Though his upper body was a mangled mess, Li Fan could still sense the Upstream Ark, the Tai Heavenly Emperor's gift, resting within his mind. As his desire to reverse time intensified, a warm, white light, tinged with green, emanated from the ark. The world around him distorted, like a watercolor painting dissolving in the rain.
An unbearable pain pierced his head, as if millions of chains were simultaneously driven through his skull, then twisted and churned within his mind.
"Aaargh!" Even without a head, the remaining fragments of his body convulsed from the unimaginable agony. The Tai Heavenly Emperor, while sharing his understanding of the Dao of Upstream, hadn't mentioned the excruciating side effects of activating the ark.
Li Fan vaguely remembered experiencing pain in past simulations, but nothing compared to this, a torment that permeated his flesh, soul, will, and even his memories, reaching the very core of his being.
The sound of wind and rain filled the air. Countless "droplets," each like the sharpest blade, sliced through him, intensifying his suffering.
The invisible force from his memories completed its crushing assault, obliterating his physical form. With no body left, Li Fan, clinging to life, had no retreat. Amidst the agonizing pain, he desperately maintained a sliver of consciousness, focusing on keeping the Upstream Ark intact.
The wind and rain intensified. The droplets connected, forming lines. The ark shuddered from the constant impacts, threatening to break apart. But the green light within it flared, repairing the damage.
After nine agonizing breaths, the lines of droplets converged, forming a river. Li Fan plunged into it, and the pain vanished. He felt detached from the world, his perspective rising above the Great Xuan Small World and the Xuanhuang World, pausing momentarily before rewinding.
He saw himself entering the sealed village beneath the Mountain and Sea Fishery, subduing the Xuanhuang Ruo Tree, ruling as Grand Tutor, and even his initial awakening, forced to drink the foul talisman water.
The wooden ark sailed upstream against the torrential current of the river of time, constantly on the verge of capsizing. But the events of his past, like anchor points, stabilized his journey, allowing him to regain his footing after each segment of reversed time.
But as he reached his one-year anchor point and attempted to go further, everything changed. The river's current intensified a thousandfold, as if he had entered a more turbulent, chaotic section. He could no longer see anything, only a swirling vortex of colors that obscured his senses.
The sudden surge of power nearly shattered the ark. The white light protecting it seemed insignificant compared to the river's might, yet it held, preventing the ark from collapsing.
Li Fan knew the consequences of failure. It wasn't just about returning to the present. He would be completely erased from history, leaving no trace of his existence.
He struggled against the current, but he was a mere speck compared to the vastness of time. Even with his understanding of the Dao of Upstream, he was at its mercy.
It seemed hopeless.
But he didn't give up, desperately maneuvering the ark.
As he struggled, confusion filled his mind. According to the Tai Heavenly Emperor's inheritance, the journey shouldn't be this difficult. Within a thousand-year timeframe, even a damaged ark should be able to withstand the river's currents. But now, after only fifty years of reversed time, the turbulence was comparable to what the Tai Heavenly Emperor had experienced after ten thousand years!
The further one traveled upstream, the greater the resistance, increasing exponentially. And Li Fan was facing such immense pressure at the very beginning… He couldn't imagine the forces he would encounter further upstream.
"Why is this happening?"
He suddenly remembered the images of his past experiences he had seen in the river. While those images were present, the river was calm. But after they vanished, the turbulence surged, threatening to consume him.
"Could it be… because I haven't actually lived through those years? Without anchor points, the resistance is amplified a thousandfold?" A realization dawned upon him.
But knowing the reason didn't change his predicament. The river was a chaotic blur, disorienting him. The relentless current tore at him, making it impossible to find a safe landing point.
The ark's light dimmed, on the verge of collapse.
Just then, a boundless green light erupted from within him, like a calming pearl, momentarily suppressing the turbulence. The light seemed to originate from within him, but countless green sparks also appeared throughout the river, spanning from the distant past to the present, like beacons guiding his way. Though less effective than his own anchor points, they were his lifeline.
