The Origin of Time, the power of time swirling, Wu Tao's faltering steps grasped the Origin of Time, which contained the Great Dao of Time.
Although Wu Tao's body was withered with age, his Dao heart remained firm, and his eyes were as bright as ever.
Only by holding the Origin of Time could there be a chance and possibility to refine it.
But that was merely a basic requirement for refining the Origin of Time; otherwise, with Wu Kongzi's Purple Mansion realm cultivation, how could he not have come here and accessed the Origin of Time?
The truly crucial aspect was to gain the Origin of Time's recognition. Without its acknowledgment, no matter how heaven-defying one's cultivation, the Origin of Time could not be refined.
In fact, in the underground immortal cultivation world, besides the Origin of Time, there were also the Origin of Space, the Origin of Fire, the Origin of Water, the Origin of Ice, and so on.
To refine the World Fruit, which was the Seed of Origin containing the source of the Three Thousand Great Daos, the most vital thing was always to gain the Seed of Origin's recognition.
Achieving this, though simple to state, was in reality as difficult as climbing to heaven.
The Origin of Time flowed from Wu Tao's right hand into his body.
As Wu Tao's body integrated with this power of time, his entire being was enveloped by the dense temporal energy.
In an instant, Wu Tao felt as if he had merged with the surrounding space, as if he himself no longer existed.
This was the self-doubt caused by the distortion of one's perception by time. If Wu Tao could not awaken from this self-doubt, he would completely vanish from this world.
However, Wu Tao was not fighting alone; You Meng was also striving with all her might.
"Wake up, don't be deluded by the power of time. Once you negate yourself, you will disappear into the Origin of Time and become its nourishment!"
"Wu Tao, the temporal energy within the Origin of Time is too dense. I can't help you this time; you're on your own..."
Watching Wu Tao gradually sink into the temporal energy, You Meng shouted a reminder, but her words were cut short as she fell into a slumber.
Receiving You Meng's reminder and regaining his senses, Wu Tao saw the true form of the Origin of Time.
It was a nascent Time Seed, just beginning to sprout. The moment he saw this Time Seed, Wu Tao was captivated by its beauty and mystery.
Wu Tao knew he had taken a crucial step.
...
Looking around, walking within the corridor of time, where twisted light and shadows danced, and strange landscapes unfolded.
At this moment, Wu Tao was like a beam of light, a gentle breeze, traversing the river of time, ineffable yet seemingly real.
"Origin of Time, what is this place you've brought me to..."
Endless fragments of time flickered and flowed, and Wu Tao felt his own body changing, if his current form could still be called a body.
In his own perception, he was like a fish leaping out of a great river and swimming towards the sea, entering an entirely different environment!
...
The world traversed by the power of time was fundamentally different from a world of illusion, for it was a true world.
No matter how powerful the laws of dreams were, no matter how real the experiences, they were merely false.
However, the worlds traversed under the influence of the power of time were different; the entire world existed in reality.
All life within it was true life.
In Wu Tao's view, this was no longer merely a test of mental power; another term would better describe it, and that term was "transmigration."
Wu Tao believed that under the influence of temporal power, he had transmigrated to another world.
And the original owner of this body had long since died, naturally of old age, three hours prior.
It was for this reason that Wu Tao's soul occupied this body without experiencing any rejection.
Wu Tao struggled to stand up, but alas, the condition of this body was simply too dire.
From his limbs to his torso, his internal organs, even his teeth had all fallen out. The entire body had entered a state of decay.
Natural death.
These four words flashed through his mind.
Without a doubt, the body Wu Tao's soul had possessed was at least seventy or eighty years old, perhaps even much older.
Taking a deep breath, Wu Tao calmed himself.
...
Having experienced several illusory worlds before, Wu Tao knew that to survive and leave this world, he had to complete the trial of the Origin of Time.
And once the trial of the Origin of Time was completed, he could refine the Origin of Time and obtain this immense opportunity.
Thinking this, Wu Tao began to quickly scan the residual memories of this body.
"Lin Fan..."
"An orphan, adopted by the Taoist priests of Qingyun Monastery..."
"Started as a Taoist boy, became a Taoist priest at twenty, an elder at thirty, a steward at forty-three, and the abbot at fifty-five. Died at the age of one hundred and twenty..."
...
