A Man, a Dog, a Tree, a Book, and a Ball

In King Wen's former residence, there was a watchdog. This was not an insult. It was truly a watchdog. The crucial point was that this one wasn't even willing to step outside. Having stayed in this place for countless ages, was it really not bored in the slightest? Su Yu racked his brains. Before long, he spoke up: "Senior, King Wen and the Time Master asked you to watch the house, but their home is in the Human Realm! If the Human Realm is destroyed, then this home will no longer be a home! Surely you wouldn't want King Wen and the Time Master to return one day only to find that the outside of their home is swarming with bastards from the myriad races, would you?" The little white dog glanced at him and said, "I have to watch the house!" *I am a watchdog. I don't go out.* Master hasn't returned, and the Little Master hasn't returned either. It couldn't leave. If it left, what if all these flowers and plants withered and died? Su Yu was helpless. He couldn't get through to it! "Then perhaps Senior could speak with the Tea Tree and the Book Spirit..." Su Yu figured that this dog was single-minded, fixated only on watching the house. Putting aside the Tea Tree for a moment, the Book Spirit was the spirit of a book written by King Wen, so it had to possess some wisdom, right? With that, Su Yu thought for a moment and added, "Also, Senior might not know, but a subordinate of King Wen betrayed him! A traitor—does Senior understand what that is?" "A traitor?" The little white dog asked in confusion. "Who?" "The Warden of Heaven..." "Never heard of him." "The Fortune Spirit. Does Senior know the Fortune Spirit?" The little white dog pondered, then nodded. "I know that one!" It knew this! The little white dog asked puzzledly, "It betrayed Master?" "Yes! Not only did it betray him, but it also wants to slaughter and annihilate the human race so that King Wen cannot return!" Having said that, Su Yu's thoughts fell into place. Exactly—preventing their return! Su Yu spoke swiftly: "King Wen and the Time Master have gone missing, but I believe they aren't dead!" "Of course they aren't!" The little white dog nodded firmly. Definitely not dead! "So, King Wen and the Time Master actually want to return, but the myriad realms are refusing to allow it. They are actively obstructing them, wanting to ensure they can never return... A little over ten years ago... over ten years ago, the Time Master might have been injured in battle and lost her Time Book. I acquired it and inherited the Time Master's legacy. Only by fully mastering the Time Book can I guide them back..." Su Yu felt this excuse was pretty good. The little white dog looked at him without speaking. After a moment of thought, it said, "Drink your tea first. I'll go look for the Tea Tree and the Book Spirit. Don't wander around. You mustn't touch anything in Master's home..." "Understood!" Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief. If it went to talk to them and they all came out together, that would be ideal! If all three possessed Dao Integration combat power... with three major Dao Integrations taking the field, Su Yu felt this crisis could probably be weathered. The Iron Eater, the two fur balls, the Primordial Giant King, the Space Beast Sovereign, the Old Turtle, King Dazhou... if the three Dao Integrations were added to that, the human side could muster ten Dao Integration-tier experts! Whether the dog truly possessed Dao Integration strength was hard for Su Yu to judge; it had said "about the same," but Su Yu didn't know how big that gap actually was. Ten Dao Integration-tier experts would resolve the human race's immediate difficulties for the time being. The reason he said "for the time being" was that outsiders were outsiders after all, and the human race itself only had King Dazhou at the Dao Integration Realm. The gap was too vast! To forge iron, one needed to be hard oneself. If the human race wasn't strong on its own, relying entirely on strong allies was unsustainable. There weren't enough Eternals. Several had died this time, and the survivors were mostly half-crippled. The losses were too heavy. If this went on for another three to five battles against three to five more races, the human race would probably finish itself off! And nowadays, there were quite a few powerful races among the myriad races with Dao Integrations! Relying on this meager strength to keep fighting indefinitely would wear the human race down to extinction. Su Yu sank into contemplation. After a moment, he suddenly murmured, "A realm without rules..." This place had no rules! His eyes flickered. He suddenly thought of something! Yes, the power of rules. Nowadays, almost everyone in the myriad realms cultivated the Three Embodiments Method. The reason they cultivated it was that aside from the Three Embodiments Method, the rules seemed to forbid cultivating other methods. For instance, someone like Wan Tiansheng hadn't actually attained the Dao. He was still technically in the Sun Moon Realm! Lan Tian was the same! None of them had truly