Chapter 479

The Gate of Myriad Realm stood towering and magnificent in the deepest recesses of Lin Yuan’s mind, as though unchanging through all eternity.

Even though this was merely a single projection of the true Gate of Myriad Realm, it gave Lin Yuan a sense of might surpassing even Twelfth-Rank powers—making even beings as formidable as His Majesty the Mysterious Sovereign or the master of the Devil Jade Tower seem like mere specks of dust in comparison.

This was not merely about physical size, but rather a deeper, more fundamental comparison on the level of essence.

Previously, Lin Yuan had speculated that the Gate of Myriad Realm was a treasure belonging to a being of perfect temporal life-level. The scene before him now provided more evidence for that theory.

“Right now…”

Lin Yuan wore a solemn expression as he carefully observed the Gate of Myriad Realm.

Having advanced his insights into time and space to the Seventh Level, what he saw in time and space now was wholly different from before.

Accordingly, the feeling the Gate of Myriad Realm gave him had also changed.

In reality, the Gate of Myriad Realm hadn’t changed at all. It had always been there, unchanging from the start. Rather, Lin Yuan’s own realm had risen, granting him the ability to perceive more of its inherent nature, which created the impression that the Gate of Myriad Realm was changing.

“New world coordinates have appeared?”

That was Lin Yuan’s private thought. Deep within the Gate of Myriad Realm, he glimpsed faint traces of several dozen world coordinates.

More precisely, there were thirty-three such coordinates.

It seemed these thirty-three coordinates had long been imprinted upon the Gate of Myriad Realm, but until now, Lin Yuan had not been aware of them.

“Thirty-three worlds?”

Lin Yuan examined them carefully, and before long, he received information pertaining to these thirty-three worlds.

“These thirty-three worlds are all ‘source worlds’? Thirty-three Source Worlds?”

His expression showed that he was pondering something. There was not much information to be found, possibly because his level was still insufficient to learn more.

“‘Source Worlds’…? What sort of rank are those worlds, I wonder?”

Lin Yuan was quite intrigued. If these worlds were so special as to be imprinted upon the deepest part of the Gate of Myriad Realm, they must be extraordinary. Not even the Main Universe or the Chaos Void managed to leave such a mark there.

“For me, though, this is excellent news.”

A smile spread across Lin Yuan’s face. At his current level—just one step away from the Twelfth Rank—the opportunities to transmigrate into worlds beneficial to his development were getting fewer and fewer.

There might be infinite realms and worlds in the myriad heavens, but the overwhelming majority of them were low-level or mid-level worlds. High-level worlds like the Immortal Realm or the Main Universe were extremely rare.

Once Lin Yuan stepped into a low-level world through the Gate of Myriad Realm, it would be troublesome. Such worlds imposed powerful limitations, preventing him even from reaching the level of summoning a fleshy body’s divine abilities.

Moreover, those body-based abilities derived from one’s bloodline. Even if he did awaken them, they would pale in comparison to top-tier abilities like “Tear the Sky” or “World.”

This was why Lin Yuan hadn’t performed blind, random transmigrations over and over. A hundred or a thousand random transmigrations might provide less benefit than a single high-quality jump.

Hence—

After finishing his eleventh transmigration, if Lin Yuan wanted to do another, he’d have to perform a “custom” transmigration. But customizing required a huge amount of “origin power,” starting at one hundred wisps—and if Lin Yuan increased his requirements, that cost would skyrocket, possibly reaching thousands of wisps before finding a suitable world.

By contrast, these thirty-three Source Worlds, at least from a dimensional standpoint, would not be of a lower level than the Main Universe. Lin Yuan could transmigrate into them without being suppressed.

Between different high-level worlds, the rules and operations of the cosmos vary significantly. If one stays in only a single dimensional world for too long, one’s exposure to the laws of reality remains static. Conversely, perceiving how laws operate in other equally high-level dimensions is bound to be enlightening.

This is precisely why beings close to the level of a perfect time-life form explore other dimensions and spaces.

They’re seeking not just the unknown but also alternate frameworks of laws that might spur breakthroughs in their own Dao.

“If my journey through the Immortal Realm this time fails to yield an understanding of Chaos Rules, I can attempt exploring these Source World coordinates,” Lin Yuan thought to himself.

Up to now, Lin Yuan wasn’t fully confident in comprehending Chaos Rules.

Attaining Chaos Rules at the Eleventh Rank was enormously challenging. If not for the certainty that Chaos Rules would be extremely helpful in reaching the Ultimate rank, Lin Yuan wouldn’t go to such effort, which likely wouldn’t pay off in the short run.

With Lin Yuan’s Unrivaled Insight, as soon as he reached the Twelfth Rank—even just Path-Clearing Realm—the difficulty of understanding Chaos Rules would drop dramatically.

