Guarding the River of Time-Chapter 385 - 375: The Man Who Rules 18 Major Galaxies!
"Go ahead." Su Mu replied.
"Elder, how long have you been guarding this river?" Zhang Ruocheng asked in a different manner. ๐๐ป๐ฎ๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐๐๐ธ๐ซ๐๐ก.๐ฌ๐ธ๐
Su Mu pondered for a moment before saying, "It should be seven or eight years."
Because Nannan is almost eight years old, shortly after I crossed over from Blue Star to this river, I picked up Nannan. As old as Nannan is, is how long Iโve been guarding the river.
Upon hearing that Su Mu had lived for so many years on the River of Time, Zhang Ruocheng gasped in astonishment.
Using Immortal Emperor Cultivation as an example, a typical Immortal Emperor wouldnโt dare to stay on the River of Time for more than three days. If an Immortal Emperor were more proficient in the Path of Time, they could stay for about five days.
This is because the rules upon the River of Time exert extremely strong suppression; the longer one stays, the stronger the suppression becomes.
Take Zhang Ruocheng himself, he wouldnโt stay on the River of Time for more than three months at a time. He usually leaves for a while once he reaches three months.
....
Moreover, Elder Su, who has been living there for seven or eight years, is not restricted to just seven or eight years; heโs only spent these years keeping the River of Time safe!
Thus a bold conjecture arises: Elder Su is not at all suppressed by the rules of the River of Time. Hence, his mastery over the River of Time is immensely profound.
"Then, how long do you plan to keep guarding, Elder?" Zhang Ruocheng tentatively asked.
"Why do you ask?"
Su Mu frowned.
Itโs not that I want to guard this river for a certain time; my system task demands it. Only when I completely refine it can I leave, itโs not by choice.
This involves the secret of possessing the system, something Su Mu would never reveal, hence why he counter-questioned Zhang Ruocheng.
...
"No, no, itโs my fault for prying." Upon sensing Su Muโs displeasure, Zhang Ruocheng quickly gestured apologetically.
These matters are generally taboo. When out and about, the biggest taboo is asking a womanโs age or a manโs secrets.
....
The two conversed on and off, and amidst the chat, Zhang Ruocheng recalled something and asked Su Mu, "Do you play chess, fellow Daoist?"
"A little."
"However, Iโm a bit busy right now and may not have the time to play with you."
Su Mu just wanted to take Little Sheep Ah Fei home. If it wasnโt for Little Sheep sneaking into someone elseโs house to steal, he wouldnโt be wasting time here.
"I wonโt take up too much of your time, I just have a small issue and would like to clear it up with your help." Zhang Ruocheng said with a smile.
"Alright then."
With that, Zhang Ruocheng took out eight compasses from his sleeve.
The compasses were roughly palm-sized, with tiny floating lights inside, resembling a chessboard.
"Is this an endgame?" Su Mu immediately recognized the profoundness within.
While not conventional endgames, the essence was the same; the compasses acted as the board with the floating lights inside serving as the pieces. Unlike the two-dimensional Go, this was three-dimensional.
However, what surprised Su Mu was that each tiny light in these compasses held incredibly strong energy, and if it wasnโt just his imagination, could it also harbor "Space Rules"?
This was someone elseโs Magical Treasure, so Su Mu refrained from asking too much.
.....
Su Mu extended his Divine Sense and locked onto these eight compasses, beginning to analyze the situation meticulously.
These eight endgames were essentially all deadlocks.
Using a chess endgame analogy, a solvable endgame is a living game, but an unsolvable one is a deadlock.
All the endgames in these eight compasses were deadlocks, entirely unsolvable.
However, it also sparked a desire for challenge in Su Mu.
In the next instant, his mind concentrated intensely, and he slowly closed his eyes.
Eight different images appeared in his mind, each representing a chessboard. Regardless of how he deduced, the final result invariably led to a "dead end."
Unconsciously, as he continued deducing, Su Mu entered a profound, ethereal state.
Suddenly, eight white lines emerged in his mind, representing eight different paths, with the endpoint being "complete."
He abruptly opened his eyes, waving his hand and simultaneously manipulating the lights within the compasses.
In an instant, the compasses emitted a misty glow.
Upon witnessing this, Zhang Ruocheng widened his eyes. Elder Su was manipulating all the compasses simultaneously?!
Moreover, every step of his deduction was flawless, perfect, methods Zhang Ruocheng had never deduced before.
Within a few short breaths.
The "deadlocks" in the eight compasses were all solved!
Once the "deadlocks" were solved, the dull compasses began to shine, exuding a faint golden light around them.
Zhang Ruocheng felt parched, instinctively swallowed, his heart long unsettled.
The "chess problems" that plagued him for so many years, Elder Su solved them in just a few breaths?
This wasnโt simply about using "violence" to break the deadlock, it was a perfect resolution!
From this alone, it was clear that Elder Suโs level of thinking, understanding, and Divine Sense was entirely a dimension above his own.
...
These eight compasses were not ordinary Magical Artifacts, and the "deadlocks" within were not regular chess games.
Each compass represented a star system universe, each tiny light within represented a world.
Zhang Ruocheng managed a total of eighteen star systems of varying sizes, countless worlds.
Among them, eight star systems had fallen into "deadlock," due to his neglect, endless evolution, resulting in some worlds within star systems beginning to split, Dao Lineages starting to diverge, essentially beyond his control.
The only way was to personally take action and use absolute "violence" to completely suppress those splitting worlds, diverging Dao Lineages, and beliefs.
But doing so would lead to the destruction of thousands of worlds in those star systems; even if control was regained, it would be meaningless.
Thus, throughout the years, Zhang Ruocheng had been searching for the most "peaceful" resolution, yet to no avail.
.....
To explain more simply, one star system was like an ant nest buried in the soil.
One day, due to neglect coupled with many years passing, the ant nest in the soil began to split into countless smaller ant nests, also giving birth to different types of ants. These different types looked exactly alike, indistinguishable.
To regain control of this ant nest, you could only pour lava into it, killing all the ants, constructing a new ant nest from scratch. But doing so would mean starting over again.
....
"Fellow Daoist, wait for me a moment!"
Zhang Ruocheng turned around and strode towards the pavilion behind him.