The ark followed the green lights.
One hundred years, three hundred, five hundred…
One thousand, five thousand…
The green light within him began to fade. The beacons in the river dimmed, vanishing back into the currents of time. But Li Fan still couldn't find a safe landing point.
"If I leave the river now, there are two possible outcomes. One, I'm swept away and obliterated, becoming dust in the river of time. Two, I manage to land…"
"I'll wait a little longer."
Though his understanding of Upstream came from the Tai Heavenly Emperor, their experiences were vastly different. While facing greater turbulence, Li Fan felt little of the erosion that had plagued the Tai Heavenly Emperor.
The Emperor's first journey had lasted only three thousand years before he felt himself dissolving, forced to return. Li Fan had already reversed thousands of years, and the pressure was minimal. If not for the lack of guidance from the Dao of Longevity and the overwhelming turbulence, he felt he could continue indefinitely.
But the further he went, the greater the pressure.
Around eight thousand years in the past, the turbulence became insurmountable. He was swept away, losing all sense of direction.
He desperately searched for a glimmer of hope, a safe haven within the chaos.
But luck wasn't on his side.
The ark began to break apart. Exposed to the full force of the river, Li Fan finally understood the dissolving sensation the Tai Heavenly Emperor had described. With each passing moment, he lost something: cultivation, techniques, Dao comprehension… like layers being peeled away, leaving only his core essence.
When that core began to erode, he felt a profound sense of danger. He couldn't wait any longer. Even a risky landing was better than certain death.
He relinquished his focus on the Dao of Upstream, and the river of time began to fade, replaced by torrential rain. He was instantly disoriented, trapped between the river and reality. Moving forward meant risking being swept back into the river. Staying put meant continued erosion.
As he hesitated, he saw a familiar light within the downpour, indicating a past interaction at this point in time, eight thousand years ago. Though not an anchor point within his past, this interaction had created a connection across time.
He knew how rare such a connection was. He didn't hesitate. He steered the crumbling ark towards the fleeting light.
Guided by this transtemporal anchor point, he finally escaped the river's grasp before the ark completely disintegrated.
He arrived in the Xuanhuang World, eight thousand, six hundred and forty-three years before his initial anchor point.
"That streak of light… the Medicine King Sect? Why are they running?"
"Quick, inform the elders!"
"Wait! The Medicine King Sect isn't powerful, but they're wealthy. They can't have taken everything…"
"Let's go! Before others get there!"
"Wait, what's that? Another streak of light?"
"Did the Medicine King Sect change their minds?"
"Let's check it out!"
Li Fan awoke to find himself surrounded.
He was disoriented. He saw cultivators examining their loot, occasionally glancing at him.
"You're finally awake," one said. "Tell us what happened at the Medicine King Sect. Cooperate, and we might spare you. Otherwise…"
"Don't waste time. Just search his soul!"
"Idiot! Those streaks of light were too obvious. What will we tell the elders when they ask?"
They whispered amongst themselves, ignoring the bound Li Fan.
He ignored them as well, focusing on his current state. Though his body had been nearly destroyed in the river of time, the Dao of Longevity had reconstructed a new one upon his return to reality. However, the Dao of Longevity itself had been severely weakened, perhaps irreversibly.
"It wasn't truly mine, after all. Just a gift from Shou Qiu Gong," he thought wryly.
Then, a moment later, he realized something.
Eight thousand years upstream in the river of time… Though he had lost his cultivation, his techniques, and even the Dao of Longevity, he had regained his memories. The events of his two recent lives played out before him, and he sighed.
"A moment of greed led to unforeseen consequences. The fusion of Mountain and Sea, Longevity, and True Return… was too much for me to handle."
"But I was fortunate. Even with amnesia, I found great opportunity."
"The Dao of Upstream…" He recalled his journey through time, a strange glint in his eyes.
"True Return," he called out mentally. Its repeated failures had unnerved him.
There was no response.
But after careful sensing, he confirmed True Return was still within him, simply dormant.
(End of chapter)