Their commission was suspicious.

"So it seems that none of our family's inheritances are useful to you, Luo. It's a bit of a pity," Luo Li said.

"What's there to regret? I think it's better not to use your method of blasting the river of time. But Mom, is blasting the river of time the only time-related ability you have? Nothing else?"

"Yes, there is, but... if you really want to learn, Xiao Luo, I'll teach you when we get back. After all, it's hard to explain over the phone. However, I can teach you a method to obtain water from the River of Time."

"What method?" Xiao Jiu asked subconsciously.

Then, after being glanced at by Chen Luo, Xiao Jiu immediately covered her mouth.

"Children? Is this your time-manipulation ability user friend?" But Luo Li also heard Xiao Jiu's voice, so she couldn't help but ask.

"Mm," Chen Luo replied softly.

"...Lolo, go and turn yourself in."

"Huh? What did I do? I just went to turn myself in?"

"You brat, you actually attacked someone when they were still a child, and you even tried to do whatever you wanted to them using that method of blowing up the river of time..."

"Wait a minute, Mom, you're the one who said those four words, 'do whatever you want,' right? I didn't say a single word about it."

"Oh, really? Then you must have mixed them up. In that case, you don't need to turn yourself in."

"...I think you should turn yourself in, Mom."

"Are you kidding me? What prison in the world would dare to lock me up?" Luo Li snorted coldly.

"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll make sure you lose your mother in the next second, you believe me?" Luo Li threatened Chen Luo.

"Oh, no, no, no, Mom, I was wrong."

Chen Luo was afraid that his mother would say something like severing their mother-son relationship at any moment.

Chen Luo's worries were not unfounded, because Chen Luo had already severed his mother-son relationship with Luo Li many times before.

The first time the mother-son relationship was severed seemed to be because... because... Chen Luo didn't give Luo Li the sausage from his breakfast?

Chen Luo couldn't quite remember, but it happened quite a few times.

For Chen Luo, severing ties with his mother wasn't something he was threatened with, but there were people around, and he couldn't afford to lose face in front of outsiders.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic. Xiao Luo, you'll know how to obtain the River of Time by opening the item on the right bedside table."

"Can this be shared? I'm willing to pay for it," Xiao Jiu couldn't help but ask again.

“No, it’s a family heirloom.” Luo Li refused decisively.

Are you kidding me? You think you can out-money me?

"Ok."

Xiao Jiu was a little disappointed, but that method wasn't absolutely necessary. Although she was indeed frightened by Luo Li's threat earlier, that was because that thing came from the world consciousness, simply a matter of different levels.

As for how time might flow, Xiao Jiu believes he is the expert.

Even if it's not as fast as the method provided by the world consciousness, it shouldn't be much inferior to Luo Li's method. Moreover, how to obtain the River of Time is indeed a closely guarded secret, so it's normal that it's difficult to obtain it on your own.

"Alright, Xiao Luo, your dad and I are going to play matchmaker now, so don't call me for now. I'll call you when I have time. Bye bye."

Goodbye, dear Mother.

"Phew..." Chen Luo breathed a sigh of relief after hanging up the phone.

Since my parents still have time to act as matchmakers for others, it means they are in a fairly comfortable situation.

"Hey, wait, he's already hanging up?" After a moment of distraction, Xiao Jiu realized that Chen Luo had already hung up the phone.

"Yeah, I've already said goodbye to my mom, why wouldn't I hang up?" Chen Luofan asked.

"You didn't even ask in detail what's in the Dimensional Sea, like how to leave the world, how to become a boundary breaker, how to enter the Dimensional Sea, what kind of transportation to use in the Dimensional Sea, whether you'll encounter people, or whether there's a place to stay. You didn't ask any of those things," Xiao Jiu said rapidly.

"Huh? I'm not planning to go to the Dimensional Sea, so why am I asking these questions?"

"I want to go. Otherwise, why would I be asking you?"

"Come on, with your small frame, you'd be easy prey. You should be thinking about when you'll return to your adult form." Chen Luo rubbed Xiao Jiu's face.

The curse of time on Xiao Jiu had not yet been lifted, which surprised Chen Luo, considering that Kaguya Houraisan's curse of time was lifted not long afterward.

“Even if we don’t go now, can’t we at least ask beforehand? Don’t we usually need to prepare for such a big event for 1 to 10 years? It’s even normal to prepare for 10 or 20 years,” Xiao Jiu said.

"...I'm sorry, I've only been a gifted person for a little over two months, and I'm only 17 years old since I was born." Chen Luo admitted that he really couldn't understand Xiao Jiu's sense of time.

