The fossilized bones behind her collapsed with a crash, and the space rift twitched violently before falling into a dead silence.

The time fragments in her palm pulsed with an ancient rhythm—it was not a gift of power, but a whisper from the vast stream of time and space to its conqueror.

Clutching those three fragments laden with ancient-time power, Si Lingle clearly felt the pulse emanating from her palm—both gentle and heavy.

This did not feel like a blessing of power, but more like a direct whisper from the source of time, weighty and ancient.

She could feel her immortal power being inexorably drawn and consumed by the shards, as evidenced by the reverse flow of silver-gray blood from the wound on her palm—the fragments were testing her qualification to wield them.

This was no place to linger.

The loud collapse of the bones and the violent turbulence before the space rift fell silent were like water droplets falling into hot oil, ready to trigger even greater and unpredictable dangers deeper in the "Sunken Soldier Abyss."

The silver time mark behind her continued to flicker uncertainly; it was the initial mark imprinted from touching the Time Law, and a potential burden.

Suppressing the churning of her blood and the strong desire to delve deeper into the fragments, Si Lingle quickly scanned her surroundings, her Space Perception spreading rapidly like invisible tendrils.

Soon, she caught sight of a crevice she had briefly hidden in to evade the time dust earlier—a place deep within a mountain split by a tremendous weapon, naturally shielded by chaotic space folds, its location extremely tricky and hidden.

"There!"

As the thought occurred, Si Lingle’s figure vanished as if erased by a rubber, leaving behind a faint and slowly dissipating ripple of space. In the next moment, she had traversed space, appearing deep within the rock crevice.

This place was narrow and dark, the ground covered with a thick layer of dust mixed with metallic powder. The violent Evil Qi and space-time turbulence outside the "Sunken Soldier Abyss" had been filtered by the layered space folds, reaching here much more gently.

Though not a paradise, it was the safest retreat she could find for cultivation right now.

Without the slightest hesitation, Si Lingle immediately sat cross-legged and began the most meticulous preparations.

First, Si Lingle bit the tip of her tongue and spit out a mouthful of pure life essence blood. The blood transformed mid-air into complex silver-gray runes, merging with the Space Immortal Power of the Void Law, laying down dozens of layers of [Space Overlapping] and [Space-Time Lock].

These barriers not only isolated all external probing and energy disturbances but also formed a small barrier inside that twisted the flow of time—an instant outside, and the flow of time here had been subtly altered.

Si Lingle integrated her own immortal power and the newfound thread of time power into the core of the Barrier, constructing an initial [Time Acceleration Field].

Then, she cautiously placed the three semi-transparent time fragments in front of her.

As soon as the fragments touched down, they levitated in mid-air, emitting a soft and mysterious halo, casting a strange glow over the dim cave.

Si Lingle took a deep breath, her pupils drawing in the silver-gray galaxy, transforming into a pure, profound gaze that intended to pierce through eternity. Her Primordial Spirit completely submerged into her Sea of Consciousness, opening up her mind and soul to the three fragments that bore the mysteries of Time Law.

A century of time, to a Cultivator, passes in the blink of an eye. To Si Lingle in seclusion, however, it was composed of countless thrilling battles of the Divine Soul with the Time Law itself.

Initially, the shadows of the river of time surged violently through her Sea of Consciousness. She was like a lone boat in a stormy sea, constantly facing the danger of being overwhelmed and torn apart. The fragments held within them vast information and shards of will, transforming into countless chaotic and complex illusions:

She witnessed the birth and destruction of stars, the gathering and dispersal of cosmic dust;

She felt the cycles of withering and flourishing that plants experienced in an instant, mountains turning to plains before her eyes;

*At times she transformed into a humble mayfly, living and dying within a day; at others, she became a cold Panshi, feeling the solitude of eons eroded by wind and frost;

The chaotic turbulence of time left her mind hazy, childhood memories intertwining with possible future visions before her eyes;

The power of [Time Reversal] was inadvertently triggered, causing a strand of her hair to lose a thousand years of luster in an instant, becoming dry and brittle;

The power of [Time Acceleration] also went out of control, attempting to compress the Space Immortal Power in her palm to the brink of destruction in an instant;

Her Sea of Consciousness turned into the most perilous battlefield.

Each moment of insight might be accompanied by the unbearable agony of Primordial Spirit tearing.

Each attempt to "touch" the "strings" of time felt like handling an invisible toxin.