CHAPTER 49: A FLEETING MOMENT IN THE RIVER OF TIME

Lu Chen walked up to the stone monument.

He cradled Egghead in one arm while reaching for the Hunyuan Greatsword with the other. Just as he was about to draw the sword, he noticed Egghead tugging repeatedly at his clothes.

He paused and turned to Wind Dragon.

"Wind Dragon, if I draw the sword... will Egghead vanish?"

Wind Dragon shook his head. "I don't think so. Its current state feels similar to what I experienced when I became that dragon-engraved disk. Why don't you ask it?"

Lu Chen lowered his head and looked at Egghead in his arms. "What do you think? Will you disappear?"

Egghead responded with its usual sounds, "Squeak... squeak squeak..."

"You won't?"

"Squeak..."

Lu Chen immediately drew the Hunyuan Greatsword.

In an instant, the surrounding flow of time surged and then vanished.

Egghead transformed into a streak of light and darted into the planetary jade token embedded in the slot on the sword's hilt.

Lu Chen took out the planetary jade token and infused spirit qi into it with both hands.

Moments later, a translucent spirit projection of Egghead emerged from the token, just like Wind Dragon once had.

It spun twice in the air before landing lightly on Lu Chen's left shoulder.

Seeing this, Wind Dragon flew directly above Lu Chen's head. He swept his tail across Egghead, showing off his unique dominance. "Egghead, from now on, I'm your big brother."

Egghead clearly wasn't pleased. It turned and squeaked at Wind Dragon. "Squeak squeak!"

"Hahaha, let's go. It's time to see what this planetary jade token can do."

Now that he understood the conditions to begin his mind-tempering trial, Lu Chen no longer had any use for the Tower of Time. His next goal was to reunite with Nantian Yijian.

With that, he exited the small world.

***

Lu Chen had spent three to four days in the small world, but due to the time flow difference, it seemed to Nantian Xiu as though he had only just closed his eyes and begun meditating.

For cultivators, entering deep meditation often required extended periods. Some might spend a few days on it, while others could take several years. In rare cases, one could enter life-sealing seclusion for thousands, or even tens of thousands of years. By the time they emerged, the world outside would already have changed beyond recognition.

While Lu Chen remained in seclusion, Nantian Xiu took the opportunity to extend his divine sense, scanning the surrounding area. At the same time, he circulated spirit qi to examine Nantian Wan'er's body.

Most of her meridians had already fused with Lu Chen's. The two now shared a single set. Even their Heavenly Pools had merged into one.

Having undergone multiple mutations, Lu Chen's Heavenly Pool had long since ceased to be ordinary. The moment it sensed Nantian Xiu's probing, the many enchanted treasures within it stirred and automatically concealed its secrets.

As a result, all Nantian Xiu could detect was an ordinary Heavenly Pool within Nantian Wan'er's body. There was nothing that seemed out of place.

Just then, a sharp aura erupted from Lu Chen. His consciousness returned, and he slowly opened his eyes.

The scenes he had witnessed in the small world flashed rapidly before his eyes, then gradually faded. His body was still adjusting to the flow of time in the outside world.

Lu Chen hadn't entered the small planet, but his mortal body had spent a prolonged period immersed in the Tower of Time. As a result, it had become deeply imbued with temporal power itself.

The high-order Law of Time had repeatedly washed over Lu Chen, cleansing and tempering his body and soul. Through that constant refinement, his body underwent a complete transformation, and as the metamorphosis reached its peak, he felt as if his very being had become attuned to the Law of Time.

A beam of light suddenly shot from his eyes, as if piercing through the long river of time itself. Then, it receded just as swiftly and vanished back into his gaze. In that brief instant, the transformation was complete.

Lu Chen felt as if he had drifted through countless worlds as a silent observer, witnessing the births, aging, illnesses, and deaths playing out across the heavens. He watched the ordinary rhythms of life unfold, only to dissolve into nothingness.

He saw the end of time, the collapse of all creation, and amidst the shattered fragments of those fallen worlds, he caught a glimpse of a mysterious face smiling at him.

He closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to dismiss the surreal visions and clear his thoughts.

When he opened them again, he looked around, only to find that everything he had just witnessed had disappeared without a trace.

It all felt like a fleeting illusion, yet something within him had clearly changed. His entire demeanor was no longer the same.

The restless vigor of youth had softened into a tranquil, grounded stillness. A quiet wisdom lingered in his gaze, and at the corners of his eyes, faint traces of time had begun to show.

At that moment, Lu Chen looked like an old monk who had seen through the splendor and chaos of the mortal world.

Seeing Lu Chen open his eyes, Nantian Wan'er hurried over to help him up. "Lu-gege, how are you feeling? Why do you suddenly seem so much more mature?"

"Do I? Hahaha, I guess I gained deeper insights this time."

Even now, as Lu Chen recalled what he had seen in that brief instant, it still felt vague and unreal.

He thought back on everything that had happened over the past two days: the tribulation, the Innate Bagua Diagram, the demonic beasts, the Dark Rebellion, the heaven-splitting sword, and the Tower of Time.

Everything felt so illusory, yet so undeniably real.

