147] – [River of Time]

The river of time. A place so many desired to enter, a world countless immortals were not fortunate enough to step upon. The number of people having comprehended the Dao of Time across all realms and dimensions was fairly high. The notion was not so difficult to grasp and especially so for its understanding. The world of cultivation was a place filled with mysteries left and right, trials up and down.

However, when it came to the peak of this Dao, the amount of people able to cross its boundary was nowhere near as high. The number of immortals at the Law Immortal Realm and above was considerably low when compared with the realms below. It made sense, yet still showed how difficult it could be.

The amount of time required to reach the Law Immortal Realm's peak was endless. One might need a mere second if they were to be a reincarnated monster or a peerless genius. But to some, even with enough talent and destiny to do so, it could take upward of quadrillions of years at the very least.

Thankfully, Alexander did not seem to require so much. But this did not mean that his cultivation session would be short.

It had already been well over seven hundred billion years since Alexander entered secluded cultivation. Since then, the sealed world planned for him was left unattended while the elders of the sect reopened the forest for everyone. And now, deep into Elder Rong's abode, his figure was surrounded by a hazy blue glow, shimmering faintly.

The room he was within blinded, he was still lost inside.

Raging waves crashing onto him, Alexander was left stranded naked into the freezing abyssal river. He was slowly but surely getting dragged further into it, while also suffering from the powerful presence above.

Each time he resisted the waves, controlling them, he would be able to do so for a bit longer.

His sense of time had completely vanished since long ago. At that time, he was already on the verge of losing it fully, and now it was done.

A mighty crack appearing across the vast night like clouds far above him, Alexander noticed said clouds to be breaking apart. His body trembled while reality itself warped.

The clouds shattering like glass, the view above was in full display for the first time. A dark and strangely unfathomable void appeared. It felt as if it greeted him with a big smile almost.

His mastery over True Time had already surpassed seventy percent. He only needed two more layers before attempting a breakthrough to the second stage.

Yet now, something came to wreck havoc in his plans.

The void quivering, the world changed. Alexander looked around, only seeing reality duplicate. It was like a replica of reality itself was misaligned, making it seem like vibrations disturbed his vision. His soul shook and his flesh froze.

Struggling, he looked up, where a giant and translucent blue palm fell down. It spanned countless kilometers, overshadowing the entire river of time and its shores. The clouds that were still not broken collapsed and the water, symbol of time itself, was being pushed down. The abyss beneath was being drowned by itself.

And, submitted to all of this, Alexander. The hopes of escaping were nonexistent. As for resisting? It did not even cross his mind. The palm was brutally bland with nothing special about it except the raw power contained within. Just being under it gave him a feeling of a million realms crushing him with fervor.

Compared with Elder Rong's palm, this one was much more powerful, much more profound. One motion and even the river of time submitted.

The closer it got, the worst he felt.

The palm was already half-way down when Alexander opened his eyes.

'Fuck…' Coughing blood, he was not too happy. Fortunately, he managed to reach around seventy-three percent this time.

Not wanting to be disturbed, he carefully slowed down his internal world, making sure for even a trillion years outside to pass in a moment. As for the sect world and Elder Rong, he came out a few times of seclusion to incur about everything needed. Edler Rong kept telling him to focus on his breakthrough however.

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Since he was slightly injured, Alexander preferred to focus on something else as he slowly recuperated.

'Kneel not in shame, but in

determination..

.'

Elder Rong's sentence back then, Alexander still vividly remembered. It was simple, yet held a very important meaning. As a Supreme Candidate, Alexander cultivated the Dao of Supremacy. The problem with it was its harsh fragility. One wrong step and it could be all over.

The Dao of Supremacy influenced the Dao Heart and mind fully, tainting it with desires and dreams. Its original path of cultivation had long since been forgotten. Even Elder Rong, part of the sect world and powerful elder half a step into the strongest realm in this territory, did not know anything more than legends and fragments. As for Alexander, since he did not even held a fraction of Elder Rong's network, he was even more lost than he was.

Still targeting the benefits of this sentence, Alexander closed his eyes. He already understood the important parts, but his Dao Heart just would not allow it no matter what. This showed his understanding to still be somewhat lacking, slightly shallow.