attained the Dao. Cultivating other methods was difficult in the first place, and secondly, the rules would inflict punishment that could destroy the practitioner. Yet here, according to the little white dog, was a realm without rules! Because the rules had been established by King Wen and his peers! "A realm without rules... the Three Embodiments Method..." Su Yu fell into deep thought. Aside from the Three Embodiments Method, he also knew another method: the Weapon Integration Method! Using a powerful weapon to cultivate the Great Dao—when the weapon grew stronger, the cultivator grew stronger. It was similar to Zhao Li and Su Yu himself. In fact, Su Yu tended toward this path; if his Chronicle of Civilization were transformed into a Dao-attaining weapon, that would also be the Weapon Integration Method! The Weapon Integration Method had been a common method in ancient times and was somewhat superior to the Three Embodiments Method because its combat power was greater! Never mind having three embodiments—what use were three embodiments? If one of your embodiments was blown to pieces, your remaining two embodiments would usually still perish. Guys like Tianmie were truly formidable. They were currently sealed; even sealed and without a weapon, Tianmie could contend with ninth-stage Eternals. Once unsealed and wielding his giant club, he could probably crush an ordinary ninth-stage to death with a single strike! The thirty-six guardians were all currently in a semi-sealed state. However, cultivating the Weapon Integration Method nowadays would incur the punishment of the worldly rules. Even though Su Yu hadn't attained the Dao, he could roughly infer as much. "A realm without rules..." He repeated the phrase, thoughtful. This place was a treasure trove! If he could take control of this place, the benefits would be unimaginable. Never mind King Wen's inheritance—none of that was critical. Just this domain alone was extraordinary! Across the heavens and myriad realms, including the Dead Spirit Realm, who wasn't restricted by the rules? Everyone was! At this moment, this was the only place Su Yu knew of that wasn't bound by rules—the sole exception! Outside, there was now a whole pack of "bachelors" with only a single embodiment left. There were probably many in the Tianyuan Realm as well. Hoping to recover wasn't so simple. For major races like the Immortals, Demons, Gods, and Dragons, once their embodiments were shattered, recovering them required vast quantities of heavenly materials and earthly treasures... The Weapon Integration Method had its merits, but also its drawbacks! The drawback was that it consumed far more resources. Forging a sufficiently powerful weapon took a tremendous toll on materials. For people like Xinghong, a single weapon might consume ten carriers, whereas the Three Embodiments Method required only two. "Were there other methods in the ancient era?" Su Yu's eyes flickered, looking toward the dog that had gone into the house. Did the dog know? It was raised by King Wen and the Time Master! The Old Turtle might know as well. He might not be younger than the dog, but the Old Turtle had too many restrictions. And strictly speaking... ahem, the Old Turtle's status had been a bit low back then, merely a Spirit Guard General. Even a prime minister's gatekeeper was treated like a seventh-rank official. The dog might not possess an official title, but it was raised by King Wen and the Time Master! On that merit alone, its status was undeniably exalted! While Su Yu was lost in thought, the fur ball couldn't care less about any of it. It was busy drinking tea, taking a cup, swaying dizzily, taking another cup, swaying dizzily again... so comfortable, so delightful! Its palate was notoriously picky! Yet today, this tea was truly exceptional. Evidently, the Tea Tree's strength was by no means weak; otherwise, it could never produce tea leaves like these. Su Yu didn't say anything either. It was a good thing for the fur ball to improve here; its strength was somewhat lagging. In the past, it could still help Su Yu, but now Su Yu's opponents were all Eternals. The little fur ball could barely manage devouring Sun Moons, but if it tried devouring an Eternal... it would burst from overeating. Now that it had advanced to the Sun Moon Realm, if it could advance to the Eternal Realm, it would be another powerhouse of a fur ball. Su Yu took a sip himself, quietly experiencing and sensing its effects. He knew he couldn't rush things. The dog had gone inside to fetch them, though he didn't know where the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree were. Besides, going outside right now was useless. The little white dog's spit had proven quite effective, helping him extinguish a massive amount of death qi. Even now, death qi was still generating within Su Yu, and he was quietly reversing it. Taking advantage of the remaining time, he would focus on reversing all the death qi back into origin qi first. Meanwhile, the little fur ball, giddy from drinking, leaped onto a large ancient tree beside them. That tree was