Golden

Splash.

With another ripple of water, that eight-hundred-year-long river of time rapidly narrowed and thinned, finally reverting into a seed engraved with mysterious runes. The seed transformed into a streak of light and vanished into the center of Huang Tian's brow.

Zhang Jiao, Zhuge Kongming, He Ting, Xie An, Wang Xizhi, Li Shimin, Li Jing, Wu Daozi, Zhao Kuangyin...

The life stories, cultivation experiences, techniques, and Daoist arts of each individual flashed through Huang Tian's mind.

After a long while, he opened his eyes, his gaze carrying a hint of divinity and the weight of ages.

Eight hundred years!

He had witnessed eight hundred years of worldly change, countless heroes and talents rising, only to streak across the horizon like brilliant meteors. He saw profound techniques, exquisite Daoist arts, the flourishing of technology, and the vastness of the Dao Court...

"I never expected the Yellow Heaven Mountain-Suppressing Spirit Scripture to have been completed by later generations up to the Golden Core stage. I had been worrying about how to obtain the subsequent parts..."

He smiled faintly, that sense of divinity gradually dissipating as his humanity returned to his eyes.

In truth, given his comprehension, he could have deduced the subsequent cultivation realms of the Yellow Heaven Mountain-Suppressing Spirit Scripture himself. However, without other techniques for reference, it would have consumed too much time; how could that compare to the efficiency of this direct harvest?

Moreover, it wasn't just one Golden Core technique, but nine in total!

There were also three hundred Foundation Establishment techniques and countless Qi Refining methods!

These techniques and arts alone were enough to rival many immortal cultivation sects.

"The only pity is the lack of a Primordial Spirit realm technique, but that is to be expected. In a mere eight hundred years, being able to deduce a Golden Core technique is already a pleasant surprise. The Primordial Spirit realm is too distant; it would be abnormal if they had managed to deduce that..."

He composed his mind and swept his gaze across the chamber, discovering a layer of fine dust accumulated on the floor.

"It seems this meditation on the river of time took quite a while..."

He activated his superpower, and a multitude of voices flooded his ears.

"Holy Venerable above, please bless our fields with a bountiful harvest this year..."

"The Dao Court has governed for nearly two years, and the world is at peace; bandits are non-existent. Guangzong is the birthplace of the Divine Infant, becoming increasingly prosperous. Doors are left unbolted at night, and lost items are not picked up from the road. The hearts of the people are simple and honest..."

"Wenruo, you are a talent of our clan with the ability to govern. Although the Dao Court has divided the lands of the Xun Clan, do not hold a grudge. Serve the immortals and the Dao Court with all your heart in governing the region. One day, if you are granted immortal arts, you will transform our Xun Clan into a Yu Province immortal clan, eternal and undying. Would that not be wonderful?"

"Hahaha, I never thought I, Yuan Benchu, would actually survive the hands of the moths—ahem, the Dao Court. But then again, I broke no laws. When they attacked Luoyang, I even sent them intelligence; there is always merit in defecting. It is just that the clan lands are gone, but so be it. Most of those fields belonged to Yuan Ji and Yuan Shu anyway; what does that have to do with me? I, Yuan Benchu, shall enter the Dao Court to become a capable minister of a peaceful age. I shall cultivate immortality and become a god of unfathomable power!"

"..."

Following the various voices for a while, Huang Tian not only saw the myriad faces of sentient beings but also realized that his seclusion had lasted a full two months.

"Two months in the Late Han Dynasty World is two days on Blue Star. Feng Zechun should have finished revising the paper by now."

With a flick of his intent, he instantly returned to Blue Star.

In his apartment, he opened his email and indeed found the revised paper sent by Feng Zechun. He clicked it open, scanned it briefly, and submitted the paper to Inventiones Mathematicae.

With that task complete, Huang Tian intended to eat an orange to reward himself, but his expression suddenly froze. A golden voice traversed the endless void, connecting to his ear.

"Gold! It is a voice from another world!"

Joy stirred in his heart, and he immediately followed the winding golden thread of sound to "look" toward a world at an unknown distance.

Whoosh.

A sound like water rippling echoed, and a mundane scene appeared before him:

In a simple yet ancient bedchamber, a youth with a sallow complexion lay on a wooden bed. His chest barely rose and fell, his breathing so faint it was almost inaudible.

"I beg the immortals and Buddhas of the four directions to bless Fourth Young Master so his illness may heal and he may soon be well..."

Beside the bed, a girl of twelve or thirteen knelt. She wore her hair in double buns, dressed in a simple, narrow-sleeved, cross-collared tunic and a long skirt. A handkerchief embroidered with lotus flowers was tied at her waist, and she wore clean cloth shoes. Her hands were pressed together, her eyes red-rimmed as she prayed in a low voice.

"Sigh, you silly girl. It looks like Young Master Huang Tian won't make it. We should think of another way out. Perhaps I should beg Steward Fang; once the Fourth Young Master dies, we two can go serve other masters so we aren't left without support and kicked out of the Huang Family."

In the corner, a sturdy woman in coarse clothing saw her daughter crying so bitterly that she couldn't help but sigh and mutter incessantly.

"I thought being assigned to serve the Fourth Young Master was a good job. Who would have thought those people were just bullying me for being new to the Huang household and not knowing the truth? It turns out this Fourth Young Master was born to a lowly maid, and his mother died of illness years ago. The Master and Mistress don't favor him; his father doesn't love him, and he is often bullied by the Second and Third Young Masters. If it weren't for the servants fearing his status as a master, and occasionally allotting some grain and cloth, he wouldn't have survived at all. Honestly, if you ask me, it would be better if the Fourth Young Master died. He wouldn't have to suffer the bullying anymore, and we two would be free..."

"Mother!" Hearing this, the girl grew angry, her tears streaming down as she sobbed.

"Alright, stop crying, Mother won't say it anymore." The woman said, feeling a bit awkward. "Actually, I hope the Fourth Young Master gets better too, but this illness came so strangely. He became this sick in just a day or two, and even the doctor shook his head after seeing him..."

As she spoke, she realized what she was doing and quickly slapped her own mouth twice. "I really won't say it, I won't!"

In his apartment, Huang Tian frowned. He didn't care about the messy life of the youth on the bed, but from his perspective, none of the three people in the chamber showed any traces of cultivation, including the youth who shared his name.

However, listening to the woman's chatter, it was clear that this Fourth Young Master was highly unfavored. Even if this world had a cultivation system, he might not have access to it.

Huang Tian shifted his gaze, and the scene changed to the courtyard outside the chamber.

The courtyard was small but quiet. The ground was paved with grey square bricks, with small, vibrant green grasses peeking through the cracks. A pomegranate tree was planted in the corner, its lush branches and leaves casting a patch of cool shade.

In the middle of the courtyard stood a stone table and two square stone stools. Under the eaves sat an old blue-stone water vat filled with clear water, with a few tiny leaves floating silently on the surface.

He tried to pull his perspective upward to see the situation outside the courtyard, but the image remained motionless, as if telling him that this was all he could see for now.

"The information I can obtain is still too little. I don't know if this world possesses any transcendent power..."