Chapter 428: True Disciple

"The Zhu Long Soul? Interesting…"

"Lady Qinghua's Nuwa Soul, and even her true form, were human-bodied with serpent tails; Zhu Long has a human face and serpent body…"

"More importantly… the Zhu Long Soul is naturally suited to comprehending the Dao of Time… and in time, may even draw near the 'Dao of Light and Shadow'…"

On Fang Xing's face, a rare look of hesitation appeared.

According to the Ten Thousand Wanxiang Heavenly Demon Stele of the Seven Kill Demon Palace, he was better suited to the 'Qian Kun Dao' or the 'Void Dao'.

But the key problem was—there was no corresponding Soul Formation method in the Qing Hua Scroll's legacy!

And if he failed to meet the requirement, the Boundary Spirit Serpent Woman would kill him.

Even if he could escape his true soul through the Gates of All Realms, returning with only this much gain would leave him deeply unsatisfied.

"Enough… even if I form a Soul, it'll just be this black dragon—my true body still has many options…"

"As for fragmented Dao comprehension, later I can either pursue fused Dao paths or… breed children to purge it. Besides, this Yinhuan won't surface until at least the peak of the Heavenly Immortal Realm… worrying about it now is sheer overthinking."

Even if this was merely a descent body destined to form a Soul, Fang Xing still looked down on the Fire Spirit Soul and favored the 'Zhu Long Soul' instead.

Moreover…

If he only comprehended the Fire Spirit Soul method, it would be too simple—unlikely to satisfy the Boundary Spirit Serpent Woman's demands.

"The Dao of Time…"

"The Qing Hua Scroll's legacy centers on the Dao of Life, with the Dao of Time as a supplement… even Lady Qinghua herself likely didn't comprehend the Dao of Time to any great depth…"

"But at least there's a sample here. If I can sense the fluctuations of Time, and enter the Dao of Time… achieving the third level within a short time seems nearly impossible. My Space Dao took decades of direct confrontation with the Space Origin to even reach this point."

"Will I really die this time?"

A thought surfaced in Fang Xing's mind—then a terrifying will instantly severed all such worries, and he devoted himself entirely to comprehending the fluctuations of Time.

…

Inside Lady Qinghua's shrine.

The Serpent Woman Boundary Spirit gazed at countless mystic light mirrors.

Now, besides Fang Xing and the other three, three more had appeared.

Naturally, these were geniuses who had arrived at the Boundless Blood Sea and were deemed qualified for the legacy.

She first glanced at Song Zhong, seeing him still in meditative repose, and shook her head: "After being soul-subjugated, he's truly ruined… that common-blooded four-legged snake is truly vile… yet this control technique does have some subtle brilliance."

Then, the Serpent Woman turned to Ning Qian.

"Three years have passed in her location… she's the most likely to succeed. How vast is Lady Qinghua's legacy? For cultivators who haven't yet entered the Dao of Life, as long as they reach the first level's perfection within the time limit, they may become recorded disciples… reaching the second level qualifies them as formal disciples."

Those who already had comprehension of the Life Dao would naturally need to reach a deeper level.

The Serpent Woman's gaze swept over several others, finally settling on Prince Fu Shan.

Even she had to admit this prince was truly extraordinary—merely from a few fragmented brushstrokes, he had already begun to walk the correct path.

"Pity Lady Qinghua's main focus was the Dao of Life, and her comprehension of the Dao of Time was shallow… otherwise, we could have manipulated the flow of time more freely…"

The Serpent Woman sighed in regret, then turned her gaze to the mystic light mirror where Fang Xing was.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, her eyes widened as if witnessing something unbelievable: "She chose to comprehend the Dao of Time? Nothing in this realm escapes my notice… this fluctuation—she's already sensed the Time fluctuations and begun her entry? The Dao of Time is harder than the Dao of Life; if she fully enters it, becoming a recorded disciple won't be a problem…"

But soon…

As moments slipped by, the Serpent Woman's expression gradually turned to astonishment, then shock… even a hint of ecstatic joy.

…

Inside the stone chamber.

"Good. Finally, I've sensed the fluctuations of Time…"

【Dao of Time: 1/5000 (Entry）】

Fang Xing sensed an extremely subtle fluctuation, and a faint understanding arose.

He opened his eyes, glanced at his attribute panel, and knew he had entered the Dao of Time.

All beings exist immersed within the River of Time, yet Time is more ordinary than air—so people always unconsciously overlook it.

"My entry was chiefly due to the Qing Hua Scroll's guidance… besides, the stone chamber's Time flow seems to have been altered."

"Now, I'll use the scripture's legacy as the main guide, and the chamber's Time anomalies as reference… time to fully commit."

Fang Xing resolved himself, sinking into the Dao of Time.

