Time and events inside and outside [combined chapters]

Chapter 403: Matters of Time, Inside and Out [Combined Chapter]

When the Medicine King Sect Cultivator saw Xiao Heng and the other two respectfully calling him Senior, his face was filled with surprise.

He waved his hands repeatedly and said, "Why do you Fellow Daoists say this? Are you making fun of me?"

"We are all Nascent Soul Cultivators, so we can just address each other as peers."

He spoke to Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei.

"Nascent Soul Cultivators?"

Upon closer observation, Xiao Heng and the others realized that the Cultivator before them, who had been asleep for thousands of years, indeed seemed to only have a Nascent Soul cultivation.

However, the feeling he gave off was very different from the Nascent Soul Cultivators of today.

This was why they had failed to recognize it just now.

In any case, a Nascent Soul Cultivator from the ancient era surviving to this day was definitely not simple.

Xiao Heng and the others did not let down their guard. They were thinking of how to continue the conversation to fish out some information.

But then they heard the other party, like a chatterbox, pour out a stream of words.

"I am Linghu Chang, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Medicine King Sect."

"When we fell into the Xuanhuang World, I remember the Sect Master had already sealed the entire Medicine King Cauldron and issued a call for help to the outside world."

"Since you all could enter the Medicine King Cauldron, the rescue from the Ten Immortal Sects must have arrived."

"I wonder how the other fellow Disciples are doing now? Has the Sect Master awakened yet?"

As Linghu Chang spoke, he eagerly started walking toward the door.

But catching sight of the strange expressions on the faces of Xiao Heng and the other two, he couldn't help but be startled.

"Could it be that some accident occurred?"

With that, he hurriedly went outside.

Seeing this, Xiao Heng and the others also quickly followed him.

"Hmm? What's going on? Why is the Great Dream Spring Autumn Formation still running?"

"To think that I am the only one who woke up early?"

"Where are the rescue Cultivators from the Ten Immortal Sects?"

…

Linghu Chang's suspicious and uncertain voice echoed within the empty Medicine King Cauldron.

"The Life and Death Gate has dropped? What happened on the Sect Master's side?"

"Just what on earth is going on?"

His voice carried a panic he could barely suppress. After looking around, he flew back in front of Xiao Heng and the other two.

He stared and asked, "Who on earth are you people, and how did you enter our Sect's Medicine King Cauldron?"

Xiao Heng pondered for a moment, then said slowly, "This matter is somewhat complicated. Fellow Daoist, you might want to prepare yourself mentally."

Linghu Chang narrowed his eyes, quietly listening to what followed.

"In fact, you have already slept for thousands of years, Fellow Daoist. The Medicine King Cauldron breaking through the world boundary is already something from the ancient era…"

Before Xiao Heng could finish, Linghu Chang waved his hand to interrupt him.

He laughed out of sheer anger, "What utter nonsense! Do you really think my Medicine King Sect's Great Dream Spring Autumn Formation is just for show? That it would get the number of sleeping years wrong?"

"You claim twenty-four years is thousands of years. If you want to deceive someone, you should at least make up a more decent lie!"

Linghu Chang's face darkened. With a gentle tap, a gourd appeared in his hand.

"No wonder I felt you were strange from the very first moment I saw you. So you are demonic heretics trying to deceive me."

"Die!"

Following Linghu Chang's words, in an instant, dozens of thin green rays of light gushed out from the gourd.

Sharp as sword blades, swift as lightning.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived before Xiao Heng and the other two.

"Xiao Heng, watch out!" Seeing that Linghu Chang had attacked to kill without any explanation, Zhang Haobo's face changed dramatically.

Above his head, the Blood Sea Grotto-heaven suddenly manifested. Amidst the rolling bloody waves, a bloody light flew out, colliding head-on with the thin green blades.

"Boom! Boom!"

In the midst of the violent explosions, Linghu Chang looked up at the scene of the boundless blood sea above, a strange look flashing in his eyes.

However, this only made him more convinced of his judgment.

Filled with righteous indignation, he shouted angrily, "As expected, you are Demonic Path monsters! Hurry up and accept your—"

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard several voices speaking in unison from all directions.

"You are really annoying. Since just now, you've been saying incomprehensible nonsense."

"Have you slept for too long and haven't fully woken up yet?"

Linghu Chang looked over and saw that, without him realizing it, many faceless blood-red figures had already surrounded him in the center.

"No matter, it's the perfect time for us to help you sober up."

The numerous faceless blood-red faces tilted their heads, emitting bursts of eerie laughter.

