The Sorcerer's Handbook

Chapter 483: The White Ox’s Rainbow Tail

When Sonya and Dia stepped into the River of Flowing Gold, they finally understood why Ashe had hesitated before entering. While it was true that time did not inflict any damage on them, that did not mean time could not hold them back.

The River of Flowing Gold was forged from boundless knowledge, with every single drop of its water containing an entire mortal lifetime. Simply witnessing the river itself was enough to rapidly increase one’s experience in the Time Class.

Under different circumstances, sorcerers willingly endured the torment of aging to bathe in these waters, hoping to gain entry into the Time Class. To Ashe and his companions, however, this influx of data was nothing more than unnecessary noise. Having already reached Gold Rank in the Time Class, they could no longer absorb any meaningful nourishment from it. It was like solving a hundred basic arithmetic problems; the repetition would not improve your mathematical understanding.

”After me,” Ashe said before diving straight into the River of Flowing Gold and swimming downward.

The resistance was incredible. It was not merely the physical pressure of the water. More importantly, a powerful force actively pushed upward against him. Ashe felt as if he were not diving downward at all, instead trying to swim upward against a massive waterfall. It made sense. Since the rain flowed upward, the river would naturally flow upward as well.

Soon, the resistance reached a level that completely exceeded Ashe’s amateur swimming abilities. On top of that, the lifetimes of knowledge carried within the river constantly washed over him, making him feel extremely uncomfortable. His mind was stuffed to capacity with foreign memories, leaving him entirely unable to think about anything else.

Suddenly, two streaks of color swam past him. Ashe focused his vision and realized that the Witch and the Swordswoman had unfolded their Gold and Silver Wings, using them to slice through the heavy current. He immediately caught on and hurriedly spread his own virtual wings. Swimming in the air and swimming in water were essentially the same, meaning virtual wings could be used here as well.

Sure enough, Ashe was able to dive deeper with far greater ease. Since virtual wings required almost no physical strength or mental energy to maintain, the crushing impact of the time-related knowledge was greatly reduced.

Soon, another sensation, far greater, lonelier, more painful, and impossible to escape, rapidly occupied his mind. It was a crushing sense of insignificance.

In the face of this magnificent river formed from thousands, millions, and perhaps immeasurable years of history, Ashe felt that he was no longer diving into the River of Flowing Gold, viewing himself rather as a single drop of water dissolving into a boundless ocean. The more than twenty years of his life amounted to nothing more than a solitary speck within this vast current. Everything he cherished, everything he hated, everything he fought for, all of it would soon become an insignificant past swept away by the endless tide.

Give up.

Faced with such a magnificent river and recognizing his own tiny self, Ashe suddenly felt that his existence held no meaning. All struggles and efforts were nothing more than temporary splashes upon the surface of a great river. Why not simply drift with the current, follow the flow, and merge into something greater?

A faint purple glow flashed through Ashe’s pupils. No.

He quickly awakened from the nihilistic urge toward self-destruction, reaching out just in time to grab the Swordswoman, who was already close to losing herself. The moment they touched, the six-colored armor covering their bodies seemed to connect. A faint golden light flickered between their hands.

Through their Gold-level understanding of the Time Class, a sudden realization struck them. To resist the erosion of the river of time, one’s will must possess a sufficient accumulation of lifespan. If a single person’s lifespan proved insufficient, then multiple people could combine their lifetimes together.

Ashe forced himself forward and grabbed the struggling Witch.

The three of them became connected. Sonya and Dia’s consciousness gradually recovered, and Dia used her Aqua Lines to bind their hands together, allowing them to continue diving deeper as a single unit.

Yet their combined age was still insufficient. Their numbers were still too few.

Only then did Ashe realize that, much like the Golden Fish, the Rainbow Tail also carried a strict requirement regarding the number of people involved. If two elderly sorcerers who had lived through decades of hardship entered together, they would only need to hold hands to easily withstand the erosion of time. Aside from Ashe, whose experiences were slightly richer, the Swordswoman was still a university student who had yet to leave the ivory tower, while the Witch was an innocent girl who had never received a proper education and only spoke through fairy tales.

Their lives were simply too short. A single wave of time was enough to reduce them to mere bubbles.

If only they had a few more companions. If only they were a little older. If Ashe had experienced another dozen earth-shattering prison escapes, they could have easily reached the Rainbow Tail. Unfortunately, there were no ifs.

Seeing that they were almost unable to hold on, Ashe shook them awake. He wanted to speak, but sound could not travel through the water. Gesturing with his eyes was not enough either.

