https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-212-Three-Hundred-Years-Later-The-Demon-Ancestor-Tree-No-It-s-the-World-Tree-that-Protec/12531851/
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Chapter 213: The Demon Ancestor Tree, Shrouding the Sky
Chapter 213: The Demon Ancestor Tree, Shrouding the Sky (End of Chapter)
"You're here early," Lin Yuan said as he extended his consciousness beyond the boundaries of the Azure World, merging with the incoming consciousness of the others.
Lin Yuan's consciousness projection took the form of a majestic black ancient tree, while the other three projections were that of a colossal serpent, a pale green lake, and a massive eye.
Beyond the extradimensional void lay an infinite expanse, and surely, there existed more than just the Demon Ancestor Tree as an Extradimensional Devil God.
These three consciousness projections belonged to three other Extradimensional Devil Gods.
Not all encounters between Extradimensional Devil Gods led to bloodshed; there were also opportunities for cooperation.
Lin Yuan, for instance, maintained a cordial relationship with these three Extradimensional Devil Gods, occasionally exchanging insights or trading valuable information.
Over the past three hundred years, Lin Yuan had not only cultivated but also actively sought to befriend other Extradimensional Devil Gods.
Based on the information he had gathered, Lin Yuan learned that deep within the extradimensional void, there existed a 'gathering place' inhabited by numerous Extradimensional Devil Gods.
The ruler of that place was also an Extradimensional Devil God, rumored to have reached the ninth stage of growth.
The growth of Extradimensional Devil Gods occurred in distinct stages. For instance, Lin Yuan was currently at the seventh stage, similar to the previous Demon Ancestor Tree.
As for the ninth stage, while the growth stage might not directly correlate with strength, any Extradimensional Devil God that attained such a level would undoubtedly possess formidable power. It was worth noting that for a Devil God like the Demon Ancestor Tree, the eighth stage was considered their growth limit.
Even with Lin Yuan's heaven-defying comprehension talent, he could not glean any useful information about the ninth stage.
Based on his speculations, Lin Yuan guessed that an Extradimensional Devil God at the ninth stage might not be as powerful as the strongest beings in the main world, but they wouldn't be far off.
"A gathering place of Extradimensional Devil Gods," Lin Yuan sighed. He truly wished to visit that place if possible. However, the information he received from other Extradimensional Devil Gods suggested that the journey from the Azure World to that gathering place would take thousands, if not tens of thousands, of years.
Of course, for Extradimensional Devil Gods with virtually infinite lifespans, thousands or even tens of thousands of years were but a few sleeps. But in Lin Yuan's opinion, there was no need to make such a trip.
After all, the time he could spend there would be extremely limited.
"I wonder what an Extradimensional Devil God at the ninth stage looks like? Can it even be observed?" Lin Yuan's curiosity piqued.
Extradimensional Devil Gods were unique and peculiar life forms, and their growth stages were entirely different from the standard cultivation system.
For example, if Lin Yuan were to cultivate the Demon Ancestor Tree to the eighth stage, his very existence might become 'conceptualized'.
"Brother Demon, we envy you for having claimed this world as your sanctuary," the serpent projection said, its mental waves rippling.
The other two Extradimensional Devil Gods shared similar sentiments, their projections filled with longing.
However, they could only admire from afar. With Lin Yuan's presence as the Demon Ancestor Tree in the Azure World, its defenses were virtually impenetrable.
Even if a dozen or so Extradimensional Devil Gods joined forces—which was akin to a Herculean task—they might not be able to breach the world barrier.
Moreover, even if they succeeded in conquering the Azure World, a single world would barely satisfy the appetites of so many Extradimensional Devil Gods.
"Enough idle chatter. Let's begin the trade," the giant eye projection urged.
The reason these three Extradimensional Devil Gods had sent their consciousness here was to trade with Lin Yuan.
Most of the time, Extradimensional Devil Gods wandered the vast void, but occasionally, they stumbled upon valuable treasures.
"Same terms as before," Lin Yuan said. "I only want Sin Water and secret arts related to world consciousness."
Lin Yuan nodded, and with a slight stir of his thoughts, numerous pitch-black Demon Seeds appeared before him.
The Demon Seeds cultivated by the Demon Ancestor Tree served not only as a means of offense but also as valuable treasures for other Devil Gods when the life imprints within were extracted.
Over the years, Lin Yuan had amassed a substantial fortune by trading these Demon Seeds.
Of course, these Demon Seeds were the improved versions created by Lin Yuan after perfecting his 'parasitic' technique.
