Chapter 98 - 97: River of Years Pagoda!
[The River of Years Pagoda! (Primordial Dao Artifact)]
[Description: An artifact forged from a fragment of the legendary River of Time. Within the nine-story Pagoda, the flow of time is entirely separated from the outside world, allowing the Host and designated allies to cultivate for decades while only a single day passes outside.]
[First Floor: 730:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Core Formation Realm
Second Floor: 1,825:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Nascent Soul Realm
Third Floor: 3,650:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Spirit Severing Realm
Fourth Floor: 7,300:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Soul Transformation Realm
Fifth Floor: 18,250:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Void Refinement Realm
Sixth Floor: 36,500:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Body Integration Realm
Seventh Floor: 182,500:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Grand Ascension Realm
Eighth Floor: 365,000:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Tribulation Transcendence Realm
Ninth Floor: 3,650,000:1 | Minimum Cultivation: Late-Stage Tribulation Transcendence Realm]
[Each floor’s ratio corresponds to the number of days that pass within the Pagoda for every single day that passes in the outside world.]
Lin Yuan stood completely motionless in the center of the master pavilion, his arm still wrapped around his wife’s waist.
So, the first floor offered a ratio of 730 days to a single day in the outside world. That was exactly two full years of uninterrupted time for every single day.
And the second floor—the floor he currently had access to due to his Nascent Soul realm—offered a ratio of 1,825 days. That was exactly five years! For every day that passed in the outside world, he would experience five years of secluded cultivation within the artifact.
He noted the cultivation restrictions imposed upon each floor. This was not an arbitrary limitation, but a restriction established by the Great Dao itself. After all, the Pagoda was a genuine Dao Artifact, and its laws were far beyond the ability of ordinary cultivators to alter.
Only cultivators who had successfully forged a Golden Core could enter the lowest floor of the Pagoda. As for the higher floors, each possessed its own corresponding cultivation threshold.
Whatever the true origin of this artifact might be, Lin Yuan could tell that the restrictions governing each floor were deeply intertwined with the laws of the Great Dao. They could not be casually bypassed, let alone broken, by anyone in the lower realms.
Also this artifact was something else entirely. In the cultivation world of the Nine Provinces, time was the ultimate enemy. Ancient monsters and old patriarchs fought desperate, bloody wars over lifespan-extending pills just to buy themselves an extra decade of meditation to break through a bottleneck.
Yet here he was, holding an artifact capable of granting him unimaginable years of cultivation while only a single day passed in the outside world.
For a cultivator, there could hardly be a more heaven-defying advantage.
Lin Yuan’s mind reeled. He quickly noted that with this, it would be only a matter of days before he successfully reached the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul realm! And with his talent for cultivation granted by his amount of root bone and his comprehension ability, he estimated that he would need no more than fifty years to successfully breach the Middle Stage and reach the absolute pinnacle of the Late Stage of the Nascent Soul realm!
Fifty years of cultivation.
On the second floor of the Pagoda, where one day equaled five years, fifty years would merely require ten days in the outside world.
Ten days.
That was all the time Lin Yuan needed to transform from an Early-Stage Nascent Soul expert into a Late-Stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
Once he reached the Late Stage, he would stand at the absolute pinnacle of power among the cultivators of Zhao Province, second only to the Lord of Zhao Province himself, the sole Spirit Severing Realm expert in the entire province.
At that point, Lin Yuan would no longer be viewed as merely another powerful cultivator. In the eyes of the province’s countless sects and clans, he would be an existence capable of casually slaughtering them all with nothing more than a wave of his hand.
Lin Yuan slowly blinked. He looked down at Bai Qingyue, who was still admiring her reflection in the mirror, entirely oblivious to what had just occurred in her husband’s mind. The crimson silk of the wedding dress clung perfectly to her curves, the golden phoenixes shimmering in the light of the luminous pearls.
"Qingyue," Lin Yuan spoke, his voice incredibly soft.
She turned to him, her eyes bright. "Yes, Husband?"
