Chapter 652: The Crisis of the Era

"Have you never heard of the Time-Space Mother River?"

Li Heng immediately realized something was wrong.

"I have not heard of it. What is this Time-Space Mother River you speak of like?" the Management Hub asked in confusion.

Li Heng then shared the information about the Time-Space Mother River, saying it was the only Time-Space River that ran through the Great Void, and that all Time-Space Rivers were branches of the Time-Space Mother River.

The Management Hub fell into a long silence upon hearing this.

"What is it? Have you discovered something?"

Li Heng continued to press.

"I can tell you with certainty that in our era, the Time-Space Mother River you speak of did not exist. Or rather, Time-Space Rivers did indeed exist in our era, but none of those Time-Space Rivers were as transcendent as this so-called Time-Space Mother River."

"The Dao Lords are supreme, ruling over everything in the Void; all the mysteries of the Great Void are within their sight. How could they possibly allow such a transcendent thing to obstruct them?"

The Management Hub asked in return.

Li Heng nodded, lost in thought. According to this, the appearance of the Time-Space Mother River was far later than the era of the Dao Lords? Then what exactly is the essence of the Time-Space Mother River?

He could not help but think of some rumors regarding the Time-Space Mother River.

Is the Time-Space Mother River man-made?

"Did you think of something? I hope my words can be of some help to you," the Management Hub said. He was also extremely shocked in his heart, feeling that everything had changed.

Inauspiciousness and Terror run rampant, Dao Lords have fallen, and now there is an added Time-Space Mother River that runs through the Great Void? If he could not sense that this was the original Great Void, he would have thought he had traveled to another space-time.

"If you put it that way, the origin of the Time-Space Mother River can only be traced back to the era of the Dao Lords at the earliest?" Li Heng muttered to himself, then shook his head, feeling that this perspective was incorrect.

As the saying goes, the latecomers surpass the predecessors.

Who decreed that something appearing late could only connect to the era of the Dao Lords, and not to the true origin? For existences of such a realm, reversing cause and effect is but a minor trick. Since it has already appeared, who can be certain that the Time-Space Mother River is later than the Dao Lord era?

Everything can only be limited to speculation.

"Then I would also like to ask, since that is the case, can the Dao Lords trace the origin and end of the Great Void?"

Li Heng changed his line of questioning; he was very curious.

"Asking such a question is actually meaningless."

"The Void is not a single Heaven and Earth, World, or space-time, but an objective external reality. You cannot view the Great Void using the linear structure of past, present, and future; that is unreasonable."

"Remember what I said just now? The Dao Lords are invincible, transcending eras, and are already the strongest in the Great Void. There is actually a reason for this. Because if a Dao Lord wants the past to have an origin, it has an origin; if they want the future to have an end, it has an end."

"Origin and end, past and future, all lie within the Dao Lord's single thought."

The Management Hub said a series of things, the amount of information was astonishing.

Li Heng nodded to show he understood.

From the perspective of the era he is currently in, the division of infinite eras, the Time-Space Mother River runs through from beginning to end, from the past to the future; the era is constantly moving forward. This is a major trend, a fixed pattern.

But for the Dao Lord era, the past and future are meaningless; they all exist within the Dao Lord's single thought. Perhaps there is also a trend of developing toward the future, but it is not a fixed pattern. The Dao Lord era is more like unifying the past, present, and future, or even transcending them.

It is just that while the Dao Lord era seems more transcendent, in Li Heng's eyes, he does not believe the Dao Lord era is truly better than this current infinite era, with its division from past to future.

Viewed from the previous perspective, the Dao Lord era was the stage of Obtaining Dao, possessing the right to interpret the Dao; naturally, there was no concern for past or future, era development, or origin and end.

Because the Dao Lord is the ultimate answer within the Great Void.

But now, it is the stage after Obtaining Dao.

Seeking Dao, Obtaining Dao, then Abandoning Dao, Seeking Dao, Obtaining Dao... this is a process that seems like an infinite Cycle, but is actually infinitely moving forward. The Dao Lord era was merely limited to a certain stage of Obtaining Dao and did not move forward, so it is highly likely that it is inferior to this era.

Why only say "highly likely"?

That is because Li Heng is not certain of the specific form of the Great Void. If the Dao Lords really are the ceiling that cannot be broken through, and the Great Void is the only center and the stage for everything, and the Path of Transcendence is a dead end, then he would be in trouble.

Returning all the way to the Great Void, Li Heng managed to extract some more information from the Management Hub, such as the fact that there were nine Dao Lords at the time, each of them merging with a part of the Great Void.

Or, for example, there was news during the Dao Lord era that the Dao Lords were nothing but old fogies who held positions without doing any work, occupying the latrine without defecating—they were great thieves. However, when these rumors were brought up, the Management Hub, being the number one sycophant, immediately denied them.

According to his account, it was like this.

The Dao Lords are supreme; how could they be speculated upon by petty people?

Finally returning to the surface of the Great Void, the Management Hub hidden on Li Heng looked at the surrounding Great Void and fell silent, without the slightest joy. After a long while, he warned Li Heng, "You must be prepared. Currently, I can sense Inauspiciousness and Terror running rampant, just like the eve of when I had to enter emergency slumber..."

Li Heng frowned and spoke.

"Do you mean this era, or the entire Great Void?"

Having said that, he took a step out, leaving this era, and arrived above the Time-Space Mother River, overlooking the countless eras around him to facilitate the Management Hub's detection.

The Management Hub had also learned from Li Heng that the current Great Void was divided into countless eras, so he did not feel surprised by the scene before him.

After probing, he spoke in confusion.

"This feeling seems to be limited only to the era you mentioned; it does not appear in other eras. Although other eras also contain the aura of Inauspiciousness and Terror, they have not reached the End Tribulation, unlike the era you are in, which is already at the End Tribulation."

"I must say, who has such ingenuity? Although this division into countless eras looks a bit flashy, it can to a certain extent prevent the spread of Inauspiciousness and Terror."

"When Inauspiciousness and Terror spread during the Dao Lord era, the entire Great Void suffered. Now it is limited to one or more eras, and has not caused the entire Great Void to perish."

The Management Hub exclaimed in admiration, very certain.

"Could it be that it was created by some Dao Lord on their deathbed?" he speculated to himself, then started making spitting sounds, feeling that he shouldn't think of bad things when he could think of good ones, secretly scolding himself for what he was thinking.

Could it not be that some Dao Lord is still alive?

Compared to the Management Hub's admiration, upon hearing this news, Li Heng's face immediately darkened. The Inauspiciousness and Terror from the eve of the Dao Lord era had gathered in his era?

Doesn't that mean his own era is truly going to perish? The Inauspiciousness and Terror of the Dao Lord era were things that even the Dao Lords could not block, leading them to bleed and fall.

But from his current Hongdao Level perspective, the Disasters and monsters in the Great Void he is in do not seem too strong; he could completely resolve them.

Or is it that he has underestimated the Disasters and monsters?