Chapter 748

In the vast interdimensional gap, a celestial river surged forth mightily—

Sweeping through all of existence, across layers of space-time.

This was the Celestial River Dimension, a top-tier dimensional space no weaker than the Chaos Void Dimension. From afar, it appeared vast and unimaginably magnificent.

At this moment, without anyone knowing exactly when it happened, a towering figure was seated cross-legged at the edge of this celestial river.

The figure was so enormous it was nearly one-tenth the size of the entire river.

Mists layered over his body, almost merging him with the dimensional void, but as he slowly raised his right hand and lowered his head to gaze into his palm—

The dense mists began to fade, revealing his endlessly vast physical form.

“What is that?”

In the center of his palm, Hui Zu—now reduced to the size of a "particle"—felt a chill in his heart. Staring up at the oppressive force pressing down from all directions, his expression filled with disbelief.

The enormous face gazing down from above belonged to Lin Yuan—the one he had just trapped. This didn’t surprise Hui Zu.

For a time-being who had cultivated to Rank Thirteen, it was normal to possess multiple combat bodies.

What truly shocked Hui Zu was the sheer strength of Lin Yuan’s physical form—it was absurdly powerful. One-tenth the size of the Celestial River?

He could clearly feel that Lin Yuan’s body wasn’t a result of some size-enhancing technique but was a real, tangible, physical entity.

“So? What will you use to stop me now?”

Lin Yuan’s voice boomed as he looked down at the minuscule Hui Zu in his palm.

Though the Tai Chi Soul had been suppressed by Hui Zu’s origin Dao, it wasn’t useless.

To keep the Tai Chi Soul suppressed, Hui Zu had to divert enormous amounts of focus and energy—even to the point of being unable to fully unleash his origin Gloom Dao.

A single misstep, and the Tai Chi Soul could break free.

“A strong body doesn’t necessarily mean strong combat power.”

Hui Zu collected his thoughts. Though he was stunned by Lin Yuan’s terrifying physical form, strength wasn’t determined by the body alone.

Even if his body couldn’t compare to Lin Yuan’s, as a Second Realm time-being, he had plenty of methods to deal with such brute force.

“Then let’s try it.” Lin Yuan didn’t waste words, still looking down at Hui Zu in his palm.

“Is that another Second Realm time-being from the Chaos Void?”

Inside the Celestial River Dimension, many time-beings had also noticed this scene. Seeing that immense figure from afar left their mouths dry. While time-beings could freely alter the size of their bodies, enlarging it to the scale of one-tenth of the Celestial River—

Or even matching the entire Celestial River—was possible.

But it was meaningless.

Making your body larger didn’t increase your power.

An overly massive body would only scatter your strength—

Making it easier for enemies to break through in one blow.

But Lin Yuan’s current body showed no signs of weakness—it was completely real.

“With a body that strong, just his physical power alone is enough to suppress us.”

The watching time-beings were shaken. Simply put, with a body like that, Lin Yuan could just stand there, and their attacks wouldn’t even scratch him.

And a casual swipe from Lin Yuan would be a devastating blow for First Realm time-beings like them.

“Milky Way…”

Mo Xu-jun and the others were also watching closely. Seeing Lin Yuan’s colossal form on full display stirred unease in their hearts.

Lin Yuan’s power was overwhelming, and his growth far outpaced what they had previously seen in the timelines.

“But Milky Way isn’t a Second Realm time-being yet. He hasn’t comprehended his own origin Dao…”

Mo Xu-jun couldn’t help but worry. Other time-beings instinctively believed that both Lin Yuan and Hui Zu were Second Realm beings.

This clash between the two was seen as a battle of equals.

But in truth, Lin Yuan had only just entered the First Realm. Even if his foundations allowed him to contend with a Second Realm, over time, no one could be sure what might happen.

That said, Mo Xu-jun knew this battle was no longer one he could interfere in.

Not only that, even trying to watch the future timelines related to the battle—to learn the outcome in advance—was impossible. Lin Yuan’s timeline was too vague, and Hui Zu’s was the same.

The future timelines of these two were completely obscured from First Realm time-beings.

And it wasn’t just the time-beings in the Celestial River watching—

From further out in the interdimensional gap, other eyes were also observing.

