Chapter 498: Time river? Let me tie a knot!

A hundred years later......

For an advanced civilization with long lifespans, a hundred years is nothing more than a nap.

But for the Yanhuang Civilization that had just devoured two Level-9 Civilization grand tonic packs, it was a hundred years of frenzied advancement.

The Star Throne that Qin Hao had forcibly severed had long since been dismantled into a pile of basic particles.

Even the ever-mysterious Logic Balance,

It was also taken apart by Qin Yue leading a group of bloodshot-eyed scientists, who disassembled it like an alarm clock, with every rune and every logic circuit replicated into the Yanhuang Civilization's database.

In the laboratory.

Qin Yue casually crushed a piece of still-distorting higher-dimensional space fragment, then excitedly rushed into the command room.

"Dad! I've got it!"

"The energy core, rule shield, and even the toughest time and causality law weapons of a Level-9 Civilization have been fully digested! The Yanhuang Civilization can now be called a Level-9 Civilization!"

Qin Hao sat on that not-so-fancy chair, idly playing with a rule-stabilizing anchor freshly copied from the system.

He glanced at the data Qin Yue brought over, and the corners of his mouth twitched up slightly.

"Since the food's already in our stomachs, how can we not digest it?"

Qin Hao stood up, stretched, and his bones all over emitted a crisp crackling like popping beans.

"Notify everyone, all personnel prepare."

"Today, we'll pierce that layer of window paper."

"Promote to Level 9!"

At Qin Hao's command, the entire Yanhuang Civilization roared to life like a precision machine.

At the center of the Miracle Garden, the Tree of Life connecting heaven and earth suddenly burst forth with blinding golden light.

This light did not spread outward but collapsed inward, directly piercing the dimensional barrier and launching an assault on the core rules at the universe's deepest layer.

However, at the very moment the Yanhuang Civilization struck the threshold of Level 9...

The Cosmic Brain, furious.

The once tranquil starry sky suddenly shattered like a mirror.

Then a river appeared.

A silver great river with no visible source or end surged forth from the void.

It made no sound, yet deep in every soul they heard a deafening roar.

That was the roar of time.

"This is... the manifestation of the Time River?!"

Qian Yin, who was operating the instruments, instantly turned pale; her recording pen snapped to the floor with a patter, "The Cosmic Brain has deemed our actions a violation and will wash us away with time!"

Before her words faded, the silver giant dragon slammed headfirst into the Miracle Garden.

"Ah——! My hand!"

A young engineer maintaining the equipment suddenly let out a terrified scream.

His formerly tight and strong arm, upon contacting the silver specks, saw its skin rapidly wither and wrinkle, age spots spreading like mold across the back of his hand.

In the blink of an eye, he went from a twenty-year-old youth to a man on his deathbed.

He had lost a life spanning hundreds of millions of years.

Meanwhile, the professor beside him experienced the exact opposite.

His body shrank, and within a few short seconds he became an infant in a white coat, lying on the ground wailing loudly.

Chaos.

Ultimate chaos.

Within the Miracle Garden, the concept of time completely collapsed.

Some instantly aged to death and turned into dry bones; others regressed back to a fertilized egg state and dissipated into the air.

Steel rusted and corroded, then in the next second was reforged as good as new.

"Dad! We can't hold it! Our rule shield is useless against time!"

Qin Zheng's voice trembled slightly as he watched his own hand rapidly shrink; fear welled up in his eyes.

"What's there to panic about?"

A steady, somewhat cold voice suddenly rose above all the clamor.

Qin Hao stepped forward.

Without any flamboyant moves, he simply stood calmly before the raging silver time dragon.

At that moment, his body was undergoing a strange change.

His left side was rapidly aging while his right side continually grew younger.

Yet he seemed oblivious, merely lifting his eyelids slightly to gaze at the river representing the universe's supreme dignity.

"Since you've come, don't rush to leave."

Qin Hao sharply raised his right hand; in his palm, the Xuanyuan sword symbolizing civil authority let out a clear, resonant ring.

But this sword did not slash at an enemy.

Instead, with a 'crack,' it disintegrated on its own!

The golden blade transformed into countless shimmering rune-bearing specks of light, each reflecting the shadow of a Yanhuang citizen.

"I am a doctor, and also the head of this household."

"In this household, if I don't nod, who permits you to grow old? Who permits you to die?"

"Give me—hold!!"

Boom——!!

Countless golden specks of light, carrying the indomitable will of Yanhuang Civilization, slammed heavily into that surging river of time.

The originally roaring and rolling silver waves, upon striking these golden anchor points, suddenly stalled.

Like a wild bull galloping madly, its reins were forcibly seized.

That time torrent capable of scouring away all civilizations actually came to a halt right before Qin Hao.

For those undergoing aging or de‑aging, the changes in their bodies stopped instantly.

"Time, if it flows too fast it's a waste; if too slow it's torment."

Qin Hao gazed at the motionless silver dragon before him, a smirk of arrogance curling at the corner of his mouth.

He raised his hand and made a knotting gesture in the void.

"System, expend Energy Points to redefine the time rules within this area for me!"

【Consuming fifty thousand zetta Energy Points……】

【Constructing a local temporal agreement……】

【Temporal closed loop, generated!】

Hum—!