Each time he cultivated one of these Demon Seeds, Lin Yuan had to invest a significant amount of time and energy.
However, the Demon Seeds from which he had extracted his life imprints did not count against his 'parasitic' quota, which was why Lin Yuan was willing to trade them.
"No problem," the lake projection replied, producing ten portions of Sin Water.
In exchange, Lin Yuan gave them twenty Demon Seeds.
Sin Water was a treasure produced in certain secret realms within the extradimensional void, imbued with infinite sin and perfectly suited as a supplement for certain Extradimensional Devil Gods.
Through numerous experiments, Lin Yuan had discovered that Sin Water had a beneficial effect on the body of the Demon Ancestor Tree as well.
That was why he proactively sought to trade for it.
Although the strength of the Demon Ancestor Tree in this world had little impact on Lin Yuan's main body in the main world, it was based on the premise that the evolution of the martial path was supported by the origin of the Azure World. If he could enhance the foundation and strength of the Demon Ancestor Tree, it would undoubtedly be beneficial.
"I have two secret arts related to world consciousness. Please take a look, Brother Demon," the serpent projection offered, transmitting the beginnings of the two secret arts to Lin Yuan.
"Mhm, these two secret arts are quite remarkable," Lin Yuan acknowledged, handing over ten Demon Seeds to the serpent projection.
Secret arts related to world consciousness were of great importance to Lin Yuan, as they were connected to one of his plans or goals.
World consciousness was elusive and intangible, beyond the reach of the mortals within a world.
However, among Extradimensional Devil Gods, world consciousness was not a secret. Many Devil Gods who sought to conquer a world would encounter resistance from the world consciousness.
When the previous Demon Ancestor Tree attempted to descend upon the Azure World, the world consciousness, faced with the threat of destruction, had no choice but to unleash the World Sword, forming the Azure Alliance to gather all forces to resist the invasion.
Thus, over countless millennia, Extradimensional Devil Gods had come to understand world consciousness intimately, even developing secret arts specifically targeting it.
"I've also collected a few secret arts," the giant eye projection added.
With that, the four Extradimensional Devil Gods concluded their trade, each satisfied with the outcome.
"Brother Demon, now that you've claimed this world, why do you still collect so many secret arts related to world consciousness?" the serpent projection asked, its curiosity getting the better of it.
The other two Devil God projections turned to Lin Yuan as well, sharing the same question.
Indeed, with the means of Extradimensional Devil Gods, their descent into a world often signaled victory. Once they merged with the ocean of world origin, world consciousness became a non-issue.
Since Lin Yuan wasn't willing to elaborate, they didn't press further. It was customary for Extradimensional Devil Gods to refrain from prying into each other's affairs.
"By the way," the giant eye projection abruptly interjected, "Brother Demon, do you have a moment?"
"I have a friend who wishes to meet you," the massive eye projection continued. "A good friend, with a promising proposition."
"What kind of proposition?" Lin Yuan asked, his brows furrowing in suspicion.
"A most excellent opportunity," the giant eye projection assured him.
Soon after, another consciousness projection descended upon them. This one resembled a humanoid figure with sixteen arms, a formidable presence.
"Greetings, Brother Demon," the sixteen-armed Devil God projection said warmly, its tone amicable.
"This Extradimensional Devil God is powerful," Lin Yuan thought to himself, sensing that its strength surpassed that of the other three Devil Gods.
However, it was still no match for Lin Yuan's current might.
After three hundred years of cultivation, his combat prowess had soared far beyond the peak of the previous Demon Ancestor Tree, thanks to his heaven-defying comprehension talent.
"We've discovered a void secret realm and wish to invite you to join us, Brother Demon," the sixteen-armed Devil God projection explained. "Rest assured, we're offering you a generous two-tenths share of the final spoils from this venture."
"This void secret realm isn't difficult to occupy, and I acknowledge your strength, Brother Demon," it added, a smile in its voice.
"A void secret realm, huh?" Lin Yuan fell silent, his eyes narrowing in thought.
Void secret realms were perilous locations that spontaneously formed within the boundless extradimensional void, often harboring treasures and opportunities.
Extradimensional Devil Gods usually reaped substantial benefits whenever they stumbled upon such realms.
The previous Demon Ancestor Tree had encountered numerous void secret realms during its existence, and when it couldn't enter certain realms immediately, it would dispatch its offspring to stand guard nearby.
"Where is this void secret realm located?" Lin Yuan inquired.
"In that direction. It will take about five hundred years to get there," the sixteen-armed Devil God projection replied promptly.
"I'm not interested," Lin Yuan said, shaking his head slightly.
