Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Li Yu sat on his woven meditation mat inside his dark wood pagoda as the morning sun cast long shadows across the polished floor. The tranquil environment of the Five Star Lakes usually brought a deep sense of peace to his mind but today a restless energy buzzed beneath his skin that he couldn’t ignore.

Li Yu had returned just the night before and tried to steady his thoughts before taking any action but found it difficult. He opened his eyes and let out a long breath while trying to settle the turbulent Qi flowing through his meridians. The sudden departure from the Dragon Core and the separation from Heiyuan, Krag and Jirno to a lesser extent, weighed on his soul.

He knew from his knowledge of reading through the Zhan archives that realms possessing accelerated time flows were incredibly elusive. The heavens often obscured such places to maintain the balance of the cosmos and cultivators were rarely permitted to enter them. He did not expect to find a clear map back to his friends but he felt obligated to at least try his luck.

He stood up and smoothed out his robes before walking toward the balcony overlooking the vast estate. The five interconnected lakes sparkled under the bright daylight while various aquatic beasts breached the surface and sent ripples across the calm waters. His staff were already busy tending to the grounds and maintaining the serene beauty of the property.

Each of his staff members had their own goals for cultivation or other hobbies that they were allowed to do outside of their work. They had settled into their lives here relatively well and their conditions were about as good as it got when they were slaves before. They still had to do their duties as assigned but there was a lot of downtime here at the lakes and each one took advantage of the downtime in their own ways.

Alden stood near the entrance of the pagoda with a thick jade ledger in his hands while organizing the daily tasks for the rest of the staff. Li Yu walked down the wooden stairs and offered a polite nod to his head butler.

"I have some matters to discuss with the clan elders today, Alden," Li Yu said as he stepped out of the front doors. "I am heading to the archives to look into a few geographic anomalies. I will likely be gone for the afternoon so please inform my parents if they come back during this time."

Alden bowed respectfully and noted the tense posture of his employer. "I will inform them, young master. Please take care on your journey."

Li Yu nodded and launched himself into the sky and soared over the minor mountain ranges bordering his property. The wind rushed past his face and he used the travel time to organize his thoughts. He headed directly toward the central peaks of the Zhan clan headquarters where the Hall of Records stood.

He arrived at the towering stone pillars of the entrance. The hall was a vast repository of ancient knowledge filled with millions of glowing jade slips and maps. Li Yu walked through the wide corridors and navigated his way toward the private studies used by the senior archivist elders.

He found Elder Shen and Elder Morin sitting at a large circular table covered in projected star charts formed by intricate array formations. The two elderly men possessed high cultivation bases and they had spent countless years studying the intricate details of the myriad realms on behalf of the clan. They looked up as Li Yu approached and offered welcoming smiles to one of promising talents of the younger generation.

"Greetings, Li Yu," Elder Shen said while stroking his long white beard. "It is rare to see you walking the halls of the archives. What brings you to our quiet corner of the clan today?"

"Greetings Elder Shen and Elder Morin," Li Yu bowed deeply before taking a seat across from them. "I have come to seek your wisdom regarding a very specific realm. I was recently pulled into a spatial rift and ended up in a place with a strange time dilation. From what I can gather, the time moved at least two months to maybe the time a licence burned down. I know realms that move faster in time are rarely documented but I wanted to try my luck and see if our archives held any clues."

Elder Morin leaned forward and his eyes sparked with genuine curiosity. "A hidden realm with temporal anomalies? Please describe the details and the environmental laws as best as you can. We have records of many strange worlds and we might be able to match your experience to an ancient text even if the location is currently lost."

Li Yu began his explanation and watched both elders raise their eyebrows in surprise. Time rarely moves that quickly in another realm compared to all the others. The speed at which one can improve would break the natural order of the cosmos but those realms tended to eject beings once they reached a certain power as a way to balance the chaos.

When Li Yu finished speaking, Elder Shen summoned several dozen glowing jade slips from the nearby shelves and began scanning through the ancient data. Elder Morin adjusted the spiritual array on the table and shifted the spiritual focus to search for high density realms possessing temporal anomalies.

