“Every time a universe undergoes total annihilation, it attracts many marauders.”
The other Calamity Race Ultimate spoke.
No matter where you go, looting is always one of the fastest ways to gain resources and wealth.
In the Chaos Void, where the strong prey on the weak, most regions have no real order, so marauding is widespread.
And in the eyes of virtually all marauders, a universe nurtured by the Chaos Void is like a tasty morsel. They have no interest in the universe itself, only in the Rank Twelve powerhouses who survive total annihilation.
Those Rank Twelve powerhouses who have stayed inside their cradle of a universe are certainly not as adept in combat or killing as similarly ranked powerhouses in the Chaos Void, who have gone through countless battles.
After a universe’s total annihilation, if any Rank Twelve powerhouses remain and enter the Chaos Void, they will undoubtedly carry large amounts of resources and treasures from their universe.
They lack strong fighting ability, yet bring plenty of treasures.
Naturally, they become “juicy targets” in the eyes of all marauders.
Among those who plunder the Chaos Void are some extremely powerful individuals, even Dominance rank powerhouses.
After all, once a universe is destroyed, any Rank Twelve Ultimate who survives that devastating calamity will carry treasures and weapons worth at least ten thousand Chaos Stones.
With the power of a Dominance rank, subduing a newly emerged peak Path-Clearing powerhouse from the universe is far too easy.
Seizing ten thousand or even tens of thousands of Chaos Stones with a casual move? No Dominance rank powerhouse would turn down such a good deal.
“Normally, no one can pin down the exact timing of a universe’s total annihilation. At least, from the outside, you can’t tell. So even if marauders want to lie in wait, they can’t be sure when annihilation will happen. They can’t just camp there indefinitely.”
The second Calamity Race Ultimate continued, “But according to the information Milky Way Strongest One obtained, our universe will enter total annihilation early, under the aftermath of the battle between two Chaos Great Saints.”
“With the power of Chaos Great Saints, their fight’s aftermath will surely affect far more than our single universe.”
“That’s why the two of us deduce that there will definitely be a big crowd of marauders following behind those two Great Saints, specifically to raid those universes driven into early total annihilation.”
The two Calamity Race Ultimates were quite thorough in their thinking.
In truth, the universe’s early arrival at total annihilation did not matter much to them. They would stay put anyway, and given that the Calamity Race had very few members, they could all fit in their ancestral dwelling.
But Milky Way Strongest One? He planned to take every citizen of the human civilization with him, so the total annihilation he faced was bound to be unimaginably dire.
In that scenario, maybe he would sustain some injuries. Then, on entering the Chaos Void and encountering sneaky attacks by marauders, it could be quite a headache.
The two Calamity Race Ultimates did not think Milky Way Strongest One would die from this. That was ridiculous. A reincarnated Great Saint, no matter how heavily injured, would not be killed by a mere group of Dominance ranks.
They were only offering a simple reminder that Lin Yuan should prepare an extra layer of defense.
“Thank you for the warning.”
Lin Yuan’s voice was calm.
What they said was reasonable. Even a true Chaos rank Venerable facing the universe’s final, all-out backlash could not be certain of escaping unscathed.
But Lin Yuan?
Those two Calamity Race Ultimates still did not understand his methods: the physical body technique Blood Rebirth, plus the Mysterious Emperor Physique and the Elemental Body.
No matter how grievous the wound, Lin Yuan could recover in an instant.
Unless someone could obliterate him completely in a single moment, it would be very hard for him to die.
Guming Chaotic Continent.
Lin Yuan smoothly entered the Star Tear fragment world.
“Not bad at all.”
Lin Yuan was quite satisfied.
Although this fragment world was only one-thousandth the size of the main universe, it could easily hold all the citizens of human civilization.
After all, in the starry sky of the main universe, most regions were unsuitable for habitation. People lived on life-bearing planets.
In the Star Tear fragment world, however, there was no such concept of areas unfit for habitation. Almost one hundred percent of it was habitable. Let alone holding all of human civilization, it could easily contain every race and every life form in the main universe if necessary.
If it came down purely to living space, this fragment world was hardly smaller than the main universe in practical terms.
“Star Tear energy…”
From above, Lin Yuan surveyed the Star Tear fragment world, sensing a gentle power suffusing every corner, highly conducive to the nurturing and growth of living beings.