Time flows like water; years pass like a shuttle…

One day…

A black dragon, the size of a black cat, opened its eyes: "The Dao of Time is indeed vast and profound. After all my comprehension, I've finally entered the threshold." Fang Xing glanced again at his status bar:

【Dao of Time: 1/10000 (Proficient）】

"Less than seven months to go from entry to proficiency—not bad."

At this moment, he truly understood Time.

"Unlike Space's layered cake structure, Time is like flowing water—never returning. What I can do now is still minimal… but the Dao of Time has its own peculiarities: from shallow to deep, first altering Time's flow, then halting Time, and finally, at its peak, reversing Time…"

"With my current proficiency, reversing Time or halting it is out of the question—even altering Time's flow remains beyond me."

Fang Xing gazed at the Time anomalies surrounding the chamber and sighed.

Even if Lady Qinghua's comprehension of the Dao of Time was shallow, it was still profound to a Heavenly Demon.

To him, it remained a towering peak.

Had the Qing Hua Scroll not mentioned it, he wouldn't have understood the levels of the Dao of Time so clearly.

"If the Dao of Time is this hard, then the Dao of Light and Shadow must dominate past, present, and future… truly awe-inspiring."

Fang Xing saw streams of gray energy in his eyes: "With my current Black Water Qi and second-level Dao of Time, I cannot affect the external Time flow—but while I can't alter the outside, I can alter myself. By accelerating my own Time, I gain astonishing combat effects… my current limit is tenfold acceleration of my own Time."

In battle, even if a cultivator's mind operates ten times faster, it becomes crushing dominance.

If a cultivator's own Time were accelerated by billions of times, wouldn't the entire world appear to him as if frozen in Time?

"Thus, once I push the Dao of Time to the third level and forge the 'Heart of Time,' I can attempt breaking through to the Soul Formation Realm and forge the 'Zhu Long Soul'…"

For ordinary Soul Formation cultivators, any Ninth Layer Foundation cultivator who swallows a Soul Formation Pill has some chance of breakthrough—but such a Soul is the weakest, with virtually no hope of reaching the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

True true disciples aspiring to become Heavenly Immortals must first comprehend their main Dao to the third level, then use it as a foundation to cultivate a special Soul Formation technique and forge a unique Soul.

Only then can they have a chance at becoming Heavenly Immortals—and even point directly toward the Great Dao!

Of course, even with a unique Soul, becoming a Heavenly Immortal remains extremely difficult—but at least it's not entirely hopeless.

"The year's up. Am I doing well enough to reach this point?"

Fang Xing unconsciously activated his self-accelerated Time.

He was still in the realm—any such activation would surely be noticed by the Serpent Woman as Boundary Spirit!

Indeed!

The next instant, heaven and earth changed.

Fang Xing stood again before the shrine, gazing at the towering stone statue of Lady Qinghua.

Before him, the Serpent Woman, dressed as a palace maiden, slithered out with her tail: "There were other trials planned… but seeing your talent, they're unnecessary. Black Dragon, I ask you—do you wish to become Lady Qinghua's true disciple?"

"Huh? Already this direct?"

Fang Xing was startled.

"You've comprehended the Dao of Time—stronger than the Dao of Life! Of course I can't judge you by Life Dao standards. Normally, entering the Dao within a year qualifies one as a recorded disciple; reaching first-level perfection makes one a formal disciple. But you—you seem naturally attuned to the Dao of Time! After reaching first-level perfection, you had no bottleneck and immediately broke into the second level!"

The Serpent Woman's eyes gleamed: "Even great cultivators often hit bottlenecks and remain stuck for millennia—even Dao-comprehension treasures struggle to help them break through…"

Fang Xing understood—it was his attribute panel's doing.

His true talent would have barely qualified him as a recorded disciple.

But with the attribute panel, his proficiency rose daily by force—even after reaching full proficiency, there was no bottleneck; he advanced directly to the second stage.

To the Serpent Woman, this seemed utterly unbelievable.

Even the Demon Emperor would have rushed to take him as a disciple.

"Enough talk—go pay your respects to your master!" The Serpent Woman's eyes gleamed, almost urgent.

"Wait… what about them? Are they really going to be killed?"

Fang Xing didn't care about Ning Qian's fate, but Song Zhong, as his servant, was still quite useful.

"Of course not… I was just scaring you."

The Serpent Woman blinked, suddenly appearing lively and sly: "Lady Qinghua loves all beings. Her own beloved was human—how could she set a rule that failure means death? If they ultimately fail, I'll simply expel them, and erase only their memories of receiving the legacy…"

"Love?"

Fang Xing's lips twitched.

"Yes. Even at her final moment before death, she felt no hatred—only regrets…"

The Serpent Woman looked deeply sorrowful.

Fang Xing felt that Lady Qinghua resembled some kind of Qianshi 's saintly mother—and he sighed in relief.

The logic was simple: if Lady Qinghua was so merciful and forgiving toward those who failed her legacy, surely her disciple wouldn't be forced into especially harsh conditions.

(End of Chapter)