Starting My Cultivation With Time Management

The area of the Jinghua Gate was a beautiful valley plain, inhabited by numerous floral demonic beasts swirling and nesting.

When the uninvited Qiu Changtian intruded, the little floral demonic beasts flew around in panic, all hiding deep in the bushes.

Qiu Changtian paid no attention to them, and instead found a stream nearby, stepped into it, and then activated the Godspeed Talisman of the Water Vein.

Following the method provided by the Kunlun Mirror, as the Water System Divine Light circulated, a profound perception immediately emerged in his Sea of Consciousness, which were all of the independent water veins nearby.

From small streams and pools to large rivers and seas, as long as they were separate from each other and not interconnected, they constituted an independent water vein, mysteriously linking with Qiu Changtian.

However, Qiu Changtian could only sense where the water veins were, without being able to perceive in advance whether they were streams and pools or rivers and seas, nor could he determine the distance or direction.

But with the strategy guide, these weren’t problems at all.

Soon, Qiu Changtian, guided by the strategy guide, locked onto a distant water source and then teleported there.

Between the spinning heavens and earth, he had teleported to the entrance of an underwater mansion.

Calculating the time, Senior Sister An and his past self should have been just right when entering this secret realm, and the entrance was more than ten miles away from here.

Qiu Changtian hurried, first starting the Water-Repelling Pearl to reduce resistance in the water and then charged into the underwater mansion’s passage.

He hadn’t gone far when he saw a host of water viper demonic beasts emerging, twisting and entangling, looking fierce and terrible with their wide-open bloody mouths and sharp poisonous fangs, pouncing viciously at Qiu Changtian.

Qiu Changtian remained fearless, merely drawing out the Polar Thunder and sending a mass of Thunder Light directly at them, immediately smashing the foremost water vipers to pieces, their venomous blood spilling out.

The remaining water vipers quickly scattered in terror. Although they didn’t know what Polar Thunder was, they had the instincts of demonic beasts and sensed the extreme danger of the Thunder Light—even faintly restraining themselves, and soon they dispersed like birds and beasts.

Qiu Changtian wasn’t intent on eradicating all the evil beasts, just nonchalantly advancing forward, using the minor Shangyang Sword Qi to harvest those water viper demonic beasts that hadn’t managed to escape, thinking to himself, so that’s how it was.

No wonder Ling Yunpo faced very few demonic beasts when he came here with Senior Sister An; it turns out I had already killed them all.

Understanding the sequence of events, Qiu Changtian felt some emotion:

So, it was all planned!

He entered the mansion as if stepping into a land without owners, and there he saw a large water viper coiled up, which immediately spewed out a mass of venomous fog at him.

The purple fog was dense in the water, looking extremely thick, clearly not a benevolent “demon art.”

Qiu Changtian’s expression remained unchanged as he swiftly formed Daoist formulas.

After cultivating to the Refining Mansion stage, he derived the third Daoist Technique from the “Nine Heavens Clear Entrance True Mantra,” called the “Supreme Jasper Spiritual Talisman.”

This talisman had no special traits except for its powerful spiritual power and strong abilities to suppress and seal.

A giant talisman script made of spiritual power struck out, immediately dispersing the toxic fog.

The water viper was stunned, seemingly not expecting its innate divine ability to be so easily countered.

By the time it recovered from its shock, it was struck by Qiu Changtian’s Polar Thunder, its entire dragon skull bursting open like a watermelon.

The Polar Thunder, specifically potent against the Dragon Clan, would leave even a Golden Core Realm Jiaolong bloodied and bruised from a direct hit, let alone a Refining Mansion stage water viper.

The torn remnants of the water viper’s corpse floated in the center of the hall, with flesh and blood scattered everywhere. Qiu Changtian, not wanting to dirty his Daoist robe, simply activated the Five Elements Extinguishing Divine Light, using the principle of “wood engenders fire” to vaporize all the flesh and blood to ash.

Then he walked through the mansion’s main hall to the treasure chamber inside.

Inside, there were still piles of discarded Spirit Stones, like dust and rubble, with no value whatsoever.

Only a few magical treasures were sparsely distributed upon it, likely collected after the Water Viper took over this place.

However, the Water Viper itself was only at the Refining Mansion level, so what good magical treasures could it have gathered?

In the eyes of Qiu Changtian, who far surpassed peers of his level, there was no doubt that they were all trash. No wonder Senior Sister An didn’t even give them a glance and directly passed them by!

Wait a second, where were the Water-Repelling Pearl and the Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein?

Qiu Changtian turned the pile of spirit stones upside down repeatedly, but still couldn’t find the Water-Repelling Pearl from before.

The small cauldron that held the talisman scripts was found, but when he opened the lid and looked inside, it was completely empty, with not a single item.

Now he was in trouble. What would happen when Ling Yunpo and Senior Sister arrived and couldn’t find the Water-Repelling Pearl and the Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein?

Without the former, it’s a small matter. But without the latter, how would Ling Yunpo leave this place with Senior Sister An?

And how would they go to the Blood Pool’s Red Tide or the Cloud Sea Realm? Wouldn’t this mess up the historical timeline?

“What are you worrying about so aimlessly!” said the Kunlun Mirror, observing at the side and unable to keep silent, “Aren’t the Water-Repelling Pearl and the Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein both on you?”

Qiu Changtian: ???????

After being stunned for a while, he suddenly realized.

So I received these two items in the past just so that I could return them to their original place in the future, allowing my past self to obtain them again following history’s course?

Isn’t this… what do you call it, an infinite loop?

Then, where exactly did this Water-Repelling Pearl and the Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein originally come from, and where did they end up in the end?

“As I’ve said,” the Kunlun Mirror sighed with resignation, “this was created to realize the historical cycle, a ‘loose end’ not existing in the original timeline.”

“It came from nothingness, and after helping you through this deadly trial, it naturally has to return to nothingness.”

Qiu Changtian: ………

One could only say that the Dao of Time is indeed mysterious and utterly beyond comprehension.

The Water-Repelling Pearl indeed played a decisive role in reducing resistance and facilitating escape when Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu teleported into the deep sea environment teeming with Jiaolongs on their fourth attempt.

But strictly in terms of escaping, the “Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein” that allowed transmission wherever there was water was even more practical.

To let them return to nothingness and fall into an endless time loop was truly a pity…

However, Qiu Changtian was, after all, someone with a firm will, knowing that if it weren’t for his current advantage, Ling Yunpo and An Zhisu would not have strayed from the trial team.

Then, Xu Anze and Marquis of Mount Tu would get on the normal track, creating a series of attacks afterward, and framing Su Jian, resulting in the two being victimized.

Even if they weren’t killed on the spot by the True Person of Jinghua, the trials couldn’t have continued, and they would have missed both the Blood Pool and the Cloud Sea Realm.

Not to mention surviving the “Dragon Clan Uprising” brought by the Marquis of Mount Tu later.

Compared to those deadly trials that could be avoided, the benefits that could be obtained were mere trinkets like a Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein, a single Water-Repelling Pearl – what was there to begrudge?

Abandon them!

Qiu Changtian gritted his teeth, fully charged the Godspeed Talisman of the Thousand-Mile Water Vein, set it to activate upon touch, and according to the strategy guide, set the destination to the water vein representing the twenty-eighth level, the Blood Pool.

He then stuffed it into the small cauldron, covered it with the lid, and hid it under the pile of spirit stones, casually tossing the Water-Repelling Pearl aside.

Finally, without looking back, he left the underwater cave dwelling and headed outside.