An invisible wave, centered on Qin Hao, instantly swept across the entire Miracle Garden.

That halted river of time, under Qin Hao's will, actually connected end to end,

was forcibly twisted into a ring,

like a docile scarf wrapped around the outskirts of the Miracle Garden.

"Hah……"

Qin Hao exhaled a turbid breath, gazing at the magnificent silver halo outside.

"From now on, I dictate the flow of time in this region."

He turned around, looking at the group of people still shaken, and a faint wicked smile appeared on his face.

"Everyone, let me share a piece of good news and a piece of bad news."

"The good news is, we have infinite time. Within this closed loop, while one second passes outside, we can experience ten thousand years."

"The bad news is……"

Qin Hao pointed at the mountain‑high pile of ninth‑level technological data, saying, "Before these things are fully materialized, nobody thinks of clocking out. Overtime pay? None, only immortality."

The whole venue fell silent for a second.

Immediately after, a deafening cheer erupted.

"To the scientists, this isn't overtime, it's practically paradise!"

"Don't get too excited yet; there's still something unresolved."

Qin Hao pressed down his hand, signaling everyone to be quiet.

His gaze swept through the crowd toward a monument at the corner of the plaza.

Engraved upon it are the names of every warrior who sacrificed for Yanhuang Civilization over the years.

"Since we've reached a ninth‑level civilization and mastered time, there are things we couldn't do before that we should now try."

Qin Hao walked slowly up to the monument.

He lightly stroked the cold stone tablet, murmuring to himself.

Then he suddenly thrust his hand straight into the tamed temporal closed loop.

Zzzap—!

Qin Hao's arm instantly turned translucent, as if bearing a tremendous karmic backlash.

Yet he didn't furrow his brow; his arm thrashed wildly in the void, as if feeling for something in murky waters.

"Found it."

Qin Hao's eyes lit up and he roared, "Come out!!"

He jerked it back hard.

A faint white orb of light, tinged with bewildered emotion, was forcibly yanked by him from a past temporal node.

"Rebirth of the flesh! Infuse the rules!"

Following Qin Hao's will, surging life energy flooded in from all sides, enveloping the light orb.

Bones grew, vessels extended, muscles reassembled, skin covered.

In just three breaths.

A young man in an old‑style combat uniform fell to the ground, dazed.

He panted heavily, his hand still unconsciously manipulating the warship system interface.

"Captain! Get out of here—I'm holding them off…… huh?"

Li Xiao's shout cut off mid‑sentence, suddenly stuttering.

He blankly lifted his head, looking at the sci‑fi‑laden surroundings and at the crowd gazing at him with god‑like eyes.

Finally, his gaze settled on the smiling man before him.

"Commander……?"

Li Xiao rubbed his eyes, pinched his thigh hard, and said, "I… I didn't die, did I? Is the food in this hell this good? Did you also come down?"

"Screw you, old man—I'm alive and well."

Qin Hao slapped Li Xiao on the head and laughed, "Welcome back to the unit, Lieutenant Li Xiao."

"Your mission now is to stand up and claim your new warship."

Li Xiao stood up blankly.

He felt his warm cheeks and sensed the strong heartbeat in his chest.

This is not a dream.

Really……came back to life?

Boom——!!

At this moment, the entire Yanhuang Civilization was completely in an uproar.

Countless people embraced and wept.

This move that reverses life and death is more shocking than any technological breakthrough.

This means the Yanhuang Civilization is no longer those ants at the mercy of cosmic rules.

They have become the gods who hold sway over life and death!

Looking at the cheering crowd, Qin Hao also showed a smile.

At that moment, within the Miracle Garden, a burst of jubilation arose.

A blinding pillar of light, impossible to describe, shot up from the center of the time closed loop, disregarding distance and dimension, directly illuminating half the universe.

That was the sign of the birth of a ninth-level civilization.

……

Beyond billions of light-years.

Universal Alliance Headquarters, Core Forbidden Zone.

Here there are no stars, only endless darkness and stillness.

A chessboard huge enough to cover a star system floated silently in the void.

On the chessboard were placed pieces representing each civilization.

At the moment that pillar of light shone.

The figure that had been sitting cross-legged at the edge of the chessboard, asleep for hundreds of millions of years, suddenly opened its eyes.

In those eyes there were no pupils, only two slowly rotating black holes.

Crack.

The chessboard before him, which represented cosmic order, suddenly cracked open a fine fissure.

A piece that was originally inconspicuous, representing the G-37 Area, suddenly turned into a glaring gold,

and began to uncontrollably dart across the chessboard, knocking over several pieces representing early-stage ninth-level civilizations.

"It's only been a hundred years since our last clash, and I didn't expect you to become the chessmaster so quickly, Qin Hao—you truly have a great secret."

Looking at that golden light that remained piercing even across endless void, the black holes in the Lord of the End's eyes suddenly spun faster.

A chill capable of freezing souls swept through the entire headquarters.

"If you don't want to be a piece, then let's overturn the table as well."

The Lord of the End rose to his feet, and the black robe behind him stirred without wind, as if shrouding the light of the entire universe.

"Pass the order down."

"Activate the Great Cleansing Procedure!"