A deep, grayish airflow continuously seeps out of the irregular fissure that silently spans the sky. Even though Lin Yuan has been observing and gaining insight from it for five hundred years, he still finds it mesmerizing.
The rule fluctuations revealed from deep within that fissure are incredibly obscure, yet every moment of contemplation brings him new revelations.
“During these five hundred years, I devoted half my energy to comprehending the fusion of time and space rules, and I have finally reached the peak of the sixth level,” Lin Yuan remarked with some emotion.
“Without this A-grade cave dwelling, it would have taken me five or even ten times as long to reach the peak of the sixth level.”
Before initiating the eleventh transmigration, Lin Yuan’s time-space comprehension was at the mid-sixth level. Later, he advanced from the late sixth level to the peak of the sixth level. Lin Yuan had been confident it would take between two thousand and five thousand years to reach the peak of the sixth level, which was already an astonishingly fast pace.
Those rank-twelve ultimate beings in the main universe may spend hundreds of millions of years without making further progress in the fusion of time and space rules, even if it is just moving from mid-stage to late-stage. And that’s under the premise that these rank-twelve ultimate beings stand on the shores of the River of Time, possessing a life essence of that magnitude.
Lin Yuan, in essence, remains an eleventh-rank lifeform. Without his Unrivaled Insight, he might not even have touched the door to the sixth level of time-space fusion. Yet in only five hundred years, he has traversed a path that would have otherwise taken two to five thousand years in the main universe, greatly boosting his spirits.
He can remain in this world for roughly two thousand more years, so attaining only the peak of the sixth level in time-space fusion would have been a bit of a waste.
“The seventh level of time-space fusion…” Lin Yuan mused. Now that he has reached the peak of the sixth level, the only path ahead is to aim for the seventh.
According to the information left behind by His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign and the master of the Devil Jade Tower, attaining insight into the seventh level of time-space fusion would require someone at least at the pinnacle of the Path-Clearing stage. And that is only the prerequisite; there are many at the pinnacle of Path-Clearing who are still stuck at the peak of the sixth level of time-space fusion.
“If I can reach the seventh level, I’ll completely surpass those rank-twelve ultimate beings in the main universe in terms of time-space fusion insight. Even if I’m still rank eleven, it’ll be easy for me to protect myself.”
That thought rose in Lin Yuan’s mind.
It’s similar to how the Mysterious Emperor’s secret realm is not extremely high in its inherent level, so those most powerful eleventh-rank beings wielding ancestral weapons can easily destroy it from within.
But because the Mysterious Emperor’s secret realm has merged into the deepest folds of the main universe’s time and space, rank-twelve ultimate beings can easily crush the secret realm’s structure but cannot pinpoint its exact location.
Without the ability to destroy the entire universe, even a rank-twelve ultimate being can only watch helplessly as the secret realm appears and disappears.
If Lin Yuan masters the seventh level of time-space fusion, he can do the same. In terms of raw power, he might be far below those rank-twelve ultimate beings, but with seventh-level time-space comprehension, he can easily avoid being found by them.
“I sense that breaking through from the peak of the sixth level to the seventh level is going to involve many hurdles and barriers,” Lin Yuan observed thoughtfully.
“I still have many years left here, so I can take my time.”
Gathering his thoughts, Lin Yuan sighed, “It’s a pity that I still haven’t made any progress with the Chaos Rule.”
Over these five hundred years, the other half of Lin Yuan’s attention has been dedicated to other areas: refining the eleventh-rank martial path, studying numerous other foundational fusion rules, and exploring the Chaos Rule.
“The Immortal Realm’s origin…” Lin Yuan cast his gaze once again toward that irregular fissure above the dome of the sky.
This time, however, he was not just feeling out the rule fluctuations emanating from it—he was focusing on the fissure itself. The irregular tear leads straight to the Immortal Realm’s source, which is why such distinct rule-based dao fluctuations appear.
Other Jade Immortals might only sense the overwhelming pressure from this fissure. They wouldn’t dare harbor any other thoughts—and indeed couldn’t if they tried. Although a Dao Ancestor forcefully opened the origin point of the Immortal Realm to the outside world, even Jade Immortals who observe the fissure can’t perceive much more than that.
But Lin Yuan is different.
His mastery of time-space fusion at the peak of the sixth level allows his vision to faintly pierce through the fissure and behold that vast realm at the core of the Immortal Realm.
