Chapter 754

In the Celestial River Dimension, the mighty river surged endlessly.

Lin Yuan sat cross-legged, comprehending the operation of the source Dao of the Celestial River Dimension.

Strands of a unique substance floated and intertwined before him—

This was the Undying Substance from the third Source World.

Of course, the Undying Substance forming before Lin Yuan was not directly extracted from the third Source World. Instead, it was recreated from his own power after he had thoroughly understood its essence.

Lin Yuan’s gaze was filled with wonder. Even after ten years of comprehension, he remained deeply amazed by this special substance.

Even within the Celestial River Dimension, the Undying Substance could still remain stable.

One must know that many power systems or precious treasures could only exist within their corresponding dimensions or similar environments.

Once removed, they would collapse.

Lacking the proper environment to sustain them, most forms of life—or non-life—would be affected.

Even time lifeforms, powerful as they are, would still be suppressed if they fell into certain special dimensional spaces.

“So perfect.”

Lin Yuan’s mind was partially immersed in it.

At its most microscopic level, Undying Substance was composed of thirty-three basic units.

These thirty-three units intertwined in perfect balance. On their own, they weren’t strong.

But when amassed in sufficient quantity, they formed a terrifying power equivalent to the thirteenth rank.

The Supreme Emperor of the third Source World had used Undying Substance to forge his true form, ultimately unleashing power close to that of a Mortal Immortal.

Lin Yuan went a step further—by reconstructing only one-tenth of his body with Undying Substance, he had already reached the realm of an ordinary Mortal Immortal.

“However, after reshaping one-tenth of my physical body with Undying Substance, the time and amount of material needed to reshape the next tenth will increase drastically.”

Lin Yuan thought to himself.

He had spent ten years to reconstruct one-tenth of his body. Another ten years might only allow him to rebuild one-twentieth or even one-thirtieth.

Power advancement was never as simple as basic addition; this applied especially to methods involving the fundamental reconstruction of body and soul.

“There’s no rush.”

A smile appeared on Lin Yuan’s face. After stepping into the thirteenth rank, time no longer held much meaning for him.

A thirteenth-rank time lifeform could be considered eternal to a certain extent, able to see through countless future timelines. As long as he didn’t seek death, he wouldn’t die.

“Source Worlds?”

Lin Yuan dispersed the Undying Substance before him, his heart in a light mood.

The three Source Worlds he had explored so far had all greatly benefited him.

The first Source World provided ancestral bloodlines and inheritances.

The second offered the Dao of Runes and Lord's Status.

The third gave him Undying Substance.

In the Great Wilderness Source World—

Atop the Nine Heavens stood a towering bronze Immortal Hall.

An ancient and mysterious aura spread out, as if detached from time and causality, existing independently.

As Lin Yuan continued to make his moves, erasing one ancient clan and forbidden zone after another, strands of consciousness within the bronze Immortal Hall began to awaken.

On the throne within the Immortal Hall sat a figure.

At that moment, the figure opened his eyes, scenes playing out before him.

Beneath the throne stood several other figures.

“Who would’ve thought that in today’s cultivation environment, someone like that could still appear?” the figure on the throne muttered as he looked down.

Since the Mortal Immortals broke the shackles of heaven and earth and charged into the Immortal Path countless ages ago, the cultivation environment of the Great Wilderness Source World had slowly deteriorated.

Most notably, Undying Substance had become increasingly scarce.

One must understand—Undying Substance was everything to emperor-level powerhouses.

Without it, even the most talented Celestial Emperors could only live a million years. How far could they truly go in cultivation within such a short time?

Even to live a third or fourth life, they would need ample Undying Substance as a foundation.

Why could consuming undying divine medicine allow a Celestial Emperor to live a second life?

Because undying divine medicine contained Undying Substance.

“What should we do now? Should we stop him from continuing the slaughter?”

One of the figures beneath the throne frowned and spoke.

Many of the ancient clans and forbidden zones in the Great Wilderness Source World were left behind by Mortal Immortals who once charged into the Immortal Path.

And the purpose of the Bronze Immortal Hall’s existence was to maintain stability in the Source World so that the Mortal Immortals wouldn’t have to worry about their rear while fighting on the Immortal Path.

“Stop him?”

“Why stop him?”

