Chapter 743

The power of the Light Crystal was completely restrained.

Yet so long as one was a time being, one could sense the dreadful aura contained within.

Compared to the Dark Crystal condensed by the Black Demon Body, the Light Crystal was far more terrifying.

“Teacher.”

The thirteen Eternal Lords had complex thoughts.

Their mixed feelings came from two sides.

First, the Lord of Heavenly Radiance had once shown them favor.

Second, even one as strong as the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, at the lordly level, for the sake of final transcendence, to metamorphose into a perfect time being, ended with mind and will erased.

As for time beings like them at the First realm, could they still see hope?

“The demon calamity is over.”

Lin Yuan put away the Light Crystal and looked at the Eternal Lords.

In truth, so long as one could fully master the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s Lord's Status, one could easily recall both the Black Demon Body and the Light Body.

This was the final failsafe the Lord of Heavenly Radiance left for his two true bodies.

“Yes, the demon calamity is over.”

The Lord of Immeasurable spoke softly, his gaze turning toward the distant Source World.

Ever since the great upheaval of heaven and earth in the ages long past, the thirteen Eternal Lords had been forced to leave their homeland Source World, until now.

“Congratulations, Milky Way, on becoming a new Eternal Lord.”

The Lord of Wu Shan offered his congratulations.

At those words, the other twelve Eternal Lords came back to themselves, and promptly offered their congratulations in turn.

Though this Source World had lost the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, a time lord, it had gained Lin Yuan, a time being with even more unfathomable potential.

Lin Yuan smiled and returned each greeting.

“Milky Way, how strong are you now?”

The Lord of Immeasurable looked at Lin Yuan, inevitably curious.

Lin Yuan stepped into the thirteenth rank and in short order dealt with the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s Black Demon Body and Light Body.

He hadn’t shown much of his strength—he mainly relied on the Lord’s last failsafe, using the Lord's Status to forcibly suppress.

So the Eternal Lords were curious about Lin Yuan’s strength. They had guesses in their hearts, but didn’t dare believe them.

As for observing the future timeline?

Before Lin Yuan stepped into the thirteenth rank, with the Lord's Status’s blessing, his own timeline had already become blurry and twisted to time beings of the First realm.

Not much useful information could be seen.

And now that he had become a time being and fully mastered the Lord's Status, observing Lin Yuan’s future timeline was no easier than observing a true time lord.

What Lin Yuan had displayed before condensing the Lord's Status also differed greatly from what they had just seen.

In the first futures they saw, Lin Yuan did indeed end the demon calamity, but not nearly as effortlessly as now.

Obviously Lin Yuan’s future had diverged greatly from what the Eternal Lords had once seen.

“My strength?”

Lin Yuan smiled slightly. “Who wants to try?”

“I will.” The Lord of Black Void stepped out, looking at Lin Yuan with anticipation.

Among the thirteen Eternal Lords, the Lord of Immeasurable was the strongest, and the Lord of Black Void was second only to him.

In life-preserving defense, he was in no way inferior to the Lord of Immeasurable.

Lin Yuan nodded. “I’ll use a suppressive method—focus on how it feels.”

The Lord of Black Void grew solemn.

In the next instant, black-and-white Yin–Yang qi interwove, shrouding this spacetime. The Lord of Black Void’s expression changed—he could feel the Yin–Yang qi suppressing and restricting him.

Hum!

The Lord of Black Void’s figure gradually vanished, turning into a spacetime black hole, resisting the attrition from the Yin–Yang qi.

But the Yin–Yang qi kept condensing, vaguely forming a vast, chaotic Taiji Diagram. No matter how the Lord of Black Void resisted, the Yin–Yang qi began seeping into the spacetime black hole, sweeping toward the Lord of Black Void’s true body.

“Can’t block it—simply can’t.”

The Lord of Black Void’s mind trembled slightly. His path excelled at defense, yet he couldn’t block Lin Yuan’s suppression.

“If you sense anything wrong, say it at once. I’ll stop.” Lin Yuan smiled, also observing the path the Lord of Black Void had taken.

Every Eternal Lord’s path had its unique points. To become a time lord meant the path was strong, but for time beings who hadn’t become time lords, their paths weren’t necessarily inferior.

“Milky Way, stop!”

The Lord of Black Void called out immediately.

Though there was still some distance before harm reached his true body,

it had begun with such crushing penetration through his layered defenses that there was no need to keep resisting.

