Ninefold Venerable’s expression grew grave.
The sudden appearance of the young man before him exuded an odd aura—vague, yet subtly threatening.
It was clear: he was also a Chaos-level Venerable.
“That kid is no longer inside the secret realm.”
Ninefold Venerable’s eyes narrowed. He had left a hidden mark on Cang Yulong, which allowed him to easily locate him.
Though Cang Yulong’s karmic threads were now obscured, undoubtedly, he had vanished completely.
“Two Venerables? One to take the kid and one to block me?”
Ninefold Venerable looked at the young man before him. If Lin Yuan hadn’t appeared so suddenly and put him on guard, he would have locked onto Cang Yulong’s trajectory the moment the spatial bindings were broken.
“No—it’s not two Venerables, it must be a true body and a clone.”
Ninefold Venerable pondered silently.
For an eleventh-rank lifeform to break into the twelfth rank, they must undergo the ultimate leap.
During that leap, to focus all power on the breakthrough, all external consciousness must be recalled.
And a clone, by nature, is a fragment of the true body's consciousness. To form a clone, part of the mind must be split off and then used as the core of a new body, sharing the same awareness.
Reclaiming all external consciousness means all clones would collapse.
After breaking into the twelfth rank, trying to forge a new clone becomes significantly harder—and impacts the true body in many ways.
Therefore—
Many twelfth-rank beings are unwilling to create clones, as it would weaken their main body.
Lin Yuan’s Yin and Yang Primordial Spirits had both existed before and after his breakthrough to the twelfth rank, because they were not technically clones.
They were special evolutions unique to his path of martial evolution.
Among the countless evolution paths in the chaotic void, some rare paths granted unique abilities. Primordial Spirits were one such ability.
Countless layers of spacetime away from the Ninefold Secret Realm—
Lin Yuan was traversing at tremendous speed with Cang Yulong. Each step crossed countless layers of time and space—billions upon billions of light-years.
“Senior…”
Cang Yulong sensed the increasing distance between himself and the Ninefold Secret Realm. Each step Lin Yuan took would take him hundreds or thousands of years to match.
“So this is a Venerable with eighth-layer comprehension of spacetime?”
Cang Yulong was in awe. In terms of space-time movement, not even Ninefold Venerable could compare to this mysterious figure.
“What did my Stonefolk Clan ancestors do to form ties with someone like this?”
Cang Yulong steadied his emotions, curiosity stirring in his heart.
“We’ve shaken him off for now.”
Lin Yuan glanced back toward the Ninefold Secret Realm.
In this operation, the Yin Primordial Spirit had been responsible for freeing Cang Yulong from the various bindings inside the realm, while the Yang Primordial Spirit had held off Ninefold Venerable.
Everything had gone smoothly. Cang Yulong was now safely extracted.
Next, all that remained was how the Yang Primordial Spirit handled the situation.
Inside the Ninefold Secret Realm.
At the highest point—the grand hall.
Ninefold Venerable and Lin Yuan stood in silent confrontation.
“Venerable, Cang Yulong is gone,” a few Dominance-level subordinates hurriedly reported to Ninefold Venerable. They had been stationed at the Sin Pool, tormenting Cang Yulong day and night.
They had just discovered Cang Yulong’s aura had vanished.
“Useless.” Ninefold Venerable couldn’t be bothered to reply. He didn’t really blame them.
His opponent was a Venerable, and had used a true body or clone. Even he hadn’t noticed in time—how could his Dominance-level subordinates have?
“Ninefold Venerable, I’ve taken the man.”
Lin Yuan spoke calmly.
Now that Cang Yulong was in his hands, there wasn’t much Ninefold could do.
As for karmic curses and other such techniques? A Venerable could easily kill someone at the Path-Clearing or Dominance level with them.
But only if there wasn’t another being of equal level blocking it. Curses and karmic attacks could be disrupted by external means—for instance, the Mysterious Emperor’s Secret Realm could block both karma and curses.
“I’m curious,” Ninefold Venerable stared at Lin Yuan, “You used your true self to snatch Cang Yulong from my territory. I assume you also know of that mysterious space?”
Lin Yuan’s actions had clearly placed him in direct opposition to Ninefold Venerable. No Venerable would go that far without substantial benefit.
After reaching the Chaos stage, Venerables rarely fought each other. In the chaotic void, they stood at the summit of existence.
That’s why—
Ninefold Venerable was convinced Lin Yuan knew about the mysterious space.
Otherwise, for a weak clan like the Stonefolk, what would be worth another Venerable's intervention—especially at the cost of offending him?
“I do know of it,” Lin Yuan nodded.
Ninefold’s deduction was spot on. If Cang Yulong hadn’t offered the Chaos Tree and that mysterious legacy space—sealed with a Chaos Tree—Lin Yuan would not have gotten involved.
