1780 A Day in Heaven, a Year on Earth

Then, Zhang Ruochen held the Oracle of Saint Monk Xumi and saw a cyan-colored light appear on the sundial. Its brilliance was magnificent.

"It is said that Saint Monk Xumi was the master of the sundial?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Yueshen nodded before she said, "Yes, and no. Saint Monk Xumi was just one of its masters. In fact, the sundial has existed for a very long time, and it can be tracked all the way back to the genesis of civilization."

Yueshen pushed her slender jade-like hands in the direction of the sundial, and a surge of mighty divine power poured into it.

Whoosh!!

A dense cluster of light flew out of the sundial and engulfed the entire temple.

"It is the Mark of Time. Stand back."

Zhang Ruochen's expression changed, and he darted back as quick as lightning.

In the Frostfire Phoenix's lair, where Zhang Ruochen had seen the sundial for the first time, being hit by three of the Marks of Time was enough to shave off fifty years from his lifespan.

Zhang Ruochen only stopped after he retreated about a hundred and twenty feet away.

On the other hand, Yueshen did not move at all and just stood in the same spot.

The Marks of Time were extinguished like a candle in the wind long before they got close to her.

"Amazing. She's able to ignore the Power of Time," Zhang Ruochen said to himself.

Yueshen's strength was truly unpredictable, massive, and omnipotent. What could the world throw at her to defeat her?

It seemed as though Yueshen had seen through Zhang Ruochen's thoughts, and she said, "It is not that the Power of Time cannot harm me, but the Power of Time from the sundial is too weak."

"This is considered weak? Even if a Nine-step Saint King were to step within a hundred and twenty feet radius of the sundial, he would barely be able to take a few breaths before his entire lifespan is exhausted," Zhang Ruochen said.

Yueshen responded, "When the sundial's power is fully unleashed, forget about the one hundred and twenty feet radius, even the time in a macroworld will be turned upside down. The damage it could cause is completely unimaginable for someone of your current cultivation level." 

"I have tried to infuse Saint Qi into the sundial, but it was like tossing rocks into the sea. I did not get any reaction from the sundial at all. Does it require divine power to be activated?" Zhang Ruochen secretly asked.

Whoosh!

Perhaps the flow of time was just too fast, as the sundial actually emitted a sound that was similar to flowing water.

Yueshen stared at the sundial and said, "You can place the Oracle of Saint Monk Xumi into the groove in the middle of the stone platform."

The size and shape of the groove in the middle almost matched the spherical jade Oracle in his hand.

Immediately after, Zhang Ruochen made a new discovery. As long as he held the Oracle in his hand, the Mark of Time light spots would automatically avoid him.

"Interesting, very interesting. What kind of material is this jade made of that it can cross such a long span of time from one hundred thousand years ago to one hundred thousand years later? Could it be that this jade used to be part of the sundial itself?"

Zhang Ruochen walked back into Guanghan Temple with the jade in hand and placed it in the middle of the three grooves.

Nothing changed.

What was going on? Was there zero connection between the jade and the sundial?

Suddenly, all the Marks of Time that were floating in the air disappeared as the flow of time went into flux, becoming slower and slower.

Zhang Ruochen made some careful calculations, and a look of shock appeared on his face as he muttered to himself, "How is this possible? How... is it possible for the ratio of time to reach such a terrifying state."

Yueshen faintly replied, "You do not have to be surprised. There used to be a saying in the Kunlun Realm, 'one day in Heaven is one year on Earth'. That is because, a hundred thousand years ago, during the middle and later stages of the battle between gods, Saint Monk Xumi unleashed the sundial's power to its maximum and engulfed the entire Kunlun Realm. A year of training in the Kunlun Realm meant that only a day had passed in the Celestial Court and other macroworlds.

"In just a few hundred years, a large number of elite powerhouses had been born in the Kunlun Realm. By the time the Infernal Court noticed it, it was already too late. At that point, the Kunlun Realm had already become the largest and strongest macroworld, and the power they possessed was enough to determine the outcome of the final battle. If it had not been for..."

Yueshen abruptly stopped at this juncture as a look of regret appeared in her eyes, and she uttered a sentence that had a deep meaning to it. "The human heart is just too complicated!"

That was true.

Within a hundred and twenty feet away from the sundial, the ratio of time flow was indeed an astonishing one to three hundred and sixty-five.

A year of training under the sundial would only be a day in the outside world.

Zhang Ruochen was shaken as he asked, "Did the Kunlun Realm have such a glorious period a hundred thousand years ago?"

"It just went by in a flash. Relying on the Power of Time caused its power to swell in a short period of time, and that proved to be ultimately fatal. Blackheart Demonlord was a god who cultivated during that glorious age, and what became of him?" Yueshen said.

Zhang Ruochen felt that Yueshen's words were not merely a reference to the Kunlun Realm a hundred thousand years ago, but they also seemed to be a reminder to him.

"No matter how you put it, that period is indeed the brightest page in the Kunlun Realm's history. Unfortunately, it was erased by an invisible force, and now, no one knows about it aside from the cultivators who have lived through that period," Yueshen said.