massive. Just as Su Yu was wondering whether this tree had birthed a spirit, an illusory face surfaced upon the ancient trunk... A spirit! Su Yu's heart jolted. Hadn't the white dog said there were only two spirits? Just as he was wondering, the little white dog's voice called out from inside the house: "Hey Doubao, don't mess with Big Wood! Big Wood's spirit hasn't fully formed yet—it's still muddled and can't tell friend from foe. Careful it doesn't eat you!" Su Yu understood. This tree had not yet birthed an intelligent spirit. Without intellect, it couldn't truly be called a spirit; it was merely in a muddled state. Sure enough, when the fur ball leaped onto it, the illusory face upon the great tree appeared dazed. A branch swayed and whipped at the fur ball... *Whoosh!* Before Su Yu could even react, the fur ball vanished! With a single lash of its branch, the great tree had sent the fur ball flying who knew where! Su Yu sprang to his feet. Inside the house, the little white dog grumbled, "I told it not to play with Big Wood. Big Wood doesn't know its own strength! It just had to mess around. What a nuisance—it crushed my flowers!" In a flash, the dog darted out. Su Yu couldn't even catch its shadow before the dog returned, carrying the fur ball in its jaws. With a flick of its mouth, it tossed the fur ball beside Su Yu. The fur ball snapped awake, its eyes filled with lingering terror! Looking at Su Yu with an aggrieved face, it seemed to say: *I think I got beaten up!* Su Yu was helpless. Getting beaten served it right. This place was truly perilous. It was just a tree that hadn't even become a proper spirit yet, yet a single branch had swatted the fur ball away. The fur ball was at the Sun Moon Realm now, yet... how miserable! Beside him, the little white dog wagged its tail. "I told you not to mess around. This guy just doesn't listen! Don't move around anymore! Big Wood was only playing with you just now. It doesn't have intellect yet, so if it plays too rough, it'll swat you to death!" The fur ball hastily bobbed its body. A wise man submits to circumstances! It had been drunk from tea earlier, but now that it was sober, the fur ball was very sensible! A real man knows when to yield and when to stand tall! Having hung around Su Yu for so long, the fur ball understood this principle well. Though aggrieved, it was exceedingly well-behaved: *I won't move, don't hit me!* The little white dog looked at Su Yu and said, "The Book Spirit will be here shortly. The Tea Tree will take a little longer; it's taking a bath..." "Taking a bath?" Su Yu was stunned. The little white dog nodded earnestly. "A bath! If it doesn't bathe, it gets dirty, and if it's dirty, the tea won't taste good! When the Little Master was here, she bathed the Tea Tree every day, so it got used to it." "Where does it bathe?" Su Yu thought of a possibility. Sure enough, the little white dog said, "In the River of Time!" Su Yu felt faint. *I knew it!* King Wen's household really treated the River of Time like their own backyard! Could the river water in there really be used for bathing? That was the erosive force of time! Then again, for a spirit like the Tea Tree, perhaps the older it was, the stronger and more valuable it became! Being washed by time gave it all the more flavor. No wonder the tea leaves were so potent—the tree took a bath in the River of Time every single day. While waiting for them to arrive, Su Yu asked, "Senior, this is King Wen's former residence. I consider myself half a disciple of King Wen, and more than half a disciple of the Time Master. May I bring others in to visit?" "Bring people?" The little white dog thought for a moment and shook its head. "No entering the courtyard, and no damaging my flowers and plants. Looking from the outside is fine, but no coming inside! Besides, if they enter, they'll be washed away and killed by the power of time..." True enough! However, Su Yu had the Time Book. He thought about it and asked, "What if I use the Time Book to shield them?" The little white dog looked at him curiously. "Can you even use it?" *Hmm?* Su Yu froze. "Senior knows I can't use it?" "Of course!" The little white dog replied as if stating the obvious. "You're so weak, how could you possibly use it? Even if the Little Master's book was truly passed down to you, you'd have to reach the Eternal Realm before you could use it." The Eternal Realm! Su Yu asked hastily, "What if one integrates with a Dao?" Dao Integration and the Eternal Realm might possess equivalent strength despite walking different paths. Su Yu wanted to know: if one didn't pioneer their own Dao, could they still use it? "About the same! It's all the same!" As the little white dog spoke, it sat on its haunches, looking up at Su Yu with a trace of curiosity. "I can see that your physical body is ready to enter the Shanhai Realm. Why haven't you advanced?" Su Yu thought about it and didn't hide anything, answering directly: "I want to go outside to make the breakthrough. That way, once I'm on the Allhead Battlefield, there will be rules rewards that can help me