Particles of Time

Central Plains, Sound Valley, Elder Court.

Never before had the elders of Sound Valley gathered in such numbers. The sudden opening of the inheritance had startled every elder, forcing them to set aside all their affairs and return to Sound Valley to discuss what to do.

"When was the last time the inheritance opened?"

"I can't quite remember, but it must have been at least a hundred years ago..."

The elders' discussion grew heated. None of them had imagined that an inheritance long thought lost would open again.

"Do you think this successor will succeed?"

"Hard to say."

"I have a feeling this successor will come out alive—and bring the ancestor's token out, too."

"Wouldn't that mean our Sound Valley would finally have a Valley Master?"

"What's wrong with having a Valley Master?"

Space tore open into a stable passage, and the Grand Elder strolled out of it, making his way to the very center of the Elder Court.

Sound Valley's Elder Court was built like an ancient Roman colosseum, with the elders' seats arranged in tiers from top to bottom. The closer someone sat to the center, the stronger they were.

And the Grand Elder standing in the center was none other than a Dou Sheng Expert!

The elders all revealed knowing, wry smiles. Sound Valley had always secluded itself from the world, which had turned every last one of its members into a peerless slacker of the sort encountered only once in a hundred years.

To them, if a Valley Master who had received the ancestor's inheritance really showed up, how would that be any different from having a boss parachuted in over their heads?

If this Valley Master was a slacker like them, that would be fine. But if he turned out to be an ambitious king of the grind, the Sound Valley elders' good days would truly be over...

"Ah..."

The Grand Elder knew exactly what this bunch was like, too. He heaved a long sigh and said, "You lot have grown so used to living like idle clouds and wild cranes that you don't even want a Valley Master anymore? You might as well leave Sound Valley and become rogue cultivators..."

"Heh heh heh..." The elders all laughed sheepishly.

"This opening of the inheritance was unlike any before it. Only a single breath passed between its opening and closing. I fear that successor truly has grasped the secret art left by our ancestor." The Grand Elder glared at the few Dou Zun leading the others in playing dumb, then continued, "Even if he cannot fully master the secret art and bring out the ancestor's token this time, given enough time, he will certainly do so! Our Sound Valley may truly be about to gain a Valley Master!"

"In the past, I let you get away with shirking and cutting corners, but from now on, every one of you had better stay sharp! Send everyone out. If anyone encounters the successor, report back to the valley immediately. Is that understood?"

"Understood, Grand Elder."

Yun Congxin had no idea how many times he had tried. He only stopped when the Dou Qi in his body ran dry and he could no longer lift the Copper Cloud Staff.

His soul power was badly depleted, his Dou Qi was nearly exhausted, and his entire body ached. Even his consciousness had begun to blur.

Drowsiness kept eating away at Yun Congxin's reason, but he did not simply collapse into sleep. Instead, he sat cross-legged and circulated his Cultivation Technique, absorbing the energy around him.

Yun Congxin had discovered that he had entered a curious state. Ever since discovering those mysterious particles, he had been trying to capture them. Though he had never succeeded, he had still brought the mysterious energy they released back into his body.

Now that energy had gathered in Yun Congxin's Niwan Palace, golden and glittering.

What exactly is this?

The rank of Yun Congxin's Cultivation Technique was simply too low. Its rate of energy absorption could not keep up with a Dou Zong's needs at all, so he could only guide energy into his body and refine it while pondering how to use this glittering golden energy.

It was neither eerie and sinister nor overbearing and fierce. It simply stayed obediently in Yun Congxin's Niwan Palace, radiating golden light. Aside from making his forehead gleam, the energy seemed to serve no other purpose.

Yun Congxin tried to capture it with the Power of Space mingled in his Dou Qi. It offered no resistance, obediently allowing itself to be brought out of his Niwan Palace before circulating through his body with his Dou Qi and dissipating.

It was like morning mist in the woods, dissolving beneath gentle sunlight.

Just like the Copper Cloud Staff that kept returning to the platform, it returned to his Niwan Palace and continued quietly radiating its glittering golden light.

After carrying that energy through a full circuit of his body, Yun Congxin keenly noticed that his body ached less, and that the Dou Qi within him had increased without his even realizing it. That additional Dou Qi was not worldly energy he had refined himself. It seemed to have appeared out of thin air.

Yet it was no different from the Dou Qi Yun Congxin had painstakingly refined. It was as though Yun Congxin had traveled through time once again, into the near future, skipping the arduous refining process and directly obtaining pure, abundant Dou Qi.

The Waterfall of Time...

If such a waterfall truly existed, could those particles be tiny droplets splashing off it? And could the reason he kept failing to capture them be that those droplets had already fallen, leaving his probing Soul Power able to gather only the traces of energy left behind after they flowed away...?

Something seemed to dawn on Yun Congxin. He opened his eyes and pushed the Copper Cloud Staff off the platform once again.

This time, he no longer fixated on the elusive particles. Instead, he carefully observed the fine spatial fluctuations.

The mere flow of time meant little to an observer. Just as without gently swaying willow branches, people could not see the wind passing by.

The power of time would inevitably disturb space, like a stone falling into a lake, easily shattering its tranquil stillness.

But searching for the center of the ripples would not allow him to catch the stone thrown into the lake.

Yun Congxin observed the spatial ripples stirred up by the Time Particles, not to find particles that had already vanished, but to predict those yet to come!

If he wanted to capture the power of time, how could he think only of the present before his eyes?

Once again, Yun Congxin pushed the Copper Cloud Staff off.

"Got you..."

A Time Particle was firmly caught by Yun Congxin's Soul Power, only to abruptly vanish.

A stable spatial rift opened where Yun Congxin had captured the Time Particle. He had discovered traces of the Waterfall of Time and successfully proven his conjecture.

Thus, he had passed the first trial and learned how to return.

"What a complicated thing..." Yun Congxin stood up. It was getting late; he ought to head back.

Yun Congxin cast a regretful glance at the Copper Cloud Staff on the platform and said softly, "I'll be back."

Yun Congxin stepped into the rift, leaving that wondrous space and returning to the entrance of the Gate of Life and Death.

"Former Sect Master?" the elder stationed there exclaimed in surprise.

"How long was I inside?"

"Only an instant, Former Sect Master," the Misty Cloud Sect Elder said cautiously. "You came out practically the moment you went in..."

"Really?" Yun Congxin said in surprise. "This truly is... a pleasant surprise..."