“Just with a suppressive method, it’s already this frightening. Milky Way, your strength likely can match the Second realm, right?” The Lord of Immeasurable confirmed his inner guess, looking at Lin Yuan in awe.

To become an Eternal Lord and already have battle power comparable to the Second realm, once he steadied his realm a bit, wouldn’t he push straight to Second realm peak, nearing a time lord?

Keep in mind, a newly ascended Eternal Lord’s strength isn’t considered too high, with vast room to grow.

“Second realm?”

The Eternal Lords glanced at one another.

They were each still far from the First realm’s peak, let alone the Second realm.

“Black Void, Milky Way held back—he only used suppression. If he used an offensive method, you wouldn’t even have the chance to call for a stop.”

The Lord of Wu Shan said with a smile.

He had already received a trove of information from the trial space, and knew that before becoming an Eternal Lord, Lin Yuan could condense a Chaotic Taiji Sword out of black-and-white Yin–Yang. Its pure offensive power far surpassed the Chaotic Taiji Diagram.

The Chaotic Taiji Diagram specialized in suppression and restraint.

“I wouldn’t even have time to speak?” The Lord of Black Void muttered.

That was true—the first future timelines they observed did include Lin Yuan using other means to erase demonic miasma.

Among them, that Taiji Sword wreathed in endless Yin–Yang qi had shocked all the Eternal Lords.

“Even with my strongest offense, it would be hard to erase Black Void’s true body in a short time.”

Lin Yuan said.

“Erase my true body—in a short time?”

The Lord of Black Void blinked.

Granted, for an Eternal Lord, the fall of a true body was far from real death.

But if even one’s strongest-body avatar couldn’t be kept alive, that meant the gap was simply too great.

“What are your plans next, Milky Way? Will you establish an Eternal sect or power?”

The Lord of Immeasurable asked Lin Yuan.

“We’ll see then.”

Lin Yuan replied.

Having just stepped into the thirteenth rank, he had too much to do.

Establish a power? No rush for now.

“Mm.”

The Lord of Immeasurable nodded, then continued, “I’ll head back first.”

Across the long ages, he had never truly returned to his homeland Source World—at most he descended as an avatar, but such an avatar would be detected by the Demon Gods and couldn’t remain long.

“Alright.”

Lin Yuan looked at the other Eternal Lords. “I’ll be off as well.”

With that, Lin Yuan’s figure faded and vanished.

In a certain spacetime, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged.

Two crystals floated before him.

One was filled with murky demonic miasma.

One was filled with infinite light.

They were precisely what the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s Black Demon Body and Light Body had become.

Lin Yuan examined them closely—after watching the Dark Crystal for a while, he looked at the Light Crystal.

These two crystals had already become the purest, most fundamental energy and could be absorbed by Lin Yuan with ease.

There was no need to grind them with the Taiji Millstone; the purity of either crystal’s power was no less than the chaotic void’s origin.

This was the legacy of a time lord’s foundation. Having grasped the Lord's Status and inherited all of the Lord of Heavenly Radiance, absorbing the two crystals was naturally effortless.

“I can feel how vast the energy in these two crystals is—no less than another infusion of the chaotic void’s origin.”

A smile rose on Lin Yuan’s face.

In truth, if not for the ages-long attrition of the Black Demon Body and Light Body, with a good portion of their internal energy consumed, what Lin Yuan would gain from refining them would absolutely surpass an infusion of the chaotic void’s origin.

After all, this was the entirety of a time lord’s legacy, and the chaotic void’s size was only equivalent to a single time lord.

“Let’s begin refining.”

Without much hesitation, Lin Yuan began refining both crystals at once.

At once, two utterly different forces poured into Lin Yuan’s body, merging into every particle-world.

“The Lord of Heavenly Radiance walked the Path of Light—wherever it reached, there was infinite light.” Lin Yuan now felt the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s path more deeply.

“But only light is too extreme—easy to reach the peak, hard, hard, hard to reach perfection.”

He thought silently.

“The Lord of Heavenly Radiance realized this, thus the Black Demon Body. But the Black Demon Body ultimately existed to make up for his Path of Light, so it wasn’t as strong as the Light Body.”

Lin Yuan’s thoughts spread.

If there is only light, it is not light.

Only with the existence of darkness can there be light.

“My path was set at the start of cultivation, rooted in Yin and Yang—no extremes, no hidden dangers.” Lin Yuan thought.

This was also why he didn’t want to refine the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s Lord's Status.

In his heart, the path he walked was superior to that of the Lord of Heavenly Radiance.

