Chapter 558: Ascending Beyond, Stepping onto the Time River!

Chapter 558: Ascending Beyond, Stepping onto the Time River!

February 16, 2025

Rumble!!!

The howling wind roars, and the thundering sky rumbles!

The energy of the universe undergoes a sudden transformation at this very moment!

And as the source of this change, Qin Zheng sits composedly atop a cloud, meticulously sensing every change in his physical body and spiritual soul. After confirming that the Shen Gu JingXue causes no harm, he immediately lifts all restrictions.

In the next instant,

Boom!!!

An immense, overwhelming energy surges forth like hundreds of erupting volcanoes, tearing through the void in an instant, bursting out of the cultivation site, and sweeping across the entire Eight Scenery Palace.

Such a violent commotion immediately attracts the attention of the three Beyond Realm cultivators within the Eight Scenery Palace.

"So fast!!!"

Xuan Du exclaims in shock.

He knows that Qin Zheng will undoubtedly attain the Beyond, but he never expected it to come so swiftly. After all, this hurdle has held him back for millions of years!

As this thought flashes through his mind, Xuan Du's eyebrows furrow slightly, and he quickly turns to look at Tao Te Tianzun, asking, "Master, is Qin Zheng too hasty?"

Attaining the Beyond requires not only accumulation but also the perfection of one's nature. Otherwise, like Xuan Du, who rushed to attain the Beyond a million years ago, one might instead face the risk of demise in the Dao-Certification Calamity.

Qin Zheng had reached ZaoHua Perfection ten years ago, and now, after merely ten years of accumulation, he is attempting to attain the Beyond. In Xuan Du's eyes, this seems too hasty.

But as his words fall, the Buddha Ancestor, who had been silently meditating, gently shakes his head and says, "No harm."

At this moment, Tao Te Tianzun also opens his eyes slightly, and a chaotic light seems to emerge, with countless images of the birth and destruction of chaotic heavens and earth appearing in his eyes.

In this moment, Tao Te Tianzun has changed compared to ten years ago, becoming even more aloof, mysterious, and powerful.

Even Xuan Du, who had just attained the Beyond, feels like a mortal gazing upon a towering mountain in the presence of Tao Te Tianzun, experiencing a sense of helplessness that is hard to resist.

Tao Te Tianzun now looks towards the void in front of him, and the visions in his eyes disappear, replaced by a reflection of Qin Zheng's figure as he breaks through within the cultivation site.

"No hurry, no hurry."

He gently shakes his head, then reaches out, and a feather duster materializes in the void, falling into his palm. Holding the feather duster, he waves it forward.

Whoosh!!!

Clear light surges forth, quickly condensing into the forms of two Dao cultivators. One appears supremely noble, like the origin of all things, while the other exudes profound dignity, as if the ultimate destination.

After the shadows of the two Dao cultivators appear, they take a step forward, directly entering Qin Zheng's cultivation world from within the Dao Palace's main hall.

After completing this step, Tao Te Tianzun waves the feather duster again, and the entire Eight Scenery Palace trembles lightly. Countless arrays then appear, all erupting as if facing a formidable enemy.

Xuan Du's eyes flicker slightly as he watches this scene. These arrays are all too familiar to him; they are used to weaken the Dao-Certification Calamity.

But in his perception, these arrays have all been modified, with more arrays than before and each one more refined and powerful.

After completing this step, Tao Te Tianzun retracts his right hand, closes his eyes, and returns to his meditative state, while the feather duster in his hand dissipates into light.

The Buddha Ancestor, as always, keeps his gaze fixed on Qin Zheng's Dao-Certification site, showing no intention of intervening.

Xuan Du's eyes shift, and he turns to look at Qin Zheng, his expression filled with anticipation. With neither of the two top-tier Great Beings showing doubt, the likelihood of Qin Zheng attaining the Beyond today is eight or nine out of ten!

At the same time,

Within the cultivation site,

Qin Zheng's aura seems boundless, expanding and strengthening at a near-leap pace. Simultaneously, his innate divine light is also racing at the same speed, rapidly soaring to greater heights.

The Three Pure Ones' path he has chosen has an incredibly profound foundation. After the previous great battle, he had already reached ZaoHua Perfection, touching the threshold of attaining the Beyond.

And after the sanctification of the gravecloth, he further obtained the optimized Sky Abyss Clan Energy Circulation Technique, the Sky Abyss Divine Archery Dao, and the ShenGu JingXue.

