https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-716-A-Fragmented-Corner-of-Space-and-Time/13274717/
Chapter 717: A Jug of Wine, Recalling the Past
Chapter 717: A Jug of Wine, Recalling the Past
As Chen Mu gazed at Yu Jiujiang beside him, a sense of sentiment filled his heart. Although he had managed to keep many acquaintances by his side, there were also numerous friends who had passed away forever, and Yu Jiujiang was one of them.
Even if he had become a Celestial Overlord, he couldn't bring Yu Jiujiang back to life. However, in this broken corner of the universe, he could meet the Yu Jiujiang of the past once again.
At present, the conflicts within Yu Prefecture's inner city had not yet reached a boiling point. The feud between the He and Yu families had only just begun to show its signs, and there were still over two years before Chen Mu's rise to prominence in Yu City. Yu Jiujiang's condition was much better now than it had been during Chen Mu's gradual ascent.
"After a long separation, it's good to see you again, old man. I'm quite sentimental... Hmm, the old man has been quietly cultivating and fishing these years. Your fishing skills must have reached a divine level by now. How about we have a fishing competition?" Yu Jiujiang suggested with a smile. "Whoever loses will treat the other to a jug of wine."
Chen Mu indeed had some things he wanted to discuss with Yu Jiujiang, but at this moment, seeing the Yu Jiujiang of the past, those words seemed to dissipate like smoke and clouds. All he wanted was to set aside the mundane world and fish with Yu Jiujiang, sharing a jug of wine.
"Hahaha! Fishing is my favorite pastime. Young friend, your invitation suits my heart's desire. Come, let's have a fishing competition!" Yu Jiujiang burst into laughter after hearing Chen Mu's words.
Although he still couldn't recall Chen Mu's identity, the more familiar Chen Mu acted, the better it was. He suspected that Chen Mu might have been an ordinary disciple of the Seven Profound Sect back then. In his early days, he hadn't paid much attention to Chen Mu and had only inadvertently granted him some favors. But Chen Mu had risen from obscurity, growing step by step until his cultivation was clearly above Yu Jiujiang's.
Swish!
Yu Jiujiang cast his fishing rod, sending the line and bait into the pond.
Chen Mu, on the other side, did the same. Neither of them used their supernatural powers; they simply fished like ordinary people, sitting quietly on the edge of the pond.
As they fished, Yu Jiujiang quietly observed Chen Mu. The results of his observation left him in awe. Fishing was like life, and it was his lifelong passion. When fishing with others, he could discern their character from their fishing style. But before this, he had never met anyone whose character could compare to Chen Mu's.
That kind of composure, tranquility, serenity, and harmony... He didn't look like a young person at all. He didn't resemble the young generation's martial arts prodigy but rather an ancient, venerable master sitting atop the world, overlooking the mortal realm with a sage-like demeanor, like a Grandmaster of Martial Arts!
If he were a Grandmaster of the Bone Cleansing Realm or even a powerful figure in the Blood Transformation Realm, he could indeed lock his vital energy, making his age indiscernible from his appearance. But Chen Mu addressed him as 'old man,' clearly positioning himself as a junior, which meant he wasn't such a figure.
On the edge of the pond,
Aside from the fishing lines dipping into the pond, the entire water surface remained calm, not even a ripple. Even the delicate fishing lines, hanging in their positions, didn't cause a single tremor in the pond.
Time passed, and no one knew how long it had been when Yu Jiujiang's fishing line trembled slightly, causing ripples to spread across the water. A smile appeared on his face as he flicked the fishing rod, and a fish leaped out of the water, soaring into the air.
"Hahaha! Young friend, it seems I have better luck today."
Chen Mu watched the fish Yu Jiujiang had caught and said, "If we're talking about luck, your fortune today is indeed extraordinary... Well, since you won, I'll let you treat me to that jug of wine."
After saying this,
Chen Mu gently flipped his hand, and a jade jug silently appeared in his palm.
Then, he casually raised his left hand, pointed at the ground, and the soil on the edge of the pond began to churn and gather, forming two natural ceramic cups. Chen Mu waved his hand, and a thread of clear liquor flew out of the jug, splitting into two in mid-air and falling into the ceramic cups. The aroma of the wine instantly filled the air.
"The path you cultivate is the combination of the Kan Water and Dui Ze veins. Your skills are truly divine."
As Yu Jiujiang witnessed Chen Mu's effortless display of power, he smiled and spoke, but deep inside, he was shocked. At his level of cultivation, he couldn't see through Chen Mu's profound understanding of the Dao.
His cultivation in the Intent Realm was at least at the second level.
At the second level of the Intent Realm...
To reach this level, one would not be an ordinary disciple in the Seven Profound Sect. It was highly likely that they had cultivated the Six Viscera Realm and become a protector of the sect. Yu Jiujiang had heard of such figures within the Seven Profound Sect, but Chen Mu was not among them, which added to his confusion.