“I wonder—when I strike for the fourteenth rank, will I perish like the Lord of Heavenly Radiance?”

Lin Yuan mused.

Though his path had no flaws or hidden dangers and seemed more perfect than the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s, whether he could ultimately step into the fourteenth rank and achieve the perfect time being—Lin Yuan had no certainty.

At best, his own future timeline reached the level of a time lord.

Beyond that—striking for the perfect time being?—it became very blurry. The fourteenth rank transcends all timelines; not even the strongest time being can observe it.

“We’ll see then.”

Lin Yuan quickly refined the two crystals, and his strength rose rapidly.

The crystals were not only pure gathered power; the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s path was also within.

As Lin Yuan refined and absorbed, he also drew from that path the parts he needed.

He could not follow the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s path, but he could reference it; only thus could his own path grow ever more refined, approaching perfection.

In the chaotic void, one indistinct phantom after another gathered.

“Eye of Ten Thousand Laws, Milky Way has become a great time being—you’ve really hit the jackpot.”

The special spirits looked at the Eye of Ten Thousand Laws, their tones tinged with envy.

The relationship between the Eye of Ten Thousand Laws and the time being “Milky Way” had been guessed by many special spirits ever since the latter had actively retrieved that “Law-Source Fruit” for the Eye of Ten Thousand Laws.

Before breaking into the thirteenth rank, the time being “Milky Way” strongly resisted contact with special spirits.

He hadn’t met any of them.

Yet he helped the Eye of Ten Thousand Laws obtain the “Law-Source Fruit.”

If there weren’t something between them, the special spirits wouldn’t believe it.

“Truly lucky.”

The Eye of Ten Thousand Laws nodded outwardly, but inwardly he was bitter.

If only… if only he hadn’t made that request of Lin Yuan and kept the favor between them.

The favor of a time being was immensely valuable—especially for special spirits like them.

But because of his shortsightedness—thinking Lin Yuan might not break the time loop and that the favor, if unused, might be wasted—he hurried to ask for it.

Now he regretted it to his core.

The special spirits had lived through countless cosmic epochs, even witnessing the birth of time beings one after another.

They knew the commotion caused when Lin Yuan stepped into the thirteenth rank far surpassed that of others.

That meant Lin Yuan’s strength and potential both exceeded other time beings.

And he had used such a being’s favor like that? The Eye of Ten Thousand Laws felt utterly helpless.

With Lin Yuan’s current strength, it was nearly impossible to get closer to him now.

In the dim depths of spacetime sat a figure cross-legged.

It was Lin Yuan.

After stepping into the thirteenth rank and bearing the chaotic void’s origin infusion, the strength of this true-body avatar of Lin Yuan’s was unquestionably the greatest.

As for the other Source World, the true body that received the Lord of Heavenly Radiance’s legacy—reaching the level of the chaotic void true-body would have to wait until the two crystals were fully refined.

“My inner cosmos now is roughly one percent the size of the chaotic void.”

Lin Yuan observed his inner cosmos—this was him just entering the thirteenth rank, not yet grown to the limit.

He estimated that once he grew to the extreme, his inner cosmos would reach one-tenth the size of the chaotic void.

One-tenth of the chaotic void? Know that the chaotic void is the pinnacle of dimensional spaces—forget one-tenth, even one in ten thousand or one in a million is boundless to those below the thirteenth rank, a lifetime insufficient to explore it all.

“If I step into the thirteenth rank’s Second realm, my inner cosmos will likely directly match the chaotic void.”

Lin Yuan thought. He was now a newly ascended time being, just into the First realm; upon stepping into the Second realm, there would be another massive leap.

At that time, his inner cosmos would fully match the chaotic void.

This was the theoretical tier described by Lord Mo Xu-jun’s “Infinite Void.”

The pursuit of Lord Mo Xu-jun through the ages.

Unlike Lin Yuan, “Infinite Void” reached its limit at that tier, nearing a time lord.

But Lin Yuan’s inner cosmos—even upon matching the chaotic void in size—would still be far from its limit, and could continue to grow.

By fusing the root operations of two Source Worlds, Lin Yuan’s inner cosmos faintly carried a touch of perfection; its potential was great enough that it might approach a truly perfect world.

“I’ve more or less familiarized myself with the means of a thirteenth-rank time being.”

Lin Yuan stood, gaze profound.

A thirteenth-rank time being’s means went far beyond observing future timelines.

At this level of essence, one could basically resurrect lives that had once existed within a dimensional space.

