“All transferred.”
Under the starry sky, Lin Yuan opened his eyes.
The all-out backlash from the universe’s source consciousness also gradually subsided.
“It made no difference.”
Lin Yuan remained calm. A backlash strong enough to annihilate a Dominance rank powerhouse could not shake his physical body, soul, or internal universe in the slightest.
“Hmm?”
“My Boundary-Breaking Source Power has exceeded a hundred thousand.”
When Lin Yuan glanced at the amount of Boundary-Breaking Source Power he had accumulated, a smile appeared on his face.
In just this short time, he had gained a hundred thousand wisps of Boundary-Breaking Source Power.
You must understand, ever since Lin Yuan awakened the Gate of the Myriad Realms, the total Boundary-Breaking Source Power accumulated (including that already consumed) had never approached one hundred thousand.
“I wonder if it’s possible, outside the universe, to accumulate Boundary-Breaking Source Power at this speed.”
Lin Yuan pondered inwardly.
He had already confirmed that universal annihilation could make his rate of Boundary-Breaking Source Power accumulation soar. Now he wanted to determine whether being inside the universe was a prerequisite for such a boost.
If there were no such limitation, once his home universe finished total annihilation, Lin Yuan could specifically send out a thread of his mind to search for universes on the verge of destruction, thereby accelerating the growth of his Boundary-Breaking Source Power.
Each universe nurtured by the Chaos Void forbade entry by outsiders, an ironclad rule of natural law.
All the more so during a universe’s total annihilation, which intensely repelled foreign life-forms—those inside could leave, but no one could go in.
“Next, I need to try leaving the universe.”
Lin Yuan gazed outside the universe. For a Rank Twelve being inside the universe, this was the most difficult stage.
A Rank Twelve life-form, whose existence had devoured and absorbed incalculable resources and energy from within, would face resistance and backlash from the universe’s source consciousness if it tried to break free.
That gradual process of separating from the universe was known as the Great Calamity of Annihilation.
Survive it, and you have a vast sky and open seas, stepping into the Chaos Void.
Fail, and you remain trapped within the universe, perishing once and for all.
“Milky Way, when will you begin?”
Xuanyuan looked at Lin Yuan and asked.
‘Begin’ here referred to leaving the universe.
“I’ll wait a bit; you can go first.” Lin Yuan replied.
Because he was currently gaining a vast amount of Boundary-Breaking Source Power every moment, he was reluctant to leave right away.
He decided to delay a little and exit at the last moment.
After all, it was uncertain if he could still receive so much Boundary-Breaking Source Power once he left.
“All right.”
Xuanyuan and the other eight human Strongest ones nodded, then tried to charge into the Chaos Void to leave the universe.
Other Rank Twelve aliens did the same. They weren’t Lin Yuan, so leaving earlier was safer for them.
Rumble…
Dozens of Rank Twelve Ultimates rushed toward the edge of the universe almost simultaneously.
In a flash, the universe’s source consciousness began obstructing them, bringing down immense backlash.
“What—”
Xuanyuan and the other Rank Twelves were alarmed. The backlash they faced turned out to be far stronger than they had expected.
With the backlash at that level, none of them, as Rank Twelve beings, could survive. All of them would be kept in the universe, feeding the birth of the next cosmic cycle.
“Huh?”
Lin Yuan also noticed this, surprise flickering across his features.
“Is it because of me?”
He had some idea.
Normally, after the onset of universal annihilation, the source consciousness would start to drift into slumber, so it was not very difficult for Rank Twelves to leave. Their survival rate approached half.
That was because the universe’s source consciousness lacked the energy to interfere.
But now, because Lin Yuan had taken so many citizens of human civilization, he had forced the source consciousness, which should have been fading, to revive fully in an attempt to stop him.
Even though it ultimately could not stop him, the source consciousness was still not going back into slumber like normal.
Hence, all Rank Twelves trying to leave the universe faced an unimaginably strong backlash, almost as difficult as trying to leave before total annihilation began.
