With renewed determination, Wu Tao rallied his spirits, embarking on a new journey with his original aspiration, no longer solely for himself, but for his two beloved companions.
To be honest, Wu Tao never lacked the courage to start anew; it was just that after suffering a series of setbacks, he had lost the goal he had always pursued.
Now, with his goal rediscovered, Wu Tao was undoubtedly one of the most persistent people in the world.
"Time, for all that you have taken from my hands, I will reclaim it myself. I don't need to wait for the next life; if you won't give it, I'll snatch it, and I'll destroy you in the process!"
Turning away from the tomb, Wu Tao vowed to himself!
...
Leaving the Nine Provinces Cultivation Realm and returning to the Purple Province Cultivation Realm, Wu Tao briefly gave Ye Yu some instructions. After settling Xue Shuangjiao and her son, he unhesitatingly passed on the position of Immortal Emperor to Ye Yu.
For Wu Tao, who had rediscovered his new goal, the title and power of Immortal Emperor were no longer of great importance.
Before leaving, Wu Tao also took You Meng with him.
...
Before long, a mysterious legend began to circulate throughout the various cultivation realms of this world.
Two mysterious individuals were said to specialize in collecting extremely precious treasures, secret techniques, and divine abilities.
These treasures and secret techniques were either related to time or reincarnation!
However, these two mysterious individuals had exceptionally high standards, rarely taking a liking to ordinary items and appearing only sporadically.
Coupled with their profound cultivation, their actions were swift and decisive. Every time they appeared, they could defeat anyone who stood in their way. No one could stop them.
Eventually, to avoid losses, many major powers became more astute. They stopped dispatching large numbers of personnel to guard treasures and secret techniques related to time and reincarnation.
Some sects were even clever enough to hold auction events, openly auctioning off
treasures and secret techniques of time and reincarnation. This way, even if these items were lost, they could still acquire significant resources.
The reason these usually formidable major powers yielded so easily was that these two mysterious individuals were too ruthless, often slaughtering entire sects and exterminating clans, instilling fear in everyone.
Thus, years passed.
Wu Tao and You Meng traveled to many places, crossing boundless oceans, witnessing ice-bound continents, and observing scorching volcanic regions...
They saw vast wildernesses with unique landscapes, witnessed underwater worlds unseen by many, and even visited the Star Realm suspended beyond the heavens...
During this time, they uncovered much useful information and obtained many treasures with special abilities.
As time flowed, two to three hundred years later, on the territory of the Spirit Race in the underground cultivation world, a man and a woman, two mysterious individuals, looked at the dense crowd of Spirit Race members around them with remarkably calm expressions, as if they were not the ones being surrounded.
At the forefront were two Spirit Kings, with countless Heavenly Spirit Masters in support. The grand display indicated how important the treasure these two mysterious individuals had stolen was.
...
"No matter who you two are, if you know what's good for you, hand over the stolen Time Immortal Vine seeds immediately. As King-level powerhouses, why would you stoop to such acts?"
One Spirit King, with thick eyebrows and a pointed mouth, spoke sinisterly.
These two were too enigmatic, shrouded in mystery. As cultivators of the same level, he frankly did not wish to engage them in combat. Hence, even after surrounding them, he offered them a way out.
Of course, he did not consider whether they would accept this offer.
...
Hearing this, the mysterious male cultivator laughed heartily, tossing a low-grade spirit treasure to the other party. He then said, "These Time Immortal Vine seeds are of great use to me. How about this spirit treasure as compensation for my purchase of the Time Immortal Vine seeds?"
"Nonsense! The Time Immortal Vine seeds are a treasure of our clan. We wouldn't trade them even for a spirit treasure!"
The Spirit King with thick eyebrows and a pointed mouth was initially startled by the low-grade spirit treasure, but upon hearing the latter part of the other's words, he became furious.
"In that case, then by all means, make your move. I will not return these Time Immortal Vine seeds to you."
The mysterious male cultivator said indifferently.
...
"Hmph, then you two will leave your lives behind with me," said the other Spirit King, an elder. Subsequently, he activated the Law of Wood, and boundless immortal vines entwined in all directions!
However, an inconceivable scene unfolded. The male cultivator opposite them flicked his finger, and the Law of Time struck forth. The rampant immortal vines, under the accelerated passage of time, withered instantly.
Seeing this, the Spirit King elder was filled with shock and anger. How was this possible? When had his Law of Wood become so weak?
The Spirit King with thick eyebrows and a pointed mouth beside him sensed something was amiss and, without hesitation, shouted. He used the Law of Wood again, but this time it condensed into countless wooden swords!
