Chapter 657

Chapter 657: Three Choices

Two hours passed, the time Li Hui used to refine his body and restore his spirit.

The Extreme Huan Continent was remarkable for its abundance of treasures related to time, such as the Qian Qiu Stone needed to make Spring and Autumn Ink. He had focused on collecting these and had filled several storage talismans with the ink he had prepared.

Li Hui sat cross-legged, placing stacks of talismans around him, each having its own unique properties. Afterward, he donned his mask once again.

At his level, extracting Miao Jade was no longer useful; the projections of the Departed Immortals represented the true treasures, allowing him to capture True Spirit Energy, toxic gas, elemental energies, and even the Qi of Taiqing, Yuqing, and Shangqing. As long as he had enough, he could expect the Dao talismans.

“Bang…” The surroundings trembled, stabilizing after a while.

As Li Hui took a step forward, he suddenly halted, sensing an explosive killing intent behind him, filled with unwillingness and despair.

He was an immortal, and even the faintest shadow cast upon this place would not allow mere ants to trample.

“Kill…” Such pure killing intent was rare, and Li Hui shifted instantly. No matter how the enemy attacked, he could perceive their moves with foresight, elegantly dodging each strike. Meanwhile, the foresight talisman placed beside him began to dissolve slowly into ashes.

Suddenly, Li Hui drew upon the doomsday talisman method as his sword, cutting forth the Non-Return Sword aura. This sword technique truly held the essence of non-return, as dozens of grand sword auras pierced through, directly impaling the celestial projection.

“True Spirit Energy? Excellent!”

Li Hui did not pause; he reached for the mask and stepped forward, switching to engage another projection. The stacks of talismans beside him gradually diminished as he hunted more celestial projections.

The battles went smoothly; he was able to handle them using the doomsday talisman method and the Non-Return Sword Dao, but by the twenty-ninth battle, he encountered a celestial projection that preferred to burrow underground to escape.

“Talismans gather, break mountains and split stones.”

“Boom, boom, boom…” The ground shattered, stones flying everywhere. Li Hui was taken aback as the celestial projection resembled a squat winter melon, burrowing better than a mouse; in the blink of an eye, it vanished from sight again.

“Duke Five, can we switch to the next round?”

“Not possible!”

Such a terse reply left Li Hui quite frustrated. He waved his hand, exhausting all the prepared talismans, significantly amplifying his spirit and Legal form, allowing his mind and body to reach a transcendent state—seeing the surroundings clearly like watching fire.

“Here…”

In the blink of an eye, Li Hui struck without the appearance of dark sword light but instead crushed the celestial projection purely through his spiritual sense, utterly extinguishing it.

“Back… back…”

With a thud, Li Hui collapsed to the ground.

His spiritual sense and Legal form returned to normal; he had never felt this tired before. He hastily affixed a Time-Flowing Talisman onto himself, increasing the flow of time to two hundred times faster.

About a stick of incense later, Li Hui exhaled lightly and sat up again, placing more stacks of talismans around him, wearing the mask for the third time.

“There are many marvelous methods to accelerate time in this world, especially in the Extreme Huan Continent. If Xiang Long Wang speeds up time, he will soon find me, so I must seize every moment to enhance my abilities.”

“Thirty rounds, kill!”

This time, Li Hui was even more aggressive and resolute. He had killed twenty-six rounds and encountered a Sword Immortal who unleashed the Sword Howl Mountain River, seeking mutual destruction.

“Cough, cough, a Sword Immortal? What a powerful pure Yang sword; it can truly shatter countless methods with a single strike! It actually broke one corner of the doomsday talisman method.”

The stone of other hills can be used to attack jade. Through battle after battle, Li Hui consolidated his talisman techniques using the Heart Talisman to push the strong talismans to the level of Dao talismans. Even if he did not fully succeed, he gained plenty of inspiration, surprising even himself with how quickly he improved.

“Hahaha, this is the battle talisman method—faster, even faster!”

At this moment, Duke Five was greatly moved, advising, “Please take your time, my lord! No one has ever suppressed so many celestial projections in such a short time—other miners need to enter repeatedly; even killing one after six months would be impressive. Your achievements in a single day are worth a century’s worth of theirs.”

“Stop with the nonsense; since this is beneficial for the Extreme Huan Continent and can reduce the risks of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths’ disturbance formation, I should be even faster.”

Duke Five replied, “The celestial projections you will face next are merely repetitions. You have already achieved the feat of subduing Huang Long and qualified as a thirty-level miner. Welcome, a distinguished guest of the Extreme Huan Continent, the crownless king spanning ancient and modern times.”

“Ding…” Complex patterns appeared on the mask, signifying that Li Hui had stepped into a new realm within the mining profession.

This time, Duke Five brought light and shadow traces from the Yuan Transformation Well, sending them into the Chaotic Dao Body’s dantian, directly enhancing the Legal form. He cautiously stated, “There are three rewards, and you must choose one. The first option allows you to freely enter and exit the next five years within the Extreme Huan Continent. If you reach the peak of thirty levels, your time travel expands to a hundred years. By paying a price, you can access up to two hundred years, or even go further back in time. The second choice…”

“Wait a moment, Duke Five, wait.” Li Hui asked incredulously, “Are you saying I can freely traverse back several years and then forward? Wouldn’t that cause chaos? I could change my fate at will!”

Duke Five quickly clarified, “It’s not a true physical crossing; it’s merely your spiritual sense entering and exiting, allowing some to sense your will, which can steer certain events back on course. Sometimes doing so can backfire, so this power must be used cautiously, and you can only use it once a year.”

“Oh?” Li Hui suddenly understood, “I see now. I saw future images where I stood against the entire Extreme Huan Continent; embracing Bai Xiaolu, I jumped into the Yuan Transformation Well, most likely using this power as a reminder. Now I face a choice again—would I still choose this reward?”

Duke Five continued, “The second option allows you to draw from the luck of all beings through the Yuan Transformation Well, maximizing the ability to break through obstacles on the path without worrying about aftereffects.”

“The third option provides you with a cultivation method related to the path of time.”

At this, Duke Five fell silent, waiting.

“A cultivation method related to the path of time? Could you elaborate? What kinds of methods are there?” Li Hui was very interested, not expecting there would also be cultivation methods related to the path of time.

Duke Five replied, “They are divided into offensive and protective methods. The offensive methods directly attack the time line; when mastered, you can annihilate enemies in their youth, destroying them at their source. Protective methods safeguard oneself and those related; if someone intrudes on the time line to attack your younger self and family, you will immediately notice to take countermeasures and retaliate.”

“Ah? This method… annihilating enemies in their youth and protecting one’s younger self?” Li Hui was stunned; he had never thought of this, but after careful consideration, it might not be impossible—the most critical phrase Old Li brought back was that the time line is a battlefield.

“Can’t I learn both the offensive and protective time cultivation methods at once?” Li Hui found it strange that defense without counterattack would feel quite awkward.

“Not at the moment. Unless you break through the thirty-level limit and solve future problems for the Extreme Huan Continent permanently.” Duke Five’s offer made Li Hui roll his eyes—permanently solving future problems? Was that even possible? He wouldn’t consider it until he reached the Void Ascension stage.