Chapter 4090: Waiting in the Future, Also Waiting in the Past
The sound of the zither faded, and the starry sky fell silent.
Even the battles in the distant regions ceased, all gazes turning toward the direction of the Divine Wood Nest.
The Immovable Bright King Great Venerable was an ancestor who had the greatest impact on this era. The current generation of powerhouses—Hao Tian, Heavenly Mother, Fengdu Dadi, Zhang Ruochen, Xu Fengjin, Qishier Pin Lian, Nutian Shenzun, and countless other dominant figures—all had inextricable connections to him.
Such was the influence of an ancestor!
A casually left karmic thread could grow into a towering tree, affecting an entire era.
Although Ling Yanzi was not as renowned as the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable, she was still exceptionally brilliant in the ancient era, with few cultivators able to match her. Had she lived to this era, her cultivation realm would be unimaginable.
“Impossible! The Great Venerable’s Ancestor Divine Source and twenty-seven layers of Celestial World were inherited by a descendant of the Zhang Clan. That means he lost all his cultivation and should have long since passed away in the river of history. How could he still be alive?”
Wen Tianjun muttered to himself, unable to believe that a fallen ancestor could reappear in the mortal world.
It was far too unreasonable.
Xu Tian had arrived in this starry region alongside Wen Tianjun but was blocked by A Fuya and the four old clan emperors, unable to help Zhang Ruochen and Heavenly Mother.
In truth, Xu Tian had not used his full strength earlier, reluctant to clash head-on with an ancestor.
He believed his combat power had already fallen far behind Zhang Ruochen and Heavenly Mother, fearing he might not withstand two moves before being killed.
When the Cause Zither appeared, Xu Tian’s anxious heart finally settled. He sneered, “Heh, if the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable were still alive, how could he have watched Xumi scatter his divine power and die back then? How could he have ignored the grievances between the Zhang Clan of Kunlun Realm and the Kong Clan of White Clothes Valley?”
“However, since the Cause Zither has appeared, Ling Yanzi might indeed still be alive. Her talent far surpasses that of Immortal Music Master and Divine Music Master; even Kong Yinxue couldn’t outdo her.”
…
“In the end, I couldn’t stop this.” Zhang Ruochen sighed.
Ling Yanzi had hidden in the Divine Ancient Nest for over ten eons without emerging, surely guarding a great secret that the Nether Ancestor Faction and the Divine Realm must not know.
Now that traces of her had been revealed, many things could no longer be concealed, inevitably triggering a chain reaction.
However, since Corpse Nightmare had personally mobilized, as long as Ling Yanzi was in the Divine Ancient Nest, she would inevitably be unearthed.
Zhang Ruochen and Heavenly Mother had already given their all.
Fortunately, Ling Yanzi’s cultivation attainment far exceeded Zhang Ruochen’s estimates.
With her zither music, she could neutralize the Starry Sea Angler’s divine abilities, indicating her realm was unfathomably deep—perhaps she had stepped into the Ancestor Realm.
Of course, it might also be a means left to her by the Great Venerable.
Regardless of the truth, if this could intimidate the Starry Sea Angler into retreating, it would be a perfect outcome.
Seeing no response from within the Divine Ancient Nest for a long time, the Starry Sea Angler frowned, pondered for a moment, and then stepped through the void toward the Divine Wood Nest.
But after only a few steps, the zither music sounded again.
This time, the sound waves contained no Daoist power, yet the sound traveled extremely far. Xu Tian and Wen Tianjun, a light-year away, could hear it clearly, as if it were right beside them.
Chi Yao listened intently and said, “It’s the Buddhist ‘Song of Repentance’! What does Ling Yanzi mean by playing this tune? Corpse Nightmare is an Ancestor-level existence with an unyielding will. How could he repent just because of her zither music?”
“Perhaps she hopes to use the music to intimidate Corpse Nightmare into retreating,” Zhang Ruochen said, though he didn’t believe a dignified ancestor would be so easily scared off.
An ancestor represented supreme authority, fearless of anything.
Even against a long-lived immortal, they had the power to counterbalance.
