Chapter 63: 【Time is like a knife, cutting down heaven-gifted talents】

"What you say is not wrong." The Old Madman was indeed moved. If there were a Great Completion Holy Body, or even a Chaos Body, it might not be impossible to go to the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone to rescue the surviving Heavenly Pivot sect members and free them from their state as Desolate Slaves.

"However, I still have one tribulation to overcome. If I pass it, I can protect your path." The Old Madman said with a solemn expression: "If I cannot pass it, you should go to the Heavenly Pivot Stone Workshop. There is an old friend there who can protect you."

"Heavenly Pivot Stone Workshop?"

"Tribulation?"

Ye Fan and Lin Xian focused on different points. The former was surprised that the Heavenly Pivot Sacred Ground still had experts—could it be another legendary Saint?

Lin Xian, however, was astonished. Where did the Old Madman get a tribulation? In the current era, the First Heaven of the Immortal Platform is a top-tier expert, the Second Heaven is a Great Power Sect Master, and the Third Heaven is an era where Kings suppress a region.

As a Heavenly Pivot Saint at the Fourth Heaven of the Immortal Platform, the Old Madman was an invincible existence in the human world. Unless he was suicidal enough to attack a Life Forbidden Zone or a Supreme Dao force, no one could stop him.

"I am already over six thousand years old." The Old Madman said indifferently, pointing to his own head of white hair.

Six thousand years ago, the Old Madman's cultivation was earth-shaking, and he was hard to find a match for in the Eastern Wilderness. He had cultivated diligently for another six thousand years, crossing the long history of time and traversing many eras, both bright and dark.

In the current Eastern Wilderness, and even the Big Dipper Emperor Star, what great enemy could there be? The only thing that could contend with him was time.

"Time is like a knife, cutting down heaven-gifted talents; on the road to longevity, one sighs at the beauty..."

Lin Xian whispered, witnessing once again the cruelty of the Shrouding the Heavens Great Universe.

Time is the greatest problem before the Immortal Gate, and the greatest tribulation on the road to immortality.

The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths experienced the chaotic ancient turmoil, and the Great Universe was damaged. Although the Desolate Heavenly Emperor later repaired the Great Dao, ensuring the combat power of later cultivators, longevity substances were drastically reduced, and lifespan was significantly weakened.

Great Powers of the Second Immortal Realm, who could originally live long by relying on longevity substances, can now only live for two or three thousand years.

Invincible Kings who roam the Eastern Wilderness, shattering mountains and rivers with a roar and breaking a continent with a punch, have a lifespan of only three or four thousand years.

Saints who can destroy stars with a flick of a finger and roam the universe are existences of eternal youth in other universes, but in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, they can only live for five or six thousand years.

By analogy, the lifespan of a Saint King is six or seven thousand years, a Great Sage is seven or eight thousand years, a Quasi-Emperor is eight or nine thousand years, and an Emperor is over ten thousand years.

Perhaps due to a special physique or taking Medicine Kings, they might extend their lifespan a bit, but generally, they will not deviate from this base number.

The Old Madman has already lived for over six thousand years. In this world where combat power determines lifespan and lifespan feeds back into the cultivation realm, he stood at the peak of a Saint's attainment.

Many ordinary Saint Kings with average physiques who have never taken Medicine Kings might not even be as good as him.

But, that was the limit.

Who in the world can be immortal? No matter how peerless your beauty, in the end, you are just a skeleton in pink; no matter how much of a heaven-gifted talent you are, sitting on ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers, in the end, you will turn into a handful of yellow soil.

Only by breaking through again and stepping into the Saint King realm could the Old Madman possibly extend his life by over a thousand years and provide protection for the descendants of the Heavenly Pivot Sacred Ground.

Lin Xian bowed and said: "May Senior soon prove the Dao and achieve the Saint King fruit!"

Ye Fan and Jiang Tingting behind him followed suit, bowing and saying:

"May Senior pass the tribulation successfully and prove the Dao as a Saint King!"

The Old Madman looked at Lin Xian meaningfully and said: "Heavenly Pivot Sect Master from six thousand years later, you seem to know many great secrets."

