The deep passage at the center of the sand vortex seemed to plunge straight into the earth's depths.
The deeper Feng Jiuge ventured, the stronger the aura of the Time Dao became.
Suddenly, a bright point of light flickered from the deep darkness.
Against the surrounding gloom, it was strikingly conspicuous, glowing with a brass-like sheen.
"A wild mortal Gu." Feng Jiuge flew closer and discovered it was a Third Transformation Sun Gu.
The Sun Gu was shaped like a shell, roughly the size of an infant's palm. On either side of the round shell were two fin-like wings resembling those of a fish. The fins flapped ceaselessly, carrying the small shell-shaped body as it drifted through the darkness.
Compared to New Year Beasts, Sun Gu were far more common. They could potentially be found anywhere across the Five Regions and Two Heavens.
What caught Feng Jiuge's attention was that the River of Time was already teeming with vast numbers of Sun Gu, Moon Gu, and Year Gu. If a wild Sun Gu existed here, could his guess be right — that a Time Tributary was hidden somewhere nearby?
Time Tributaries were a common yet rare cultivation resource.
They were called common because every Gu Immortal's Immortal Orifice contained a Time Tributary, allowing time to flow within the Immortal Orifice's world.
They were called rare because naturally formed Time Tributaries in the Five Regions and Two Heavens were few in number but enormous in scale, far surpassing those within an Immortal Orifice. Whenever one appeared, it would inevitably trigger fierce competition among superpowers. If a rogue Immortal discovered one, they would usually try their utmost to conceal it and claim it for themselves, quietly raking in a fortune.
Time Dao Gu insects were needed not only by Gu Masters and Gu Immortal cultivators of the Time Dao, but also had widespread applications in Gu refinement.
Take this Sun Gu, for example. A Third Transformation Sun Gu contained three days' worth of time. If one had corresponding refinement Dao methods, consuming this Third Transformation Sun Gu could directly reduce Gu refinement time by three days.
Then there were the Time Dao life-extension techniques, which used Sun Gu, Moon Gu, Year Gu, and so on to extend one's lifespan. Of course, such life-extension methods had drawbacks — they inscribed Time Dao marks upon the body. Once too many of these marks accumulated, even using Lifespan Gu in the future would become impossible.
But Lifespan Gu were hard to come by. If one had no Lifespan Gu on hand and their lifespan had reached its limit, could one really afford not to use such methods?
"If there is a Time Tributary here, it must have been discovered by the Shadow Sect and secretly hidden away." Feng Jiuge pressed deeper.
Soon, he spotted more and more wild Time Dao Gu insects.
Sun Gu, Moon Gu, Year Gu, and others.
A patch of pale, mottled light appeared in Feng Jiuge's path.
The patch of light was roughly the size of a bed, resembling a still, rippling sheet of water, faint and silent.
Feng Jiuge cautiously slowed his pace.
This was a time mottlement.
A type of atmospheric change.
Just as deserts had wind, mountains had mist, and skies had rain, a time mottlement was a natural atmospheric phenomenon.
Any living creature that entered a time mottlement would be affected. Time would accelerate, hastening aging. Or it would decelerate, and the world would appear to develop at a breakneck pace before one's eyes.
Whether faster or slower, it would inevitably erode one's lifespan to some degree.
Feng Jiuge didn't dare test it lightly. He slowed his steps and carefully detoured around it.
After putting distance between himself and the time mottlement, Feng Jiuge exhaled a turbid breath, his conviction growing even stronger — there truly had to be a Time Tributary here.
The Heavenly Court Gu Immortal who had briefed him had made it clear that the Red Lotus True Heritage was hidden on Stone Lotus Island, and that Fang Yuan would have to enter the River of Time to inherit it. The most stable and reliable way to enter the River of Time was to locate a Time Tributary.
A Time Tributary would serve as the entrance. It had to be large enough to allow easy passage in and out. For that reason, the Time Tributaries within a Gu Immortal's Immortal Orifice wouldn't suffice.
Only a Time Tributary existing in the Five Regions and Two Heavens, whose time flow was nearly synchronized with the River of Time itself, could accommodate a Gu Immortal's transit.
More and more time mottlements began appearing in Feng Jiuge's field of vision.
The deeper he went, the wider the dark passage became.
At first there were only one or two mortal Time Dao Gu insects, then scattered numbers increased. At the deepest point, clusters of Gu appeared, each cluster numbering in the hundreds.
The aura of the Time Dao grew ever denser. Feng Jiuge could even hear the rushing sound of flowing water.
Finally, a slender beam of light appeared in his vision.
As Feng Jiuge drew closer, the beam expanded in his field of view, gradually taking on the shape of a river.
"A Time Tributary!" Feng Jiuge's heart trembled slightly. There truly was a Time Tributary here.
"But where are Fang Yuan and the others?" Just as this thought crossed Feng Jiuge's mind, a massive silhouette suddenly leaped from a nearby time mottlement and lunged straight at him.
Feng Jiuge dodged hastily, a flash of sharp light flickering and vanishing in the depths of his eyes.
A Gu Immortal killer move was activated in an instant.
Sound Dao — Silence Surpasses Sound!
Feng Jiuge specialized in the Sound Dao, having sworn to create nine songs that would capture all things under heaven and earth. He had already composed seven of them, and the Farewell Song was one.
But beyond those seven songs, he possessed other Sound Dao techniques as well.
The Sound Dao killer move Silence Surpasses Sound was one of them.
Feng Jiuge had trained it diligently until it was as familiar as could be. The moment he activated it, it succeeded flawlessly.
His fists and palms struck out repeatedly, bombarding the dark figure from a distance with remote attacks.
This too was a killer move — his fists wielded the Drum Fist and his palms the Bell Palm, both techniques from Spirit Fate Studio's Three Sound True Heritage.
Among the Three Sound True Heritage, besides the Drum Fist and Bell Palm, there was another killer move called the Whistle Finger. Feng Jiuge had not learned it; he had only practiced the ones that interested him, supplementing his repertoire where he found it lacking.
The enormous shadow beast howled under Feng Jiuge's assault.
But the strange thing was, the moment its cries left its mouth, they dissipated without a trace.
Feng Jiuge's Drum Fist could produce booming drum sounds with every strike, and his Bell Palm could ring out resounding bell chimes with every blow. Yet at this moment, all of it was utterly silent.