these powerhouses were extremely short, some with less than ten years remaining.
The cyan-robed sword cultivator suddenly said, “They are using slumber and seals to slow the passage of their lifespan.”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator nodded slightly. To possess infinite lifespan and achieve true immortality, one could only surpass the Dao.
In the entire world, only a handful had ever surpassed the Dao.
Those who could not would remain subject to its rules, suppressed by the Dao, their lifespan gradually draining until final annihilation.
The people before them clearly refused to die, so they had chosen voluntary slumber and sealed their own power to slow the flow of lifespan.
In the end, many powerhouses cultivated for only one reason: to keep living.
Yet as long as one did not surpass the Dao, lifespan would one day run out.
At this point, the cyan-robed man walked up to the throne. He studied it for a moment, then smiled. “Brother Xiao, since he is unwilling to come out and meet us, there is no need for us to force the issue. Let us go.”
With that, he turned and left.
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator glanced once at the throne, then also turned away.
They were interested only in the truly strong.
Just then, the broad sword behind the throne trembled slightly. Immediately afterwards, a man appeared seated upon it.
He looked about thirty years old, dressed in an extremely long black robe that trailed upon the ground. His face appeared somewhat pale and sickly.
Yet his gaze was razor-sharp, like a keen blade.
After appearing, he stared fixedly at the two sword cultivators. “You two come from the future.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator nodded. “Yes.”
The man asked calmly, “How many years did you travel upstream?”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator answered, “Five hundred.”
A trace of disdain flashed through the man’s eyes. He slowly closed them and leaned back in his seat. “Travelling upstream five hundred years is… acceptable, I suppose.”
At those words, both sword cultivators frowned at once.
The man continued, “You went to such lengths to come here, no doubt seeking some opportunity…”
He opened his eyes and looked at them. “You are sword cultivators?”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator nodded. “Indeed.”
The man said calmly, “Both of you attack together.”
The two sword cultivators were momentarily stunned.
The man opened his palm. The broad sword behind the throne flew into his hand. He looked at them and said, “Come at me together. Remember, do not hold back. Use your strongest strikes.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator thought for a moment, then said, “Brother Xiao, will you?”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator shook his head. “I would rather not.”
The cyan-robed sword cultivator added, “Nor I.”
They exchanged a glance, then turned to leave.
But at that instant, the man’s brows knitted. Without another word, he stepped forward. In a flash, a powerful aura surged toward the pair like a crushing wave.
Yet before that aura could reach them, it vanished without trace.
Seeing this, the man first froze, then laughed. “Interesting. It seems you two do have some skill.”
With that, he stepped forward again. In an instant, a terrifying sword intent burst from his body, condensing into a heaven-reaching giant sword that slashed fiercely toward the two sword cultivators.
As the sword descended, its overwhelming sword momentum and intent roared toward them like a tidal wave.
At that moment, the Xiaoyao sword cultivator suddenly halted, turned, and delivered a single sword strike.
Shik!
In the blink of an eye, the giant sword and its intent shattered completely. The next instant, a sword tip rested directly between the man’s brows.
At that moment, the man was utterly dumbfounded.
What had just happened?
He had not even withstood a single sword?
Staring at the Xiaoyao sword cultivator some distance away, disbelief filled his eyes. “You… how is this possible…”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator shook his head slightly, disappointment clear in his gaze. “You… are truly far too weak.”
With that, he and the cyan-robed sword cultivator turned and departed.
Back in the hall, the man’s face was filled with incredulity. He had never imagined he would be unable to withstand even one strike from the sword cultivator before him.
How could this be?
He collapsed onto the throne, ashen-faced.
In his own era, after rising to fame, he had never tasted defeat, remaining invincible until he sealed himself to resist the passage of lifespan.
Yet he had never expected to be defeated by someone from five hundred years in the future, and to fail to block even a single sword.
This made no sense!
