Even a tiny, insignificant splash rising from the River of Time possessed destructive power far greater than any so-called heavenly tribulation in the mortal world.

The Xuanhuang Realm remained as quiet as ever. However, in Li Fan's perception, it was as though space were being forcibly folded by some immense external force. The sharply defined dividing lines resembled incomparably sharp blades, slicing through his body and soul.

Although this was not his first encounter with the turbulent waves originating from the River of Time, Li Fan's expression still changed slightly.

At this critical moment, Li Fan immediately made the most appropriate choice.

He used his own comprehension of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood to attempt to simulate the protection of [Illusion Is Also Truth].

Fortunately, he had only just recovered his Dao Integration cultivation. His comprehension of the Transformation Between Truth and Falsehood had advanced by a small step, slightly improving the effectiveness of [Illusion Is Also Truth].

It was like putting on a straw raincoat in the midst of a storm. At the very least, Li Fan could now barely move and distinguish his direction.

The ripples stirred up in the River of Time continued to surge for a long while. It seemed they would not subside until the disturbances caused by Li Fan's changes had completely disappeared.

Under the baptism of these turbulent waves, Li Fan was like a butterfly caught in a violent storm, constantly at risk of being torn to pieces.

In the blink of an eye, Li Fan thought of a way to save himself.

He recalled how he had once traveled upstream through the River of Time, nearly losing himself in the process, before finally discovering a familiar point of light representing the Medicine King Cauldron. Only then had he managed to land safely.

'Even though I have arrived at this point in time, I am still like duckweed drifting in the wind, without any foundation. If I want to survive these temporal ripples, I urgently need to find my [Anchor] in this era and completely integrate myself into it. It is like grabbing hold of a reef to save oneself while drifting through a turbulent river...'

The folds in space grew increasingly dense. Li Fan had almost reached the point where even taking a single step had become difficult.

There was no longer much time to waste. Almost instantly, Li Fan identified the most solid anchor he could make use of at this particular point in time.

'Originally, if Lei Fanzi had not made his move, the Grand Dao Sect would have been the best choice. Unfortunately, the identity I was impersonating is already dead.'

A sudden realization welled up in Li Fan's heart.

He pushed his movement technique to its absolute limit and sped back toward Evergreen Valley.

His Dao Integration speed was more than a hundred times faster than when he had been at the Golden Core stage. A journey that would normally take a month was completed in an instant.

Upon arriving above Evergreen Valley, he sensed the location of Elder Song, concealed his aura, and quietly descended.

"Elder Song, it's me!"

Li Fan positioned himself in front of Elder Song. While struggling against the temporal ripples, he did his best to maintain a calm expression as he spoke.

"You are..." Elder Song narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Li Fan, looking somewhat confused.

Because of the previous effects of [Illusion Is Also Truth], he had failed to recognize Li Fan.

With the anchor not yet established, the temporal ripples showed no signs of weakening. Increasingly dense spatial creases had almost covered the entire world. Li Fan could sense that in the very next moment, he would be completely swallowed by the River of Time.

At this critical juncture, inspiration suddenly struck him. Li Fan took out the magical artifact that Elder Song had previously bestowed upon him.

Fortunately, he had always been frugal. Even though the artifact had been of little use to him, he had never discarded it and had instead kept it with him.

Now, taking it out had turned it into a crucial lifeline.

Although Elder Song could not recognize Li Fan, he recognized the magical artifact he had personally refined. This immediately reminded him of Li Fan's identity.

"Oh, it's you."

With those words, Li Fan's identity was finally established.

In an instant, he fell out of the River of Time and returned to real spacetime. The temporal ripples gradually subsided.

Although some residual disturbances remained, Li Fan could now barely withstand them on his own.

Having narrowly escaped death, Li Fan gave a slight cough and hurriedly stepped forward.

"Yesterday, while fighting someone, this magical artifact saved my life at a critical moment. That is why I have come today to express my gratitude to you, Elder Song..."

As he spoke, Li Fan quietly created a crack in the magical artifact. At the same time, he rapidly compressed and condensed the surrounding spiritual qi into a supreme-grade spirit stone, which he then presented to Elder Song.

A Dao Integration expert at the pinnacle of the realm, who had once been a True Immortal, naturally possessed methods far beyond what Elder Song of Evergreen Valley could detect.

Looking at the glittering spirit stone presented before him, which was clearly no ordinary object, Elder Song smiled faintly.

"You certainly are thoughtful."

He casually accepted the spirit stone.

As the relationship between the two grew closer, Li Fan also sensed that the temporal ripples beyond reality had weakened a little further.

With the immediate crisis temporarily resolved, Li Fan could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"There's no need to be so nervous. Our Evergreen Valley has very few disciples as filial and sensible as you." Elder Song had a rather discerning eye. Having noticed the tremendous change in Li Fan's emotions, he could not help offering some words of comfort. His words also came from the heart.

"Since that magical artifact has been damaged, I shall bestow another one upon you. However, you must not rely on the strength of your artifacts to go around fighting others. These are turbulent times. Steady cultivation is the proper path."

