A Man Who Made Time Stand Still

"Hm? Oh, you mean that tower? That's the Tower of Time."

Wind Dragon glanced over and spoke slowly, seeming somewhat disdainful.

"The Tower of Time? What is that?"

Hearing the disdain in Wind Dragon's tone, Lu Chen grew curious.

"The Tower of Time is a treasure Seventh Ancestor found in an ancient Secret Realm."

"Within the Tower of Time, time flows at an accelerated rate. With every floor you ascend, the flow of time becomes a hundred times faster."

"And every floor contains the lifetime experiences of a Small World. The method for forging this Twin Fish Plate Small World was found in that tower."

Upon hearing Wind Dragon's explanation, Lu Chen's eyes rolled ceaselessly as he stared fixedly at Wind Dragon.

"Little Lu, are you holding back some bad idea again?"

Wind Dragon's scalp tingled beneath Lu Chen's stare, and he spoke up.

"Hahaha, I'm thinking that time in the Small World now flows fifty times faster than outside, while time inside the Tower of Time flows even faster than in the Small World. Wouldn't that be a double boost?"

"And the Small World hasn't even taken shape yet. Once it does, if I cultivate in the Tower of Time for tens of thousands of years, only one day would pass outside, right?"

"From today onward, wouldn't I be the king of time? Wouldn't I be a man who made time stand still?"

"Once I find Grandpa again, I can open a shop and do business. Wouldn't I make a fortune? Hahaha, I, Lu Chen, really am a genius."

As Lu Chen imagined his life after activating the Tower of Time, his grin had already stretched to his ears.

"Hehe, you're thinking a little too far ahead."

Wind Dragon slapped Lu Chen's back with his tail, interrupting Lu Chen's fantasy.

"Huh? Why do I feel such disdain in your voice?"

Lu Chen heard nothing bad in Wind Dragon's words, yet they were filled with disdain, making his curiosity grow even stronger.

"Hmph. This treasure might have been useful in ancient times, but now it's nothing more than chicken ribs."

Hearing Lu Chen's question, Wind Dragon spoke helplessly.

"Back then, Lord Azure Emperor joined forces with his ten incarnations just to activate the first floor for half a day."

"They were the world's peak combat power back then, and the spiritual energy at that time was hundreds of times denser than it is now. Tell me, isn't this treasure just chicken ribs?"

Hearing Wind Dragon's explanation and combining it with Feng Tiancheng's memories, Lu Chen finally understood the general situation.

Yet he was still somewhat unwilling to accept it. Such a powerful treasure could not be used simply because there was not enough spiritual energy.

"I don't believe it. I want to try."

Lu Chen led Nantian Wan'er swiftly toward the Tower of Time.

Before they could enter, they were repelled by a force.

"Huh? What's going on? I can't get close to it."

Hearing this, Wind Dragon rolled his eyes at Lu Chen.

"You big fool, Little Lu. With that brain of yours, you still want to be a man who makes time stand still?"

"Didn't you see that the barrier Seventh Ancestor set up hasn't dispersed yet?"

Seeing Lu Chen embarrass himself, Wind Dragon mercilessly mocked him.

"Seems so. I was too impatient."

Lu Chen looked at the thin layer of mist before him and scratched his head with a foolish grin.

"Then how can the Tower of Time be activated? So much time has passed; surely they must have thought of a way."

With an unparalleled treasure right before his eyes, Lu Chen was unwilling to let it go.

"No. If the memories Seventh Ancestor left you didn't mention it, then I don't know either."

As Wind Dragon explained, he saw Fire Phoenix flying over and suddenly thought of something.

"I think you can try. Since the spiritual power of the Azure Emperor Divine Tree can sustain Fire Phoenix's life, activating the Tower of Time shouldn't be too difficult."

Lu Chen said, "Sigh... that's still a long way off. Are there any other requirements for activating the Tower of Time?"

"It seems that some special materials are needed too. I'm not particularly sure about that."

Wind Dragon's understanding of the Tower of Time was not very deep either.

"Sigh... then we can only wait until this area opens up before figuring it out."

"The treasure is right before my eyes, and ten thousand acres of fertile fields are right before my eyes, yet I can't obtain them. It really makes my heart itch."

Seeing that he could not enter the Tower of Time for the moment, Lu Chen could only give up for now.

"What was that? It seemed like a shadow flashed by."

Nantian Wan'er pointed in the direction of the Tower of Time.

"What? I didn't see anything."

Lu Chen looked in the direction Nantian Wan'er indicated, but there had been no change there.

"I just saw a shadow come out from the Tower of Time."

"Really?"

Lu Chen now held control over the Small World, yet he had not sensed any changes within it.

After thinking for a moment, Wind Dragon said, "What Wan'er said may be possible. The higher a cultivator's realm, the longer their lifespan."

"Some of the envoys who followed Lord Azure Emperor back then also possessed passage rights to the Small World. Given their cultivation, it would be perfectly normal for them to live in the Small World without you noticing."

Hearing Wind Dragon's explanation, Lu Chen felt that this situation was indeed possible.

"Then could these people..."

