The void was dim and chaotic as a single figure appeared, descending through the haze.
“Here we are.” Lin Yuan gazed at the vast continent floating in the distance. Its size was dozens of tis larger than his ho universe, and it radiated an imnse aura extending throughout the surrounding chaotic void.
“This must be the Guming Chaotic Continent?” A smile appeared on his face.
This continent was the closest chaotic continent to his ho universe. A hundred years had passed inside the universe, yet here in the chaotic void, only four months had gone by.
Three months earlier, while Lin Yuan was wandering aimlessly through the chaotic void, he sensed the aura emanating from Guming Chaotic Continent. It took him three months of nonstop travel to finally arrive.
The closer he got to Guming Chaotic Continent, the more often he encountered other powerhouses. Through interacting with them, he gathered plenty of information about this place. The deceased peak Dominance expert Cang Weiyang, in his notes, had also ntioned Guming Chaotic Continent.
“I’d say I got lucky.” Lin Yuan felt pleased. This continent was located at the edges of the area covered in Senior Cang Weiyang’s map. Much farther, and he’d be beyond the map’s recorded limits.
The chaotic void was endless; even a Chaos Grand Saint couldn’t reach its boundaries, let alone a Dominance-level being.
Lin Yuan turned and glanced toward the spot where his ho universe lay far behind him.
With his current Space-Ti insight, he could cover the equivalent of his ho universe’s entire diater with every breath. Even so, it had taken him over three months to get here without pause, which showed just how far this continent was from his universe.
Of course, “far” was relative; to him it was a long journey, but a Dominance-level being might have done it in a few hours, and a Chaos-level expert could cross it in a single thought.
Rank Twelve was divided into three realms—Path-Clearing, Dominance, and Chaos—each realm presenting a monuntal barrier. It was rumored that surpassing Chaos drew one close to a “nearly perfect ti-based life,” possessing so of its traits.
“My connection to my true soul is almost at its limit,” Lin Yuan thought to himself.
When a regular Rank Twelve with Sixth Stage Space-Ti comprehension in the universe gathered an avatar, that avatar could only stay near the universe for a short while before collapsing from the corrosive influence of chaos energy. Lin Yuan’s Seventh Stage Space-Ti insight extended that range far beyond what any Sixth Stage being could manage, but there was still a limit.
It was pure luck that he discovered Guming Chaotic Continent before reaching that limit—or rather, that the continent happened to lie just within the contact range for his mind and soul.
He recalled the information about the one who controlled Guming Chaotic Continent.
Any land worthy to be called a “chaotic continent” was invariably backed by a Chaos-level powerhouse. In this case, the continent was nad after the Chaos-level being who ruled it—Guming.
Guming was known for valuing fairness. The continent he established was renowned for its prosperous trading scene, attracting experts from every nearby region of the chaotic void and even from other chaotic continents.
“When Senior Cang Weiyang was still alive, Guming was already a famous Chaos being. Now, a few cosmic epochs later, Guming is still around…” Lin Yuan sighed inwardly.
It was extrely difficult for a Chaos-level being to perish. Even the unexplained disappearances of the Devil Jade Tower Master or His Majesty didn’t necessarily confirm their deaths. And if they did die, it might not have been from being killed at all.
“Ti to go in.”
Lin Yuan continued approaching the vast continent ahead. Guming Chaotic Continent was shielded by a grand formation, and around it lay thirty-three designated gates to enter or leave. Lin Yuan aid for the nearest gate.
“Entering Guming Chaotic Continent requires ten Chaos Stones.” A ntal transmission ca to Lin Yuan’s ear at the entry.
“I understand,” he answered.
On Guming Chaotic Continent, killing was forbidden, guaranteeing trendous safety. That security ca at a price. Compared to the chaotic void where danger was everywhere, the continent was orderly and stable, so an entrance fee made sense.
Whoosh.
Lin Yuan brought out ten Chaos Stones. He had acquired quite a few from Cang Weiyang’s residence, though most were sent back to his ho universe. He kept so on hand specifically for situations like this. Thanks to the intelligence Senior Cang Weiyang left behind, Lin Yuan was well versed in many rules of the chaotic void.
“Hmm?”
At that mont, Lin Yuan looked up to see several figures arriving. They seed to be from the sa race. After a brief pause at the entrance, they handed over a few Rank Twelve weapons to cover the fee, finally scraping together the required cost to enter.
Entry needed ten Chaos Stones. Without them, one could pay with comparable treasures, but that usually ant a steep markup. The Guming Continent officials would price one’s goods at the bare minimum.
Lin Yuan guessed these individuals were newly arrived Path-Clearing beings who had just left their ho universe. Countless universes were born and destroyed within the chaotic void. With each cosmic collapse, Rank Twelve Path-Clearing elites who survived that catastrophe would enter the chaotic void.
Those lucky enough might find a nearby chaotic continent to settle. The unlucky could drift aimlessly, running into all sorts of dangers and facing death.
Within their ho universes, Rank Twelve beings were basically unkillable thanks to the universe’s protection. On the outside, though, their advantage dissipated. The chaotic void teed with opportunists who specialized in watching for universes about to collapse, ambushing any newly erged Path-Clearing elites.
Those new arrivals might have been the strongest in their universe, usually possessing the bulk of that universe’s wealth, yet they would not be as skilled or experienced as veterans of the chaotic void. And so, they were “fat sheep” just waiting to be robbed.
“Cosmic collapse…” Lin Yuan’s expression grew serious.
