This fox was as annoying as ever!
Looking at the carefree fox smiling with narrowed eyes, Cloud Retainer was instantly furious. For a moment, she even wanted to turn around and leave.
But at the moment her anger flared up,
she saw the pleading look on Su Han's face.
At that instant,
Cloud Retainer immediately understood. If she left today, this fox would be the happiest one.
Speaking of the grudge between the two of them,
there actually wasn't any.
At most, it was simply a clash of personalities.
Cloud Retainer belonged to the type of stay-at-home tech genius. Cold, knowledgeable, and taciturn were the words that represented her.
Kitsune Saiguu was the complete opposite.
From their personalities alone, it was destined that they could never get along properly.
But even knowing the other party was deliberately teasing her, she had no way to retaliate. It was truly hard to swallow that frustration.
Suddenly, Cloud Retainer noticed Shenhe.
Her eyes lit up, and an idea instantly came to mind.
"I have never heard the story between you two before. Why not tell it?"
Su Han was slightly stunned.
Just moments ago, he had been worried this adeptus would storm off in anger. Why had she suddenly stopped being angry? Something felt strange.
Kitsune Saiguu also found it odd. Based on her understanding of this adeptus,
a mere few words should have been enough to make her curse furiously. Yet today, she seemed like a completely different person.
"Well, that starts from five hundred years ago. The story is rather long, so why not sit down and chat?"
Facing Kitsune Saiguu's invitation,
Cloud Retainer lightly nodded and immediately sat down.
Afterward, the fox began recounting the past from her memories.
"I vaguely remember that one day, five hundred years ago..."
"Wait."
Cloud Retainer interrupted:
"Why did the timeline suddenly jump to five hundred years ago? Su Han hadn't even been born back then."
Kitsune Saiguu looked at her in confusion and asked:
"Didn't Su Han tell you? He seems to have traveled back to the past. That's when we first met and got to know each other."
Not good.
Su Han's expression changed.
Sure enough, after hearing that, Cloud Retainer immediately looked over at him.
Su Han's face turned bitter as he explained:
"I just didn't want you to worry."
"Then what exactly happened back then?"
Cloud Retainer's eyes were filled with concern.
Compared to a momentary fit of anger, she cared far more about what had happened to Su Han.
It seemed today she absolutely had to get to the bottom of it.
"Well, the situation was like this..."
Su Han let out a soft sigh. Since he could no longer hide it, he might as well reveal everything completely.
Following Kitsune Saiguu's words along with his own guesses, he slowly explained the entire sequence of events.
When Cloud Retainer heard that he had traveled back in time, the worry in her heart deepened even more.
"Based on your dream, the situation during your time travel was extremely dangerous. Have you still not discovered the reason why you traveled back?"
"I do have some clues."
"What?"
Kitsune Saiguu and Cloud Retainer asked at the same time.
Actually, even Kitsune Saiguu still did not understand how he had traveled back.
Su Han took the Tree of Ages out from the Serenitea Pot.
Looking at the enormous tree standing before them,
both women's eyes filled with curiosity.
Kitsune Saiguu circled around the tree once, then suddenly realized it looked incredibly familiar.
"Wait, this thing couldn't possibly be the tree Kagome used to travel through time, right?"
She had originally thought the well was what allowed people to travel through time.
But thinking about it now, it seemed she had misunderstood.
The one truly enabling time travel was this miraculous tree.
Cloud Retainer asked in confusion:
"Who is Kagome?"
Su Han took out the manga and explained:
"It's from a newly created manga."
After his brief explanation, Cloud Retainer finally understood the whole story.
She placed her hand on the tree.
Instantly, a mysterious and powerful force transmitted from within.
"I can feel the power of time and endless ages."
"I even saw seas turning into mulberry fields."
"This tree is truly miraculous."
Cloud Retainer's eyes were full of astonishment.
This was the first time she had ever seen such a wondrous tree.
Its appearance looked utterly ordinary, yet the moment one touched it, its uniqueness could be clearly felt.
