The tone was very calm, without a trace of emotional fluctuation, but it was precisely this calmness that shattered Long Gong's incredibly proud Dao Heart like a heavy hammer blow.

Since the day he started his cultivation, he has pushed across his peers, been invincible to countless generations, and his whole life has been a battle, a mad battle.

Of course, he also encountered formidable enemies that were not easy to deal with, but they were merely "not easy to deal with." In the end, they still lost to him.

But today, he brought out his most perfect state, used his most powerful strike, yet after the opponent casually parried it, it was as if his Dao Heart shattered at that moment.

He could accept failure, he wasn't afraid of failure, he even craved failure, because by doing so... he would have motivation, become excited, have a target...

But at this moment, his full-strength strike, in the eyes of others, became as childish as a child's, and this powerless defeat was unacceptable to him.

This feeling was akin to enduring endless hardships, ascending to the Upper Realm, eventually becoming one of the hundred thousand celestial soldiers tasked with eradicating the Great Saint, and then unexpectedly dying under a casual swing of the Great Saint's rod, such a small feeling is despairing.

Long Gong is not afraid of death. If he were to meet an overwhelming opponent and be killed by them, he could accept it, but... he couldn't accept that despite using all his strength, he didn't even have the qualification to let his opponent make a move, this kind of collapse and despair was even more than death.

Crack—

With a forceful grip, Su Mu shattered Long Gong's Lifebound Magical Artifact with a wave of his hand, sending Long Gong flying, heavily crashing into the mud.

At this moment, his pupils lost focus, his complexion turned pale, and the previous arrogance and composure were nowhere to be seen, replaced by shock and disbelief.

However, he is Long Gong; he quickly calmed himself down and reformed his Dao Heart.

At this moment, he knew clearly that he had to escape. The current him... was no longer on the same level as him. He had to flee first, continue to lie dormant, and continue cultivation.

Because... although his Dao Heart almost shattered just now, it also brought a blessing in disguise, giving him new insight.

He could feel that he had already touched on the opportunity for a breakthrough, as long as he escaped from here, lived on, broke through the bottleneck, and advanced his cultivation to another level... then he could later set foot on the River of Time again and challenge this man once more.

So... the most important thing right now was to flee from this place first.

Although Long Gong was not an opponent, he still had many means to escape.

The next second, his entire being submerged into the swamp, preparing to enter his "Restricted Area" and then escape.

Just as his body was sinking into the swamp, Su Mu waved his large hand, grabbed at the void, and in an instant, forcibly pulled Long Gong out of the swamp.

After being yanked out from the Restricted Area by Su Mu, Long Gong knew... it seemed that escaping to his "Restricted Area" under Su Mu's nose was clearly not possible.

He waved his hand, and from his palm, dozens of Gu insects surged out, attacking Su Mu.

Upon seeing this, Su Mu frowned. These Gu insects were very strange. Immediately, his spiritual power burst forth, instantly incinerating these Gu insects, but... it still delayed Su Mu for a few seconds.

When Su Mu looked up, he saw Long Gong rushing towards the main river channel.

Seeing this, Su Mu also chased after him. If he let him escape to the main river channel and lost his trail, it would be hard to find him.

....

Long Gong rushed along the river ahead.

Eventually, he passed through a thin layer of mist and was stunned by what he saw.

Facing this true River of Time, he realized that what he had previously thought was the River of Time was just one of the countless tributaries within the River of Time.

He thought his "Forbidden Area" had already affected the River of Time, but unexpectedly... his "Forbidden Area" was just a very insignificant small tributary within the River of Time.

In the eyes of that powerful River Guardian, his "Forbidden Area" was merely one of the countless tributaries in the vast River of Time, nothing more than a sewage stream.

At this moment, he completely realized... why that man's eyes were so calm when looking at him.

It was as if he were looking at an ant on the ground.

In a daze, not knowing when, that man had already appeared in front of him, stepping on the River of Time, looking at him calmly.

At this moment, Long Gong's Dao Heart finally completely shattered and could no longer be reformed.

So it turns out... he had always been just an ant on the ground, yet fancied challenging a giant in the sky, how laughable, how laughable, laughable and pitiful.

Now he truly realized the vastness of the River of Time and the power of this River Guardian.

Regret...?

Long Gong himself didn't know, perhaps he did regret.

But more than that, he felt sorrowful, sorrowful for his own weakness, cultivating for millions of years, throughout his life, thinking he'd rose high enough, was strong enough, yet unexpectedly... he was still that frog at the bottom of the well, an ant on the ground, and this sense of sorrow completely shattered Long Gong's mental defenses.

His eyes were out of focus, his Dao Heart shattered, and his gaze confused.

There is a saying that has been widely circulated in the Cultivation Realm, and the value of this saying has been rising.

The saying goes like this: "If you do not cultivate, seeing me is like a frog in a well looking at the moon in the sky; if you cultivate, seeing me is like an ant encountering the open sky."

Unexpectedly, this saying proved true for Long Gong himself; once, he was the moon in the sky, and now he is the frog in the well, the dust-bound ant.

