Seeing Li Hao surpass her, a hint of shock and anger flashed in Chu Yueli's eyes. She was already in the Immortal Lord realm, yet in terms of Time Origin cultivation, she was surprisingly losing to this young man.
However, she had already seen on the Heavenly Dao Bridge that Li Hao's Time Origin realm was not low; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to evade the Great Dao lock on the bridge.
Furthermore, she did not primarily cultivate Time Origin. To quickly establish herself within the imperial family, and supplemented by her mother's inheritance, she had mastered the Path of Fire among the Nine Orders since childhood.
But this journey, she was not headed to the Five Paths Origin City. Although there was a Fire Dao Divine Tree there, which would greatly benefit her cultivation, she knew that with her current Fire Dao realm, it would be difficult to gain the Divine Tree's recognition and obtain the Divine Tree Dao Fruit.
There would definitely be individuals of Chu Tianhuang's caliber from other immortal dynasties competing with her. Therefore, she chose to broaden her foundation and build a basis for the future by coming here to comprehend Time Origin.
And these past five years had not disappointed her expectations. Originally, she hadn't even stepped through the threshold of Time Origin, but now she had reached the first level of Time Origin and was pushing towards the peak of the first level!
All of this was thanks to cultivating before the Time Origin Divine Tree, receiving the blessing of Time Dao rhyme, which greatly accelerated her sudden enlightenments.
"I've only been cultivating Time Origin for five years. What's so great about surpassing me?"
Chu Yueli gritted her teeth, a cold snort in her heart. Looking at Li Hao's increasingly distant back, she felt a wave of irritation.
Swoosh!
At this moment, Li Hao, following the flow of Time Origin, continuously increased his speed, surpassing one figure after another in the blink of an eye.
Soon, several backs with powerful auras appeared before him, ascending against the current in the River of Time.
"Hm?"
One of the figures in imperial robes turned their head, and seeing it was Li Hao, a look of surprise appeared on their face, but it quickly turned to understanding. After all, they had seen on the Heavenly Dao Bridge earlier that Li Hao's Time Origin realm was not low.
"You've come too? Why so late?"
Chu Tianhuang said with a light chuckle.
"I wandered elsewhere for a bit, so I arrived late."
Li Hao said.
Chu Tianhuang was slightly taken aback, then couldn't help but smile. It was indeed possible that Li Hao wasn't seen in the Time Origin City earlier.
"Have you been to the Five Paths Origin City, or the Form Dominion Origin City?"
Chu Tianhuang inquired.
"Five Paths."
"That guy was there too, right? Did he get the Divine Tree Dao Fruit?"
Chu Tianhuang asked politely.
Li Hao knew who he was referring to as "that guy," which was Bo Ya Xuejian. In the Yan Chu Immortal Dynasty, the other party likely only considered Bo Ya Xuejian a worthy opponent; everyone else was too far beneath him.
Including the imperial family member who ranked third, this person probably didn't even register in his eyes.
"I'm not sure. You can ask him yourself later," Li Hao said. He didn't have a habit of privately revealing other people's information, not to mention his acquaintance with Chu Tianhuang was merely superficial.
Chu Tianhuang nodded slightly, then brought the topic back, saying with a smile, "Keep it up. This is the last spiritual outburst. Let's see who can gain the Time Origin Divine Tree's recognition."
"Okay."
Li Hao responded, then immediately stepped on fragment after fragment of time, ascending against the turbulent flow.
"Hmph."
There were four other people beside them, all in the Immortal Lord realm, exhibiting extremely powerful might.
Hearing Chu Tianhuang's conversation with Li Hao at this time, they all glanced towards Li Hao. When they saw he was only in the True Immortal realm, an unreadable expression appeared in their eyes, but it wasn't disdain, merely dissatisfaction.
As a True Immortal realm cultivator able to catch up to them, this level of talent was worth paying attention to. Amongst heaven's chosen, there was also mutual appreciation.
But for Li Hao to actually attempt to compete with them for the Dao Fruit, that was slightly overestimating himself.
Being able to keep up did not mean being able to become a competitor; these were two different matters.
Swoosh!
One of the youths who had snorted suddenly shot upwards. In the chaotic River of Time, he broke through fragment after fragment of time, rushing towards the treetop.
The other three also exerted their strength simultaneously, quickly widening the distance between themselves and Li Hao.
Seeing this, Chu Tianhuang said to Li Hao, "I'll go ahead," and then also unleashed a more profound control over time, moving rapidly like a wisp of ethereal light within the River of Time.
Li Hao's eyes narrowed. These individuals' Time Origin realms were surprisingly not low; he felt they were at least at the peak of the third level.
He withdrew his gaze, his state of mind unaffected by the distance they pulled ahead. The Time Divine Tree had already told him quite clearly after he emerged from the Time Origin secret realm that he wasn't truly trying to compete for the Dao Fruit.
Coming here to climb was originally just to find a good spot to fish. Even without the Time Divine Tree Dao Fruit, if he could fish up a great harvest, he could still achieve a significant improvement.
He who does not contend, therefore the world cannot contend with him!
