The princess pondered after hearing Li Qiye’s explanation of the river. She wondered about the epoch with Buddhism as the focus. Just how magical was it?
“Do we want to cross?” She asked after returning from rumination.
Li Qiye gently nodded: “Yes, I shall give you a fortune, and there is no better one than crossing this river in the Buddhist Plain. But as for what you can get out of it, that’s up to you.”
“It’s possible?” She said: “Rumor has it that there had been emperors who got lost in this river, never returning.”
Li Qiye agreed: “That’s right. Too many have lost their way in this river, including emperors and top High Gods. Forcing the issue is very difficult. This is a very long river of time. One would die from old age before reaching its source. Only a crossing vessel would be able to do it in our time.”
“Why would these emperors be lost since their dao heart is so firm?” The princess found this quite astonishing. Not to mention their power, those who could become emperor were all determined.
“Try once, you’ll see right away.” Li Qiye smiled.
“Well…” Her expression instantly changed, not out of cowardice but just being realistic. Even emperors have lost themselves here; she couldn’t compare to them at all.
“It’s alright under my protection. Just try, this might be beneficial to your future fortune. Just take a step, I’ll pull you back when necessary.” Li Qiye added.
She heaved a sigh of relief and composed herself by the shore before solemnly declaring: “I’m ready.”
“Go.” Li Qiye’s voice came from behind. He gave her a nudge forward and she stepped into the river. The moment she made contact, she instantly disappeared.
The scene before her changed. The Ganges River was no longer there, replaced by a large city with an indescribable aura. This aura had a calming effect. The princess wasn’t nervous at all and was still in charge of her senses.
It was a cacophony of noise with people walking about in this prosperous place. She watched people came and went. They wore a style that she had never seen before. There was all kind of races; some of which were new to her as well, same with their languages.
The people here also took several glances at her. She found them strange and different so naturally, they found her new as well.
Despite her unfitting appearance, the ones here didn’t crowd her. On the contrary, they nodded and gave her a friendly smile.
She felt that this was an illusion so she greeted someone next to her, holding their hands tightly. There was a warm and real sensation as if she was actually here in this new world. Her mind was still lucid enough to tell her that this wasn’t the case.
She continued walking across the city to understand its culture. She found that this was a place ruled by Buddhism. Many mortals aspired to become a Buddha. As time passed, she grew to understand this world even more after traveling to many cities and witnessing the lands.
She found herself loving this world due to its serene nature and inadvertently found herself assimilating with it.
In the beginning, she was very clear of her situation but as her fondness for this world intensified, she no longer cared where she came from. Despite knowing that she wasn’t part of this world, she still wanted to be a part of it.
During her stay, she felt a call from the depth summoning her, telling her to return. At this juncture, it was beyond her control and she instinctively followed in that direction…
When she came to the right place, the sceneries suddenly changed. Everything disappeared and the quiet Ganges River returned.
She was petrified with fear with sweat dripping down her body at the realization that she had lost herself in that world. If it wasn’t for Li Qiye pulling her back at the last second, she would eventually reach a state where she wouldn’t obey the summoning.
It took a while before she calmed down and said: “How long have I been away?”
“Only the blink of an eye.” Li Qiye chuckled.
“I saw one corner of a world.” She took a deep breath and said.
“No, you only saw a single grain of sand in the Ganges River, a very short time in an epoch. For example, our own epoch had countless generations and emperors while you were only there for several days, an insignificant amount of time.” Li Qiye said.
The princess became even more frightened. If her time there was so short yet she was already lost, there was no chance for her ever returning without Li Qiye’s help. She got a better picture of why even emperors have lost themselves in the Ganges River. It was the same as waiting out an entire epoch.
She said in a daze: “I don’t think anyone can last that long, it’s practically unheard of.”
“As long as you have eternal life and an immovable dao heart, you can surpass an epoch in that manner.” Li Qiye said with a smile.
“There is someone capable of that in this world?” She didn't doubt the dao heart of the emperors but they weren’t immortal. Trying to experience an entire epoch would undoubtedly end in death from old age.
“Someone once did it, entering the Ganges River and walked through the myriad ages, experiencing all the corners of that epoch before reaching the other shore to see a legend.” Li Qiye looked at the water and revealed.
“An emperor with twelve wills, right? Is it Purewood Divine Emperor?” The princess blurted out the name of the legendary emperor.
But she quickly changed her mind after noticing his faint smile and his gaze towards the river: “It was you, Young Noble!”
Li Qiye maintained his smile, not answering.
She was completely astounded. She knew that Li Qiye was a supreme overlord but now, she had a clearer look at his unfathomable self. She was lost in that epoch in such a short period but he had experienced it in whole. What kind of monster was this? An existence capable of walking through the river of time. It was virtually the same as escape the limit of death.
He was definitely not inferior to any emperor with twelve wills!
“A crossing vessel is here. Let’s go to the other shore. This isn’t the same one in the past but if it is meant to be, a fortune is waiting for us.” Li Qiye looked up and said.
The princess also looked over and saw a tiny boat appearing on the river. It was going at a normal pace, neither fast or slow.
It could accommodate around five people and was completely black, made from an unknown type of wood. The rower was a monk.
When the boat got closer, everyone would notice that the monk was already dead. Despite the pale complexion and hollow eyes, he was still agile as if he was alive.