...

Su Mu looked at Long Gong, whose eyes had lost their light, and slowly raised his right hand, a Spiritual Power Spear directly piercing through his heart.

Following this, powerful spiritual power shattered Long Gong's heart, Dantian, Sea of Consciousness, and even his soul and consciousness, erasing him in all dimensions.

Soon, in his final moments, Long Gong looked at Su Mu in the distance one last time, finally closing his eyes, and fell into the River of Time.

The next second, the carnivorous big fish in the river began frantically devouring Long Gong's body until he was completely consumed, leaving not a trace.

After all this, the Little Tiger Whale swam to Su Mu's feet, seeking forgiveness from Su Mu.

After listening, Su Mu smiled and said, "What crime have you committed?"

"If it weren't for you, Nannan would have been in grave danger."

In fact, the strength of the Little Tiger Whale was such that Long Gong was no match for it. Unfortunately, to send Little Nannan away, it had already exhausted a lot of its strength, leading to it being trapped in the swamp.

This is why it came to Su Mu to apologize, saying it was careless and negligent.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have troubled the master to take action personally.

So, in reality, Long Gong couldn't kill it; otherwise, he would have already done so instead of having his subordinates continuously gnaw at the Little Tiger Whale's flesh as an opportunity.

......

After dealing with Long Gong, Su Mu hurried home.

Seeing that her father returned safely and had brought Brother Qi back unharmed, Little Nannan standing by the shore finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She ran to Su Mu, her face full of guilt, and sobbed softly, "Daddy, it's my fault, I almost got you and Brother Qi into trouble."

Little Nannan felt that her carelessness led to these events, so she was extremely regretful.

Hearing this, Su Mu smiled, rubbed her head, wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, and comforted, "It's not Nannan's fault. Look, aren't we all back safely now?"

In fact, it wasn't Nannan's carelessness, but Long Gong's self-serving cunning. His purpose was to trap Nannan, create a big commotion, and lure Su Mu out.

However, Long Gong did not expect that his overestimation of his abilities and self-serving cunning would touch Su Mu's reverse scale, bringing upon himself a deadly disaster.

Nannan wiped away her tears, her eyes red, and went to the shore to speak to the Little Tiger Whale in the water, "Brother Qi, I'm sorry...."

If Brother Qi hadn't arrived in time, Uncle Qing Niu and I might have...

Moreover, Brother Qi, in order to save me, was dragged into a dangerous situation himself. For this, Nannan was also very guilty.

Upon hearing this, the Little Tiger Whale extended its right arm and gently patted Nannan's back, indicating it was okay.

Then it splashed around in place, trying to cheer up Little Nannan.

After a short while, Little Nannan finally broke into a smile, although her eyes were still red.

...

"Nannan, did you get anything from your trip today?"

Su Mu changed the subject.

Upon hearing this, Nannan thought of something, walked to the wooden boat at the shore, jumped on it, and shouted to Su Mu, "Daddy, come quickly."

As soon as Nannan finished speaking, Su Mu got onto the boat.

In the next moment, Nannan mysteriously dragged out a big box from the little cabin on the boat.

This box was a small container crafted by Su Mu, two meters long, one meter wide, and one and a half meters high, made entirely of golden-threaded wood, making it very sturdy.

.....

"These are the treasures that Uncle Qing Niu and I found; I've packed them all in here."

During this period, while patrolling, Nannan also picked up a lot of treasures on the river, accumulating for more than a week, enough to fill a big box, intending to surprise her father today.

After Nannan opened the box, pieces of treasure clattered out, landing on the deck.

Looking at these treasures, Su Mu was taken aback.

Inside were weapon magical treasures, Spirit Stone materials, and all sorts of treasures of various strange shapes, like small tripods, Bronze Dharma Seals, and small bottles and jars of different colors.

With Su Mu's sharp eye, he could tell at a glance that these were extraordinary treasures.

...

"Did you find all these?"

Su Mu was very surprised. His initial purpose was just to find something for Nannan to do, allowing her to patrol more safely with an armed wooden boat.

Unexpectedly..... Nannan brought back so many treasures for him, which was quite a pleasant surprise.

"I picked them up."

Nannan replied with a smile.

Because Nannan always remembered her father's teachings and instructions, she must not run around or go looking for treasure while patrolling, as it would be dangerous.

Therefore, these treasures were completely picked up along the way.

The recent flood washed up many treasures, which they estimate they can continue picking up for some time.

Su Mu, looking at these treasures, carefully selected a few pretty little trinkets, a round jade pendant, and a thumb-sized, exquisitely shaped Crescent-Shaped Copper Plate, and gave them to Nannan, saying, "Take these little trinkets to play with."

....

At this moment, a Spiritual Power wave distinctly different from the rest emitted from the bottom of the box.

Su Mu flipped through a pile of treasures and found the source of the Spiritual Power wave in a corner.

....

ps: Here's a long chapter, happy Mid-Autumn Festival to all the dear readers.

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