Wan Qu felt confident pricing this Star Tear fragment world at 1.2 million Chaos Stones mainly because of its Star Tear mineral composition.
“The proliferation of life is best done either in the Chaos Void or in a universe, to maximize potential and allow nearly limitless possibilities.”
Lin Yuan considered inwardly.
When it comes to life’s creation, no internal universe can rival the Chaos Void or a natural universe.
In terms of cosmic “levels,” Lin Yuan’s internal universe, or that of a Chaos Venerable, may not be weaker than a universe nurtured by the Chaos Void.
But in the realm of life creation, it is far inferior.
Even in a Chaos Great Saint’s internal universe, creatures almost never exceed Rank Eleven. Becoming Rank Twelve is extremely rare, and a Dominance rank life form has never once appeared.
“According to the Infinite Void inheritance, the Chaos Void contains a certain life-energy power. It’s precisely that energy that grants the life it nurtures such tremendous potential. Our internal universes don’t possess it.”
So Lin Yuan thought.
And at the very least, one must cultivate Infinite Void to the fourth level to evolve that life-energy in one’s internal universe.
“The fourth level of Infinite Void?”
Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.
The first level of Infinite Void makes one’s internal universe comparable to that of a Chaos Venerable. The second level brings it close to that of a Chaos Great Saint. The third level surpasses an ordinary Great Saint’s. As for the fourth level?
At that point, his internal universe would mean Lin Yuan was practically invincible at Rank Twelve. Infinite Void is a Rank Thirteen inheritance with seven layers total, and the seventh is merely theoretical.
Strictly speaking, the inheritance only has six layers.
“Now I just have to wait for the universe’s total annihilation.”
Then Lin Yuan suddenly had another thought.
“I can just head over and claim the Eighth Floor reward.”
Before reaching Rank Twelve, Lin Yuan had cleared the eighth floor of the Devil Jade Tower’s black building.
But at that time, the humanoid statue Shen Ji presented him with a list of possible rewards, and Lin Yuan could not decide on the spot, so he left it until now, intending to pick once he reached Rank Twelve.
Buzz! Lin Yuan split off a wisp of spiritual will to enter the Devil Jade Space.
In front of the nine-story black tower…
Lin Yuan’s figure appeared.
“You’ve come,” the humanoid statue Shen Ji stepped out, gazing at Lin Yuan with a complicated look.
From the pressure radiating off this fragment of Lin Yuan’s spirit, Shen Ji could deduce that Lin Yuan had become even stronger compared to his previous visit.
“Is there really no bottleneck in his cultivation?” the humanoid statue Shen Ji wondered.
Before encountering Lin Yuan, Shen Ji had seen plenty of members and disciples of the Devil Jade Tower who languished at one bottleneck for tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of years, or over the span of multiple cosmic eras, never able to advance.
It was a feeling of hopelessness and hardship.
But Lin Yuan?
Each time Shen Ji saw him, Lin Yuan’s strength had grown significantly, and always by a large margin.
“I’m here to select my Eighth Floor reward.”
Lin Yuan spoke directly.
“No problem.”
Shen Ji did not know why, but he felt a subtle sense of relief—at least Lin Yuan was not here to tackle the ninth floor.
“Here.”
Shen Ji flipped his hand, causing a phantom light screen to manifest before Lin Yuan.
Listed on the screen were only six or seven different items. Very few.
After all, the eighth floor of the black tower generally matched those at the peak of Dominance rank. Treasures of that tier were already precious. Furthermore, Lin Yuan had cleared the eighth floor while still at Rank Eleven.
So the reward list had to be enhanced by several levels and ended up with very few items.
“Take a close look. Ask me if anything is unclear.”
Shen Ji said.
“Sure.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
He had already deliberated on the eighth-floor rewards many times, and he was basically certain which one he wanted.
“I choose this.”
Lin Yuan told Shen Ji.
Among the selection, there were Great Saint-level weapons and also rare treasures from the Great Saint domain, yet Lin Yuan ignored them all, choosing a single crystal.
More precisely, a crystal encasing a drop of blood.
“That one?”
Shen Ji’s face grew solemn.
“In terms of value, of all the items on this list, that drop of ‘Time Blood’ surpasses the rest.”
“But you’re certain you want it?”
He stared at Lin Yuan.
“I’m sure.”
Lin Yuan nodded.
Those other Great Saint weapons were precious, but in his view, that drop of “Time Blood” was the best fit for him.