Lin Yuan gently cupped her cheek. "I have just gained a heaven-defying fortune. The path ahead has suddenly become completely clear to me. However, to fully grasp this opportunity, I need to enter a state of complete secluded cultivation. I will need ten days."
He paused, searching her eyes carefully. "Are you okay with me going into secluded cultivation for ten days before we hold our wedding?"
Bai Qingyue did not hesitate for even a single moment. Her beautiful, radiant smile did not falter; rather, it deepened into an expression understanding. She reached up, placing her hand over his fingers resting on her cheek.
"Of course I am okay with it," Bai Qingyue replied. "Ten days is but a fleeting breath in the span of our lives. You have given me the world, Lin Yuan. The absolute last thing I wish is to ever be a burden or a hindrance to your cultivation. I will be right here, waiting for you, preparing this estate for the day we formally bow to the Heavens."
Bai Qingyue genuine understanding truly made her the perfect Dao Companion.
Lin Yuan leaned down and pressed a deep, lingering kiss against her forehead. "Ten days," he whispered against her skin.
Releasing her from his embrace, Lin Yuan channeled his spatial authority. Zzzzt! In a flash of crackling lightning, he seamlessly teleported out of the master pavilion, crossing the vast estate in a fraction of a second.
He materialized in the eastern wing, appearing directly within the quarters where Bai Chen was cultivating his Qi Condensation Realm.
"Brother-in-law!" Bai Chen jumped, startled by the sudden influx of Lin Yuan’s aura in the center of his room.
"Bai Chen, listen closely," Lin Yuan said, entirely skipping pleasantries. "I am going into secluded cultivation in the upper chambers of the master pavilion. I will be gone for no more than ten days. During this time, you are the man of the house. You will ensure your cousin is comfortable, and you will not disturb my chamber under any circumstances."
Bai Chen immediately straightened his posture, puffing out his chest with serious determination. "I understand, Brother-in-law! I swear on my life, I will protect her and the estate!"
"You won’t need to fight," Lin Yuan assured the boy smoothly. "I am setting up the defenses now."
Lin Yuan teleported once more, appearing high in the night sky directly above the absolute center of the area.
Hovering above, Lin Yuan spread his arms wide. He then channeled his Qi, and first, he created a massive barrier of spiritual energy that completely blanketed the entire estate, far surpassing the Wang Clan’s defensive arrays.
Then, he raised his right hand toward the sky and cast the Eye of Heavenly Tribulation spell.
The clouds directly above the valley violently churned, swirling into a massive vortex of black and deep purple. Slowly, the dark clouds parted, revealing a colossal, ethereal eye forged entirely of roaring lightning. The eye hovered in the sky, glaring down at the surrounding area with a sovereignty that made the very earth tremble in submission.
Because Lin Yuan’s cultivation was now at the Nascent Soul realm, the power of the Death Gaze was also at the nascent soul realm. Meaning anyone at or below the Nascent Soul realm who dared to step foot into the area harboring even a single drop of killing intent would be targeted.
Satisfied that the safety of his wife and her cousin was guaranteed, Lin Yuan allowed gravity to pull him back down.
He then teleported one more time, bypassing the lower floors of the master pavilion and materializing directly inside the cultivation chamber located on the highest floor. The room was vast, lined with spirit-gathering arrays, completely soundproof, and heavily warded against external scrying.
Standing in the center of the chamber, Lin Yuan took a deep, steadying breath. He reached and summoned the artifact to manifest.
Woom!
In the palm of his hand, a miniature, nine-story pagoda slowly floated into the air. The River of Years Pagoda expanded rapidly, hovering just inches above the floor. Its surface was completely covered in glowing, liquid-like temporal runes that flowed down its architecture exactly like a cascading river of time.
Lin Yuan’s eyes reflected the golden glow of the temporal runes. He stepped forward, his body dissolving into a streak of light as he was seamlessly absorbed into the second floor of the Pagoda, leaving the physical world behind to cultivate within it.