With this level of difficulty, even a peak Path-Clearing expert would likely fail to make it out and would not get past the Great Calamity of Annihilation.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Realizing the Great Calamity of Annihilation was far more terrifying than predicted, Xuanyuan and the others hastily retreated.
Had they not done so, they would have sustained serious injuries.
Getting seriously hurt right now, during universal annihilation, basically meant death.
“This Great Calamity of Annihilation?”
Xuanyuan and the other eight Strongest ones wore grave faces, sinking into despair.
Not even the mightiest Xuanyuan had the slightest confidence in surviving. He could not have held out for even a short time.
As for the others, they felt even more fear.
They had already lost many Rank Twelve weapons, treasures, and artifacts to Lin Yuan, so their fighting power was sharply reduced, and now they would face such a powerful onslaught?
“We’re probably stuck here.”
Xuanyuan and the other eight Strongest ones exchanged glances, all sharing the same thought.
Such a terrifying Great Calamity of Annihilation was not something a Path-Clearing being could handle.
Once the nine human Strongest ones realized they would almost certainly die, a voice sounded in their ears.
“All of you, enter my internal universe.”
They recognized the voice immediately: Lin Yuan’s.
“Milky Way, you want us inside your internal universe?”
Xuanyuan was momentarily dazed, then shook his head.
“That would only raise the difficulty you face in this Great Calamity. It’s already far beyond normal, and if it climbs higher—”
Xuanyuan did not want to burden Lin Yuan.
As long as Lin Yuan managed to leave the universe alive, the human civilization would not be exterminated.
But if their presence caused Lin Yuan to fail in crossing the Great Calamity, Xuanyuan would never forgive himself.
The other eight Strongest ones felt likewise.
Even bringing common life out of a universe raised the difficulty of the Great Calamity of Annihilation. Let alone bringing Rank Twelve? And Lin Yuan was planning to bring all nine human Strongest ones?
“It’s all right.”
“Don’t resist.”
Lin Yuan shook his head. With a mere shift of thought, he took the nine into his internal universe before they could respond.
In fact, whether Lin Yuan took them or not made no difference to the Great Calamity. It was already at maximum difficulty, with the source consciousness pouring everything into stopping Lin Yuan.
“Strongest one Milky Way, we’re willing to serve you forever…”
In the distance, many Rank Twelve aliens—sensing that Lin Yuan had drawn the nine Strongest ones into his internal universe—still tried to beg. They knew it was a long shot, but they wanted to try.
“Serve forever?”
Lin Yuan considered a moment, then casually swept them all into his internal universe as well.
After all, carrying one was carrying many. With the Great Calamity’s difficulty unaltered, Lin Yuan didn’t mind taking more along.
It was hardly a drawback to gain additional Rank Twelves pledging loyalty.
Rustle…
In that instant, the universe was empty, leaving Lin Yuan standing alone in the starry sky.
“I can finally give free rein.”
Lin Yuan let out a soft sigh. Since his breakthrough to Rank Twelve, his true body had never exerted itself at full power.
Before he mastered the first layer of Infinite Void, he was suppressed by the universe’s source consciousness and could only bring out peak Path-Clearing strength.
After mastering the first layer of Infinite Void, Lin Yuan nearly matched Dominance rank at an unbeatable level and could even clash with a Chaos Venerable. The universe’s source consciousness could no longer restrain him, yet he still dared not go all out.
His destructive force was too immense, and if he wasn’t careful, he would inflict irreversible damage on the starry sky of the universe—his own people’s domain.
Lin Yuan naturally avoided that.
Now that universal annihilation was imminent, there was no longer any need to hold back.
After all, everything was going to be destroyed.
Rumble!!
Lin Yuan’s body abruptly expanded to an unimaginable height. One finger spanned hundreds of thousands of light years, and his eyes seemed like bottomless abysses. A single exhalation could snuff out countless galaxies.
At this moment, the entire universe, to Lin Yuan, was like a somewhat large swimming pool—vast, but with edges clearly in sight at one glance.
Lin Yuan stretched out his limbs at will, and that terrifying aura erased countless star systems. Before total annihilation, such a gesture would have spelled the doom of countless lives.