Then their figures vanished from the spot, pouncing toward Linghu Chang at the same time.

Linghu Chang's heart tightened, but he did not panic.

He spat out a Small Medicine King Cauldron, which hovered above his head.

Then, light cascaded down like a waterfall, forming a protective barrier.

At the same time, he tapped his gourd.

The Green Gourd spun continuously in the air, and thin rays of light like willow-leaf daggers instantly poured out of it like a rainstorm.

Attacking Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo.

Xiao Heng knew that with his current strength, he could not interfere in a battle of the Nascent Soul level.

If he forced himself, he would only be a burden.

Thus, he quietly retreated, intending to distance himself from the battlefield.

Just then, he suddenly smelled an inexplicable fragrance.

Recalling the other party's status as a Disciple of the Medicine King Sect, his heart skipped a beat.

"Be careful, this fragrance seems strange."

He quickly sent a voice transmission to warn them, while holding his breath to resist the aroma.

However, this fragrance worked through some unknown means, and Xiao Heng could not resist it at all.

The aroma grew stronger and stronger. Xiao Heng suddenly felt dizzy and lightheaded, and even his body became weak and powerless.

On the other hand, Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei only paused momentarily before returning to normal.

The willow-leaf green light from the gourd seemed endless, and the protection of the Small Medicine King Cauldron was completely airtight.

The attacks of Zhang and Su hit it, but only caused bursts of shaking; they could not break through the small cauldron's defense anytime soon.

"Haobo, don't hold back!" Su Xiaomei seemed to have been provoked into anger.

A crimson sun rose into the sky, leaping above the blood sea.

The countless blood faces torn to shreds by the thin rays of light from the Green Gourd instantly recombined into a face bursting with rage.

Under the illumination of the crimson sun, the hideously ferocious giant face suddenly burst into flames.

Emitting an eerie laugh, it crashed toward Linghu Chang under the protection of the Small Medicine King Cauldron.

Meanwhile, the boundless blood sea slowly parted from the center.

A festering giant hand reached out from the bottom of the sea.

Reaching toward Linghu Chang.

Facing the pincer attack of the two, this Medicine King Sect Disciple looked grave but was not flustered.

With a gentle wave of his right hand, a row of twenty-four gold needles unfolded in sequence.

Muttering incantations under his breath, the gold needles immediately became like swords, drawing shining, intersecting thin lines in the air.

Avoiding the burning blood face and the festering giant hand, they flew straight toward the physical bodies of Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei.

The speed of these gold needles was extremely fast.

In the spark of a flint, before the two could react, they were pierced right through.

Many holes were poked into their bodies.

Strangely, not only did no fresh blood gush out of the two,

but even their offensive did not seem to be affected at all.

"Boom!"

The Small Medicine King Cauldron shook violently, and Linghu Chang abruptly spat out a mouthful of blood.

His face turned somewhat pale, but he immediately took out a Medicinal Pill and swallowed it right in front of everyone.

After a moment, Linghu Chang's complexion became rosy once more.

"What kind of evil technique is this…"

Looking at the two who could continuously recover despite their bodies being repeatedly pierced by the Reincarnation Gold Needles, he couldn't help but feel a surge of fear.

Hesitating for a moment, a trace of heartache flashed in his eyes.

Linghu Chang took out another round mirror.

Holding the mirror in his hand, he shot a beam of white light toward Su Xiaomei.

The round mirror slowly turned to dust, while behind Su Xiaomei, who was illuminated by the mirror, an illusory figure slowly emerged.

It actually looked eighty percent similar to Su Xiaomei.

The phantom let out an angry shout, its hair turning crimson in an instant.

Then, it even split into several faceless blood-red face Clones, launching attacks against Su Xiaomei.

It seemed capable of copying even Su Xiaomei's innate Divine Ability, Cultivation Technique, and Moves.

On Zhang Haobo's side, another festering palm reached out from the blood sea.

And deep beneath the sea, there seemed to be a gaze peering out.

Seeing this, Linghu Chang thought for a moment.

Then, he took out a wooden talisman sword to counter it.

The wooden sword flew above the blood sea, summoning a green thunderbolt from midair that struck straight down.

The two festering giant hands blocked it, crackling under the bombardment of the lightning.

Strands of lightning coiled around the wooden talisman sword.

The green thunderous glow was Never Ending.

Although the festering giant hands appeared extremely wretched and powerless to fight back,

no matter how severe the injuries they sustained, they would quickly recover to their original state.

The battle fell into a stalemate.

