Guarding the River of Time

Chapter 422 - 412: All Things Perished, Only He Stands on the Bridge

The next second, Lady Houtu extended her fair right hand and gently touched the stone monument.

As soon as her hand touched the monument, its surface emitted rays of spiritual light, spreading over the entire monument like blood vessels.

"Place your hand on it, too."

Hearing this, Su Mu was momentarily stunned but then extended his right hand. The moment his palm touched the monument.

The threads of light traveled up Su Mu’s arm and spread over the surface of his skin. In his pupils appeared the phantom image of the monument.

His consciousness began to blur.

In a haze, it was as if he was dreaming.

In the dream, he was drowning, unable to breathe. The intense sensation of suffocation made him feel on the brink of death, his body becoming extraordinarily heavy, continuously sinking toward the depths of an eerie river...

All around was darkness and cold, not a shred of light, and it seemed as though his body was no longer his own. No matter how he struggled, he couldn’t move, able only to continue to fall.

He didn’t know how long he would fall or where he would lastly end up. A sudden sense of despair grew in his heart, his mind adrift, and his consciousness slowly fading....

Suddenly, he felt a pair of soft hands supporting his back, lifting him up.

Subsequently, those hands held and lifted him upwards.

Soon, he saw the surface of the water and a faint glimmer of light.

Finally, he left the water entirely, reaching out to grasp a stone bridge as if catching hold of a lifeline. With an effort, he pulled himself up onto the bridge.

Standing on the bridge, he looked downwards.

The dark, surging whirlpools turned into bottomless abysses, seemingly wanting to swallow everything into them whole.

Looking around the world, he could see very far, yet it was still a void, seeing nothing. As far as his vision and divine sense could reach, there was only endless emptiness and darkness, as though all creatures had vanished, leaving only him standing alone on the stone bridge.

The next instant, his perspective pulled back rapidly, and he snapped back to reality.

He found himself still standing on the bridge, with the stone monument in front of him, and Lady Houtu standing there as well, gazing at him.

Su Mu took a deep breath, exhaling heavily.

The dream just now, for some reason, left Su Mu somewhat distressed, with a feeling of unspeakable discomfort.

...

At this moment, he discovered changes in his body, dantian, and sea of consciousness, but he couldn’t quite comprehend what they were.

He glanced down and saw the stone ring mark on his middle finger had disappeared!

As he introspected himself.

He was surprised to find a phantom of a stone bridge spanning above his sea of consciousness!

When he looked again, the stone bridge had disappeared.

He slowly raised his head and asked Lady Houtu, "What did you do to me?"

After he spoke, Lady Houtu shook her head, her voice seemingly somewhat frail, "I can’t tell you now, but in short... it is beneficial to you."

There was too much she couldn’t reveal at this moment, as saying too much could affect the trajectory of certain karmic paths.

After hearing Lady Houtu’s response, Su Mu remained silent for a moment.

Though unsure of exactly what she did to him, he could discern one thing, which was that she neither harmed nor intended to harm him.

"Follow me."

Saying this, Lady Houtu led Su Mu to a corner of the stone bridge.

At this location, there was a small gap about one meter wide.

Subsequently, Lady Houtu waved her hand, and a fragment of stone emerged from the dark river below the bridge, shaped exactly to fit the gap in the stone bridge.

"I heard you are skilled in bridge repair. Today, I’ve invited you here to lend a hand, please."

Lady Houtu changed the subject.

Hearing her words, Su Mu waved his hand, taking the stone fragment and retrieving a black axe from his sleeve.

When Lady Houtu saw the axe in Su Mu’s hand, a flash of surprise appeared in her beautiful eyes.

Su Mu used the back of the axe to tap and shape the fragment of stone to fill the gap, then proceeded with fine adjustments.

About half an hour later, the gap was restored.

After the stone bridge was repaired, a system announcement echoed in his mind:

[Congratulations to the host for stabilizing the Long River and triggering a special causal event, Favor Points +400000]

Four hundred thousand Favor Points?!

Su Mu was stunned as well.

He didn’t expect that such a small gap would earn him four hundred thousand Favor Points?!

Suddenly, all the frustration in Su Mu’s heart vanished, and he was in high spirits.

In his excitement, he grasped Lady Houtu’s right hand, giving it a firm shake, and said with a smile, "Thank you, thank you very much."

The abrupt gesture of Su Mu grabbing her hand left Lady Houtu momentarily taken aback, but her expression remained calm throughout.

Regarding Su Mu’s reaction, she couldn’t quite understand why he thanked her first.

He seemed genuinely motivated by the prospect of "maintaining order" and "preserving peace in the Ten Thousand Realms" from the very start, a motive he had always adhered to.

...

Having realized he was still holding Lady Houtu’s right hand, he released it immediately, sensing his disrespect, and said awkwardly with a smile, "I apologize, my mistake."

Hearing this, Lady Houtu softly remarked, "It’s fine."

...

With four hundred thousand Favor Points in hand, it translates to a four-percent refinement progress of the river. Spending these few days was entirely worth it.

If he earned Favor Points the regular way, even with good luck, this four hundred thousand might take two to three months to accumulate.

....

Soon after, the atmosphere turned silent unexpectedly.

In this quiet, there was an uncomfortable awkwardness, with nothing to say.

Lady Houtu couldn’t find topics either, as innumerable eras of solitude had seemingly made her forget how to interact with people, a bit rusty.

"If there’s nothing else, I won’t trouble you anymore, my Lady. I’ll take my leave first?"

Su Mu said with a smile.

"Alright." Lady Houtu nodded lightly, she softly replied.

"Let me see you out."

With that, Lady Houtu waved her hand, and a mystical ship of dark purple emerged from the water.

The entire ship was a deep purple hue, its hull resembling a Black Dragon, adorned with intricate patterns akin to fine scales. At the prow stood an oblong black stone, emitting a faint azure glow.

"You can leave on this ship."

Hearing this, Su Mu jumped onto the ship.

"I’ll have Du Ziren return this ship to you, my Lady, later."

Su Mu instantly recognized the extraordinary nature of the ship, undoubtedly a Supreme Treasure.

"No need, this ship is yours."

"Should you encounter any thorny troubles or wish to ask me anything, no matter where you are, you can take this ship to return here,"

Lady Houtu said softly, gazing at Su Mu.