Elder Song spoke with a solemn expression.

He then took another item out of his storage ring.

Or rather, it was a magic treasure.

Its quality was clearly a rank higher than the artifact he had previously bestowed upon Li Fan. It was an ancient-looking, dark golden bronze bell.

As Elder Song looked at the bronze bell, a trace of nostalgia flashed through his eyes.

"This bell once accompanied me for quite some time. However, because of the limitations of the materials used in its refinement, it is no longer of much help to me. Today, I shall give it to you."

"It should have no problem withstanding attacks from anyone below the Nascent Soul realm."

Li Fan was delighted upon hearing this and hurriedly accepted the bronze bell.

While thanking Elder Song, he had already refined the bronze bell in an instant.

Naturally, what Li Fan valued was not the bronze bell's effectiveness as a magic treasure, but the time it had accumulated within itself.

It had been connected to Elder Song for most of his life. Now, through the refinement process, this bond had been transferred to Li Fan.

The turbulence of the River of Time finally faded completely.

The first backlash caused by rewriting history had been safely resolved by Li Fan.

"I will surely repay Elder Song for today's generosity in the future!" Li Fan declared solemnly.

Elder Song waved his hand.

"Having the thought is enough."

With that, he leisurely departed.

Li Fan watched him leave before finding an empty courtyard within Evergreen Valley and temporarily settling down.

His first task was to refine the dark golden bronze bell once again.

To Li Fan, the inherent limitations of its material were no restriction at all. With intricate formation inscriptions engraved upon it, even an ordinary object could rival an Immortal Artifact.

As he helped the bronze bell undergo its transformation, Li Fan also reflected on his somewhat reckless actions earlier.

'Now that I think about it, the greatest taboo for someone who travels upstream through time into another spacetime is to become a tree without roots or water without a source.'

'It is not that changing history is forbidden. After all, the River of Time flows endlessly, vast and boundless. It inherently contains an infinite number of possibilities.'

'Rather, when changing history, one must possess the ability to withstand the backlash caused by diverting the course of the River of Time.'

'Aside from one's own strength, the most crucial factor is an anchor. Simply put, it is the connections one has with other people, events, and objects within spacetime.'

'Yet among the inheritance Emperor Taitian previously gave me, this crucial aspect was conspicuously absent...'

Li Fan pondered for a long time before finally ruling out the possibility that the other party was deliberately trying to harm him.

'Emperor Taitian had only traveled upstream against the current of time by at most tens of thousands of years. Moreover, he was once an Immortal Emperor of the Immortal Realm. The countless True Immortals of the Immortal Realm could all be regarded as his anchors. Naturally, he had no need to worry about the turbulence caused by changes in the course of the River of Time.'

'The Xuantian King is in the same situation. The countless living beings under the rule of the Xuantian Sect, as well as several Dharma Kings suspected of being reincarnations of Nameless True Immortals, all serve as his anchors.'

'As for me, whether ten thousand years in the future or in the present, I have always been utterly alone...'

'It is only natural that I would encounter such turbulent waves in the River of Time.'

Li Fan's thoughts raced. After sorting everything out, he could not help but let out a long sigh of relief.

However, he felt no self-pity or resentment over this absolute loneliness.

If he had no anchors, then he would simply create some.

'First, I must stabilize my own existence within this spacetime. Everything else can wait.'

Li Fan settled on his plan.

The following day.

"Senior Brother's divine might is truly impressive!"

"Judging by Senior Brother's imposing might, he must be close to breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, right? This is truly a blessing for our Evergreen Valley!"

"Hmph. I'm afraid Evergreen Valley is simply too small to accommodate such a great figure."

"What nonsense are you spouting? Would Bai Lishan really be so ungrateful as to abandon the sect that raised him?"

...

High above in the sky, Bai Lishan displayed his might, driving away a group of petty cultivators who had been coveting the Medicine King Sect's territory.

Below, the cultivators of Evergreen Valley secretly discussed the matter among themselves.

Bai Lishan seemed completely unconcerned with what others thought of him. With an elegant air, he led his fellow senior and junior disciples back to report the matter.

At the same time, he made his position clear to Zou Yunhao, the Sect Master of Evergreen Valley.

"Master, rest assured. A master is a father for life. Evergreen Valley will always be my home. Even if I advance to the Nascent Soul realm, Soul Transformation realm, or even Dao Integration in the future, I will never leave Evergreen Valley."

Bai Lishan spoke with unwavering determination.

Zou Yunhao stroked his beard and nodded with great satisfaction.

Then, with a hint of disappointment, he said, "Actually, with your talent, Bai Lishan, you would certainly have a much brighter future if you joined one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects. You might even have the opportunity to compete with the greatest talents under heaven. Staying here in Evergreen Valley..."

Bai Lishan declared proudly, "Master, rest assured. Even if I spend my entire life in Evergreen Valley, I will never be inferior to those so-called geniuses of the Ten Great Sects!"

Zou Yunhao sighed and said nothing more.

He merely assumed that Bai Lishan was young and arrogant, speaking so boastfully because he had never witnessed the true foundations of the Ten Great Sects.

