The River of Time and Space

"..."

The Origin Will showed no sign of retreating. It continued to watch the place as if facing a formidable enemy.

The Green-Robed Being couldn't be bothered to pay it any mind and continued speaking to Shi Yan. "All right, that's enough background. Now for the important part. The Three Saints Palace is a powerful faction in the Ancient Civilization that specializes in the Path of Time and Space. Naturally, the disciples it cultivates all practice in that field. Of course, the separate paths of time and space count as well.

"'Three Saints' refers to the earliest three Founders of our Three Saints Palace lineage. One excelled in the Path of Time, another in the Path of Space, and the last in the Path of Time and Space. They're the three statues you saw in the Divine Temple.

"When the three Founders established the Three Saints Palace, they were already beings worthy of being called 'Saints.' Two of them later advanced even further, reaching..."

At that, the Green-Robed Being glanced at the Origin Will, which was keeping a close watch on the place, then continued, "I can't say any more. That would be too much. But we're almost there anyway."

By now, the Green-Robed Being and Shi Yan stood before the elegant two-story pavilion.

"Come inside with me. This is the inheritance treasure of our Three Saints Palace lineage: the Guardian Tower."

The Green-Robed Being opened the door and led Shi Yan into the two-story pavilion.

From the outside, the pavilion didn't look particularly large. But once inside, Shi Yan discovered that it contained a whole world of its own.

The pavilion's interior was a vast, empty starry sky. Numerous "rivers" of different lengths flowed through it. The longest stretched more than a hundred light-years, while the shortest was only tens of billions of kilometers long. There were 344 rivers in total.

Shi Yan also noticed that the celestial bodies scattered throughout the starry sky, both large and small, were no ordinary objects. A quick glance was enough for him to count 821 black holes and 1,422 planets.

"These rivers, black holes, and planets are the inheritances left behind by the past Founders, Inheritors, and most outstanding disciples of the Three Saints Palace. The rivers are the 'Rivers of Time and Space,' the black holes are 'Primordial Black Holes,' and the planets are 'Stars of Worlds.' They correspond to inheritances in the Path of Time and Space, the Path of Time, and the Path of Space, respectively." The Green-Robed Being flew to Shi Yan's side and introduced them one by one.

"As for the size of each inheritance site, it reflects the strength of the one who left it behind. Take this one, for example."

The Green-Robed Being pointed toward the shortest river, which was several tens of billions of kilometers long. "This is the inheritance I left behind. I was the weakest of all the Inheritors in the history of the Three Saints Palace, and the last one as well... Of course, once you inherit the Three Saints Palace, I'll become the second-to-last Inheritor."

"Inherit the Three Saints Palace?" Shi Yan's heart stirred. He had suspected as much for some time, but hearing the Green-Robed Being say it outright still put his mind at ease.

Inheriting the legacy of an Ancient Civilization faction was an absolutely extraordinary opportunity for any life-form from the Universe Ocean. Shi Yan already had high hopes for the future, so naturally he looked forward to this inheritance all the more.

"Of course you'll be the one to inherit it." The Green-Robed Being glanced at him and sighed. "It took an Endless Reincarnation just to find someone like you who could pass the Maze Lock's test. I doubt there'll be another before the world is destroyed."

"You practice the Path of Time and Space, so I'll take you to the most important place first: the River of Time and Space. Come with me." As he spoke, the Green-Robed Being flew toward a River of Time and Space more than forty light-years long.

"Senior, you said the size of an inheritance site reflects the strength of the Founder who left it behind... The one who left this inheritance can't be the strongest in the Path of Time and Space among the past Founders, can he? Why did you call it the most important?" Shi Yan followed him toward the river, curious.

"That's right. He isn't."

The Green-Robed Being pointed toward another River of Time and Space, more than 170 light-years long. "That is the inheritance left by the 21st Ancestor of the Space-Time Lineage in the Three Saints Palace. He was the strongest practitioner of the Path of Time and Space in the palace's history, and the first in the Three Saints Palace to cultivate that path to its ultimate level."

To cultivate it to its ultimate level meant becoming a God King.

Shi Yan understood. It seemed that among the three First Ancestors of the Three Saints Palace, the Founder of the Space-Time Lineage had indeed never reached the God King realm.

Even so, that was astonishing enough.

Besides the other two First Ancestors, this 21st Ancestor of the Space-Time Lineage meant that at least three God Kings had appeared in the history of the Three Saints Palace.

And from what Shi Yan could tell, among the three kinds of inheritance sites, there were one or two of roughly similar size in each category. The Three Saints Palace had likely produced more than three God Kings in its history.

By contrast, the lineage of Duan Donghe that Luo Feng inherited in the original story had only ever had one God King. Even that made it one of the top inheritances in the Ancient Civilization.

Then there was Jin God King Mountain Guest, who had founded the Jin Kingdom. That vast kingdom had only one God King—Mountain Guest himself—along with a dozen or so Saint-Calling beings.

Compared with the Three Saints Palace, it clearly fell far short.