Relying on his many miraculous Magic Treasures and an seemingly endless supply of Medicinal Pills, Linghu Chang stood in an invincible position.

Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo, on the other hand, relied on the characteristics of the New Law, "Unperishing Grotto-heaven, Undying Cultivator", and though they were in a bit of a disheveled state…

[part:gemini-3.5-flash-lite]

But there was no actual danger.

For a moment, neither side could do anything to the other.

Both sides felt a chill in their hearts.

"Just what background do these people have for their Cultivation Technique to be so bizarre? Although I have plenty of supplies stocked up, I'm afraid I can only hold out for half a month at most. If I still can't defeat them by then, I'll have no choice but to escape to the outside world and request reinforcements," Linghu Chang thought to himself.

"This is so infuriating! Just like Shuo Feng, he's just bullying people by relying on a good Magic Treasure. Once his Magic Treasure runs out, I'll definitely give him a severe beating." Su Xiaomei was furious, continuously executing Moves, but she still couldn't break through the endless blockade of Magic Treasures.

"This Linghu Chang is merely an Inner Sect Disciple. It is said that in ancient Sects, above this, there were titles like True Transmission and Dao Child. It's truly hard to imagine just how formidable they would be." Zhang Haobo thought to himself.

While the three of them were locked in battle,

Xiao Heng, who had been affected by the incense, was gradually recovering at this moment.

"Stop fighting!"

"Fellow Daoist Linghu, it's all a misunderstanding!"

"I can swear to the heavens that there isn't a single word of falsehood!"

"Ever since your era, several millennia have indeed passed. The heavens and earth have undergone a great change, and even those Ten Immortal Sects you spoke of have long vanished into the dust of history!"

"Think about it, if we were truly trying to deceive you, why would we deliberately fabricate such an outrageous-looking excuse?"

…

Xiao Heng shouted one sentence after another.

Upon hearing that the heavens and earth had undergone a great change and that the Ten Immortal Sects had already been reduced to ashes, Linghu Chang's body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Linghu, Sect Master Liu's premonition back then was right! He saved everyone in your Sect!"

Hearing this, Linghu Chang's offensive finally slowed down gradually.

"Xiaomei, Haobo, stop as well!" Xiao Heng hurriedly called out.

Although she was extremely unhappy inside, Su Xiaomei still halted her attacks.

However, Su and Zhang's Domain had not been put away yet, and they were still staring at Linghu Chang vigilantly.

"Fellow Daoist Linghu, every word I have said is true," Xiao Heng said sincerely.

"Could it be that because too much time has passed, your Sect's Great Dream Spring Autumn Formation has malfunctioned?" he asked tentatively.

As he spoke, he pulled out a Small Medicine King Cauldron from his Storage Ring.

"This small cauldron was excavated from your Sect's former ruins."

"It is precisely by relying on it that we were able to enter this place."

"With Fellow Daoist's discernment, I believe you should be able to tell the truth from the falsehood."

Xiao Heng spoke candidly.

Upon seeing the small cauldron in Xiao Heng's hand that exuded an aura of vicissitudes, Linghu Chang's pupils suddenly shrank.

He was nearly stunned into a daze.

He could naturally distinguish that the slightly flawed Medicine King Cauldron should be a defective product that hadn't had time to be dealt with during the migration back then.

But the traces of time on it could not be faked either.

So what on earth was going on?

Could it really be that there was a problem with the Formation's chronological record?

Linghu Chang did not reply and hurriedly returned to his room.

He carefully confirmed it once more.

There was definitely no mistake.

Ever since the Great Dream Spring Autumn Formation was activated and the entire Sect fell into a deep slumber,

indeed only twenty-four years had passed.

"Then, are those monstrous people outside lying?"

The killing intent in Linghu Chang's heart gradually rose again.

Just at this moment, he suddenly heard the other party say, "Right, actually there is a very simple verification method."

"After the Great Tribulation of heaven and earth, incompatible cultivation methods exist."

"If Fellow Daoist doesn't believe it, you can try cultivating your own Cultivation Technique."

"As for what the result will be, you will know at a glance."

Hearing this, Linghu Chang's first thought was that it was absurd.

It wasn't some legendary longevity fruit position; how could there be a reason for incompatible cultivation methods?

However, hearing how sincere Xiao Heng sounded, holding a wait-and-see attitude, Linghu Chang circulated the Medicine King Sect's true transmission, the World Saving Everlasting Life Scripture.

The next instant, he was completely dumbfounded.