They worked in silence for a long time while Li Yu waited patiently. He did not hold high expectations and simply watched the glowing charts shift and change. After an hour of intense searching the two elders slowed their efforts and their frowns deepened.

"This is highly unusual, Li Yu," Elder Shen finally spoke while setting the last jade slip down on the table. "A realm possessing such energy and extreme time dilation would normally leave a footprint even if it was hidden. Yet we have zero records of any place matching your description. It seems your assumption was correct and the heavens have veiled this place very well."

Li Yu nodded at the expected answer and let out a soft sigh. He did not feel a crushing despair because he had prepared himself for this exact outcome. Li Yu did not know that the realm was missing from the records because Krag had used supreme arts in the distant past to seal the realm away. The hydra had hidden the realm from the gaze of the heavens to protect his own temporal paradox while waiting for the eras to pass. Because the realm was sealed in the ancient past, no current maps could possibly detect it.

"I appreciate your efforts Elder Shen and Elder Morin," Li Yu said while standing up and offering a respectful bow. "I knew it was a long shot to find any information on an accelerated time realm. I will keep searching for answers on my own."

"You might want to consult the Patriarch," Elder Shen suggested while organizing the jade slips. "He knows many ancient legends that were never officially recorded in these halls. He might have heard a rumor about your strange encounter."

Li Yu thanked them for the advice and left the Hall of Records. He figured it would not hurt to ask the clan leader while he was already here and changed his course to where Patriarch Yue resided. The clan leader was surprisingly not behind his table dealing with paperwork as he usually was. He was actually casually playing a game of Go against himself while sipping from a small porcelain cup.

"You brought a very turbulent wind with you today, Li Yu," Patriarch Yue noted without looking up from the game board. "Your Qi is erratic and your footsteps carry the weight of a rushing river. Come sit and share some tea with me."

Li Yu approached the stone table and took a seat opposite the clan leader. "Greetings Patriarch. I apologize for my turbulent state of mind but I am trying to gather information. I was searching the archives for a hidden realm that possesses a fast time flow and the elders could not find any trace of it. I came to try my luck and see if your vast experience might shed some light on the matter."

"Tell me about this realm," Patriarch Yue invited while pouring a fresh cup of tea and sliding it across the stone table.

Li Yu recounted the details of the Dragon Core once more. He explained the peaceful nature of the dragon kin and his encounters with Jirno and Heiyuan. Patriarch Yue listened quietly while placing a white stone on the board and considering his next move against himself. When Li Yu finished his explanation, the clan leader took a slow sip of his tea and looked out at his courtyard.

"The universe hides many things from those who seek them, Li Yu," Patriarch Yue spoke with a calm and measured tone. "I have lived for many eras and I have seen realms rise and fall. However, I have not encountered or heard of a place matching your description. If it truly possesses such bizarre laws and remains hidden from all known records, then it is likely sealed by a power or hidden away by the very heavens themselves."

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Li Yu nodded and accepted the final confirmation. He had hit a solid wall and there was no clear path forward to find his friends. It was another realm that he could not find the way to at this point. He would have to grow much stronger before he could unravel the mystery of the temporal rift.

Patriarch Yue placed a black stone on the board and turned his piercing gaze toward the young man. "The missing realm is a problem for another day, Li Yu. Right now we need to address a much more pressing issue. We need to talk about your Dao Heart."

Li Yu looked up in surprise and narrowed his eyes. "My Dao Heart? I don’t think there is anything wrong with my Dao heart. I am fine, Patriarch. I just need to get back to my cultivation so I can reach a level where I can pierce through these mysteries and find my companions."

"You are not fine," Patriarch Yue countered smoothly while tapping a finger against the wooden armrest of his chair. "I have been observing your aura since you arrived. You are currently in the Creation Lord realm which requires a balance of many things. Yet I feel your foundation is fraying at the edges. You are pushing yourself too hard and you are suffocating your own progression by rushing."

