Counterattack System appeared when I'm already At The Mahayana Realm - Chapter 246: Stepping into the River of Time

The Great Zhou Dynasty Family had a rigorous procedure for studying the Path of Time: first, theory learning, followed by trying to see the past, then the future. If one could proficiently see the past and future, they would then be taught incantations and how to enter the River of Time.

When entering the River of Time, the presence of an elder is essential. It is incredibly dangerous for a novice cultivator to enter the River of Time alone. The slightest mistake could lead to total annihilation.

An incantation is the key to the River of Time. Historically, no one has been able to directly enter the River of Time without mastering the incantation.

Ji Kongkong was the first to accomplish this.

Even Ji Zhi, who possesses double pupils, couldn’t achieve this feat!

Let alone Ji Huayu being unprepared for such an event, even Jiang Li, the person involved, was shocked.

He only felt the flow of time slow down, then decelerate, until it stopped completely. In the end, only Jiang Li and Ji Kongkong were still able to move.

A fissure appeared in front of them. Ji Kongkong, having transformed into a white fish, swam into it, followed by Jiang Li.

The river flowed ceaselessly, encompassing the past, present, and future. A fog of chaos loomed over it, its waves echoing against the shore with forceful roars. The sky was dreary, as if it had always been this way and would never change.

“Is this… the River of Time?” Jiang Li was taken aback. He had only heard about this scene from Ji Zhi, who had boasted in detail about it, but never had he experienced it himself.

Ji Zhi had mentioned that once he reached the Transcendence Tribulation Stage, he could bring Jiang Li to the River of Time. Jiang Li jokingly mentioned that it would be more reliable to rely on his daughter instead.

And indeed, he did come to rely on her, albeit a bit too early.

Ji Kongkong, who hasn’t even achieved the Foundation Establishment Stage, managed to bring him to the River of Time. This was too incredible.

Jiang Li, standing on the riverbank, noticed Ji Kongkong preparing to jump into the river. Frightened, he quickly caught her.

“Are you seeking death? This is the River of Time. If you go in with your frail body, you’ll not even leave behind a trace!” Jiang Li strictly warned Ji Kongkong. If something happened to Ji Kongkong, Ji Zhi would certainly hold him accountable.

“Oh.” Ji Kongkong obediently settled in Jiang Li’s palms.

They were both novices, entering the River of Time for the first time. With no experience, they dared not act recklessly.

“Who’s there, disturbing our intimacy!” An inhospitable voice drifted from the depths of the river.

What was strange was that despite the sounds of the tumbling river, the voice was clearly heard.

Jiang Li saw two white fish in the river. One ran away upon his arrival, while the other, which looked unfamiliar yet felt oddly familiar, leapt out of the water and glared angrily at the visitors ashore.

“Let me see who dares to disrupt my affair. We were about to get married, do you know… damn it, it’s Jiang, the Human Emperor!”

The infuriated white fish was almost frightened out of its wits when it saw Jiang Li.

“You managed to find me even in the River of Time?! You deliberately scared off my girlfriend and tore us apart! What a vicious heart!”

Jiang Li was puzzled.

“Are you the Past and Present Sword?” Jiang Li remembered the box left by Emperor Shun and realized that the angry white fish was Emperor Shun, or rather, the Past and Present Sword.

What he didn’t understand was how it changed from a fishbone sword into a fish.

Did Emperor Shun leave the box because Jiang Li had disrupted his affair?

Having interrupted a couple, Jiang Li felt a sense of inexplicable guilt.

While Jiang Li was deep in thought, he attempted to grab the Past and Present Sword, not to capture it but to ask it some questions.

However, the Past and Present Sword mistook his intentions and quickly swam downstream towards the future, which was the direction his girlfriend had fled.

But having only swum a little way, it looked up to see another Jiang Li standing on the shore above.

There were two Jiang Lis in the River of Time!

“How come you are present in the future as well!”

