The Immortal Realm’s consciousness can effortlessly draw upon the entire Immortal Realm’s power. Even someone at the twelfth rank like the Immortal Dao Ancestor would have to back down in the face of that immense might.
The whole Immortal Realm is essentially the consciousness’s own body, so even though Lin Yuan entered the core of its origin—a place that prevents it from wielding the Immortal Realm’s might—the consciousness can still manipulate the myriad rules themselves to confront him.
After Lin Yuan brought forth the rule of chaos, it naturally suppressed all those myriad rules, leading the Immortal Realm’s consciousness to realize that, even if it controlled every rule, it still couldn’t handle Lin Yuan. Fear arose. At this moment, if Lin Yuan wished, he truly could erase the Immortal Realm’s consciousness by force.
Of course, the consciousness still has one last way to resist: initiating a grand collapse by guiding the Immortal Realm to implode. In that case, its myriad rules would coalesce into the rule of chaos to fight against Lin Yuan.
Yet the Immortal Realm’s consciousness itself would disintegrate as well. Although the Immortal Realm, once destroyed, would eventually rebuild and nurture a new consciousness, that newborn consciousness would no longer be the same one as before.
Hence, unless there’s truly no alternative, the Immortal Realm’s consciousness will never voluntarily destroy itself. Being erased differs little from that outcome.
“Relax, I’m not going to erase you.”
Lin Yuan spoke casually. Erasing the Immortal Realm’s consciousness offers him no real benefit. He has basically gleaned all he could from the core rules of the Immortal Realm; removing its consciousness wouldn’t help him much.
Simply put, Lin Yuan has already gained everything he can from the Immortal Realm’s consciousness. If he backed it into a corner, it might unleash a grand collapse and drag them both down. Lin Yuan himself wouldn’t care—he can return to the main universe at any moment.
But then the thousand-year effort of spreading the martial path throughout the Immortal Realm’s thirty-three immortal domains would be for nothing. Without the Immortal Realm, those who practiced the martial path would be gone as well.
“Still, if the rule of chaos can suppress a world’s consciousness, I wonder about the consciousness of the main universe…”
A thought passed through Lin Yuan’s mind.
Though the Immortal Realm and the main universe are roughly on the same level, the rules in the main universe are undoubtedly of a higher essence than those of the Immortal Realm. For instance, at the Immortal Realm’s core, comprehending a pillar-level fused rule up to the seventh level is already the limit. Yet in the main universe’s core, that limit could reach the eighth or even ninth level.
“Then again, I doubt I can even enter the main universe’s core region right now.”
Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.
His access here wasn’t purely due to brute strength; it was thanks to surpassing the Immortal Realm’s time-and-space rules at the seventh level of time and space. As for forcing his way in? Even the immeasurable might of the Immortal Realm can suppress ordinary twelfth-rank ultimates; the Immortal Dao Ancestor is proof of that. And the time and space of the main universe is vaster still.
To surpass the main universe’s time and space, Lin Yuan might need to reach the eighth or even ninth level in time-and-space insight. But the eighth or ninth level of time-and-space is an extremely high bar. Even for Lin Yuan, it would likely be possible only after stepping into the twelfth rank.
Recall that one of the Mysterious Sovereign’s proudest feats is having reached the ninth level of time-and-space insight. Even peak Chaos-stage powerhouses at the twelfth rank rarely achieve that.
“It’s time to go.”
Lin Yuan cast a glance at the Immortal Realm’s consciousness, and his figure vanished from the core.
Having brought forth the rule of chaos, Lin Yuan had already pushed all aspects of himself to the limit. This place could no longer offer him anything new.
“He’s gone?”
The Immortal Realm’s consciousness froze momentarily, scanned its surroundings repeatedly, confirmed Lin Yuan was no longer there, and then swiftly mobilized the full might of the Immortal Realm to heavily fortify the core. Though it lacks concrete thought, it has a powerful instinct that does not wish to see Lin Yuan again. Nobody wants to be around a being capable of wiping out their existence.
On Dao Ancestor Continent, the Immortal Dao Ancestor was still monitoring the rule fluctuations pervading the realm of origin.
“Hmm?”
“It’s settling down again?”
He raised an eyebrow and let out a small sigh of relief. Chaotic rule fluctuations couldn’t really harm him, but he still prefers “order.”
Suddenly, without warning, a figure silently materialized before him.
“What…”
The Immortal Dao Ancestor’s expression changed drastically. This is his dao field—like his own domain—where he controls all. Yet someone has appeared before him without a sound, and he only became aware of it at the last moment.
“Martial Dao Ancestor?”
He stared at the figure in the near distance, recognizing that it was indeed the Martial Dao Ancestor.
“Immortal Dao Ancestor,” Lin Yuan said with a faint smile, “I came today to say farewell.”
Indeed, after nurturing the rule of chaos, Lin Yuan had gained all he could from the realm of origin. He planned to spend the remaining decades of his stay exploring elsewhere. Over the last thousand years, his incarnations had already visited every corner of the Immortal Realm.