offset the rules punishments!" "Oh!" The little white dog nodded, as if signaling that it understood. It seemed to recall something and added a moment later, "Rules punishments... the Allhead Battlefield... that place is still around? I thought it was gone by now." "Senior knows that place?" "Yeah." The little white dog nodded. "Master and the others built it... I remember many years ago, Master and the others said they wanted to give young people more opportunities, so they built an Allhead Battlefield for the youths of the various races to fight each other." Su Yu raised his brows. Recalling a question, he asked, "Senior, an expert of our human race who specializes in the power of time said that this place exists in the past, and not in the present or the future... So am I currently in the past, or where am I?" "Past and future?" The little white dog looked slightly confused. Just then, an aged voice drifted over: "Past? Future? Present? Time is singular! Young friend, do not be misled by mere illusions. In this world, anything may be non-singular, but time alone is singular!" Su Yu's heart stirred. This sounded somewhat similar to what Wan Tiansheng had said. He knew this had to be one of the two spirits; there was no one else. Sure enough, the little white dog remained motionless and said, "Book Spirit, you're here." From within the ancient manor, a book flew out slowly, transforming into a white-haired elder. The elder looked at Su Yu with ancient, weathered eyes. Smiling, he asked, "Young friend, can you comprehend what I just said? Anything can be non-singular, but time alone is unique! This was Master's philosophy. The so-called River of Time is merely a special energy domain! Traveling through past and future... traveling to the past is impossible. The future is possible, but in reality, your so-called travel to the future... is merely sealing yourself. You think you are traveling, but you are not; you have simply sealed yourself, and when you awaken countless years later, you will find yourself in the future!" With a smile, he continued, "Take us, for instance. If we step outside now, after so many years where no one has seen us, we could claim that we traveled through time, coming from over a hundred thousand years ago to over a hundred thousand years later. But in truth, did we travel to the future?" Su Yu understood. Standing up, he cupped his hands slightly. "Thank you for clearing my doubts, Senior!" "You flatter me!" The Book Spirit looked at him, noticing the crown atop his head, and smiled. "Calling you 'young friend' is already an offense. The co-ruler of the human race... gathering the destiny of mankind into one person, your status is far higher than mine!" Su Yu smiled. "The accomplished lead the way. Senior is too courteous!" The Book Spirit chuckled without pressing the matter. Just then, behind the ancient house, a passage of light flickered. The next moment, under Su Yu's astonished gaze, a tea tree whose roots transformed into legs and feet morphed in the blink of an eye into a young girl! Su Yu was taken aback. A female tree? Well... that was an eye-opener! The little girl resembled a baby from a New Year painting, wearing a bib as she came skipping over. Su Yu had assumed it would be an old man, not expecting a child. No wonder it had gone to take a bath! The little girl hopped down, glanced at Su Yu, and asked in a childish, milky voice with a touch of curiosity, "Are you Little Master's disciple?" Su Yu thought about it and shook his head. "I don't know if that counts, but I inherited the Time Master's Time Book. Does that make me a disciple?" The little girl didn't know either, turning her gaze toward the Book Spirit. The Book Spirit smiled. "It should count. The Time Book wouldn't acknowledge a master casually." "Oh!" The little girl nodded, then looked at the little fur ball atop Su Yu's head and asked puzzledly, "Is this that Doubao?" "No," Su Yu explained. "Doubao's son!" "Oh, oh..." The girl nodded again, still eyeing Su Yu and the fur ball with deep curiosity. Yet Su Yu felt increasingly strange. Doubao, the Tea Tree, the Book Spirit, the Warden of Heaven, the little white dog... All of these had been brought about by King Wen. What had King Wen actually been doing back then? These beings could all be considered spirits—except for the little white dog, which probably wasn't one; it was likely just a pet raised by the Time Master. Looking at the three before him, Su Yu didn't know what to say for a moment. An old man, a child, and a dog! Just as he was about to speak, the Book Spirit said, "Feiqiu told us about your situation..." *Feiqiu?* Su Yu looked at the little white dog. The dog wagged its tail without the slightest awkwardness. *What of it? Feiqiu is me! I am Feiqiu!