Guarding the River of Time

Chapter 596 - 586: He Has Long Since Died—The Inescapable Kill Trap!

Elder Ling’s low growl echoed over the waters.

Upon hearing this, Su Mu suddenly noticed that Elder Ling’s voice was different from before. Earlier, his voice seemed to be squeezed out, sounding very awkward.

Now, hearing this low growl, he realized why it seemed so odd; the voice he spoke with earlier wasn’t his own at all!

Just as the growl faded, Su Mu felt the water surface beneath him begin to shake.

It felt like something was about to emerge from beneath the water!

At this moment, Elder Ling urgently said, "Elder Su, this is a setup, a plot to kill you!"

"When you hear these words, it means I am already dead, and this is my last bit of consciousness speaking to you."

"Elder, I’m sorry....."

"I harmed you."

As he finished speaking, Elder Ling’s body slumped and fell straight into the water.

Just as he was about to sink, Su Mu waved his hand, fishing his body out and placing it on the small boat.

Su Mu carefully examined Elder Ling’s corpse and realized that his internal organs had long decayed, and his Sea of Consciousness had already dried up, meaning he had been dead for a very, very long time.....

This could also explain why, despite his body’s imminent collapse, he could still converse normally, and there was no response even after consuming the Elixir Pills Su Mu gave him.

It turned out he had long perished.....

The "Elder Ling" who spoke with him and guided him was not him at all but someone else controlling his corpse, step by step luring him into a trap.

Resurrecting a corpse by force and disguising it to a level where Su Mu couldn’t detect any flaw showed that the person using Elder Ling’s body was already extremely powerful.

Staring at Elder Ling’s body, Su Mu’s pupils flickered with light, his breathing quickened, and he clenched his fists tightly.

Then, he closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths, and forcibly calmed his anger.

This is what the enemy wanted to see: using someone close to him to draw him into the trap and provoke him.

Clearly, they succeeded in angering Su Mu.

Attacking him directly was fine, but targeting those around him touched Su Mu’s reverse scale.

Su Mu waved his hand, collecting Elder Ling’s corpse.

Then, he stood there quietly, gazing calmly ahead.

The water surface continued to tremble, creating circle after circle of ripples in an enclosing formation.

Su Mu neither fled nor took any other action, standing there waiting, his eyes as calm as a cold pond, calm to the extreme, calm to the point of being frightening!

....

A few days earlier.

In a certain part of the Chaotic Void across the Ten Thousand Realms.

Three chaotic human shadows stood facing each other in silence, the atmosphere stiflingly tense.

After a long while, the third shadow broke the silence, "Of the Nine Gates of Divine Punishment, only three remain....."

"So, are we just going to watch him continually disrupt our plans?"

This sentence questioned the other two.

The other two also remained silent; even the second shadow, who normally opposed the third, unusually fell silent and did not retort.

It appeared the situation they faced was extremely critical and pressing.

After a long silence, the first shadow slowly said, "It’s about time; the timing is ripe, and we can’t wait any longer."

Initially, there were nine Gates of Divine Punishment, with each person managing three.

Later, during the first removal, three of these gates were taken away by the River Guardian, and to protect the remaining six, the first shadow replaced another’s three Gates of Divine Punishment with his own people to guard.

But not long had passed, and another three Gates of Divine Punishment were removed.

Now, only the last three Gates of Divine Punishment remain, guarded by the strongest three under the first shadow, who narrowly escaped misfortune.

......

"The timing is ripe?" the second shadow asked.

The third shadow also looked at the first shadow, eyes lit with surprise, "Could it be... you’ve found the key to breaking the game?"

After speaking, the first shadow nodded, saying faintly, "I have a rough location."

"I’ve always been deducing the trajectories of creatures in the Ten Thousand Realms, from which I deduced his actions."

"Among them, I’ve deduced every butterfly effect he caused by guarding the Long River."

"I’ve pinpointed his residence’s location."

Upon hearing this, the third shadow quizzically asked, "You’ve done all this just to locate his abode’s coordinates in the River of Time?"

"What’s the point?"

....

"This is the breakthrough, the flaw we’ve been searching for," the first shadow slowly said.

His words caused the other two to breathe noticeably faster.

"His flaw is his residence?" the second shadow asked.

.....

"No, but rather a certain creature or several creatures living in his residence," the first shadow responded.

Upon hearing this, the third shadow suddenly let out a cold laugh, saying, "You don’t mean to capture his relatives and threaten him with petty tricks, do you?"

After speaking, the first shadow nodded, "You could understand it that way."

After hearing this, the other two’s elevated emotions deflated quickly.

"I didn’t expect you to deduce so painstakingly just to come up with such a petty trick," the third shadow sighed.

"You must understand, even a Slaying Dao Realm ant wouldn’t be threatened by such petty tricks, let alone someone standing above the River of Time, transcending countless levels, why would he care for such lowly things as ’family affection’?" the second shadow added.

Upon hearing this, the first shadow shook his head and said, "You’re wrong."

"It’s quite possible, and highly likely, that he does care."

Upon hearing this, the other two froze, asking, "Why do you say that?"

........

"First, let me ask you a question."

"Do you think there’s anything that can threaten you?" the first shadow asked the other two.

After speaking, the two remained silent, no need to answer.

Because this question has only one answer, and that is no.

"Then do you think there’s anything that can threaten him?" the first shadow shifted the question, continuing to ask.

Upon hearing this, the two both shook their heads.

"No."

"And it’s impossible."