Unwilling to accept it, he suddenly raised his head toward the two sword cultivators who had already reached the gate. He opened his palm. Instantly, countless golden runes poured from it. As they emerged, ancient and mysterious chanting suddenly echoed through the vast hall.
Far away at the entrance, the two sword cultivators stopped.
They turned to look at the man. His expression had turned somewhat ferocious. He raised both hands, and in a flash the countless golden runes coalesced into a thousand-zhang giant sword that slashed viciously toward them.
The sword contained utterly terrifying power.
Both sword cultivators frowned.
Then the Xiaoyao sword cultivator stepped forward and flicked his sleeve. A sword flew out.
Boom!
The rune giant sword shattered explosively.
In the next instant, the man’s body froze, because that sword was once again resting between his brows.
Another instant kill.
His gaze turned vacant, as though his soul had fled.
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator shook his head slightly. “All flash and no substance.”
With that, he turned and left.
The cyan-robed sword cultivator was about to follow, but seemed to remember something. He suddenly turned back to the man and flicked his sleeve. A portrait of Ye Guan appeared in the air nearby.
The cyan-robed sword cultivator looked at the man. “This is my grandson, Ye Guan, currently the top dog of the Guanxuan Universe. If one day, fifty billion years in the future, he comes here, do not bully him, or I will break your legs!!”
With that, he turned and departed.
The man: “…”
Outside the hall, the Xiaoyao sword cultivator suddenly glanced at the cyan-robed man. “Brother Yang, did you not say you wanted him to grow on his own?”
The cyan-robed man laughed. “That child has had a hard time. If I can help a little, why not…”
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator shook his head. “This is not ‘a little’. All along the way you have been showing his portrait to everyone, telling them not to touch your grandson…”
The cyan-robed man laughed heartily. “Come on, let us head to the next civilisation!”
With that, he swung his sword. The River of Time appeared, and the two stepped into it, beginning to travel upstream once more.
Most powerhouses could enter the River of Time, but travelling against its flow was extremely difficult.
Within the river existed endless counter-current forces of time, immensely powerful, and the suppression of temporal Dao laws. Thus, travelling upstream was extraordinarily hard.
Of course, neither the counter-current forces nor the temporal Dao laws meant anything to these two.
Within the River of Time, they moved against the flow. Whenever they encountered a powerful and intact civilisation, they would pause to investigate.
Whenever they sensed a mighty aura, they would also stop to take a look.
Naturally, they were almost always disappointed.
And so, who knows how many years they travelled upstream…
One day, deep within the River of Time, the pair suddenly halted.
They looked simultaneously into the distance, sensing something. Excitement appeared on the Xiaoyao sword cultivator’s face.
Someone was forcibly suppressing the temporal Dao laws to come from the past into the future.
Travelling from past to future was at least dozens of times more difficult than travelling upstream, because to reach the future one had to suppress not only the temporal Dao laws but also the Great Dao itself.
Peering into the future was genuine defiance of heaven, something the Great Dao did not permit.
The reason the two sword cultivators did not try to glimpse the future was that they had yet to encounter anyone who could threaten them, and the era they inhabited was currently the furthest reach of the River of Time. The future remained uncertain.
Under their watchful gazes, at the far end of the River of Time, a white-robed woman slowly walked forth. She wore a half golden mask that covered from her forehead to her nose, revealing only her mouth and chin.
Behind her stood two mysterious, towering figures several times taller than ordinary men. Both wore black robes and hooded cloaks, hovering in the air, their faces concealed, extremely eerie.
The white-robed woman looked at the two sword cultivators, her gaze calm as still water, without the slightest ripple.
The Xiaoyao sword cultivator stared at her, eyes filled with excitement. Without a word, he stepped forward, flicked his sleeve, and his sword shot straight toward the woman’s face.
The woman’s gaze remained utterly undisturbed. When the sword reached a distance of one zhang from her, she softly parted her lips. “Freeze.”
Boom!
The sword instantly halted, unable to advance another fraction.
Then the woman spoke again. “Shatter.”
Crack!
The sword cracked apart in an instant…
