<h4>Chapter 407: Reversing Time</h4>
The man''s expression shifted instantly upon hearing the mention of food.
"I''ll finish up right away!" he eximed and resumed sweeping the floor.
The demands of the stomach took top priority.
Ye Guan stared quietly at the man. Thetter was in a worse state than himself, and it appeared that his cultivation had been suppressed as well.
Ye Guan followed the man and asked, "Senior, you—"
"Why are you here?" The man interrupted.
"I''m here to inherit the Milky Way," Ye Guan replied.
"Oh," the man replied, sounding indifferent.
Ye Guan suggested, "Can we talk?"
"About what?" the man asked calmly.
Ye Guan decided to get straight to the point. "Senior, can you help me restore my cultivation?"
The man shot him a look, saying, "Young man, I''m struggling to keep myself together. Do you really think that I can do what you''re asking?"
Ye Guan pondered briefly before asking, "Senior, were you nning something but ended up getting suppressed by my aunt?"
The man went silent. Ye Guan was convinced that the Great Daoist Brush Master had to have been nning something. Otherwise, his in-skirt aunt wouldn''t have suppressed him.
"You didn''te here today just to chat with me, did you?" the man asked.
"I''m here to see you, Senior," Ye Guan replied.
"Is that so?" the man sneered, "I''m touched!"
Ye Guan was at a loss for words.
The man waved his hand dismissively and said, “Just get to the point?”
Ye Guan nodded and said, "I want to borrow some treasures from you."
"I have no treasures," the man replied.
"But Erya and Little White told me that you have a ton of treasures." Ye Guan said.
The man''s mouth twitched, and he muttered, "Damn it, those two..."
"Senior, I just need ten treasures. I''ll definitely return them as well," Ye Guan said.
The man cast a contemptuous gaze at Ye Guan and said impatiently, "You Yang Family members have never returned anything you''ve borrowed—never!"
Ye Guan went silent and sighed. His father and grandfather''s infamy hadpletely ruined the Yang Family''s reputation!
Just then, the man pointed out. "Your swordsmanship has improved a lot."
Ye Guan nodded. "Yes, but there''s a mysterious force suppressing me constantly. I even suspected that you''re the culprit at one point."
"I''ve really been living a tough life these days," the man said with a sigh.
Ye Guan was quiet. The Great Daoist Brush Master''s hardships had nothing to do with him.
The man went silent and continued on sweeping the floor.
"Senior, I want to consult you about something," Ye Guan said.
"Sure," the man replied, "But I can''t guarantee you that I''ll answer."
"I''m sure you are familiar with the Eternal Sovereign. What do you think of him?"
"He''s nothing but a brainless fool," the man scoffed.
Ye Guan asked, "Were there other civilizations before the Eternal Civilization?"
The man set aside the broom and asked, "Do you know how old this Blue is?"
Ye Guan shook his head. He wasn''t familiar with Blue.
The man looked at Ye Guan, "It''s 4.5 billion years old. This Blue is 4.5 billion years old, and the human civilization here has only been around for less than seven thousand years."
Ye Guan frowned.
The man continued. "The Milky Way has existed for 135 billion years. During those 135 billion years, more than a hundred and fifty civilizations have emerged, and the human civilization on this Blue is just one among them."
"As for the Guanxuan Universe and the True Universe, I''m not very sure how long they''ve existed, but I believe they''ve existed for at least a trillion years," the man said, "I once entered a spacetime tunnel and tried to reverse the flow of time to try and take a glimpse of their history, but I failed.”
Ye Guan was astonished. "You failed?"
"I encountered a mysterious force that stopped me from going further than 500 billion years in the past," the man said.
"A mysterious force?" Ye Guan was curious. "What was it?”
"Who knows?" The man shrugged and said, "It was my first time encountering it, but it left an indelible mark on me. It was quite unique."
"It doesn''t make sense," Ye Guan said with a deep voice, "Howe that mysterious force still exists when it''s so old?"
"Yes, it truly doesn''t make sense." The man nodded, "But some special existences have been finding ways to stay alive for such a long time."
Ye Guan was stupefied.
The man looked up and sighed. "The vastness of the universe is beyond human imagination. However, you can ask your aunt about it when the timees. Your aunt is strong enough to reverse the flow of time and go back to the beginning of the universe. Your grandfather and your granduncle can do it.
"In fact, they''re already doing it."
Ye Guan was puzzled. "My grandfather and granduncle are going back in time?”
The man nodded. "Yes."
"No wonder..." Ye Guan muttered. A thought jumped into his mind, and he asked again, "If we can trace the past, does that mean that people from the past can traverse through time toe to our present?"
"You''re right," the man said with a nod, "However, they can only reach our present."
"What do you mean?" Ye Guan asked, sounding confused.
"It''s all because we''re at the end of time," the man chuckled and said, "Beyond us lies the unknown, multifaceted future. It is difficult to explore the future and deduce it urately. There are few individuals capable of doing that, but they''ve chosen not to do so.”
Ye Guan asked, "Who are those few individuals?"
"Your father, grandfather, your granduncle, and your aunt—" the man came to a screeching halt midsentence and cursed, "Fuck!"
<i>Damn it, they''re all this little bastard''s rtives. </i>
Ye Guan froze in shock.