“Time Blood,” as the name implies, is the blood of a Rank Thirteen time life form. Of course, the actual drop did not come from a full-fledged Rank Thirteen being but from a wondrous life form with an extraordinarily dense time bloodline.
Wondrous life forms nurtured by the Chaos Void all carry some trace of time bloodline.
“Back then, my master and several other Great Saints spent dozens of cosmic eras and paid an enormous price to hunt down that wondrous life form. In the end, my master obtained part of its body and spent much time refining it until it finally became this single drop of Time Blood.”
Shen Ji explained.
In truth, this Time Blood should never have shown up in the Eighth Floor reward list, nor even the Ninth Floor’s.
But Lin Yuan was too monstrous, clearing the eighth floor at Rank Eleven.
Shen Ji did not know what reward level would be appropriate, so he simply added the Time Blood to the list.
“That wondrous life form was that difficult to kill?”
Lin Yuan was inwardly amazed.
The master of the Devil Jade Tower was a peerless Great Saint. Even with several Great Saints of equal rank working together, waiting dozens of cosmic eras, they only barely managed to slay it?
“A wondrous life form with a thick time bloodline. It possessed many time-based gifts, like foreseeing future scenes, which naturally made it very hard to kill.”
Shen Ji said.
“Foreseeing future scenes?”
Lin Yuan looked at the drop of Time Blood listed among the rewards.
If that was true, then it was certainly tough to destroy, because if it foresaw the future, it could predict the danger ahead.
The greatest threat is the unknown. If you know in advance, you can avoid or counter it completely.
“Even with such an ability, it still died?”
Lin Yuan mused. He also deduced that even a Rank Thirteen time life form can only see portions of the future, not every possibility. So it is not an absolute trump card.
“This drop of Time Blood is yours. Take utmost care of it, and do not let anyone else know.”
Shen Ji warned.
Even a peerless Great Saint like the master of the Devil Jade Tower had paid a tremendous price to refine that single drop of Time Blood. If other Chaos Great Saints heard about it, they would surely try to seize it.
For Great Saints, a drop of such dense Time Blood could give them significant help toward approaching Rank Thirteen.
Main universe.
Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm.
Lin Yuan’s spiritual will returned.
At the same time, that drop of Time Blood, sealed within a crystal, materialized before him.
“This drop of Time Blood…”
Lin Yuan felt a hint of fascination. Even through the crystal seal, as he gazed at it, he faintly perceived some blurred future scenes involving himself.
“I’ll study it gradually.”
He steadied his thoughts and continued his latest round of seclusion.
Time passed.
In the blink of an eye, three hundred years went by.
For Lin Yuan, three centuries were like a single moment. It felt like one instant he was back three hundred years earlier, then a second later, he was here in the present.
“Chaos rules…”
Lin Yuan pondered. Over these three centuries, he had comprehended hundreds more “pillar” grade Daos. Nurtured by these Daos, his Chaos rules had now reached the peak of the first realm.
Unlike other rules, the Chaos rules have only three realms. A typical Chaos Venerable is either in the first or second realm.
“To advance my Chaos rules to the second realm, I might need my space-time fusion rules to reach the eighth layer?”
Lin Yuan considered. Once Chaos rules hit the second realm, he could start to evolve the Yin-Yang Taiji of Chaos. That path belonged to the “Source World” realm, far surpassing anything in the Chaos Void.
Compared to that Source World, the Chaos Void’s advantage lay in its profound depth and the support of an internal universe.
“One step at a time.”
Lin Yuan was not in a hurry. He took out the crystal again, containing the sealed Time Blood.
After three centuries of study, his progress in understanding that drop of Time Blood was still extremely slow.
“Probably because my life level is too low.”
So Lin Yuan thought. Right now, he was still at the Path-Clearing stage. Even for a wondrous life form born of the Chaos Void, grasping Time Blood at the Path-Clearing stage was close to impossible.
“Mm?”
Just as Lin Yuan prepared to observe the Time Blood within the crystal once more, his expression changed.
In the next moment, Lin Yuan left the Mysterious Emperor Secret Realm and appeared in the starry sky of the universe, gazing intently toward one direction—outside the universe.
“It’s here.”
Lin Yuan’s face was grave. With his present senses, he had already detected an unimaginably terrifying ripple surging this way, like a tidal wave sweeping across everything.
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