Li Yu stared at the steaming cup of tea and his jaw tightened. "I have to push hard, Patriarch. The threats against our family are always looming and the cosmos is an unforgiving place. I just lost my companions to a temporal rift and I have friends to find on a realm that have disappeared. If I do not rush my cultivation, how can I ever protect the people I care about, achieve my goals or fulfill my promises?"

"There is a difference between dedicated training and blind rushing," Patriarch Yue explained while leaning back in his chair. "You carry the burdens of your family and your friends like heavy stones strapped to your back. That sense of responsibility is commendable but you are letting it poison your perspective. If your parents or grandfather were here they would tell you the same thing."

The clan leader gestured toward the blooming tree above them. "You are going against your very nature in your rush for power. While you have a noble goal in mind for this rush, it is rushing nonetheless. From what I know of you, you young man who naturally enjoys the journey of life. I know you love cooking meals and traveling to see new sights. Those things bring you joy. Yet lately you have been denying yourself those simple pleasures because a dark shadow hangs over your mind."

Li Yu remained silent while the words struck a deep chord within his soul. Patriarch Yue was reading his internal struggles with terrifying accuracy.

‘How does he know all these things? I haven’t interacted with him that much… Did my parents tell him? It’s probably because he is the Patriarch and gets countless reports on everyone… Being Patriarch is not easy…’ Li Yu thought to himself and then concluded on how the Patriarch knew so much. His respect for the man increased even more than it already was.

"You feel guilty," Patriarch Yue stated plainly and let the words hang in the quiet air. "You feel guilty whenever you stop to enjoy yourself because you believe you should be training instead. You think every second spent relaxing is a second wasted while your enemies grow stronger or your friends suffer. That guilt is creating tangled threads around your heart and it is forming a severe bottleneck in your cultivation."

Li Yu closed his eyes and let out a heavy breath. He thought about his time in that realm. If it was before he would have taken his time and enjoyed the journey through the realm. Eating all the local foods, spending time looking at the scenery and sucking up the different culture there. Even though the other continents were relatively poor, they had their own charms and culture to enjoy.

He didn’t do that this time. With the rush to keep advancing, he moved through the continents quickly and rushed himself to find an answer to return home. Even when he was eating or camping, he was thinking about what to do next or solving a mystery. He didn’t allow himself to truly enjoy the things he was eating or drinking. Even his camp meals were rushed and he didn’t take the time to make them even better.

Then within the digital sanctuary with Jirno he continued that rushed existence. He had enjoyed cooking the meals and sharing stories but a part of his mind had always been anxious about finding a way out. Li Yu was constantly looking toward the next goal and the next battle instead of truly living in the present moment. He had convinced himself that rushing forward was the only way to be a good son and a reliable friend.

"How do I fix this?" Li Yu asked softly while opening his eyes to meet the gaze of the elder. "If I slow down, I feel like I am failing those who rely on me. But if rushing is slowing my true progression then I am trapped in a cycle that is making everything worse."

Patriarch Yue smiled warmly and picked up a white stone from the woven bowl. "A bowstring that is always pulled tight will eventually lose its elasticity and snap. You must give yourself permission to unstring the bow and rest. It is not a weakness to enjoy your life, Li Yu. In fact, finding peace is a strict requirement on the path towards the Dao. You must find the balance yourself and truly be okay with it in your mind"

The clan leader placed the white stone on the board and stood up from his chair. "I am going to help you find that balance again. You need to step away from everything here and distance yourself from the heavy expectations of the clan. I suggest you take on a mission."

"A mission?" Li Yu questioned while raising an eyebrow. "How will fighting enemies or gathering rare resources help me relax?"

"It will not be that kind of mission." Patriarch Yue chuckled and pulled a small communication jade from his sleeve. He sent a swift and silent divine sense message directly to the elder running the mission pavilion down below detailing below.

