In the long river of time, Lin Zhao slowly awoke.
...
When he opened his eyes, he was plunged into another nightmare.
Looking up, the boundless sea of clouds rippled like waves. As Lin Zhao gazed at the clouds, a resonant hum suddenly echoed from the great path in the sky, followed by a rumbling sound from the edge of the firmament. It seemed a colossal object was descending from the heavens. When Lin Zhao focused his sight, he saw it was an immortal mountain imbued with Daoist charm.
The earth trembled violently. The immortal mountain descended, and a fierce collision was imminent between heaven and earth.
Lin Zhao gritted his teeth, quickly lowering his body. He condensed strands of sword intent to envelop himself, his feet almost rooting into the ground, striving to keep his body in place.
With a deafening crash, the immortal mountain struck, stirring up a sky-shattering storm on the earth.
Lin Zhao narrowed his eyes, like a fallen leaf in a raging tempest, his white cloak fluttering behind him. After an unknown duration, the dust finally settled. An immortal mountain lay before him, exuding a seductive aura.
From within the immortal mountain, a figure ascended, surrounded by countless golden auspicious clouds.
Lin Zhao frowned and activated the Water Moon Observing Heaven technique to truly see. It was an elder in a golden robe, enveloped in an incredibly vast aura of the Great Dao. His cultivation realm was utterly inscrutable. One hand rested behind his back, while the other held a dark, black object.
As Lin Zhao's gaze fell upon it, his blood surged. It was the bloody head of Huang Tingyu!
Who was this elder in the sky, capable of killing Huang Tingyu?
His heart wavered, and he murmured, "Old Huang... Old Huang, you finally couldn't break through the ancestral land's desolation..."
In the sky, the elder let out a sneer and casually tossed Huang Tingyu's head towards Lin Zhao, coldly saying, "Huang Tingyu, a traitor like him... he deserves to be executed by everyone in the demon race. Why feign surprise, Lin Zhao?"
"You!"
Lin Zhao's eyes widened. He watched Huang Tingyu's head fall from the sky, but in the wind, the head transformed into a giant mountain in an instant, smashing fiercely into a river. It was the Sword Washing River!
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao's body was violently struck, causing him to fall uncontrollably into the depths of the river. When he opened his eyes, he found the Sword Washing River filled with countless corpses – the deities of the river, and even a woman in a blue dress, Wang Yue, the sword-holding attendant of his aunt.
His body slowly sank. As he approached the riverbed, he saw strands of golden light flickering in the depths. When Lin Zhao focused his sight, he discovered the corpse of Lin Xingchu lying at the bottom of the river. Her eyes were closed, her armor was shattered, and beside her, the River God Sword was broken in two.
"Aunt!"
Lin Zhao's eyes turned red with distress. Just as he strained to move forward, Lin Xingchu's corpse suddenly vanished. In its place was a painting. When Lin Zhao looked up, he saw in the painting a sword immortal, a woman in a red dress and white robes, leading a white horse. She held a sprig of peach blossom, impossibly beautiful.
It was Xiao Jiu'er.
Lin Zhao frowned, gazing at the painting. Xiao Jiu'er remained motionless within the painting, as if sealed. He called out Xiao Jiu'er's name loudly, but Su Qingjiu in the painting showed no reaction, until a beam of sword light descended from the sky, cleaving the entire painting in two.
Su Qingjiu's figure disappeared, accompanied by broken peach petals drifting in the wind from within the painting.
"Xiao Jiu'er..."
Lin Zhao slumped to his knees, his heart overwhelmed by a suffocating despair.
He clutched his chest, heartbroken. He knew this was a nightmare, but everything before him felt as if it were truly happening, or perhaps, would happen at some point in the future.
When he looked up, the painting and peach petals in the sky had vanished. In their place were the beacons of war across a vast landscape. At this moment, Lin Zhao was kneeling on the ramparts of Fusang Great Wall, which was littered with corpses.
Tens of meters away, a youth's body was impaled on a spear outside the city wall – it was the young sword cultivator Qin Ran. Further away, a martial artist had been cut in half at the waist, his blood staining the ground. Even in death, his face was filled with unwillingness – it was Liu Xilong, the foremost martial artist of Fusang Great Wall.
Amidst the patches of weeds lay the corpses of sword cultivators. Most of them were dismembered. Some were beheaded, others split in two by a single sword, some had their bodies pulverized by qi, leaving only mangled limbs. Even more had dissolved into bloody mist, leaving nothing behind.
Fusang Great Wall had fallen, and it was a catastrophic defeat!
A figure descended from the sky, an old man in a grey robe. The moment he appeared, Lin Zhao's spiritual sea began to tremble. The opponent's fist intent was incredibly powerful, his true qi surged, and he unleashed a ferocious punch towards Fusang Great Wall.
Where his fist wind pointed, a figure in snow-white robes stood – Lin Wanhua.
At this moment, Lin Wanhua's long dress was stained with blood, and she was covered in wounds. She forcefully unleashed a strand of sword intent, but was still struck by a heavy blow from the elder of unfathomable realm.
Instantly, Lin Wanhua's sword was shattered. Her body shot out like a streak of light, smashing through the Sword Pavilion and falling into the mountains, her fate unknown.
"Miss Lin!"
