Chapter 568: River of Time
Translator: CKtalonEditor: CKtalon
"There's no rush." Qin Yun put down his teacup as he frowned slightly. "There's still one more matter that needs to be resolved or I can't cultivate in peace."
"Are you referring to the Great Chang world…" guessed Yi Xiao.
Qin Yun nodded. "Patriarch Bojia first sent Fiend Supremacy Black Wing and his subordinates in a bid to occupy the Great Chang world. After the mission failed, he spared no expense to hire Star Destruction to attack the Great Chang world. And before Star Destruction died, he pleaded for me to spare his life in exchange for the Great Chang world's secret. Even when the Fiend Ancestor appeared to request me to stop, she also mentioned the Great Chang world's secret!"
"If this matter isn't resolved, once my Essence Soul reaches the pinnacle Golden Immortal level, I would no longer be able to enter a Small World with my real body. When that happens, Patriarch Bojia will likely place his sights on the Great Chang world again. It's even possible that every fiend will be eyeing the Great Chang world."
"The Great Chang world will likely face another calamity."
Qin Yun continued, "To resolve this matter, I need to find the root of the problem! First, I have to figure out what secret the Great Chang world is hiding."
Yi Xiao questioned, "Brother Yun, didn't you and Ancestral Master Zhang suspect that the Great Chang world had a secret a long time ago? Didn't both of you investigate numerous times? By the way, did you seek the Dao Ancestor's help?"
"It was useless," said Qin Yun. "Master's strength is greatly weakened when it penetrates into a Small World. It's far inferior to that of an ordinary Skyimmortal, and even though his realm is extremely high… the powers he can send in here are just too weak. He can't figure out anything either."
"If both of you, as well as the Dao Ancestor, are helpless, don't waste your time on this matter," said Yi Xiao. "Brother Yun, your cultivation time is precious. All you have is slightly more than ten thousand years! Every year is very important! Once your Essence Soul breaks through to the pinnacle Golden Immortal realm, your Essence Soul will become a lot more powerful. Your cultivation speed will be tens of time faster than it is now. It's best you break through as soon as possible. As for the Great Chang world's secret, it might take centuries or even millennia before we are able to uncover it."
Qin Yun fell silent.
He looked into the distant sky.
"What secret does the Great Chang world hold?" Qin Yun frowned. "What did that Skyfiend Kuifu discover?"
"Kuifu…" Qin Yun muttered.
"Kuifu?" Qin Yun's eyes lit up as he smacked the table and said in pleasant surprise, "I got it!"
"What did you get?" Yi Xiao was perplexed.
"Haha, follow me." Qin Yun happily got up and took Yi Xiao's hand.
Sou!
The couple immediately tore through the void and came high into the sky where they looked down upon the Great Chang world.
"Xiaoxiao." Qin Yun looked down with delight as he said with a smile, "Back then, Kuifu had spared no expense to occupy the Great Chang world. It puzzled both Ancestral Master Zhang and myself! We suspected that something in the Great Chang world had attracted Kuifu. Later, Ancestral Master Zhang even pursued Kuifu, but unfortunately, he fled."
"According to our investigations, Kuifu remained in the Tenebrous Fiend world the entire time after his escape. He probably still had hopes of occupying our Great Chang world, but when news of my possession of half-step Golden Immortal strength spread through the Three Realms, he probably gave up and reported the secret. Then, Patriarch Bojia shortly sent Fiend Supremacy Black Wing into action."
"Therefore, it's not just Patriarch Bojia who knows of the Great Chang world's secret, there's also Kuifu."
"Are you certain Kuifu would tell the secret to Patriarch Bojia?" pressed Yi Xiao.
"That's highly possible. Furthermore, Kuifu is from the Bojia clan," said Qin Yun. "Furthermore, I have huge karmic ties with Kuifu! Back then, he abducted our daughter and imprisoned you for years. By tracing the karmic line between us… I can vaguely confirm that the karmic line goes back to the Tenebrous Fiend Abyss. I can't figure out anything else. Clearly, someone whose realm is in no way inferior to mine has concealed his karma."
"If there's no special reason, would such a powerful Ancestral Fiend conceal Kuifu's karma?" sneered Qin Yun.
"I am more than ninety percent certain that it was Kuifu who informed Patriarch Bojia," Qin Yun said.
"So what if we know that?" inquired Yi Xiao. "Even if Kuifu is alive, he will definitely be temporarily imprisoned by Patriarch Bojia. It would be hard to make contact with him. Besides, the karma has been concealed."
"Kuifu's bid to occupy the Great Chang world had only happened in the recent hundred plus years," said Qin Yun. "How did he learn of the Great Chang world's secret? Regardless of where he learned it from, he must have visited the Great Chang world to confirm it. He is very far from the Great Chang world and he isn't capable of Major Void Transference. It would have taken too long for him to travel here. Therefore, he must have descended into our world with an avatar to confirm the secret."
