Chapter 2067 - The Sound of a Bell Resounds Throughout the River of Epochs

The River Lord had a poisonous tongue, and he behaved crudely, but the way he’d defeated the Guye Heavenly Maiden with a single punch proved how terrifying this mysterious existence was.

Thus, even in the face of his provocations, the Master Gods and rulers of the forbidden zones repressed their anger and dared not act lightly.

“If we weren’t just avatars of will, destroying this place would be nothing at all,” said a Master God, his gaze cold and indifferent. “You might be able to protect that heretic for now, but you can’t protect him forever, River Lord.”

Bang!

The Master God’s avatar of will exploded. He too took a single fist to the chest.

The crowd’s eyelids twitched violently.

Meanwhile, the River Lord returned to his initial position and jeered. “Even now, you lot show no sign of penitence. Sure, you have no need to fear the loss of an avatar, but this operation of yours is sure to end in abject failure, and that’s good enough for me!”

His words were like an ice pick to the chest. All of the gods’ expressions darkened.

They’d been planning this for a long, long time, and they’d finally seized a perfect opportunity, not just to capture Su Yi alive and seize his power of reincarnation, but to acquire the Epoch Spark, a Taboo Treasure.

But things just kept going awry. First, Luo Xuanji intervened. Then, the mysterious River Lord showed up, turning the situation completely on its head.

Who’d be willing to just let things end here? Who could accept slinking off in defeat?

“Any other softshell turtles unconvinced of their defeat?” The River Lord gazed provocatively at the Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones.

Master God Tian Huang glared. “Would it kill you to be a little politer?”

The River Lord’s mouth was far too dirty, as if the thought of a sentence without expletives or insults made him uncomfortable.

“Sure.” The River Lord grinned.

“Frick

your mother. Is that better?”

“....”

Boom!

A moment later, Master God Tian Huang’s avatar exploded. It was destroyed in the same way, shattered by a blow to the chest. In the last moments before its destruction, his avatar was visibly overcome with fury.

“Run!” The Dipankara Buddha took a deep breath, then decisively gave up and left. With a mysterious figure like the River Lord in the mix, they couldn’t turn this around, not even if they worked together.

Staying here would just result in more insults and abuses. Who could bear that humiliation?”

“Stop right there!” The River Lord bellowed. “You think you can come and go whenever you please? Do you fuckers think you can just ignore me like an unwanted scallion on your plate?”

“What do you want, then?” The Dipankara Buddha glared coldly at the River Lord. The other Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones had similarly unfriendly looks on their faces.

They were avatars of will. They naturally didn’t fear destruction. If the River Lord pushed them to the edge, they’d fight to the bitter end!

“Don’t be nervous.” The River Lord grinned. “We’ll need your help to open the Path of the Ancient Gods. How about this? So long as you help us, I promise your disciples and grand disciples an opportunity to explore the Path of the Ancient Gods.”

The crowd was stunned, including Su Yi, who frowned. “Do we need their help?”

“Killing them wouldn’t have much of an effect on their main bodies, and besides, a group of hard laborers has delivered themselves to our door. It’d be a waste not to take advantage of them,” explained the River Lord. “This is what they call ‘repurposing rubbish.’”

“.....” The Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones were at a loss for words.

Every single word out of his mouth is an insult! He seriously takes us for mere manual laborers? That’s far too insulting!

But against all expectations, the Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones hesitated, their expressions shifting and uncertain.

“Are you certain that all of our disciples and grand disciples will be able to enter the Path of the Ancient Gods when it opens?” The Dipankara Buddha was the first to break the silence.

“That’s right.” The River Lord nodded. “The good fortune of the Path of the Ancient Gods is subject to numerous variables, and no one person can monopolize it, nor is it possible to restrict admission to any one small group.”

He paused, his gaze suddenly serious in a rare, uncharacteristic display of solemnity. “Throughout the ages, whenever the Path of Ancient Gods has opened, anyone capable of entering it, no matter who they are and no matter their cultivation base, has an opportunity to take its trials. This is the rule of the River of Epochs, and no one can change it!”

The crowd was stunned. Even Su Yi was unwittingly stunned. He couldn't help but exclaim, “Who made that rule? What breadth of spirit!”

The way he saw it, only someone concerned with the welfare of all epoch civilizations and everyone in them could have made such a rule. Anyone would have sighed with admiration over it!

The River Lord turned his head and looked at Su Yi strangely. “You’ll naturally learn the answer to that later.”

“....” Su Yi fell silent.

Don’t tell me it’s somehow connected to me? Or did one of my past lives know the person who set that rule?

“Very well. I agree!” said the Dipankara Buddha. The other Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones hesitated, then did the same.

When the River Lord saw this, he laughed. “I can tell that you’re still entertaining foolish notions that your disciples and grand disciples will be able to take down Su Yi on your behalf. You hope they’ll be able to steal his power of reincarnation and the Epoch Spark.”

The crowd fell silent.

A moment later, the River Lord sharply changed tacks. “But I actually rather hope you try it.”

The crowd couldn’t help but furrow their brows. They couldn’t tell if the River Lord was being serious or not.

