Something that he had heard long ago flashed through Lu Yin’s mind: “When the megaverse first formed, all things were pure, and then the River of Time came into being. The purer something is, the easier it is to become tainted. Beneath the River of Time, there are things that swim against the current, and they carry objects from the future that can corrupt what is pure. These items are called mirebound artifacts.”
The scene before him closely resembled what he had once heard.
People moving against the current of the River of Aeons, carrying items from the future?
Lu Yin, without even knowing why, instinctively raised a foot. Lightstream flickered as he started to move up the River of Aeons, traveling against the current.
Since those people were able to go against the current, so could he.
No average cultivator could travel up the River of Aeons. Even Ortusers or Dukkhans who had not mastered the power of time would fail.
Coincidentally, the power of time was one of Lu Yin’s fortes.
Right as he took his first step forward and moved against the current, Greater Sancte Green Lotus, Greater Sancte Blood Tower, and Greater Sancte Awe Gate all appeared behind Lu Yin, carefully watching the events unfold.
“He intends to regress to the ancient era!” Blood Tower said. He had the appearance of a young man. He was wearing a blood-red robe, and his face was waxy and pale. The moment he appeared, boundless seas of blood surged around him. They looked to hold countless worlds and myriad creatures. Looking at the blood gave one the impression that countless eyes were staring out at the heavens.
“Lu Yin, come back! It is not time yet!” Greater Sancte Green Lotus shouted.
Beside him stood a woman, whose face was obscured. Ripples constantly spread out from her, and between those ripples, gates appeared. She was Greater Sancte Awe Gate. “To travel about the omniverse and up the River of Aeons, chasing the ancients to become a forerunner of humanity—does he even know what he’s doing?”
At the moment, Lu Yin had no idea that the three Greater Sancti had appeared to stop him. He had merely wanted to go up the River of Aeons and catch up with those ahead of him so that he could see who they were and what they were doing. He wanted to find out what that tree really was. Why did it always appear during his breakthroughs?
The inexplicable urge had drowned his sense of reason. His only thought was to get closer to the tree. The closer, the better.
With each step he took up the River of Aeons, Lu Yin moved with Lightstream. There were times when his Progenitor’s world took the form of a small boat that was sailing upstream, and at other times, it took the form of spots of light beneath his feet. He drew closer and closer to the figures moving upstream. As he moved, his body and his aura both changed. He became increasingly unfathomable, radiating an ancient and profound aura. It was as if he was walking against time itself, but that power of time could not corrode him.
Clearly, he was not walking up the real River of Aeons. What had appeared was just a phenomenon, and yet Lightstream was still able to carry him upstream. Lu Yin could not comprehend what he was feeling.
Even Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the other Immortals were stunned by what they saw.
They could not fathom why Lu Yin’s phenomenon was able to become reality, nor why he was able to see a scene from the far ancient past. No, this was not a scene, but reality. From what they could see of where the River of Aeons flowed from, they were seeing true events from the past. But it was impossible for people of the present to chase the past, and yet Lu Yin could.
Lightstream’s boat form continued to absorb bits of time that had been cast off by the River of Aeons, constantly growing stronger and stronger as it carried Lu Yin upstream. Space chased time, and time assimilated space. Lu Yin needed to catch up and see who those people were, learn why they were traveling up the River of Aeons, and discover what connection there was between himself and that tree.
Finally, Lu Yin caught up with the person trailing behind the rest of the group.
He drew closer and closer to that last figure.
Greater Sancte Green Lotus and the others held their breath. Those figures were powerhouses from the ancient ages. Each one was an expert capable of traveling up the River of Aeons. Then, there was Lu Yin, who had caught up, despite the endless gulf of time that separated him from his targets.
The people he was pursuing were not ordinary experts. It was possible—no, it was absolutely certain that each one was an Immortal. Only Immortals were qualified to walk such a path and become a forerunner of humanity.
Lu Yin looked at the last figure, but he could not see them clearly. Time made the person’s face indistinct. Lu Yin raised his hand and reached out.
Greater Sancte Green Lotus shouted, “Don’t be reckless!”
Lu Yin’s hand fell, but at that exact moment, time returned to normal. The River of Aeons vanished, and the great tree disappeared. Everything was gone. He was standing high in the clear sky, a bright sun above him. If not for the fact that Lightstream was still in the shape of a boat beneath him, Lu Yin would have thought the entire thing to be an illusion.
But it had not been an illusion; he had heard a voice. “What kind of freakish brat is this? The time turbulence you’re causing is a bit over the top. Go back and train for another few tens of millenniums before returning.”
When that voice had stopped speaking, both the River of Aeons and the great tree had simultaneously vanished.