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When Jiang Li went to look for Ji Zhi, the latter was uncharacteristically not staying late to revise his official documents, but instead was telling anecdotes to Ji Kongkong.

“When the invasion of the Heavenly Demons from beyond this realm took place, the Nine Provinces were on the brink of demise. Your Uncle Jiang and I jointly combated the Heavenly Demons. At that time, he had just entered the

Mahayana Realm and was not as invincible as he is now. Hence, he needed the assistance of a strong ally like me, your father.”

“With the nation’s luck on his side, your father wielded the Past and Present

Sword, utilising the Path of Time to disrupt the temporal order, causing the Heavenly Demons to lose their sense of time and direction. The disoriented demons were detained by your father for a span of twenty breaths’ time, which afforded your Uncle Jiang the opportunity to launch his offense.”

“Your Uncle Jiang acted prematurely, otherwise, your father could have resolved the issue with the Heavenly Demons by himself.”

As this was a story, it was, of course, embellished and exaggerated. Jiang Li understood this.

After all, in front of his daughter, he could not admit that your father was a weakling and was brutally beaten by the Heavenly Demon as soon as he approached. The Demon thrashed him for a good twenty breaths’ time. If not for your Uncle Jiang’s intervention, they would have had a new emperor in the Zhou dynasty quite a long time ago.

“Your father was also one of the candidates for the Human Emperor. However, considering that the Zhou dynasty could not survive without me, I reluctantly gave up the easily available position of the Human Emperor and let your Uncle Jiang ascend the throne…”

Seeing how Ji Zhi’s bragging was getting out of hand, Jiang Li decided to intervene.

“Ahem! Excuse me.’

The guards nearby were startled and immediately went on high alert. Anyone who could suddenly materialize out of nowhere could just as easily attack and defeat the emperor undetected. This was surely a highly dangerous cultivator.

Oh! It’s the Human Emperor, Jiang Li. Never mind then.

“…You heard everything?” Ji Zhi was somewhat embarrassed.

“You mean detaining the Heavenly Demon for about twenty breaths’ time, or the part about giving up the position of the Human Emperor?”

“Uncle Jiang!” Ji Kongkong, with her little white legs thrashing about, ran over to Jiang Li.

“Be careful, Kongkong.” Jiang Li, grabbing Ji Kongkong by the armpits, lifted her into a circle in mid-air before putting her back down, causing Ji Kongkong to giggle like a little hen.

Ji Zhi sidestepped the issue: “What brings you here?”

Jiang Li decided not to expose Ji Zhi in front of the child: “By now, the Yin Yang Heaven Seal, Van Tower, Dragon Balls of the Four Seas, Mount Heshan Rock, the Great Confucian Word Post, and the Ruyi Gourd have all been found, leaving just the location of the Past and Present Sword of your Zhou family unaccounted for. Do you have any clues?”

Ji Zhi pondered for a moment, then said, “From the battle that day, the Past and Present Sword should have entered the river of time, intending to launch a surprise attack on you in the future. However, you intercepted and hit it with the Sky Desolate Halberd, sending it upstream in the river of time.”

Jiang Li remembered that while he was fighting against a multitude of immortal artifacts, he indeed felt something attacking him. However, the sensation was very faint, and he reacted on instinct to deflect something.

Looking back now, that something must have been the Past and Present Sword.

“So the Past and Present Sword is still in the river of time?” This coincided with Jiang Li’s assumption. Only if the Past and Present Sword were hiding in the river of time would the system fail to locate it.

“This could be difficult.” Jiang Li sighed. While he could search for artifacts in other worlds, he was entirely powerless when it came to the river of time.

“It might not necessarily be in the river of time. The Past and Present Sword could have jumped out of the river and be present at some other point in time, such as five thousand years in the past, or five thousand years in the future. It could even be that our current history has already been altered by the Past and Present Sword.” Ji Zhi mused.

For those adept in the path of time, it was not difficult to alter the future, much like Ji Zhi. His dual-pupils could foretell the future, allowing him to sidestep any danger and make decisions based on the anticipated outcome, hence altering that very outcome.

The path of time was profound and impenetrable. Without natural talent, one would not be able to grasp it at all. For instance, several high-level cultivators like Jiang Li, Bai Hongtu, Everlasting Supreme, and Commander Liu, among others, were unable to comprehend the path of time.