Recalling how Bai Lishan had looked when he first adopted him, appearing nervous while constantly glancing around at his surroundings, Zou Yunhao thought to himself, 'It is rare for our Evergreen Valley to produce such a young dragon. I cannot truly allow him to waste his potential here. Perhaps this trip to the Taishang Sect will give me an opportunity to find him a better path.'

'The orthodox immortal arts all lie within the Ten Great Sects. Everything else is merely an unorthodox path...'

Zou Yunhao sighed inwardly.

Naturally, Bai Lishan had no idea what his master was thinking.

The reason he possessed such absolute confidence in himself and had no desire to join the Ten Great Immortal Sects was naturally because of the [Supreme Dao Scripture] he had unexpectedly obtained.

After spending this period studying the supreme treasure, Bai Lishan was certain that the name [Supreme] was unquestionably well deserved. He had merely glimpsed an infinitesimal fraction of its brilliance, yet his cultivation had already advanced by leaps and bounds.

'If I can fully comprehend this Dao Scripture, I might truly have a chance of becoming a True Immortal!'

'What are the Ten Great Immortal Sects compared to this? They are not even worth mentioning!'

Joining one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects might actually expose the secret of the supreme treasure he possessed. Meanwhile, in Evergreen Valley, he enjoyed the absolute trust of everyone.

The choice was obvious.

Bai Lishan returned to his small courtyard, intending to enter seclusion and carefully study the Supreme Dao Scripture once more.

However, he was startled to discover that someone had inexplicably appeared inside his room.

"Who are you?"

Thinking that the secret of his treasure had been exposed, Bai Lishan immediately acted without hesitation. The spiritual power of Evergreen Valley condensed into a medical blade, which he thrust forward viciously.

"Senior Brother, you truly are a man of high status who easily forgets old acquaintances. It is fine if you do not remember me, but surely you have not forgotten the Supreme Dao Scripture I gave you?"

Li Fan smiled faintly and casually dispelled Bai Lishan's attack.

The four crucial words, Supreme Dao Scripture, immediately awakened memories that had already disappeared from Bai Lishan's mind.

"It's you?!"

In an instant, countless thoughts raced through Bai Lishan's mind.

Killing intent, fear, and confusion all flashed across his face.

After all, Bai Lishan was still young. He could not help revealing his thoughts through his expression.

"Senior Brother, there is no need to overthink things. Take a look at this."

Li Fan smiled and slowly extended his palm.

Bai Lishan stared at it. Lying in his hand was an extraordinarily mysterious thin fragment.

It was none other than the [Supreme Dao Scripture] he knew so well!

Bai Lishan was startled. His instinctive reaction was to immediately examine his own body.

Only after confirming that his own fragment had not been taken did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

He was not a foolish person. After carefully considering the situation, he finally understood.

"You... found two fragments?"

Bai Lishan suddenly realized.

"Exactly! Senior Brother, you truly are perceptive."

Li Fan applauded in praise.

"However, I only vaguely knew that this treasure was extraordinary. I could never figure out the correct method to activate it. That was why I finally steeled myself and gave one of the fragments to you, Senior Brother."

"And your performance over the past month has only confirmed my suspicions."

Li Fan spoke with a cheerful smile.

"Are these two fragments identical?"

Bai Lishan narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Li Fan before asking his first question.

"I cannot say for certain. However, I suspect there should be no difference between them. Why don't you take a look, Senior Brother?"

As he spoke, Li Fan actually offered his own fragment to Bai Lishan with both hands.

Although still somewhat suspicious, Bai Lishan accepted it and began examining it.

A moment later, he exhaled and returned the so-called [Supreme Dao Scripture].

"Your guess was correct. The fragment you possess is completely identical to mine."

Bai Lishan spoke in a solemn voice.

"I hope Senior Brother can teach me how to use this Supreme Dao Scripture."

After pondering for a moment, Bai Lishan slowly explained his own insights.

Li Fan tightly gripped the fragment in his right hand and closed his eyes in contemplation.

A moment later, he opened his eyes, an expression of wild confidence appearing on his face.

"So that is all there is to it! Rather than desperately seeking what cannot be found, it is better not to seek at all. One need only follow the Dao!"

Bai Lishan snorted softly, looking somewhat disdainful.

Li Fan paid him no mind and instead smiled as he asked, "What are your plans for the future, Senior Brother? With such a supreme treasure in your possession, surely the entire world is yours to explore?"

Since they both possessed the Supreme Dao Scripture, they now shared a secret.

Although Bai Lishan looked down somewhat on Li Fan, he still wanted to prevent the other party from accidentally exposing the secret and implicating him. Thus, he warned him solemnly.

"For you and me, as long as we possess the [Supreme Dao Scripture], it makes no difference where we cultivate. Our strength is still far too weak. If our secret is exposed, we simply lack the power to protect ourselves..."

Bai Lishan continued offering his advice.

Meanwhile, Li Fan sensed that now that Bai Lishan regarded him as one of his own, another anchor had been established, further securing his existence within this spacetime.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.