Pop!
A bubble flew out of the River of Time and burst beside Daoist Zhunti. A torrent of temporal turbulence instantly swallowed him.
Time raced backward around him until he vanished from the spot.
On a wasteland in the Western World, a Bodhi Tree swayed in the breeze.
Daoist Zhunti was astonished to find himself back in the Western World, destroyed after the Dao-Devil War.
He hadn't even taken human form!
What kind of power could manipulate time to such an extreme?
Saints had already escaped the River of Time, free from the erosion of time and the constraints of life and death.
Yet the terrifying old man before them could drown them in time once more.
"Run!"
Only one word remained in Daoist Jieyin's mind.
But with time frozen, they could barely move.
Their movements were slower than a tortoise's.
Bang!
The old man struck Daoist Jieyin, Venerable Primordial, and Laozi with a single slap, sending them flying out of sight.
His slap made the Saints experience a despair so agonizing it pierced their bones, while time stretched around them until it seemed infinitely slow.
Sect Master Tongtian drew a sharp breath and summoned the Four Immortal Slaying Swords, bracing for battle.
"Don't be alarmed!"
"I am the Time Monarch. I've come to see an old friend off!"
The old man spoke slowly.
Sect Master Tongtian nodded, but a tempest stirred in his heart.
When had his disciple befriended such a terrifying being?
Was he a Heavenly Dao Saint at the ninth heaven, or had he already transcended the Great Dao?
"Se... senior..."
Sect Master Tongtian called out, but the words felt awkward.
He and his disciple were treating each other as equals...
"I know what you're about to say."
"Indeed, I have the power to bring him back