Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
Amid a hazy daze, Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
“I’m back.”
He looked around and let out a gentle sigh.
Ever since returning from that colossal battlefield, Lin Yuan’s main true self had remained in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm. This place could be called absolutely safe; even a twelfth-rank Path-Clearing cultivator would struggle to find it. As for Dominance-stage or Chaos-stage beings?
Unless they were native to this universe, they would be rejected by the cosmic will and couldn’t even enter, let alone pinpoint the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
And attempting to reach the Dominance stage within a single cosmic epoch is as hard as ascending to the heavens. Generations may pass before such a being appears. Besides, even an ordinary Dominance-stage figure would have difficulty locking onto the coordinates of this realm.
His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign, a peak Chaos-stage expert, dared to establish the Mysterious Emperor Lineage’s inheritance site within this universe because he was certain it was secure enough. Protected by the universe, even if the Mysterious Sovereign truly perished, this secret realm could persist for a very long time.
Lin Yuan had hidden his main true self in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm precisely to guard against any twelfth-rank ultimates from other top-ranked factions. After all, what he displayed on that colossal battlefield was simply too astonishing—he almost singlehandedly swept aside the other peak factions.
Some of those eleven top factions’ twelfth-rank ultimates might set aside their pride and attempt a covert ambush. Naturally, humanity’s Strongest ones were also prepared for this possibility. Even so, Lin Yuan felt it safest to stay in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
“Huh?”
“So this is another way to use time and space?”
“Amazing…”
Lin Yuan fixed his gaze on the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm. Having reached the seventh level of time-and-space insight, he now saw the realm differently. Even at his level, he could discern only a portion of its mysteries. Although the realm’s energy was not very high, the intricacies of its design were absolutely on the level of a Chaos-stage power.
“Chaos?”
The deeper Lin Yuan looked, the more he sensed. In the realm’s core, he vaguely detected a wisp of chaotic power.
Buzz, buzz!
In Lin Yuan’s eyes, countless rules swirled, and the rule of chaos flowed within him. The moment he returned from the Immortal Realm, where he had nurtured that rule of chaos, he naturally retained full mastery over it.
Rumble—the entire Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm trembled slightly. Lin Yuan guided that faint trace of chaotic power in its depths and caught a glimpse of an ancient scene from countless ages past:
In the boundless chaos void, a towering figure with long black hair wore a golden dragon robe. Raising his right hand, he cast out thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three strands of chaotic power into a vast emptiness, merging them into thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three different universes, each forming a Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
“That’s His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign?”
Lin Yuan felt startled. Though he had never seen the Mysterious Sovereign, he instinctively knew this majestic figure was indeed him.
“So that’s how the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realms came to be? Instead of being created one by one, they were all formed in a single go?” Lin Yuan thought to himself.
Back when Lin Yuan had trained in the secret art Illusion to Reality, he’d glimpsed an image left behind by the master of Devil Jade Tower. Yet compared to this Mysterious Sovereign, that person seemed one level weaker. Of course, it might also be because the projection from Devil Jade Tower’s owner was too minor to reflect his true power.
“Thirty-three thousand three hundred and thirty-three Mysterious Emperor Secret Realms?” Lin Yuan understood he was temporarily linked to the realm’s chaos origin through the rule of chaos, which allowed him to see these images.
“I suppose I’ve fully mastered this realm now,” Lin Yuan mused. After all, he was never the one who created it. Even if he became the new master, he was slightly short of total control. But having connected to its chaos origin, Lin Yuan effectively held complete authority over the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm. Even if the Mysterious Sovereign himself returned, he could not seize control.
“What… what is happening?”
High above in the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm, a six-armed figure gazed in shock at the changes around him. As the spirit of the realm, he was aware of every subtle shift. Now, feeling the tremors and sensing that deep chaotic origin had been stirred, he was astounded.
“The realm’s chaotic origin…”
He could hardly believe it. That chaotic origin was the foundation of the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm—power left behind by the Mysterious Sovereign. Though it had fused with the universe and no longer belonged to the Mysterious Sovereign, the origin’s power level remained. To manipulate the realm’s chaotic origin, one first must have comprehended the rule of chaos, a threshold many peak Dominance-stage beings could never cross.
