Chapter 2997: Getting Older

Lu Yin suddenly thought of something, and his eyes snapped open as he stared into the void.

Sure enough, the spatial lines of this universe were tougher than the Origin Universe’s. They were about three times larger, which meant that time passed three times faster in this universe than in the Origin Universe. This was indeed a parallel universe where time flowed at a different rate.

Throughout the entire process, Arch-Elder Zen, Jiang Qingyue, and the others were at a complete loss.

Lu Yin had no intention of explaining anything. He had simply shared the targets that he was aiming for with them.

"Time passes three times faster in this universe, so I need to train for a bit here. You can stay on top of the jiao or cultivate however you want in this universe," Lu Yin stated before leaving on his own.

It was at this moment that Zhao Ran's purpose was revealed. She immediately prepared some tea for Arch-Elder Zen to drink.

Arch-Elder Zen felt quite relaxed. He had been responsible for the entire Fifth Mainland from when the Perennial World had split off until Lu Yin rose up. At the moment, Arch-Elder Zen did practically nothing for the Heavens Sect but occasionally make an appearance and act like Lu Yin’s thug. He had joined Lu Yin on this trip because the old man had been asked to do so by Lu Yin.

Just as Arch-Elder Zen had promised when he had become a Progenitor, he had dedicated himself to paving the way for Lu Yin.

Jiang Qingyue left the jiao; she and Dragonturtle went to explore the universe.

Ghost Monkey was also driven away by Lu Yin, and he was ordered to either stay with the jiao or go explore on his own.

Lu Yin's goal was to receive the universe’s acknowledgement, which meant that he first needed to get a clear picture of the universe. If it would take too long to be recognized by the universe, then there was no need to stick around. After all, time only passed by three times faster in this universe, which was very little.

Just a few days later, everyone gathered on the jiao’s back. Lu Yin held the compass in his hand as he tore through the void and they left the universe. There was no life in the universe, which meant that it would take a very long time to receive its acknowledgement. For just a three second improvement in his Lightstream, it was not worth it. Lu Yin would continue and search for another universe.

The same scene as before played out; the jiao entered the spatial crack, determined its direction from the compass’s needle, and then they were dragged along by the compass, following the light that led through the void. They soon arrived at another parallel universe where time flowed at a different rate.

Time passed about twelve times faster in this universe, and after examining the universe, Lu Yin estimated that it would take him five years at most to be recognized by the universe. This was worth it.

He stayed in the universe, and Jiang Qingyue officially arrived in an unknown universe and started training.

Five years later, Lightstream emerged from Lu Yin’s body, and then he returned to the jiao. Jiang Qingyue had also returned, and she gave Lu Yin a questioning look.

Lu Yin had never shared the reason why he was searching for universes where time flowed at different rates with any of his companions. So, they had no idea why he had decided to stay in this universe for five years.

"Your Highness, have some tea." Zhao Ran was very happy. By visiting an unknown parallel universe, she was able to gather unique flowers and prepare new teas, which delighted her.

Lu Yin looked at the tea in the cup before him, which looked like flowing lava. It appeared that Zhao Ran had also made some progress.

He took a sip and found the tea to be a bit spicy, but filled with a sweet aftertaste. It was an odd combination of flavors, but it inexplicably left people feeling refreshed after they had some. "Very nice."

Zhao Ran was thrilled by the compliment. "Really? Then I'll go pick some more red fruits."

"What red fruits?" Lu Yin asked.

Arch-Elder Zen smiled. "Zhao Ran found a fruit that she used to make the tea that you just enjoyed, Dao Monarch. They are very good."

Lu Yin nodded, not particularly concerned. He watched as Ghost Monkey took Zhao Ran to gather ingredients from a certain planet.

They returned after just half a day. Then, Lu Yin held the compass in his hand and started guiding them towards their next universe.

...

One year later in the Origin Universe, Lu Yin received the acknowledgement of another universe. Time passed seventeen times faster in this universe, which meant that they had spent seventeen years in it.

