My Dreams Connect to Ancient Times

「The Past.」

The Daoist Palace lay across the expanse of Years, enduring myriad ages in the gloom and manifesting its eternal existence within Chaos.

Within the Daoist Palace, the flames of the Eight Trigrams Furnace still burned brightly. Two Children meticulously fanned a gentle breeze. The wind fed the flames, which gradually grew stronger. The faint red glow illuminated the immediate surroundings and cast a faint blush on Lu Jianxue’s delicate face.

She rested her chin in her hands, staring blankly at the great furnace standing amidst the fire. Her gaze was fixed on the Dao and principles quietly burning within the flames, and she seemed lost in a daze.

This was Lu Jianxue’s seventy-fourth year in Douluo Palace.

She glanced to the side and asked with curiosity,

"Grandpa Li, I think I understand now. The firewood is Dao and its principles. What it burns into is fire, but it’s not truly fire. It’s more like the concepts of scorching heat and blazing intensity made tangible."

The old man slowly raised his eyes and smiled faintly.

"Yes, and no."

Lu Jianxue looked troubled. She propped up her little head, then let out a yawn and asked,

"Grandpa Li, I miss Grandpa Lu again. When can I go see him?"

The Daoist thought for a moment before speaking softly.

"Once you’ve stayed in Douluo Palace for four thousand, eight hundred and ten years, you can go out."

"Why four thousand, eight hundred and ten years?"

"Because Xiaoxuan extended the dynastic fate of the Zhou Dynasty by eight hundred and ten years."

"Why did Grandpa Lu extend the fate of that Zhou Dynasty?"

"Oh, you child..."

The Daoist chuckled, gently stroking his long beard. "So many questions," he said softly.

Out of affection for his disciple, he also cherished the girl. She was the junior adopted by his own treasured disciple, which, by extension, made her his own junior as well.

The Supreme valued fated connections. When he had incarnated as Old Nong, he had traveled with Lu Jianxue for two hundred years. That itself was a fated connection.

Lu Jianxue yawned again and spoke languidly,

"I’m just curious... Grandpa Li, do you think there’s anyone in the world who’s never curious because they know everything?"

"No."

The Daoist thought for a moment before adding,

"To be precise, you could say there is half of one."

"Half of one?" Lu Jianxue’s curiosity was piqued again, and she asked with great interest, "Why only half?"

The old Daoist gently stroked his long beard and said calmly,

"It is a person. She can know everything about whatever she lays her eyes upon, which is infinitely close to Omniscience. However, she cannot analyze the future of a Dao Fruit, nor can she parse her own past. Moreover, she is bound by the prerequisite that she must ’see it with her own eyes, where her gaze falls.’ That is why I say half."

Lu Jianxue was confused, but the two Children fanning the flames perked up their ears. ’There’s a secret like that?’

The girl asked softly,

"Infinitely close to Omniscience... Doesn’t that mean the person you’re talking about is also infinitely close to omnipotence?"

"Indeed."

The old man smiled.

"Omniscience implies omnipotence. She can see a path to anything. Regardless of whether it defies logic or contravenes common sense, if her heart desires it, a way to achieve it is revealed."

He paused, his expression growing slightly solemn. He seemed lost in thought, and though he appeared to be explaining it to Lu Jianxue, it was more like he was muttering to himself.

"It is a pity, though. In the end, she is but a newborn infant. And due to special circumstances, her mental development is exceedingly slow. She takes far too much for granted."

Lu Jianxue was even more confused now. She asked again,

"A newborn infant can be that powerful...?"

"Yes."

"Pseudo-Omniscience, pseudo-omnipotence... Does that mean this person you speak of can do anything she can imagine?"

"As long as it does not involve a Dao Fruit, that is indeed the case."

The Old Lord’s gaze grew profound.

"To grasp the method of guaranteeing a task’s completion is to be able to complete it. She could use a wooden club and a stone to beat an Immortal to death, or use plant ash to drown a Daluo..."

There was one more thing he left unsaid. Under specific, extremely demanding conditions, that being even held a method to force a Dao Fruit to abdicate its position.

Although achieving it was nigh impossible.

Lu Jianxue listened, captivated, and said with envy,

"She must never have any doubts, then. How wonderful."

"No."

The Old Lord smiled.

"She has pseudo-Omniscience, but she is not self-aware. She is a newborn infant who ages but a single year for every million that pass. Such a being is most susceptible to obsession and delusion."

Lu Jianxue nodded, only half-understanding, and said instinctively,

"But if she’s a newborn infant, isn’t she also the easiest to befriend and guide? If guided properly, she shouldn’t have fallen into such a state of delusion, right?"

The Old Lord froze.

After a long moment, a bitter smile spread across his face.

"You’re right, you’re right... But alas, it is too late."

With that, the Supreme let out a long, quiet sigh.

"There is no one left who can get close to her now."

......

"Child, what treasure do you want?"

The stunningly beautiful woman asked excitedly. She looked at Lu Xuan as if he were her own son, yet her eyes held the hopeful look of a child desperate for approval.

A sudden pang of sorrow struck Lu Xuan’s heart. He now realized something was wrong. ’Lady... something seems to have happened to her.’

’She doesn’t have the air of one who has weathered the ages. Instead, she has a childlike innocence...’

He said softly,

"Lady, I truly don’t need anything. But as for you, how can I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the stunningly beautiful woman waved her hand and said,

"It seems I don’t really have any treasures... You wait here! I’ll go get one from someone else!"

As she spoke, she struggled to her feet, dragging three thousand chains behind her. She ignored how they violently ground against her bones and churned her organs, taking one step after another. The void thundered with each footfall.

With each of her steps, the three thousand chains pulled the vast, boundless Celestial Vault above askew, dragging it closer to the ground. Cracks began to spiderweb across its surface, threatening to shatter it once more.

"Lady..." Lu Xuan moved to stop her, but he saw the beautiful woman walk right up to the edge of the sheer cliff.

Then she threw her head back, looked at the skeleton pinned to the cliff face by the Divine Spear, and shouted loudly,