Su Yi, however, didn’t care. He hadn’t anticipated the River Lord’s arrival, nor had he counted on the River Lord’s support. Thus, he hadn’t factored him into his plans, and he naturally wasn’t concerned.

Still, the River Lord’s attitude left ample room for thought. It seemed he was carrying out an unwritten law and maintaining the natural order.

He wouldn’t let his powerful enemies strike to kill him, but he would let anyone capable of entering the Path of the Ancient Gods do so, no matter who they were.

And from beginning to end, he’d never really launched any sort of massacre. Otherwise, given the strength he’d displayed, he could have swept through everyone here with ease! All of this made it seem like he was acting in accordance with some rules and not simply acting wantonly.

“Let’s begin, then.” The River Lord beckoned to Su Yi. “Fellow Daoist, all you need to do is hold the Epoch Spark and watch.”

“Everyone else is coming with me to Ancient God Ridge!”

......

Moments later.

Boom!

Firelight interwove in the sky over Ancient God Ridge, and the power of time and space churned like tidewaters, gradually outlining a grand but ethereal portal in the air.

It was fully one hundred thousand feet tall, and it connected heaven and earth, like a celestial gate!

The Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones were giving it their all under the River Lord’s guidance. They circulated their forbidden techniques and drew upon the spacetime power covering Ancient God Ridge, relentlessly guiding it toward that illusory portal.

Su Yi just stood in the distance, holding the Epoch Spark aloft. It emanated a chaos-like rain of light that formed a wondrous connection with the nascent and ethereal portal.

When the gods of the various camps saw this, their expressions filled with surprise. This was the entrance to the Path of the Ancient Gods!

It had been left to gather dust for countless years, but now, it would finally see the light of day once more!

“Alright, get to work, you lazy asses! Not even the donkeys mortals use to pull millstones are as lazy as you!” The River Lord stood beneath the dome of heaven, chastising the Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones.

The crowd now knew about the River Lord’s dirty mouth, but seeing this still felt strange.

As for the people he chastised? The almighty rulers of forbidden zones and Master Gods? They glowered, but none of them said anything. Still, it would have been obvious to anyone that they were suppressing a bellyful of fire!

“Faster!” urged the River Lord. “You were so arrogant earlier, so why can’t you even open a door?”

Old Man Providence couldn’t help but argue, “If things go on like this, our avatars of will are going to crumble!”

The River Lord immediately cursed him out. “So what if they crumble? It won’t hurt your true bodies, now will it? Quit grumbling, shithead! Keep that up, and I might well punch your fucking face in!”

Old Man Providence almost went mad with anger. Had his true body been here, he’d have given in to the urge to slap the River Lord to death a long time ago.

He was simply an old hooligan!

The other Master Gods and rulers of forbidden zones remained silent, but they too were utterly resentful.

In the end, just as their avatars of will were about to run out of steam, the ethereal portal fully took shape in the sky.

The entrance to the Path of the Ancient Gods was formed entirely out of spacetime power. It was towering and grand, simple, with an air of the vicissitudes of countless years.

Even gods seemed paltry and miniscule by comparison.

The moment Su Yi gazed upon the completed portal, he felt a wondrous resonance. He could sense the invisible connection between the Epoch Spark and the portal to the Path of the Ancient Gods, and he knew that no one would be able to open the portal without his consent!

Only he could fully open this door that had remained shut as who-knew-how-many epoch civilizations came and went!

Clang!

The ethereal ringing of a bell suddenly resounded from within the entryway. Heaven and earth shook, and all of creation resonated with it.

Every god present had a strange sensation, and the same thought rose unbidden to their minds—The Path of the Ancient Gods has opened. Everyone capable of passing through the entrance is welcome to enter!

The time limit: one year!

At the same time, every living thing in the Kingdom of Lasting Light heard the bell and knew that the Path of the Ancient Gods had opened.

The ethereal ringing of the bell simultaneously resounded throughout the boundless River of Epochs and all of the outposts scattered like stars across the night sky.

The experts there, no matter their backgrounds or cultivation bases, and no matter how lofty or lowly their positions, suddenly knew that the Path of the Ancient Gods had opened.

𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

“My heavens! Is this for real? The Path of the Ancient Gods has opened, and it welcomes everyone capable of entering it?”

“It’s got to be true! I can sense it too!”

Every city and outpost of the River of Epochs, everywhere that life gathered, descended into uproar over the news. A clamor of voices arose.

“Wonderful! Wonderful!”

The Great Profound Stage experts who’d been exploring the River of Epochs for a long, long time were so excited that they lost control of their emotions.

Becoming a god was far, far too difficult! Were it easy to become a god, who’d have risked themselves bitterly searching and struggling for an opportunity despite the immense danger?

Countless dazzling talents died full of resentment without ever attaining divinity!

Who knew how many astonishing figures had met their ends in the River of Epochs, never to be seen again?

Yet now, the Path of the Ancient Gods had opened. Those experts who’d bitterly sought chances at divinity all this time felt as if they’d finally caught a glimpse of light amidst the endless darkness!

They finally saw hope of achieving divinity!