Seventeen years were enough for Zhao Ran to grow attached to the universe.

Jiang Qingyue had become very familiar with the universe as well. She had learned where the best tasting fruits and vegetables could be found, where strange mountains stood, and which places had the most beautiful scenery.

To gain this universe’s recognition, Lu Yin had spent seventeen years wandering around the universe. There were no animals in the universe, only plants. So, Lu Yin had to touch and observe every plant he came across.

He had essentially gone on a sightseeing tour of the universe.

During this period, he and Jiang Qingyue had also traveled together for nearly three years. If not for Dragonturtle calling that time their honeymoon, Jiang Qingyue would have never parted ways with Lu Yin.

Lu Yin had also felt quite embarrassed. Dragonturtle's mouth was too loose. He was even worse than Ghost Monkey.

Ghost Monkey had also wanted to accompany Lu Yin in sightseeing, but Lu Yin found the monkey too annoying.

...

In what felt like the blink of an eye, three years had passed in the Origin Universe. However, nearly 100 years had passed for Lu Yin and his group as they traveled through different unknown universes where time flowed faster.

During these 100 years, they never encountered any danger. The only time they had encountered an aggressive astral beast was when Zhao Ran had run into one. However, it had only been as strong as an Explorer, and Ghost Monkey had slapped it away.

Living through nearly 100 years of peace had also let Lu Yin feel much more relaxed.

Arch-Elder Zen also enjoyed their journey. The calmer things were, the more comfortable he felt.

Zhao Ran had managed to create at least twenty new kinds of tea. All of them were still strange looking, but they were absolutely delicious.

Living such a life was the dream of many people.

"Young Mistress, it’s been so long, and yet you’ve made no progress at all!" Everyone was enjoying some tea on the jiao’s back, enjoying the sight of a distant waterfall. They were all quite relaxed.

Jiang Qingyue remained calm. "This is how cultivation works. Always fighting and competing is not the only way to make progress."

Arch-Elder Zen agreed. "To improve your cultivation, you not only need to improve your combat power and your cultivation realm, but also your mentality. Being able to relax once in a while will provide you with tremendous benefits when you challenge your Progenitor’s tribulation."

Dragonturtle raised his short tail. "I'm talking about feelings!"

Arch-Elder Zen froze, coughed, and then looked away.

Jiang Qingyue arched a brow. "It sounds like you want me to send you back to Whitecloud."

Dragonturtle immediately pulled his head back. "It’s been so many years, but you still haven’t made any progress at all! That Dao Monarch Lu is really a blockhead, eh?"

"Who? Who’s badmouthing Seventh Bro? Show yourself! I’ll fight you to the death!" Ghost Monkey emerged from a shadow and glared at Dragonturtle while cursing the little turtle.

Dragonturtle rolled his eyes. "This stupid monkey is so noisy!"

"You damn turtle! Step up! We’re fighting!"

"I'll beat you to death with just my tail."

"You have a tail? Where is it? Why can’t I see it? Isn’t that a little horn?"

"You damn monkey! You need a beating!"

"You damn turtle! If you dare to badmouth Seventh Bro again, I’ll kill you and make you into stew!"

"I won’t argue," Jiang Qingyue interjected.

Dragonturtle wilted. "Young Mistress, I’m doing this for your own good!"

Lu Yin stared off into the distance. Three years had passed in the Origin Universe, but he had experienced nearly 100 years. It was amazing how time could change.

"Brother Lu, how long will this trip last for?" Jiang Qingyue asked. Her question instantly silenced Dragonturtle and Ghost Monkey’s argument.

Even Arch-Elder Zen looked over.

Lu Yin replied, "I don't know, but I’m going to keep going. I probably won’t go back anytime soon."

As he spoke, he felt something inside. "What's wrong?"

Jiang Qingyue shook her head. "Nothing."

Ghost Monkey moved closer. "Seventh Bro, she’s getting older."

"You damn monkey! Don't insult my young mistress!" Dragonturtle leaped forward.

Ghost Monkey rolled his eyes. "What’s wrong with getting married when you’re a bit older?"