The man stared at Ye Guan and continued. "The remaining two are the True God and myself."
"Why haven''t you done it?" asked Ye Guan.
"Instead of answering that, I would like to ask you a question instead," the man replied and asked, "What do you think the people on this Blue will do once they know when they''ll die?"
Ye Guan was stunned. What would happen if everyone knew when exactly they would die? Ye Guan couldn''t say for sure when it came to other people, but one thing was for sure: there would definitely be chaos.
Knowing the exact date of one''s death would make everything seem meaningless.
"The value of human life lies in the uncertainty of their future. Don''t you think it''ll be meaningless without that mystery?" the man asked.
Ye Guan nodded slightly as he contemted the Great Daoist Brush Master’s words.
Eventually, he nodded and agreed. "Indeed..."
The man continued. "Moreover, attempting to forcibly peer into the future will disrupt the grand order, causing changes in the future. In simple terms, those who want to explore the futureck the ability to do so, but those capable of doing so aren''t interested in doing so."
Ye Guan nodded again. "I understand."
"Your mentality has undergone a remarkable change since you arrived here," the man praised, " However, I must caution you that once your aunt and your father venture into shifting time and going into the past, you''ll have to face everything by yourself.
"In other words, you should savor this moment!"
Ye Guan stared deeply at the Great Daoist Brush Master and asked, "Senior, there''s a question I''ve been wanting to ask you. Is the Great Dao a tangible existence, or is it—"
"It''s everywhere," the man replied.
<i>The Great Dao is everywhere!</i> Ye Guan fell deep into thought.
"Go ahead," the man said, "Savor the little time you have left."
With that, the man turned around and started walking toward the horizon.
Ye Guan hastily followed and said, "Senior, can you lend me some of your treasures?"
"No!” the man replied firmly.
Undeterred, Ye Guan asked, "Just ten unranked divine items.”
"Who do you think I am?" The man angrily retorted, "Do you think I''m the boss of a wholesale business or something? You''re actually asking me for ten unranked divine items?!"
Ye Guan offered, "How about five?"
The man shook his head. "No! I''ll lend you nothing!"
Ye Guan produced a dor and said, "I''ll buy them from you!"
The man froze. He stared deeply at Ye Guan but remained silent.
Ye Guan smiled sheepishly and admitted, "It''s not that much, but money should prove very useful to you at the moment, am I right?"
The man was silent, but Ye Guan was right! Given his current circumstances, leaving this ce was out of the question, and he dared not risk it. If he stepped beyond the temple, a sword might drop down from the sky and kill him.
The man paused. He looked at the dor in Ye Guan''s hand and finally said, "Give me a bit more!"
Ye Guan turned to Xiao Xiao and cast her a nce. She promptly took out some money and handed it over to Ye Guan.
Ye Guan offered all the money to the man.
The man epted the money and said, “I can only give you one item.”
The man seemed resigned. A few people knew that he was here, but all of them wouldn''t give him any money. This ce was suffocating, and the man truly wanted to leave this ce.
Ye Guan hesitated at the man''s reply.
"Are you not satisfied with just one?!" the man eximed, sounding frustrated.
Ye Guan revealed an awkward smile and replied, "No, one is good enough.”
The man shot Ye Guan a fierce look before asking, "What kind of item do you want?"
After a brief pause, Ye Guan responded, "Something suitable for a girl."
The man pondered for a moment and then opened his palm, presenting a colorful stone about the size of a thumb. The exceptionally beautiful stone radiated a dazzling array of colors.
Curiosity piqued, Ye Guan asked, "Senior, what is that?"
The man calmly exined, "It''s one of Huaxia''s ten divine artifacts—the Nuwa Stone. It is capable of absorbing ster energy. It''ll protect the wearer from evil and preserve their beauty. The wearer will be healthy, and they''ll live a longer life as well.”
"What is its rank?" asked Ye Guan.
The man frowned. "Why are you making a fuss about its rank? Do you want it or not?"
"I want it!" Ye Guan hurriedly eximed. Ye Guan epted the Nuwa Stone, but then an idea came to his mind.
"Senior, can you turn this into a ne for me?"
The man was furious.
He was just about to snap when Ye Guan quickly added, "I''ll pay more!"
The man went silent and btedly said, "Alright."
The man took out a silver chain, and in the blink of an eye, a ne was crafted.
Xiao Xiao''s eyes lit up when she saw the ne. It was just too beautiful.
Ye Guan held the ne very gingerly and asked, "What is this, Senior?"
The man calmly replied, "Ster Chain, crafted with ster energy. Simr to the Nuwa Stone, it can automatically absorb ster energy. The wearer will be under the constant protection of its ster energy, and nothing in this world will be able to harm the wearer.
"Of course, the Ster Chain is currently inactive, but once it has gathered enough ster energy. It''ll activate and be a powerful divine artifact in tandem with the Nuwa Stone."
"Nice!" Ye Guan eximed in satisfaction before putting it away. The ne was both beautiful and practical, so it was perfect for Su Zi.
The man stared at Ye Guan and said, "Now, do me a favor."
Ye Guan asked, "What favor?"
The man earnestly said, "Your aunt has forbidden me from going past a certain area, and I want you to plead with your aunt to expand it. This ce is too suffocating. I want to go out and have some fun, too. It''s been so long since I''ve had a foot bath."