Relatively speaking, fighting in the Divine Ancient Nest would put Ling Yanzi at a greater disadvantage.
Because an Ancestor-level clash would surely reduce all cultivators in the Divine Ancient Nest to ashes.
The Starry Sea Angler stopped. When the song ended, he glanced in several directions across the universe and finally issued a retreat order to all cultivators of the Nether Ancestor Faction.
Soon, they left without a trace.
Xu Tian, with the white-glowing Sword Source Divine Tree above his head, swaggered over and said, “What’s going on? Corpse Nightmare was so arrogant, yet he was scared off by an ancient zither? Zhang Ruochen, tell me the truth—is the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable really still alive?”
Zhang Ruochen had already figured out the key and said, “Corpse Nightmare wasn’t scared off! The Nether Ancestor Faction’s purpose here was to test whether the Great Venerable is still alive. The Cause Zither sounded, releasing Ancestor-level power, which already explains a lot.”
“Since their goal was achieved, they naturally had to leave. Would they really force their way into the Divine Ancient Nest to fight Ling Yanzi, or even the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable? If it came to that, the Eternal True Ruler, the Dark Sovereign, and the Hongmeng Black Dragon would probably celebrate for days.”
“To move against the Divine Ancient Nest, the Nether Ancestor himself would likely have to come.”
Soon, Zhang Ruochen, Chi Yao, Zangjin Baihu, Xu Tian, and Wen Tianjun all arrived at the Divine Wood Nest, standing beneath the Secret Realm Gate, gazing at the Cause Zither suspended in midair.
Immortal Music Master, Ancestor God, the old clan emperor of the Primordial Path Clan, Yuan Suyin, and Yuan Jieyi were already waiting there.
The zither was made of wood, exuding an ancient charm.
Ling Yanzi’s ethereal, smoke-like voice seemed to emanate from the strings: “Butterfly Senior Sister and Heavenly Mother, you may enter the Divine Ancient Nest to see me.”
“Whoosh!”
The Cause Zither spun once and flew into the Secret Realm Gate.
Immortal Music Master and Heavenly Mother, one after the other, chased after the Cause Zither and disappeared into the light curtain of the Secret Realm Gate.
Xu Tian raised his white brows, displeased, and said, “What does this mean? We’re not worthy to see her? I have no connection with her, so it’s fine if I don’t see her. But Zhang Ruochen, you’re her descendant—she won’t even see you?”
“I get it now. Ling Yanzi is cold-blooded. No wonder she watched her own son become a monk and then fall without lifting a finger to save him.”
Zhang Ruochen said, “She might be an ancestor. Are you sure you want to slander her so loudly? Getting beaten as a half-ancestor would be quite embarrassing.”
The words “getting beaten” made Xu Tian’s heart leap. He quickly tried to salvage the situation: “The Nether Ancestor is in hiding, and the Divine Realm is ambiguous about good and evil. She must have had her reasons, unable to reveal herself. It wasn’t that she refused to save him—she simply couldn’t. If she showed herself, she might have died without a burial place. I understand, I understand!”
Suddenly, Xu Tian thought of something and said, “Zhang Ruochen, have you already met Ling Yanzi?”
“No,” Zhang Ruochen said, not lying to him.
The last time he came to the Divine Ancient Nest, he and Chi Yao had only spoken with Ling Yanzi, not actually seen her.
Xu Tian said, “Impossible! With your current cultivation, how could Ling Yanzi refuse to see you? Whisper to me—why has she been hiding in the Divine Ancient Nest for over ten eons? There must be a secret!”
“I don’t know,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Knowing it was hard to pry anything from Zhang Ruochen’s mouth, Xu Tian turned his attention to Ancestor God and said, “You must know, right?”
Ancestor God’s charred trunk, thousands of feet tall, stood like a wooden stake, visibly sprouting new shoots that glowed with a tender green, full of vitality.
His aged facial features emerged from the charcoal, and he said hoarsely, “Why doesn’t Xu Tian go into the Divine Ancient Nest and ask her directly?”
“Do you think I dare?”