It can be said that at this moment, Qin Zheng's foundation, in terms of accumulation, is already unparalleled in the Chaotic Ocean, with no one before him and none to follow. He is likely the first since the opening of the Chaotic Ocean!

Therefore, with the eruption of this profound foundation, he is propelled from the ZaoHua Realm to the Beyond Realm at a speed unimaginable to ordinary cultivators! The myriad principles of the universe transform into countless talismans before his eyes, and the essence of all things also appears within his heart.

At this moment, Qin Zheng felt as if he had transcended the heavens and earth, and yet, he had become the master of all creation. With a single thought, he could alter the rules of the universe, manipulate the principles governing the world, and control the essence of all things.

He had become the Great Dao, the ruler of all creation!

Qin Zheng carefully savored these unique sensations, discerning the real from the illusory, for many of these feelings were mere illusions born from his realm-leap. If he wasn't cautious, he could easily fall into a calamity.

The calamity of attaining the Beyond had quietly begun, slowly eroding Qin Zheng's consciousness and reason!

However, in front of Qin Zheng, who had comprehended the TianYuan ShenJian Dao, such calamitous forces couldn't affect him in the slightest.

The Dao Art passed down by a powerful Ji Gu cultivator contained a vast and profound Dao essence, which had already tempered Qin Zheng's soul during his unconscious cultivation, making the calamity of attaining the Beyond insignificant.

Moreover, Qin Zheng had already comprehended it to perfection!

His path to advancement was smooth and orderly.

But just at that moment, ripples appeared in the void, and two distinct auras emerged, transforming into the silhouettes of two Daoists above Qin Zheng's head.

Qin Zheng immediately sensed their presence and looked up. The two Daoist silhouettes nodded slightly at him and then stepped into his body.

Hum!

Inside his inner world, in the Dao Palace, the two Daoists suddenly opened their eyes, and their eyes gleamed with newfound vitality, reminiscent of the time when Tao Te Tianzun had supplemented Qin Zheng's Dao essence.

And this time, it was the Dao essence of the Yu Qing and Shang Qing Sages!

Hum!

The Dao Palace trembled violently, emitting a dazzling light brighter than ever before. The Great Dao Tree also grew rapidly, with its branches piercing through the void.

Crack! Crack!

Qin Zheng's inner world rapidly expanded at this moment, giving birth to and extinguishing countless stars in an endless cycle. Amidst this, a unique aura emerged within his inner world.

It was the aura of life vitality!

His inner world was transforming into a true heaven and earth!

Qin Zheng's heart filled with enlightenment, and at this instant, he suddenly felt a genuine sense of perfection.

Previously, with the Shen Gu Legacy and ShenGu JingXue, he seemed to have reached the pinnacle of perfection, pushing his foundation to its limit, only able to propel him towards the Beyond. But that wasn't true perfection!

Only now had he achieved true perfection!

Because Qin Zheng cultivated the Dao of the Three Pure Ones, he needed to obtain the complete Dao essence of the Three Pure Ones to achieve genuine perfection!

While the Shen Gu Legacy and ShenGu JingXue were undoubtedly powerful, they belonged to a different Dao. They could only serve as an added bonus, unable to supplement and strengthen his origin.

Therefore, when the silhouettes of the two Daoists entered his body, and the Dao essence of the Three Pure Ones was completely supplemented, Qin Zheng suddenly heard a sound like an eggshell cracking.

This sound seemed to come from within his body and from the four directions of heaven and earth, making it difficult to discern its origin.

But right after this sound, Qin Zheng felt his improvement, not just in the strengthening of his physical body and soul, but in a fundamental transformation of his essence.

At this moment, he had reached the Beyond!

The sound of rushing river water echoed in Qin Zheng's ears, starting faintly and gradually growing louder, like thunder.

Qin Zheng looked around, and right in front of him, he saw an infinitely wide river, its source and end invisible, emitting an intensely dense aura of time.

This was the Time River!

Enlightenment flashed in Qin Zheng's eyes. The legendary feature, Time Coil, after ascending to the Beyond, granted him the ability to walk upon the Time River and travel between the past and future.

With this thought, Qin Zheng stood up and took a step forward, walking onto the Time River. Simultaneously, his figure and aura vanished from where he had stood, leaving no trace behind.

Almost at the same time, in the main hall of the Daoist temple, Xuan Du abruptly rose and took a step forward, breaking through the void and arriving at Qin Zheng's place of enlightenment. He scanned the surroundings with a slightly flustered expression.

