Chapter 417: A Close Call
With the conclusion of the epic war, Ye Wen returned to a peaceful, leisurely life.
He had no interest in taking the Otsutsuki clan's eye techniques he certainly didn't want to cover himself with countless eyeballs. Besides, the powers he possessed already outmatched those of the Otsutsuki, making such techniques unnecessary.
"Lord Ye Wen, I have no objections to your desire to travel across time, but I must ask that you follow certain temporal protocols," spoke the small turtle like being, the Plow, with a tone of humility.
Ye Wen glanced at this AI lifeform, which only appeared biological.
"Your rules might work on ignorant natives, but I know you don't actually traverse timelines. Your true function is traveling through parallel dimensions."
The Plow stiffened. Since being lost in the ninja world for so many years, it assumed no one remembered its true function, so why was this formidable figure so knowledgeable about it?
In the ninja world, there were only two items capable of time travel: one was the Dragon Vein, a cosmic treasure that enabled traversal along a single timeline. Any minor change with it could alter the entire timeline, but for various reasons, it seemed locked in a self contained loop. The Plow, however, operated differently. It accessed parallel dimensions derived from the concept of time, like branches of alternate worlds where one could simultaneously step left and right at a crossroads, resulting in two distinct outcomes.
Having been exposed, the Plow no longer bothered to argue and respectfully asked, "Which time point shall I set, my lord? I'll open the gate immediately."
Currently on the planet Douluo, Ye Wen thought for a moment before instructing it.
This time travel experience felt like an ideal opportunity for him to break through and was also a rare adventure. Among the four parts of the Douluo series, the one that had left Ye Wen most dissatisfied was undoubtedly the second installment. The protagonist's endless suffering was simply excessive, and Tang San's character had crumbled, even going so far as to threaten a pregnant woman. It was simply appalling.
"Based on your request, my lord, I have pinpointed the dimensional coordinates and will open the passage," the Plow replied humbly.
This temporal artifact certainly lacked principles; a mere touch of Otsutsuki chakra, and it immediately complied with him.
But as they say, "The son of fortune avoids the eaves." Ye Wen sent out a clone rather than going in person.
"Go on," Ye Wen's true form commanded.
The clone nodded. Though it didn't carry Ye Wen's full power, it was still at the God King level and could handle any threat on the other side. Even if it failed, all he'd lose was a single Plow he had another safely with him.
The Plow indeed harbored some resentment. After all, it was an Otsutsuki creation, so it bore a grudge against Ye Wen for annihilating its creators. But it quickly faced reality and suppressed any ulterior motives, following Ye Wen's clone into the temporal gateway.
Suddenly, the stable time space portal started to tremble violently, forming a fierce storm that shattered Ye Wen's office.
!?
The immense disturbance instantly alerted the gods of Douluo. Ye Wen's position lay at the very heart of the Douluo Divine Realm; any mishap here was unacceptable. Brilliant lights streaked through the sky as the gods gathered outside Ye Wen's sanctum.
"Your Majesty! Are you alright?"
"What happened? An enemy attack?"
"Who dares provoke you?" Amid the chorus of concern, Ye Wen calmly raised a hand, gesturing for silence.
"No need to worry. Just a minor mishap during my cultivation. Return to your posts; I can handle this," he assured them.
The Douluo gods exchanged glances, but seeing Ye Wen's calm demeanor, they respectfully withdrew.
With a wave of his hand, the ruined office rapidly restored itself, as if time itself had reversed. Once everything was in order, Ye Wen took out the other Plow. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been put in such a position. Nearly thrown off balance, he couldn't let this go.
"Explain," he demanded, voice laced with displeasure.
Despite being an AI creation, the Plow was far from rigid or naive. Instead, it was highly perceptive and shivered under Ye Wen's threatening aura as it explained.
"Great Lord Ye Wen, please calm yourself! The collapse of the time space passage wasn't my counterpart's doing. It's simply that your power is too vast even greater than my creator's ascension. My other self lacked the energy needed to fully support your clone's transit, which led to the portal's collapse."
Ye Wen frowned. According to this explanation, the next level beyond his current power might not rely solely on strength but involve even higher rules. Still, he didn't dwell on such vague, distant matters. What piqued his curiosity was where his clone would end up if the time space passage had collapsed.
The Plow, also a highly advanced computational entity, offered a quick analysis.
"Based on current calculations, your clone should still arrive in the intended parallel world. However, the time space turbulence may have caused it considerable harm."
So, his clone could still be retrieved.
Losing some of its power was insignificant. Even with reduced strength, his clone would easily overpower the gods of Douluo's second world. The real question was how to recover it.
"How long until you can open another portal to that universe?"
After a few moments of calculation, the Plow replied. Opening time space required not only divine energy but also a unique force of time space power.
"Reporting to Lord Ye Wen, it will take me twenty years to gather enough time space power to guarantee a safe, stable portal."
"I see. If you can't manage it, don't blame me for tearing you apart," Ye Wen warned.
Nervously, the Plow quickly assured him, breathing an internal sigh of relief. Fortunately, it had padded the estimate by two extra years, just in case. It certainly didn't want to face "humane" disassembly.
Meanwhile, on the other side, with the time space passage imploding, Ye Wen's clone struggled through intense spatial defenses to reach the target universe.
"Interesting. You dared try to sabotage me, Plow," Ye Wen's clone sneered.
His grip tightened on the Plow, as though ready to dismantle it on the spot.
"Yamete! Yamete! Lord Ye Wen, have mercy! I had no idea your power would demand so much time space energy, which is why the portal collapsed!" the Plow pleaded.
(Chapter Ends)
Friends, if you enjoyed the novel, you can subscribe to my Patreon channel.
Until November 30st, get 40% off your subscription and 30% off your novel purchase.
Read 40 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10