A battle between two Second Realm time-beings was a rare sight in this entire region. No time-being, not even those also at Second Realm, would miss it.

“This Hui Zu—I’ve heard of him. He’s from a distant part of the interdimensional gap. But this other Second Realm from the Chaos Void…”

The Mother of the Spiral World frowned. She too was a Second Realm time-being and very knowledgeable, familiar with many other top beings. But Lin Yuan?

She had never heard of him.

To display a body comparable to one-tenth of the Celestial River—this indicated he was a Second Realm who specialized in physical combat.

But such types were few and easily recognizable—Lin Yuan didn’t match any known ones.

“The interdimensional gap is vast. Even Time Lords haven’t explored its entirety. Just because I don’t know of him… doesn’t mean he doesn’t exist.”

The Mother of the Spiral World thought to herself, then turned her gaze toward the Heart of the Celestial River inside the dimension, which was about to be born.

“Forget it. Just potential to reach Lord-level isn’t worth the risk.”

After careful consideration, she shook her head.

She too desired the Heart of the Celestial River, but with two beings already fighting over it—

If she intervened, she might be eliminated by both Lin Yuan and Hui Zu.

If it were just one Second Realm being, she might have given it a try.

But two? One of them specializing in the physical body?

She quickly lost interest in the Heart.

No matter how precious a treasure was, it wasn’t worth risking everything.

At the edge of the celestial river—

Lin Yuan looked down at the “particle” Hui Zu in his palm.

In this struggle for the Heart, Lin Yuan had deliberately used his Tai Chi Soul in the open, with his true body hidden.

Just now, the Tai Chi Soul had clashed with Hui Zu, who’d gone to great lengths to suppress it—unaware that this had been Lin Yuan’s plan all along.

Across many future timelines, using the Tai Chi Soul to distract Hui Zu while luring him into a trap set by the true body was the most favorable path for Lin Yuan.

“Endless Particle Worlds, suppress.”

Looking down at Hui Zu, Lin Yuan willed it into motion.

Within his body, countless particle worlds began to glow—an overwhelming energy radiated out, suppressing Hui Zu across time and space.

Even before reaching Rank Thirteen, Lin Yuan’s physical body had nearly matched time-beings in power.

After reaching Rank Thirteen and undergoing the Chaos Void’s origin infusion—though not fully consumed—it greatly enhanced his physique.

That was why his true body could now rival one-tenth of the Celestial River.

The path of martial evolution had always focused on the body. And with each particle within him having opened up a world, this infinite network of particles further amplified his strength.

Boom!

The terrifying pressure bore down on Hui Zu.

“Hmm?”

Though Hui Zu had prepared himself, when the real force hit, his heart sank.

In his field of vision, Lin Yuan’s colossal body lit up with star-like points.

Each “star” was equivalent to a lower dimension. Though Hui Zu didn’t care about individual ones—

Their sheer number overwhelmed him.

And in the deepest layer of those “stars,” Hui Zu faintly sensed a much greater world.

Whoosh~ As Hui Zu resisted the pressure from those external stars, he also had to fight the storm inside the Gloom World.

While Lin Yuan’s true body attacked from outside, the Tai Chi Soul had begun wreaking havoc within the Gloom World.

Under this dual assault, Hui Zu was in agony.

“Come out!”

Hui Zu frowned, preparing to release the Gloom World in order to first eliminate the internal threat.

Although releasing the Tai Chi Soul to reunite with Lin Yuan’s true body would increase the external pressure—

At least then the pressure would only come from outside.

Right now, with both internal and external assaults, Hui Zu didn’t know what to deal with first.

“Hahaha, I’m not leaving now.”

Lin Yuan’s Tai Chi Soul had no intention of leaving the Gloom World.

Holding Hui Zu in check from within was far more useful than joining the fight outside.

“Gloom Annihilation!”

Forced to act, Hui Zu’s aura turned into pure gloom again, resisting the pressure from the endless particle worlds.

Ssssss—

Lin Yuan’s true body, powered by deep foundations, continued pressing down, but Hui Zu—an experienced Second Realm—barely held on.

“Slash!”

