Lu Yuan never expected to run into Jian Ruhai, the Sect Master of the Hidden Sword Sect, right here. And then, very close by, another figure appeared: Jian Rundun, whom Lu Yuan had met at the Hidden Sword Sect.

Jian Rundun was Jian Ruhai's son; his wisdom regarding the Way of the Sword was average, his looks ordinary, and he was a good-natured fellow. Jian Rundun offered a greeting: "Junior Brother Lu." Lu Yuan returned the salute with an acknowledgment.

Jian Ruhai spoke, "There’s no rush about the time; I’ll explain why I am here. It’s actually quite simple: I came to assassinate Teng Biazhongzu of the Desolate Beast Gate, but I hadn't expected you to move first." This certainly offered an explanation, but it raised even more questions.

"Years ago, the former Sword Master of your sect, Zhuge Zhi Shang, and I, in our youthful arrogance, stumbled upon the Desolate Saint Imperial Son. Seeing that he was heavily wounded, we challenged him, intending to eliminate this grave threat to the Way of the Sword.

The result was that even in his severely injured state, the Desolate Saint Imperial Son was far beyond our combined strength. In that battle, Zhuge Zhi Shang suffered a worse injury, causing his cultivation to regress to the second heaven of the World Realm, making further progress nearly impossible, and greatly diminishing his lifespan.

As for myself, my injuries were not as severe. I used the Myriad Swords Return to the Origin technique for recuperation, which stimulated the sword energy within my body, allowing my power to recover.

I remained at the fourth heaven of the World Realm; my cultivation did not decline because of it." "And now, I am at the fifth heaven of the World Realm," Jian Ruhai stated, finishing the introduction of his current strength. "Since I have dedicated myself to the Way of the Sword, I am an absolute enemy of the Desolate faction.

If I encounter any lone members of the Desolate faction, I intend to assassinate this Teng Biazhongzu, who possesses the power of the fourth heaven of the World Realm. Compared to my fifth heaven of the World Realm, our true combat strength should be similar.

That is why I infiltrated this location, planning to strike during the chaos of the Great Battle of the Six Sects." "That is the reason I am here. As it turns out, Teng Biazhongzu has already been slain by you." "Impressive, truly impressive," Jian Ruhai praised.

"I witnessed your battle against Teng Biazhongzu; it was extraordinarily brilliant. I truly didn't expect your swordsmanship to have reached this level." "However, do you possess some strange power that counters the Desolate faction?

Otherwise, you couldn't have killed Teng Biazhongzu." Jian Ruhai looked at Lu Yuan. "You don't need to admit it, nor do you need to deny it; I have no interest in knowing.

In ten days, the Ancestor of the Desolate Beast Gate will arrive. Given the characteristic where the Desolate counters the Sword, even though I am at the fifth heaven of the World Realm, I am no match for the Ancestor of the Desolate Beast Gate." "If you could reach the third heaven of the World Realm, could you defeat the Ancestor of the Desolate Beast Gate at the fifth heaven of the World Realm?" Jian Ruhai inquired, while Jian Rundun beside him also looked at Lu Yuan with burning intensity.

"I can," Lu Yuan nodded. "That solves the problem then," Jian Ruhai couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Since you are so confident, I will bestow upon you the method our Hidden Sword Sect uses to reach the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm." "Generally speaking, according to the method of the Manifest Sword Sect, to reach the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm, one must use the Heaven-Opening Time Stone, harnessing its power to release the time within one's personal space, thus establishing a flow of time within one's own domain. This is correct," Jian Ruhai said.

"But it is also clear that there is no Heaven-Opening Time Stone here." "Our Hidden Sword Sect also possesses a method to achieve the Time Realm; that method is Time! Acceleration!" Time!

Acceleration! Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned.

"You have now mastered the Iron Rule of Time, which allows you to slow down time. However, this is only the beginning of the Iron Rule of Time.

Following this rule are Time Acceleration, Time Stoppage. Or what use do you imagine Time Acceleration has?

Is it perhaps just to age your lifespan faster?" "It is rumored that your Manifest Sword Sect has the Twelve Swordsmen Grand Array. I don't know if you have encountered it, but in that formation, the flow of time is almost completely halted.

If one could use Time Acceleration to restore time to normal, one would no longer fear the Twelve Swordsmen Grand Array," Jian Ruhai explained. "If time itself completely stops, multiplying it by any factor still results in zero.

But the reality is that so-called time stoppage cannot be absolute cessation; put plainly, it is only infinitesimally close to zero, not truly equal to zero. If it were truly zero, acceleration would be useless.

But if it is merely infinitely close to zero, acceleration works." "Similarly, within your personal space, time exists, pushing forward extremely slowly. However, the flow of time is basically infinitely close to zero, making you think there is no temporal flow inside.

"If one can use Time Acceleration, one can restore the temporal flow within your personal space to a normal state." "At that point, the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm, will naturally be achieved." Listening to Jian Ruhai’s theory, Lu Yuan gradually understood. Essentially, the concept revolved around the difference between time completely stopping (equal to zero) and time not completely stopping (infinitely close to zero).