“Thirty-three Source Worlds…”

Lin Yuan reflected on this, devoting the majority of his attention to observing these new coordinates for the Source Worlds deep within the Gate of Myriad Realm.

Of the thirty-three, he could only see the first three clearly. The remaining thirty were incredibly hazy, their nature discernible only insofar as they were definitely world coordinates.

Lin Yuan split off a sliver of mental will to make use of the Gate of Myriad Realm’ power in probing the first Source World coordinate.

Buzz… Buzz… Buzz…

That fragment of consciousness seemed to traverse an endlessly long time-space corridor before finally arriving at a supreme expanse.

What appeared before him was a single, colossal continent that stretched across the heavens, so massive as to defy imagination. Beyond this continent drifted countless “meteorite-like” worlds in the billions.

In Lin Yuan’s vision, the smallest of these floating meteorite worlds—just one among the countless orbiting lumps of rock—was already vast enough to rival the Main Universe in scale.

“Time-flow ratio…”

After pausing only briefly, Lin Yuan determined the time-flow ratio between that Source World and the Main Universe, and that fragment of mental will began to collapse.

“Three hundred to one.”

Lin Yuan’s face turned serious.

In simpler terms, every three hundred years that pass in the Main Universe correspond to only one year in that Source World.

From Lin Yuan’s repeated experiences transmigrating across different dimensional realms, the higher the level of the world, the slower its flow of time relative to other universes.

Comparing the Main Universe with that Source World, a ratio of three hundred to one meant that the Source World was at a higher level than the Main Universe. This was the first time Lin Yuan had encountered a world surpassing the Main Universe in tier, since even the Immortal Realm was, at best, on par with the Main Universe—and in truth, somewhat inferior.

“Let’s check out the next Source World,” Lin Yuan said, turning to the second coordinate.

Of the thirty-three Source World coordinates, Lin Yuan could only see the first three clearly.

“Huh?”

Just as Lin Yuan prepared to harness the Gate of Myriad Realm to send a sliver of consciousness into this second Source World, he sensed a warning from the Gate: that this particular Source World was special, and recklessly approaching it would cause him some degree of harm.

“In that case, forget it.” Lin Yuan abandoned the attempt immediately.

He was only investigating the second world coordinate out of curiosity, and in the near future, he had no plans of transmigrating into it. If he were to transmigrate somewhere, he’d pick that first Source World anyway.

Cangwu Immortal City

From all corners of the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains, numerous Jade Immortals were hurrying toward the city.

“I’ve heard the Immortal-Demon War ended early this time because of Master Yun Zhenzi?”

A gray-haired, top-tier Jade Immortal halted outside the city gates. Glancing at the other newcomers, he lowered his voice:

“It’s said that Master Yun Zhenzi took action, wiping out six Fiend Emperor-level monstrosities as well as countless demons. Not only did the Abyss of Demons Progenitor not retaliate—he even ordered all demon armies to withdraw?”

Many of the Jade Immortals around him heard this and, even though they’d heard similar rumors before, they still found it unbelievable.

After all, what kind of being was the Abyss of Demons Progenitor? He was a Dao Ancestor-level powerhouse who had clashed with the Immortal Dao Ancestor for countless years. In previous Immortal-Demon Wars, untold numbers of immortals had fallen to his demon hordes.

Yet this vicious being suddenly seemed so agreeable in the presence of Master Yun Zhenzi?

“I have a good relationship with the City Lord of Cangwu Immortal City,” said a short, stocky Jade Immortal.

“Master Yun Zhenzi is not only a master alchemist but has also established his own ‘Martial Dao’ system and styles himself as the Martial Ancestor.”

“Martial Ancestor? A ‘Martial Dao’ system?”

All the other Jade Immortals exchanged looks. None of them had heard of such a system before. But given that such a system had apparently produced someone as powerful as Master Yun Zhenzi, it clearly couldn’t be underestimated.

“Martial Ancestor? Could that be someone looking to stand on equal footing with the Immortal Dao Ancestor and the Abyss of Demons Progenitor?” someone blurted.

“If the Martial Ancestor’s strength isn’t quite on par with the Abyss of Demons Progenitor or the Immortal Dao Ancestor, I bet he’s not that far behind.”

The other Jade Immortals nodded inwardly.

After all, if he dared to call himself the Martial Ancestor, surely he’d already considered the existence of the Immortal Dao Ancestor and the Abyss of Demons Progenitor.

Reaching the Jade Immortal stage meant none of these cultivators were fools—least of all Master Yun Zhenzi.

Without the strength to back it up, calling oneself the “Martial Ancestor” would be suicidal.

“I wonder if we’ll get to see the Martial Ancestor now that we’re here,” the Jade Immortals murmured among themselves.

They had come to Cangwu Immortal City from distant domains specifically hoping to pay their respects to the Martial Ancestor. Though both Immortal Dao and Martial Dao aim for the same ultimate truths, a meeting with such a being, or even a single phrase of advice, might grant them a sudden epiphany.