Inside the Gloom World, Lin Yuan’s Tai Chi Soul wielded the Chaos Tai Chi Sword, slashing in all directions. The sharp Tai Chi sword intent kept tearing into the foundation of the Gloom World—

And by extension, Hui Zu himself.

“Why did I ever pull him into the Gloom World?” Hui Zu muttered in frustration. His situation was becoming awkward. With Lin Yuan's Tai Chi Soul disrupting him from within, he could only unleash a third of his full power.

In this state, facing the world-crushing pressure from outside—

He felt like a lone boat in a storm, moments away from being capsized.

“Where did this Second Realm come from?” Hui Zu felt deeply troubled.

Truthfully, even without the Tai Chi Soul’s interference, facing Lin Yuan’s true body already felt like a losing battle.

The Tai Chi Soul simply accelerated the process and reduced uncertainties.

Even though Lin Yuan now revealed a towering, boundless form—

While Hui Zu was just a “particle” in his palm—

The watching time-beings didn’t believe Hui Zu would necessarily lose.

At Rank Thirteen, physical strength alone wasn’t enough to dominate.

While it granted an advantage, it wasn’t absolute.

But as time passed and Hui Zu still hadn’t broken free from Lin Yuan’s suppression—

Many time-beings felt a jolt of fear.

“Could that Second Realm from the Taixu Dimension actually be getting suppressed?”

“He’s too strong… That Second Realm from the Chaos Void isn’t just physically powerful—his suppression techniques are terrifying too.”

Among all the speculation, the nine time-beings from the Taixu Dimension wore grim expressions.

The stronger Lin Yuan proved to be, the worse things looked for them.

If even Hui Zu couldn’t stop him—what hope did they have?

What were they going to do? Hide in the Taixu Dimension for all eternity?

Even if they did, the Taixu Dimension would eventually face destruction.

When that day came, the Lord of Taixu and the others would still have to venture into the interdimensional gap.

Back in Lin Yuan’s palm—

Hui Zu finally gave in. Compared to the external pressure, it was the internal one that he couldn’t endure.

Boom—

With a thought, Hui Zu allowed the Gloom World to collapse.

And with its collapse, Lin Yuan’s Tai Chi Soul naturally emerged.

“Destroying your origin world—impressive resolve.”

Lin Yuan immediately sensed what had happened.

The Gloom World, to Hui Zu, was like an inner universe.

Of course, at Rank Thirteen, even if such a world collapsed, it could be reformed—but not without cost.

“Please stop.”

Hui Zu looked up at Lin Yuan and said quietly.

“Stop?” Lin Yuan looked down, halting the pressure of his endless particle worlds.

“You’re surrendering?” Lin Yuan asked.

He held no real killing intent toward Hui Zu.

Mostly because killing him through normal means would be near impossible.

As for extreme measures?

Using the Gate of Myriad Worlds to travel back and kill a weaker version of Hui Zu from the past?

Or burning vast amounts of boundary-breaking source energy?

That was far too extravagant.

Even Lin Yuan would face backlash from the former—albeit less than others of his level.

The latter would consume too much precious power.

It wasn’t worth it.

“I surrender.”

Hui Zu replied immediately.

He now fully understood he wasn’t Lin Yuan’s match, and the Heart of the Celestial River was beyond his reach.

“The Heart of the Celestial River is yours.”

After speaking, Hui Zu’s body turned into a gray mist and disappeared from Lin Yuan’s palm.

Lin Yuan didn’t stop him.

Earlier, he had only been able to suppress Hui Zu because of the Tai Chi Soul’s interference within the Gloom World.

Most of Hui Zu’s abilities had been sealed.

Now that Hui Zu had actively destroyed the Gloom World and rid himself of the Tai Chi Soul’s restraint—

He naturally could escape Lin Yuan’s palm.

To stop Hui Zu from leaving, Lin Yuan would have to become a Second Realm himself, comprehend the Chaos-origin Tai Chi Dao—

Or complete the seventh layer of Infinite Void.

Otherwise, he’d have to pay a heavy price.

And even if he destroyed this body of Hui Zu, the latter wouldn’t truly die—

Only pulling the two into a cycle of endless vengeance.

“The Heart of the Celestial River.”

Lin Yuan rapidly shrank his body. With a sweep of his right hand, the newly formed Heart of the Celestial River appeared in his palm.

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