* The Book Spirit didn't care about that and smiled. "The human race... Master's race. The human race is facing trouble, and since you came looking for help, we ought to lend a hand. Feiqiu is unwilling to leave because the Little Master instructed it not to run around and not to leave home, but to guard the gate... The Tea Tree and I don't have such restrictions. Our spirits were only fully formed after Master departed!" Before that, they had been like that ancient tree just now, merely dormant, unformed spirits. Only after the Time Master and the others vanished did the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree formally awaken their sapience. Su Yu said with delight, "You two are willing to step outside with me?" The Book Spirit said softly, "Even if we go out, it will only treat the symptoms, not the root cause! From what you've described, the human race has already been defeated nine times, and this is the tenth tide. If it has always been like this, it isn't something the Tea Tree and I can settle simply by going out! Neither the Tea Tree nor I have formed our own Great Dao of Rules. Yet you mentioned that in the previous tide, even a Human King was defeated... We are no match for a Human King!" He shook his head. "This time, the human race is too weak. We might resolve your crisis once, but there might not be a second time..." Su Yu nodded. "I know. That's why I hope you seniors can buy some time for the human race so we can grow stronger! Including myself—I will quickly grow powerful and suppress the myriad races with overwhelming might!" The Book Spirit pondered for a moment. "Young friend indeed has plenty of room for improvement. From what I see... your physical body is robust, having opened the Great Circulation apertures and completed seventy-two cast-forgings, with nine transformations of origin qi, which is also a top-tier transformation... Your divine apertures are all opened as well, yet their circulation is somewhat imperfect... Is it because you lack an cultivation method?" Su Yu hadn't expected the other to see through him at a glance. He nodded. "Yes, Senior is entirely correct. I only have the method for the Great Circulation Origin Apertures, but none for the divine apertures. Does Senior... know how to cultivate the Great Circulation Divine Apertures?" "I do." The Book Spirit was nonchalant, but soon added, "However, since you have opened them all, it would be best to cultivate the Great Circulation Method, centered around the Heavenly Gate! The Great Circulation Divine Apertures Method and the Origin Apertures Method are merely cultivated separately; their effects might not be ideal..." The Book Spirit truly knew a lot! Su Yu was overjoyed and said eagerly, "Senior, then..." Before he could finish, the Book Spirit shook his head. "I do not know this one. Very few know the Great Circulation Method, and Master did not leave behind a heritage for it. Before he departed, it seemed he had not yet created the Great Circulation Method either... Afterward, he went to the Star Residence Mansion. Perhaps some heritage was left behind there... You may go there to search." Just as he finished speaking, Su Yu's vision blurred. The next moment, he beheld the stars of the great circulation! Three hundred and sixty stars, revolving in the endless void! This was the Great Circulation Divine Apertures Method! It came so easily! Although Su Yu knew he could look for it in the Dead Spirit Realm—even if not now, it would appear ten years later—getting it here for free still filled him with boundless joy! He swiftly guided his Great Circulation Divine Apertures according to this stellar rotation method. Three hundred and sixty divine apertures rotated rapidly! His entire sea of will was turned upside down! The three hundred and sixty stars seemed to form a grand formation, drawing upon the astral power of the myriad realms to temper his divine characters, temper his divine apertures, and temper his entire sea of will! In an instant, Su Yu completed the operational circulation of the divine aperture method! Previously, the power he could mobilize simultaneously from all three hundred and sixty divine apertures had been limited. Yet now, it seemed vastly stronger. In Su Yu's mind, the Civilization Tombstone and his divine characters merged, transforming into a brush. As Su Yu poured his willpower into it, the Civilization Tombstone manifested instantly, tapping toward the void! With a bang, the void shattered! Incredibly powerful! The little white dog, however, was displeased. Seeing the origin qi explode in the void, it swept its tail lightly, restoring the turbulent origin qi to stillness. It grumbled, "Newcomer, don't cultivate your techniques in Master's home! Blowing up origin qi makes the flow uneven, and that affects the flowers' growth!" "..." Su Yu was speechless. With a wry smile, he cupped his hands toward the little white dog. *Fine, I get it. All you care about is planting flowers and watering them!* *Uneven origin qi affects flower growth...* Su Yu had no counterargument against that. At this moment, Su Yu felt invigorated and refreshed, sensing his willpower boiling as if on the verge of forcing a breakthrough into the Sun Moon Realm. He hastily bowed slightly to the Book Spirit. "Thank you, Senior!" The Book Spirit didn't make much of it, smiling. "You are the co-ruler of the human race. This isn't considered a secret technique anyway; gifting it to you simply puts it to good use! We wouldn't dare give away Master's belongings haphazardly, but the Great Circulation Divine Apertures Method is just an ordinary technique..." *Hear that!