It was obvious that the Three Saints Palace lineage was far more powerful than the Duan Donghe Lineage or the Jin Kingdom.

Yet even a faction like this had joined forces with the Wu Kingdom against their enemy, only to be hunted down and forced to flee into the Universe Ocean. What kind of beings could their enemies have been?

The Three Saints Palace wasn't a direct branch of the Wu Kingdom, but the Duan Donghe Lineage was undoubtedly an internal faction within it. Clearly, the Wu Kingdom was probably no mere kingdom led by a single ordinary God King, like the Jin Kingdom.

At that thought, Shi Yan sighed to himself. The waters of the Origin Continent ran deep indeed.

As Shi Yan pondered, the Green-Robed Being continued explaining. "The 21st Ancestor was the strongest practitioner in the history of my Space-Time Lineage, but the path he cultivated was created by the First Ancestor.

"The River of Time and Space we're heading to now was left behind by the First Ancestor. The cultivation method he left behind was the path followed by the strongest practitioners of the Path of Time and Space throughout the Three Saints Palace's history. That's why the First Ancestor's legacy is naturally the most important."

"Senior, which of the three statues in the Divine Temple is the First Ancestor of the Space-Time Lineage?" Shi Yan suddenly asked.

"The one in the middle." The Green-Robed Being answered tersely.

"The Headless Statue?"

Shi Yan froze. He hadn't expected that statue to be the First Ancestor of the Three Saints Palace's Space-Time Lineage. But why was it headless? Surely the First Ancestor wasn't in a form like Xing Tian's?

"It has to do with the cultivation method the First Ancestor created. He specifically ordered that the statue be made that way. You'll understand what's special about the method soon enough." The Green-Robed Being seemed to have guessed what was troubling Shi Yan, but offered only a brief explanation before saying nothing more.

Seeing this, Shi Yan felt a vague unease. "It seems the cultivation method of the Three Saints Palace's Path of Time and Space is somewhat unusual..."

But they had already come this far, and Shi Yan had no way back. There was no doubt that if he insisted on refusing the inheritance, the Green-Robed Being would kill him without hesitation.

Still, as a True God with such an opportunity before him, no one would back down. Shi Yan was no exception.

The two moved quickly, and before long they had flown into the River of Time and Space left behind by the First Ancestor.

The moment he entered the river, Shi Yan felt a chill run through his body. It was as if he had crossed through countless stretches of time and space, with every tiny point containing a world.

But Shi Yan knew this was probably just an illusion. If the First Ancestor could truly do that, he would be more than merely a Saint-Calling being.

After entering the River of Time and Space, Shi Yan found himself standing on a cloud. He looked around and saw a world of white clouds, empty except for them. Only far in the distance stood a colossal, crystalline statue.

Shi Yan couldn't tell what material the statue was made from. It looked crystal clear, and an imposing aura emanated faintly from it. He had a vague sense that the stone was more extraordinary than any material he had ever seen.

As for the figure it depicted, Shi Yan recognized it from its build and features: it was the Headless Statue from the Divine Temple, the First Ancestor of the Space-Time Lineage. Only this statue was whole.

The First Ancestor was a dashing man with sharp brows and bright eyes, quite handsome. There was only one problem... Two identical heads sat atop the neck of the First Ancestor's statue.

"This is the First Ancestor of the Three Saints Palace's Space-Time Lineage, and the true core among the three First Ancestors. Though he wasn't the strongest among the Founders of the Path of Time and Space throughout our history, the cultivation method of our lineage originated with him. You may kneel before him."

The Green-Robed Being walked over to Shi Yan and lowered the hood of his green robe. He had the appearance of a middle-aged man, and he too had two identical heads.

The next second, the world around Shi Yan shifted. The two of them had arrived a short distance in front of the First Ancestor's statue.

Shi Yan couldn't help asking, "Senior, what's the reason for the Founder's appearance?"

If it had only been the First Ancestor, that might have been one thing. But the Green-Robed Being also had two heads, which clearly wasn't normal.

"It has to do with the cultivation method created by the First Ancestor." The Green-Robed Being cleared up Shi Yan's confusion, then explained, "Don't worry. With your potential, this cultivation method will only benefit you."

As he spoke, the Green-Robed Being extended a hand, and a Silver Prayer Mat appeared a short distance in front of Shi Yan.

Shi Yan stopped hesitating. He walked up to the mat and respectfully bowed several times before the First Ancestor's statue.

The First Ancestor had created such a unique cultivation method, and Shi Yan was about to inherit his legacy. He felt deep respect for him.

"Good. From today onward, you are the 345th 'Sage' of the Three Saints Palace's Space-Time Lineage... It's been so, so long since I took over as Sage. At last, I can lay down this heavy burden..." The Green-Robed Being—or rather, the Old Sage—sounded much more cheerful.

At the same time, billions of rays of light lit up the space throughout the River of Time and Space. They reflected endlessly between heaven and earth, then converged on Shi Yan's body.