Spiritual Qi circulated for several cycles, but it was just like doing futile work.

Not only was there no increase in cultivation at all, but a voice also resounded in his Sea of Consciousness.

"World Saving Everlasting Life Scripture: Dao Integration Cultivation Technique."

"Current number of Cultivators: four hundred and sixty-two."

"What is this?"

His complexion turned pale, and sweat began to drip from Linghu Chang's forehead.

"No, no. I must have fallen for an illusion."

In his heart, he completely refused to believe it.

Taking out several Medicinal Pills, Linghu Chang swallowed them whole.

Acting like he was possessed by a demon, he once again circulated his Cultivation Technique.

Over and over again, after a hundred cycles,

not only did his cultivation not change, but a few more points of annoyance grew in his heart.

Even a mysterious connection inexplicably arose in his mind.

He could clearly perceive the positions of the other four hundred and sixty-one Senior Brothers who were also cultivating the World Saving Everlasting Life Scripture.

"Kill them! Kill them all!"

A thought suddenly surged into his mind.

But he immediately snapped back to his senses and shivered.

"How could this be, how could this be…"

His current experience completely surpassed his past understanding.

Although he didn't want to admit it, Linghu Chang already understood in his heart.

What those three people outside said was most likely true.

He and the others had merely slept for a nap, which didn't even compare to the length of a single closed-door cultivation session.

But several millennia had already passed in the Xuanhuang World.

"However…"

"How could it be like this?"

Amidst panic, Linghu Chang fell into endless bewilderment.

Hearing that there was no movement inside the house, Xiao Heng and the others walked in.

"Fellow Daoist, is what we said not false?" Xiao Heng said softly.

Linghu Chang did not respond.

"Actually, we are also very curious about the encounter of the Medicine King Sect back then."

"Why doesn't Fellow Daoist explain in detail what exactly happened after Sect Master Liu used the cauldron as a boat and broke through the realm to leave back then?"

"Perhaps by pooling our wisdom, we can figure out the cause of all this."

Xiao Heng continued to persuade.

After a long silence,

Linghu Chang spoke somewhat dazedly, "Actually, I'm not too clear on what happened."

"It really felt like having a dream."

"At that time, Sect Master Liu used a great Divine Ability to shatter the shackles of the Xuanhuang World, piloting the Medicine King Cauldron to drive towards the depths of the Void Realm."

"The original plan was to search for other legendary Cultivation Worlds, but…"

Linghu Chang paused, as if recalling the scene from back then.

"Not long after, alarms sounded everywhere inside the cauldron."

"It was said that it was attracted by an inexplicable force, and the direction of advance lost control."

"We were told to return to our respective rooms and prepare to enter the Great Dream Spring Autumn Formation to fall into a deep slumber."

"Later, the Medicine King Cauldron shook more and more violently. Even the activation of the Great Dream Spring Autumn Formation was affected and failed."

"Then later…"

Linghu Chang's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The Sect Master sent a voice transmission saying that the realm-breaking plan had failed and we were forced to return to the Xuanhuang World."

"The Medicine King True Cauldron was severely damaged and could not be manipulated."

"To preserve ourselves, all remaining power was used for protection."

"We let the Medicine King Cauldron fall freely towards the Xuanhuang World."

"After that, the important functions inside the cauldron were shut down one after another, and the Senior Brothers were also forced into a deep slumber one after another."

"I was doing Alchemy in the Pill Refining Room at the time. By the time I rushed back to my room, I hadn't had time to completely close the door."

"The Medicine King Cauldron shook even more violently."

"Amidst the intense tremors, I lost consciousness."

"When I woke up…"

"What I saw was you guys."

Linghu Chang slowly said.

Xiao Heng and Zhang Haobo looked at each other, somewhat baffled by this bizarre matter.

Su Xiaomei, however, spoke up and asked, "That's not right, according to your statement, you guys simply wandered around outside the Xuanhuang World and were forced to return?"

Linghu Chang nodded, "Indeed so."

"You guys only entered deep slumber right before falling into the Xuanhuang World?"

Su Xiaomei asked again.

"Yes," Linghu Chang affirmed.

"What 'yes'!" Su Xiaomei's voice suddenly grew a bit louder.

"From our perspective, the Medicine King Cauldron has already left the Xuanhuang World for thousands of years. It only returned here not long ago."

"At that time, all Cultivators in the world were able to see the Medicine King Cauldron transform into a fiery meteor falling from the sky."

"Right, that should have been twenty-four years ago."

Having said that, Su Xiaomei froze.