The Mysterious Figure Approaching from Upstream with an Umbrella

Chen Yi stood by the banks of the River of Time in the Divine Realm for a long while. The towering presence of Wuji left him deeply moved, while the majestic bearing of Ling Xiao also granted him profound insights.

To observe history is to understand oneself; to witness reality is to grasp one’s limits. Only after this journey did he finally gain a clear comprehension of what it truly meant to be an Immortal Emperor.

Perhaps it was because the Twin Emperors had never taken him seriously, or perhaps their eyes were solely fixed on each other, rendering him nothing more than a tiny ant flailing at their feet—unable to excite them no matter how hard he tried. That was why he had managed to slip through their fingers time and again.

But now, the Twin Emperors had finally deigned to cast their gaze upon him, and he had no choice but to take things seriously as well.

Raising his eyes toward the upper reaches of the river, he saw a dazzling curtain of time blocking all sight. To peer into the past, one must pierce through it.

Turning back to look downstream, he noticed a faint trail of footprints slowly fading away—the path he had taken to arrive here. Cui Changsheng was still waiting for him at a fixed point in time, anticipating his return.

Though he could retreat now and ensure this four-star avatar escaped unscathed, he refused to accept such an outcome.

"I’ve come all this way—I want to indulge myself just once!"

Chen Yi murmured softly, his resolve firm.

Cui Changsheng had granted him only one chance to enter the River of Time, and not just any river—this was the River of Time belonging to the Divine Realm, which had once stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Immortal Realm!

If he didn’t take this opportunity to witness the Divine Realm at its most glorious and learn from its zenith, this journey would feel incomplete.

A four-star avatar was a loss he could afford.

Having made up his mind, Chen Yi strode forward without hesitation, advancing resolutely into the past.

With each step, he saw glimpses of Wuji and Ling Xiao locked in battle.

He caught sight of Cui Changsheng’s fleeting, majestic figure...

He witnessed Chen Lingxiu engaged in a cross-dimensional battle against a strange, otherworldly creature...

Yet he could do nothing but watch helplessly from the banks of the river, separated by the inexorable flow of time.

Fortunately, after a few more steps—roughly five hundred years further into the past—the curtain of time finally obscured the reflections cast by the main branch of the Immortal Realm’s River of Time.

Step by step, stride by stride, he pressed onward.

But as he walked, the footprints marking his path gradually blurred, swallowed by the relentless erosion of time.

He couldn’t tell how long he had been walking, but under the immense weight of the ages, Chen Yi grew weary. The energy reserves of his four-star avatar weren’t limitless, and he couldn’t afford to proceed recklessly.

Already, thirty percent of his strength had been depleted. If he turned back now, he could still retreat safely.

But when he paused to assess his situation, he realized with a start that the footprints marking his return path were fading at a steady, irreversible rate.

By his calculations, footprints from time points beyond a hundred thousand years had already vanished.

And now, he stood roughly eight hundred thousand years in the past.

There was no going back—the path home was lost.

"The resources I brought with this avatar are limited... At most, I can press forward another hundred million years before exhausting all energy reserves."

"But the collapse of the Divine Realm occurred at least two hundred million years ago..."

"Ah, I overestimated myself and underestimated the difficulty of traversing the River of Time’s banks. If only I could replenish my strength somehow..."

Chen Yi crouched down, staring intently at the gently flowing river.

According to Cui Changsheng’s warnings, the second rule of survival within the River of Time was: Observe, but never enter. The sheer weight of temporal forces would annihilate this avatar in an instant.

But what if he didn’t enter—what if he merely scooped up a handful of water? Surely that would be harmless?

He wasn’t sure whether the water could even be used, but given how it carried the weight of entire worlds’ histories, it had to be potent.

Yet the third rule of survival stated: Never retaliate against the River of Time, lest you invite the backlash of karma.

Would scooping water count as retaliation?

Probably. Every drop in the River of Time was a fragment of the past. Removing even one would erase a segment of history, triggering unimaginable consequences. The karmic burden would be immense—far beyond what a four-star avatar could withstand.

"Am I truly doomed to lose this avatar within the River of Time?"

Chen Yi crouched lower, hesitating as he gazed at the river.

Just as he steeled himself to reach down, a voice suddenly rang out.

"I knew you wouldn’t listen to Elder Cui. You really are reckless, aren’t you?"

Chen Yi froze, his hand hovering midair. Looking up, he saw a figure walking toward him from further upstream, holding an umbrella.

This was no illusion—it was a real person.

The dense curtain of time parted like rain where it touched the umbrella’s surface, thinning effortlessly to either side.

What a treasure!

With that umbrella, he could traverse the river’s banks without resistance, moving freely through time.

"Don’t look at me like that," the newcomer said, amused. "This umbrella is formed from my temporal imprint—a symbol of my role as a Time Warden. It only answers to me, so abandon your wishful thinking, kid."

The man wore simple Daoist robes, his features stern yet mischievous—like an honest man with a playful streak.

"Should I introduce myself? Judging by your expression, you’ve already guessed who I am, haven’t you?"

"Then again, knowing your temperament, if you hadn’t recognized me, you’d have already swung that halberd of yours at my head."

Chen Yi: "..."

Are you a mind reader?

How do you know me so well?

Do I have no dignity left?

Indeed, Chen Yi had already deduced the man’s identity.

There was no mistaking it—that face was unmistakable.

It bore an uncanny resemblance to one of the Purple Star Continent’s Five Heavenly Scattered Immortals, the former sect master of the Extreme Dao Artifact Sect, and the Divine Sovereign of the Celestial Court’s Heavenly Palace—Zhang Kuang.

Zhang Kuang had once mentioned that he was the 108th-generation descendant of the Artifact Daoist, Zhang Bairen. Due to the overwhelming dominance of their bloodline, each generation was an only child, and every one of them looked nearly identical.

So who else could this be?

None other than Zhang Bairen himself—the unrivaled champion of three hundred thousand years ago, the man who had surpassed even Chen Lingxiu, the genius who forged artifacts, refined the Dao, and even tempered himself as a living weapon to ascend to the pinnacle of cultivation.

"Youngster Chen Yi pays his respects to Senior Zhang Bairen!"

Chen Yi bowed with impeccable courtesy.

Truth be told, he felt a twinge of guilt facing this legendary figure.

After all, Zhang Kuang—that old eccentric—had been heartbroken in his youth, leading him to renounce romance and devote himself entirely to body refinement. As a result, he had never produced an heir.

And when Chen Yi had forced the old-timers to undergo tribulations to elevate the Purple Star Continent, Zhang Kuang had survived—but at the cost of his physical body.

Even though he had later reconstructed it, in a way, Zhang Bairen’s lineage had effectively ended with him.

Now, standing before Zhang Kuang’s ancestor within the River of Time, how could Chen Yi not feel uneasy?

"My, my, the famed Tribulation Sovereign is being so polite? This isn’t like you at all!" Zhang Bairen smirked, his eyes glinting with amusement as he studied Chen Yi, as if hinting at something unspoken.

Chen Yi didn't take the bait. Instead, he replied solemnly, "Senior, did you come specifically for me? Did you and Senior Cui Changsheng anticipate that I would disregard the warnings and come here? Moreover, as a Time-Space Inspector, you should be patrolling the main currents of the River of Time in the Immortal Realm. Wouldn't your absence from duty have consequences for you?"