CHAPTER 45: CONDITIONS TO UNLOCK THE TOWER OF TIME

The face lost all interest after the Wind Dragon's interruption. "Heh, what a buzzkill. This whole 'Dad-Making Project' is still such a damn hassle. Sigh... after all that trouble, are we still going with my plan anyway?"

It blew another breath at Lu Chen. The force of it pinned Lu Chen in place, stopping him from moving even a muscle.

Rip!

A rift tore open in the air. Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool had been forcibly opened in mid-air.

There was a trace of longing, even intoxication, in the face's expression as it looked at Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool. "Hah, the founding Heavenly Pool has already taken shape? What luck. It's been years since I last saw it. Kind of nostalgic, to be fair. Well then, let me add a little fire to speed things along."

It formed a hand seal with the vines, and a ripple of temporal power slowly seeped into the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

"That should be enough. With this infusion of temporal power, you'll save a lot of trouble later when you fight for the title of Divine Son across the countless heavens and myriad worlds."

The face's gaze shifted to look at the tree, now infused with the power of time, and it made a silent decision. I'll have to head back over there soon.

The hands formed by the vines never stopped moving. As the final seal settled into place, the face casually placed the small planet it had just created above the Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

The planet began to orbit the Acquired Green Sovereign Divine Tree.

Looking at the planet now merged into Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool, the face smiled in satisfaction. "Hahaha, there we go. The first planet is in position. They always make me guide them step by step. Honestly, wouldn't it be easier if they just arranged it like this from the start?"

Sensing the changes within his body, Lu Chen panicked, and he began to struggle. "What did you do to me?! I don't want to bear your burden! Let me go!"

"That isn't something you get to choose. I came here to wait for your understanding, not for your permission. When the time comes, we'll naturally drop the weight of all worlds onto your shoulders. That's your karma, your fate."

The face ignored Lu Chen's resistance and kept working on the hand seal.

A surge of spirit qi appeared in the air, taking the form of the Hunyuan Greatsword.

The face flung the massive sword forward with its mind. Having done that, its voice turned cold. "Remember this! Right now, I'm carrying the burden of all the worlds for you. One day, you'll have to take it back."

A murderous, blood-drenched aura forged from countless deaths rose from its body. "This is the purpose of your existence. And it's the reason I'm here."

***

Boom!

The Hunyuan Greatsword formed by spirit qi flew toward the planet and plunged straight into a stone monument in its center, taking its place as the planet's core support.

The entire planet's power began converging at the sword's hilt. Gradually, a jade token carved with hollow patterns, shaped like a miniature planet, appeared in the slot on the sword's hilt.

"I'll stabilize the flow of time on this floor for now. Once you've gathered the core essences of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, you'll be able to harness this floor's temporal power fully."

As the jade token appeared, the face blew softly at it. "Oh-ho, the Temporal Key. We got it two hundred years earlier than last time. If I'd had such kind of luck back then, maybe things wouldn't have ended the way they did."

The jade token began rotating clockwise, and in that instant, a surge of ancient energy raged around the Hunyuan Greatsword.

Lu Chen watched as his clothes began to decay and fall apart.

"This is the key to unlocking the Gate of Time. I've already condensed all of this floor's temporal power into the jade token. It's yours now."

The face blew another breath, guiding the jade token toward Lu Chen. "You only need the most basic primordial five-element core essences to activate this floor of the Tower of Time."

Its tone turned casual, laced with a hint of disdain for time itself. "Well? Isn't this round of the 'Dad-Making Project' rather thought-provoking? And best of all, there are no extra charges."

Lu Chen stared at the jade token floating before him. Under the face's torment, his emotions were already on the verge of collapse. Lu Chen shouted at the face, "Who are you people? What do you want from me?! Stop toying with me! I'm just an ordinary villager from the mountains!"

He could still muster a shred of resistance when facing Bai Ze and the other beasts. However, before this face, it felt as if he were standing before an endless void. Fear, helplessness, dread, every negative emotion imaginable flooded him.

The face looked into Lu Chen's fear and slowly said, "I am you.

"It's good to be young... to still feel fear, to still hold reverence. I haven't felt that in a long, long time. But the clock is ticking. That reverence of yours? It won't last much longer."

Lu Chen's voice had turned nearly hysterical. "What are you even saying?! I don't understand! I just want to find my grandpa!"

"Grandpa... that word... it's been a long time since I've heard it," the face muttered, then burst into manic laughter. "Hahaha, grandpa... hahaha..."

"You're insane..." Lu Chen shouted. "Sword! Come forth!"

His blood surged violently, and the Hunyuan Greatsword responded, flying toward him.

He broke through the suppression, caught the massive sword in his left hand and slammed the Wind Dragon onto it.