“Let’s resurrect them.”

Without hesitation, Lin Yuan began resurrecting beings who had causal ties with him but had died in the past—or had effectively died.

In an instant, where his gaze fell, a new secret realm opened.

Within it, a world vaguely took shape, and the beings within swiftly transformed from illusory to real.

Lin Yuan’s first resurrection target was the time loop world he had experienced.

The time loop world had been created temporarily by supreme rule and Dao, but in essence it was no different from real life; every person within had their own mind.

Since they had truly existed, Lin Yuan could resurrect them.

Very soon, as the beings within fully became real, time, which had halted after Lin Yuan passed the trial, began to flow once more.

Unlike the time loop world Lin Yuan experienced, the resurrected time loop world’s beings were no longer bound by rule constraints; the beings within could take to more transcendent paths.

“In essence, you were created by supreme rule and Dao—may you walk your own road.”

Lin Yuan looked down at that time loop world now integrated into the chaotic void, thinking silently.

He resurrected the beings of the time loop world because he didn’t want them to vanish into smoke simply because he had passed the trial.

Even if those beings had been created because Lin Yuan faced the trial, born because of Lin Yuan, gone because of Lin Yuan, it sounded perfectly reasonable.

But as a time being, he would act by his heart.

If Lin Yuan felt it wasn’t reasonable, then it wasn’t.

After the beings of the time loop world were fully resurrected, none of the Dao Masters noticed anything amiss—everyone went on with what they should be doing.

Compared to Lin Yuan’s current level of life, the beings of the time loop world were simply too weak.

“Cang Weiyang?”

Following a causal thread, Lin Yuan looked toward the first Dominance-peak expert he met upon leaving the chaotic void.

Back then, Cang Weiyang perished exploring the Taiyuan Ruins. The cave abode he left behind was discovered by Lin Yuan by luck, and the imprint Cang Weiyang had left actively gifted everything to Lin Yuan.

The sole condition was that Lin Yuan look after the Stonefolk.

Lin Yuan later fulfilled that promise.

Now that he had become a time being, he resurrected this twelfth-rank life in passing as well.

“I…”

Within a void domain, the chubby “Cang Weiyang” looked around blankly.

“Wasn’t I dead?”

Cang Weiyang was puzzled, then related information surged into his mind.

“The great time being ‘Milky Way’ resurrected me? Because he obtained my cave abode back then?”

Cang Weiyang’s eyes widened—he never imagined that the cave abode he left would play such a role, becoming the key to his resurrection.

“Many thanks to the great time being.”

Cang Weiyang bowed respectfully toward a certain direction.

He didn’t dare raise his head to look upon Lin Yuan’s true body. With his strength, to directly gaze upon a time being’s true body—his mind and will could be twisted and tainted.

“I’ll send you to the Stonefolk.”

At a thought, Lin Yuan sent Cang Weiyang to where the Stonefolk now dwelt.

In the Stonefolk secret realm, Cang Weiyang appeared out of thin air.

“Who is it?”

“Cang Yulong,” also at Dominance peak, sensed the anomaly and appeared in a flash not far away.

“Uncle-ancestor Weiyang?”

Cang Yulong stared at Cang Weiyang in disbelief.

As the Stonefolk’s sole Dominance peak before, Cang Weiyang held high status in the clan.

Cang Yulong was his junior.

Except—

Cang Yulong had long felt Cang Weiyang’s causality dissipate—he had fallen.

Why had he appeared again?

And why had a dissipated causality been forcibly re-established?

Cang Yulong couldn’t believe it.

A child of great fortune, he had obtained the legacy left by the Great Saint Tuolong when weak, and survived the pursuit of the Nine-Sword Venerable.

Cang Yulong’s horizons were broad, yet this scene still shook him.

“Yulong, a great time being resurrected me.”

Cang Weiyang said at once.

“A great time being…”

Cang Yulong drew a deep breath.

A great time being.

Right.

Only a great time being could resurrect a twelfth rank.

“My cave abode back then was obtained by the great time being. On that favor, I was resurrected.”

Cang Weiyang smiled.

“Was it the Great Saint Milky Way?”

Cang Yulong murmured.

If it were an ancient time being, he’d have resurrected Cang Weiyang long ago, no need to wait until now.

So the time being who resurrected Cang Weiyang could only be newly ascended.

Recently, there had been two such beings:

Rahu, and Milky Way.

Rahu was an unimaginably ancient Great Saint.