"No. Those who could obtain passage rights must have been people the lords trusted. They won't harm you. You can rest assured."

Wind Dragon saw through Lu Chen's worries and spoke.

"That's good, hahaha."

Having his thoughts seen through, Lu Chen laughed awkwardly.

Wind Dragon looked at Lu Chen, thought for a moment, then continued, "The reason they did not come out to meet you is likely because the lords made some arrangements. You should understand that as well."

"I understand. Let's go first. We can't enter this place for now anyway."

Unable to enter the Tower of Time, Lu Chen's heart itched as he stood before it, and he hurriedly urged everyone to turn around and leave.

After the three left, two figures appeared beneath the Tower of Time.

"Hahaha, you were almost discovered. I told you to be more careful."

This was a pitch-black giant dragon, radiating a violent aura. Its physique and appearance were somewhat similar to Wind Dragon's.

The giant dragon coiled before the Tower of Time's entrance, relentlessly mocking the figure beside him.

"Sigh... I never expected Wan'er's senses to be this sharp since childhood. I was almost discovered."

The figure appeared somewhat weary.

"Wasn't that destined from birth? Who told someone to be a hopelessly straight man from childhood? Hahaha."

Sensing the man's embarrassment, the giant dragon continued to mock him.

"You..."

The man seemed to have touched upon some unbearable memories. Unable to swallow his anger, he turned around and grappled with the giant dragon.

A few minutes later, both the man and the giant dragon lay on the ground, gulping down air.

"Where are we going next? He has already obtained your Azure Emperor Divine Tree. The outcome should change as well, shouldn't it?"

Feeling the Small World's constantly changing aura, the giant dragon spoke.

"Sigh... now that the two of them have fused their Heavenly Pools together, Wan'er's fate can be said to have changed already."

After thinking for a moment, the man added, "My spiritual power can still support our stay in this world for some time. I want to take a look elsewhere. After all, it isn't easy to return once."

"Then..."

The giant dragon hesitated, seemingly finding it difficult to speak.

"What is it?"

The man turned back to look at the giant dragon.

"Sigh... do you not plan to tell him about Lord of Ceremonies? You still can't let go of that matter even now."

After thinking it over again and again, the giant dragon decided to say it.

"This..."

The man seemed to fall into his memories.

"Let him decide for himself. If we tell him now, he won't be able to accept it either."

After thinking for a while, the man said to the giant dragon.

"Sigh... why put yourself through this?"

The giant dragon shook his head and let out a long sigh, transforming into his true giant dragon form.

"Still, his path of development is already different from ours. Who can say what the future road holds? This time, we will definitely succeed."

"Hahaha, you're right."

As they spoke, the giant dragon carried the man into the sky and vanished.

At the same time, Nantian Wan'er raised her head toward the place where the man and giant dragon had disappeared.

Lu Chen said, "Wan'er, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. I just sensed an extremely familiar feeling leaving."

Nantian Wan'er said, "Let's go."

Three hours later, beneath the Innate Azure Emperor Divine Tree.

Lu Chen and the other two had already explored every corner of the Small World.

"Brother Lu, it seems the restraints have been lifted?"

Nantian Wan'er spoke as she sensed her own aura.

"Yes, the restraints have been lifted, but the evolution of the Innate Eight Trigrams doesn't seem to be over yet."

"The flow of time here differs from the outside. The blessing of heaven and earth is about to end, so let's go out first."

Feeling that his body was no longer restrained by the Small World, Lu Chen led Nantian Wan'er out of the Twin Fish Plate world and allowed the Innate Eight Trigrams Diagram to continue evolving.

A resonant chime sounded from the sky, and the final Golden Lotus vanished.

The aura between heaven and earth gradually returned to calm. Forces from all sides and demon beast leaders began moving toward the Fire Prison, all wanting to see just who had caused this heavenly phenomenon.

"Young man, Wan'er, you two are amazing. You even survived such a powerful Heavenly Tribulation."

Nantian Xiu rushed over from afar and spoke to the two of them.

Yet his shock was clearly directed at Lu Chen—or rather, at the background behind Lu Chen.

"But we must leave this place first. The heavenly phenomenon was too imposing. I'm afraid others may notice your talent, young man, and harbor malicious intentions."

Although Lu Chen had always insisted that he was merely a village child, Nantian Xiu believed this was only a means of concealing his identity and did not wish to forcefully expose him.

"Young man, where do you plan to go next? Wan'er's injuries have almost healed. Let's see whether we can travel together for a while longer."

Because of Nantian Wan'er, Nantian Xiu was somewhat worried and wanted to probe Lu Chen's background.

"Grandpa Xiu, I plan to head deeper into the Fire Prison."

"Wan'er has suffered from Cold Poison for more than ten years. I want to find some higher-quality Fire Essence to help her nourish her body, and along the way, I can test the progress of my cultivation."

Lu Chen answered without hesitation.

"Hahaha, good. It's rare for you to have such a heart."

Hearing Lu Chen's immediate answer, Nantian Xiu nodded with a smile, and the thoughts in his heart had already changed.

He was an old monster who had lived for thousands of years. At a glance, he could tell that Lu Chen's words came from the bottom of his heart.