Legend speaks of a vast river in this world—the River of Time!
It originates in the past, flows through the present, and surges onward toward the future.
All things in the world are like fish within this river. The current runs so swift that nearly every fish can only go with the flow.
Without this River of Time, the world would be completely still—a mere frozen picture. With this river, everything could change. The world could become vivid, whether declining or thriving.
"Here I am in the River of Time once again." Fang Yuan sighed with deep emotion.
He looked around and saw the river stretching out impossibly wide. Though it was called the River of Time, its expanse was as broad as the open sea.
In the pitch-black sky above, a massive river rolled and surged, flowing without cease.
The water itself was a pale, ashen white, but the uncountable waves, as they crashed into one another, burst forth in a dazzling kaleidoscope of color.
Shimmering with radiance and overflowing with beauty, the light played across Fang Yuan's face.
Fang Yuan's mind drifted for a moment, then he quickly snapped back to his senses.
He opened his Immortal Orifice and released the Primordial Year Monkey.
"Chitter, chitter, chitter!" The colossal creature, upon returning home once more, was visibly excited.
Splash!
It plunged into the river water, immediately sending up a spray that filled the sky.
Fang Yuan also transformed into an Archaic Year Monkey, much smaller in stature than the Primordial one. He hovered in the air—he was no true Year Beast. Although all of his Path of Transformation Dao Marks had been converted into Path of Time Dao Marks, adapting him to this environment, it was still better to avoid contact with the River of Time's waters whenever possible.
"Let's go." At Fang Yuan's command, the Primordial Year Monkey began to swim.
Having thrashed it earlier, Fang Yuan could now see the benefits—it was far more obedient than the Sky-Peak Eagle.
However, even though he had used the Hundred-Eighty Slaves killer move to gain control, Fang Yuan's own soul foundation had dropped significantly, and harnessing this Primordial Year Monkey was still quite a strain.
Right now, during normal circumstances, he already found it difficult to command the creature, feeling the heavy burden dragging on his soul. If he were in the midst of fierce combat and tried to command the Primordial Year Monkey, he feared he would be powerless to do so.
Fang Yuan grew secretly wary.
This was a flaw, but there was nothing he could do. He had already pushed himself to the absolute limit of his abilities.
He continued onward in silence.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
The sound of the waves never ceased.
This was the first time Fang Yuan had entered here in physical form.
In previous instances, he had relied on the Spring Autumn Cicada to shift a sliver of consciousness into the past. Due to the interference of Heavenly Will and other factors, his glimpses of the River of Time had been fleeting, never revealing its full scope. Now, however, he could finally see it properly—a truly eye-opening experience.
The River of Time was a Secret Realm of heaven and earth, long recorded in the "Legend of the Human Ancestor" and known to all.
But to enter it in physical form required a Gu Immortal with deep mastery in the Path of Time. Fang Yuan's own abilities were insufficient; he owed his entry to the Path of Transformation, as well as to the legacies left behind by Purple Mountain True Monarch and Hei Fan.
The River of Time was not lifeless.
Fang Yuan first spotted one or two wild Year Gu chasing each other through the air, occasionally diving into the river below.
Then he witnessed group upon group of wild Path of Time Gu swarming through the sky, so numerous they resembled locust clouds.
"Hmm?" Five or six wild Year Gu flew directly toward Fang Yuan, then quietly settled onto his body and went still.
"So that's how it is." After a moment's thought, Fang Yuan understood.
He had transformed into an Archaic Year Monkey. Because of factors like his Eighth Transformation Attitude Gu and the "We've Met Before" technique, these wild Gu couldn't tell the real from the fake—they all took him for a genuine Archaic Year Monkey.
These wild Mortal Gu of the Path of Time were drawn by the abundance of Path of Time Dao Marks on his body, considering it a suitable place to live, and so had come to attach themselves to him of their own accord.
It made perfect sense.
In nature, Gu insects were quite fragile on their own. Although wild Gu could draw upon the natural energy of heaven and earth to unleash their power, they still existed in constant danger.
And so, parasitizing powerful living beings had become the survival strategy of wild Gu.
After traveling for about half a cup of tea, Fang Yuan had accumulated several hundred wild Mortal Gu on his body.
Most were Sun Gu and Moon Gu—not a single wild Year Gu among them.
The Primordial Year Monkey beneath him, however, had gained even more.
This Primordial Year Monkey's own wild Mortal Gu had been mostly destroyed during the earlier battle, with only remnants surviving.
Now, it had received a massive replenishment.
Naturally, the Primordial Year Monkey was far more attractive to the wild Path of Time Mortal Gu than Fang Yuan. As it swam through the water, a swarm of wild Path of Time Gu perpetually orbited around it like a thin veil of dark mist.
However, this phenomenon began to slow after a while.
Much like wild beasts claiming territory, once Fang Yuan and the Primordial Year Monkey had accumulated a large number of wild Mortal Gu, other wild Gu sensed that the living space was growing cramped and stopped coming.
Fang Yuan considered for a moment, then decided not to disturb the wild Mortal Gu on his body.
With his current abilities, refining these wild Path of Time Mortal Gu was entirely possible.
However, doing so would go against the purpose of his disguise.
Moreover, these wild Path of Time Mortal Gu were nothing special. Unless they were Immortal Gu, the vast majority of Mortal Gu held little appeal for Fang Yuan.
"ROAR!"
Along the way, an Archaic Year Tiger leaped out of the water, then fled without looking back, vanishing into the distance.
This was something Fang Yuan had already seen many times.