The figure on the throne shook his head. “Do you know how great the Mortal Immortals were? They spread their legacies, paving the way for all beings. But since they entered the Immortal Path, their descendants and offspring have grown complacent, indulging in luxury—and from time to time, even launching dark upheavals to harvest the living. Tch.”

The figures below the throne fell silent.

The ancient supremes and forbidden zone lords of the Source World had long been known to feast on the flesh and source of current Celestial Emperors, and regularly harvested living beings to nourish their withered spirits.

Everyone in the Immortal Hall knew this well, but out of consideration for the Mortal Immortals, they had chosen to turn a blind eye.

“Rest assured, the bloodline legacies of the Mortal Immortals will not be extinguished. This is part of the cycle of karma. Before they left, the Mortal Immortals already foresaw this,” said the throne figure.

If not for the repeated harvesting by those ancient supremes and forbidden zone lords, the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor would not have made his move today.

“True.”

The others nodded slightly.

Though the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor acted with ruthless methods, he hadn’t gone too far. For instance, when eradicating clans, he only wiped out the main bloodline—he did not exterminate every last branch.

“Besides, even if we wanted to stop him, could we?”

The throne figure responded faintly, “Who would stop him? Who could stop the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor now?”

Fully revived ancient supremes couldn’t even withstand a single blow. The forbidden zones didn’t last ten breaths before being flattened.

The Tianyuan Celestial Emperor’s strength was at least at the level of a Supreme Emperor—possibly even one approaching a Mortal Immortal.

Against such a powerhouse, even if the full might of the Bronze Immortal Hall were unleashed, they would at best gain the upper hand—not suppress him.

The Bronze Immortal Hall had been left behind by the Mortal Immortals before their departure, but it could, at most, exhibit power equal to them—and even then, it had limits and losses.

Trying to suppress a Supreme Emperor approaching Mortal Immortal level? That was pure fantasy.

Back then, the Mortal Immortals foresaw the world growing harsher over time. Eventually, not only would new Mortal Immortals fail to arise—even Celestial Emperors would become rare.

Leaving behind the Bronze Immortal Hall was already more than enough.

“I’d actually like to see how far this Tianyuan Celestial Emperor can go,” said the throne figure with deep meaning.

To cultivate to this level in such a harsh world—he could easily live a fourth or fifth life.

Outside a towering divine mountain—

Lin Yuan appeared out of nowhere.

His arrival put the entire mountain on high alert. Auras of supreme power revived, and several emperor weapons awakened as well.

The divine mountain was called “Emperor God Mountain,” the number-one forbidden zone in the Source World. Even at his peak, the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor had not dared approach it.

Compared to powerful clans, forbidden zones were even more terrifying, their origins unfathomable.

“Tianyuan, why have you come?”

A man in divine armor stepped out of the mountain, his gaze sharp.

As the foremost forbidden zone, they were well aware of Lin Yuan’s recent eradication of others.

Otherwise, a mere Celestial Emperor wouldn’t warrant such caution from Emperor God Mountain.

“To wipe you out.”

Lin Yuan said with a smile.

In countless timelines he had seen, the black upheavals in the Source World and the ancient supremes harvesting the living had all been orchestrated by Emperor God Mountain.

Even after the original Tianyuan Celestial Emperor’s death, if events had followed the normal timeline, most of his origin would have ended up in their hands.

“Wipe us out?”

The man in divine armor stared at Lin Yuan.

He himself was an emperor-level being, clad in emperor-tier armor. Though not a current Celestial Emperor and no longer at his peak, he had plenty of confidence.

“Suppress.”

Lin Yuan didn’t waste words and struck directly.

The Dao of Heaven and Earth dimmed. He reached out—and a colossal hand descended upon the Emperor God Mountain.

Boom—

Divine lights erupted across the mountain’s surface, surges of emperor-tier power blasted out, but it was all useless—everything was wiped out under Lin Yuan’s descending hand.

“No!!”

The man in divine armor tried to stop the massive hand, but it was meaningless—like an ant resisting the heavens.

“Tianyuan Celestial Emperor, do you know the origin of Emperor God Mountain?”

In his final moment, the armored man stared at Lin Yuan and said, “Emperor God Mountain is a Mortal Immortal orthodoxy. The Mortal Immortals made great contributions to this world—you can’t treat us like this.”

“The Mortal Immortals did indeed contribute immensely to this world.”

