Chapter 394
The cold moon and warm sun, yet they bring torment to human life.
The moment that demonic hand appeared, Zhou Sheng was horrified. Almost every pore on his body stood on end, and a tremendous sense of crisis enveloped his heart.
This fear even surpassed that of the Bodhisattva who faced the City of the Unjustly Dead three years ago.
The peerless demon who had been hiding in the palace has finally appeared. His cultivation level is by no means just an ordinary Earth Immortal. He has probably survived eight Heavenly Tribulations, just like Master Zhang!
Such a powerful being could not be stopped even by the most profound Dao of Time; instead, it was pursued and killed along the River of Time.
Of course, this is also because Zhou Sheng's cultivation is still shallow, and he has only survived three heavenly tribulations.
Whoosh!
Under Zhou Sheng's manipulation, the River of Time surged with giant waves, constantly washing over that terrifying demonic hand.
And that seemingly indestructible demonic hand, under the constant impact of time, became decayed and deteriorated, as if it had undergone thousands of years of erosion in an instant.
Zhou Sheng seized the opportunity and stepped forward.
This time, it's not going against the current, but going with the current.
After walking a few steps, he stepped back into the river.
……
"Brother Zhou, this is... Zhongnan Mountain?"
After emerging from the Immortal Stone Cave, Bao Ying looked around and saw beautiful mountains and clear waters, a sea of clouds like smoke, abundant spiritual energy, and many Taoist temples appearing and disappearing. He immediately recognized the location.
Fifty li outside Chang'an City lies Zhongnan Mountain.
Old Man Niu Shan had regained his composure by this time. He did some calculations with his fingers and sighed, "To be precise, it will be Zhongnan Mountain three months from now."
Bao Ying was taken aback.
Zhou Sheng explained, "The great demon in the palace appeared, forcing Huang Chao to self-destruct. I took the opportunity to see the demon's eyes, and the demon also noticed me."
“That demon is far too powerful, far beyond our ability to defeat. I had no choice but to use the Great Dao of Time to lead you to Zhongnan Mountain three months later.”
"It has now been a full three months since the great battle in the capital."
Going against the current allows us to rewind time, while going with the current allows us to usher in the future.
Of course, all of this came at a price. After saying all this, Zhou Sheng closed his eyes and fainted.
Bao Ying quickly propped him up, her expression anxious.
"Senior, what's wrong with him? Is he alright?"
"It's nothing, just overexertion. You'll be fine after a period of rest."
Looking at Zhou Sheng, the old man from Niushan sighed, "This is the first time I've ever seen someone who controls time. It's truly unheard of."
"Disrupting the timing of the seasons, confusing time, and transcending time—this path is far too dangerous for ordinary people to tread. It's hard to imagine how he came to this understanding."
"Alright, alright, let's take him to my cave. I happen to have a medicinal herb garden in Zhongnan Mountain where I can help him recover."
Upon hearing this, Bao Ying immediately carried Zhou Sheng on his back and left with the old man from Niushan.
……
As the first rays of dawn shone on his face, Zhou Sheng's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes.
"Kid, you can really sleep. You slept for three days and three nights straight. Are you finally willing to wake up?"
The old man from Niushan spoke. He was brewing medicine nearby. When he saw Zhou Sheng wake up, he breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief, but his voice carried a hint of disdain.
It was a simple thatched hut, but it was very clean, the bedding was very neat, and it had a sunny feel to it.
The only problem was the strong smell of Chinese medicine in the room.
“Senior Niu Shan, actually I’m fine. I just overdid it with the spell. I’ll be fine after a rest. You don’t need to brew so much medicine.”
Zhou Sheng had never liked drinking Chinese medicine because it was so bitter. He could still taste the bitterness in his mouth, probably because it had been forced down his throat when he fainted. Old Man Niu Shan glared at him and sneered, "You brat, don't think you can be so reckless just because you're young. Excessive use of magical power? That was just an excuse I used to fool the Bao family brat. You think you can fool me with that?"
He paused, then pointed to the bronze mirror beside the bed and said, "Go and look at yourself."
Zhou Sheng was taken aback. He immediately looked in the bronze mirror and fell silent when he saw that there seemed to be a little more white hair at his temples.
"The moon is cold and the sun is warm, yet they bring hardship to human life."
"Time is the most core authority of the Heavenly Dao, a realm that even the gods cannot touch. I don't know how you touched it. This is a great fortune for you, but also a disaster."
The old man from Niushan shook his head and sighed, "With a mortal body, to dabble in the power of the Heavenly Dao and manipulate time, one may possess boundless power and unfathomable mystery, but the price to pay is one's own lifespan!"
“Every time you activate the Dao of Time, it consumes your own lifespan. Otherwise, with your cultivation level of passing three tribulations before the age of thirty, where would you get these strands of white hair?”
"Old beggar advises you, unless absolutely necessary, to use this supernatural power less often in the future. Of course, if you want to die sooner, then disregard what I said."
He spoke as bluntly as ever, but Zhou Sheng felt a warmth in his heart and smiled, "Thank you for your guidance, senior."
He himself had a vague sense of it, but sometimes he couldn't do without it.
"That's right, the old man's words are true, there's still hope."
"Next, I'll give you two ways to survive. The first is to stop here and stop thinking about further cultivation, and stop using the Way of Time. You should be able to live for several hundred years without any problem."
Zhou Sheng shook his head and smiled, "I choose the second option."
Old Man Niu Shan paused for a moment, then shook his head and sighed, "The second path is to walk this path to the end and completely control this Great Dao. At that time, one will be immortal and indestructible, just like a saint, and lifespan will not matter."
If he could completely master this Great Dao and cultivate the Dao Fruit, time would have no meaning for him; whether he grew old or young would be entirely up to him.
It's like the Three Pure Ones transforming into one, representing youth, middle age, and old age; or like the Three Buddhas of the Three Worlds, embodying the past, present, and future.
At that time, he was practically the embodiment of the Way of Heaven, and from then on, he had no rivals.
Even among the ancient gods, they were the most powerful beings.
"But making this path feasible is extremely difficult..."
Old man Niu Shan shook his head, seemingly not holding out much hope.
"Senior, stop talking about me, let's talk about you."
Zhou Sheng gave him a deep look and asked in a solemn voice, "May I ask, senior, is that Master Si... the Imperial Tutor Liu Bowen?"
Old Man Niu Shan was slightly startled, then revealed a bitter smile.
"Yes, and no."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The Master is merely my teacher's remains, not my teacher himself."
Zhou Sheng immediately pressed on, "Why did the Imperial Tutor's remains become the head of the Xuanqiong Division? And it seems you already had a guess. Rather than testing the waters, it's more like you're using Huang Chao's immortal corpse to verify your guess."
Old Man Niu Shan nodded, then suddenly smiled.
"You're very smart. As a smart person, you should know that some secrets can't be known for no reason."
"Senior, I guess I saved your life this time?"
"Heh heh, when have I, an old beggar, ever been afraid of death?"
Zhou Sheng was taken aback, recalling the other party's "Great Transformation Avatar Technique," and was speechless.
After a pause, the old man of Niushan put away his smile and said seriously, "This matter involves my master and is a closely guarded secret of our sect. There is absolutely no reason to tell outsiders about it, unless..."
"You will be my junior brother."
...(End of this chapter)