Chapter 708

“Before the fourteen Eternal Lords disappeared, did they say anything else to you?”

Lin Yuan glanced at the sect leaders and asked casually.

Based on what he currently knew, this Source World, including Lord Heavenly Radiance, had a total of fourteen Eternal Lords.

That meant fourteen time beings.

Compared to the six Founding Ancestors of the first Source World—

The second Source World was clearly far stronger.

Of course, this was also because the first Source World had existed for far less time than the second.

As time continued to pass in the first Source World, more time beings would naturally emerge.

“No, they only left behind various contingency plans for different future scenarios.”

The sect master of the Eternal Immeasurable Sect replied.

The other sect masters nodded as well.

In fact, they had only had brief final interactions with six of the Eternal Lords—those who founded the six Eternal Sects.

As for the other Eternal Lords? They were solitary and unreachable figures.

“I see.”

Lin Yuan didn’t press further.

It was obvious these sect masters knew less than the golden figure in the Trial of Space.

Which was understandable—under the shroud of the demonic catastrophe, if one didn’t possess Eternal-level power, knowing too much didn’t matter anyway.

“Next, I’ll leave an incarnation here. If the Demon God shows up again, I’ll step in.”

Lin Yuan said calmly.

Since he had agreed to protect the Hidden World—

He would see it through to the end.

Of course—

Lin Yuan suspected the Demon God wouldn’t reappear.

Now that it realized it couldn’t defeat Lin Yuan, the Demon God would instinctively focus all its energy on suppressing the Source World’s consciousness.

As for within the Source World?

As long as it fully suppressed the Source World’s consciousness, the Demon God would be able to replace it.

At that point, its power would increase dramatically.

However—

That day was likely still very far off.

If the Demon God could suppress the Source World’s consciousness so quickly, it wouldn’t have bothered attacking the Hidden World in the first place.

“Thank you, Lord Milky Way.” The sect masters looked deeply grateful.

Lin Yuan’s promise had eliminated all their lingering fears.

Lin Yuan’s true body left the Hidden World—

Wandering freely through heaven and earth.

Within ten thousand miles of Lin Yuan, the boundless demonic aura rapidly retreated.

“Still watching me?”

Lin Yuan faintly sensed the Demon God’s gaze.

“Demon God...”

Lin Yuan’s expression turned contemplative.

Even though he had fought the Demon God head-on and even forced it to retreat, he didn’t feel any sense of triumph.

Fighting the Demon God didn’t mean he could fight other time beings.

Time beings could observe countless timelines—they wouldn’t even give Lin Yuan the chance to engage in a direct battle.

But the Demon God?

Its power and lethality rivaled a true time being—

Yet it lacked the ability to observe timelines. Any time being could easily scheme against it and plan it to death.

What made time beings truly terrifying was their foresight—the ability to choose the future they wanted.

“But still...”

Lin Yuan’s expression grew solemn.

During the close combat with the Demon God, he had clearly sensed how terrifying it was.

Mainly—

Its physical body was monstrous.

From beginning to end, the Demon God had not used a single secret technique or divine art—it had relied solely on physical instincts to fight Lin Yuan.

And even so, it had the frontal combat power of a Rank Thirteen time being.

Which meant—

If the Demon God ever activated a secret art, unleashing its full power a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times over—

Even if Lin Yuan had fully opened his Infinite Particle World, he still wouldn’t be its match.

“To have such power without any secret arts, without any spiritual will techniques, relying solely on physical instinct?” Lin Yuan found it hard to believe.

The martial path of evolution specialized in physical strength, but compared to the Demon God’s body, it didn’t even come close.

“If the Demon God was once a time being who, for some reason, lost its spiritual will and now acts purely on instinct... then how powerful was it in its prime?”

Lin Yuan’s thoughts wandered.

“But that has nothing to do with me.”

“Now that the Infinite Particle World has been fully opened, I’ve proven this secret method works. My other two true bodies can now attempt it as well.”

Lin Yuan thought silently.

He had never let his other two true bodies in the Chaos Void and the first Source World attempt to open their own particle worlds—

Because the resource cost of this secret method was immense. If the path turned out to be a dead end partway through, all the resources invested would be wasted.

But now—

This version of Lin Yuan in the second Source World had proven it was viable. The other two true bodies could begin.

Chaos Void.

Lin Yuan’s true body drifted along the chaotic currents.

At that moment—

He opened his eyes.

“Open the Particle World.”

At Lin Yuan’s will, the particle worlds within his body began forming.

For ten thousand years, Lin Yuan had wandered the Chaos Void, gathering a vast trove of resources.

Secret realms that even Great Saints couldn’t detect, postnatal universes left behind by Supreme Saints throughout history, inherited worlds—he had scoured them all.

He even made several trips to dimensional gaps beyond the Chaos Void to gather rare treasures.

All in preparation to open his own particle world.