* Suppressing his stray thoughts, Su Yu asked once more, "Then, are both seniors willing to step outside with me?" The Book Spirit smiled. "It's not that we can't... however..." The Book Spirit thought for a moment and said, "Going out is easy for us, but coming back will be difficult! We would have to trouble you, young friend, to escort us back..." "But... Senior Feiqiu said that I have to be able to control the Time Book before I can shield others to enter..." If they went out, they might never be able to return! The Book Spirit laughed. "That is simple. We are spirits born of heaven and earth, and the Time Book is with you. We spent many years around the Little Master as well, so we can stay close to the Time Book to avoid the erosion of time..." On the side, the little girl said nonchalantly, "I can come and go as I please! I bathe in the River of Time every day, so coming and going is nothing to me. Book Spirit, you're not as formidable as me!" The Book Spirit wasn't offended either, simply chuckling without a word. Then Su Yu seemed to recall something and hurriedly asked, "Um... seniors, do you... do you know how to fight?" He had to ask! Even though it was awkward! He had to be clear on this. If they didn't know how to fight... heavens, having realm alone wouldn't cut it! The Book Spirit smiled. "Of course I do. I am the spirit within the book. Whatever Master recorded in the book, I know. If he left Dao techniques or combat methods, I know them all!" The girl's chubby face showed a hint of embarrassment as she muttered, "I know how too! Back when Little Master was around, I vaguely saw how she fought. She tore open the River of Time, popped out suddenly, and then shattered the opponent's Great Dao of Rules with a single slap..." *Shattered the opponent's Great Dao of Rules with a single slap!* That sounded far too simplistic! So simple that Su Yu started to worry. Was this reliable? Could that even work? Bringing out two powerhouses who didn't know how to fight—wouldn't he just be delivering free meat to the enemy? He turned his gaze toward the little white dog with some anticipation. Would this one go out? This one ought to be better at fighting than the other two, right? After all, it was a watchdog raised when King Wen and the Time Master were still around, and its strength might be even greater than the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree. Sensing Su Yu looking at it, the little white dog wagged its tail. "I have to watch the house!" Su Yu hurriedly said, "Senior, outsiders can't enter right now; I am the only one who can come in. Even if Senior steps outside for a short while, nothing will happen, right? Senior, Senior Book Spirit and Senior Tea Tree have probably never been outside, and they won't know the lay of the land. Senior, you must have gone out before, right?" The little white dog nodded. "Yeah, I went out before! Master took me out many times! But..." It looked at the surrounding flowers and plants, then at the flowers covering the hills and valleys, hesitating. "But I have to water the flowers every three days, or else they won't look pretty!" Su Yu was shocked. "Senior means... over these hundred-plus thousand years, Senior... has never slumbered?" He had assumed the little white dog had slumbered until now! Even the Old Turtle had been constantly slumbering, as had Tiangu and the others. Despite living from ancient times to the present day, they had spent the majority of that time asleep, entering slumber as soon as the Allhead Battlefield closed. It reduced consumption and diminished the ravages of time upon them. Yet the little white dog watered the flowers once every three days... didn't that mean it had stayed awake the entire time? Over a hundred thousand years! How long had the ancient era lasted? Su Yu calculated: even if it were brief, it had been a hundred thousand years since the ancient era. According to the Book Spirit, time was singular! Therefore, however much time had passed outside, the same amount of time had passed here; it was just that this place didn't manifest within the myriad realms. Had the little white dog watered flowers for over a hundred thousand years? At this moment, Su Yu felt an indescribable emotion... Such a routine was perhaps the little white dog's sole spiritual anchor. Calling it away... was it truly right? The Time Master and King Wen had left, leaving the little white dog behind. Back then, neither the Book Spirit nor the Tea Tree had developed sapience... Wouldn't that have been unimaginably lonely? For countless ages, a lone dog had been waiting for its masters' return! It watered the flowers for its masters, keeping them blooming for over a hundred thousand years! Watering the flowers once every three days... If this grand battle lasted more than three days, the little white dog wouldn't be able to return