However.
As time slowly passed.
An hour later.
A breeze suddenly stirred around the previously silent Stone Pavilion.
But it wasn't air that was moving. It was a ripple in time.
Ao Tong's head snapped up. For the first time, an incredulous expression appeared in her usually languid eyes.
Ye Xuan sat cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by shimmering motes of light that had appeared from nowhere.
The motes danced and swirled around him, then condensed into mysterious symbols.
They were Time Runes!
And not only that—they had already formed a complete arrangement and were operating on their own!
"This... It's done?"
Ao Tong's red lips parted slightly. The calm of her heart, usually as still as an ancient well, was thrown into tumult.
An hour!
Just one hour!
He hadn't merely understood those runes—he was already trying to form the Dharma Seal for the Sky-Mending Technique?
"Phew—"
Just then, Ye Xuan let out a long breath.
He slowly opened his eyes.
In that instant, a River of Time seemed to flow in the depths of his pupils.
His spirit had been somewhat weary, but now it had somehow turned back, instantly returning to its absolute peak.
"I understand."
Ye Xuan looked at his hands. A mark of time flickered across his palm and vanished.
"The so-called act of mending the heavens is really just taking a fragment of time from the past and laying it over the present."
"As long as you find the right moment, you can achieve a perfect 'restore.'"
Ye Xuan rose to his feet and grinned at Ao Tong.
"This technique is pretty interesting."
The Stone Pavilion fell silent.
Ao Tong stared at Ye Xuan as if he were a monster.
She didn't want to speak.
She felt as if the cultivation principles she had spent tens of thousands of years learning had just taken a serious blow.
What kind of monstrous comprehension was this?
Could the Chaos Heavy Pupils and an Innate Human Race physique really make someone this unreasonable?
"You..."
Ao Tong opened her mouth, but in the end, she could only sigh helplessly. Her expression grew exceedingly complicated.
"Little one, I'm starting to believe you weren't joking when you mentioned that 'Hundred Year Agreement.'"
"Being your 'big sister' is quite a lot of pressure."
If he kept growing at this rate, forget a hundred years—he might really surpass her in fifty.
Ye Xuan chuckled and brushed the dust off his clothes.
"You flatter me, Big Sister. It's all thanks to your good teaching."
He straightened his clothes but didn't hurry to leave. Instead, he turned to look around at the hazy Chaos Small World.
The laws here were complete and spiritual energy abundant. It was a blessed place for cultivation.
But it was too quiet.
So quiet it made you uneasy, like a splendid tomb.
Ao Tong had sat here for countless years, with only dust for company and solitude for a neighbor.
"Big Sister."
Ye Xuan turned to the peerlessly elegant Gray-Robed Woman, his voice suddenly softening.
"You've been sitting here for tens of thousands of years. Don't you feel bored?"
Ao Tong was taken aback.
Bored?
Perhaps she had grown used to it long ago.
Used to solitude, used to waiting, used to watching the world outside change while everything here remained eternally the same.
"The Sacred Academy may be peaceful, but it lacks so much color."
Ye Xuan held out a hand in invitation.
"The world outside is wonderful."
"There's fine wine, delicious food, prosperous ancient kingdoms, and Heaven's Prides striving to reach the summit."
"Now that you're awake, why not come outside with me?"
"Don't let yourself become a statue for real."
Ao Tong looked at the hand held out before her.
It was young and strong, full of vigor.
Her gaze grew distant.
Once, she too had been full of ambition, roaming the Great Wilderness and fighting until no one in the world dared claim supremacy.
When had she shut herself away in this little world?
"Go outside... and take a look?"
Ao Tong murmured.
Her Double Pupils, which could see through the ages, gazed through layer upon layer of mist. She seemed to glimpse the sunlight outside and hear the wind.
After a long while.
A look of relief appeared on her beautiful face.
"Very well."
"I've slept for so long my bones are nearly rusty."
"It's time to see what this world has become after all these changes."
Ao Tong extended her slender hand and gently rested it in Ye Xuan's palm.
"Buzz!"
In that instant,
the gray robe around her trembled faintly.
A soft immortal glow spread across the plain garment.
It was still the same style, yet now it seemed impossibly noble, like the robes of a goddess from the heavens.
Her cascading hair stirred in a windless breeze, her skin gleamed like snow, and her whole being radiated a brilliance that no one dared look upon directly.
The Peerless Goddess had stepped out of the painting.
"Let's go, little one."
Ao Tong withdrew her hand, clasped it behind her back, and stepped out of the Stone Pavilion.
"Lead the way."
Outside the Sacred Academy's gates.
The Pavilion Master of the Sky-Mending Pavilion paced anxiously like an ant on a hot pan.
Several hours had passed since Ye Xuan went inside.
Under normal circumstances, a few hours would pass in the blink of an eye.
But today was different. Inside were not only the Ancient Killing Array, but also a legendary taboo.
"Why hasn't he come out yet?"
"Could something have happened?"
Several elders looked worried as well.
If that Venerable had truly perished inside, the Sky-Mending Pavilion would not only lose a powerful ally but might also bring disaster upon itself.
Just as everyone was letting their imaginations run wild,
"Rumble—"
the tightly shut stone doors suddenly let out a deep roar.
Then,
the doors slowly swung open.
A dense Chaos Qi, carrying the weight of ages, poured through the gap.
"He's coming out!"
The Pavilion Master of the Sky-Mending Pavilion perked up. He hurriedly straightened his clothes and stood respectfully before the entrance to greet him.
Through the churning mist,
two figures emerged side by side.
The one on the left was dressed in white as pure as snow, handsome and distinguished. It was Ye Xuan.
But when the Pavilion Master's gaze fell upon the figure beside Ye Xuan, his pupils contracted sharply.
It was a woman.
She wore gray robes and walked barefoot, not a speck of dust upon her.
She made no effort to release her aura. In fact, she looked like an ordinary mortal woman.
And yet—
the instant the Pavilion Master saw her, his soul trembled uncontrollably.
It was an absolute suppression rooted in their Life Levels.
Like an ant gazing up at a divine dragon in the heavens.
That ancient, weathered presence, as though she had come from the source of the River of Time,
made the Pavilion Master, a half-step Venerable, go weak in the knees. He nearly fell straight to the ground.
"This... This is..."
The Pavilion Master's mouth hung open, his voice trembling.
He could sense clearly that even the True Gods of the Upper Realm would likely pale beside this woman.
She was a living, supreme Giant!
Ye Xuan looked at the stunned Pavilion Master and smiled faintly.
He turned to glance at Ao Tong beside him.
At that moment, Ao Tong's beautiful Double Pupils were half-lidded as she seemed to breathe in the fresh, vibrant air of the outside world.
Sunlight fell across her face, gilding her peerless features.
"Pavilion Master."
Ye Xuan broke the deathly silence.
"I've completed my mission."
"My trip to the Sacred Academy was quite fruitful."
"And..."
Ye Xuan pointed at Ao Tong beside him, a hint of smugness in his voice.
"I've also brought out a true Ancestor for you."
But Twin Pupils Woman's expression suddenly turned cold.
She reached out and tapped Ye Xuan on the head, saying crossly,
"You little rascal, don't call me Ancestor. Remember to call me Big Sister!"
"Yes, yes, yes, Big Sister Ao Tong!" Ye Xuan hurriedly nodded.
The Pavilion Master of the Sky-Mending Pavilion: "..."
Seeing this, I hope the old man won't be killed to keep him quiet, right?
Before you continue