The wooden swords, shimmering with the light of the Law of Wood, under the control of the Spirit King with thick eyebrows and a pointed mouth, transformed into a sea of wooden swords, attacking the two mysterious individuals.
Once again, it was the male mysterious cultivator who acted. He drew the top-grade spirit treasure, the Sun-Shooting Divine Bow, and loosed an arrow. The dense sea of wooden swords instantly shattered into countless fragments.
Seeing this, the two Spirit Kings of the Spirit Race felt their hearts sink. They found it difficult to believe that the opponent's strength was so formidable.
Moreover, there were two of them, and they had no idea what divine abilities their accomplice possessed.
The two looked at each other, and for a moment, neither dared to make another move.
Seeing this, the two mysterious individuals turned into two streaks of light and vanished.
After weighing the pros and cons, the two Spirit Kings of the Spirit Race decided to abandon the pursuit.
After all, the barefoot have nothing to fear from the shod. These two had their clan, while of those two mysterious individuals, they didn't even know their identities. If a fight were to break out, they would be the ones at a disadvantage!
And these two mysterious individuals who had come to the Spirit Race were none other than Wu Tao and You Meng.
Injecting the Law of Time into the Time Immortal Vine seeds, Wu Tao watched as the Time Immortal Vine gradually sprouted, nodding with satisfaction. He turned to You Meng beside him and said,
"Excellent, these Time Immortal Vine seeds possess many unique temporal脉络, which should help me advance further."
...
"Another few hundred years have passed. You've finally touched upon the threshold of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage?"
"Aren't you going to consider it further? Perhaps many things are not as you perceive them to be?"
Looking at Wu Tao's joyful expression, You Meng said with some sorrow.
...
"Don't worry. Swimming against the tide of time is a path of near-certain death, but I believe it is worth it."
"At least I am luckier than others. I still have the possibility to change everything and start anew. This is my goal, and no one can stop me."
Hearing You Meng's words, Wu Tao's expression slightly darkened, and his voice immediately became somber.
After hundreds of years of research, Wu Tao's understanding of the power of time had reached an extremely profound level.
At least in the current era, Wu Tao believed he was the one who understood the power of time the deepest!
In Wu Tao's view, time was not a poison or a harbinger of death as other cultivators believed.
Time was not a poison, but rather like a frosted mirror. Ordinary people were pushed along by time, while the dead were pushed in the opposite direction by time, two sides of the same coin, never to meet.
Those who had grown old and were no longer around might not be truly dead, but rather buried in the dream-sea of the Sea of Time.
For a person to return to the past, they must shatter this mirror, swim against the great tides of the Sea of Time, and move in the opposite direction to reclaim their original selves at the end of time.
Regarding this, Wu Tao also found verification in a scroll named the Ancient Scroll of Time.
According to the records of the Ancient Scroll of Time, the Sea of Time was the source of the world's cyclical reincarnation of time, the beginning and end of all life, the start and the destruction of the world.
The turbulent Sea of Time, with each formed tide, represented the beginning of a timeline. When the tide receded, it marked the end of the timeline and the end of everything.
The River of Time, along which countless destinies flowed, was merely a small branch of the Sea of Time.
After hundreds of years of tempering, Wu Tao's comprehended laws had reached ten, and he was only one step away from breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage and condensing the true Great Dao of Time. At this moment, he was like Chun Yu, the Blood King of the Blood Race, in those days.
And in these hundreds of years, You Meng had completely mastered the entire inheritance of the Nightmare clan and comprehended the Law of Illusion.
During these hundreds of years, Wu Tao had also returned to the Nine Provinces. His friends, master, and other acquaintances had all passed away.
Now, fewer and fewer familiar faces remained. He was the only one still ascending, still growing stronger. Meanwhile, others of his generation were mostly buried in the great tomb of time.
Who could avoid death?
In the blink of an eye of a thousand years, Wu Tao, who was approaching a thousand years old, still looked incredibly youthful.
His muscles were firm, his black hair thick and dense, indistinguishable from his early twenties, as if the hands of time had stopped on him.
On this day, the ten laws of time within Wu Tao's body began to merge, transforming into the complete Great Dao of Time!
Simultaneously, heaven descended a trial. Heavenly tribulations, imbued with destructive power, manifested as wind, lightning, water, fire, and even the Primordial Tribulation. The extremely dense killing tribulation could destroy everything in this world.
Chaos Divine Lightning, Tribulation of Decay, World-Ending Gale, Hellfire, Water of Death, and other forces with immeasurable destructive power rained down relentlessly upon Wu Tao.
Wu Tao, wielding the Chuxi Sword, faced the onslaught head-on. A thousand years had not dulled his sharpness; he remained as keen as ever.