Chapter 749

The Heart of the Celestial River glowed a faint purple, and from within came the sound of the celestial river’s surging—

As if it were a miniature version of the Celestial River itself.

Lin Yuan closely examined the Heart of the Celestial River in his hand.

It was a concentrated essence of the Celestial River Dimension’s origin power—but this particular heart contained more than just origin energy.

There were also deeper, more profound auras hidden within.

It was precisely because of this that this treasure, originally a Rank Thirteen First Realm wonder, could leap to become a Third Realm Lord-level material.

A Third Realm Lord-level material was enough to catch the attention of many Second Realm time-beings—like Hui Zu, who had just been defeated.

“This Heart of the Celestial River… I could use it to temper my body and increase my physical strength by forty percent.”

Lin Yuan thought to himself. As a Third Realm material, it would even benefit a true Time Lord.

Lin Yuan’s physical body was already so powerful that even many Second Realm time-beings known for their physique couldn’t compare. Yet this heart could still increase his physical strength by forty percent—

Which spoke volumes about its rarity.

At Lin Yuan’s level, even a sliver of physical improvement was a breakthrough.

But a forty-percent increase?

That wasn’t just a matter of time—it was a breakthrough of a bottleneck.

“And the Celestial River itself…”

Lin Yuan shifted his gaze to the vast, surging Celestial River Dimension.

With the Heart of the Celestial River, he could directly perceive the operation of the dimension’s Dao and laws—

Similar to observing the source operation of the Source World from up close.

And with no time limit.

The Chaos Void Dimension contained many natural universes, giving rise to countless lives.

Likewise, the Celestial River Dimension contained many worlds. Though it appeared as one vast river—

Each droplet of water was in fact a world, comparable to the natural universes of the Chaos Void.

Of course—

Unlike the Chaos Void—

The Celestial River Dimension offered no real protection to those river-worlds.

Any external time-being could destroy as many water-worlds as they pleased.

Whereas in the Chaos Void? Outsiders couldn’t even get in.

And the native time-beings? They wouldn’t go out of their way to destroy their own natural universes.

If they did try to fully destroy one—eliminating its potential for rebirth—

They’d suffer backlash from the Chaos Void itself.

“The operation of this dimension’s origin Dao isn’t nearly as helpful to me as that of the Source World.”

Lin Yuan sensed it for a moment, then silently concluded.

First, the Celestial River Dimension wasn’t on par with the Source World, so its origin Dao wasn’t either.

Second, it was geographically close to the Chaos Void, so their origin Daos shared some similarities.

That was also why many time-beings preferred to venture deeper into the interdimensional gaps—

To witness origin laws different from their home dimensions and gain greater insight.

“Still, it’s useful.”

Lin Yuan didn’t dismiss it.

Even a mosquito is still meat.

And the essence of a top-tier dimensional space was still an extremely valuable experience for any time-being.

Don’t be fooled by how easily Lin Yuan obtained this Heart of the Celestial River—as if it were nothing.

That was purely because of his strength.

Ordinary First Realm time-beings could spend eons and still fail to acquire one.

The seven time-beings of the Chaos Void Dimension had waited in line for countless years to even qualify for a Heart.

Other First Realms? Without teaming up, they’d have no chance at all.

“With my current realm, I’ll fully comprehend it in a hundred years.”

Lin Yuan thought it over and reached a conclusion.

With the Heart of the Celestial River as support, he could grasp the origin operation of the Celestial River Dimension within a century.

Within the Celestial River Dimension—

Numerous time-beings watched Lin Yuan from afar.

His battle with Hui Zu had already proven his strength.

Even among Second Realm time-beings, he was a powerful figure.

Rank Thirteen was divided into three tiers. Lords of the third tier typically pursued the path of transcendence.

Thus, even second-tier time-beings could dominate a vast section of the interdimensional gap.

This Celestial River Dimension had long been divided up by various First Realm time-beings, all in a delicate balance.

But if a Second Realm time-being took interest—

They could drive everyone out and claim the whole dimension alone.

So now, many time-beings were uneasy.