“Comprehending the rule of chaos? Could the Master have done it?”
His mind was in turmoil. Even possessing that rule would be insufficient to manipulate the chaotic origin; one must also be the owner of this realm. Hence the realm’s present upheaval clearly meant Lin Yuan, indeed the realm’s rightful master, had already grasped the rule of chaos.
“But… the Master hasn’t reached rank twelve yet, right?” The six-armed figure struggled with the idea. Not yet at rank twelve, yet comprehending the rule of chaos? Even at the Mysterious Sovereign’s supreme level, such a phenomenon had never been seen. It was something only rumored in ancient records, uncertain if it ever occurred at all. Now this realm spirit was witnessing exactly that.
“Master…”
The six-armed figure materialized not far from Lin Yuan. Seeing him sitting quietly, shrouded in swirling chaos, he murmured in respectful awe.
“Hmm?”
Lin Yuan glanced at him.
“Master, you really did comprehend the rule of chaos?” Although the six-armed figure’s heart had already confirmed it a hundred times, he still had to ask.
“By chance, yes,” Lin Yuan said. In truth, the rule of chaos isn’t something one directly “comprehends,” strictly speaking. It emerges from the fusion of countless other rules—at least, that was Lin Yuan’s path.
“You really grasped it?” The six-armed figure felt yet another shockwave of astonishment.
After sending him away, Lin Yuan focused on examining his own state. When he first gave rise to the rule of chaos in the Immortal Realm, his physical body, soul, mental will, and inner world all underwent dramatic improvement. Now, having returned as his main true self in the main universe, Lin Yuan likewise felt changes in his body, soul, and inner world.
Most apparent was his inner world. Within the Immortal Realm, his inner world had spanned just over two hundred million miles. Lacking any special reserves, it still ballooned to ten or a hundred times its size. In contrast, his main true self in the main universe possessed an inner world enriched by the chaos void origin gained upon transitioning from rank ten to rank eleven.
Once his newly gained rule of chaos took root, that stored chaos void origin erupted to fuel astounding growth.
Before his eleventh transmigration, Lin Yuan’s inner world was under nine hundred billion miles across. But now—
Rumble. His inner world expanded madly as it consumed the once-dormant chaos void origin.
In just ten breaths, it reached nine trillion miles. Another ten breaths: twenty trillion. Another ten: fifty trillion. Only then did its growth gradually slow.
“Fifty-one trillion miles across.”
Lin Yuan’s consciousness descended into his inner world and beheld the vast expanse with mixed emotion. Fifty-one trillion miles could already be measured in another way. That’s roughly two light-years in diameter. Meaning, his inner world now spanned two light-years.
“Too bad that, while comprehending the rule of chaos does elevate one’s life essence, it’s still less than the leap you get when breaking through to rank twelve,” Lin Yuan reflected.
Under normal circumstances, when an eleventh-rank being succeeds in that ultimate leap to rank twelve, their inner world would rapidly swell to thousands of light-years across, transforming into an inner universe. Over time, it might grow to tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of light-years in diameter, which is normal for a rank twelve ultimate.
In theory, a twelfth-rank Path-Clearing cultivator’s inner world lies somewhere between one hundred thousand and one million light-years. By contrast, Lin Yuan’s expanded to two light-years and then stopped.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that achieving rank twelve is harder than comprehending the rule of chaos. The opposite is true: mastering the rule of chaos is far more challenging, especially at the eleventh rank. Many at the peak of Dominance remain stuck precisely because they can’t comprehend the rule of chaos.
But comprehending chaos and stepping into rank twelve emphasize different things. The first is more about profound technique; the second is about life’s fundamental level.
Think of an ordinary mortal who masters an advanced skill. No matter how good their appetite, they might eat only a few dozen pounds of food in one meal. But a giant hundreds or thousands of meters tall could easily consume hundreds of tons—purely because of the difference in life’s scale.
“Although my inner world is smaller than those of twelfth-rank ultimates, I shouldn’t be any weaker than them overall,” Lin Yuan thought, brimming with confidence.
