Chapter 752

Undying Substance, also known as Longevity Matter, was a highly coveted resource among Emperor-level beings in this Source World.

Not only could it elevate one’s transformation to the extreme, but more importantly, it could also extend lifespan.

It was said that in the distant past, the world was rich in Undying Substance, giving rise to countless supreme Emperors.

These Emperors absorbed massive amounts of Undying Substance, allowing them to live far beyond a million years, with power great enough to nearly rival Mortal Immortals.

Within Tianyuan Imperial Palace.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, his gaze filled with astonishment as he stared at the strand of nearly materialized Undying Substance before him.

It had taken Lin Yuan just over a day to condense this single strand.

Yet it surpassed the total amount of Undying Substance accumulated by Tianyuan over two million years.

Even all past Emperors, across multiple lifetimes, had likely never condensed as much as this one strand.

Through Lin Yuan’s vision, this strand of Undying Substance was composed of countless microscopic particles.

Each particle was formed by the interweaving of thirty-three fundamental units, creating an incredibly stable structure.

Billions of such particles made up this single strand of Undying Substance.

"Incredible."

Lin Yuan couldn’t help but marvel.

This strand had left a deep impression on him.

Thirty-three basic units intertwined into a perfectly balanced, highly stable configuration.

"Absorbing Undying Substance transforms the foundational particles of both body and soul into this form... I can’t imagine how much stronger it is than before."

Lin Yuan thought silently.

Countless pieces of information passed through his mind.

In ancient times, when Undying Substance was abundant, supreme Emperors strong enough to shake Mortal Immortals emerged.

Mortal Immortals corresponded to thirteenth-rank time beings.

Yet those Emperors remained at the twelfth rank.

A twelfth rank shaking the thirteenth?

Lin Yuan couldn’t imagine how—other than himself—anyone could achieve such a feat.

But in this Source World, he saw the possibility.

The key was Undying Substance.

If one absorbed enough of it—

Even while remaining at the twelfth rank, their body and soul could begin transforming toward the domain of time beings.

Then, as long as their mastery of the Dao or inheritance reached the threshold—

It was entirely possible for an Emperor to challenge a Mortal Immortal.

"This Source World..."

Lin Yuan’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

He realized the greatest value this world held for him—

Was Undying Substance.

Its fundamental nature was extraordinarily high.

And it brought about transformation with virtually no risks or side effects.

Even without undergoing time cycles, simply by absorbing enough, one’s body and soul could be forcibly elevated to nearly the level of a time being.

"If I use this Undying Substance to lay the foundation of my body and soul, then return to thirteenth-rank strength—what level would I reach?"

Lin Yuan was invigorated.

At that point, with a perfect, flawless body, he would only need to fully comprehend the Chaos Tai Chi origin Dao to step into the thirteenth-rank second stage.

And with his heritage, combined with the fundamental particle form born from Undying Substance, he might even be able to compete with ordinary Time Lords.

"Continue."

Clearing his thoughts, Lin Yuan split his focus—half continued to condense Undying Substance from the world, while the other half began refining the strand he had already formed.

Buzz—buzz—buzz—as the Undying Substance merged into him, Lin Yuan immediately sensed the fundamental particles of his body begin to shift, evolving from a simple single-particle form into a structure composed of thirty-three base units.

Each of these new particles was immensely more stable than before.

"I’ll use this body to first explore the path of refining Undying Substance. If there are no hidden risks, I’ll replicate the process across my other three true bodies."

As he felt his energy surging, Lin Yuan’s thoughts raced.

The way Undying Substance altered the base particles of body and soul was essentially a guided transformation.

If Lin Yuan could understand the principles behind it, he wouldn’t need the Substance itself—he could replicate the transformation in his other bodies directly.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, ten years went by.

Lin Yuan still sat cross-legged in the Tianyuan Imperial Palace, appearing no different from ten years ago.

But fundamentally, he had undergone earth-shaking transformation. Over ten years, he had condensed strand after strand of Undying Substance. Under this massive refinement, one-tenth of his body and soul had already fully transformed into the Undying Substance structure.

"My current strength..."

Lin Yuan slowly stood, walking casually through the palace.

This was the first time he had moved in ten years.

"I can feel it... Even with only a tenth of my body transformed, my combat power has already reached the level of a time being—stronger than any so-called Supreme Emperor in the legends."

He reflected silently.

Others who refined Undying Substance—those Emperors—did so crudely. Even the strongest among them had only absorbed it in fragments.

But Lin Yuan? As a time being, he knew exactly how to refine it.

Where past Emperors refined bits here and there, Lin Yuan refined it thoroughly from the very foundation.

As a result, with just a tenth of his body transformed, he had already surpassed the Supremes.

"Honestly, I’m already no different from a Mortal Immortal."

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

His body, soul, and spirit had all crossed into thirteenth-rank territory. His mind was that of a time being, able to observe the future at will.

As for the time cycle? It was a supreme rule test, but once passed, never needed again—no matter what world or realm one entered.

"There’s still room for massive improvement."

Lin Yuan sensed the transformation still had nine-tenths to go.

And the development of the countless sand-grain particle worlds inside him was limited to only that transformed tenth.

Boom—

He released just a bit of aura, and space-time around him immediately collapsed. The force of endless ages swirled around him, causing even the world’s own rules to retreat in fear.

"Next, I’ll continue condensing Undying Substance—and begin re-cultivating the Martial Evolution Path."

Lin Yuan laid out his plan. At his level, re-cultivating a path was just a thought—there was no period of weakness involved.

Re-cultivating Martial Evolution wasn’t just because it suited him better—

More importantly, Lin Yuan wanted to see what divine ability this body would awaken.

Before descending into this world, he had viewed countless possible future timelines before choosing Tianyuan as his vessel.