“You’ve taken him, but I bet you don’t know the coordinates of that space yet. You need Cang Yulong to tell you, don’t you?”
“I’ve tortured him day and night, and he never spoke. No way he’d tell you without conditions—like getting him out? Or saving the entire Stonefolk Clan?”
Ninefold Venerable’s gaze darkened.
“You’ve taken him but haven’t left yet. That means you're here for the Stonefolk. That was his condition, wasn’t it?”
Anyone who had reached the Chaos level had lightning-fast cognitive ability. From a few details, Ninefold deduced Lin Yuan’s true goal.
“Correct,” Lin Yuan nodded.
He was still here for one reason: the Stonefolk Clan still under Ninefold’s control.
“The lives of ten trillion Stonefolk are in my hands.”
Ninefold flipped his palm. A miniature world appeared, filled with imprisoned members of the Stonefolk Clan.
“I want the Chaos Tree from that mysterious space—or they all die,” Ninefold said coldly.
“You want the Chaos Tree?” Lin Yuan looked at him with amusement.
“I did promise that kid I’d try to save them—but only try. I made no guarantees.”
“You and I both know the Chaos Tree’s worth. If I give it to you, what’s left for me? At most I can give you the soup and bones, but the meat is mine alone.”
Lin Yuan’s tone remained flat. “If I get nothing out of this, why would I have gotten involved?”
“Threatening me with those Stonefolk? Go ahead. Slaughter them all.”
He looked at Ninefold with a curious gaze.
Ninefold’s expression shifted slightly.
He could tell—Lin Yuan truly didn’t care about their lives.
Now that Cang Yulong was safe in Lin Yuan’s hands, even if the others died, Lin Yuan could still get the coordinates from him.
And if Ninefold really did massacre them all—it might provoke Cang Yulong into revealing the coordinates out of spite.
So—
Ninefold found himself caught in a dilemma.
“If I hadn’t needed the Sin Pool in this realm, you’d never have had a chance to take Cang Yulong.”
Ninefold muttered resentfully.
The Sin Pool was a unique phenomenon of this realm—no identical counterpart existed in all the chaotic void. He had used it to torment Cang Yulong into revealing the legacy’s coordinates.
In fact—
Ninefold had already been extremely cautious.
He had anticipated the possibility of interference from other Venerables.
He had even secretly set up numerous arrays near the Sin Pool. Any Venerable—even peak Chaos-level—unless highly skilled in formations, would be detected upon approach.
But Lin Yuan?
Lin Yuan had taken Cang Yulong right under his nose—meaning his formation mastery was likely on par with a peak Chaos-level Venerable skilled in arrays.
So this man—
A Chaos-level Venerable, skilled in arrays, and knowledgeable of the mysterious legacy space.
With those conditions combined, Ninefold couldn’t think of anyone in nearby void domains who matched.
“What do you want now?” Ninefold asked in a low voice.
“I promised that kid I’d try to save the Stonefolk,” Lin Yuan shook his head. “But I know you won’t hand them over easily.”
“So I’ll give you a choice.”
“We spar. If I win, you hand over the Stonefolk. If you win, you still hand them over—but I’ll give you a copy of any replicable legacy from the mysterious space.”
“If I win… I get a copy?” Ninefold felt stifled.
To Lin Yuan, this was no loss at all.
“And the Chaos Tree?” Ninefold asked again.
“Don’t even think about it.” Lin Yuan shook his head. “If you refuse, just go ahead and kill them all now.”
Ninefold stared at him, sensing this was Lin Yuan’s final offer.
“…Fine.”
After a long pause, Ninefold agreed.
He had no choice.
Killing the Stonefolk gave him nothing.
But agreeing to Lin Yuan’s offer at least gave him a shot at a piece of the legacy.
And a legacy—
To a Chaos-level Venerable, was quite valuable.
More importantly, having something was better than having nothing.
“Swear it under the chaotic void’s source will.”
Lin Yuan looked at Ninefold.
Swearing under the chaotic void’s source will was a powerful form of constraint. It imposed heavy karmic consequences.
Breaking such a vow wouldn’t cause direct injury—but karmic backlash would halt any further progress.
Ninefold, a newly-ascended Venerable with aspirations for the Great Saint level, would not risk that.
In fact, no Venerable would willingly take on such karma.
Anyone who reached the Chaos stage had fought their way through countless lives. Facing karmic severance of their Dao was no joke.
Soon—
Lin Yuan and Ninefold completed their vow.
For Lin Yuan, it was easy to uphold. Even if he lost, all he had to do was give Ninefold a copy of the legacy he obtained.
“Hand over the Stonefolk.”
Lin Yuan said calmly.
Win or lose, Ninefold had to hand them over—so Lin Yuan simply asked now.
“Take them.”
Ninefold tossed over the miniature world. He had no interest in them. If it weren’t to threaten Cang Yulong, he wouldn’t have bothered imprisoning them.