Looking at the branches swaying with the wind,
Cloud Retainer thought for a moment before turning to Su Han and saying:
"Since there is a high probability that this tree caused the effect, Su Han, have you ever tried traveling through time voluntarily?"
"I mean, actively using it."
"Although we all know traveling back five hundred years is extremely dangerous, rather than waiting for that moment to arrive, why not try it proactively?"
"Even if time travel is impossible right now, this tree itself contains powerful temporal energy. What if you can comprehend that power?"
As someone who had lived for thousands of years,
Cloud Retainer naturally possessed extraordinary foresight.
In her opinion, the Tree of Ages should not merely be used for time travel. If one could comprehend the power of time through this tree,
then Su Han's strength might truly have the possibility of reaching the level of a god.
Even if he could not master that power, gradually developing other functions would still be far better than leaving it to gather dust inside the Serenitea Pot.
Kitsune Saiguu's eyes lit up.
That truly was a good idea.
As expected of an old antique who had lived for thousands of years. Her knowledge alone far surpassed ordinary women.
Looks like she should tease her less in the future.
After hearing this, Su Han also felt it made a great deal of sense.
This was the difference in perspective.
Although he possessed the system and could obtain countless treasures,
in many situations, while the system strengthened him and provided treasures,
it had also unknowingly made him lazy.
From now on, he needed to develop both the system and his treasures more thoroughly.
Somewhere deep within,
an invisible shackle was broken apart.
Su Han felt the power of his mental state rapidly rising. Deep within his sea of consciousness, his spiritual power also surged explosively.
"What you said makes sense. In that case, let me try it now."
There was nothing else to do at the moment anyway.
He might as well begin changing from now on.
Su Han sat cross-legged before the Tree of Ages. Just like Cloud Retainer had done, he placed his hand upon the tree.
His mind gradually returned to calmness.
The Iceheart Formula rapidly circulated.
He wanted to experience the power of the Tree of Ages in his strongest condition.
When his mind finally became completely tranquil,
the world before Su Han gradually turned blurry, and the scenery before his eyes rapidly faded.
Darkness.
Mystery.
An aura of endless ages transmitted from the tree.
At that moment,
the history of Inazuma surfaced deep within Su Han's mind.
Countless scenes rapidly flashed before his eyes.
The death of Orobashi.
An island cleaved into two with a single slash.
The resentful shrieks of Seirai Island.
The destruction of Kitsune Saiguu.
Darkness swallowing everything.
Su Han was like an observer rapidly flipping through a film reel. He attempted to slow it down, but his own power could not influence time. With merely a single thought, his consciousness was violently ejected.
"Cough, cough..."
"How are you? Su Han, are you alright?"
Seeing him drenched in sweat, Kitsune Saiguu hurried over to support him.
Meanwhile, Shenhe took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Su Han's forehead.
Supported by the two women,
Su Han forced out a smile and said:
"I'm fine. I was just too impatient. Through the Tree of Ages, I saw many scenes, so I wondered if I could slow down the flow of time a little. That's what caused this..."
"You were too reckless. Being able to observe Inazuma's history through the Tree of Ages is already unbelievably defiant of heaven, yet you actually wanted to influence time itself! Be more careful next time."
"Mm, I understand."
Su Han rested for more than half an hour.
Afterward, once his breathing calmed,
his consciousness once again entered the interior of the Tree of Ages.
With the experience from before,
Su Han naturally would not foolishly attempt to influence the river of time again. He simply watched silently, quietly comprehending the power contained within this space.
After observing for a while,
he gradually discovered that countless silver light particles existed throughout this space.
They were tiny, yet everywhere.
But there was one problem, these particles moved far too quickly.
There was no way to catch them.
Su Han tried reaching out with his hand, only to discover his body was unbelievably sluggish. Even moving a single finger felt impossible.
"Damn it, is this space restricting my spirit?"
"Damn it all."
Su Han could not help roaring in anger, but no matter how furious he became, it was useless.