Xu Tian walked to the Secret Realm Gate, stopped, glanced back at Ancestor God, and seeing no sign of being stopped, stepped inside.
Zhang Ruochen nodded slightly and said, “Old Ghost Xu really has become fearless since stepping into the Half-Ancestor Realm!”
“Not necessarily. Xu Fengjin is just certain that Ling Yanzi won’t harm him. If he were facing Corpse Nightmare, he’d hide farther than anyone.”
Wen Tianjun’s face was full of worry as he warned, “Corpse Nightmare’s retreat is only temporary. In that ancient battle, the immortal suffered a great loss at the hands of the Great Venerable. He won’t allow the threat of the Divine Ancient Nest to exist without dealing with it. When danger comes again, it might not be just one ancestor making a move.”
The old clan emperor of the Primordial Path Clan said, “Ling Yanzi is from the Hongmeng Clan, a member of the Primordial Beings. The Abyss of Darkness will definitely not stand idly by. This Divine Wood Nest and the Divine Ancient Nest could be moved to the Abyss of Darkness.”
Chi Yao shook her head and said, “The Hongmeng Black Dragon can barely protect itself. To restore its cultivation and fight the Nether Ancestor, it might do anything. The Abyss of Darkness may not be safe. Ancestor God, you could move the Divine Wood Nest to the Wuding Divine Sea.”
Yuan Suyin said coldly, “Is the Wuding Divine Sea safe? Corpse Nightmare and A Fuya were once cultivators of your Sword Realm. If we trace further back, the Eternal True Ruler and his senior disciple were once cultivators of Kunlun Realm. Legend has it that Jiu Tian, who had a close friendship with Zhang Ruochen, is the Nether Ancestor. Who knows how many dangers are still hidden in the Wuding Divine Sea?”
Chi Yao said, “At least Chen Ge and I won’t go back on our word or scheme against our allies for profit.”
“Your son, Chi Kunlun, is Corpse Nightmare’s grand-disciple,” Yuan Suyin said.
…
Zhang Ruochen didn’t join the argument. Suddenly, the scene before him changed. Time rules appeared like countless threads, growing denser until they became a vast white expanse.
The other cultivators in the Divine Wood Nest vanished.
The sound of flowing water arose.
Zhang Ruochen found himself standing on a great river with no visible banks, the current gentle. Apart from time rules, all other rules of heaven and earth had disappeared.
“I’m on the River of Time. Why is it so foggy here, unlike other places?”
Zhang Ruochen sensed something and bent down to look at the flowing water beneath his feet.
Every drop contained endless heavenly secrets, myriad and complex, holding billions of human images.
He stared intently at one drop.
Instantly, space opened up, and a vast starry region appeared in his mind, with tens of thousands of stars in motion.
His divine thought delved deeper.
Near one of those stars, he discovered a life-bearing planet. Immediately, over a hundred million human figures appeared in his sea of consciousness.
There were children playing in the river, pregnant women giving birth, elders gathered drinking wine, smoke rising from war, and cooking smoke drifting away with the wind…
All the images were frozen, like scrolls.
Zhang Ruochen blinked, and when he looked at that drop again, decades had passed on the life planet. The children playing in the river had become old men drinking. The once-magnificent cities had turned into ruins overgrown with weeds.
In the blink of an eye, time had changed, and the world had turned a new page.
Zhang Ruochen knew these were events that had happened in some corner of the universe, reflections of history. He looked at other drops, trying to find the location of Kunlun Realm.
But he found nothing.
The universe was too vast!
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to use his powerful divine soul and spiritual power to forcibly deduce, a strange fish with ten tails suddenly appeared before him.
At first, the fish was only the size of a grain of rice.
Soon, it grew to a foot long, emerging from space and fully appearing in time.
Its body shone brightly like a lamp, with countless time imprint light points surging from its scales.
“He Luo Fish!”
The He Luo Fish was a rare primordial creature in the universe, ancient beyond measure, traceable back to the Primordial Era. It might even originate from prehistory.
Because only the He Luo Sea in the Divine Ancient Nest could produce He Luo Fish.