Lin Zhao knelt on the city wall, shouting hoarsely, but he was powerless to do anything about what was unfolding before him.
His body drifted, carried by the wind towards the south. He saw Shanhai Pass, Yangping Pass, and Yanmen Pass – the three great passes of the human race's northern territory – shrouded in mist and smoke, with corpses strewn everywhere. All three passes had been breached, and within them lay the remains of human soldiers, demon armies, and orc cavalry.
In the distance, the land of Yun Prefecture was ablaze with smoke and fire. A city in Yun Prefecture was engulfed in raging flames.
Everything seemed so real.
...
Lin Zhao felt unbearable anguish, his heart choked with frustration.
The next moment, he suddenly awoke from the nightmare. He saw a sea of golden time flowing before him. Through the flowing time, he saw a beautiful face. Although he had never met her, he inexplicably felt a sense of familiarity. The moment their eyes met, Lin Zhao knew who she was.
"Hoo!"
Lin Zhao suddenly sat up in the river of time, looking at the white-robed woman beside him with a dazed gaze. After a long pause, he murmured, "Master?"
A moment later, the white-robed woman smiled brightly, "Yes!"
"Master..."
Lin Zhao hurriedly scrambled up from the river of time, then knelt on one knee in the water, saying solemnly, "Disciple Lin Zhao greets Master!"
"Xiao Zhao, no need to be so formal."
The white-robed woman smiled slightly, "How are you feeling now?"
"Much better."
Lin Zhao looked down at his body. The wounds from the incorrigible inner demon's flames had almost healed, and new flesh and skin had grown. His entire body felt as if it had been re-tempered, glowing like a newborn. It was a blessing in disguise, making him better.
"That's good."
The white-robed woman smiled gently, "Xiao Zhao, Master has been very busy in the upper realm, so I haven't had time to visit you. This time... the human world is facing a great disaster, and I had no choice but to come. Fortunately, I arrived in time."
"En!"
Lin Zhao stood up, looking at the transcendent aura of the woman before him. So this was the master of him and his senior brothers and sisters. Lin Zhao felt a little embarrassed, and once again clasped his fists, "Disciple Lin Zhao, greets Master!"
The white-robed woman chuckled, covering her mouth, "Alright, alright. Your third senior brother is a military strategist, your second senior sister is a sword cultivator, and your eldest senior brother has gone off to seek the truth. Only you, Xiao Zhao, have half a Confucian identity, and you're truly full of etiquette. However... in the future, the etiquette of our Eternal Secret Realm sect will rely entirely on you."
Lin Zhao scratched his head, "Lin Zhao will do his best!"
Saying this, Lin Zhao felt a tremor of fear and said with lingering dread, "Master, is this... the River of Time?"
"En."
The white-robed woman nodded and smiled, "How is it?"
"I..."
Lin Zhao frowned and asked, "I saw many bad things in the River of Time. Are these etchings in the River of Time, things that will happen in the future?"
"Not necessarily."
The white-robed woman smiled slightly, "Everything you see in the River of Time is something that will or might happen in the future, but not necessarily so, because the dimensions in time are different. Every detailed change can lead to different outcomes."
Looking at the bewildered Lin Zhao, she smiled and said, "For example, a word from you, a single action, might change the outcome of something. The bad scenes you saw in the River of Time can be avoided through your subsequent actions. Ultimately, as the saying goes, humans make plans, and heaven decides the outcome."
"Understood."
Lin Zhao nodded, "Thank you, Master, for your guidance!"
"Always so formal..."
The white-robed woman placed a hand on her forehead and smiled. She stepped forward, stood on her tiptoes, and gently rubbed Lin Zhao's head, laughing, "Cherish this memory of yours in the River of Time. After all, it's a great opportunity. Furthermore, in the scabbard of the Dragon Slaying Sword, I have refined a three-inch length of time's flow."
She pursed her red lips and smiled, "Although this length of time's flow is only three inches, it contains extremely profound Daoist truth. You must observe and comprehend it carefully in the future. Perhaps you will benefit greatly from it."
"Yes!"
Lin Zhao exclaimed excitedly, "Thank you, Master!"
"Oh, right."
The white-robed woman smiled slightly, "There's one more thing I almost forgot. Some things that originally belonged to you should be returned to you."
As she spoke, she gently opened her five fingers. Instantly, a wisp of flame, exuding a vast, ethereal aura, flickered in her palm.
"Ah?"
Lin Zhao had read some novels and couldn't help but frown, "Could it be the legendary 'Exotic Fire'?"
The white-robed woman again placed a hand on her forehead, "Naturally not."
As she spoke, she slowly pushed the flame in her palm forward. Instantly, this flickering flame seeped into Lin Zhao's shoulder. He immediately felt an intense burning pain. The moment the pain subsided, Lin Zhao looked down and saw a faint golden-red mark appearing on his right arm.
"Ah?!"
Lin Zhao exclaimed in surprise, "Kirin Fire Seal?"
"No."
The white-robed woman shook her head and chuckled, "There is no such thing as a Kirin Fire Seal in this world. What you awakened since childhood was not the Kirin Fire Seal, but our sect's Fire Dragon Seal, which was once managed by your senior brother Ding Muchen. Now that he is the Saint of War in the ancestral court of the military strategists, this Fire Dragon Seal should be yours to manage."