In that fleeting moment, all traces of Qin Zheng's existence seemed to have been instantly erased, leaving no mark of him in the entire world.

Even with his Beyond-the-Shore perception, Xuan Du couldn't detect any sign of Qin Zheng, as if Qin Zheng had never been there.

Hongdu's expression turned unpleasant.

At this moment, the figures of the Buddha Ancestor and Tao Te Tianzun appeared, their gazes fixed on the direction where Qin Zheng had just stepped into the Time River, their faces filled with astonishment and shock.

"Stepping into the Time River, he can actually touch such a level of power in the Beyond-the-Shore Realm."

The Buddha Ancestor sighed as he spoke.

Tao Te Tianzun nodded slightly, then replied with a hum, "His first step into the Time River, without guidance, he might get lost within it."

"Moreover, with the Dao-Certification Calamity erupting, it's hard to judge what kind of backlash he will face in the Time River. If he encounters Hao Tian's Dao-Certification or even our Transcension, it might truly be extremely dangerous!"

"We should follow him in and bring him out as soon as possible!"

The Buddha Ancestor nodded, his expression rarely turning solemn. He clasped his hands together and responded, "It should be so!"

At this moment,

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

An illusory and invisible river appeared before the two, and Hongdu, as if sensing something, turned his gaze towards the direction where the Time River had emerged.

However, in his eyes, the scenery of heaven and earth remained unchanged, without the appearance of an illusory river flowing from the past to the future.

Tao Te Tianzun looked at him, nodded lightly, and said, "Don't worry too much, we'll be back soon."

After speaking, they no longer lingered and stepped into the Time River together. Their auras, like Qin Zheng's earlier, vanished instantly.

The Time River once again concealed itself.

Hongdu stood still, his eyebrows furrowed slightly, recalling the conversation between Tao Te Tianzun and the Buddha Ancestor, as well as the strangeness he had felt earlier. He gradually realized something, and his expression became more and more shocked.

Time River!!!

Those with sufficient cultivation could truly step into the Time River, travel through future and past, and appear at any moment! But why could Qin Zheng, who had just reached the Beyond-the-Shore Realm, step into the Time River, while Hongdu could only vaguely sense the Time River without seeing it?

Is this the gap between himself and the heavenly prodigies?

Hongdu let out a bitter laugh, but after confirming that Qin Zheng's disappearance was not due to the Dao-Certification Calamity, his heart, which had been heavy earlier, lightened. He scanned the scenery before him and took a step back into the main hall of the Daoist temple.

The turbulent aura in the Eight Scenery Palace gradually calmed down, and the commotion from the Dao-Certification also dissipated. With the absence of three powerful auras, it seemed that the palace was not greatly affected.

But at this very moment,

In a remote corner of the Chaos Ocean, within a Great Realm, a woodcutter suddenly stopped swinging his axe and looked up into the void.

"He's gone."

His voice carried a hint of surprise and doubt, but soon he nodded slightly, as if speaking to himself, "Regardless, I can give it a try."

After these words, the woodcutter's body exploded, transforming into extremely dense pollution qi and spreading rapidly in all directions.

Among the humans living in this Great Realm, there was a man with a robust physique and powerful aura, resembling the Hao Tian Divine Clan that Qin Zheng had encountered before!

The Time River surged and flowed, and when water droplets splashed, they revealed a corner of the Chaos Ocean. However, it was difficult to determine whether this was happening in the past, the present, or the future.

Qin Zheng stood on the Time River, his gaze shifting from the splashing water droplets back to the scene before him.

With his current location as the anchor, the 'present' was where he stood, the 'future' was the countless branching rivers ahead, and the 'past' was the vast river behind him.

Qin Zheng had wanted to take a look at the 'future', but after standing still for a moment, he realized that the branches of the 'future' were infinite, with new branches forming at every moment.

This meant that the future was not predetermined but had countless possibilities. Since he couldn't see all the branches of the river, he couldn't discern all the futures.

Merely observing one future seemed to have little significance.

Qin Zheng thought to himself, then turned around to look back at the 'past'.

The future had countless possibilities, but the past was predetermined. At this moment, standing on the Time River, Qin Zheng could travel against the flow and witness the preordained facts of what had occurred.

The scene he most wanted to see was the moment of his own crossing, to find out whose handiwork it was!

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end