“Time to go.”
Lin Yuan lifted a foot and headed beyond the universe.
Outside his home universe, Xue You and Snake Demon were growing impatient.
Normally, once total annihilation reached this stage, some Rank Twelve life-forms should already have emerged.
But in this case, there wasn’t a hint of activity—no sign that any Rank Twelve even approached the boundary.
“What’s going on?”
Xue You frowned, closely sensing the situation.
“The source consciousness of this universe is extremely active. That doesn’t make sense. Once a universe enters total annihilation, the source consciousness should slip into slumber.”
Xue You thought for a while.
“Could it be that some Rank Twelve being carried too many lives, angering the source consciousness so much that it woke up to stop them?”
“Idiots!”
He almost cursed out loud.
Waking the source consciousness from slumber would intensify the Great Calamity, raising the chance that fewer Rank Twelves would survive. That meant fewer for him to capture.
On the other side, Snake Demon realized the same thing, and his face was equally grim.
He had waited so long, only to have it end like this?
“Forget it, guess I’m out of luck.”
Xue You took another look at the distant universe and prepared to leave.
When the chance of any Rank Twelve survivors was minimal, it was no longer worth waiting. He could use his time to “harvest” another universe.
But just as Xue You turned around, he sensed something, whirling back toward the universe.
“A Rank Twelve is about to escape?”
He stared at the universe, which was already more than half destroyed. The outer region was completely shrouded in gray gloom, blocking his deeper view; he could only feel a presence rapidly breaking free from the universe’s hold.
“To do that under an intensified Calamity of Annihilation suggests a peak Path-Clearing powerhouse.” Excitement flickered across Xue You’s face.
In each cosmic era, those who reached peak Path-Clearing within a universe were extremely rare. Such a figure would be invincible in their cosmos.
That meant they owned most of that universe’s resources. Capturing a single peak Path-Clearing was more profitable than capturing ten or twenty ordinary Path-Clearing opponents.
“What about Snake Demon over there…”
Xue You narrowed his eyes, glancing at Snake Demon’s territory.
He could sense it, so Snake Demon must have as well.
“When the time comes, we’ll probably fight.” Xue You guessed.
Under normal circumstances, if a dozen or twenty Path-Clearing life-forms emerged, they could split them: half for each, coexisting peacefully.
But if there was only one peak Path-Clearing, how could they share? And one who reached that level inside a universe likely had some massive stroke of fortune, making them worth even more than expected.
With that in mind, Xue You prepared to strike at any moment.
He would wait until that peak Path-Clearing entity crossed from the universe into the Chaos Void, then seize them right away and vanish. Once he secured that target, Xue You would have no need to tangle with Snake Demon.
Time crept forward.
Xue You waited patiently.
He divided most of his attention between Snake Demon’s movements, giving only a fraction to the distant universe.
He understood that Snake Demon was his biggest threat. Once he defeated Snake Demon, the peak Path-Clearing life-form would be an easy catch, like meat on a chopping block.
Rustle…
At a certain point, the gray shroud encasing the universe’s outer region—which had all but collapsed—was torn apart.
Xue You swiftly advanced toward the universe. Across the way, Snake Demon did likewise.
“Hmm?”
Midway, Xue You paused in surprise, because he had finally grasped just how huge that torn opening in the gray haze truly was.
He had no time to react.
Then he witnessed a sight he would never forget.
A colossal foot—measured in millions or even tens of millions of light years—stepped out through the rupture.
Rustle…
The tear in the gray haze continued widening, revealing a giant nearly as tall as the sky itself, striding forth.
As that immense being moved, countless flashes of thunder, flame, icy wind, and water—the essence of the Great Calamity—tried desperately to hold it back, but to no avail. Its speed did not slow for even an instant.
Each thunderbolt, blaze, cold wind, or stream of water from the Great Calamity was trivial to the giant.
But to Xue You, any one of those catastrophic elements would annihilate him instantly—yet it was not even enough to tickle that colossus?
“What…” Xue You looked up at this giant, who strode out of the universe, his eyes going blank.
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