Monarch of Time



The moment that he stepped past the entrance of the forest and entered inside, Shun Long could see the white fog around him that had started to thicken and become much denser than before, as it quickly began to obscure his surroundings.

Even with his soul sense that he had spread to his limits before entering the forest, Shun Long was still unable to sense even a single blade of grass around him while his own vision barely extended beyond his own fingers.

''Eh? Even my soul sense can't penetrate this white fog...?'' Shun Long mumbled to himself in a surprised tone, as his footsteps instantly came to a halt moments after entering the forest.

Although the memory jades of the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' had mentioned that groups would be split upon entering the 'Illusion oasis' and everyone would have to fend for themselves and clear the trials alone, they didn't mention anything about this white fog.

Of course, whether the people of the 'White tiger chamber of commerce' had intentionally concealed this information or not was unknown, but Shun Long could also sense one more thing after entering the 'Illusion oasis'.

This white fog around him wasn't just suppressing his vision and his soul sense, but it was slowly trying to invade his spiritual sea as well.

Even though its effects weren't too obvious, most early-stage Dao Kings would be unable to sense it and guard their spiritual seas until it was too late.

And yet, Shun Long merely smiled and closed his eyes for a moment, before his spiritual strength inside his spiritual sea started to surge wildly like a wild beast that had just been provoked.

The remnant energy of the white fog had barely managed to enter Shun Long's spiritual sea before it was crushed to nothingness by the overwhelming power of his spiritual strength.

After remaining in that spot for a few more moments, Shun Long opened his eyes and began to make his way deeper towards the 'Illusion oasis' shortly afterwards.

...

''It seems that this trial is just testing one's spiritual strength. If that's the case, this trial will be even easier for master than the last one.'' Inside the foggy space in the 'Stone of Time', Little Black murmured in a low voice as he continued to watch Shun Long who was calmly making his way deeper towards the 'Illusion oasis'.

The power of the white fog was becoming even more intense the deeper inside the forest he was heading, and yet Shun Long seemed to be completely unaffected by it. 

By now, most early-stage Dao Kings would be struggling to take even a single step forward while even some middle-stage Dao Kings would have some trouble continuing forward, and yet Shun Long continued to walk at a steady pace as if the white fog around him didn't even exist.

After walking forward for half an hour, Shun Long's eyes widened in surprise while his footsteps involuntarily came to a halt as well, as the white fog in front of him suddenly started to churn and coalesce together, slowly taking the form of a large magic beast that was more than 15 meters (49ft) tall.

Moments later, a large leopard that was made entirely from white fog stood in front of Shun Long, staring at him with its pair of intelligent eyes that made it look like a real, living magic beast.

This leopard was even emitting an aura at the middle of rank 6, and was probably strong enough to threaten most middle rank 6 Dao Kings without too much trouble!

Whether it was its appearance or the aura that was coming from its body, the white leopard in front of Shun Long didn't seem to be any different from an actual middle rank 6 magic beast!

''Rooooaaaarrrr!''

The leopard let out a loud roar the moment its eyes met with Shun Long's, before its figure turned into a blur as it shot towards Shun Long without any hesitation.

With a calm look on his face Shun Long circulated the 'Monarch's Hourglass', causing his eyes to immediately turn golden, before he waved his right hand, taking out the black sword from the 'Stone of Time'.

The moment the black sword appeared in his hands, Shun Long's entire aura seemed to have changed, startling even the leopard that was heading towards him.

Sensing the profound aura around Shun Long that made him seem like a sharp sword that was going to cut down anything that dared to stand in front of him, the leopard's figure trembled for a moment, before it opened its mouth and aimed directly for Shun Long's neck.

And yet, Shun Long's lips merely curved upwards as he stared at the white leopard that was just a few meters away from him, before he said in a calm voice

''Monarch's Domain!''

The invisible figure of an hourglass expanded from Shun Long's body, forcibly slowing down the flow of time around the leopard and causing its speed to plummet.

At the same time, a strand of sword qi materialized from the tip of the black sword, heading directly for the leopard's massive neck.

The white leopard didn't even have enough time to react before the strand of sword qi cut through its neck without any resistance, severing its head from the rest of its body and causing its figure to collapse on the ground!

The moment that the leopard's figure collapsed, its body turned back into white fog, but surprisingly, the fog didn't disperse, but it actually started to gather together at the same spot.

Moments later, the white fog turned into a single, translucent drop of water that floated in front of Shun Long, causing his eyes to widen in incredulousness and disbelief.

''This is... a drop of 'Immortal water'?'' Shun Long mumbled to himself in disbelief as he stretched out his hand and grabbed the translucent drop of water in front of him, allowing it to float in his palm.