No one knew what Lin Yuan would do next.

The nine time-beings of the Taixu Dimension wore heavy expressions.

The cost of offending a Second Realm time-being was simply too high for them.

It was easy to foresee—if things weren’t resolved with Lin Yuan, none of them would dare explore the dimensional gaps again in the foreseeable future.

The Lord of Taixu gathered his thoughts and approached Lin Yuan, stopping not far away.

“We were… under Hui Zu’s orders.”

The Lord of Taixu lowered his stance, hoping for Lin Yuan’s “understanding.”

“Only under orders?”

Lin Yuan glanced at him.

Second Realm time-beings certainly had the power to suppress First Realms.

But to control them? That was laughable.

If they couldn’t fight, couldn’t they just hide?

Time-beings had countless life-preserving methods. To truly kill a First Realm required a Lord’s strength.

As for Second Realm? Even if pressed, they could just retreat into their home dimensions and wait it out.

So Lin Yuan didn’t believe the excuse of being “ordered.”

And by observing their timelines, he knew full well they had struck a deal.

“I’m willing to offer compensation.”

The Lord of Taixu said immediately.

Now that’s more like it. Lin Yuan looked at him—words were cheap, but that last sentence had value.

“All nine of your inheritances, plus a hundred jin of Time Sand,” Lin Yuan said. “That will do as compensation.”

The Taixu Dimension was a top-tier space, and its origin Dao operations were something Lin Yuan coveted.

But unlike the Celestial River Dimension, Lin Yuan couldn’t enter the Taixu Dimension—

So he couldn’t directly observe its origin Dao.

However, observing origin Dao didn’t always require entering.

By studying the Dao legacies created by a dimension’s time-beings, one could indirectly observe them.

Though this method was inefficient and only worked for someone with Lin Yuan’s Unrivaled Insight—others couldn’t replicate it.

As for Time Sand? It was the universal currency among time-beings.

Observing future timelines consumed immense mental effort.

Time Sand could replenish that mental energy, allowing one to see deeper and further into the future.

“A hundred jin of Time Sand?” The Lord of Taixu winced.

Their nine inheritances were fine—they cost nothing to share.

But a hundred jin of Time Sand—that hurt.

“I’m not asking much.”

Lin Yuan said casually.

If he’d been greedy and demanded a thousand, or ten thousand jin—

The Lord of Taixu might’ve just hidden in his home dimension forever rather than pay that price.

A hundred jin was just at the threshold—enough that they could afford it without too much pain.

“Not much at all.”

The Lord of Taixu steadied himself.

If this could resolve their conflict with Lin Yuan, they could go back to exploring the dimensional gaps—

And make the Time Sand back eventually.

With that, he flipped his hand—

And handed over all the legacies and the Time Sand Lin Yuan had asked for.

“The karma between us is now resolved,” Lin Yuan said after glancing at the items.

Strictly speaking, he didn’t have much personal enmity with the nine time-beings of Taixu.

Even if they hadn’t compensated him, he wouldn’t have specifically gone after them.

But the Lord of Taixu lacked confidence and proactively offered the compensation—

More for peace of mind than anything else.

“Then we’ll be on our way.”

The Lord of Taixu quickly led the other eight time-beings out of the Celestial River Dimension.

With their departure—

The rest of the watching time-beings grew even more anxious.

Now that Lin Yuan had settled things with the Taixu group—

Would he turn to the Celestial River Dimension next?

With Lin Yuan’s strength, seizing the entire dimension—

Was completely justified.

In this interdimensional region, the only two Second Realm time-beings had already each claimed numerous resources and treasures for themselves.

In these vast spaces, strength ruled all. Third Realm Lords could outright claim massive territories, and within those territories, their will became absolute law—even time-beings in top-tier dimensions wouldn’t dare defy them.

Outside the Celestial River Dimension—

A gray aura appeared silently, forming into a figure in gray robes—it was Hui Zu.

“No point in hiding now.”

Hui Zu said calmly.

As soon as the words fell—

An invisible aura condensed into another figure.