The Chaos Void, unlike the second Source World, had not been tainted by demonic aura. Many secret realms continued to emerge, allowing resource collection to continue.

After so many years—and with some “help” from the spirits of those special places—he had just barely gathered enough.

First Source World.

Lin Yuan also began opening his particle world here.

Compared to the Chaos Void, where he had to find everything himself, the process here was much simpler.

He had access to the top-tier cultivation site: the Golden Mist Treasure Land.

By simply selling the rare golden mist it produced, he could endlessly acquire resources.

This golden mist allowed a lifeform’s constitution to gradually evolve toward a temporal constitution, eventually granting a short-term ability to glimpse the future.

Though it was far inferior to a Rank Thirteen time being’s direct foresight—

For Heavenly Sovereigns and Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns, it was still a highly coveted power.

Through this allure, the Heavenly Sovereigns and Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns of the six great ancient kingdoms had spent much of their wealth to trade for golden mist from Lin Yuan.

To accelerate his resource gathering, Lin Yuan even “pre-sold” all the golden mist the Golden Mist Treasure Land would produce over the next ten trillion years.

Pre-selling such treasures was extremely risky for others—

But Lord Milky Way’s reputation was trustworthy.

Thanks to that, Lin Yuan had pre-sold all the golden mist for the next ten trillion years.

In any case, he was close to stepping into Rank Thirteen and had no interest in temporary future foresight—trading it for the resources to open the particle world was more than worth it.

Using this method, Lin Yuan rapidly and easily gathered everything he needed.

Second Source World.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged atop a hill.

“The eighth fleshly divine art...” Lin Yuan focused on the intertwining primal forces deep in his bloodline.

The eighth divine art of the body required more time to develop than all the previous seven combined—over ten thousand years.

And now, its development was nearing completion—within a hundred to several thousand years, it would be born.

“Ten thousand years of gestation… I wonder how powerful this divine art will be?”

Since the great upheaval, the physical potential of all lifeforms in this Source World had become frighteningly high.

That was the main reason why Lin Yuan’s divine art had taken so long to develop.

The foundation of life itself had changed.

And the martial path of evolution, which developed divine arts through the body, could lock onto those changes to manifest a divine power.

“Time to keep studying.”

Lin Yuan withdrew his thoughts from the primal forces in his blood—

And resumed studying the inheritance left by Lord Heavenly Radiance, the one that could aid in breaking the time cycle.

After ten thousand years of study—even with only a small portion of his attention—Lin Yuan had already cultivated the inheritance to the fifth level.

He was just a step away from fully mastering it.

In the Book of Inheritance.

Lin Yuan continued listening.

Beneath the sky, Lord Heavenly Radiance’s figure stood tall, radiating infinite light, warm and comforting—Lin Yuan felt as though he were soaking in a hot spring.

“This fifth level of the inheritance lies in the heart, in the mind. Where the heart and thought go, there lies the rune—no external aid needed.”

Lord Heavenly Radiance’s expression was serene and smiling as he looked at Lin Yuan, explaining the finer points of the fifth level.

His eyes were kind and filled with compassion for all beings.

“What is the root of life? The body? The soul? No—it is the heart. Only with heart does one become a complete lifeform. And to reach the fifth level of this inheritance is to create runes based on the thoughts of the heart.”

Lord Heavenly Radiance smiled and said, “So-called time cycles are a test—a test for life to evolve into a time being. Since it’s a test of life, then the heart and thoughts must be involved. Thus, the path of runes cannot be fully sealed—because as long as thought exists, the rune exists.”

Lin Yuan listened intently.

As he gradually comprehended Lord Heavenly Radiance’s teachings—and began forming runes through his own thoughts in the book-space—

The Lord Heavenly Radiance beneath the sky continued his lecture.

That was the uniqueness of this inheritance—only by fully understanding each part could the next be revealed.

Soon—

Lin Yuan had reached the final part.

Beneath the sky, Lord Heavenly Radiance’s light flared even brighter—but his voice paused briefly.

“Future cultivator—since you’ve made it this far, you’re likely on the verge of fully grasping the inheritance I created.”

His eyes were still gentle, calm and smiling. “Next, I will explain how I apply the runes.”

“What are runes?”

“They are everything. The path I walked was founded on runes, with two sides.”

Lord Heavenly Radiance’s gentle gaze stayed on Lin Yuan as he continued, “One side is the me you see now—and the other…”

As he spoke, his aura slowly changed. The warm, radiant light disappeared—

Replaced by endless, abyssal demonic aura.

His entire appearance transformed—white robes turned to black, woven with infinite darkness. His gentle smile faded into cold indifference.

A black horn sprouted from his forehead, and a massive black tail swayed behind him.

Lin Yuan looked at this completely different “Lord Heavenly Radiance”—

And felt a chill rise in his heart.

...

20 chapters ahead on patreon: /David_Lord