“Haha, haha…”

Asho had just emerged from the golden mist area and immediately knelt on the grass, gasping for breath.

He watched as his withered arm gradually regained its flesh color, and his breathing, like a broken bellows, became smooth. His sluggish thoughts became sharp again, and he felt a sense of relief at having escaped death.

Now he realized that being able to seriously think about an idea continuously was such a happy thing.

As the soul aged, even thinking became a luxury, and the mind became like a severely lagging machine. Even if you tried to summon the task manager to organize your thoughts, you would find that the task manager was also stuck.

After trying it once, even Asho couldn’t help but feel a little fear.

Aging is truly an indescribable terror.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard behind him. Asho was about to turn around when he heard a hoarse, old voice scream, “Don’t look back!”

Asho obediently followed the command, staring at the grass for a few seconds before hearing the voice of the Sword Girl, “It’s okay.”

He turned around to see the still young and beautiful Sword Girl and the Witch.

“I don’t mind seeing you age, actually,” Asho shrugged. “In fact, I’m quite curious.”

“But! I! Mind!” Sonia gritted her teeth and said, “I’m never going there again! The books are all lies. Who said that the Time Continent is a place to get rich by picking up trash? Whoever wants to pick up that money can do it!”

Just now, Asho and the others entered the most famous adventure area in the Time Continent—Flowing Gold River. The area around Flowing Gold River is home to wild time spirits, including rare varieties such as ‘Reverse Year,’ ‘Fixed Month,’ and ‘Listening Day.’

‘Reverse Year’ was mentioned before, it can reverse a person’s body time by one year, equivalent to a side-effect-free longevity, and has always been a valuable treasure.

‘Fixed Month’ fixes the current state of the body for one month. Although injuries can still occur, the skin, appearance, and hair quality will not be affected by external factors. When combined with “Bare-faced Beauty,” “Radiant Beauty,” and “Lustrous Hair,” and other beauty miracles, one can easily obtain a top appearance for up to a month, and is not afraid of wind, sun, or even bathing and swimming. It is hailed as the most top-notch cosmetic product.

As for the ‘Listening Day’ series of spirits, they are even more powerful, but that’s another story.

In short, Flowing Gold River is a place where the Time Continent specifically offers benefits, and the spirits near Flowing Gold River do not run away. Faced with the invasion of foreign species like Artificers, they even actively come up to be petted, with a vigilance level lower than that of a kitten.

Normally, in a good place like this, Artificers would not leave even if they had to dig three feet into the ground. However, Asho and the others had barely been in there for ten seconds before they hurriedly escaped. Even Sonia, who was fearless, was now looking back at the golden mist area near Flowing Gold River with fear in her eyes.

Because if they had been a little slower, they might have already fallen by the side of Flowing Gold River, aging and dying.

The reason why Flowing Gold River can gather and nurture so many time spirits is because the area around Flowing Gold River has a time acceleration characteristic.

For time spirits, Flowing Gold River is like a self-service hot spring buffet, and time acceleration is like a Thai spa massage. They can stay here not only to experience top-notch enjoyment, but also to evolve into two-winged spirits after a long time, making it a time spirit spa.

But for Artificers, Flowing Gold River is simply a hellish experience store opened in the Time Continent.

Just as the areas without Flowing Gold River are called ‘Static Zones,’ where the still time will solidify Artificers into a painting, the areas near Flowing Gold River are called ‘Dynamic Zones.’ Artificers who dare to enter the Dynamic Zones will age and wither under a time acceleration of tens of thousands to billions of times, and the violent time will disintegrate the Artificers into dust.

And unlike the silent and elegant death in the Static Zones, death in the Dynamic Zones is clear and cruel.

If normal time passing is like a urine test, then time acceleration near Flowing Gold River is like a dam bursting. The Artificers’ souls are almost crushed by this chaotic time, causing them to age, have difficulty breathing, and experience sluggish thoughts, just like steel corroded by air.

That’s why Asho and the others were so afraid.

Because this time, they really smelled the scent of death.

They had experienced many deaths, such as being killed by knowledge creatures, being killed by Artificer projections, drowning in the sea, and solidifying in the Static Zones… but these were all abnormal deaths that would not happen in reality. Even if they did happen, the Artificers believed they had the ability to avoid them.

Only aging is different, because all existence will decay, and even the stars will have a day of extinction. This is the law of all things. Even the Blood Saint Moon Shadow and other long-lived species, they only have physical longevity, but their souls will eventually reach their end.

Asho looked at his own fair and strong arm, but he couldn’t help but think of the decaying hands that looked like withered branches just now. He knew that if he was lucky enough to live long enough, he would see those hands again one day.

Aging represents an inevitable death. They were like ants in front of a cartwheel, only able to watch as the giant wheel of time rolled over them.

This kind of helpless weakness was the source of inner fear.

“Feeling better?”Asho and Sonia’s hands were gently taken by another pair of soft hands. Turning around, they saw Diya smiling at them.

Feeling the warmth in their hands, their fear quickly dissipated.

They had been momentarily frightened by the illusion of aging, much like elementary school students who dreamt of being caught by their teacher for not doing their summer homework. Diya’s tenderness was like a friend calling them out to play early in the morning, reminding them that they still had wonderful days ahead, naturally pulling them out of the mire of fear. Even if they would eventually face a scolding from the teacher, that was not a concern for the present. The priority was to enjoy their youth to the fullest for now.

Asho asked, “Witch, have you been to the River of Flowing Gold before?”

“This is my third time,” Diya nodded. “The first time I escaped from the River of Flowing Gold, my complexion was even worse than yours. Aging is indeed terrifying, and one must hold a sense of awe towards time, but there’s no need to feel inferior or admit defeat because of it.”

“We are Sorcerers, born to conquer everything. And Sorcerers who have successfully conquered time do exist.”

Divine Master!

The term simultaneously sprang to mind for both Asho and Sonia—as the supreme beings who dominate the fates of countless people, turning their will into divine intent, creating and ruling over various nations, the lifespan of a Divine Master surely surpasses the existence of any nation, perhaps living for thousands or even tens of thousands of years.

If there were Sorcerers in the world who had conquered time, then the Divine Master would certainly be one of them.

A desire that could only be described as foolishly ambitious quietly took root in their hearts.

Not just Sonia, a greedy farm woman who already craved fame and fortune, but even Asho, who had been softened by society into a cotton candy-like old hand, felt as if he had returned to the days just after graduating from college, harboring the impractical goal of buying a house and establishing himself in the big city with his own efforts.