According to Jian Ruhai, time flow could only approach zero infinitely, never truly equal zero, ceasing all movement. If Jian Ruhai's theory held true, mastering Time Acceleration, and accelerating time by a sufficient multiple, could allow one to reach the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm.

Jian Ruhai looked back at Lu Yuan: "…That's right. As long as you master Time Acceleration, and accelerate it by enough multiples, you can reach the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm." If one fold of time acceleration wasn't enough, use ten.

If ten folds weren't enough, use a hundred. If a hundred wasn't enough, use a thousand.

Regardless, using this method would unequivocally allow one to reach the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm. The current problem, then, was how to achieve time acceleration.

Lu Yuan looked towards Jian Ruhai, who said, "As for how to practice Time Acceleration, our Hidden Sword Sect does have a method." Jian Ruhai flicked his hand and drew a silk scroll from his sleeve, slowly unrolling it. Lu Yuan saw that the scroll seemed to be covered in countless dots.

Jian Ruhai said, "This is one of the supreme treasures of the Hidden Sword Sect: the Diagram of Time, a scroll used for cultivating the Iron Rule of Time." "Now, observe this diagram and begin your cultivation." He did not offer extensive explanation. Since he wasn't elaborating, Lu Yuan naturally stopped thinking about other things and settled his mind to gaze upon the diagram.

The diagram appeared to contain a vast number of points. Lu Yuan focused his gaze for a long time but could discern nothing else; looking at dots for too long only revealed more dots, which refused to transform into anything else.

Lu Yuan did not let his attention wander, continuing to observe the overall form of the diagram, yet still finding no change. Jian Ruhai must have had a reason for telling him to look at this diagram.

He pushed aside all extraneous thoughts. After the incident with the Sword Forgetting Stele, clearing his mind was easier than before.

Moreover, Lu Yuan had found a specific state—one where only the sword was remembered. In this state, Lu Yuan gradually perceived the diagram's uniqueness.

The points on the diagram suddenly seemed to become much finer, resembling individual particles colliding in extreme chaos. Lu Yuan suddenly distanced his perception from these particles and was astonished to discover that the countless particles constituted the River of Time—yes, the River of Time manifested through the Three Extremes Unification Style.

In other words, these were Time Particles. Lu Yuan opened his eyes: "Time Particles?" "Precisely, Time Particles," Jian Ruhai nodded.

"Now that you have seen the Time Particles, you can enter this Diagram of Time and study the method for Time Acceleration within it." Upon hearing Jian Ruhai's words, Lu Yuan nodded, grasping the general idea of this cultivation session—though only generally. Without hesitation, Lu Yuan plunged his spiritual consciousness into the Diagram of Time.

As his consciousness fully entered, he felt himself immersed within countless Time Particles, which flowed and surged around him like a mighty river. He had never been so close to time.

As Lu Yuan immersed himself in the Diagram of Time, Jian Ruhai's relaxed expression vanished. Jian Rundun, having followed his father for many years, understood a bit of Jian Ruhai’s temperament.

"Father, achieving success with this Diagram of Time is probably not as easy as you stated, is it?" "Correct. To reach the third heaven of the World Realm without the aid of the Heaven-Opening Time Stone is inherently extremely difficult," Jian Ruhai affirmed.

"In truth, this Diagram of Time can indeed allow one to master Time Acceleration. Generally, mastering Time Acceleration within here allows for onefold, fivefold, or tenfold acceleration; these are not difficult." "But achieving a hundredfold acceleration is exceedingly difficult." "Achieving several hundredfold is the utmost difficulty." "Achieving a thousandfold Time Acceleration has never been done before." "And Lu Yuan’s Sword Space likely requires at least several hundredfold Time Acceleration just to make time begin to flow, perhaps even a thousandfold.

Thus, even Time Acceleration makes it incredibly hard for Lu Yuan to reach the third heaven of the World Realm, the Time Realm," Jian Ruhai nodded. "In fact, the Diagram of Time was not originally designed for breaking through to the third heaven of the World Realm." "Then why have Lu Yuan use the Diagram of Time for cultivation?" Jian Rundun couldn't help but ask.

"Because there is no other way, absolutely no other way. The Diagram of Time offers the only sliver of hope for success.

After all, by cultivating with the Diagram of Time, the maximum achievable acceleration is four hundredfold. If Lu Yuan can cultivate his Time Acceleration to four hundredfold, and that is all his breakthrough to the third heaven of the World Realm requires, then he can achieve the third heaven of the World Realm." "This is the only hope," Jian Ruhai looked toward the distance, where the gray mist of the Lost Fog hung heavily.

Simply put, the current problem was: how many multiples of Time Acceleration can be achieved using the Diagram of Time? And how many multiples of Time Acceleration does Lu Yuan need to break through to the World Realm?

If the maximum Time Acceleration achievable by the Diagram of Time exceeds the multiple Lu Yuan needs to break through to the third heaven of the World Realm, then he can reach the third heaven of the World Realm.