Yu Jiujiang lifted the ceramic cup, savoring the rich aroma of the wine. He didn't suspect that there was anything wrong with the wine. After all, with Chen Mu's profound understanding of the Dao, he didn't need poison to harm him.
And such a rich and fragrant wine, even in the prefectural capital of Yuzhou, he had never encountered it. Just a glance at the viscous liquid was enough to know that it was undoubtedly a spiritual wine, and it was probably extremely precious.
"Indeed, the old man's insight is as sharp as a torch. It's indeed a slight evolution from Kan Shui and Dui Ze."
Chen Mu merely smiled at Yu Jiujiang's praise.
The current him, with every move and gesture, was an embodiment of creation. To say that Kan Shui and Dui Ze were unrelated would be an understatement. Indeed, evolving from Kan Shui and Dui Ze step by step, the ultimate destination was creation itself.
"Hahaha! Good wine, good wine! In my life, I've tasted countless wines, but this is the first time I've encountered such a fine one. Since it's a young friend's invitation, I can't refuse!"
Yu Jiujiang burst into laughter upon hearing this, then lifted the wine bowl and drank it in one gulp.
As the wine entered his stomach, he immediately widened his eyes, revealing a shocked expression. In just an instant, he felt a rich and warm aura rapidly spreading and permeating throughout his body.
This surging and vast aura of pure energy, in just a fleeting moment, healed all the internal injuries he had suffered in his early years and even forcefully refined his gradually decaying blood energy, causing his aged body to once again brim with vitality.
The dramatic changes within his body left Yu Jiujiang stunned and at a loss for a moment.
When the transformations finally began to subside, Yu Jiujiang suddenly snapped back to his senses and looked forward, only to find that Chen Mu's figure was no longer by the pond, and the wine jar and the earthenware wine bowl, formed from condensed soil, had quietly returned to dust.
"This..."
For a moment, Yu Jiujiang was at a loss.
If not for the immense and clear changes within his body, he might have thought that everything that had just happened was merely a dream!
After all, he was a disciple of the Seven Xuanzong and a powerful cultivator at the Five Viscera Realm. With his extensive knowledge and experience, he had never heard of any spiritual wine with such unbelievable effects.
Healing hidden injuries, prolonging life, and refining blood energy.
Such exaggerated effects, even if it wasn't from the previous jar of wine, just a single drop would be an invaluable treasure!
Obviously,
The young man from before was definitely not as simple as he had initially judged. The other party might be a Grand Master, or even a blood transformation expert who could challenge the world. But the question was, when did he get entangled with such a figure? And why did the other party address him as a senior? This left him utterly perplexed.
Yu Jiujiang sat silently by the pond for a long time, unable to fathom the source of these changes. Finally, he slowly stood up.
"Forget it."
"Although I don't know the reason, it's ultimately a heavenly opportunity. I never thought that in my old age, I would have another chance to enter the mortal world and re-understand creation."
At this moment, Yu Jiujiang's hair was still white, but his eyes shone with vitality.
His old injuries were healed, and his blood energy was restored!
This meant that he had almost returned to his peak state from three to four decades ago. He could continue to comprehend the martial path, temper his five viscera, and even have the opportunity to knock on the six viscera gate, striving towards the path of a Grand Master!
He had thought that his journey in the rivers and lakes had come to an end, but unexpectedly, he had a chance to re-enter the mortal world!
...
Above the residence of the Yu family.
Chen Mu stood alone in the sky, his figure invisible to others.
He looked down at the depths of the ancient courtyard of the Yu family, where Yu Jiujiang, who had stood up and gathered his martial will, revealed a slight smile. Then, he raised his head to gaze at the vast blue sky.
In truth, Chen Mu knew that Yu Jiujiang's deepest wish in his heart was not just the prosperity of the Yu family. Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he did consider the prosperity of the Yu family as his responsibility, but that was under the circumstance that he was already in his twilight years, powerless to roam the rivers and lakes.
Yu Jiujiang was a disciple of the Seven Xuanzong and had once competed with various outstanding talents in his youth.
Deep in his heart, what he yearned for the most was not to sit idly by the pond, quietly fishing, but to re-enter the rivers and lakes and live a life of thrilling enmities!
In the previous universe,
Chen Mu couldn't fulfill Yu Jiujiang's wish.
But here, in this fragmented corner of time and space, Chen Mu could satisfy Yu Jiujiang's heart's desire. The jar of spiritual wine he offered contained the power of creation, and while it didn't grant Yu Jiujiang any power to dominate the rivers and lakes, it washed away his old injuries and decaying blood energy.
Compared to granting Yu Jiujiang invincible power in the rivers and lakes, the opportunity to re-enter the mortal world was more suitable for him.