With Rahu’s strength, he wouldn’t even look at Cang Weiyang’s cave abode.

“The Great Saint Milky Way?”

Cang Weiyang nodded. In the instant of resurrection, he learned Lin Yuan’s name.

“Then when my Stonefolk were imprisoned by the Nine-Sword Venerable, it should also have been the Great Saint Milky Way who acted.”

Cang Yulong murmured. Back then he even set the Great Saint Milky Way as his target—carrying the legacy of the Great Saint Tuolong, he had been full of drive.

Now, he wasn’t even at Chaos, and the Great Saint Milky Way had stepped into the thirteenth rank.

Even without that, who in the chaotic void didn’t know the name of the Great Saint Milky Way?

Outside a remote born-universe, a woman in a pale green skirt appeared.

In the distance, a burly, majestic man also appeared.

“Axuan.”

Seeing the burly man, the woman in the pale green skirt couldn’t help calling out.

“Senior sister.”

The burly man was moved.

“What is this…?”

He looked around, thoughtful.

“Axuan, how am I alive?”

The woman in the pale green skirt was puzzled.

When she fell, she was far too weak—not even at Dominance.

“You were resurrected.”

“I was resurrected too—by a great time being.”

The burly man, the Mysterious Sovereign, said softly. He looked into the distance and saw a towering true body looking down upon him. (That's right, he is the Mysterious Sovereign!)

As an Invincible Supreme Saint, the Mysterious Sovereign had the qualification to look up at a time being.

And having forced his way out of the time loop using a thirteenth-rank weapon, he should have certainly died.

Only a thirteenth-rank time being could resurrect him.

But he had no causality with any time being, nor any value for resurrection. Forcing his way out of the time loop meant he had no chance to ever step into the thirteenth rank.

“Live well with your senior sister.”

Lin Yuan’s voice sounded at the Mysterious Sovereign’s ear.

His greatest obsession was his senior sister.

For her, he was willing to give up becoming a thirteenth-rank time being.

“Many thanks, great time being.”

The Mysterious Sovereign bowed, understanding that Lin Yuan had resurrected his senior sister entirely for his sake.

Otherwise, with no causality to Lin Yuan, even if there was resurrection to be had, it wouldn’t have been her turn.

“The master of the Devil Jade Tower.”

Lin Yuan looked toward the depths of the chaotic void, at the time loop region belonging to the tower’s master.

“No possibility of breaking the loop at all.”

Lin Yuan shook his head slightly.

The first cycle of a time-loop trial offered the highest chance of success.

With every additional cycle, that chance dropped a notch.

Now nearly ten million cosmic epochs had passed since the Devil Jade Tower’s master fell into the loop.

Who knew how many cycles he had undergone in the loop—he likely couldn’t even maintain selfhood, much less break the loop.

“Break.”

Lin Yuan’s expression grew slightly solemn as he forcibly broke open the time loop the tower master had fallen into.

Buzzing—horrific backlash surged and was easily blocked by Lin Yuan.

A figure in a black robe was fished out by him.

“I…”

Freed from the loop’s constraints, the master of the Devil Jade Tower swiftly recovered, memories flooding back.

“Many thanks, great time being.”

He bowed to Lin Yuan at once.

To be trapped in an endless loop, losing self, for any Great Saint, that was torment.

Lin Yuan had forcibly broken the loop, borne the timeline’s backlash, and saved him—no different from a grace of rebirth.

“Who would have thought that the Devil Jade space I casually opened would nurture a great time being?”

The tower master felt emotional. Once free of the loop, he knew everything.

For the better part of half an hour, all those with causal ties to Lin Yuan who had fallen in the past were resurrected.

For these resurrected ones, Lin Yuan would generally say a few words, briefly explaining why he had resurrected them.

Otherwise, being resurrected by a great time being out of nowhere would make most lives profoundly uneasy.

“That’s about it.”

Lin Yuan withdrew his hand. Seeing one being after another newly resurrected and delighted, his mood naturally lifted.

When one rises to the Dao, all around rise as well.

Having stepped into the thirteenth rank, everyone connected to him ought to get a second chance.

With Lin Yuan’s current strength and foundation, doing so cost him little.

Even the backlash from the timeline could be borne easily, with no effect on him.

“Mm?”

Just then, Lin Yuan’s expression changed slightly.

He split off a wisp of mind and sank it into the depths of his sea of consciousness.

Because now, that towering, magnificent Gate of Myriad Realms began to emit a certain subtle aura.

...

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