Chapter 712

The Eternal Immeasurable’s gaze grew distant with recollection.

“Strictly speaking, I suppose I was once a disciple of the Lord of Heavenly Radiance. At the dawn of this world’s birth, I fought fiercely against other beings for resources.”

“Just as I was on the brink of death, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance appeared—it was he who saved me.”

Lin Yuan listened intently. At the beginning of the Source World’s creation, many incredibly powerful beings were born, and fierce conflict erupted from the very start.

“At the time, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance was radiating boundless brilliance. I felt warm and safe… so I wished to follow Him.”

“But, unfortunately, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance didn’t agree. He transmitted a few cultivation techniques into my mind—among them, the Way of Runes—and then he left.”

“With a complete cultivation path, I quickly grew in strength.”

The Eternal Immeasurable paused for a moment, then continued, “Later, I heard more about the Lord of Heavenly Radiance. He traveled across this world, spreading the path of cultivation, helping all beings see the road ahead clearly, and laying the foundation for the cultivation system.”

“My power continued to grow, and I’d attend every time he taught the Dao.”

“One day, after He finished teaching and didn’t immediately leave, I worked up the courage to approach and ask: why was he doing this? Why spread such precious cultivation methods to all beings?”

Lin Yuan nodded slightly at this.

He had wondered the same.

Cultivation methods were precious—especially something as fundamental as the Way of Runes.

To spread it freely—could it really be pure benevolence?

Lin Yuan’s own spread of the martial evolution path had been for the sake of reinforcing external “anchors” to increase his odds of breaking through the time cycle.

But what was the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s reason?

At the level of a Time Being, concepts like “kindness” or “evil” were meaningless. Everything came down to one’s own path.

Take the Lord of Heavenly Radiance—He had both a merciful Bright Aspect and a cold, ruthless Dark Aspect.

From the Dark Aspect, Lin Yuan could tell the Lord of Heavenly Radiance was far from purely benevolent.

So-called kindness only existed when it didn’t conflict with self-interest.

Time Beings could observe future timelines. Their “kindness” was most likely a calculated choice based on what they saw.

“At the time, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance said it was because, in the future, He would owe this world’s beings a debt—so he was repaying it in advance, settling karma.”

The Eternal Immeasurable spoke softly.

“Back then, I didn’t understand what he meant. Owe the future beings of this world?”

Lin Yuan listened closely, his expression thoughtful.

The other twelve Eternal Lords also remained silent.

When it came to understanding the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, none knew more than the Eternal Immeasurable.

“Later, I don’t know how long it took, but I finally became an Eternal Lord—the second strongest in this world after the Lord of Heavenly Radiance,” the Eternal Immeasurable said.

Lin Yuan nodded.

If the Lord of Heavenly Radiance was counted, then the Eternal Immeasurable was indeed the second Eternal Lord of the Source World.

“After I became an Eternal Lord, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance personally came to me and spoke at length. I learned he wasn’t native to this world—he came from a dimensional rift. He had discovered this world by chance and sensed a faint aura of perfection. So, outside, he waited through an entire full cycle of universal destruction.”

“In the end, he paid a great price, and just as this world was newly formed and its world consciousness had only begun to awaken—and with no other Eternal Lords present—He successfully merged into it.”

The Eternal Immeasurable explained.

“So that’s how it was…”

Lin Yuan’s suspicions were confirmed.

The strength of the Lord of Heavenly Radiance had formed a clear gulf between him and the later thirteen Eternal Lords.

Among the six Founding Ancestors of the First Source World, the strongest was the Grand Ancestor of the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom. While his strength exceeded the other five, the gap wasn’t nearly as dramatic.

In Lin Yuan’s eyes, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance was very likely a Time Lord—and within a full destruction cycle of any dimension space, it was extremely rare for a Time Lord to be born.

Nearly all Time Lords had wandered the dimensional gaps for countless years after their homeworlds perished, eventually comprehending how to seal their own timeline—and thereby ascend.

“This world of ours holds a hint of perfect aura. To the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, that was extremely important—helpful for attempting that final step.”

The Eternal Immeasurable continued.

“Perfect aura?”

Lin Yuan’s eyes flickered with thought.

He faintly realized—this might be what made the Source Worlds so special.

In terms of strength and number of Time Beings, the Chaos Void wasn’t weaker than the Source World.

But it wasn’t a Source World. And yet, within the depths of the Gate of Myriad Realms, there were only thirty-three Source World coordinates?

Across infinite dimensions, there were many spaces comparable to the Chaos Void. There had to be more than thirty-three. So why did the Gate of Myriad Realms only designate those thirty-three as Source Worlds?

It probably had to do with that “perfect aura.”

