NOVEL NEXT Chapter 282: The Arrangement
Chapter 282: The Arrangement
For the next thirty years, Xu Lian stayed in Wuguang City. Perhaps because of the previous appearance of an entire “nest” of Origin Tracing Light, this time he waited a full thirty-five years without a single strand appearing.
This made Xu Lian feel both anxious and frustrated. While he, as a young cultivator who had reached the Origin Tracing Realm, had a long lifespan and could afford to wait, for the women in his life, thirty-five years was not a trivial amount of time. For them, thirty-five years was a significant portion of their lives.
If things continued this way, the women he cared about would grow old and die before he could even reach the Sage Realm.
He had envisioned a path to immortality, one where he could lead the women he loved toward eternal life. But now, it seemed that this grand dream might never come to fruition.
If he alone were to achieve immortality, what meaning would it hold?
Two more years passed, and just as Xu Lian was about to give up and return home, the Origin Tracing Light finally appeared!
The moment it appeared, the entire city was thrown into chaos.
All the experts in the Origin Tracing Realm were stunned, including Xu Lian.
This time, the amount of Origin Tracing Light was staggering – over a hundred strands, neatly arranged and suddenly appearing in the sky above Wuguang City. The dark night was illuminated as if it were daytime, bathing the entire city in light.
The eyes of the Origin Tracing Realm experts turned red with greed as they stared at the Hundred Strands of Origin Tracing Light, their expressions filled with desire and madness.
Xu Lian’s eyes also burned with intensity. If he could just seize sixteen of these strands, he would be able to advance to the sixth level of Origin Tracing.
He immediately activated the Spatial Escape Technique from the Nine Elements Escape Techniques and appeared in the sky almost instantly. He reached out to grab the Origin Tracing Light, not just one strand, but all one hundred of them at once!
A look of joy flashed across his face. The Spatial Escape Technique was indeed powerful, allowing him to act faster than anyone else.
However, his joy quickly turned to shock as his hand passed through the hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light… grasping nothing.
It was like trying to hold water in a sieve or catching the moon’s reflection in a pond.
He was completely baffled.
What was going on?
An illusion?
Fake Origin Tracing Light?
The other Origin Tracing Realm experts couldn’t help but laugh, easing the tense atmosphere.
“Ninth Heaven Holy Son, you are so fast that we didn’t even have time to react.”
“Ninth Heaven Holy Son, you’re too eager…”
It was a moment of public embarrassment. Xu Lian’s face twitched as he realized that there must be some hidden mechanism at play that he wasn’t aware of.
Ye Rushang came to his rescue and explained, “My son-in-law, you may not know this, but in the thousands of years I’ve guarded Wuguang City, I’ve only seen a hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light appear twice. The first time I was lucky enough to catch one. This is the second time.
Based on the previous occurrence, when one hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light appear simultaneously, it causes a shift in space and time.
Although the hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light appear to be right in front of us, they are actually separated by a vast distance in space and time. They haven’t truly manifested yet, so it’s not yet time to compete for them.”
“…” Xu Lian finally understood. “So that’s how it is. I thought I could just grab them.”
He descended from the sky, his earlier confidence replaced by awkwardness. However, he quickly regained his composure. In the pursuit of cultivation resources, a little embarrassment was nothing to be ashamed of, just as earning money was nothing to be ashamed of.
“How long do we have to wait before we can compete for them?” Xu Lian asked Ye Rushang.
Ye Rushang replied, “Based on the last time a hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light appeared, we’ll likely have to wait a few days. When the time comes, we’ll enter a strange space-time realm to compete for the Origin Tracing Light”.
Xu Lian nodded, although he was still puzzled. “Why are these hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light arranged so neatly? Is there someone controlling it behind the scenes?”
Ye Rushang shook his head. “I am not sure. The last time a hundred strands appeared, they weren’t arranged so neatly. They were flying around like fireflies. The way Origin Tracing Light appears isn’t always the same.
There’s a legend that once long ago, ten thousand strands of Origin Tracing Light appeared simultaneously, flying in from beyond the heavens like a meteor shower. It was said to be an incredibly spectacular sight.”
Xu Lian’s heart raced with longing, but he also felt a pang of regret. If only he had been born in that era! With a bit of luck, he could have seized enough Origin Tracing Light in one go. How wonderful would that have been?
Time passed slowly.
One hour, two hours, three hours…
One day, two days, three days…
The waiting was excruciating, a true test of patience.
It was like having a stunningly beautiful bride lying in bed, but according to tradition, the groom had to wait several days before joining her. Who could endure such torture?
The experts of the Origin Tracing Realm were all on edge, their anxiety growing with each passing moment.
Xu Lian was no exception. He paced back and forth in the garden of the city lord’s residence, occasionally glancing up at the hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light in the night sky. Since it wasn’t time to compete yet, all he could do was look and fantasize, trying to satisfy his craving.
Ye Rushang had already sent his wife, Ye Beining, and his concubines and their children away, preparing for the upcoming competition.
It was worth noting that during these thirty-seven years, Xu Lian’s in-laws, feeling that he was too lonely, had tried to introduce him to a beautiful and well-mannered daughter from a side branch of the family. However, Xu Lian had refused. With no shortage of progression points, ordinary women no longer held any appeal for him. Since he felt no connection, he saw no reason to lead her on.
On the fifth day of waiting, the Hundred Strands of Origin Tracing Light finally began to change.
A miraculous scene unfolded. The neatly arranged hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light slowly converged, overlapped, and merged together, eventually forming a single, exceptionally robust strand of Origin Tracing Light!
“What is going on? The hundred strands have become one?”
“How can this be?”…
The Origin Tracing Realm experts were in a panic. With so many people competing, even a hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light wouldn’t be enough to go around. The competition would be fierce. Now that they had merged into a single strand, the situation was even more dire.
Xu Lian was also stunned. He needed sixteen strands to reach the sixth level of Origin Tracing. If he managed to seize this exceptionally robust strand, would it count as one strand or one hundred when adding it as an ingredient?
As the hundred strands of Origin Tracing Light fully merged into one, the space around them trembled. The robust strand of Origin Tracing Light resembling a small white dragon suddenly plunged into the void, leaving behind a black hole-like entrance.
The Origin Tracing Realm experts hesitated for a moment, then all of them rushed into the air, diving into the entrance one after another.
Xu Lian and Ye Rushang were no exception. They quickly followed, determined not to miss this opportunity.
No matter where this entrance led, even if it was to the depths of hell, they had to follow it. With so much Origin Tracing Light at stake, no one was willing to give up.