Chapter 2041 - Shh, Don’t Talk

Xu Xingke fell briefly silent before saying, “This involves some of the forbidden zones of the River of Epochs.”

He then revealed a shocking secret.

The River of Epochs was home to numerous perilous, mysterious grounds including Ancient Upheaval, Cloud Burial, Divine Punishment, Guye Maiden, and Chaotic Skies. These forbidden zones weren’t supposed to exist in the present day.

This was for the simple reason that all of them originated from lost epochs of the past!

They appeared in the present day despite this because of warped spacetime. The flow of the past, present, and future had been severely damaged, and it was badly mixed up.

And these long-lost epoch civilizations could reappear where time and space were in disarray. That was the true nature of the River of Epoch’s most mysterious forbidden zones!

The strange lifeforms that existed within them were the strongest existences of these lost epochs. They’d seized a chance at life amidst turbulent spacetime, breaking free of their epochs of origin when they should have been destroyed. They overcome one strange and taboo tribulation after another to cling to life all the way to the present day!

The Ancient Upheaval God King of the Ancient Upheaval Forbidden Zone, the Monarch of Divine Punishment of the Divine Punishment Forbidden Zone, the Guye Heavenly Maiden of the Guye Forbidden Zone, the Cloud Burial Demon Lord of the Cloud Burial Forbidden Zone.... Were all such existences.

In a sense, all of these terrifying existences could be described as “ancients.” More specifically, they were ancient gods!

This was because all who managed to grasp a chance at survival amidst turbulent spacetime, escaping the lost past to survive into the present, were the mightiest ruling experts of their respective epochs!

When Su Yi understood the full story, even he was unwittingly stunned. He also finally understood the weight of the title “ancient god.”

This was because, among experts of the Divine Dao, only Master Gods could survive amidst turbulent spacetime unassisted!

There was no doubt about it. The Ancient Upheaval God King and the others were among the mightiest gods of their time. They could never have clung to life amidst turbulent spacetime to survive until the present day otherwise!

Their surviving subordinate were all fierce warriors who’d fought alongside them since before their epochs of origin fell. Otherwise, their masters would never have brought them with them into the present day!

“Their paths are different from those of the present day, and so too are their secret arts, but despite going about it differently, they’re still experts of the Divine Dao, and all of them have mastered Epoch Laws,” said Xu Xingke.

He continued, “They’re confined within their respective forbidden zones because of their mixed-up spacetime. That aside, they have to overcome numerous calamitous tribulations because the power of the epochs of the present day sees the ancient gods of lost epochs as abnormalities Everyone not of the present day will face similar suppression.”

Su Yi immediately recalled the woman in red, Luo Xuanji. She was, until recently, trapped in the City of the Lost. She was obviously a powerful ancient goddess too, an abnormality rejected by the present day!

And he’d broken the shackles of her curse, freeing her from the City of the Lost.

Learning all this helped Su Yi understand in more detail why the rulers of the forbidden zones kept inviting him to their territories.

He could help them escape confinement. With his assistance, they would no longer have to face the threat of turbulent spacetime, nor would calamitous tribulations suppress them any longer!

Su Yi sank into thought for a while before asking, “Why has the River of Epochs changed like this?”

Xu Xingke looked at Su Yi. “Because the cycle of reincarnation was lost.”

𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

“...”

“Without the power of reincarnation, the River of Epochs is doomed to slowly dry up. The power of reincarnation was lost a long time ago, and indeed, the River of Epochs has slowly weakened. Severe problems have arisen in the river linking the past, present, and future, leading to turbulent spacetime,” said Xu Xingke.

“Simply put, were the natural order of reincarnation in place, it could sustain the River of Epoch’s processes, letting it replenish itself in a self-sustaining, never-ending cycle.

“Without reincarnation, the River of Epochs is like water without a source or a tree without roots. It will only become increasingly turbulent and unstable over time.

“At least, the River Lord told me that, and it should be accurate.”

Su Yi finally understood. Ultimately, his mastery of reincarnation was insufficient. He’d had no idea what reincarnation meant to the River of Epochs!

Xu Xingke shook his head. “It’s a pity, but you’ve arrived too late. Had you returned before spacetime descended into upheaval, the situation might have been fixable. But now, even if you’ve mastered the power of reincarnation, there’s no changing the entirety of the River of Epochs. This world... Is ultimately doomed to descend into great upheaval.”

His voice was full of regret.

“Too late?” said Su Yi. “Seems to me that it’s still plenty early.”

“Early?” Xu Xingke repeated, stunned.

Su Yi didn’t explain. He just nodded.

Xu Xingke gazed intently at Su Yi, then said, “You should hurry up and enter the tower.”

Su Yi laughed. “You still haven’t told me what will happen in the outside world after I enter the Tower of Ancient Evils.”