Dragonturtle was stunned for a moment, but then he vigorously shook his head. "Absolutely! You’re right! I have no objection! Young Mistress, you’re getting older."

Jiang Qingyue's expression turned ugly. She was basically the same age as when their journey had started. After all, for cultivators, 1,000 or even 10,000 years old was not considered old.

Lu Yin casually threw the two beasts away, and things grew quiet.

"It can sometimes be very dangerous to visit an unknown universe. Jiang Chen was right when he mentioned that, just because things are safe for a time, it does not mean that things will stay safe. This is especially true since I’m searching for universes where time moves faster. I’ve heard that many outsider powerhouses treat these universes as resources and currency. If we keep searching, we’ll definitely run into an outsider powerhouse at some point.”

Jiang Qingyue thought for a bit. "Father has mentioned that Astral Anura's favorite thing is parallel universes where time flows differently. If we run into that toad, you and I won't even be able to escape."

Lu Yin laughed. "It's not that big a deal—Astral Anura likes to do business. All we need to do is tempt him enough, and he’ll leave us alone."

Jiang Qingyue gave a small smile. "I hope that we can meet Astral Anura."

Lu Yin smiled.

Arch-Elder Zen regretted his life. When he had been as young as these two, forget a creature like Astral Anura, he had not been able to interact with even Progenitors. When the Perennial World split off from the Fifth Mainland, the last Progenitor that Arch-Elder Zen had encountered was Lu Tianyi, as Nutjob Lu did not count.

Times had changed things drastically, and it was wonderful to be young.

Over the course of 100 years, Lu Yin’s Lightstream had improved to the point where he could now see 165 seconds into the past. However, the further back in time Lu Yin was able to see, the more certain he became that this was not Lightstream’s true purpose. He should be able to use it for something else.

However, because Lightstream still had not improved enough, Lu Yin was unable to confirm his suspicions. He needed to improve his ability to look back through time even further.

...

The jiao landed. Lu Yin and his group had arrived in a new parallel universe, and the time in this one also flowed faster.

However, all of them were stunned by the sight that met them upon entering the universe.

Ahead of them were seven land masses stacked on top of each other to create what looked like a tower standing tall in the universe.

Each continent was smaller than the one below, and Lu Yin and the others clearly saw everything because of how far away they were.

Lu Yin was stunned. He had never seen such a thing in any of the parallel universes he had visited before. There were no stars or planets, only seven continents that were stacked on top of each other. It was a somewhat similar arrangement to the Lower Realm, Middle Realm, and Higher Realm of the Perennial World.

The universe was not particularly large, and Lu Yin could observe the entire thing with Heaven’s Sight.

At the same time, Lu Yin clearly saw the spatial lines of the universe; they were nearly eighty times tougher the Origin Universe’s.

Lu Yin's breath quickened. Eighty times! Time flowed eighty times faster in this universe. This was the most that Lu Yin had seen anywhere other than the Five Spirits Alliance’s universes.

This was an absolute treasure.

Lu Yin stared at the seven land masses, and as he did so, his expression gradually fell. There were humans in this universe.

Thus far in his journey, Lu Yin had not encountered humans in any of the parallel universes that he had visited. There were countless parallel universes throughout the megaverse, and the chances of entering a parallel universe that was inhabited by humans was not particularly high. Furthermore, Lu Yin was deliberately targeting universes where time flowed at different speeds, and that further lowered the chances of meeting other humans.

In this universe, there were humans. Unfortunately, the humans of this universe did not live good lives.

"Everyone, restrain your auras. Jiao, shrink down. We’re going to visit those continents," Lu Yin ordered. By this point, his expression was livid.

Arch-Elder Zen understood that there was something very wrong in this universe to make Lu Yin to be so upset, and the old man’s expression grew solemn.

Jiang Qingyue turned to look into the distance. While she was not able to see that far because she lacked Heaven’s Sight, she did cultivate aura energy. The feeling that she received from the seven continents was very dark and depressing.