"...If we weren't so close, I would suspect you were being sarcastic. Even now that we're close, I still suspect you're showing off. But there's something I need to remind you, Chen Luo." Xiao Jiu's expression suddenly turned serious.

"What did you say?" Chen Luo was taken aback.

“Now that you have become the River God and an immortal being, you should use the concept of an immortal to examine time. After all, 100 years is long enough for ordinary people, but for immortals, 1000 years is just one cycle... like your world.” Xiao Jiu said seriously.

"...Thank you for your concern, but you don't need to worry too much. Although my sense of time hasn't changed yet, I have a group of friends and toys to keep me company, so I'll probably never get bored. If I do get bored, I'll just go find new toys. The world is so big, there will always be some new friends." Chen Luo looked towards the bar's entrance.

The world is so big, Chen Luo will always encounter plenty of things that interest him.

“I can understand being a friend, but what is a toy?” Xiao Jiu tilted her head.

The "friends" probably refer to people like Yakumo Yukari, Merlin, and herself. And the "toys"... does that mean Yvette?

"..." Chen Luo didn't speak, but quietly looked at Xiao Jiu.

"..."

"..."

The air grew still, and the atmosphere gradually became oppressive.

"Chen! Luo! Who are you calling a toy!" Xiao Jiu revealed its fangs and then bit Chen Luo's wrist.

You son of a bitch...

Xiao Jiu originally thought she was among the friends, but unexpectedly, Chen Luo categorized her as a toy? How could Xiao Jiu tolerate this?

[Xiao Jiu knows you're joking, but she just wants to bite you openly and legitimately.] The user-friendly plugin reminded her.

"Tsk, you can tell she really wants to bite me." Chen Luo slowly waved his hand, and Xiao Jiu's body rose and fell with it.

All I can say is that Xiao Jiu bit Chen Luo's wrist really hard.

"Alright, let go now. I'm going to see what good stuff is in my mom's cupboard. For example, aren't you interested in that thing that can blow up the Changhe River for a while?" Chen Luo reached out and teased Xiao Jiu's chin like he was petting a cat. After struggling for a moment, Xiao Jiu let go of her mouth.

"What if you don't come back?" Xiao Jiu looked at Chen Luo suspiciously.

You can run away but you can't hide. But after Chen Luo returned to the bar that night, Xiao Jiu was too embarrassed to act up in front of everyone.

Even as the Heavenly Emperor, he still had some sense of shame.

"Then go and never come back!"

"...You have to come back. And let me see what it is! Three minutes at most."

[Ding! You have a new request!]

Xiao Jiu now understands the best way to control Chen Luo: offer him an irresistible temptation—raw stones.

Of course, you will also have to pay some rewards in return, such as the power of faith.

"You're pretty smart, kid." Chen Luo sighed.

"Kid?" Xiao Jiu started grinding his teeth again.

"Ahem, I mean, I'm going to see what's so powerful."

"That's the best thing you could say."

Just you wait, Chen Luo. When I become an adult, I'll suffocate you with my chest!

A teenager? She's no good; she's not much stronger than a child.

Chapter 1428 The Source of the River of Time—Time Crystal

"Time Crystal? No way? Are all agents this rich?" Xiao Jiu was completely dumbfounded.

I am the mighty Heavenly Emperor, what grand scenes haven't I seen?

But Xiao Jiu had never seen such a grand scene before.

After Chen Luo took that thing out of the cabinet his mother had mentioned and brought it back to the bar, Xiao Jiu's expression remained unchanged.

First came shock, then numbness, then more shock, then more numbness...

Chen Luo wasn't worried about taking the wrong thing, because his parents' right bedside table only contained this one thing besides books.

Therefore, Chen Luo couldn't have taken the wrong thing.

The user-friendly plugin also explained to Chen Luo what this thing actually was...

"What's wrong? Is this thing very precious?" Chen Luo asked, resting his hand on the table.

"It's not a matter of whether this thing is precious or not, but I can't understand why she can appear here so openly. You know... the Imperial Seal of the State, right? The one that signifies that the mandate of heaven is bestowed upon the people and that the people will live forever." Xiao Jiu stared longingly at the prismatic crystal on the table, but didn't dare to touch it.

"Nonsense, of course I know about the He Shi Bi jade. So, this thing is really powerful?"

"It's not a matter of how powerful this thing is. Do you know why it's called the Time Source Crystal? It's because this thing is the source of the River of Time. The endless river of time that flows through the past and present originates from here."

