Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 263 - 257: Humbled—Well and Truly Humbled!
A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.
For people at their level of cultivation, a hundred years was merely a single meditation session.
On this day, the white-haired young man meditating suddenly sensed something, and abruptly stood up.
In the next second, the void in front of him twisted, and two figures stumbled out of it, supporting each other.
Seeing that they had finally found the right time and space, the two figures sighed in relief, as if exhausted, and collapsed to the ground, gasping heavily, with expressions of weariness and hopelessness.
Where did these beggars come from?
That was the white-haired young man’s first impression of these two people.
Their clothes were tattered, hair disheveled, and they only had one shoe each, with one big toe exposed.
"Where did these insignificant scoundrels come from, trespassing into my White Jade Pavilion?!"
The white-haired young man stood with his hands behind his back, angrily berating the two beggar-like men in front of him.
At these words, a hoarse and familiar voice echoed: "Master Bai, it’s me...."
The tall man in front disentangled his hair, revealing an unshaven and extremely weary face.
Seeing this face, the white-haired young man was also taken aback: "Vice Domain Master Yan?!"
"Then you must be... the Ancient Saint Master?" The white-haired young man asked the other disheveled man.
"Yes, it’s me..." The other man also adjusted his hair, revealing an even more haggard face.
.....
"Didn’t you two go to the River of Time?"
"How did you end up in such a state?"
The white-haired young man was very puzzled.
When they left, Vice Domain Master Yan was dignified and imposing, but when he returned, he was dressed in rags, disheveled like a beggar.
Anyone who didn’t know might think he had been wandering for a hundred years....
"It’s a long story, Gu Yuan, you explain it to Master Bai."
"Do you have water? Let me have a sip first."
Yan Dong spoke weakly, like he was drained.
As soon as he finished speaking, the white-haired young man waved his hand, taking out a small white porcelain bowl filled with the Holy Spring of the White Jade Pavilion.
"Thank you."
Yan Dong suddenly became polite, his sharpness seemed to have faded, leaving the white-haired young man a little uneasy.
What had they encountered?
After Gu Yuan drank a bowl of the Holy Spring, he exhaled heavily and began to narrate their experiences.
He recounted their treacherous journey through the River of Time.
After listening, the white-haired young man also widened his eyes, mouth agape, unable to recover for a long time: "River Guardian?"
"Since when did the River of Time have a River Guardian?" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
.....
"I also don’t know." Gu Yuan spread his hands, feeling helpless.
Recalling that terrifying experience, just thinking about it cast a shadow over him.
"Blame me, I was too arrogant."
Yan Dong said with a bitter smile.
At that time, when the two of them ventured into the River of Time, they encountered a man claiming to be the River Guardian and demanded a crossing fee.
The man was fair-skinned and looked very young, so Yan Dong didn’t take him seriously, thinking he was just some clown from another world trying to amuse himself at the River of Time.
Therefore, he refused to pay any crossing fees, seeing it as a form of extortion.
Then, without hesitation, he made a move.
In just one round, without even reaching a second, they were subdued.
That day, they witnessed how a person could be so powerful, controlling the River of Time with a mere wave of his hand—what kind of monster was this??
Fortunately, the man didn’t kill them, he just knocked them into the River of Time, and they were exiled to a different time and space.
So, while it seemed they had been gone for a hundred years, they spent only a few breaths’ time in the River of Time, with the rest spent wandering.....
Due to losing precise time-space coordinates, they accidentally ended up in a Divine Realm thousands of times more powerful than the Longevity Immortal Realm and got caught up in a divine war, suffering grievous injuries—it was truly tragic.....
Thus, they fled while healing, all the while searching for the Longevity Immortal Realm....
Fortunately, heaven favored them, and after wandering for a hundred years, they finally found the time-space coordinates of the Longevity Immortal Realm. After expending immense effort, they returned to the Longevity Immortal Realm.
These hundred years, for people of their level, were but a brief moment.
But those hundred years of wandering felt like a hundred thousand, with every day, every minute, and every second dragging on endlessly in torment.
Them, one a Vice Domain Master and the other a Saint Master of the Longevity Immortal Realm, both figures at the pinnacle of power, yet wandering like beggars across various times and spaces, searching....
Gradually, their ardor was worn away.
Ever since witnessing the powerful man presiding over the River of Time, cracks formed in their Dao hearts.
They thought they were strong enough, but in the face of true power, they realized with just a wave of a hand, they could be exiled, forced to wander....
...
After hearing about their ordeal, the white-haired young man let out a heavy sigh.
"With such an existence in the River of Time, it’s not something we can meddle with."
"Look on the bright side, just coming back alive is already a blessing."
.....
At this moment, Yan Dong recalled something and asked the white-haired young man, "Master Bai, is Lin Ran alright?"
Because they originally ventured into the River of Time for Lin Ran, and since they hadn’t even crossed the river, he must have been taken advantage of by the other side.
"He’s fine, General Lin Ran is still stationed at the frontier, and a couple of years ago, he repelled a wave of external challengers."
Hearing the white-haired young man’s words, Yan Dong also breathed a sigh of relief.
"If even you couldn’t get through, the other side probably couldn’t either." The white-haired young man said slowly.
....
"Not necessarily, if the other side paid the crossing fee, perhaps that man let them through."
"However, since Lin Ran is safe, the other side probably had the same experience as us, and likely didn’t even make it across the River of Time."
Yan Dong felt very regretful.
Why didn’t he pay the crossing fee back then? If he had, maybe they wouldn’t have encountered these troubles.
"Sigh, as long as the outcome is good."
"You two, better adjust your mindset quickly, after all.... the Longevity Immortal Realm still needs you tall figures to hold it up."
The white-haired young man was truly worried that the two of them, after this experience, would suffer a breakdown of their Dao hearts and never recover, which would be a catastrophic blow to the Longevity Immortal Realm.
"Don’t worry about that."
Yan Dong said slowly.
....
"Have you heard of a force?"
"Called.... the Heaven Shepherd Alliance."
The white-haired young man thought of something important and asked the two men.
