The bloody scene vanished once more, leaving only a barren wasteland before her.
Amid the vast white mist, a figure flickered in and out of sight. It was the same man who had wielded a long blade, unleashing endless attacks.
Now, however, he looked utterly miserable. His body bore no intact spot, covered in wounds and streaks of blood, with even strips of flesh falling from him. A pair of scarlet eyes locked tightly onto Song Wanníng, burning with a crazed yet fervent anticipation.
"I have finally waited for you!"
It was as if he had long foreseen someone would arrive. His figure flashed, and in an instant, he stood before Song Wanníng, his expression brimming with excitement.
"I have finally waited for you!"
He repeated the words again, and this time, tears welled in his eyes.
Sensing no hostility from him, Song Wanníng did not evade. "You were waiting for me?"
"Yes, I was waiting for you!"
The man's face grew solemn as his earlier excitement gradually faded.
"This place is a fragment of time and space. And you, you were brought here by the fragment itself. You do not belong to this era, do you?"
With a single statement, he laid bare Song Wanníng's origins. A chill stirred within her heart. Who exactly was this man, to know such things?
"Do not be afraid. It is only because I have studied the attribute of time in great depth."
The man smiled faintly. With a lift of his hand, another fragment of time and space appeared before her eyes.
The familiar shard made Song Wanníng's heart jolt.
The man continued, "You must be wondering how I know all this…
"Long ago, I too stumbled into a spatial tunnel and glimpsed the River of Time and Space. Yet I was dull by nature. It took nearly my entire lifetime to grasp the mysteries of the time attribute and finally break free from the fragments.
"But when I emerged, I found the world utterly changed."
At this, hatred flashed across his eyes.
"Wars raged everywhere, and my wife was nowhere to be found. I scoured the world for her, followed every rumor… At last I learned she might have gone into the beast race's territory. Yet before I could search for her, the great war broke out.
As a human, I had no choice but to take part. In the end, I perished on the battlefield, leaving only this trace of divine sense to hide within the fragments of time, waiting for someone fated to appear—someone who could fulfill my last wish."
His gaze burned hotter as it fell upon Song Wanníng. "My wife was a member of the beast race. Her talent was poor. After hundreds of thousands of years, she has surely long perished.
But my child is different. Her talent was exceptional. Even if she never ascended, she should have descendants by now…"
He drew out a fragment of time and space and placed it in Song Wanníng's hand.
"I ask you, please, find my child's descendants and deliver this fragment to them. In return, I will impart all of my insights into the time attribute to you. You will also be able to leave here soon."
He offered both request and reward in one breath, leaving Song Wanníng barely any room to respond.
She fell silent for a moment. So, her entry into the fragments was because of this Senior.
"Senior, in all these years, has no one else ever entered?"
The war he spoke of had taken place far too long ago. To find his descendants now would be like searching for a needle in the sea. And besides, it was not certain his child had even left descendants behind.
"No. You are the first." His voice was heavy, weighed down by endless years of waiting. That was why he had reacted so emotionally upon seeing her.
"The attribute of time is far too profound and elusive. Many spend their entire lives without comprehending even a sliver of it. Those who can enter the time fragments must surely be blessed by fortune—or perhaps favored by the Heavenly Dao itself."
He himself had been so once. Yet his long entrapment in the fragments had ruined everything.
Thus he urged earnestly, "I do not wish you to follow my path. Accept my request. It will benefit us both."
Compared to Song Wanníng, his urgency was clear.
She could sense his impatience, yet her heart still held suspicion. After all, she had only just met him. The truth of his words was yet unproven.
"This task may be difficult. To search across hundreds of thousands of years for someone is harder than climbing to the heavens…"
Her expression wavered. To escape the fragments and comprehend the time attribute, of course she wished for it. But if she failed to keep her word, such a broken promise might become an inner demon when she attempted ascension later.
On the other hand, if she relied solely on herself to comprehend time, who knew how many years it would take?
She could not afford to wait.
Now, Song Wanníng truly felt troubled.
The man, however, remained calm. He smiled and said, "It is not so difficult. I can leave you a bloodline guide that will point toward the general direction.
If no descendants remain, then there is no need to cling to it. That will only mean my bloodline was destined to end."
His child's blood might reside in the Spirit Realm, or perhaps in the Immortal Realm. If Song Wanníng could not find them, maybe someone else would. And if there truly were no descendants, he would harbor no grievance.
"Little girl, help me with this, and I will send you out of the fragments. Do not be like me, trapped here for thousands of years with no escape…"
Only he himself knew how tormenting those years had been. His expression grew solemn, yet his eyes glimmered with expectation.
Song Wanníng understood this was an opportunity not to be missed. At last, she nodded in agreement. In any case, she would be heading to the beast race's territory sooner or later. She could at least try.
"Then this junior will do her utmost. I hope I may help Senior fulfill your wish."
She spoke with solemn resolve. The man instantly trembled with tears of gratitude.
"Good, good, good!!" Hope at last shone before him, his eyes blazing like fire. "In that case, I shall bestow you with one more fortune. Should my descendant's destiny be poor, I hope you may give them a helping hand."
He was no fool. He had seen Song Wanníng's talent and Luck.
If his descendant could share even a trace of her fortune, then the chance of their meeting would rise. With that, his expression turned grave. With a sweep of his hand, Song Wanníng's vision went black, her body carried swiftly away.
When her eyes opened again, she was already in a new place.
"What is this?"
Before her lay a pool, and for no reason, her eyelids twitched.
"This is the Immortal Cleansing Pool. It is also the very first place lower-realm cultivators arrive after ascension. There are many such pools, and which one you enter depends on the channel of ascension you take."
A faint smile touched his expression. "Once you enter, the cleansing of immortal qi will expand your dantian and meridians, while your physical body will rapidly strengthen. Even if you face a Mahayana cultivator, you will be able to stand against them! Go now."
He waved his hand, and Song Wanníng fell straight into the Immortal Cleansing Pool.
In an instant, endless immortal qi surged forth, flooding into her body.