River of Time

Biodata

Feature	Details
Name	River of Time
Alias(es)	Long River; 时间的长河
Species/Race	Supreme conceptual divine river; Origin River 74 562
Affiliation	The Myriad Worlds, which it governs and restrains 36 607
Occupation/Role	Regulates the order and Time Rules of the Myriad Worlds 36 127
Status	Active; partially controlled and guarded by Su Mu, the River Warden 327 607
First Appearance	Chapter 15 15

Background / History

Accounts describe the River of Time as the first thing to emerge when the Myriad Worlds were born; the worlds came afterward. It is regarded as the true Supreme Origin, standing above laws such as space, fate, karma, and reincarnation because time grants those concepts meaning. 502

One origin account states that Innate Time Energy came from a stone that split into ten portions. Nine portions merged into the River of Time, while the final portion split into ten streams that became sought-after opportunities within the Myriad Worlds. 502

For most of history, the River was considered ownerless. Cultivators sought to “transcend” it, but this was generally understood as only temporary or false transcendence; whether anyone has ever achieved true transcendence remains unknown. 127

Information about the River cannot be preserved through ordinary media. Its existence is instead passed down orally among powerful beings, explaining why even Su Mu initially did not know the name of the river he had guarded for years. 607

Appearance

The River of Time can appear deceptively ordinary: visitors describe it as neither especially broad nor majestic at first glance. Its surface can also seem endless, with ripples reflecting fragments of different ages. 36 350

• Its waters are known as Time Water. 67 68
• A single drop of Time Water may represent an entire small world. 36
• Its waves may foreshadow the prosperity or destruction of worlds. 44
• Time Mist can obscure figures and events upon the River. 68
• Some tributaries flow at different speeds; rapid flow corresponds to faster time in the worlds represented by that stretch of water. 306
• Water associated with polluted worlds may turn black. 306

Metaphysical Properties

Supreme Order

The River is the sole River of Time among countless realm seas and realm rivers. It stands above the rules of individual worlds and regulates the order of the Myriad Worlds. 127

• It restrains the Myriad Worlds and governs their Time Rules. 36 607
• Controlling it is considered tantamount to controlling the survival, destruction, past, and future of countless worlds. 223
• Some believe it could remain after the Myriad Worlds shatter and evolve into a new cycle of worlds, though this remains unproven. 502

Time Water

Time Water is dangerous even to powerful cultivators.

• It exerts a devouring force that can drag an unprotected traveler beneath the surface. 67
• Falling into it may exile someone into another time within another world. 68
• Most travelers require a medium such as Time Wood, a boat, a lotus platform, or another object to stand safely on its surface. 67 74
• A cultivator who is too weak to endure the River would have their body and soul destroyed, becoming less than river sand. 224

Temporal Travel and Karma

Those at sufficient cultivation can enter the River and travel upstream toward past eras, but doing so risks severe Time Karma. 127 223

• Great Emperors commonly avoid entering it unless necessary, fearing karmic entanglement. 223
• Even Heavenly Immortals cannot remain within it indefinitely; returning seven thousand years into the past was the limit for the Four Emperors. 36
• Going ashore is normally even more dangerous: the River suppresses ordinary visitors into small animals. 231
• Prolonged residence can erode one’s sense of time and consciousness, eventually reducing a person to a mindless shell. 499

Warden-Mediated Control

Su Mu’s position as River Warden has allowed him to perform acts previously believed impossible upon the River.

• He can halt the current, freeze Time Water, reverse flow, and disperse Time Mist. 68 232 608
• Reversing the River’s current can make time flow backward in worlds along the route. 282
• His River Affinity allows him to repair damaged channels, return stranded fish to the water, clear debris, and restore disturbed ecosystems. 496 507
• His body has developed a connection to the Long River that replenishes his spiritual power and rapidly heals his injuries while he stands upon it. 513
• By the time his affinity reached 60%, he could influence the River’s broader environment, including creating dense fog and teleporting across its waters. 352

Relationships

• Su Mu — The River Warden. His ability to control part of the River is unprecedented for a living being; he maintains order, collects crossing fees, and seeks to refine the River so he can leave it. 68 230 327
• Myriad Worlds — The River governs, restrains, and gives temporal meaning to the worlds it contains or represents. 36 502 607
• White-Brow Old Man — A long-term resident who possesses a trace of Innate Time Energy, allowing him to stay for up to a year before Time Karma forces him to leave. 499 502
• Chaos Figures — Powerful observers and enemies who seek the method to control the River and consider Su Mu an obstacle to their pursuit of Final Transcendence. 327 543 589
• Travelers through time — Great Emperors and other high-level cultivators use the River to reach past or future eras, though Su Mu’s presence has made unauthorized passage increasingly dangerous. 223 224 239

Story Role / Major Arcs

• The River Warden’s emergence — Su Mu begins collecting tolls from travelers and asserting authority over what others had always believed was ownerless. 15
• Proof of control — Su Mu stops the River’s flow and confronts Yang Kai and the White-Haired Man, shocking cultivators who believed no one could affect the River itself. 68 69
• River-crossing enforcement — He interrupts conflicts, collects fees without taking sides, and punishes stowaways attempting to cross time outside his rules. 121 239
• Maintenance and repair — Su Mu handles floods, damaged tributaries, bottomless openings, debris, and ecological disruption throughout the River system. 343 344 496 507
• Time Torrent probes — The Chaos Figures test Su Mu by mobilizing part of the River. Their failure leads them to conclude that he is effectively invincible while standing upon it. 343
• Water-level crisis — The Main River Channel loses more than a meter of water, causing the disappearance of worlds and prompting competing theories over whether Su Mu or a stronger unknown force is responsible. 542 543
• Revelation of its identity — Yang Qi explicitly tells Su Mu that the river he guards is the River of Time, the supreme river that restrains the Myriad Worlds. 607

Notable Quotes

“Time grants all things meaning.” 502