Holding the sword in a reverse grip, he charged straight at the face. "Wind Dragon, let's go!"

The Wind Dragon's shadow coiled around the blade, and a sword light three meters long shot out from its edge.

Boom!

Lu Chen used his movement technique and leapt in front of the wooden figure. In one swift motion, he swung his sword down.

A flash of light followed, and the figure was cleanly split in two.

To his surprise, the face didn't resist. A crack began to form, tearing down from the top of its head.

Lu Chen stared blankly at the cleaved wooden figure, dazed. "Why didn't you fight back?"

"The first rule of the 'Dad-Making Project' is to comply with the guest's wishes. Since the guest wished to attack me, of course I couldn't resist," the face replied. "If you need me again, just call. Remember, my name is Dad-Making Lu. Oh-ho-ho..."

With that, the face gradually faded away.

Seeing the face vanish, Lu Chen lost control. "Wait! You still haven't told me yet! What exactly is your goal?"

He rushed to the remains, searching frantically, shouting its name over and over.

Wind Dragon watched Lu Chen dashing around in a frenzy and couldn't help but say, "Little Lu, I think it's already gone. Seems like it didn't mean to hurt you."

Lu Chen slumped to the ground as soon as he heard Wind Dragon's voice. "It's gone? Then what does it really want?

"I know it probably wouldn't harm me, but that face looks exactly like mine. It's creepy. Besides, there's this inexplicable fear I feel toward it, something I've never felt even when facing Bai Ze and the others. It's like a kind of suppression rooted in the bloodline."

He picked up the planetary jade token from the ground and turned to Wind Dragon, exhaustion written across his face.

"Wind Dragon, since you've lived for so long, do you know why it wants me to bear the burden of the countless heavens and myriad worlds?"

Lu Chen raised his hands, summoning the phantom images of two Green Sovereign Divine Trees. A small planet slowly spun above the trees.

"This Innate Green Sovereign Divine Tree was the first thing it gave me. All it asked in return was for me to agree to bear the burden of the countless heavens and myriad worlds on its behalf.

"And now, it casually handed me a whole planet. You can see how powerful this planet will be in the future. The fact that it's just giving it to me like this... that only makes me more afraid."

Wind Dragon hovered in mid-air, his gaze shifting between the divine tree in Lu Chen's hands and the memories of the face's abilities. His expression slowly twisted with a mix of jest and unease, as if a frightening thought had crossed his mind. Yet he hesitated. He didn't want to say it outright.

"Little Lu... there's something I probably shouldn't say, but I'm not sure if I should keep it in either."

Lu Chen raised his head. "What is it? Just say it."

"What if that face is your father? Why else would it go through so much trouble to give you all this gear?"

"Or maybe you're its father, and it used the power of time to find you from the past. Otherwise, why would it call itself Dad-Making Lu?"

The words Wind Dragon had originally planned to say were subtly altered at the last moment. He decided not to reveal that terrifying possibility just yet.

After all, the world was advancing at a merciless pace. Some truths simply weren't meant to be spoken too soon.

"Don't you think so? You two look so much alike. One of you has to be the son. It's either you... or the face."

Lu Chen narrowed his eyes. It felt like Wind Dragon was just taking the chance to mock him.

Seizing the moment while Wind Dragon was distracted, Lu Chen silently grabbed the Hunyuan Greatsword with both hands and leapt up to strike.

"Cough, cough..."

Suddenly, a series of harsh coughs sounded behind him.

The face reappeared from the Green Sovereign Divine Tree that Lu Chen had just summoned. It stopped Lu Chen mid-charge. "Hold on a second. I forgot something."

Lu Chen tensed up at the sight of the returning face and instinctively took a defensive stance. "What the! Weren't you gone already? If you've got something to say, say it fast."

"No need to be so guarded. I just forgot to ask you something earlier. Have you made up your mind?"

The face's voice sounded somewhat rushed. "Will you take on the burden of the countless heavens and myriad worlds for me? After all, it's not easy for me to return."

Wind Dragon's expression grew serious as he listened to the face speak. Every word seemed to suggest that the face wasn't from this era. Every action implied it had returned with a purpose, and that return had come at a steep price. It couldn't say things too plainly and just wanted them to agree.

"I'll offer you immense power in exchange. The sooner you agree, the less damage you'll suffer in the future."

Every sentence was a quiet, pressing hint, guiding Lu Chen to accept. This clearly wasn't a trivial matter to the face. Its expression remained cold as he spoke, yet the urgency in its voice was unmistakable.

Lu Chen reacted like a bird startled out of its nest. He didn't want to hear another word. "Are you done yet? If you are, then leave. I'm not agreeing to anything. I don't need your power."

With both hands gripping the greatsword, he fixed his gaze on the face, fearful of being caught in some inescapable karmic entanglement.