Chapter 615

When Lin Yuan first entered the Mysterious Emperor Universe, he didn’t immediately send out clones to search the area.

He was concerned that doing so would expose the locations of the treasures marked on the beast-hide map.

Most of the treasures and rare items in the outer regions of the Mysterious Emperor Universe were extremely well hidden.

Even for someone like Lin Yuan, without the guidance of the beast-hide map, it would’ve been hard to locate them in a short time.

The same applied to the other Great Saints.

If he had dispatched clones back then, wouldn’t that be the same as pointing out targets to the other Chaos Great Saints?

But now—

Within the Mysterious Emperor Universe, aside from Lin Yuan, only a few Chaos Venerables remained.

And given Lin Yuan’s current strength, even if he split into hundreds of clones, each one could still maintain power close to that of a Chaos-stage Venerable.

Dealing with those Venerables was no problem at all.

Of course, those Venerables didn’t dare contest anything with Lin Yuan either.

Who would be foolish enough to try? Hadn’t they all seen the fate of Dual-Source, Heiyao, and the other Chaos Great Saints?

Inner Universe.

As he made his way to the Mysterious Sovereign’s tomb, Lin Yuan split off a trace of awareness and descended into his inner universe.

“I wonder if this Heart of Dark Heaven will work on me.”

He studied the dark, deep crystal hovering before him. Most Chaos Great Saints didn’t have anything comparable to the Dark Heaven Domain.

As soon as it was formed, its power surpassed even Heiyao Great Saint’s domain.

So any Chaos Great Saint who obtained the Heart of Dark Heaven wouldn’t question its usefulness—it was an enemy suppression technique countless Saints dreamed of.

Savage Great Saint had raw strength equal to Heiyao’s, but the latter looked down on him, viewing him as nothing more than a brute.

Why?

All thanks to his Heiyao Domain.

Lin Yuan had managed to suppress Heiyao, Savage, and six other Great Saints largely due to the domain suppression power of his external universe.

Without that, even if his overall power surpassed theirs, subduing all eight would have been incredibly difficult.

But since he already had an external universe, he worried the Heart of Dark Heaven might overlap with his existing abilities.

“Let’s refine it and see.”

After some thought, Lin Yuan began refining it.

A Supreme Saint-level treasure like the Heart of Dark Heaven was best used by himself. He wouldn’t consider trading it away unless it had zero effect.

Rumble—

Vast cosmic power enveloped the tiny, dark crystal. A pure, dense Dark Heaven essence began to emerge and was swiftly absorbed by his inner universe.

“It works.”

Lin Yuan was pleased. As the refinement continued, he clearly sensed his inner universe’s foundations strengthening.

After several hundred breaths—

He opened his eyes.

The dark crystal had vanished, and his inner universe surged with new force—its power had increased by at least twenty percent.

“Twenty percent... not bad.”

He nodded.

An ordinary Chaos Great Saint would see their power multiply severalfold from refining this treasure—enough to push them to peak Great Saint.

For Lin Yuan, it only boosted his universe’s strength by 20%—seemingly underwhelming. But given how much stronger he already was than most Chaos Saints, it made sense.

Different starting points yielded different returns.

“If it were now, Dual-Source wouldn’t be able to escape my external universe.”

Lin Yuan mused. Dual-Source had barely escaped earlier by burning his fused power and tearing open a rift to flee.

That had been a regret.

That escape cost him 1 billion Chaos Stones.

And Dual-Source surely carried precious treasures, so the loss wasn’t just 1 billion.

If not for the need to play it safe, Lin Yuan would’ve gone after him.

Meanwhile, his true body rampaged through the Mysterious Emperor Universe.

With the beast-hide map’s guidance, Lin Yuan knew which dangerous regions to avoid in advance, saving him significant time.

Soon—

He arrived at the deepest part of the Mysterious Emperor Universe.

The area was vast and empty, filled with traces of Mysterious Emperor Qi.

The entire universe was permeated with this unique aura, which made Lin Yuan feel at ease—The Body of the Mysterious Emperor resonated with it, as if returning to its birthplace.

“Hm?”

He examined the area carefully, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

“Where’s the tomb?”

The map clearly marked this as the tomb’s location, yet there was no sign of it.

“Hidden in the depths of time-space?”

Lin Yuan probed further, scanning layers of time-space—but still found nothing.

“This map... it shouldn’t be wrong.”

He pondered. The map had proven accurate again and again.

The Life Godstone, other treasures, even the Heart of Dark Heaven—all exactly where the map said.

His clones were also retrieving treasures according to the map.

That was proof enough.

“Could there be another requirement to enter the tomb?”

A possibility crossed Lin Yuan’s mind.

If this was truly the Mysterious Sovereign’s tomb, a place of deep importance, perhaps it wasn’t meant to be accessed by just anyone.

He only knew about the tomb because of the map.

Even if other Chaos Saints knew the universe’s origin, they wouldn’t know a tomb existed here.

And the beast-hide map—stored in a golden box that couldn’t be opened even after millions of cosmic eras.

Lin Yuan had only opened it thanks to the Mysterious Emperor Mark deep in his soul.

“The Mysterious Emperor Mark?”

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

He began releasing its aura.

Buzz—

Ripples spread through space-time like water. Before him, the air shimmered—an enormous palace began to emerge.

At first it looked like an illusion, like a mirage—but with time, it solidified.