in time... Or if it fell in battle outside, what... what should he do? The little white dog didn't think that deeply about it, nodding. "Yeah, why slumber? I have to watch the house... The flowers need water, and the courtyard needs sweeping too. I'm very busy..." The little white dog added, "There's no need to slumber. I work during the day, and I can sleep at night. When Master returns, he'll praise me. These flowers have never withered; they've been blooming this entire time..." The little white dog bared its teeth in what looked like a grin, waiting to claim credit! Over a hundred thousand years, and the flowers hadn't withered! In the courtyard, the swing was still as good as new. Evidently, someone had been maintaining it all along, keeping this home just as it had been when its masters were present, never allowing it to fade. Return home! No wonder—no wonder the Time Book had appeared here all these years later. It wanted to return home, or rather, the Time Master wanted to return home. This place was her true home. Su Yu took a deep breath. Should he still urge the little white dog to leave? He felt a reluctance! If it left and couldn't return, unable to go home... that might be the greatest cruelty to this little white dog. While he was pondering, the little white dog considered the matter and said, "Are you afraid that if you go out, the Book Spirit and the Tea Tree won't be able to defeat those people? That makes sense. You said the enemy has so many Dao Integrations, so they might not actually win..." The little white dog pondered a moment, then added, "Have you ever unlocked the borrowing power in Little Master's book?" "Borrowing power?" "The kind where you drip a drop of blood and can borrow the other party's power..." "I have!" Su Yu nodded hastily. Sure enough, the golden book in his mind was indeed the Time Book; there was no doubt about it now. The little white dog said, "I can't go out, but what you said is true too—Master is a human, after all! How about this: I'll give you three drops of my essence blood. You activate the borrowing power to borrow my Dao and go fight. Three drops of essence blood should last for quite a while... I'll lend you my Dao to fight a battle, how does that sound?" Essence blood! Su Yu froze. He hadn't used essence blood in a long time. For no other reason than that its help to him was limited. He had no Dao Integration Realm essence blood. He had a few drops of ninth-stage essence blood, but in terms of pure explosive power, ninth-stage power wasn't much stronger than Su Yu himself; when he borrowed power, all he borrowed was explosive output! The little white dog added, "Do you think that works? That way, I won't have to leave and can keep watching the house for Master!" Su Yu hurriedly said, "Wouldn't three drops of essence blood be an enormous toll on Senior...?" "It's fine!" The little white dog wagged its tail. "I haven't expended any energy in ages and have always been full of vigor. Three drops of blood are nothing! Besides, it's a Dao I opened myself. When you borrow power, I won't resist you, so you can borrow even more..." *There's such a thing?* Crucially... Su Yu asked, "Senior, does my Time Book contain Senior's imprint? Can it unlock a combat page related to Senior?" *I never dreamed of you killing me!* The little white dog continued wagging its tail. "It can! I left an imprint on it in the past! Little Master's book is actually..." The little white dog struggled to describe it, but the Book Spirit understood and explained, "The Little Master's Time Book was forged by mimicking the rules of the heavens—a Book of Ten Thousand Laws! Countless rules intertwined within it. The Little Master killed people to collect rules bit by bit, aiming to create a new universe! Once the Book of Ten Thousand Laws was successfully forged, it would be a new heavens and myriad realms!" Su Yu was stunned! The next moment, realization struck him, and he murmured, "Rules... Time Book... collecting the races... I understand a little now! Within the pages, creating a new realm, killing those cultivators to gather their rule fragments, birthing new Great Daos, new grid lines... The Time Book is actually a new grand web!" What immense ambition! At this moment, Su Yu truly understood what the Time Book was! It was the embryonic form of a new myriad realms! Yes! All the pages would ultimately coalesce into a new world, birthing rules, and the Time Master would command those rules, becoming the Lord of the Heavens, truly unifying all rules! Who would have thought! Su Yu realized it completely now! This ambition was simply colossal! No wonder the myriad realms feared the Time Master, and the councilors all wanted her dead. Su Yu quickly asked, "So what Senior Feiqiu means is that you once branded your own rules into the Time Book, and I can now use your blood to activate your rule imprint and borrow your power?" "Yes!" The little white dog breathed a sigh of relief. As long as he understood, that was good; it had feared he wouldn't get it, since it wasn't good at explaining. The little white dog