Li Hao adhered to his own Dao concept. His gaze swept over the time fragments around him. Without the distracting thought of clinging to the idea of reaching the summit and competing for the Dao Fruit, his mind instead settled on these countless chaotic and mottled time fragments.
Every flip of a fragment was a segment of past time.
There were buried years, and there were also moments from his own past, appearing scene by scene.
The child sitting alone amidst the prosperity of the Divine General's Estate, gazing up at the starry sky in the dead of night.
The young man born into wealth and prominence, who merely practiced zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting daily, and enjoyed fishing and leisure in the countryside.
Li Hao looked at each of those fragments, his lips curving slightly. He saw within them many warm moments he had even overlooked.
Eating pastries with his elder aunt, choking by swallowing too quickly, which startled his normally composed elder aunt, who managed the overall affairs of the Divine General's Estate, into a panic.
In the border pass's dark night, under the clear, cold moon, the young man slept soundly in his tent, while outside the tent was an aged figure, sitting in the void's shadow, silently watching over and guarding him.
"Elder Aunt... Old Feng..."
Li Hao's eyes flickered, his heart filled with longing.
Old Feng had followed him to the True Realm and became a disciple of his sect, but his elder aunt and others were in the Heavenly Calamity False Realm.
Li Hao thought that after this Southern Domain great battle ended, he would return to the Heavenly Calamity False Realm to visit when he had time.
He hadn't tasted the crispy fried goods from the uncle in the small alley in Qingzhou City for a long time either.
Among these time fragments, besides these heart-warming scenes, there were also images of Li Hao fighting demons and monsters, defending the city with a swing of his hand, and the back figure stepping out from the Divine General's Estate amidst the swirling snow.
But now, seeing the hardships of the past, his eyes had become calm, without ripples.
He continued to move forward, forward, following the current of time, rising from obscurity in the mortal world, and now competing with the top imperial family heaven's chosen from various dynasties in this Great Chiliocosm True Realm.
In the end, the backs of those imperial family members were still ahead of him. His Time Origin was at the third level, not yet at the peak, while Chu Tianhuang and the others had already reached the peak of the third level.
Comprehending Time Origin was more difficult than other Great Daos. Reaching the peak of the third level was extremely challenging, even for lower-level Immortal Lords.
Finally, Li Hao's steps seemed to be hindered, unable to move forward any further.
He knew he had reached his limit. There happened to be a horizontal branch nearby. A relieved smile appeared on his lips. He leaped over and landed on that branch.
He no longer looked at Chu Tianhuang and the others still struggling and rushing towards the top above him. Instead, he sat cross-legged on this horizontal branch, with numerous other figures below his feet.
Within this Time Origin Divine Tree, although Li Hao was inferior to the top experts from various dynasties like Chu Tianhuang, his Time Origin at the third level surpassed over ninety percent of the people present.
Seeing Li Hao sitting cross-legged on the horizontal branch, seemingly unreachable, many people below who had already reached their limits had complex expressions on their faces.
Most of those who came here were in the Immortal Lord realm, while True Immortals were fewer.
And at this moment, at this height, Li Hao was the only True Immortal realm cultivator sitting there.
"Bastard!"
Chu Yueli had already stopped, unable to advance even an inch further. She stood on a tree vine, looking at the figure on the high branch below the treetop. A flicker of surprise flashed in her eyes, followed by an anger she didn't understand the reason for.
"He actually..."
Yue Xi also saw Li Hao's height and couldn't help but be slightly entranced. She hadn't expected Li Hao, who had only just arrived here, to be able to climb so high on the Time Origin Divine Tree!
She felt a bit dazed, but finally, a hint of bitterness slowly emerged at the corner of her lips.
Compared to when she first entered the sect, now, after witnessing Li Hao's various deeds, she no longer harbored any thoughts of competing with this junior brother.
It was just that she couldn't understand.
Clearly, the other party was extremely ordinary in all aspects, so why could he repeatedly create shocking and astonishing feats?
If it were Gu Yan, she could still somewhat understand; after all, the other party was a descendant of an Ancient Sword Immortal, born with a Sword Spirit Immortal Physique, possessing the strongest aptitude for the Way of the Sword. But Li Hao seemed to have none of these blessings.
Soon, the turbulent flow of time swept over, enveloping Li Hao's figure, making it impossible to see him clearly anymore.
The others were also wrapped by the turbulent flow of time, situated within the torrent of time, unable to see anyone else anymore.
They could only cultivate within their respective torrents of time.
Li Hao felt the Time Dao rhyme around him, a smile appearing at the corner of his lips. He used time as a line, extending it into the surrounding torrent. The countless time fragments flipped over, and his line extended into deeper regions.
Then, he closed his eyes, quietly comprehending, immersed in angling.
Angling was a skill, requiring quietness, patience, and composure, and it also had a tempering effect on one's Dao heart.
With time as the line, he touched upon piece after piece of time fragments within the torrent. The chaotic torrent of time, at this moment, felt like rippling water waves in Li Hao's delicate perception.
An angler feels the changes in the current, feels the extension and tugging of the fishing line, and feels the movement and state of the prey.