Lin Yuan had traveled through different dimensions and even observed the Source Core of the First Source World. He noticed how incredibly close to perfection the Source World was—far more than the Chaos Void.

Of course, this perfection referred to the world itself. It didn’t necessarily make it easier to nurture life.

“Indeed. The Lord of Heavenly Radiance said that when He attempted that step in the future, drawing on this perfect aura might let him ‘see farther.’”

“See farther…”

Lin Yuan recalled the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s description of attempting to become a Perfect Time Being.

If you can do it, you can.

If you can’t—no matter how hard you try, you never will.

But if that perfect aura let you “see farther,” then maybe it didn’t help with the breakthrough—but helped Time Beings realize whether they had the potential to succeed?

“Later on, Black Void, Wu Shan, and the others all became Eternal Lords too.”

The Eternal Immeasurable glanced at the twelve Eternal Lords behind him.

“After thirteen Eternal Lords had emerged in this world, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance summoned us all, saying he was ready to attempt that final step.”

He sighed.

“That final step?”

Lin Yuan’s eyes widened.

So the Lord of Heavenly Radiance had attempted to become a Perfect Time Being?

“That’s right.”

“He attempted it right before us.”

The Lord of Black Void added.

“What was the result?” Lin Yuan asked at once.

Then he realized—it was a pointless question.

The result was clearly failure. Otherwise, if the Lord of Heavenly Radiance had succeeded, the Source World wouldn’t be in its current state.

“The result…”

The Eternal Immeasurable fell silent for a moment.

“I saw with my own eyes as his will and consciousness first ascended—then ignited. The brilliance was so intense it disrupted even the timelines.”

“In the end, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s will vanished. We don’t know if it was completely burned out, or simply erased.”

The Eternal Immeasurable looked at Lin Yuan and said quietly, “It’s a pity. I never called him ‘Teacher’ in the end. He said that whatever guidance he gave us was merely repaying a debt owed to the future—no need to be his disciples.”

“And after that?” Lin Yuan pressed on.

“After that… without his will suppressing them, his physical body spiraled out of control. The Bright Aspect and Dark Aspect, driven by instinct, began to devour this world.”

The Lord of Black Void continued, “When we fought back together, we found that doing so only accelerated this world’s destruction. After observing countless timelines, we eventually led his Bright Aspect away—only that gave us a chance to preserve the future.”

“He knew that attempting that step could lead to such consequences?” Lin Yuan asked.

“He likely didn’t,” the Eternal Immeasurable shook his head.

“That step lies beyond the timeline. It can’t be observed, not even by Time Beings. The Lord of Heavenly Radiance chose to guide this world’s beings in exchange for the chance to attempt his breakthrough here. As for the outcome? It couldn’t be predicted.”

“We were only able to re-enter the timeline once his Bright and Dark Aspects lost control. Only then could we act.”

The Eternal Immeasurable finished.

All thirteen Eternal Lords showed expressions of complexity—and fear.

Even someone as powerful as the Lord of Heavenly Radiance had lost his will while attempting to become a Perfect Time Being. That was an outcome no Time Being could accept.

“So… he died”

The Eternal Immeasurable spoke softly.

If he hadn’t, given his personality, he would never have allowed both his aspects to run wild.

“Fallen…”

Lin Yuan sighed inwardly.

For a Time Lord like the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, only a failed attempt at becoming a Perfect Time Being could bring true death.

“Perfect Time Beings…”

Lin Yuan now had a new understanding of this realm of existence.

Time Beings could observe countless timelines—but the more they saw, the more insignificant they felt. And so they longed to evolve—to comprehend all time—and become Perfect Time Beings.

“Young friend Milky Way, it’s time for us to leave.”

At this moment, the Eternal Immeasurable glanced around. The demonic energy had begun to churn, and a blurry figure was slowly forming—not far away, the Demon God.

Likewise, in the space outside the Source World—filled with infinite light—fluctuations were intensifying as well. The arrival of the thirteen Eternal Lords had clearly triggered responses from both the Bright and Dark Aspects.

“Alright.”

Lin Yuan nodded.

“I’ve already ordered the Eternal Sects to obey your commands from now on,” said the Eternal Immeasurable.

The other Eternal Lords showed no objections.

Simply put, from this moment until the end of the Demon Calamity, Lin Yuan would be the sole ruler of the Source World—his words carried more weight than even an Eternal Lord’s.

“Next time we meet, you’ll already be a Time Being, young friend Milky Way.”

“Yes, we’ll see each other again after you become a Time Being.”

One by one, the Eternal Lords spoke, and then their avatars dissipated swiftly.

As the thirteen consciousness avatars vanished, the surging demonic energy in all directions gradually calmed once more.

“See each other after I become a Time Being?”

A smile appeared on Lin Yuan’s face.

And then—he returned to cultivation.

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Time Being

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