'Awakening from a great dream, I've lost track of the years...'
It wasn't the true River of Time, after all. Once the power contained within the Spring and Autumn Cicada Exuviae was depleted, Bai Zichen staggered out.
He returned to his physical body, achieving Unity of Spirit and Body.
His entire being felt uncoordinated. He had been away from his body for so long that his limbs felt alien as he moved them.
He paced several times around the Tower Temple and circulated his True Essence for a full Circulation before he finally felt normal again.
To his pleasant surprise, he discovered his body hadn't been idle while he was in the River of Time. It had actually reached the peak of the Early-Stage Nascent Soul realm.
'So thirty years have passed... Excellent. I'll break through to the Mid-Stage Nascent Soul as soon as I can.'
A mere thought was all it took for Bai Zichen to discern how much time had passed.