Soon,
Chen Mu's stray thoughts dissipated, and he once again swept his gaze across this 'small' Yu Prefecture City. He saw many familiar figures, including Xiao He, Xu Hongyu, and many others.
"This is how Hongyu looked many years ago. I wonder what she would think if she were here, seeing her past self... Hmm, she can't see her past self either, because her past self is her present self."
Chen Mu looked at the top floor of the City Defense Office, where Xu Hongyu, dressed in a flying fish robe, was handling official documents with a cold expression, and he couldn't help but smile.
Although this place is a fragment of time-space, disconnected from the original universe, if the power of the Dao is harnessed to connect the two sides, this place will be annihilated and reintegrate into the original time-space.
Even for ordinary mortals, their past and future selves are not two separate individuals; the past and future are always interconnected, forming a long shadow on the path of time. If the original universe's Xu Hongyu were brought here, the two of them would instantly become telepathically connected, merging into one without distinction.
Only the Dao Zun Zhe, the Great Dao Masters, have a slight difference in their manifestation on the timeline.
They are the true self that has emerged from the long shadow on the path of time, leaving behind a shadow that transforms into a pure projection with no connection to the self's will. It becomes a pure image, strictly following the past events and evolving accordingly.
"Time, indeed, is extraordinarily profound."
Chen Mu gazes at Xu Hongyu across the void, and in his eyes, a complex light of time and the rhythm of the Dao is reflected.
For Chen Yue in this fragment of time-space, as Chen Mu will leave, and after his departure, Chen Yue will be unable to survive on her own, so he bestows upon her the immortal power of creation, exhausting all the living beings in this fragmented time-space, and no one can resist her.
As for Yu Jiujiang, to make up for the old master's past regrets, Chen Mu gives him the opportunity to re-enter the Jianghu.
As for Xu Hongyu, Chen Mu doesn't have any specific plans for her. Xu Hongyu's lifelong obsession is to find her father. If Chen Mu were to intervene now, he could indeed save her father and restore him to normalcy from the corpse refinement. But since this is merely a fragment of the past time-space, bringing her father back to the original universe would be meaningless.
"Indeed, Yue'er and Yao'er have sunk into the past."
Chen Mu doesn't linger in this time-space for long. His figure quickly fades and disappears from this world, while his vision continuously rises, surpassing the universe and witnessing the trajectory of time!
Countless densely packed 'universes' appear in his sight, all of them fragments of time-space created by the power of time tearing apart the original universe. It seems vast and infinite, but to the Dao Zun Zhe, it can be easily destroyed.
Among them,
In two different fragments of time-space, Chen Yue and Chen Yao sink into them.
Unlike Chen Mu, neither Chen Yue nor Chen Yao are Dao Zun Zhe, so they cannot see through the mist of time, and all their memories are obscured. For them, it's as if they have completely returned to the past node.
Chen Mu turns his gaze towards the two fragments of time-space, and in both, there exists a 'him'—a projection that seems to possess emotions and personal feelings but is, in reality, evolving and developing according to predetermined directions.
If Chen Mu were to interfere with that time-space using the power of a Zun Zhe, the 'him' in that past time-space would instantly become a rigid puppet or a projection deviating from the normal trajectory, unable to evolve naturally.
Of course,
He can summon the self to descend upon any node of time, replacing the projection. However, after the replacement, he must also follow the rules of time's evolution. Forcibly changing the past time-space would face immense resistance, and the greater the impact on the future, the greater the resistance.
Nevertheless, all of this is limited to the normal flow of time. Here, in this fragment of time-space created by the power of time, disconnected from the original universe, Chen Mu can freely descend and alter the past time-spaces at will.
"The system panel, the transcendent treasure, is truly profound and mysterious."
Chen Mu gazes at his past self in those two time-spaces, and in his eyes, a subtle light flickers.
Although he has not yet truly mastered the path of time, as both the Creation and Xu Kong Dao Zun Zhe, he has already reached the Nine Heavens perfection in the path of time and can at least see through some of the mysteries of time's evolution. However, for this transcendent treasure, the system panel, he cannot comprehend it at all.
Because in that fragment of time-space... there exists a system panel as well!
Even the Dao Zun Zhe, the only one in the timeline, how can there be another system panel, a transcendent treasure? The appearance of this phenomenon clearly indicates that his observation and perception are flawed.
Chen Mu turns his gaze towards the various fragments of time-space. In each one, there is a projection of his past self and a system panel, and the system panel even functions normally. But if he tries to interfere and find the source of the system panel from the past projection, it's like trying to scoop the moon from the well, impossible to grasp.
Incomprehensible.
Chen Mu shakes his head.
Even as a Dao Zun Zhe, when it comes to the power of transcendence, he still has no clue, unable to understand or decipher it.
(End of Chapter)
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