His reluctance wasn't due to the proposed distribution of spoils; in fact, a two-tenths share was quite generous for a newcomer.
But that was precisely what piqued his suspicion. If the void secret realm wasn't particularly challenging, why go out of their way to invite him?
Moreover, the five hundred years of travel time wasn't feasible for Lin Yuan, given that he had less than two hundred years left in his current stay in the Azure World.
"Alright, then," Lin Yuan said, his tone dismissive. "Feel free to come to me again if you gather more secret arts or Sin Water in the future."
With that, he retracted his consciousness, returning to the confines of the Azure World.
The vast void was now empty, save for the four lonely Devil God consciousness projections.
"Now what?"
"Should we keep trying to invite him?"
"Let's give up. I think Brother Demon is too cautious. We should try someone else."
After a brief discussion, the four Devil God consciousnesses turned back, heading in the direction from which they had come.
Azure World.
Top of the Demon Ancestor Tree.
Lin Yuan gazed into the void, his eyes fixed on the retreating consciousness projections.
"It seems I've attracted some unwanted attention," he mused. While he hadn't sensed any malicious intent from the sixteen-armed Devil God, this unexpected invitation had sparked a flurry of thoughts.
Over the past three hundred years, Lin Yuan had frequently traded with other Devil Gods, and the Demon Seeds he offered had become highly sought-after commodities.
It was only natural that he would attract the attention of certain Devil Gods.
"Whether or not I'm being watched," Lin Yuan thought, "as long as I remain in the Azure World, who can touch me?"
His attention shifted to the newly acquired secret arts, his focus settling on the concept of "world consciousness."
"World consciousness," Lin Yuan muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with curiosity as he delved deeper into the intricacies of these arts.
The reason he was so engrossed in these secrets was his ambitious plan to attempt something extraordinary—to replace the consciousness of the Azure World with his own.
To be precise, he intended to supplant the world's consciousness with the inherent instincts of the Demon Ancestor Tree.
On the surface, this idea seemed absurd and impossible. World consciousness was vast and powerful, far beyond the reach of even Extradimensional Devil Gods, who could never hope to directly confront it.
Replacing it was an even more far-fetched notion.
The typical approach of Extradimensional Devil Gods was to slowly erode the world's consciousness by burrowing into the ocean of world origin, akin to a worm gnawing away at its core.
Directly supplanting the world consciousness was simply unrealistic.
However, the current circumstances were unique. The Azure World's consciousness had fallen into a deep slumber, and Lin Yuan possessed the World Sword, allowing him to exert a degree of influence over it.
With his heaven-defying comprehension talent and the myriad secret arts pertaining to world consciousness, he might just be able to devise a method to achieve this seemingly impossible feat.
Lin Yuan's motivation for attempting to replace the Azure World's consciousness stemmed from a speculative idea.
The Myriad Worlds Gate's teleportation function required the expenditure of a strand of Boundary Source Power for random teleportation to the lowest-tier worlds. For precise teleportation based on world coordinates, the cost rose to ten strands.
Where exactly was this Boundary Source Power being consumed? Upon arrival, his consciousness seamlessly integrated with the world's inhabitants, exhibiting no abnormalities or signs of resistance from the world itself.
But what if the world posed no opposition to his consciousness at all? Could that significantly reduce the amount of Boundary Source Power required?
If he succeeded in supplanting the Azure World's consciousness with that of the Demon Ancestor Tree and completely opened himself to it, the amount of Boundary Source Power needed for his future visits might become negligible.
In essence, the entire Azure World would become his personal playground, where he could come and go as he pleased.
"I still have one hundred and ninety years left in this world," Lin Yuan calculated.
"During this time, I'll focus most of my efforts on creating a technique to replace the world's consciousness."
As for his pursuit of understanding the core model of space rules, after unraveling over a thousand varieties, the difficulty of comprehending each subsequent model increased exponentially.
With only one hundred and eighty years remaining, he could, at most, hope to unravel a hundred more core space models, which wouldn't yield significant progress.
Continuing the evolution of the martial path beyond the seventh tier would be equally challenging, as he hadn't yet reached the eighth tier himself. Forcing the evolution of the eighth tier might prove counterproductive.
Thus, he decided to channel his remaining energy into finding a way to replace the world's consciousness.
After all, such an opportunity might only present itself after dozens of attempts.
Inducing the world's consciousness to fall asleep was an arduous task, and world weapons like the World Sword weren't something every world possessed.
Time flowed by, and before he knew it, another one hundred and eighty years had passed.
(End of Chapter)
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