"And if I guess correctly, Patriarch Bojia must have descended upon our Great Chang world as an avatar to confirm the secret after Kuifu told him. Only after he had confirmed the secret would he have paid the price of a Connate Numinous treasure, the Great Yin Disk, to hire Star Destruction. If it was just empty talk, would Patriarch Bojia pay such an immense price?" said Qin Yun. "However, Patriarch Bojia's realm is in no way inferior to mine. By descending as an avatar, he can conceal himself from the heavenly secrets, preventing me from investigating him."
"However, I have a chance to discover the movements of Kuifu's avatar," said Qin Yun.
"How?" asked Yi Xiao.
"Let's give it a try."
Qin Yun looked down.
With a thought, his will encompassed the entirety of the Great Chang world.
"Boom—"
He passed through the obstructions of natural space-time.
Qin Yun plunged into the rivers of time. The Great Chang world's countless lives would leave their marks in the river of time as they proceeded forward on the arrow of time… An elder slowly turned middle-aged, a teenager, a child, a toddler, a crying baby, before returning to their mother's womb. His mother in her youth, her mother as a teenager, and when she was a child…
It was not only one person, but the entire world!
The countless marks left behind by countless people in the world. Qin Yun was going against the arrow of time as he paid attention to all the marks left behind by countless lives until he found Kuifu's avatar. With Qin Yun's realm, he could immediately find him once he discovered a Skyfiend avatar!
…
"Oh?" Yi Xiao stood by the side watching Qin Yun. His Dharmic powers were injected into the void and in a different dimension. As for Qin Yun himself, his face turned paler.
"Hmph." Blood even began to flow out of Qin Yun's nose.
"I can't."
Qin Yun stopped.
"Brother Yun, what did you just do?" asked Yi Xiao.
"I probed the river of time of the Great Chang world and went against the arrow of time to investigate," said Qin Yun. "With my present strength, it wouldn't be difficult for me to infer matters that happened a hundred thousand years ago if all I want to see is something vague. However, if I were to probe each and every one of the countless beings in the Great Chang world to discover Kuifu's avatar, it is many times more difficult."
"I tried my best, but there's just too many living beings to go through. My Essence Soul can't withstand it." Qin Yun felt indignant. "Unfortunately, I have found a solution, but I can't do it."
"Then, can you ask someone for help?" asked Yi Xiao.
"No one who can enter a Small World with their true bodies has a realm higher than mine," said Qin Yun. "Now, there are two solutions. One is to cultivate the Great Dao of Space-time… If my grasp of space-time is better, it will make my probes even easier. There is three-dimensional space and the arrow of time. The Great Dao of Space-time is also a Great Dao of the Universe! It's the most difficult to cultivate and I've never heard of anyone in the Three Realms who has managed to completely grasp the Great Dao of Space-time. The second method is to cultivate the Rosa Multiflora Sword Chart. It can be used to infer the past and future, and in terms of inference, it is best in the Three Realms."
"I did cultivate the Rosa Multiflora Sword Chart a long time ago because it uses the Heavenly Cycle Great Dao as a foundation! My Sword Dao contained Heaven, Earth, and Man and shares several similarities with the Heavenly Cycle Great Dao," said Qin Yun. "As long as I cultivate in the Rosa Multiflora Sword Chart and reach a more profound state, it will become easier to probe the past. This method suits me the best."
"You want to cultivate in the Rosa Multiflora Sword Chart?" Yi Xiao was alarmed. "Then, when will you make the Essence Soul breakthrough?"
"Once the calamity of my Great Chang world is resolved."
"Brother Yun, every year you have left is extremely important," said Yi Xiao anxiously. "The Itinerant Immortal tribulations happen once every thousand years. You only have slightly more than ten thousand years. You can't afford to waste your time."
"Xiaoxiao."
Qin Yun smiled. "Why did I become an Itinerant Immortal? Wasn't it to protect the Great Chang world? If I were to break through now and be no longer able to descend upon it with my true body while the Great Chang world still faces a future calamity, then what was the meaning in my becoming an Itinerant Immortal?"
"But…" Yi Xiao's heart ached for Qin Yun, but she understood his character.
Qin Yun held his wife's hands and looked into her eyes. "Don't worry, Xiaoxiao. It won't take too long. I believe I'll cultivate the Rosa Multiflora Sword Chart to an even more profound state in time. I'll be able to investigate Kuifu's past avatar."
"You should know that this is the Great Chang world's calamity!"
"This root cause of this calamity has to be found before we can truly overcome it." Qin Yun looked at his wife.
Yi Xiao looked at her husband and did not continue trying to persuade him otherwise.
After all these years, she knew well her husband's character.
"Promise me you'll resolve this matter as soon as possible. Don't delay any further," said Yi Xiao.
"I promise you." Qin Yun smiled.
…
Since he had decided on delaying his Essence Soul breakthrough to remain in the Great Chang world, Qin Yun headed to the Green Touring Palace that very day to meet his master.