Lin Yuan caught the miniature world and sent in a sliver of his mind—inside, he saw a large number of terrified Stonefolk.
They knew their lives hung by a thread—one thought from Ninefold could end them.
“Where shall we spar?”
After verifying the miniature world was safe, Lin Yuan stored it away and asked casually.
“Outside the secret realm,” Ninefold said.
Venerables sparring generated devastating shockwaves. Though the Ninefold Secret Realm was born of the chaotic void, it lacked the indestructibility of a full universe.
If two Venerables fought inside, the entire realm might collapse.
This was Ninefold’s base—he had no desire to see it destroyed.
“No problem.”
Lin Yuan’s figure faded. “Half an hour from now, outside the realm.”
With that—
He vanished.
Ninefold didn’t worry about Lin Yuan leaving early.
First, Lin Yuan had also sworn under the chaotic void’s will—breaking it would bring karmic retribution.
Second, win or lose, Lin Yuan had nothing to lose. That’s also why Ninefold handed over the Stonefolk so readily.
“When did the nearby void domains gain a Venerable like him?”
Ninefold sat on his throne, pondering.
Chaos-level Venerables usually knew each other, at least in name. But he had never heard of Lin Yuan.
“Could he have come from a distant void domain? Or maybe he’s like me—a newly ascended Venerable whose name hasn’t spread yet?”
He speculated quietly.
Moments later—
Several Dominance-level followers carefully entered the hall.
“Venerable…” They didn’t know what had happened, but Cang Yulong’s disappearance meant they were surely to blame.
“It’s fine. Pull back all external outposts into the secret realm and activate the full defensive array,” Ninefold ordered.
Around the Chaos Continent were numerous “fragment worlds.” Though the Ninefold Secret Realm was not a full continent, it had many outposts.
In the battle to come, shockwaves would be overwhelming. These outposts couldn’t endure—better to pull them into the realm.
And the realm itself needed full defense against the coming clash of Venerables.
“Huh?”
“Venerable, why are we pulling the outposts back?”
They were surprised. Instead of being scolded, they were given orders to fortify?
“I’m going to spar with another Venerable.”
Ninefold said flatly.
The Dominance-level subordinates were shaken.
Spar?
With another Venerable?
Across spacetime—
The Yin Primordial Spirit stood calmly.
Cang Yulong stood respectfully nearby.
“It’s done.”
A figure condensed—it was Lin Yuan’s Yang Primordial Spirit.
“Two seniors?”
Cang Yulong paused, then realized—they were both manifestations.
“These are your people.”
Lin Yuan flipped his hand, revealing the miniature world filled with Stonefolk.
“My people…”
Cang Yulong was overwhelmed, his voice trembling.
He never imagined he’d see his people again.
Though Lin Yuan had said he would try to save them, it had only been a possibility.
Ninefold Venerable was not easy to deal with.
But now—
All the Stonefolk were here before him.
“Don’t get too excited.”
“Ninefold handed them over under certain conditions.”
Lin Yuan looked at him and explained the deal he’d made.
“I’ll follow whatever you decide.”
Cang Yulong bowed respectfully.
Sharing a copy of the legacy with Ninefold?
That meant nothing to him. He had already decided to give the entire legacy space to Lin Yuan—he would follow Lin Yuan in everything.
Back when he was under Ninefold’s thumb, Cang Yulong had resisted not out of hope, but because he knew submission wouldn’t save him.
And Ninefold, out of vengeance, would likely kill the entire Stonefolk Clan anyway.
Cang Yulong had stolen the legacy space right under Ninefold’s nose—he could imagine the fury that brewed within.
“Alright.”
“I’m about to spar with Ninefold.”
“Now tell me the exact spacetime coordinates of that legacy space.”
Lin Yuan’s tone was calm.
“The coordinates…” Cang Yulong took a deep breath. Without hesitation, he gave them.
Lin Yuan had fulfilled every part of the agreement—not just rescuing him, but the entire clan.
He didn’t dare delay.
So far, Lin Yuan had been incredibly kind to him.
But that only made Cang Yulong more fearful. Someone who could force a savage Venerable like Ninefold to submit—how could he truly be gentle?
If he angered Lin Yuan, his fate might be even worse than if he’d remained in Ninefold’s hands.
“The coordinates…”
With them, Lin Yuan began extending his awareness.
The chaotic void’s spacetime was vast beyond comprehension, composed of countless layers. Even Chaos-level Venerables or Great Saints couldn’t traverse them all.
That’s why coordinates were crucial. Without them, even a Great Saint could lose themselves forever.
Buzz—
Lin Yuan’s immense consciousness spread rapidly, following the coordinates.
Finally, deep in the layers of spacetime, he locked onto a mysterious space.
“That space…”
Lin Yuan observed closely.
...
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