Truly understanding something was more than just knowing or understand it per say. Even applicating it to perfection was sometimes still not enough.

His problem laid with himself. It was still not the right time. Perhaps, something would happen, an enlightenment of the heart hopefully. Thinking as such, his aura of piercing silver rampaged across the room. The daylight outside contended with him, a small, insignificant strand of color vibrating.

As he closed his eyes, a familiar river took shape.

.

.

.

As he opened them, Alexander felt his body inside the river to be accelerating. Without realizing, in what seemed like both eternity and a heartbeat, his understanding rose much higher, touching the threshold of ninety percent.

It would soon be time for him to enter the second stage.

The tribulation he heard so much about since cultivating in Elder Rong's abode would soon befall him. And, with this thrill, came the long lost memories of his entrance to this territory.

A warning from a certain guard flashed before his eyes. He could now somehow tell how much horror this guard showed yet hid. What seemed like the eyes of someone simply giving a warning suddenly turned into eyes full of fear and apprehension. Shadows of excitement and pride were also there, almost extinguished by the powerful deterrent in his heart at the time.

But he did not have the luxury of playing detective in his mind.

The entire river of time, its entire world roared.

Looking up, Alexander saw a familiar scene. Night like clouds cracked before shattering. An endless void appeared before his eyes. Now, while he was training in the middle of the river, amidst the clashing waves, the water up to his neck as he floated, something unexpected happened.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me right now…"

The world vibrated, reality shook, nothing more seemed to happen for a bit. Yet, when he saw the void itself, far above, shiver, he knew.

His pupils quivering, his Dao Heart trembled in apprehension. Reality cracked, the clouds were blown away, and the river of time receded.

The unfathomable void above, like the maw of the cruelest of demons, cracked as well. Sharp tendrils of white extended more and more, like the shell of an egg being slowly but surely forcefully opened.

The water growing agitated all of a sudden, so did Alexander. The shore almost burst as a strange earthquake shook it down to its core. The ripples clashed with the tenacious waves and the black sky bloomed.

A white light descended, drowning the entire world. The dispersed clouds, the cracked void, the sparse mysterious trees and the grey shore. The entire abyss of the river, the opaque water, all of it was being blessed from above.

Squinting his eyes, Alexander saw a similar shape with a much more profound feel emerge. A giant palm was seen crashing down!

A meteor of pure white, a strange innate fear trying to overcome his senses. The doom and cries of ethereal immortals were heard. His own vision collapsed, seeing illusions of chaos, pure mayhem.

Alexander felt lost in a strange world. Immortal friends betrayed each other, immortal soldiers butchered one another. A battlefield of blood, a mountain peak of treason. Fallen sects of incredible light, destroyed tombs of forgotten might.

Before long, his body began to disintegrate. The palm, barely having moved down, still granted the world below with countless times the strength it held a few meters higher.

Confused, Alexander looked left and right. All that he could see was destruction. The world he was in, supposed to be where the river of time resided, was being forced to ascend through reincarnation.

The white light began to taint everything. The now white trees suddenly turned into fragments before disappearing high above. The white shore ended the same.

Still stuck in the freezing water, Alexander saw it turn white as well, losing its former deep azure shade. His body turned completely white, his vision unable to discern anything else. A mouth slightly agape, like a child, he lost not only the traction of time, but the traction of himself as well.

From then, it only took one moment for his vision to turn pure white.

.

.

.

An old man furrowing his brows, he looked on as Alexander's cross-legged body was engulfed in a mixture of colors. A strange battle between white, silver, black and blue created a scene of pure chaos.

Elder Rong was not at a loss. He was simply annoyed.

'He just had to get that one! He finally broke through to the Principle Tribulation, and it caught him with that alongside… What kind of bad luck is this?!'

'Sigh, let's hope he can overcome it. Otherwise… he might as well kill himself in mercy.'

Turning around, Elder Rong flung his sleeve, a giant formation blocking the way around. Even if it was his abode, he still felt this much security to be worth it now. Alexander was about to encounter a big problem. The black aura he saw gave him nostalgic fear.

'As a Supreme Candidate, if he can't survive this… ah, with what I gave him, why am I even worried?' Smacking his face, Elder Rong chuckled lightheartedly before closing the door behind him.