“The ancient gods of the forbidden zones long to acquire the treasure on the ninth floor of the tower, too,” said Xu Xingke. “They already know that you’ve mastered the power of reincarnation, and they’re undoubtedly keeping tabs on this place, as they know you’re the only one capable of acquiring the treasure inside.”

Su Yi’s curiosity was instantly piqued. “In that case, I’m really eager to see just what kind of treasure we’re talking about here.”

With that, he strode toward the Tower of Ancient Evils.

Xu Xingke watched him disappear into the first floor before retracting his gaze and sitting cross-legged over a nearby stretch of water.

Then, he took off his scabbard, clutched it to his chest, and shut his eyes. His beautiful yet unearthly face was as unmoving as if it had been hewn out of stone.

Deep within his heart, he wondered,

Can Su Yi really reach the ninth floor? If he can’t...... Will the River Lord completely lose hope?

Hm?

Suddenly, Xu Xingke’s tightly shut eyes cracked open slightly, and he gazed into a distant stretch of empty, boundless water.

They’re here already? Boy, are they an impatient sort....

A massive bone bird silently floated over a distant stretch of river. Its wings spread over the surface of the water, fully one hundred thousand feet across.

A man in red robes leaned against the backrest of a black throne perched on the bird’s back, his legs crossed as he looked over with a smile.

A group of attendants was clustered around him. There was someone to pour wine, someone to brew tea, and someone busily preparing all manner of delicacies. Each busily attended to their affairs as the man lounged there like he was on vacation.

“Xu Xingke, you needn’t worry. We won’t take action until our young friend Su reaches the ninth floor of the Tower of Ancient Evils,” the red-robed man on the black throne said with a smile.

As he spoke, other figures appeared in other directions.

A white-robed woman bathed in gray lightning stood atop a blue furnace, her features indistinct and her form ethereal and illusory.

A man in a jade crown and black robes stood atop a black lotus, his hands behind his back. When his eyes opened and closed, they seemed to crackle with electricity.

Still other figures hid even further away. When they arrived, all of them stood there in silence, watching the Tower of Ancient Evils.

The atmosphere silently grew stifled and oppressive.

Xu Xingke just sat there cross-legged, expressionlessly taking it all in. No matter what happened here today, he would protect this place.

He wouldn’t back down in the slightest.

...

The first floor of the Tower of Ancient Evils.

When Su Yi first entered, an ancient, primeval aura bore down on him, assailing him right in the face.

He found himself in an ancient hall. It was completely empty, without any furniture. The walls, however, were covered with mystical images.

A fish leaped out of the water, devouring suns, moons, and stars.

A blade of grass planted its roots in the nine springs of the underworld, countless vengeful ghosts bound in its dense root hairs.

A throng of people prostrated themselves on the ground, worshipping a golden rooster perched proudly atop a cloud.

...The scenes were diverse and strange. All of them were tinged with mysteriousness.

As soon as Su Yi arrived, a voice rang out.

“Shh! Don’t say anything yet.”

Su Yi looked toward the source of the voice and saw a young man in ragged clothing crouched in the corner. He was staring intently at the image there.

He looked frail and completely ordinary, but the sight of him sent a thrill of danger through Su Yi’s heart. Moreover, the feeling was somehow familiar, as if he’d experienced it somewhere before.

He mulled that over and quickly understood. The delicate young man’s aura was similar to the wraiths he’d encountered in the ruins of the Spirit Martial Epoch left in the Immortal Realm!

There was no doubt about it. This was the first of the ancient wraiths imprisoned in the tower! A strange spirit formed from the lingering remnants of a dead god’s soul!

Su Yi had encountered similar spirits in the Place Abandoned by Heaven and the Cave of Divine Tears. That was where he’d acquired his Undying Demon Gold and Undying Bright Gold.

Now, he’d encountered yet another such creature in the Tower of Ancient Evils!

Except.... The young man looked frail, and his clothes were in tatters, but he nonetheless seemed far, far more dangerous than the divine wraiths Su Yi had encountered before.

Su Yi thought for a moment, then approached. He didn’t say anything, and his gait was unhurried.

But the frail young man didn’t even seem to notice. He was completely fixated on the image in the corner, and from beginning to end, he disregarded Su Yi completely.

Still, when Su Yi was just one hundred feet away, the sense of impending danger grew even stronger. He abruptly stopped in place and advanced no further.

Instead, he looked into the corner. The image the young man was fixated on was strange too.

It was actually a little box! It was only about the size of a fist, but it contained an entire universe with countless worlds, each with innumerable inhabitants.

The strangest part was that an ant stood over the box. It seemed that the ant could destroy an entire boundless universe with a single step!

The delicate young man muttered, “The Grand Dao sees the masses as ants, yet an ant can stand atop countless worlds. Truly interesting!”

He suddenly whipped his head around and looked at Su Yi. “What do you think of this painting?”

His eyes were bright and imposing. When he looked over, radiant lightning seemed to arc through the air, illuminating Su Yi completely.