His inner world was his weak spot, and his life essence remained below the twelfth rank. Yet in terms of rule comprehension, Lin Yuan stood above all other twelfth-rank beings within the universe. Whether it was the seventh-level mastery of time-and-space or the rule of chaos, both placed him on a higher plane.
Moreover, his physical body had already reached the twelfth-level threshold when the Mysterious Emperor Body art was cultivated to perfection at the eleventh rank, and now it had advanced further under the influence of chaos. His mental will, already at forty million points, meant that even though his soul was comparatively weaker, he could still repel any ultimate-level spiritual or mental assault.
Lin Yuan paused to ponder, sensing the ongoing expansion of his inner world and the strengthening of his body.
He decided to wait before making the leap to rank twelve. During that ultimate step, one receives another infusion of chaos void origin. The stronger one’s body, soul, and inner world, the more of that origin they can absorb, and the greater the benefit they gain. Right now, Lin Yuan’s inner world measures two light-years across.
After fully digesting the boost from his rule of chaos, it might reach five or ten light-years. That difference in size wouldn’t just be a matter of two or three or five times more chaos void origin—it could be dozens of times more.
Naturally, Lin Yuan wouldn’t forego such a boon.
“It’ll take just a few decades to hit my peak, and then I’ll make the final leap.”
He resolved to wait those few decades. At his current strength, crossing or not crossing into rank twelve made little difference in terms of safety. Even as an eleventh-rank, no one in the main universe could kill him.
Out in the cosmos, Lin Yuan’s figure materialized out of thin air—this was his Yang Primordial Soul.
“The universe’s time and space…”
His gaze was deep as the seventh level of time-and-space allowed for incredible perception. The vast cosmic starfield, with its innumerable layers of space, all lay reflected in his mind.
“So this is the entire universe?” He felt a touch of awe. Despite being able to observe every corner of the Immortal Realm, the sight of the universe itself stirred him. The universe was a hundred times the size of the Immortal Realm and a thousand or ten thousand times more complex.
“There are a few dozen areas where time and space are fully sealed. I can’t see inside them, either.” Indeed, from his perspective, the universe still held secrets.
“Among these sealed areas, seven belong to my human civilization,” Lin Yuan noted. Every top faction had its own ancestral strongholds, critical to the transmission of their lineage. Human civilization’s homeworld and other high-priority sites, for instance. To thwart the prying eyes of twelfth-rank ultimates, they enforce layers of protective measures.
“Hmm…the Insect Race has four, the Tianyu Race has five, and the Universe Race has eight.” Lin Yuan’s eyes turned from one sealed region to another.
He had no intention of forcing his way into these places. A brief glance sufficed.
“Huh? The Calamity Race…only one?” Lin Yuan felt a flicker of surprise. Among the universe’s twelve leading factions, the Calamity Race is widely considered both the most secretive and the strongest, rivaled only by the peak power of the Universe Race long ago. Legend has it they’re survivors of the previous cosmic epoch, suppressed by the will of the universe.
Yet that hasn’t stopped them from being formidable. Their two twelfth-rank ultimates are both at the pinnacle of Path-Clearing, and if not for the universe’s aversion to them, it’s possible they would already dominate all other races.
Even the Insect Race or the Tianyu Race had multiple sealed strongholds, so one might expect the Calamity Race to have more. Yet they only had one?
Lin Yuan peered into the Calamity Race’s domain through layers of space. He found no trace of their ancestral stronghold’s interior. At first glance, it looked like an unremarkable wooden cabin, but it completely blocked his seventh-level time-and-space insight.
“I can’t perceive any aura from that cabin at all,” Lin Yuan noted. When probing other top-faction strongholds, he might not see details, but he could still glean some hints. Here, there was nothing.
“Interesting.”
His curiosity piqued, Lin Yuan tried moving closer, using alternative vantage points to examine it from multiple angles.
Creak.
As he intensified his scrutiny, the wooden door abruptly swung open, and a figure wrapped in mist came out.
“Who dares spy on my Calamity Race’s ancestral land?”
...
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