Although born in the He Luo Sea, the moment they were born, they vanished from space, entered the time dimension, and appeared on the River of Time.
Thus, He Luo Fish, like those primordial beings, were born of heaven and earth.
Born in the He Luo Sea, but living on the River of Time.
He Luo Fish could freely travel through the past and future, but only for a single day. After returning from the past or future, their lives would end.
This process was their entire life.
Hence, He Luo Fish were also called “One-Day He Luo.”
Zhang Ruochen walked along the River of Time. The He Luo Fish grew more numerous, the fog thinned, the view widened slightly, but the current became turbulent.
Finally, he saw Ling Yanzi!
She sat cross-legged in a mass of Hongmeng mist, her form faint and indistinct, as if in a completely independent spacetime.
Strands of Hongmeng Qi surged from the mist, seeping into the River of Time.
All the He Luo Fish greedily absorbed the Hongmeng Qi emanating from her, then rapidly multiplied.
The schools of fish continuously fell into the waterfall ahead…
Yes, the River of Time broke off here, like a cliff or a waterfall, beyond which the past could no longer be seen. Time did not flow backward at this point; at the waterfall, the water was still, and below it was a vast, misty expanse.
Only the schools of He Luo Fish could plunge down.
Strangely, a very small number of He Luo Fish could swim upstream, like carp leaping over the dragon gate, returning to the Hongmeng mist.
Heavenly Mother and Immortal Music Master stood at the edge of the Hongmeng mist, both gazing in the direction of the past. Aside from a single beam of nether light, there was nothing.
Zhang Ruochen walked over step by step and said, “Is this where time breaks? Was it cut by the Nether Ancestor?”
Zhang Ruochen had once speculated about the location of time’s break, suspecting it might be at the beginning of his second life, because Xumi Saint Monk, known as the Future Buddha, had never appeared in the future after that point.
The future had been severed, and cultivators from the past could no longer cross that boundary, like a dam built on a great river.
Of course, the immortal was not omnipotent and could not defy heaven and earth. The rules of heaven and earth had not broken; contemporary cultivators were unaffected.
But after visiting Xumi Temple, Zhang Ruochen had changed his mind. The break in the River of Time might differ from his earlier guess.
“In the ancient battle and the Twenty-Four Heavens campaign, the immortal was severely wounded by the assistance of the various Witch Ancestors who crossed the River of Time. To prevent the Witch Ancestors from crossing the River of Time again and influencing the game of the Post-Entropy Era, it had to be severed.”
Ling Yanzi sighed deeply. “It also trapped the Great Venerable completely in the past.”
Zhang Ruochen’s heart shook, and he said, “I understand! To seal off the various Witch Ancestors, it wasn’t necessary to choose this time; the River of Time could have been cut in a more ancient era. But to trap the Great Venerable in the past, it had to be ensured that the Great Venerable was on the past side of the time break, and that his own lifespan couldn’t reach the break point.”
Ancestors were too difficult to kill.
Especially after the failure of the ancient battle, the immortal’s combat power was greatly diminished, making it even harder to deal with the Immovable Bright King Great Venerable.
But an ancestor didn’t necessarily need a blade to kill.
Killing on the time level was also a form of combat. If an ancestor could be trapped in the past on the time level, wasn’t that also a way to kill him?
Zhang Ruochen said, “So, Ling Ancestor hid in the Divine Ancient Nest, sat in the He Luo Sea, and nurtured the He Luo Fish with her own Qi, building a bridge for the Great Venerable to return? One-Day He Luo cannot leave the He Luo Sea for even a day. Did Ling Ancestor come to this era before the ancient Ancestor War?”
Ling Yanzi’s misty figure nodded gently. “Before the Great Venerable left back then, he told me two things. The first was to go to the future and wait for him. I asked him, where in the future? He said, stop when you see the entropy. Beyond that, time loses its meaning.”
Heavenly Mother had been very quiet until now, when she spoke, “Back then, when the Great Venerable left, did he go to the Jade Desolate Realm to participate in that unprecedented Ancestor War?” (End of Chapter)