"That does sound really impressive."

"Can you stop looking so indifferent? This is a Time Crystal, you know." Xiao Jiu rolled her eyes at Chen Luo.

"But there's something you haven't said yet, so stop keeping me in suspense."

“Ahem, the River of Time does indeed flow from the Time Source Crystal, but what we see here is only a small part of the Time Source Crystal, not the whole thing. But even so, it can create a tributary of the River of Time!” Xiao Jiu said with great certainty.

Although Xiao Jiu didn't know how Chen Luo figured out that she had something to say but hadn't, she figured that since Chen Luo's mother had put it in the bedside table, there must be an explanation of how to use it inside.

"But what I can't understand is why this thing can exist in reality, since no one can see it." Xiao Jiu was puzzled.

"Since no one can see it, how do you know that this thing is a Time Source Crystal and not a replica?" Chen Luo seized on the loophole in Xiao Jiu's words.

"I said that no one has ever seen the Time Source Crystal because the River of Time cannot possibly have a source, and the Time Source Crystal, as the source of the River of Time, should not exist. This is a paradox, so logically speaking, no one should be able to see it, so naturally no one has ever seen it."

“But there are always exceptions. There are always some geniuses in the world who are born to follow a certain path, and in that fleeting glimpse when they embark on that path, they may be able to glimpse the origin of the world.” Xiao Jiu pointed to herself, and then to the Time Crystal.

Clearly, the "genius" refers to Xiao Jiu, while the "origin of the world" refers to the Time Crystal.

However, this happened many years ago.

Even Xiao Jiu, who travels against the flow of time, never expected that someone could pry off a piece of Time Source Crystal from the end of time (which is also the source).

Because the chance to catch a glimpse of the Time Source Crystal only comes once, Xiao Jiu doesn't know the current state of the Time Source Crystal. However, the River of Time doesn't seem to be any different from what it was countless years ago.

"Chen Luo, you and your mother should discuss it and see if you can recommend me to be the proxy. How about it? Just have your mother mention it to the world's consciousness: whether it works out or not is up to fate. The reward is that you can choose whatever you want from me, you can take it all. I have a lot of faith power on me, you know," Xiao Jiu tempted.

"Shut up, keep quiet. If you want to be a pilgrim, go find my mother yourself. I'm not going to speak for you, and don't make any wishes."

"Don't say that. You're so important to your parents, how can I compare?"

"You know I'm important, so does that mean the other two aren't important to me? I still want my parents to retire early, so don't do anything rash."

"Tch." Seeing that Chen Luo's mind was made up, Xiao Jiu could only drool and look at the Time Crystal while feeling heartbroken.

Why isn't this mine?

"Thinking about it carefully, since no one can actually obtain the Time Source Crystal, it means that the Time Source Crystal is inherently the wealth of this world and does not belong to anyone. Therefore, it seems reasonable for the world consciousness to use it as a reward. But isn't this too generous? And Chen Luo, your mother is really wasting resources. Why doesn't she carry such a thing with her? Isn't your mother a time-based cultivator?"

"Aren't you afraid that if you let your mom carry this around, she might suddenly decide to blow up the River of Time? Let me tell you, my mom is capable of doing something like that. No one knows a mother better than her son."

In Chen Luo's memory, what couldn't his mother do?

"..."

"Alright, alright, I'm taking this." After saying goodbye to Xiao Jiu, Chen Luo picked up the Time Crystal.

"Tsk tsk, it really is a family heirloom. Even I wouldn't dare touch it, but you can pick it up so easily. The World Consciousness really gives a lot. I really want to be the agent of the World Consciousness." Xiao Jiu's envy still couldn't be put away.

For Xiao Jiu, this Time Source Crystal is equivalent to the Primordial Purple Qi in the mythical primordial world.

In prehistoric novels, after a sage obtains the Primordial Purple Qi and becomes a saint, he essentially becomes a puppet of the Heavenly Dao. But even so, no one is willing to give it up, right?

Being a puppet of world consciousness versus being a puppet of the Heavenly Dao—the former sounds much freer.

Being an agent, or even having the opportunity to contact things beyond the world, isn't that better than being the Heavenly Emperor?

"Plop." A finger-length, rhomboid-shaped time crystal was thrown into the water glass by Chen Luo.

"Tsk, you know how to use Time Crystals, don't you?" Xiao Jiu was a little disappointed when she saw this.

If Chen Luo didn't know how to use this thing, he might be able to get some Time River Water for free.