Even if the Martial Ancestor didn’t offer personal guidance, simply being in his presence was already an enormous blessing. After all, most Jade Immortals would go millions of years without glimpsing the Immortal Dao Ancestor even once.

While the visiting Jade Immortals waited patiently outside the city—

The City Lord of Cangwu Immortal City flew out, looked at them, and said, “Fellow Daoists, the Martial Ancestor is willing to see you now.”

These words caused a stir among the newcomers.

This was precisely what they had traveled such great distances for.

Without the Martial Ancestor’s approval, they hadn’t even dared to step foot inside the city, so they’d been waiting outside the gates.

Soon—

Led by the City Lord, the first group of arriving Jade Immortals filed into the city, moving toward the cave estate area, where they encountered a young man seated cross-legged.

“Greetings, Martial Ancestor.”

“Greetings, Martial Ancestor.”

“Greetings, Martial Ancestor.”

Even gazing from a distance, every Jade Immortal felt a tremor in their hearts. They couldn’t sense even a shred of the Martial Ancestor’s aura.

Before seeing him, they’d envisioned all sorts of scenarios—perhaps an overwhelming aura crushing time and space. But now, they couldn’t detect any hint of his power.

“Mhm,”

Lin Yuan opened his eyes, smiling calmly at the gathered Jade Immortals.

“I will now explain to you the essence of what we call Martial Dao…”

Lin Yuan had chosen to meet these Jade Immortals not purely out of goodwill, but to further the spread of Martial Dao. Certainly, establishing a foundation at the lower levels of society was important—but spreading it among the higher-level cultivators was equally crucial.

These Jade Immortals were essentially the top powerhouses of the Immortal Realm. Though they cultivated the Immortal Dao, they had countless disciples and descendants of their own. Each was a leading figure.

If Lin Yuan could make them recognize Martial Dao’s potential and power, even if they themselves didn’t switch paths, they would at least list Martial Dao as an option for their children or disciples.

This would fulfill Lin Yuan’s objective.

Naturally, this approach wasn’t without risks. It could stir resentment among the very highest echelons. However, Lin Yuan had already reached an accord with the Abyss of Demons Progenitor, so this spread of Martial Dao was now perfectly acceptable.

“He’s going to explain the Martial Dao?”

“The Martial Ancestor is about to preach his Dao…”

At that moment, thoughts raced through the Jade Immortals’ minds. In the past, only one being in the Immortal Realm had ever “preached”—the Immortal Dao Ancestor. To preach one’s Dao is to publicly set forth the laws and insights one has personally attained, so that all living beings under the heavens may learn of them.

Their emotions churned, but before long, they lost all capacity for further thought as Lin Yuan began to reveal the essence of Martial Dao. One by one, the Jade Immortals were enraptured.

In the deepest part of the Immortal Realm

Here, the Great Dao laws manifested with ease.

Several figures converged—direct disciples of the Immortal Dao Ancestor who were qualified to reside permanently within this Source Land.

The Source Land of the Immortal Realm was the safest haven in all the Immortal Realm. No matter the turmoil raging outside, regardless of how Fiend Emperors rampaged, this place remained untouched.

“How arrogant—daring to call himself the Martial Ancestor?”

“Indeed. Our master is the Immortal Dao Ancestor. Is he implying that he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with our master?”

“I’ve heard rumors that this Yun Zhenzi obliterated six Fiend Emperor-level monsters with a mere wave, and supposedly even the Abyss of Demons Progenitor backed off. But a rumor’s just a rumor. Even if it’s true, does he really think he can match our master?”

The Immortal Dao Ancestor’s direct disciples batted their objections back and forth, clearly indignant.

The rise of a so-called Martial Ancestor had already caused major ripples throughout the Thirty-Three Immortal Domains.

Some Jade Immortals believed that the Martial Ancestor was nearly on par with the Immortal Dao Ancestor, and they were seeking him out in droves.

Others watched and waited. Still others—especially those aligned with the Immortal Dao Ancestor’s lineage—considered the Martial Ancestor to be nothing but a clown.

Although there were rumors that the Abyss of Demons Progenitor had seemingly given ground and recalled countless demons for the Martial Ancestor’s sake, this had never been formally confirmed.

These favored disciples of the Immortal Dao Ancestor certainly didn’t believe it.

“How brazen.”

“I’ll summon this Yun Zhenzi at once, demanding he come here and apologize.”

The eldest disciple among them rose and prepared to issue a proclamation in the Immortal Dao Ancestor’s name to the entire Thirty-Three Immortal Domains.

At that moment—

A voice rang out:

“From this day forth, no one is to commit any trespass or offense against the Martial Ancestor.”

They all looked over to see a gaunt, robed elder appear. His gaze was fathomless, and his aura shaped the laws around him.

He was none other than the Immortal Dao Ancestor.

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