Time stopped flowing within thirty meters of Chen Xia.
He alone walked within it.
The woman's expression twisted severely as she struggled within this barrier of time. Her eyes had already begun to move, watching Chen Xia with considerable horror.
How could a cultivator who had yet to reach Nascent Soul touch a supreme Great Dao like time?!
She truly refused to believe it.
Chen Xia had already walked up to her and said, "If we're going to discuss things, I'd prefer us to stand as equals."
The temporal lock on the woman's face broke free. She frowned at Chen Xia, a rare note of seriousness entering her perpetually arrogant tone as she praised him.
"Entering the Great Dao of Time before reaching Nascent Soul-you truly are a genius. A pity you're a person without fortune. Otherwise, even our Ninth Mountain would fight to recruit you."
Chen Xia replied with a light laugh, "I don't need you to fight over me. I just want to know how you'll guarantee that you'll treat Qingyue well."
The woman did not answer this question, instead changing the subject. "You've both cultivated the Mystic Primordial Dao Chapters. This is a technique our Ninth Mountain spread throughout the immortal realm, and only its first volume was circulated outside."
"The purpose was to find prodigies across the worlds beyond who were compatible with the Mystic Primordial Dao Chapters, and this young girl is one."
"To form a Golden Core in this little world so lacking in Spiritual Qi and fortuitous opportunities, and condense over a thousand strands of Mystic Primordial Qi-this young girl's aptitude has already reached the Quasi-Saint level."
"Although she falls short of a Great Emperor, if she grows to maturity, she'll still be a major figure capable of suppressing an entire region. That's why our Ninth Mountain wants to take her away. Otherwise, leaving her confined to such a small place would be far too great a waste of her talent."
Chen Xia's transparent eyes flickered, and he shook his head. "You still haven't proved your sincerity."
The woman had said so much, but who knew whether it was true or false?
This concerned the course of Huang Qingyue's future. Chen Xia could not rest easy.
The woman's upper body had already broken free of the temporal lock. She rubbed her chin, troubled as well, considering how to prove herself, then suddenly smiled again.
"But you both have to ascend, don't you? And once you ascend to the immortal realm, you'll inevitably have to choose a sect. Otherwise, with your strength, you'll only be hunted by heavenly demons from beyond the domain."
"And you and this young girl probably can't ascend together, can you? You can suppress your realm for three hundred years at most before you'll have to face the Nascent Soul lightning tribulation and ascend to the immortal realm."
"But that's not necessarily true for this young girl. She's cultivating our Ninth Mountain's Mystic Primordial Dao Chapters, which progresses slowly to begin with. In this little world with so little Spiritual Qi and fortune, she'll need at least five hundred years to reach Nascent Soul."
The woman paused, as though something had occurred to her. Beneath her mysterious veil, her lips spread into a smile, and she continued.
"If you ascend, this little world's fortune won't be able to support another Nascent Soul ascendant. What will become of this young girl, then?"
"Perhaps she'll die of old age. That sounds like a good outcome, but whether it truly is, only she herself will know."
If Chen Xia ascended, Huang Qingyue might never see him again.
That was not a good outcome for either of them.
Chen Xia pressed his toes against the ground. The pale white ripples around him began to tremble, and the surrounding time actually displayed the horrifying phenomenon of reversing!
The woman's eyes lit up. Her tone finally grew solemn as she stated with certainty.
"If you weren't a person without fortune, our Ninth Mountain would absolutely want you. What a pity, a true pity. You can already comprehend the Great Dao of Time to an introductory level. Your future achievements would start at Quasi-Saint at the very least."
Chen Xia frowned. "What's the deal with being a person without fortune?"
The woman spread her hands with a smile. "There's no special meaning. You simply have no fortune, no fortuitous opportunities, and can't be calculated or divined by the Heavenly Dao. You rely on yourself for everything."
Chen Xia's frown deepened as he listened. The backward flow of time began to slow. "From what you're saying, being a person without fortune doesn't seem like a bad thing."
"No." The woman extended a hand before her and waved it with a smile.
"Being a person without fortune is a bad thing. Because you aren't acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao, you can't become a Quasi-Saint, much less walk the imperial path beyond it. Your cultivation will only ever reach the Heaven-Mending Realm."
"It's like a cup of water. Other people's upper limit is a full bucket, but for various reasons, they can't fill it."
"But your upper limit is only half a bucket. No matter how you fill it, no matter what methods you use, you can only reach half a bucket."
"You're walking a road with its end cut off."
Only then did Chen Xia understand. No wonder these immortal realm sects wanted nothing to do with a person without fortune like him.
But this drawback did not matter to Chen Xia. He did not rely on cultivation to grow stronger anyway. He mainly added points; cultivation was just a bonus. Having it was better, but lacking it made no difference.
The woman raised two fingers on her outstretched hand and continued.
"Second, a person without fortune affects the fortune of those around them, and most of these effects are negative. In any case, I've lived for thirty thousand years and never seen a positive effect."
"That's why none of the sects like people without fortune, much less accept them."
Chen Xia already knew this, so he was not particularly surprised. At worst, he would just add points and cultivate alone. That was no big deal.
But the matter at hand concerned Huang Qingyue.
So he asked another question.
"What treatment will Qingyue receive after she goes to your Ninth Mountain?"
The woman had already broken free of the temporal lock completely. Her porcelain-jade feet stepped down from the backs of the two little Daoist attendants as she smiled.
"With Quasi-Saint aptitude, she'll certainly become the mountain lord's final disciple. Once she becomes a Quasi-Saint, she can become a sect master like me."
"You're a Quasi-Saint?" Chen Xia was somewhat surprised.
The woman's feet touched the ground, and she lightly tapped the air before her with a finger. The reversing time abruptly stopped, even showing signs of turning against Chen Xia.
"I'm not a Quasi-Saint yet, merely at the peak of the Heaven-Mending Realm. You could also say I've taken half a step into Quasi-Saint. But because of my powerful combat strength, I became a sect master ahead of time."
The woman explained as she slowly walked toward Chen Xia, continuing.
"I'm rather interested in you. How about I suppress my realm to Golden Core and exchange a few moves with you? I'll also let you see what a true innate Divine Ability is."
Chen Xia raised an eyebrow and dispensed with courtesy, rolling up his sleeves as he replied.
"Even Nascent Soul isn't enough, let alone Golden Core."
An arrogant smile curled the woman's lips. "But my Golden Core is invincible within the same realm."
She took a heavy step forward. Time flowed swiftly, and the surrounding scenery blurred, as though they had entered a realm of chaos.
"Also, I'll use some Divine Abilities and techniques that don't belong to Golden Core, but their power will absolutely remain within Golden Core limits."
Chen Xia finished rolling up both sleeves and looked at the woman with an odd expression, kindly advising her.
"I think you'd be better off using Nascent Soul strength."
"Why?" The woman frowned and reached out to tap the space before her. Time flowed forward, gathering beside her to form a protective formation.
With this formation, Chen Xia could no longer strike her present self, only her future or past self.
But that had nothing to do with the present, and would only be erased within nonexistent space-time.
Chen Xia stepped forward with his left foot, shattering the ground. He raised both fists, brimming with fist intent, with a faint blue-green light gleaming upon them-the borrowing of strength from heaven and earth.
He replied.
"Because I have a Multicolored Core."