For example: the realm of Saint King is definitely not something a Wheel and Sea cultivator could know.

Some Great Powers who cultivate to the Second Heaven of the Immortal Platform are still ignorant, mistakenly believing that above a Saint is an Emperor, or an Immortal.

The Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Platform, Quasi-Emperor, Alternative Dao Proving, Emperor Realm, Dao Prover—these pieces of information are still secrets in the current Eastern Wilderness, known only to the heads of families with ancient inheritances and the true heads of Sacred Grounds.

"I will not hide it from Senior. This junior comes from the other side of the starry sky, where there are also some ancient traditions that have a great connection with the Big Dipper."

Lin Xian said indifferently: "And I am a book-flipper."

"A book-flipper..." The Old Madman was thoughtful.

Ye Fan was a bit excited, looking at Lin Xian, as if asking why he had revealed the matter of the other side of the starry sky.

Lin Xian looked back and smiled at Ye Fan, saying: "Do you remember I said that Sages can traverse the cosmic void? Although the Primordial Ancient Star is mysterious, it is not completely unknown to cultivators above the Saint level."

"The universe is vast, and there is more than one source of life."

"You mean..." In an instant, Ye Fan's eyes sparked with brilliance, as if he saw the hope of returning home. He bowed deeply to the Old Madman and pleaded: "Senior, this junior also comes from the other side of the starry sky. I have parents at home to serve. Could you..."

"For a Saint to go to the other side of the starry sky, one also needs a Five-Color Altar. The Great Universe is too vast." The Old Madman shook his head and said: "Wait until I break through, perhaps I can try."

The Old Madman revealed the mysteries of the Great Universe to them. The dark, deep, and silent universe is too vast, and sources of life are too rare, so the sages of past generations set up Five-Color Altars as teleportation arrays between one star field and another.

Saints can traverse the starry sky, but they cannot go too far, otherwise they will lose their way and become wanderers.

To truly treat the universe as a backyard and walk through one galaxy after another requires a physical body at the Quasi-Emperor level.

Ye Fan felt like he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, but the hope in his heart remained undying. According to his deduction, Earth in the ancient era also belonged to a prosperous ancient life star and had intersections with the Big Dipper, so there should be Five-Color Altars set up.

"May I ask Senior, how many years will it take to break through?" Ye Fan asked with anticipation.

The Old Madman said indifferently: "Short as seven or eight days, long as five or six years."

Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief. Five or six years at most was not too long; he could wait and have a chance to go to the other side of the starry sky to visit his parents.

"Five or six years at most, it will be five or six years before I can stop eating beef in the Eastern Wilderness. That's a bit long..."

Lin Xian narrowed his eyes, pondered for a moment, then bowed and said: "Before Senior goes into seclusion, could you accompany this junior on a trip to the Demon Race?"

Immediately after, Lin Xian took out the Green Lotus Jade Pendant he had obtained from the Yin Pool.

"Demon Race." Divine light sparked in the Old Madman's eyes. He looked at the jade pendant, examined it for a long time, finally withdrew his gaze, frowned, and muttered in confusion: "Could it be... the Green Emperor is really not dead?"

The Green Emperor was the Emperor closest to the opening of the Immortal Path, but he passed away and disappeared ten thousand years ago, which was full of mysteries.

Logically speaking, the Immortal Path is about to open; how could the Demon Emperor not calculate it? Perhaps he had heaven-defying means to hold on until this era.

"Senior, my Heavenly Pivot has heritage but no Emperor Weapon, and the Green Emperor's lineage is also declining, having an Emperor Weapon but no heritage."

Lin Xian bowed again and said: "If the two families form an alliance, in the future, we will not be weaker than any Supreme Sacred Ground."

"Emperor Weapon..." The Old Madman nodded. This was indeed the greatest power in the human world, the continuation of an Emperor's life.

If an Emperor Weapon were to fully awaken, even a Quasi-Emperor would be wiped out.

"How do you plan to form an alliance?" The Old Madman asked.

Lin Xian smiled without saying a word, looking at Ye Fan. Let's make the Holy Body suffer a bit more.

Ye Fan: "???"

Ah, why is there still my business?

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 64 =====