“The simple act of absorbing the rule-based dao fluctuations that leak from the realm’s origin has already benefited my understanding of the rules so greatly. If I could directly step inside the origin realm to cultivate, then…”
Lin Yuan’s heart thumped. The origin realm of any world is its absolute core, where one can witness the world’s most fundamental nature. The Immortal Realm’s overall level nearly reaches that of the main universe. Gaining insight into the Immortal Realm’s innermost workings would yield unimaginable benefits for understanding various rules.
“It’s just that the Immortal Realm’s source has long since been occupied by the Dao Ancestor of the Immortal Way…” Lin Yuan focused his far-reaching vision, sensing the presence of that Dao Ancestor’s aura in the realm’s core.
This Dao Ancestor was able to open a passage from the origin realm to the outside, so naturally, they can enter and remain there. With such a nurturing environment, as long as they’re not foolish, they would likely dwell there permanently.
Lin Yuan, in his current state, can force his way into that realm, but the Dao Ancestor would instantly sense him. At that point, Lin Yuan would be exposed to the Dao Ancestor’s gaze.
Though five hundred years of cultivation have substantially strengthened him, he still cannot contend with a rank-twelve ultimate being. Especially since the body he descended into this Immortal Realm with is not as finely honed as his one in the main universe.
“If I can attain seventh-level time-space fusion, I could avoid being discovered even under that Dao Ancestor’s nose—let alone enter the origin realm,” Lin Yuan mused.
Seventh-level time-space fusion would at least ensure he stands invincible at the Path-Clearing stage. The Dao Ancestor, despite being a rank-twelve ultimate being, should still be operating within the Path-Clearing framework.
“My eleventh-rank martial path is already halfway complete,” Lin Yuan noted, lines of text appearing before him. These were the notes to his Eleventh-Rank Martial Path.
Perfecting it is not only about creating a path of martial evolution to be disseminated, but also about reaffirming and reviewing his own road of cultivation. Only through total self-awareness and mastery can one move forward with a solid foundation, leading to an infinitely broader future.
“I can now send out an incarnation to spread the martial evolution path on a small scale,” Lin Yuan considered. The Immortal Realm is vast beyond measure, and the number of living beings here defies calculation. There’s no way Lin Yuan would miss the opportunity to spread his teachings.
As for worrying about the Dao Ancestor noticing? He planned to do it only on a small scale. In reality, although the Immortal Dao is the mainstream cultivation system in the Immortal Realm, many other systems do exist. They just pale in comparison. As long as the martial evolution path does not make too big a splash, it won’t attract the Dao Ancestor’s attention—or even that of most Jade Immortals.
After a moment’s thought, Lin Yuan left an incarnation behind to continue studying the irregular fissure linked to the origin realm, while his true body vanished from its location.
As the highest-level cultivation cave dwelling in Cangwu Immortal City, the A-grade dwelling is divided into multiple sections. The area where Lin Yuan normally meditates to glean insights from the fissure is just one part, dedicated to cultivation. There are other areas for hospitality, rest, and so on.
Inside a grand hall, Lin Yuan’s figure appeared out of thin air and took a seat on the throne.
“Master,” greeted a person below, bowing solemnly to Lin Yuan.
This individual was Yun Zhenzi—the Jade Immortal consciousness that originally lay dormant in the purple jade slip. Yun Zhenzi had perished nearly ten million years ago in the Immortal-Demon War, leaving behind resurrection methods.
When Lin Yuan probed the jade slip, it reactivated, attempting to take Lin Yuan’s body. The result was evident: Yun Zhenzi was easily subdued. Lin Yuan even appropriated Yun Zhenzi’s identity to gain access to this A-grade cave dwelling.
Because Lin Yuan needs to maintain Yun Zhenzi’s persona at all times, he never fully obliterated Yun Zhenzi’s consciousness. Instead, he reused it, helping Yun Zhenzi rebuild his body so that he could serve Lin Yuan’s purposes.
Yun Zhenzi was once a seasoned Jade Immortal. Now that Lin Yuan holds his life in the palm of his hand, he has no choice but to comply. During Lin Yuan’s five hundred years of seclusion, Yun Zhenzi has been handling various tasks—like purchasing cultivation resources. The resources Yun Zhenzi originally prepared were depleted over four hundred years ago.
Lin Yuan’s consumption of cultivation materials has been staggering, and getting more resources involves trading with the outside world. Since Lin Yuan can’t be bothered, Yun Zhenzi takes care of it all.
“What’s been going on lately?” Lin Yuan asked casually.
Among the tasks Lin Yuan assigned Yun Zhenzi was to keep an eye on significant events throughout the Immortal Realm.
“Master,” Yun Zhenzi began, quickly reciting all the intelligence he had gathered.