In that instant, Lu Chen suddenly felt at peace with it all. He had come to accept his role as someone involved in a grand scheme.

He turned to look at Nantian Wan'er and burst out laughing. "It's true. A lot has happened lately. Feels like a lifetime ago."

Nantian Xiu nodded slightly as he sensed the changes in Lu Chen's demeanour. "Hahaha, the childishness is gone, and in its place, a calm maturity. Good, very good. I knew I wasn't wrong about you,"

Lu Chen stood and bowed in gratitude to Nantian Xiu. "Thank you, Grandpa Xiu, for guarding me. I gained quite a bit this time, but to truly improve my mental state, I'll still need to gather some materials."

"Hahaha, well said! A true hero in his youth. I sure wasn't this strong at your age. No wonder Wan'er thinks so highly of you."

"Grandpa!" Wan'er's face flushed bright red. "You're talking nonsense again! Hmph, I'm not talking to you anymore!"

With that, she turned and ran off, flustered.

Lu Chen laughed and chased after her while sharing everything that had happened earlier through their spiritual connection.

Behind them, Nantian Xiu watched the two youths with a soft smile. Memories of his own younger days surfaced, bringing a touch of nostalgia to his face.

Lu Chen waved back at the elder still standing in place. "Grandpa Xiu, hurry up!"

"Hahaha, I'm coming, I'm coming. I'm getting old, my body's not what it used to be."

With a mix of a sigh and a chuckle, Nantian Xiu quickened his pace to catch up with the two.

And just like that, the trio embarked on the next phase of their journey.

***

Along the way to the heart of the Fire Region, Lu Chen took out the Hunyuan Greatsword and prepared to summon the planetary jade token.

Nantian Wan'er used her spirit qi to scan their bodies, immediately focusing on the Heavenly Pool, where the little planet was playing with the black and white fish.

The little planet was being bumped back and forth like a ball by the two small fish. It chirped with excitement as it spun around.

Nantian Wan'er's eyes lit up like stars as she looked at the round little planet in the Heavenly Pool. "So cute! But... Lu-gege, why are you calling him Egghead? That sounds like an insult..."

"Watch carefully, Wan'er!"

Lu Chen called out lightly as he tossed a ball of spirit qi. "Egghead!"

Upon hearing Lu Chen's voice, the little planet immediately responded with a chirp, "Creak... Creak!"

It floated up within the Heavenly Pool and swallowed the ball of spirit qi.

Seeing how responsive it was, Wan'er reached out with a thread of her own spirit qi. "Wow, it's so smart. Egghead, come, let big sis pat you."

Perhaps it was the spirit qi Lu Chen had just given it, or maybe because she now shared the Heavenly Pool with him, the little planet didn't show the slightest resistance to her touch.

Moreover, thanks to the faint aura of the Phoenix Ancestor bloodline embedded in Wan'er's spirit qi, Egghead seemed even more affectionate toward her, maybe even more so than it was toward Lu Chen.

"Lu-gege, why don't we name him Eggy? Egghead sounds too much like an insult."

Nantian Wan'er continued to gently stroke the little planet with her spirit qi, calming it into a docile and contented state.

"What do you think, Eggy?"

The little planet responded joyfully, letting out excited chirps in her direction. "Squeak... Squeak!"

Nantian Wan'er tilted her head, watching it chirp nonstop. "Lu-gege, what's it saying?"

Lu Chen chuckled. "Haha, it says it likes the name. From now on, it wants to be called Eggy."

"Hmph! Says it likes it, huh? I've been giving it nicknames all along, and it never once said it liked one!" Wind Dragon's voice came from within the Hunyuan Greatsword, sounding unusually sour. "That little thing is up to no good. A born flirt, freezing the moment it sees a pretty girl."

Hearing that, Wan'er blinked in confusion. "Lord Wind Dragon, are you alright? Are you feeling unwell?"

Wind Dragon snorted coldly. "Hmph... I'm perfectly fine."

He curled back up inside the sword and refused to say another word.

Noticing the sarcasm in his tone and how he was ignoring her, Wan'er turned to Lu Chen. "Lu-gege, what's going on with Lord Wind Dragon? Why did he come out sounding so... sour?"

Lu Chen suddenly got a mischievous idea and put on a shocked face. "Wan'er, don't tell me you haven't heard? Dragons are jealous by nature. He's probably jealous of how much you like Eggy."

Wan'er blinked, her confusion deepening. "Dragons? Jealous? That... might be true. I think Grandpa mentioned that before..."

"That's nonsense!" Wind Dragon exploded, bursting out of the sword. "Dragons are proud beings! We're not the type to feel jealous!"

Following Lu Chen's spirit qi, he shot out of the Heavenly Pool, yanking Lu Chen's hair and flailing around in frustration.

Seeing the ruckus, Nantian Xiu asked in concern, "Young man, what's wrong? Do you need my help?"

Lu Chen reached up and pretended to tidy his hair. "No, no, it's just my aura fluctuating. It'll pass in a moment."

With that, he grabbed Wind Dragon with one hand and casually flung him to the ground.

Wind Dragon landed with a thud, letting out a pained hiss through gritted teeth.