"Who covered up that part of history? Why did they do that?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Yueshen shook her head and said, "I too would like the answer to that question."

After an extended silence, Zhang Ruochen let out a long sigh. After all, the Kunlun Realm's glorious age was gone, and it currently resembled a dying dragon in a mire. Whether it could survive the latest catastrophe was still unknown.

Zhang Ruochen said, "I found the sundial in the nest of the Frostfire Phoenix. It is likely that it also hides the Star Soul of the Zuling Realm's only god, Lieshen. Mistress Yueshen, you have great power and wisdom. Can you help me unlock the secrets within it?"

"Lieshen's Star Soul is not within the sundial, but..."

Yueshen walked gently toward the sundial and looked at it. "Perhaps the answer is here."

He finally realized that at some point, a lot of arcane patterns and light spots had appeared on the stone platform beneath the sundial.

The light spots numbered in the hundreds of thousands, and the lines, as well as patterns, were even more densely packed. Connecting together, they formed the divine portrait of a Buddha and also a seemingly complicated astral route.

It was not the first time Zhang Ruochen had seen such patterns and light spots. Afraid that they would disappear without warning, he took out a piece of spirit paper and drew the patterns and light spots.

"What exactly is this?"

Zhang Ruochen studied the patterns and light spots while he analyzed them at the same time. He had some guesses in his mind, but he soon eliminated them one by one.

Yueshen looked at him for a good while before she said, "Those are the stars beyond the Kunlun Realm, and every light spot is a star."

"Do these patterns and lines reflect the lines in the stars?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Yueshen extended two of her snow-white fingers as she made a gesture in the air before she smiled slightly. "The secret of those lines is for you to naturally find out later. However, I have probably unraveled the secret behind Lieshen's Star Soul."

Zhang Ruochen listened attentively but only heard Yueshen say, "Within Guanghan Temple, only the sundial itself emits light, so how can a shadow appear?"

"Shadow? What shadow?"

Zhang Ruochen was quite puzzled at first, but out of the blue, he apparently realized something, and he looked at the stone needle at the center of the sundial.

The stone needle was projected toward the location of the current hour.

But, the projection of the stone needle upon the dial was clearly not from the light.

Zhang Ruochen flew to the top of the stone platform and turned the stone disk on the sundial. Then, he noticed that the shadow on the stone disk was always pointing in the same direction.

"Ahahaha! So that is what it is." Zhang Ruochen laughed.

The projection of the stone needle did not represent time at all. It was very likely that it was pointing to where Lieshen's Star Soul was.

Of course, Zhang Ruochen only had knowledge of one direction, and he had no idea how far he would need to travel in that direction before he could find the god's Star Soul.

One hundred thousand miles? A million miles? Or would he have to cross a galaxy?

Zhang Ruochen stared at Yueshen with a smile on his face.

Yueshen stopped pouring her divine power into the sundial and said, "Do not look at me. This is your own opportunity, so you have to look for it yourself. In the end, your path is only yours to walk."

If Yueshen were willing to help, with her supreme powers she could easily cross the boundaries of hundreds of millions of miles and retrieve the Star Soul.

However, Zhang Ruochen was not disappointed because of this since he understood that what Yueshen said made sense, and his path, was his own to walk.

After Yueshen retracted her powers, the Power of Time on the sundial disappeared, and the flow of time in Guanghan Temple returned to normal.

"How could this happen? Does the sundial really require divine power to spur it?" Zhang Ruochen asked.

Yueshen responded, "That is correct."

Zhang Ruochen had the urge to vomit blood. He had been so excited earlier, thinking that with the sundial, his cultivation speed would increase by leaps and bounds Besides, he could even use it to raise a large number of elites in a short period of time.

If it could only be activated by divine power, how could he even use it?

Even if Yueshen was willing to use her divine powers to help him with his cultivation, Zhang Ruochen could not continue to stay on Mount Yueshen with peace of mind .

Going to the Kunlun Realm was a matter most urgent.

Seeing Zhang Ruochen's confused face, a sly look flashed across Yueshen's eyes. "Have you heard of the Godstone?"

Zhang Ruochen's eyes lit up, and he said, "Can the sundial be activated with a Godstone?"

"Yes. Do you see the two grooves next to the jade? Put two Godstones into the groove to activate the sundial," Yueshen said.

An expression of joy appeared on Zhang Ruochen's face before his brows were furrowed deeply as he said, "A Godstone is a supreme treasure that only the gods could use, and it is literally impossible to buy one in the holy city. Mistress Yueshen, surely you have some Godstones with you? Can you give me some?"

"No."

Yueshen's answer was succinct.

Zhang Ruochen's heart sank once again.

Soon after, though, Yueshen spoke again. "Other macroworlds may not be able to form Godstones, but the Kunlun Realm is one of the few long lasting macroworlds and should be able to form Godstones. Go and look at a few of those ancient mines in the Kunlun Realm, you may find something."