“This level of time-space mastery...”

Lin Yuan was awed.

He had seen recordings of the Mysterious Sovereign creating 33,333 secret realms with a single thought.

That was peak ninth-stage time-space mastery.

But the way this palace manifested… surpassed even that.

“Did the Mysterious Sovereign break through to an even higher level?”

It was likely—the tomb had clearly been created after the secret realms, so further improvement made sense.

“Let’s go in.”

After a moment of pause, Lin Yuan strode into the massive palace.

Inside, the grand halls were similarly empty, but the towering walls bore murals.

They depicted a young emperor walking out from a natural-born universe and building an empire in the Chaos Void, with countless domain overlords bowing before him.

“So the Mysterious Sovereign came from a natural-born universe?”

That surprised Lin Yuan.

Most Chaos Venerables he had encountered were born in the Chaos Void—either as wondrous lifeforms or part of ancient factions.

For someone from a natural-born universe to rise to Supreme Saint level… was rare.

And to rise as high as the Mysterious Sovereign?

Even rarer.

He continued studying the murals.

They showed the Sovereign sweeping through domain after domain, defeating older Supreme Saints and gaining their respect.

“He had the power of an Invincible Supreme Saint.”

Lin Yuan’s expression grew solemn. The murals made it clear: Supreme Saints were no match for him.

The last murals showed the Sovereign entering a dangerous land. After returning, he secluded himself and began his attempt to ascend to the thirteenth rank.

“Strange…”

Lin Yuan frowned.

The Eye of Ten Thousand Laws had once said the Sovereign was close to becoming an Invincible Supreme Saint. But from the murals, it wasn’t power—it was time that made him close.

Had he lived longer, had his name spread wider, the recognition of others would have cemented him as the Invincible Supreme Saint of his era.

But he didn’t wait.

He chose to challenge the thirteenth rank immediately.

“Was it because of that dangerous place?” Lin Yuan focused on the final murals. After returning from that place, the Sovereign changed course.

“The Devil Jade Tower’s master once said he entered a dimensional rift… could that have been the place?”

As he pondered—

A voice suddenly echoed beside him.

“Curious about what His Majesty experienced in that danger zone? Why he chose to challenge the thirteenth rank afterward?”

It was an ancient voice, paradoxically tinged with youth—strangely contradictory.

Lin Yuan’s heart jumped. He turned—

At some point, a man in a dark yellow robe had appeared beside him, calmly observing the murals with him.

“Who are you?”

Lin Yuan remained cautious, though not too surprised.

If this tomb truly belonged to the Sovereign, it made sense that it would contain residual wills or protectors.

The Devil Jade Tower master had reawakened a sealed consciousness after his own breakthrough—surely the Sovereign had done the same.

“I am the spirit of this tomb, created by His Majesty before his thirteenth-rank attempt.”

The man smiled. “Normally, this tomb would remain hidden. Even if the outer Mysterious Emperor Universe was destroyed, it wouldn’t affect the tomb.”

“If nothing went wrong, it would’ve stayed sealed until…”

His voice trailed off, as if thinking of something he chose not to say.

“But before his breakthrough, His Majesty left behind nine treasure boxes.”

He looked at Lin Yuan.

“Treasure boxes?” Lin Yuan immediately understood—it was the golden box he had obtained.

“Inside was the tomb’s map. With it, one could find the location, and by releasing the Mysterious Emperor Mark, the tomb would appear.”

He paused before continuing.

“But to open the box required two conditions.”

“One: you had to be his chosen inheritor. You’ve inherited a Mysterious Secret Realm—so you qualify.”

The spirit smiled.

Lin Yuan nodded.

But then he looked puzzled.

“What’s the second condition?”

“The second is that thirty million cosmic eras must have passed since His Majesty attempted the thirteenth rank.”

The spirit looked directly at him. “The right identity, at the right time. Both are essential.”

“Even if you were his chosen heir, you couldn’t open the box early.”

“And if you weren’t the heir, even at the right time, it still wouldn’t work.”

“Thirty million eras...” Lin Yuan’s mind reeled.

He had never known the exact age of the Sovereign—only that he lived in unimaginably ancient times.

Now he knew.

At least thirty million cosmic eras ago.

“If he still hadn’t broken through after all that time, then he was likely lost in the time cycle. But if an heir like you entered this universe…”

The man looked at him. “Then the tomb would be summoned. You may now inherit everything His Majesty left behind.”

Lin Yuan listened silently—

And understood.

Even a being as powerful as the Mysterious Sovereign had no confidence in reaching the thirteenth rank.

So he had left behind this tomb—as a final contingency.

“Then why was he in such a rush?” Lin Yuan asked.

With that level of power, he could’ve waited to claim the Invincible Supreme Saint title, then ascended.

“Because he obtained a treasure in that danger zone—one that could only be sealed by the power of the time cycle.”

The man shook his head. “That’s why he rushed. For him, waiting another hundred or thousand eras meant nothing. He had reached the Chaos limit already. As for the title? He didn’t care.”

Lin Yuan was stunned.

A treasure that needed the time cycle to suppress?

“Enough.”

“You meet the conditions. You may inherit everything.”

The man raised his right hand and turned it over gently.

Boom—

The surrounding space-time trembled.

Lin Yuan felt the world shift—and found himself in a new, vast hall.

“This is…”

He looked around, pupils narrowing slightly.

...

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