Chapter 29: Chronos Eternal Sutra
As Da Cai lay in the cave, his body battered and bloodied, he drifted between consciousness and darkness. His breath was shallow, and the pain coursing through his body was relentless. Suddenly, a drop of his blood seeped into the tattoo on his chest. The tattoo, which resembled an ancient and mystical clock, began to glow faintly. The glow intensified, illuminating the cave with an ethereal light that seemed to warp the very air around him.
Awakening in the White Space
When Da Cai woke, he found himself back in the mysterious white space. The endless expanse stretched before him, but this time, something was different. Floating a few feet away was an ancient jade slip. Its surface was smooth yet etched with incomprehensible runes that seemed to shift and shimmer like ripples in a pond. The jade slip exuded an aura unlike anything Da Cai had ever felt. It radiated the profound weight of eternity, the solitude of countless years, and the boundless power of time itself.
The air around the jade slip pulsed with energy, and Da Cai felt as if he were standing at the edge of an abyss, staring into the infinite. He took a cautious step forward, his heart pounding with both curiosity and trepidation.
"What is this?" he whispered, his voice trembling. He reached out hesitantly, his hand hovering over the jade slip. Despite his wariness, an irresistible pull urged him to touch it.
When his fingers brushed the cool surface, the jade slip dissolved into a stream of golden light that surged into his mind. His vision blurred as ancient knowledge and fragments of a cultivation technique poured into his consciousness.
The Technique: Chronos Eternal Sutra
The knowledge that filled Da Cai's mind was overwhelming, its depth far beyond his current comprehension. The cultivation technique was called the Chronos Eternal Sutra, an ancient and unparalleled method of cultivation that encompassed Body, Spirit Qi, and Soul refinement, all unified under the profound laws of time. The sutra was said to manipulate the flow of time itself, bending it to the cultivator's will.
Key Features of the Chronos Eternal Sutra:
Temporal Resonance: A method to harmonize the cultivator's body, Spirit Qi, and soul with the flow of time. This resonance granted enhanced perception of the passage of time, allowing the cultivator to predict attacks and move with unparalleled precision.
Chrono-Rebirth Body: A body cultivation method that slowly infused the essence of time into the physical form, granting regeneration, increased endurance, and delayed aging.
Spirit of the Hourglass: A Spirit Qi technique that concentrated time-based Qi into attacks or defenses, creating phenomena such as slowing enemies or accelerating self-healing.
Soul of Eternity: A soul refinement method that strengthened the spirit, granting resistance to mental attacks and glimpses into potential futures.
However, the technique's intricacies were mostly beyond Da Cai's comprehension. His mediocre aptitude and comprehension limited him to only the most basic understanding of the sutra. For now, he could only integrate it with his existing techniques, drawing on its foundational principles to strengthen his cultivation gradually.
The Power of Time
Even with his limited understanding, Da Cai could sense the profound power of time imbued in the technique. Time was a force that could heal wounds, erode mountains, and turn an instant into eternity. The Chronos Eternal Sutra hinted at abilities that defied logic: freezing moments, accelerating growth, and even glimpsing fragments of the future. But such powers were far beyond Da Cai's current level.
What he did gain, however, was a faint affinity to time. He could sense subtle shifts in the flow of time around him—the slowing of a falling leaf, the fleeting nature of a flickering flame. Though it was only a sliver of the sutra's true potential, it was enough to ignite a new determination within him.
A Resolve Forged in Anger
Da Cai sat cross-legged in the white space, his mind racing with the possibilities and challenges ahead. The sutra's complexity was daunting, but the memory of the villagers' deaths and his own helplessness fueled his resolve.
"I'll master this," he whispered, his voice trembling with emotion. "For them. For revenge. For myself."
As the glow of the tattoo faded, Da Cai awoke in the cave. His body still ached, but his spirit burned with new purpose. He knew the path ahead would be grueling, but he was determined to walk it, no matter the cost.