“The Abyss of Demons is appearing more and more frequently, which suggests another Immortal-Demon War is on the horizon,” Lin Yuan reflected.
Every few million or tens of millions of years, the will of the Abyss of Demons’s progenitor partially awakens, leading the fiends deep in the abyss to launch frenzied invasions into the Immortal Realm. This is what triggers the Immortal-Demon War.
“It does appear so. Cangwu Immortal City and other similar cities and forces are all preparing,” Yun Zhenzi said in a low voice. He himself had fallen in the last Immortal-Demon War, so he had always been keenly interested in any news of such large-scale conflicts that affect the entire Immortal Realm.
Each war claims countless immortals, and even Jade Immortals aren’t spared—Yun Zhenzi had been one, and he had died, so what chance did lesser Jade Immortals have?
“Master, a few days ago someone from the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce came by requesting you refine a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills,” Yun Zhenzi reported.
“Ah, Nine-Turn Golden Pills…” Lin Yuan stroked his chin.
Nine-Turn Golden Pills are a supreme life-saving elixir. For a Golden Immortal, no matter how severe the injury—so long as their true soul remains—the pill will instantly heal them. Even for a Jade Immortal, Nine-Turn Golden Pills can cure most injuries. To any faction, these pills are strategic resources, especially crucial now that the Immortal-Demon War is imminent.
Across these five centuries of seclusion, Lin Yuan has consumed a staggering amount of cultivation resources. How did he get them? By plundering? Sure, once or twice might have been fine, but not repeatedly—he would risk alarming the Jade Immortals, possibly drawing the attention of the Dao Ancestor.
Until he’s strong enough to disregard that interference, Lin Yuan would never be so brazen. His approach to obtaining resources has been to trade with other Jade Immortals or influential forces.
In the Immortal Realm, elixirs are essentially a hard currency. From common folk to Jade Immortals, everyone needs them for cultivation or other uses. Moreover, Yun Zhenzi had been quite talented in pill refining, so Lin Yuan also spent some time studying that craft.
Mastering it boils down to the meticulous manipulation of medicinal properties. With Lin Yuan’s rank-twelve-level mental will, he was practically born to be a grandmaster of pill refining. Coupled with his Unrivaled Insight, he surpassed Yun Zhenzi’s mastery in just a few days of research.
Hence, in addition to cultivating, Lin Yuan occasionally has Yun Zhenzi sell batches of pills he refines. Thanks to his exceptionally fine control over the subtle medicinal essences, both the quality and success rates of his elixirs are jaw-droppingly high. By repeatedly refining pills and selling them, he can support his own staggering consumption during these five hundred years of cultivation.
For Lin Yuan, refining a single rare elixir can yield tens or even hundreds of times its cost in profit, far more efficient than plundering or robbing others—and without the risk.
In the past few centuries, most of Lin Yuan’s sales have been done covertly; only a few dozen transactions have been out in the open. Even that has earned him quite a reputation as an alchemy master.
“They want a batch of Nine-Turn Golden Pills refined? What price are they willing to pay?” Lin Yuan asked with interest. Nine-Turn Golden Pills are strategic, high-level elixirs with a difficult refining process, involving a few extremely rare main ingredients.
But Lin Yuan need not worry about that—if the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce wants him to do it, they must provide all the necessary materials. As for the difficulty of refining, it’s no problem for Lin Yuan. The key is whether they can afford his price.
“The Jade Immortal of the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce wishes to negotiate the terms in person,” Yun Zhenzi replied at once.
The Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce is a Jade Immortal-level organization, run by nine dragon Jade Immortals. They are quite famous in the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains.
“Very well. Let him come see me.” Lin Yuan nodded.
“Yes, Master.” Yun Zhenzi immediately set about contacting the Jade Immortal from the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce.
Within moments, a dignified man wearing golden dragon-scale robes and sporting a green horn on his forehead arrived at the entrance to the cave dwelling.
“Greetings, Master Yun Zhenzi,” the Jade Immortal of the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce said courteously. Despite the fact that Lin Yuan had only sold pills publicly a few dozen times in the past few centuries, each one boasted exceptional quality, so the world at large believes Yun Zhenzi to be capable of refining Nine-Turn Golden Pills.
“Azure Dragon Guildmaster,” Lin Yuan addressed him.
Among the Nine Jade Immortal Guildmasters of the Nine Dragons Chamber of Commerce, the Azure Dragon Guildmaster is one of the top three in terms of power, known for his rather forceful style.
...
20 chapters ahead on patreon: patreon.com/David_Lord
66