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Translator: Silavin & Jon
Translation Checker: PewPewLazerGun
Editor and Proofreader: Leo of Zion Mountain & Dhael Ligerkeys
The undercurrents in the Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon were savage and Yang Kai didn’t have the confidence to resist them without relying on the power of his Dragon Vein.
He summoned his Azure Dragon Spear and let out a breath as he checked to ensure he was in peak condition.
Just as he was about to bolt out of the Temporal River, he paused as an idea sprang to his mind.
The Temporal River was only 100 metres long now, and as the other undercurrents clashed with it from all directions, it would probably fall apart soon. When that happened, this Temporal River would be gone for good.
Although the 100-metre Temporal River couldn’t be considered long, it still contained a lot of Time Dao Essence. Thinking about this precious resource, Yang Kai couldn’t help wondering if he could keep it inside his Small Universe.
The instant he had that thought, he could no longer contain the impulse to act.
Time Dao Essence was hugely beneficial to him. If he could keep it inside his Small Universe and absorb it, it would help improve his mastery of the Dao of Time.
Without hesitation, he opened a portal to his Small Universe and released his Divine Sense, which engulfed the Temporal River and drew it into the portal.
The next instant, Yang Kai’s expression changed drastically. He quickly shut the portal to his Small Universe and surged his World Force before infusing it into his Azure Dragon Spear.
His Dragon Roar reverberated as the Azure Dragon Spear transformed into a massive Dragon and shattered the blockade of the undercurrent in front of it, leading Yang Kai to charge forward.
Sparks flew from his Dragon Scales as Yang Kai groaned in pain as his Dragon Blood gushed out of his wounds.
Although his power had increased significantly, he was still horribly injured the moment he was swept into the undercurrent.
Clenching his teeth as his gaze was full of determination, Yang Kai wielded his spear and traversed the chaotic undercurrents. At the same time, he released his Divine Sense to scan the surroundings.
He had to look for another Temporal River. Only by finding one would he stand a chance to survive; otherwise, he would be tortured to death by these undercurrents.
As his Divine Sense was shredded, Yang Kai felt excruciating pain in his Soul.
The Dragon Scales that had covered his entire body were battered and blown off in quick succession.
After just an incense stick of time, Yang Kai was covered in blood. There wasn’t even a part of his skin that was left intact, but he still hadn’t managed to find another Temporal River.
One hour later, half his flesh had been ripped off, revealing many of his bones and making him look extremely miserable.
His aura was weakening fast, like candlelight amidst the storm that might put it out at any moment.
His vision was blurred, and he found it hard to sustain his Divine Sense. Every time he activated it, he felt a sting of pain that seemed to be tearing his head apart.
Yang Kai nearly fell into despair at his situation. Previously, he was lucky as he had made use of his Dragon Bead at the critical moment to plunge into the 9,000-metre Temporal River. Now though, it seemed his luck had run out.
Moreover, even though he had been nurturing his Dragon Bead for nearly 200 years now, it still hadn’t been restored as there were many cracks on it. If he used it again now, it would probably shatter.
Just as he was about to lose hope, Yang Kai faintly sensed a calm undercurrent nearby.
[Another Temporal River!]
Ecstatic, he wielded his spear and desperately swam towards that place.
A dozen breaths later, he broke through two undercurrents and entered the one after them. He quickly sensed his surroundings, and upon making sure there was no danger, he collapsed to the ground and passed out.
After two years dedicated to just recovering, Yang Kai began to assess his situation.
Even though there was no murderous intent in this second undercurrent he stayed in, it was not a Temporal River like he thought it was, for there was no Time Dao Essence in this place.
Instead, it was a coherent Grand Dao of Nature River.
The river was about 20,000 metres long, which was much longer than the Temporal River he previously stayed in.
Unfortunately, this Grand Dao wasn’t suitable for him. Therefore, for the past two years, other than recuperating, he mostly spent his time studying the 100-metre Temporal River he had put inside his Small Universe.
After the Temporal River entered his Small Universe, he was able to digest the Time Dao Essence, which allowed him to gain some new understanding of the Dao of Time.
It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing; after all, if he comprehended the Dao of Time in the Temporal River for a year, about 40 metres of the length would be consumed.
Therefore, a 100-metre Temporal River couldn’t bring about tremendous transformation to his comprehension.
With that said, Yang Kai had now found another way to cultivate.
Every undercurrent in this Great Sea was evolved from a Grand Dao. Although he could improve himself by absorbing the Grand Dao’s power in the undercurrents, the speed at which he could refine it would be much faster if he could keep it inside his Small Universe.
He had never cultivated the Dao of Nature before. In fact, among the cultivators he had come into contact with before, only those from Free and Unfettered Paradise like Ning Dao Ren had deep attainments in this Grand Dao. Every move such cultivators made harmonized with the Heavens and Earth and they believed that everything was born of Nature and should not be governed by individuals but instead lived alongside with. Cultivators of the Dao of Nature were carefree and unconcerned about worldly affairs, so although Yang Kai admired their mindset, he could never be like them.
With the previous experience of taking in the 100 metres Temporal River, he was curious about what would happen if he absorbed this 20,000 metres Nature Dao River and assimilated it into his Small Universe. Would he have a solid foundation in the Dao of Nature after he absorbed it?
In that case, the Temporal Rivers wouldn’t be the only thing he could benefit from in the Great Sea.