Even among those who had a natural affinity, not all could grasp it thoroughly. For instance, most people from the Ji family only possessed a rudimentary understanding, capitalising on their bloodline’s advantage to learn a bit about the path of time, although it was only very superficial. In fact, some individuals were not even able to grasp the bare basics.

However, while changing the future is one thing, freely traversing through the river of time and navigating through space and time is a different matter altogether.

Although Ji Zhi was adept at the path of time, his cultivation level was limited to the Divinity Transformation Stage. Plus, the effects of his boosted national fortune could not be realised in the river of time, meaning he couldn’t go back to the past or travel to the future.

Ji Kongkong might have been able to do this. She was the closest to her ancestors, making her understanding of the path of time unquestionable. Furthermore, she had a promising future as a cultivator, with the possibility of transcending the Body Integration Tribulation.

Ji Zhi was the most talented among his generation in the Zhou family. So, when the old Zhou Emperor suddenly passed away and Ji Zhi’s siblings started vying for power—leading to political chaos and a breakdown in law and order— Ji Zhi, at the Divinity Transformation Stage, had no choice but to give up on competing for the position of the Human Emperor. Instead, he took up the mantle of the old Zhou Emperor.

Ji Zhi was the most gifted amongst his peers in the Zhou family, so with the help of Jiang Li, none of the other successors could compete against him.

After ascending to the throne, Ji Zhi faced the same predicament as Yu Yin; he was burdened by the national fortune. His circumstances were even more dire than Yu Yin’s, and while she managed to reach the peak of the Body Integration Realm even after becoming the Empress, Ji Zhi was stuck at the Divinity Transformation Stage, his cultivation level stagnant, perhaps because his natural gifts were inferior to those of Yu Yin.

“I might have a clue as to how to find the Past and Present Sword.” Ji Zhi seemed to know something.

‘What’s that?”

Instead of answering, Ji Zhi pulled over the obedient Ji Kongkong and walked towards the national treasury.

When they passed by Yangxin Hall, where Ji Zhi spent most of his time, Jiang Li saw a wolf hairbrush diligently writing and reviewing official documents.

Ji Zhi explained, “I’ve always used this brush to review documents, so it’s very familiar with my views. After it developed a spirit intellect, I had it handle some of the work, while I focused on the final review.”

You really are a clever one.

As one of the top three dynasties in terms of power amongst the Nine Great Dynasties of China, the treasury of the Zhou dynasty naturally contained countless rare and valuable treasures that would make any cultivator go mad.

Jiang Li noticed that near the treasury, there were three cultivators at the Body Integration Realm, guarding the facility both overtly and covertly. That number was already shocking. A first-class sect would have about this many cultivators at the Body Integration Realm.

Jiang Li was not visiting the Zhou dynasty’s treasury for the first time. After he helped Ji Zhi ascend to the throne, Ji Zhi, wanting to show his thanks, let him choose some treasures from the treasury.

The treasury was filled with an extravagant array of treasures, so luxurious that the treasury was lit with Luminous Pearls from the deep sea, demonstrating the quality of the treasures within.

These treasures include prayer beads made from the cores of eighteen stars, Ten-thousand-year unmelting mysterious ice excavated from the extreme north, Immortal Pills that could alter one’s spiritual root when consumed, the parasitic Mother Termite Insect that can absorb someone’s cultivation base, etc. Any one of these could be the top lot in a high-end auction.

However, Jiang Li found all these objects useless. His Storage Ring also contained many similar treasures.

Furthermore, Ji Zhi did not bring Jiang Li here to see these items.

Ji Zhi took him to the deepest part of the treasury and proceeded to take a small wooden box out, solemnly saying, “Only the successive generations of Zhou Emperors know about this. Emperor Shun left this behind with the instructions that future generations must never open this box. If anyone ever wants to look for the Past and Present Sword in the river of time, this box should be handed over to him.”

Emperor Shun was the ancestor of the Zhou family, the fish that emerged from the river of time.

Jiang Li glanced at the box, then looked at Ji Kongkong. The message echoed

clearly without the need tor words. This was a secret only known to the Zhou Emperors, and Ji Zhi brought Ji Kongong along to be part of it. “Our ancestor must have been referring to you.”

Jiang Li opened the box to find only a small note inside that read:

I’m enjoying myself in the river of time. Don’t look for me!!! Ji Zhi looked at Jiang Li with anticipation, “Well? Do we now have a lead?”

Jiang Li silently closed the box and handed it back to Ji Zhi. “Keep your ancestor’s belongings safe and don’t look inside..”