When a universe is destroyed, its entire tiline crumbles, and all life within it perishes. Only Rank Twelve beings who transcend ti’s river have a chance of survival. But it’s only a chance—those final eruptions of cosmic law can be deadly even to them, and often rely a fraction of the Rank Twelve survive to enter the chaotic void.
As for those below Rank Twelve?
They have just one possible way out: transferring their fundantal life imprint from the universal river of ti into the inner world of a Rank Twelve being. When the universe’s tiline collapses, any creatures still in that tiline die because their essential imprint is bound there. By relocating it into a Rank Twelve’s personal tiline, they can survive if that Rank Twelve endures the cosmic collapse.
Of course, even if a Rank Twelve can do that, they won’t bring too many. The more life from the universe they carry, the more they’ll co under scrutiny from the universe’s will, increasing the destructive burden they face.
“When the universe eventually collapses, ninety-nine percent of my Human Civilization will die,” Lin Yuan thought to himself.
Truthfully, ninety-nine percent was already optimistic. At most, a millionth or ten-millionth of one percent might enter the personal realm of so Rank Twelve. And among those Rank Twelve, most would still perish during the collapse, reducing those survivors even further.
“No point worrying about that now,” he decided. His ho universe was still young; unless sothing happened, it was a long way from total collapse.
Before long, Lin Yuan set foot on Guming Chaotic Continent.
Guming Continent had nine major cities where most foreigners gathered. Beyond those cities lay nurous other formations, where Guming himself cultivated. Outsiders were strictly forbidden from venturing there without permission.
“That thing?” Lin Yuan’s gaze fell upon a massive black mountain in the continent’s center. A terrifying aura extended outward, a darkness akin to primordial chaos that would unsettle even a typical Dominance-level being.
“That must be a horn from the chaotic dragon-beast Guming once tad,” he recalled.
Early in his life, Guming, a Chaos-level being, road the void until subduing a “chaotic dragon-beast” nearly equal to Chaos-level in power. The black mountain in the continent’s center was a horn from that beast. The actual creature slumbered sowhere deep beneath the continent.
“Chaos-level strength in a dragon-beast…” Lin Yuan withdrew his gaze. The presence of that horn was one of the reasons Guming Continent remained so prosperous. Whoever saw it, even a peak Dominance expert, would think twice before making trouble.
A chaotic continent’s prosperity didn’t necessarily depend on how fearso its Chaos master was. If the local order was poor and conflict rampant, travelers would simply avoid it. They couldn’t beat a Chaos-level powerhouse, but they could certainly go elsewhere.
Guming believed in fairness, maintaining a reputation free of injustice across countless cosmic epochs. As a result, many Path-Clearing or Dominance-level beings ca to Guming Continent to trade and cultivate.
Lin Yuan arrived at Mingchuan City, one of the continent’s nine cities.
The city was enormous, subdivided into various zones—trade districts, residential areas, and so on.
“Many shops here are owned by Dominance experts whose influence extends only across Guming Continent or even just Mingchuan City,” he observed.
His gaze turned to a more distant area lined with majestic structures, each belonging to a different power from other chaotic continents ruled by Chaos-level beings. Unlike the private shops of Dominance-level owners, these big shops carried stronger reputations and, naturally, higher prices.
“That building is called Wandao Tower?”
He eyed an elaborate, fog-shrouded tower among them, seemingly unfathomable in depth.
Wandao Tower didn’t trade in treasures or materials, but in evolutionary paths. If you wanted to break into Rank Twelve, you had to follow a road that led to the top—and that path must not yet have a Rank Twelve occupant. The chaotic void was infinite, and only a very few made it purely by perfecting a brand-new path from scratch. Most Rank Twelve ended up taking an established path.
For a path to lead to Rank Twelve, its complete thod had to be discovered by soone at or below Rank Eleven. From the vantage point of Chaos-level beings who observed the core truths of the Dao over eons, they might easily explore hundreds or thousands of possible Rank Twelve roads in a single closed-door session.
The Dao was infinite, and each ti they examined its essence, nurous evolutionary paths would erge. So were more promising, potentially reaching Dominance or even Chaos, while others were ordinary. But so of those Chaos experts docunted and refined these paths, then offered them for sale.
Lin Yuan had no interest in buying an evolutionary path from Wandao Tower. Any path had to suit the practitioner, and since he personally created Martial Arts, it was the perfect match for him. Wandao Tower’s backing was unimaginable.
Senior Cang Weiyang’s notes listed it as one of the forces never to provoke. It had already existed back in the days of His Majesty and the Devil Jade Tower Master, and even those two Chaos Grand Saints had regarded it with caution.
“Wandao Tower is probably an arrangent made by an entity close to a perfect ti-based life,” Lin Yuan recalled His Majesty’s assessnt of it. One of the few tis His Majesty had shown genuine solemnity.
At the mont, Lin Yuan had no plans to get involved with Wandao Tower.
He settled into Mingchuan City for the ti being. The chaotic void was still too hazardous for an Eleven-level being. In the last four months alone, he’d nearly been killed once. Without his Seventh Stage Space-Ti insights, his journey would have ended.
Here in Mingchuan City, by contrast, he could enjoy safety and also the bustling trade to acquire whatever resources or treasures he needed. Going out to find random “fortunes” in the chaotic void was still too risky at his current stage. His lucky break in discovering Cang Weiyang’s estate was just that—luck—and it certainly wouldn’t hold forever.
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