Then, inspiration struck. He traced words directly into their palms.

Demilo.

The two girls froze slightly. They recalled their first difficult battle on the Continent of Time. Despite being only a logistics commander, Demilo had still brought them overwhelming pressure. Only after calculating every possibility and surviving countless deadly situations had they barely managed to defeat that powerful enemy.

Legendary Library.

A flush spread across Dia’s face. That time, she had been too greedy and kept advancing all the way to the fourth floor, leaving empty-handed in the end.

Amnesia Cabin.

Whenever Sonya recalled her performance inside the Amnesia Cabin, she could not help but feel her cheeks burn with embarrassment.

Conceptual incarnation, Empress Hero.

The very beginning of all the misfortunes Ashe and the others experienced in the Virtual World.

Last Stand Arena.

The Witch and the Swordswoman recalled the two male sorcerers they had beaten up, their expressions becoming increasingly smug.

Chaotic Shopping Guide of Blessings and Curses.𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

They had later accidentally entered Oasis’ capital and triggered the Investiture War ahead of schedule. The reason behind everything, however, was simply that they had all been afflicted by the curse of ”having to make eye contact with others.”

Destiny Quiz.

The Garden Warzone.

Dark Illusion Miracle Paradise.

At this point, Sonya lightly pinched Ashe’s hand.

Under Ashe’s guidance, they gradually recalled their adventures throughout the Continent of Time. Those setbacks and victories, adventures and gains, powerful enemies and hardships, all of it had become nourishment for them. They had become each other’s anchors.

Ashe vaguely understood what the other six color mechanisms transformed by the Divine Lords must have been. They were likely mechanisms that allowed sorcerers to remain awake and continue pursuing time even within the grand and endless narrative of eternity. Unfortunately, those colors had been stolen by the Divine Lords. If they wanted to anchor their souls against the river’s physical erosion, they had to risk their lives to kill the commanders, whereas the anchor of their will could only be forged through their own lived experiences. The Divine Lords were guilty beyond redemption, earning the hateful curses of sorcerers everywhere.

The combined will of everyone gathered together ultimately endured the endless erosion of time. They continued swimming downward, deeper and deeper, like three rainbow-colored fish attempting to transform into dragons. Suddenly, Ashe and the others saw a white light appearing deep within the River of Flowing Gold.

The three of them tightened their grip on each other’s hands. Their three pairs of virtual wings flapped with all their strength, leaving behind traces of rainbow-colored tails in the River of Flowing Gold as they finally broke free from the restraints of time!

The moment they escaped the River of Flowing Gold, Ashe and the others immediately felt a bizarre sensation as their sense of up and down reversed. They almost fell back into the river because of it. Fortunately, the three of them supported one another and quickly stabilized themselves.

They had emerged from the River of Flowing Gold into a world of pure white and transparency. Ashe lowered his head and saw four enormous pillars walking upon a golden ocean.

Their current position was right at the tip of the tail. Ashe could see that the tail was tightly attached to the belly of a gigantic beast, and every strand of tail hair extended into a River of Flowing Gold. The River of Flowing Gold they had struggled so desperately to dive into had now become a suspended waterfall flowing upward. As they swam upward through the river while wearing the Six-Colored Anchor, their colors had rapidly contaminated the entire tail.

It was not merely the tail hairs; the closer they drew to the tip, the closer the tail’s coloration approached a vibrant rainbow. Beyond the giant beast itself, their own bodies had been deeply dyed with the colors of the River of Flowing Gold. A seven-colored mist now swirled around them, dazzling and magnificent.

The White Ox’s rainbow tail. The Golden Fish is not in the sea; it is in the sky. The Rainbow Tail is not above us; it is inside the river. This is the true body of the Celestial Chariot Ox. This is the truth behind the Rainbow Tail!

Dia suddenly spoke, ”There.”

Ashe looked over and saw the source of the River of Flowing Gold not far away. It was a gigantic door constructed from a purple stone tablet, green vines, red soil, blue minerals, orange fruits, and cyan bones. At the bottom of the doorway, endless streams of the River of Flowing Gold flowed out from within.

They walked before the massive door. The other side of the door was completely empty, yet all three of them knew that what awaited them beyond it was not emptiness, but the rainbow.

Sonya suddenly stepped to the center and grabbed both of their hands. There was no longer any need for unnecessary words. The three of them exchanged glances and together stepped through the enormous door inside the White Ox.

The next moment, they were disassembled.