But the vast void beyond was still largely uncharted. Before, traveling the void for too long would have been dull even for him, despite his time-and-space awareness. Now, though, after mastering the rule of chaos, the emptiness of the void had grown slightly more intriguing.
“Farewell?”
The Immortal Dao Ancestor’s face shifted.
If Lin Yuan is leaving the realm of origin, there can be only one reason—he no longer has any use for the rules here. But how is that possible? The Immortal Dao Ancestor himself has stayed in the realm of origin for countless eons and still feels there is more to learn. Now Lin Yuan has been here just a thousand years and intends to depart?
“You’ve broken through, haven’t you?” the Immortal Dao Ancestor asked carefully.
Lin Yuan now felt far more formidable than he did a thousand years ago, and even the Immortal Dao Ancestor was under great pressure. Coupled with the fact that Lin Yuan had just silently appeared in front of him, he was almost certain that the earlier rule upheaval across the entire Immortal Realm had something to do with Lin Yuan.
“In a manner of speaking,” Lin Yuan replied with a small smile.
Mastering the rule of chaos had elevated him nearly as much as taking that ultimate leap to rank twelve. If not for the unique chaos-void origin infusion available in the main universe, it would be practically on par with a true breakthrough.
“In a manner of speaking?”
The Immortal Dao Ancestor felt mixed emotions. He wasn’t sure exactly how Lin Yuan had advanced; at least Lin Yuan hadn’t stepped into the same realm as himself. Still, Lin Yuan posed a massive threat, making him feel as though they were on the same tier.
“After I leave, I hope you’ll take care of the martial path and its many practitioners,” Lin Yuan said.
His words could be viewed as a request or a warning. When his allotted time runs out, Lin Yuan will leave the Immortal Realm for good. That’s why he’s here to speak with the Immortal Dao Ancestor.
“I will certainly do my best,” the Immortal Dao Ancestor said solemnly.
Even before Lin Yuan’s breakthrough, the Immortal Dao Ancestor wouldn’t have dared harm the martial lineage, let alone now, when Lin Yuan’s strength is even higher. In the past, Lin Yuan couldn’t do anything about him, nor could he do anything about Lin Yuan. But now, though the Immortal Dao Ancestor still can’t stop Lin Yuan, Lin Yuan can threaten him.
“Glad to hear it,” Lin Yuan nodded.
Even after this transmigration ends, Lin Yuan can still monitor the spread of the martial path in the Immortal Realm. At the seventh level of time-and-space, his mastery of the Gate of Myriad Realms rose to another level; even without the demon-tree avatar relaying information, he can faintly sense the situation.
Before the Immortal Dao Ancestor could ask more about his breakthrough, Lin Yuan had already vanished.
“Martial Dao Ancestor…”
The Immortal Dao Ancestor’s gaze showed some complexity. The Martial Dao Ancestor has only been around for a little over a thousand years, a fleeting moment compared to the vast history of the Immortal Realm, yet his impact on the Immortal Realm—and on the Immortal Dao Ancestor himself—has been immense.
“Could his breakthrough be related to the Immortal Realm’s consciousness?”
A new thought arose in the Immortal Dao Ancestor’s mind. He, too, yearned for a dramatic boost like Lin Yuan’s. Mulling it over, the Immortal Dao Ancestor disappeared from his own domain and soon arrived at the periphery of the realm of origin’s core.
Rumble…
Before he could make sense of anything, he detected the tremendous might of the Immortal Realm surging.
“Leave!”
The Immortal Realm’s consciousness sent out a wave of intent. The Immortal Dao Ancestor instantly retreated, distancing himself.
“What?”
His face darkened. He hadn’t expected such a severe reaction from the consciousness. He had only come to probe the situation and was immediately driven away.
Time passed. Over ninety years went by.
In the vast void, unimaginably far from the Immortal Realm, Lin Yuan came to a stop.
“My time here is nearly up.”
He glanced around at the emptiness. In these ninety-some years of exploration, he had encountered four worlds slightly weaker than the Immortal Realm but above the Spirit World. He went ahead and spread the martial path in those four worlds as well.
“There shouldn’t be any problems with the martial path in the Immortal Realm.”
Even across countless time and space, Lin Yuan could sense the Immortal Realm’s condition. He had left an incarnation there for that very purpose.
“It’s time to return.”
With a slight shift in thought, Lin Yuan produced a profound “bell” artifact before him: his Primordial Bell. From the time Lin Yuan was around the sixth or seventh rank, this bell had been at his side, gradually cultivated, and now it was at the pinnacle of the eleventh rank.
“If I pour this entire body’s strength into the Primordial Bell, it may not fully elevate it to the twelfth rank, but it’ll be close.”
He made up his mind silently.
“Let’s do it.”
Lin Yuan’s physical aura began to collapse. At his current level of physical power, bringing this body back to the main universe would consume a staggering amount of boundary-breaking source energy. It was simpler to let it nourish the Primordial Bell’s transformation.
A year later, Lin Yuan’s physical form and soul completely converted into the most fundamental energy, merging with the bell-shaped weapon.
In that moment, his mental will was drawn into the depths of his consciousness, where that grand, imposing Gate of Myriad Realms stood waiting.
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