This one smiled at Hui Zu. “I’ve long heard of Hui Zu’s name. It’s an honor to meet you.”

This figure was the Mother of the Spiral World—one of the two Second Realm time-beings in this region of the dimensional gap.

“An honor?”

Hui Zu remained noncommittal.

From his perspective, just having been defeated by Lin Yuan and losing the Heart of the Celestial River he’d already considered his—

Was hardly something to celebrate.

“You came to find me just to say that?”

Hui Zu looked at her.

Though his Gloom World had collapsed, it didn’t mean he was defenseless—

Otherwise, he wouldn’t have escaped Lin Yuan in the first place.

“I want information. On him.”

The Mother of the Spiral World said bluntly.

“Him” obviously referred to Lin Yuan.

As the one who had fought him directly, Hui Zu would know his methods better than anyone.

And in the face of an entirely unknown Second Realm time-being, the Mother of the Spiral World needed to know more.

“Why should I tell you?”

Hui Zu stared at her.

He had paid dearly to understand Lin Yuan’s capabilities.

Not just the loss of the Heart—but also the cost of destroying his Gloom World, which would take ages to recover from.

“I’ll trade ten jin of Time Sand.”

The Mother of the Spiral World offered.

A time-being who had reached Rank Thirteen wouldn’t do anything without benefit.

She wasn’t trying to freeload—she was willing to pay.

“Ten jin of Time Sand?”

Hui Zu thought for a moment, then nodded. “Deal.”

Ten jin of Time Sand was technically an overpayment for information on a new Second Realm time-being—

But with Lin Yuan so close by, and her interest urgent—

She didn’t want to bargain. She paid extra to avoid the back-and-forth.

If Lin Yuan had been a distant Second Realm, one or two jin would’ve sufficed.

“Here is the Time Sand.”

The Mother of the Spiral World handed it over.

“Mhm.”

Hui Zu put it away, then solemnly said, “That being’s physical body is unbelievably strong—perhaps close to the upper limit of Second Realm. It contains infinite worlds. Whether in attack, suppression, or defense—he has no flaws.”

“No flaws at all?”

The Mother of the Spiral World’s expression turned grim.

Even among Second Realm time-beings specializing in the body, there were always degrees of strength. But Lin Yuan?

No weaknesses?

“And from beginning to end, I never saw him use his Chaos-origin Dao.”

Hui Zu added.

The Chaos-origin Dao was one of a Second Realm time-being’s strongest weapons.

To Hui Zu, the fact that Lin Yuan never used his meant he was holding back—unwilling to go all-out.

That was the final reason he chose to collapse his Gloom World—

He didn’t want to keep fighting.

If Lin Yuan had gotten serious and activated his Chaos-origin Dao—

Escaping wouldn’t have been so easy.

“He didn’t use his Chaos-origin Dao?”

The Mother of the Spiral World was startled. She had watched the battle—

But lacked the details. She hadn’t realized Lin Yuan never used it.

“Finally, I could tell he could have finished me off—but didn’t.”

Hui Zu added thoughtfully, speaking generously after receiving the Time Sand.

Though he couldn’t see Lin Yuan’s future timelines directly, he could look at his own—

And thus, get glimpses of timelines involving Lin Yuan.

For instance, toward the end of the fight, he checked to see if he escaped in the future.

And in many timelines, he didn’t.

Which meant Lin Yuan could have kept him there.

Why didn’t he?

Maybe he was in a good mood.

Or maybe he didn’t want to waste more time suppressing him.

Either way, Hui Zu hadn’t dared linger.

“I understand.”

The Mother of the Spiral World nodded.

She felt the ten jin of Time Sand had been well spent.

“I’ll be off, then.”

Hui Zu disappeared from view.

The Mother of the Spiral World watched him go, lost in thought.

“A body near the limit of Second Realm… no weaknesses… and didn’t even use his Chaos-origin Dao… yet still suppressed Hui Zu…”

Her thoughts churned.

She couldn’t help but feel—

'Good thing I didn’t try to sneak in and “scavenge” earlier.'

...

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