Time hurried on, never to return, yet it had never inscribed the years.
Once cultivation reached the pinnacle of creation, it achieved unity across space—one self among all selves. And once one attained eternity, one reached unity across time, with one's past and future fused as one. On the level of time, there would no longer be any flaw to exploit.
Of course, there was no actual need to reach eternity. So long as one attained immortality, one would exist eternally in the present age. Even if one's past self were cut down, it would only weaken the present body; it would not cause the present self to vanish outright.
Mortal, Dao, Fruit, Tribulation—once one entered the Dao Realm, one had in truth attained the Dao.
The ultimate end of cultivation in many worlds of time and space, even the apex of many dimensions, amounted to no more than this.
Yet the conflicts within the current dimensional spacetime had long surpassed the scope of the Dao Realm. Whether it was the mysterious existence concealing its identity, or the apocalyptic lifeforms of other dimensions that had embarked upon special paths, every one of them had transcended the mundane. It was fundamentally impossible for them to leave any flaw upon the timeline.
However, though time could not preserve an imprint, it could not stop the temporal anchor known as the present from relentlessly advancing.
One could even say that the passage of time was merely the ripples left behind by "advance." Even if an entire dimension's time were frozen, it would only be like marking a boat to seek a fallen sword—it would not affect the phenomenon of advance.
Time flowed on. The King of Light continued to flee, controlling the sanctuary formed from the Crown of the Most Sacred. Though she