"Good, the memories in this body are still quite complete. I don't have to worry about being exposed."
Wu Tao thought to himself.
...
At this moment, two elderly Taoist priests, in their forties or fifties, dressed in brocade Taoist robes, stood by the bedside.
Wu Tao allowed the two old Taoist priests to pry open his mouth and pour a bowl of yellowish-orange medicinal soup into it.
Wu Tao's involuntary action made the two old Taoist priests believe that their master might still be saved, hence their action.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
As the medicinal soup went down, Wu Tao's previously stiff body gradually softened, and a hint of redness began to appear on his face.
"Master, you're awake..."
One of the two old Taoist priests, named Xingyun, looked at him with hope in his eyes and called out softly and affectionately.
The other, named Xingjun, also had a very apprehensive expression, clearly worried about his master.
"Cough, cough, cough!!!"
Wu Tao coughed several times lying in bed, then let out a slight sigh of relief.
"Master, Master, are you feeling better?"
Seeing this, Xingyun and Xingjun became extremely nervous, fearing that their master, who had just recovered, might pass away again.
Wu Tao struggled to raise his right hand and waved it vigorously in front of them, indicating that he could still be saved.
"Master's right hand moved!"
Xingyun exclaimed, clearly overjoyed.
On the other side, Xingjun even knelt directly on the bed.
He held Wu Tao's aged hand tightly, his eyes welling up with tears.
Seeing this scene, Wu Tao was moved, but he was not the original owner of this body, the hundred-year-old elder named Qingyunzi.
Since he couldn't empathize, after a short while, Wu Tao grew tired of this sentimental scene and simply closed his eyes to rest.
...
"Master is tired. Let's let him rest."
Xingyun, wise in worldly affairs, understood his master's intentions. He tugged at his junior brother Xingjun's arm and prepared to leave.
Xingjun initially wanted to stay, but then, after some thought, he obediently followed his senior brother Xingyun out of the room.
"This start is rather abysmal, isn't it..."
After Xingyun and Xingjun left, Wu Tao looked at the large crimson paulownia wood beams above and was speechless.
Although there was no spiritual energy in this world, preventing Wu Tao from practicing his former immortal cultivation techniques, it should be remembered that Wu Tao had previously pursued a path of dual cultivation of body and magic. He knew a thing or two about cultivating qi and blood and enhancing inner strength.
Moreover, this Qingyunzi was not without inner strength; on the contrary, his inner strength had reached an extremely profound level.
According to the terms of this world, he had already reached the realm of a Grandmaster.
Relying on his robust inner strength, Wu Tao had begun to gradually master this body.
Since this body had died a natural death, and Wu Tao had a strong control over the inner strength within it, it wasn't long before Wu Tao could get out of bed.
Although limited by the current dilapidated state of this body, Wu Tao could not fully unleash the Grandmaster-level inner strength, which was equivalent to a hundred people's might. However, dealing with ordinary experts was still no problem.
By the time the sky outside had darkened, Wu Tao had completely integrated with this body. The present Wu Tao was Qingyunzi.
Looking at the loose skin on his sallow arm, and the clearly visible death spots...
And the old, creaking "cold leg" that made noises with every movement, Wu Tao felt a pang of worry.
Wu Tao, who had completely mastered this body, obtained some other important information.
It turned out that Qingyun Monastery was located on Qingcheng Mountain in Jingzhou, a part of the Great Ming Empire. It was the foremost Taoist sect in the land, with over a thousand disciples. It had a special relationship with the royal family of the Great Ming Empire, and was considered a leading figure in the martial world.
However, Qingyun Monastery also had enemies, namely the foremost demonic sect, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Qingyunzi's original cultivation techniques were the Hunyuan Qiankun Gong, the Tianyan Suanshu Swordplay, and the Longteng Huyue Footwork!
"Youming Kuang..."
Wu Tao's brief joy was extinguished as a name popped into his mind, and he immediately became vigilant.
With Qingyunzi's Grandmaster-level inner strength, his opponent must be a Grandmaster expert of the same level.
Under the flow of time, Wu Tao had spent a full month in this real world.
The ancient and elegant Taoist monastery, with all sorts of Taoist artifacts: the dense shouts of young Taoist disciples practicing martial arts, bathed in sunlight, made Wu Tao feel as if he were dreaming.