"Find a mission for Li Yu with these requirements. A relatively weaker realm where there will be no threats and no grand battles to fight. The task should be simple but it will require a great deal of time and patience to complete. Something where he will not be able to rush to the finish line no matter how hard he tries."

"I have just sent a request to Elder Fan," Patriarch Yue said while returning his attention to the young man. "I gave him strict requirements to find an assignment suited for your current state. Go to the mission pavilion and see what he has selected for you. Accept the task and take your time, Li Yu. The cosmos will still be here when you return and your friends will still be waiting. We old people have been shouldering the sky for a long time and we don’t intend to stop anytime soon."

Li Yu pondered the suggestion and realized the wisdom behind the words. A forced change of pace might be exactly what his turbulent mind needed.

"I understand Patriarch," Li Yu said while standing up and offering a deep bow of gratitude. "I will trust your judgment and try to untangle the knots in my heart. Thank you for your guidance."

Li Yu left the courtyard and the heavy burden of urgency had not vanished but Patriarch Yue had given him a new perspective on how to carry the weight. He directed himself toward the bustling mission pavilion located near the outer rings of the central peaks.

The pavilion was crowded with young disciples looking for opportunities to prove themselves and earn clan merits. Li Yu walked past the eager crowds and approached the main desk where Elder Fan was busy organizing a stack of parchment scrolls. The elder looked up and his eyes brightened upon recognizing Li Yu.

"Greetings, Li Yu," Elder Fan said while offering a polite nod. "The Patriarch just contacted me regarding your arrival. He gave me a very strict set of parameters to follow for your next assignment."

"Greetings, Elder Fan," Li Yu returned the bow and looked at the large wall of glowing mission requests behind the desk. "Did the Patriarch mention what kind of task I am supposed to take?"

"He requested a mission located in a lower realm," Elder Fan explained while pulling a specific wooden scroll from a secured drawer. "He specifically asked for a place where the peak of power would not in any way pose any threats or grand battles to you. He also requested a task that requires a great deal of time and patience to complete. Something you cannot simply rush through with brute force."

Elder Fan handed the wooden scroll across the desk and Li Yu unrolled the smooth parchment to read the details.

"The Blue Cloud Realm?" Li Yu asked while scanning the text. "What exactly does this assignment entail?"

"The Blue Cloud Realm is a vast mortal world dotted with minor cultivation sects," Elder Fan elaborated while pointing at a list of cities on the scroll. "The mission requires you to deliver a set of ceremonial peace offerings and clan decrees to the mortal kings scattered across the major continent. It is a diplomatic gesture to maintain good relations with the local populace and usually would be done by someone much weaker than yourself but this mission mostly fits what the Patriarch wants."

"Delivering decrees should only take a few days if I fly between the cities," Li Yu noted while calculating the distances in his head.

"That brings us to the core restriction of the mission," Elder Fan offered a knowing smile. "There is no perfect mission that fits all of the requirements from the Patriarch so I will impose one rule on you that you must follow. I will just trust that you will follow it, this is for yourself after all. You are forbidden from flying or spatial tears. You must travel on foot and walk the roads alongside other mortals. You are to blend in with the locals and experience the realm at a natural pace. Delivering all the items on foot will take you roughly two months to finish."

It was a restriction designed by the elder to force him to slow down. The assignment offered no glorious combat and no rare treasures to hoard. It demanded patience and a willingness to exist in the present moment. Li Yu read the final details on the parchment and a smile formed on his lips. He rolled the scroll back up and tucked it safely into his spatial ring.

"I accept the mission, Elder Fan," Li Yu said with a calm voice. "I think this is what I need right now. I will depart for the Blue Cloud Realm soon."

"Safe travels, Li Yu," Elder Fan replied warmly. "May you find whatever it is you are looking for out there on the roads."

Li Yu walked out of the bustling pavilion and looked up at the clear blue sky above the building. The journey ahead would not bring him any closer to finding Jirno or Heiyuan and it would not grant him sudden leaps in martial power. It was simply a journey to find his own balance again and he was ready to take the first step without running.