At that moment, a silver light particle suddenly flew over from the distance.
Coincidentally,
its flight path happened to collide directly with him.
Su Han was overjoyed.
Very quickly, the particle flew over and directly merged into his body.
At that instant, Su Han discovered his spirit had become stronger, and his previously stiff body could now move a single finger.
"I understand now!"
"These silver light particles are the power of time!"
Afterward, he tried to capture another light particle.
Unfortunately, his spirit could no longer endure it, and Su Han was forcibly expelled once again.
Returning to reality,
Su Han opened his eyes and discovered it was already dusk.
Kitsune Saiguu and Cloud Retainer were guarding beside him.
Seeing him awaken, the two women quickly came over.
"How did it go this time?"
"You seem to look much better."
Su Han quickly told them about the light particles.
Cloud Retainer looked at the Tree of Ages and asked in confusion:
"Light particles? Why did I not sense them? I clearly tried entering meditation as well."
"You tried too?"
Su Han was somewhat shocked.
This adeptus truly moved him deeply.
She had actually risked entering the Tree of Ages despite the danger.
For once, Kitsune Saiguu did not tease Cloud Retainer.
"Yes. After you remained unconscious for so long, the two of us tried all sorts of methods. But you understand..."
"The result was that my strength was insufficient. Although I could sense it, my soul was too weak!"
"So this adeptus volunteered herself."
"Although in the end, she still couldn't find you."
After hearing the fox's words, Cloud Retainer shook her head and said:
"To be precise, I could not enter the Tree of Ages at all. That was extremely strange. Although I could sense the power within, I could not detect your consciousness."
"My intention was that since you could not be awakened, I would forcibly pull you out."
"In the end, I underestimated it."
At this point,
Cloud Retainer's face was filled with relief.
She had never imagined the Tree of Ages would be this dangerous. When she saw Su Han could not be awakened, she had truly panicked.
This adeptus had even considered returning to Liyue to bring Rex Lapis over.
Since she herself could not handle it, then the old man surely could.
Although Su Han did not know what exactly had happened earlier, he could feel the concern and worry the two women held for him.
"Don't worry, I'm fine now, aren't I?"
"And you were right. I possess countless treasures, yet I don't know how to develop them. That itself is a problem."
"Perhaps in the near future, I really will be able to control the power of time..."
Through those silver light particles,
Su Han was incomparably certain that he would eventually obtain this power.
As for how long it would take to master,
that would depend on luck.
After all, in the early stages, his body could not move at all, so he could only passively wait for the power of time to collide with him.
Seeing his confidence, Cloud Retainer immediately smiled and said:
"As long as you do not act impatiently, that is enough. Judging from your complexion, you should rest more."
"Mm."
Night fell.
Yae Miko returned.
Meanwhile, another visitor from Liyue arrived as well.
The adeptus disciple, Ganyu.
During the day, she had been busy inside a certain secret realm and could not free herself at all.
Thus, the moment she finished handling her work, she hurried over immediately.
Seeing that Su Han was fine, Ganyu instantly let out a sigh of relief.
Beneath the Sacred Sakura Tree,
Kitsune Saiguu pulled Yae Miko aside and whispered quietly.
"How could you not tell me about something this entertaining earlier? This is a master-disciple rice bowl combo..."
"Lady Guuji, that should be impossible, right?"
Yae Miko glanced toward the three people inside the room, feeling that Kitsune Saiguu was overthinking things.
There was naturally no need to mention Shenhe.
She was practically a caring little wife already. Even a fool could see her feelings, not to mention she had already been eaten by Su Han.
As for Sister Ganyu, it was hard to say from her current appearance.
Considering her race, if she wanted to continue her bloodline, Su Han truly was the most suitable choice.
Moreover, during their earlier reunion, she had also learned that Su Han had resolved Ganyu's inner knot.
It was probably impossible for her to escape.
Sooner or later, she would become Su Han's woman as well.
As for Cloud Retainer,
she truly could not understand her at all.
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