With Jiang Li waiting downstream, it didn’t dare go there anymore as it might never see its girlfriend again.

“Had Jiang Li not shown up, nothing of this would have occurred!” the Past and Present Sword grumbled angrily.

Hearing the Past and Present Sword’s angry shout, Jiang Li paused for a moment.

I exist in the future as well?

So, I’ve been to the River of Time in the future too?

Jiang Li looked in the direction of the future, but the world of the River of Time was shrouded in chaos fog, obscuring the past and future.

“How can I dispel this fog?” Jiang Li asked.

“Only entities who have mastered the Path of Time can dispel the fog and see the past and future.”

“Uncle Jiang is not well-versed in the Path of Time; it may be difficult for him to clear the fog.”

“My ancestor once said that there was originally no fog in the River of Time. This chaos fog is a vision barrier for outsiders; beings born in the River of Time cannot see this fog.”

Ji Kongkong explained. She was not only better at the Path of Time than Jiang Li, but she also knew more about it than Jiang Li.

“How far can you see then?”

“I can see nine hours into the past and three minutes into the future.”

The River of Time is unique; it does not measure distance in meters or kilometers but in units of time.

Each droplet of the river represents incidents that occurred at a certain moment in a specific area.

Jiang Li crouched down and curiously observed the water droplets. He saw the “current” scene: Ji Zhi was arguing with various ministers, Bai Hongtu was performing the Establishment of the Three Pure Land card game, the Wooden Commander and the Clan Leader of the Gu clan, Ai Su, were in love, Zhang Konghu was sound asleep…

“Only events from Jiu Zhou?”

“Because this is the River of Time for Jiu Zhou.” Ji Kongkong pointed with her fish tail at a vague wall behind Jiang Li, “If one passes this wall, they can reach the River of Time of other worlds.”

“However, I am unclear how to cross it since Father never taught me.”

Jiang Li walked over to it and tried his hand at pushing, feeling like he could manage it.

As soon as he pushed slightly, Ji Kongkong stopped him: “Uncle Jiang, don’t do this. Father has said that our knowledge of the River of Time is very limited; we cannot act rashly. Any slight carelessness here may cause time-space confusion and chaos in Yin and Yang!”

Immediately, Jiang Li abandoned his plan to go to another River of Time.

Jiang Li, with Ji Kongkong in tow, went to the location nine hours ago from the present. They crouched down to see the “nine hours ago” scene: Ji Zhi was visiting the Tianyuan Emperor Dynasty, Bai Hongtu was using the Sowing Beans into Soldiers technique to play football, Wooden Commander was pulling out demon cultivators from Witch Country, Zhang Konghu was asleep soundly…

“I get the feeling some scenes haven’t changed.”

“Can you see the distance from eighteen hours ago here?”

Ji Kongkong shook her head: “Even if we change positions, I can only see from ‘nine hours ago’ to now, and from now to ‘the next three minutes.’ If changing position allowed me to see the more distant past, wouldn’t Father be able to see events from a thousand, ten thousand years ago?

Jiang Li was about to nod in agreement when a question arose: “Hold on, you’ve studied the Path of Time, so you can see nine hours into the past.

Ji Kongkong too, was taken aback, and mumbled: “That’s right, Father mentioned that the distance one can see is the path one can walk. If one attempts to go beyond their limit, they will be unable to take even a single step. Uncle Jiang, since you don’t master the Path of Time, you should only be able to remain stationary and not travel to the past or future.”

As Ji Kongkong spoke, she jumped into the earlier past, but an invisible force bounced her back into Jiang Li’s hands: “Like this.”

Jiang Li left Ji Kongkong where she was and walked towards the past. He indeed felt an invisible resistance but noticed that the force was just as weak as air resistance. Had Ji Kongkong not pointed it out, he wouldn’t have noticed it at all.

He continued his journey into the past and saw scenes from ten hours, eleven hours before..