But this time, what he was fishing for was not a living creature, but rather to fish up more ancient times and secrets.
One hundred thousand years ago, the Ancient Demons waged war against the True Realm; this was a commonly known fact in the True Realm.
Li Hao had also heard about it countless times, but had never witnessed it personally. If he could fish up that tragic and heroic period of time, he would be able to see it with his own eyes.
His mind drifted, feeling the changes in the surrounding time fragments, his consciousness completely immersed in angling.
Time quietly flowed by.
The spiritual outburst had ended without anyone noticing. Everyone was scattered throughout the Time Origin Divine Tree, immersed in cultivation and comprehension.
The entire Origin City became quiet, completely silent.
Who knows how much time had passed? Li Hao's timeline continued to extend. He touched upon fragments of time from ten thousand years ago, but that wasn't what he wanted.
He continued to extend, twenty thousand years ago, thirty thousand years ago... Li Hao felt his consciousness transform into a fishing line, flowing upstream along the long river of time, constantly exploring the past.
During this process, his consciousness felt as if it had left his physical body, giving him a sense of consciousness floating outside the universe.
That was a profound loneliness and fear, as if his soul could be frozen at any moment.
But Li Hao's primordial spirit was extremely powerful. Previously, he had eaten many Ancient Demons at the Yan Chu border, condensing over five hundred divine bones, making his soul not inferior to many Immortal Lords.
His consciousness felt increasingly constrained and refined, but the time it traversed became more and more distant. By the time it reached fifty thousand years ago, Li Hao felt he had seemingly reached his own limit.
He could no longer continue exploring upstream, angling for the past. Fifty thousand years was the most distant past he could currently reach.
Li Hao could only stay here, sensing the surrounding time fragments. After a long while, he finally touched one and immediately tugged it.
Time reeled in the line, everything seemed to shift in an instant, and his consciousness returned to his body. The timeline before his eyes was also pulled out, and a time fragment appeared.
Li Hao saw that what was presented in the fragment was a scene of a great battle.
The battlefield was actually somewhere within an immortal dynasty. Numerous massive demons and monsters, blocking out the sky and sun, were locked in battle with the experts from that immortal dynasty, the fight turning the world dark.
"Where is this?"
Li Hao was somewhat surprised. Looking at the scene in the time fragment, the war was extremely vast, affecting a wide territory. But he didn't recognize that immortal dynasty, and surprisingly, there were no Ancient Demons in the battle, but rather various monstrous demons and monsters with ferocious appearances fighting against immortals and gods.
Finally, as the time fragment dimmed, one of the experts engaged in battle, cornered in a desperate situation, suddenly transformed into a shooting star and streaked towards a certain stretch of sky.
The light continuously dissipated. Before dying, that expert tore open the void and fell into a mist-shrouded valley.
Li Hao was stunned for a moment, his heart stirred. A war that happened fifty thousand years ago, in an unknown location. That expert was at least in the Immortal King realm.
"That valley, there wouldn't happen to be treasures left behind before his death, would there?"
Li Hao mused inwardly.
He then shook his head. Fifty thousand years had passed; such a long time. Perhaps it had already been found by someone else.
Moreover, he himself was not lacking in inheritances. After all, he had an Immortal Emperor lineage; a mere Immortal King realm inheritance wouldn't be of much help to him.
However, while he couldn't use it, others might be able to.
If there really was such a good thing... Li Hao silently memorized this time fragment. If he had a chance to obtain the Great Chiliocosm Map of the Southern Domain True Realm, perhaps he could find that location where the expert fell.
He withdrew his thoughts and turned to cast his line again, wanting to fish, but suddenly the surrounding torrent of time churned.
Immediately after, an indifferent voice rang out:
"Your time is almost up. It's about to end. Here is a portion of my Origin Nectar; I'll give it to you."
As it spoke, a dense ball of treasure light appeared within the multicolored torrent before Li Hao's eyes.
Li Hao was stunned. He was very familiar with that indifferent voice; it was the Time Origin Divine Tree.
"Nectar?"
Li Hao was taken aback, and couldn't help but ask, "Senior, what is this?"
"Don't ask. Absorb it well. I believe in the future, your name will be remembered by the Great Chiliocosm True Realm."
The Time Origin Divine Tree said, its voice indifferent.
But Li Hao could tell that compared to the previous feeling of coldness, it seemed to lack a bit of its chill.
He was a bit bewildered. The other party's previous aloof demeanor had made him not dare to entertain any thoughts of closeness, but now, the other party had suddenly bestowed nectar upon him.
Nevertheless, he cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks, Senior. This junior will remember this kindness, even though you don't need it."
No further sound came back from the surroundings.
Li Hao reached out and put away the portion of nectar.
And within the Time Origin Divine Tree secret realm, an avatar of the Space Divine Tree with silver hair also stood there. Her features were extremely similar to the Time Divine Tree's avatar, but her expression was gentle and beautiful.
"Sister, have you gone soft-hearted?"
The Space Divine Tree avatar covered her mouth and chuckled softly.
(End of chapter)