Lin Yuan nodded. He had seen the past and future and knew what the Mortal Immortals had done.

Even the Undying Substance that filled the world had been introduced from a higher level by the first Mortal Immortal at great cost.

That led to the emergence of the second, third, and so on.

“But what does the Mortal Immortals’ contribution have to do with you?”

Lin Yuan looked at the man calmly.

Living off the merit of one's ancestors and harvesting the living—Lin Yuan had no goodwill toward such beings. Now that he had decided to settle accounts, he was fully prepared, and didn’t fear retaliation from the higher-level Mortal Immortals.

Besides, if those Mortal Immortals found out what the forbidden zones like Emperor God Mountain were doing, they’d probably clean house themselves.

Crash—

Emperor God Mountain trembled and quickly collapsed.

Lin Yuan retracted his right hand and stored all the treasures, precious items, and Undying Substance from the mountain into his internal universe.

“Mortal Immortals…”

Lin Yuan’s gaze grew deep. Long before arriving in this Source World, he had already known that Mortal Immortals at the thirteenth rank gathered on another plane.

That plane was the depths of this Source World—the Undying Substance in the Great Wilderness Realm originated from there.

The Mortal Immortals, for the sake of furthering their cultivation and to aid future generations, were working to completely connect the Immortal Path—uniting the Source World with the world at the end of the Immortal Path, turning the Great Wilderness into a sacred land of cultivation.

“With my current strength, I’m not ready to get involved with the world at the end of the Immortal Path.”

Lin Yuan gently shook his head. Entering the Immortal Path wasn’t something ordinary Mortal Immortals could do.

When the Mortal Immortals of this world entered it, they had to join forces—some even received help from beings beyond the Mortal Immortal level.

What Lin Yuan needed now was to keep transforming himself with Undying Substance and raise his strength as much as possible.

After cleansing nearly all forbidden zones and powerful clans in the Source World,

Lin Yuan returned to the Tianyuan Imperial Palace.

As for the few forbidden zones he didn’t cleanse?

Those hadn’t participated in past dark upheavals, nor had they coveted the original Tianyuan Celestial Emperor’s body or origin.

Though Lin Yuan was decisive in killing, he wouldn’t slay without cause. So he spared them.

“Your Majesty.”

Outside the imperial palace, countless followers had long been waiting.

Even many high-level members of the Human Clan had gathered. Lin Yuan’s actions in wiping out forbidden zones didn’t align with a “dying emperor.”

The high-level human cultivators had left the palace because the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor was near his end—it was no longer safe.

But now, with Lin Yuan’s strength, the palace was the safest place in the world.

“You’re all here.”

Lin Yuan swept his gaze over the dozens of Human Clan leaders.

They were all visibly emotional. They had prepared for a coming dark age—

After all, the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor was about to die, and no new emperor had emerged. The future looked grim.

But no one expected the Celestial Emperor to still wield such terrifying power.

“Your Majesty, have you entered your third life?”

A middle-aged man couldn’t help but ask. He was a direct great-grandson of the emperor, highly talented, and the Human Clan’s best hope for the next emperor.

“More or less.”

Lin Yuan answered casually.

He had done far more than just enter a third life. With his time lifeform’s soul and will, he was no longer limited by lifespan. He could live as long as he wished. Even if this Source World was destroyed, he’d remain free.

“I’ll be cultivating in seclusion in the palace. You all can proceed as you see fit.”

After a few words of instruction, Lin Yuan returned to the depths of the palace to resume cultivation.

Having cleansed so many clans and forbidden zones, Lin Yuan had gained a lot—just the Undying Substance alone would take time to digest.

In truth, those ancient supremes treasured their Undying Substance above all. Even in death, they would burn it to keep enemies from obtaining it.

Only because Lin Yuan absolutely overwhelmed them did they not even get the chance to burn it.

Since the Tianyuan Celestial Emperor’s rampage across the forbidden zones, the Human Clan had entered another golden age of cultivation. With no forbidden zones lurking and no clans trying to assassinate talents, the Human Clan’s cultivators no longer had to hide—they could fully display their brilliance.

As for Lin Yuan? He hadn’t made another move. With his record of flattening countless clans and forbidden zones, what ancient supreme would dare stir up trouble?

Thus, time flew swiftly.

In the blink of an eye, twenty thousand years passed.

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