Guarding the River of Time

Chapter 437 - 427: Issuing a Challenge—Didn’t Expect You’d Really Dare to Come

This white fishbone comes from the large black carp!

The entire fishbone has been completely extracted!

Seeing this, Su Mu looked up, his face serious, and asked, "Who did this?"

Such blatant provocation indeed made Su Mu a bit angry.

"I don’t know him."

The red-haired elder shook his head and said, "If Brother Su doesn’t know him, how could I possibly know?"

"That person intruded into my territory....."

"I am not his match."

"However, he did not kill me."

Recalling that day, the red-haired elder still felt lingering fear. Besides Brother Su, it was the first time he encountered such a powerful being. In front of him, he didn’t even have the qualification to make a move, let alone fight.

However, the powerful being only gave him a fishbone and told him to hand it over to Su Mu.

This action clearly showed that the powerful being was targeting Brother Su.

But thinking about it, it made sense.

What virtue or ability did he have to anger a being of such level?

So, he hadn’t slept well in recent days, nor did he have the heart to cultivate.

He kept thinking about whether to leave the River of Time.

At first, he thought he should have the qualification to become friends with this powerful "River Guardian". Later, he realized he was wrong.

It wasn’t that the "River Guardian" didn’t regard him as a friend, but rather he realized he didn’t have the qualification to remain there as his friend.

He was someone very self-aware, clear that if you can’t fit into a place, you shouldn’t force your way in, otherwise only destruction awaits.

.....

Su Mu took the fishbone, which still retained a familiar aura.

It must have been left on purpose.

This aura was all too familiar to Su Mu, as enemies he had encountered multiple times all possessed this kind of aura.

Su Mu released his Divine Sense, tracing this lingering aura, and eventually locked onto a corner of the Long River.

Then, he slowly opened his eyes.

He smiled.

This was a declaration of war on him, the fishbone was the battle challenge.

....

"The river hasn’t been peaceful lately."

"If you want to move house, I won’t stop you."

Su Mu put away the fishbone and slowly spoke to the red-haired elder.

After speaking, he stood up to leave.

"Brother Su."

At this moment, the red-haired elder also suddenly stood up, calling out to Su Mu. After hesitating for a while, he couldn’t bring himself to speak.

Finally, he only managed to say two words: "Take care."

Su Mu didn’t answer, just nodded, and disappeared to the river’s end.

....

The red-haired elder stared at his distant back, eyes vacant, full of bewilderment.

At this moment, he was confused, unsure if his choice was correct.....

Perhaps he shouldn’t have chosen to leave, but rather to stay here, by Brother Su’s side.

He didn’t know what had happened across the Ten Thousand Realms, but he could sense that an unprecedented disaster might quietly descend upon the realms, sweeping across them!

However, he had already spoken, there was no turning back.

.....

He then turned to look at the small house in front of him, filled with emotion.

He pursued the Great Dao, spent so many years, finally found a quiet and peaceful place above the River of Time to retire.

Unexpectedly, in the end, he chose to leave the place he had pursued all his life of his own volition.

It should be said, he was forced to leave, fled in a hurry....

The All Heavens and Myriad Realms are vast. Over the years, he has roamed various worlds, polluting many, and enslaving many. To many cultivators, he was the "source of all strange" and a "great terror".

Later, he spent all his life’s efforts in the first half of his life creating a cave abode above the River of Time and settled there.

The small island beneath his feet was his life’s work.

Though he couldn’t permanently reside there, only for a period.

Whenever he reached his limit, he’d return to the realms to cultivate.

If he encountered any catastrophe he couldn’t resolve, or got tired and wanted to rest, he would come to the River of Time, to this undisturbed small house for a while.

...

But now he found, this place could no longer be his "safe haven".

Since the powerful being entered his territory, it was clear that the River of Time was not safe.... at least not his dwelling.

But, if even the River of Time isn’t safe, then where could he go.....

This was the reason he felt very confused at this moment.

.....

Ultimately, he packed everything, lay in the Black Coffin, and submerged in the river water.

He didn’t know where to go, just let the Torrent of Time carry him....

....

Su Mu walked atop the Long River, each step taken slowly, but the space beneath his feet seemed to shrink.

Every step spanned a long distance.

Due to his speed, he couldn’t even feel the water’s flow, as if the Long River was static beneath him.

Finally, he arrived at a lake.

The lake was oval, dotted with small floating islands on its surface, each about a meter in size, just enough for one person.

He roughly counted a total of three hundred and thirty-three small floating islands, scattered across the oval lake.

From a high altitude, the layout of the lake appeared eerie. The small islands looked like array nodes.

With previous lessons in mind, Su Mu was already on guard.

Standing at the lake’s mouth, he didn’t rashly enter.

There was no need to think; the lake was definitely set up as an array targeting him, just like last time, to trap him.

.....

Such an obvious ambush, such an obvious setup, the enemy seemed foolish.

But it only appeared so to others.

On the contrary, Su Mu felt this time’s enemy was clever, not simple.

By capturing Su Mu’s "old employee" and issuing a challenge to lure him here, they openly asked if he dared to come to fight?

...

After pausing for a brief moment.

Su Mu proceeded to walk in.

There wasn’t a hint of panic in his expression, not even a little.

......

Upon entering the lake.

Several floating islands moved to block the exit, and the aura in the air subtly shifted.

Clap, clap, clap——

Suddenly, a round of applause rang out.

Followed by the light laughter of a man:

"Hahahaha."

"Good, courageous."

"I didn’t expect you’d actually dare to come to battle."

After the words fell, a figure appeared out of nowhere on a floating island at the center of the lake, hands clasped behind his back, staring at Su Mu.