As long as he could absorb and refine enough undercurrents, he could integrate 10,000 Grand Daos into his Martial Dao.
The reason a cultivator had to focus on a single Grand Dao was that they had limited energy and time while there were unlimited Grand Daos. Only when one became a Master in a particular Grand Dao would they achieve something great. If someone cultivated too many Grand Daos, other cultivators of the same generation would easily surpass them for their comprehension wouldn’t be deep.
Quality was more important than quantity when it came to cultivating Grand Daos.
Yang Kai had actually cultivated quite a number of Grand Daos, which included the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, the Spear Dao, the Alchemic Dao, and the Dao of Artifact Refining. It could even be said that he knew a thing or two about Dao of Spirit Arrays because when practising Alchemy and Artifact Refining, he would need to use some Spirit Arrays.
However, there were only three Grand Daos that he had real accomplishments, which were the Dao of Space, the Dao of Time, and the Spear Dao. He was pretty skilful in Dao of Alchemy before he entered the 3,000 Worlds, but he hadn’t practised it for a long time.
That was because he had limited energy, so it was impossible that he could spend lots of time studying every Grand Dao he came across.
Nevertheless, the unique characteristics of this Great Sea Celestial Phenomenon made him realise it might be possible to do just that.
Yang Kai wasn’t sure what would happen if he managed to comprehend and integrate 10,000 Grand Daos.
With the previous experience of taking in the 100-metre Temporal River, it wasn’t hard for Yang Kai to absorb this Nature River. Although a 20,000-metre river sounded quite long, it was nothing compared with the capacity of his Small Universe.
Opening the portal to his Small Universe, Yang Kai engulfed the 20,000-metre river with his Divine Sense before drawing it in.
In just 20 breaths of time, the entire river was gone.
Before Yang Kai could inspect the changes in his Small Universe though, the surrounding undercurrents swarmed him.
Just like what he had done two years ago, he wielded his Azure Dragon Spear and summoned his Dragon Scales to protect himself. He pierced through the undercurrents and charged forward.
According to previous experiences, he had to find a safe place within an hour; otherwise, he might not be able to persevere.
Fortunately, he was now aware that there were some calm undercurrents in the Great Sea. As long as he wasn’t cursed with terrible luck, he could find a safe place and recuperate before setting off again.
In just 10 years, Yang Kai managed to recuperate five times and absorb five rivers of different Grand Daos, while the sixth time, he finally managed to enter a Temporal River again.
Upon that realization, Yang Kai was ecstatic. He hadn’t come across another Temporal River in the past 10 years, so he worried he would never find one.
Since there was a second Temporal River, there should be a third. As long as he had enough time and energy, he would find more and more.
Just like what he always did after entering an undercurrent, Yang Kai first focused on recuperating.
When he was fully healed, he finally had some time to inspect the Temporal River.
This Temporal River was longer than the previous one as it was about 13,000 metres long. He knew that he would consume about 50 metres every year just by remaining inside it to cultivate. In other words, this Temporal River could last him 250 to 260 years.
Elated, he hurriedly fished out a set of resources and began refining them.
Although the Great Sea was full of wondrous treasures, Yang Kai had never forgotten his main goal, which was to make it to the Eighth Order as soon as possible. He would only be considered truly powerful with ample heritage, while everything else was just a bonus.
Temporal Rivers were the key to his rapid increase in strength.
As he refined materials to increase his heritage, Yang Kai looked into his Small Universe and inspected the changes.
Over the past 10 years, including the Grand Dao of Nature River, he had taken in six rivers of Grand Daos with different lengths.
All six rivers were gone for good as he had fully refined them.
All these rivers contained abstruse powers as they dispersed and blended into his Small Universe.
The Dao Essences of the Grand Daos that Yang Kai had never dabbled in before started appearing in his Small Universe.
The length of a river determined the strength of the Grand Dao’s power, and it indirectly influenced his achievements in that particular Grand Dao.
According to his classifications of Grand Daos, some of the Grand Daos he had absorbed had now reached the Second Level, Peering Through the Doors.
Different Grand Daos corresponded to different Principles. Yang Kai couldn’t be considered skilful in these Grand Daos, but they had brought about changes to not only himself but also his Small Universe.
He had a feeling that there were some subtle differences in his Small Universe, but the changes were so tiny that even he, as its owner, was unable to sense them clearly.
Perhaps only after he refined even more Grand Dao Rivers would the changes in the Small Universe become conspicuous.
One thing he was certain of was that the changes were beneficial to his Small Universe.
Yang Kai was elated. The Great Sea was probably the biggest treasure trove he had ever chanced upon. In fact, it was a treasure trove of the entire Universe.
He wondered if the sheep-headed Royal Lord had barged into this place and discovered it; however, Black Ink Clansmen and Humans cultivated differently, so even if the Royal Lord had come to realize this place’s worth, there was nothing he could do.
After realizing such benefits, Yang Kai no longer confined himself to the Temporal River.
From time to time, he would go out and absorb other undercurrents before coming back to continue cultivating.
With that said, he bore some risks by doing so. The undercurrents were turbulent and flowed about randomly. If he didn’t act swiftly enough, the Temporal River would leave his detection range and he would be stuck.
Therefore, he would only absorb the undercurrents within reach every time he left. Even so, he benefited greatly from these excursions.
YK really is the definition of “opportunity meets capability.”
Yo
Hello!
Many thanks for the chapter, as always.