added, "And because I imprinted it willingly, when you borrow my rule power, I won't resist. You'll be able to borrow quite a lot. I don't really need to use that power myself anyway... I'll lend it to you first. All I have to do is water flowers!" Willingly lending it to Su Yu! Rather than Su Yu forcibly extracting it through the Time Book. Now Su Yu understood completely. The crucial question was: was the little white dog's Dao of Rules strong? Was its power immense? Furthermore, could he endure the power of its essence blood? He should be able to, right? Even so, Su Yu asked, "Senior, can I endure your power?" He felt he was quite strong! To his surprise, the little white dog hesitated, saying uncertainly, "That's true. You're so weak, only at the Shanhai Realm... It wouldn't be good if you burst from overfilling..." Su Yu said hurriedly, "My physical body is very strong." "Uh-huh!" The little white dog nodded, then added, "But you're still just a Shanhai!" The little white dog asked curiously, "No matter how strong you are, you're still just a Shanhai! You haven't integrated with a Dao, nor have you pioneered a Dao. You're very weak!" "..." This was the first time someone had called him weak! No, the first time a *dog* had called him weak! It had been saying it repeatedly since he stepped inside! Su Yu was mentally exhausted! *I am very strong, do you know that?* *Truly very strong!* "Senior, I have beaten a ninth-stage Eternal to death!" "You mean a ninth-stage Dao Fusion, right?" The little white dog hesitated. "With your strength, you can't beat a ninth-stage Eternal to death! I'm just... around that level, but I think I could beat you to death very easily!" Su Yu didn't believe it! With a *thud*, the little white dog flicked its tail. Su Yu saw no movement and sensed no disturbance, but the next moment, he went flying! ... He opened his eyes. The little white dog was looking at him, wagging its tail. The Book Spirit, the Tea Tree, and the little fur ball were all gathered around, staring at him. Dazed, Su Yu asked, "What... happened to me?" The little white dog said hesitantly, "You said you were so strong. I was worried you'd burst from overfilling, so I wanted to test you. I tapped you with my tail, and you fainted..." "..." *Fuck!* *I fainted?* *Impossible!* *I'm someone who can kill a ninth-stage Eternal!* The little white dog didn't say much more. "You're too weak. You might not be able to withstand my essence blood... How about this: once you go out, advance your physical body to the Shanhai Realm first, then advance your willpower to the Sun Moon Realm. After that, get your physical Shanhai Realm to the peak as fast as you can, and enter the Sun Moon Realm with that too... That way, once you are a dual Sun Moon, have the Tea Tree give you more tea to drink, have the Book Spirit explain more Dao principles to you, make a little more progress in the Sun Moon Realm... and then try taking my essence blood..." Su Yu had been spurned by a dog! The little white dog felt Su Yu was entirely incapable of withstanding its power! Su Yu fell silent. Sorrow! *I... am so weak!* For the first time, he was being treated by a dog as a literal Shanhai, rather than a damn Invincible! It stung his pride a little! Su Yu was somewhat dejected. "Senior, were there many geniuses like me in the ancient era?" "Not many, I guess?" The little white dog blinked. "Why?" "Then why am I..." The little white dog quickly added, "But you aren't that much of a genius either. Master, Little Master, and several of Master's friends were all amazing. Compared to them, you're just so-so..." *Fuck!* *Now I get it!* Why hadn't the little white dog treated him as an unprecedented monster or genius? Because all it had ever seen were King Wen, the Time Master, King Wu, the Human Sovereign... It had seen too much! It would be a miracle if it considered him a genius. Because in its eyes, humans were supposed to be that strong! If someone wasn't strong, *that* was weird! Su Yu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Then again, compared to those top-tier powerhouses of antiquity, peerless figures who suppressed the heavens, was there anything wrong with considering him weak? Not at all! The fact that it even compared him alongside those legends was already high praise. If an ordinary Shanhai were to stand here now... the little white dog would probably wonder: *Is this what a Shanhai is like?* Thinking Su Yu was weak was purely a matter of perspective. Su Yu still had many doubts, but he was running out of time. He quickly said, "Senior, once I go out, I will do as Senior advised. Also... may I visit frequently in the future?" The little white dog replied casually, "Sure, but no picking flowers and no entering Master's rooms. Coming over as a guest is fine!" Su Yu breathed a sigh of relief! All right, there was no time to delve into details today. He would take the others out first to pull off this big job, and once it was done, he would come back to chat with the little white dog! This place would surely bring him immense, unimaginable rewards!