Not only because Tianyuan had the highest starting point—

But also because of his unique constitution.

The divine ability birthed from that constitution would be a pleasant surprise for Lin Yuan.

As for what exactly the surprise would be?

Across the future timelines Lin Yuan had seen, there were hundreds of possibilities.

And that was only the ones he could observe—there were surely even more in the unseen timelines.

In most of them, the divine ability eventually awakened would be extraordinarily powerful—of great help to Lin Yuan at his current stage.

"This weapon..."

Lin Yuan flipped his right hand, and a mirror appeared before him.

This mirror was called the Tianyuan Mirror—a personal Emperor weapon forged by Tianyuan through his own blood and effort. When fully activated, it could unleash combat strength on par with an Emperor’s threshold.

Every past Emperor had forged a personal Emperor weapon.

One, because it enhanced combat ability.

Two, even if they fell, the weapon could be passed down to protect their legacy.

Staring at the mirror, Lin Yuan thought of his own life-bound weapon—the Origin Bell.

It had hardly proven useful. No matter how much effort he put into it, its growth couldn’t keep up with Lin Yuan’s strength.

"When I have time, I should raise the Origin Bell to thirteenth rank."

He mused.

With his strength and methods, his most powerful weapons were still his fists and legs.

Weapons? His greatest weapon was his own body.

But he had to admit—a suitable weapon could improve combat and survivability.

Especially the Origin Bell, which excelled in defense. If elevated to thirteenth rank, it could provide real support.

Inside the Tianyuan Imperial Palace.

Aside from Lin Yuan, the current Emperor—

There were also some loyal followers guarding the place.

Knowing his lifespan was ending, Tianyuan had dismissed most of his retainers.

But some refused to leave, choosing to be buried with their Emperor in this palace.

"The Emperor... That’s His Majesty’s aura!"

As Lin Yuan walked through the palace, many followers suddenly sensed something, their expressions filled with excitement.

They hadn’t felt his aura in centuries. If not for the lack of any world-shaking signs, they would’ve believed he had already passed.

When an Emperor died, their Dao would collapse, causing dramatic phenomena—Heavenly Signs.

This was the standard way of confirming an Emperor’s death.

Many alien races and forbidden beings were waiting for these signs—so they could be first to divide Tianyuan’s body and essence.

"The Emperor... has he survived into a third life?"

A follower couldn’t help but wonder aloud.

"Third life?"

Others shook their heads.

They too wished the Emperor had survived into a third life.

But they understood—doing so required breaking through one’s life constraints.

Such an event would surely cause a major disturbance. A million years ago, when Tianyuan consumed an Immortal Medicine and entered his second life, the shockwaves were terrifying.

But now?

Ever since he secluded himself in the palace centuries ago, there had been no sign of anything.

Though the Emperor wasn’t dead, he clearly hadn’t broken into a third life.

What they didn’t know was that since Lin Yuan’s descent, the so-called lifespan limit had already been broken.

In this world, for an Emperor to gain eternal life, they had to pass the time cycle test—only then could their soul and will become eternal.

But Lin Yuan’s will was already eternal. Upon entering Tianyuan’s body, he was naturally no longer subject to lifespan constraints.

"The Emperor..."

A few followers looked sorrowful. After centuries of silence, this sudden aura—could it be a final flare before death?

You Clan.

Deep in their ancestral land, several decaying Sovereigns were growing impatient.

By their estimates, Tianyuan should’ve passed ten years ago.

Yet he had lasted until now—no Dao collapse, no heavenly signs. He was still alive?

"That old relic... is he really about to survive into a third life?"

"Impossible. If he could, he would’ve done it long ago. Why wait until now?"

"Probably just lucky. Lasted another ten years. But he won’t hold on much longer."

The You Sovereigns exchanged thoughts quickly.

"What do we do?"

"Keep waiting?"

They looked at each other.

If Tianyuan lasted ten years, he might last another ten—or a hundred.

Simply waiting wasn’t a solution.

"How about we strike now—send him off ourselves?"

One Sovereign offered.

Their Yellow Springs bodies required long periods of sleep. Staying awake to wait for Tianyuan to die?

Ten or a hundred years, they could manage.

But hundreds—or thousands? That was too much.

"Enough. Even if he’s still alive, his power must be failing. There’s little danger in acting now."

The oldest You Sovereign said slowly.

Whether Emperor, Celestial Sovereign, or Supreme—when lifespan neared its end, their will decayed, and even if their body remained strong, they couldn’t exert much strength.

"Let’s do it now."

The other You Sovereigns agreed coldly. Carving up a dead body had no thrill—killing an old Emperor was far more satisfying.

They had waited because they thought Tianyuan wouldn’t last a few years.

But after ten years, their patience had run dry.

"Strike."

The oldest Sovereign nodded.

In the next moment—

From the depths of the You Clan’s ancestral land, several vast auras surged forth, sweeping toward the Tianyuan Imperial Palace.

Though these Sovereigns were decaying remnants, their appearance still caused massive phenomena—instantly drawing the attention of many powerhouses.

Numerous Forbidden Zone Lords observed from afar.

None acted yet.

They wanted to use the You Sovereigns to test Tianyuan’s true condition.

If it was all for show—they could move in and kill him themselves.

Outside the Tianyuan Imperial Palace.

Suddenly, the skies darkened.

A terrifying pressure descended.

The followers patrolling the palace instantly felt chills run down their spines. The pressure of Sovereigns—if not for the palace’s protective formations, they’d already be on their knees.

Even so—

Panic spread among them.

For Sovereigns to arrive at this moment—it could only mean trouble.

"Tianyuan..."

A cold, low voice echoed through the air, chilling every follower to the bone.

"Still not coming out to die?"

...

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