Chapter 567: Changes Within the Inner Universe
Chapter 567: Changes Within the Inner Universe
"Senior, what do you mean?"
Cang Yu Long felt his heart tremble.
"How long do I have to stay hidden?" he wondered. "I've always been here."
"I'm not hiding at all," he asserted.
"Then who is Lin Yuan referring to?"
In a flash of insight, Cang Yu Long realized that his biggest secret must have been discovered by Lin Yuan.
When the Nine Profound Venerables discovered the mysterious space, Cang Yu Long had already entered it through other means.
As he stepped into that enigmatic realm, a consciousness emerged in his mind—a childish voice that had been communicating with him on a spiritual level.
The youthful voice claimed to be the guardian of the heritage within that mysterious space and had chosen Cang Yu Long as its successor.
Initially skeptical, Cang Yu Long gradually came to trust the voice as its guidance proved immensely beneficial.
Unfortunately, just before he could take away that mysterious space, the Nine Profound Venerable briefly locked eyes with Cang Yu Long, creating a causal relationship between them.
Despite this, Cang Yu Long was eventually captured due to the relentless search of another Venerable.
Enduring the relentless torture of Sin day and night, it was the childish voice in his mind that bore the brunt of the suffering, allowing Cang Yu Long to persevere until now.
That hidden voice was incredibly stealthy, evading detection even from the Nine Profound Venerable.
Cang Yu Long had believed that Lin Yuan wouldn't be able to uncover it either.
Yet, to his surprise, Lin Yuan had seen through it all.
Lin Yuan's ability to sense the other consciousness within Cang Yu Long was entirely due to his inner universe.
When he forcibly pulled Cang Yu Long out of the Nine Profound Secret Realm, Lin Yuan casually incorporated him into his own inner universe.
Lin Yuan's inner universe had been transformed by the thirteenth-tier inheritance, the "Infinite Void." It not only rivaled the size of a Chaotic Venerable's inner universe but also surpassed ordinary Chaotic Venerables in its perception of subtle forces.
After all, the "Infinite Void" originated from a thirteenth-tier temporal life, representing the pinnacle of foundational legacies.
Lin Yuan's true self, along with his two primordial spirits, had all cultivated the first layer of the "Infinite Void."
Of course, when it came to proficiency in this particular art, his true self was marginally more adept.
And that was why, before his true self appeared, Lin Yuan had only vaguely sensed the consciousness within Cang Yu Long.
He hadn't been entirely certain.
But now that his true self had arrived, he was confident in his conclusion.
The reason Lin Yuan's true self had appeared beside Cang Yu Long, aside from executing the Heaven-Rending Claw, was to confirm the presence of that consciousness within him using his own inner universe.
"Senior, I—" Cang Yu Long began.
But before he could finish, the childish voice interrupted once more in his mind, "There's no need to explain. Now that I've been discovered, there's no point in hiding."
The youthful voice was clear that with Lin Yuan's level of cultivation and strength, such words would not be spoken without absolute certainty.
Moreover, even if there wasn't certainty, what difference would it make? As long as Lin Yuan had suspicions, it was necessary for the voice to reveal itself.
Cang Yu Long's eyes closed suddenly, and when they reopened, they had taken on an unfathomable calmness, as if containing countless universes within them.
As Lin Yuan observed this transformation, his expression turned solemn. "Who are you, Venerable or Grand Sage?" he asked.
The 'Cang Yu Long' before him now gave Lin Yuan a peculiar sensation, reminiscent of the imprint left by the Master of the Demon Jade Tower on the ninth floor of the Black Tower. The aura it exuded was vast and encompassed the chaos of the void.
However, in terms of pure strength, this 'Cang Yu Long' was undoubtedly inferior to the Master of the Demon Jade Tower, yet they existed on a similar plane.
Hence, Lin Yuan's inquiry about the other being a Grand Sage.
"Grand Sage?" 'Cang Yu Long' smiled faintly. "I once was, but I am no longer."
"Once was?" Lin Yuan inquired, his expression filled with confusion as he scrutinized the other.
"In simple terms, I am no longer me. I am merely a fragment of the true me—a divided soul crafted by my true self." 'Cang Yu Long' explained directly, without beating around the bush.
"Divided soul?" Lin Yuan's heart stirred at this revelation.
A divided soul was distinct from an avatar.
The true self and its avatar shared a single consciousness and were essentially the same being. If the avatar were to be affected by memory pollution or other means, the true self would also be impacted.
However, the true self and a divided soul were considered separate entities. The divided soul possessed its own consciousness, distinct from the true self, though it inherited the true self's consciousness, personality, habits, memories, and more due to its origin.
Nevertheless, a divided soul and its true self were not considered the same life form.
Ordinarily, no powerful cultivator would willingly create a divided soul due to the risk of it turning on its creator—a phenomenon known as 'devouring the master.'
"Indeed," 'Cang Yu Long' nodded in affirmation.
While the divided soul inherited everything from the true self, it could not inherit the realm, strength, or rule insights. Thus, it could not reclaim the strength of a Grand Sage.
In fact, if a divided soul could inherit the rule insights of its true self, there would undoubtedly be Grand Sages creating legions of divided souls to cause chaos in the world.
However, as the strength and rule insights could not be passed on, the only remnant of the Grand Sage's power was its insight. The divided soul of a Grand Sage possessed immense cultivation experience and could often see through the problems and confusions faced by cultivators with a single glance.
Therefore, a Grand Sage would only create a divided soul for the purpose of grooming a successor.
Additionally, a divided soul served one more crucial purpose: if the Grand Sage perished, and both the true self and its avatars were destroyed, the divided soul would remain unaffected.
After all, a divided soul was, in the strictest sense, a brand-new life form, albeit one that closely resembled its true self.
"Then, what about your true self?" Lin Yuan asked.
"My true self..." 'Cang Yu Long' paused, "should be trapped within a temporal loop at the moment."
"I see." Lin Yuan understood.
Being trapped in a temporal loop referred to the challenge of reaching the thirteenth tier.
When a Chaotic Realm cultivator achieved perfection, they would become trapped in a temporal loop.
Only by breaking free from this loop could they transcend to the thirteenth tier.
If they couldn't break free, they would remain trapped forever, until eternity.
Normally, both Chaotic Saints and Extraordinary Saints were qualified to attempt the ascension to the thirteenth tier.
"What is this temporal loop like?" Lin Yuan asked curiously.
The Eye of Myriad Laws had once voluntarily discussed this topic with Lin Yuan.
It had said that there was no need to understand it thoroughly before reaching Chaotic Realm perfection.
"I'm not sure myself," 'Cang Yu Long' replied, shaking his head. "My true self didn't leave behind any memories of that experience."
"Perhaps he didn't want this information to be passed on."
"Perhaps," 'Cang Yu Long' agreed.
"Your true self might still have a chance to break free from the temporal loop one day," Lin Yuan consoled, sensing 'Cang Yu Long''s disappointment. "With your true self's strength and insights, it's not impossible."
Theoretically, any Chaotic Realm cultivator trapped in a temporal loop had a chance to break free.
However, theory was just theory. If one couldn't break free within ten Universal eras, the likelihood of doing so afterward would become infinitely small.
"The chances are slim," 'Cang Yu Long' admitted, his expression returning to normal as he looked at Lin Yuan. "I'd like to propose a deal with you."
"A deal?" Lin Yuan asked, his gaze unwavering. "What kind of deal?"
"With your strength and following the method I provide, you should be able to forge a causal robe," 'Cang Yu Long' said. "This causal robe can shield one from causality. The successor I chose has insufficient strength and a poor understanding of causal rules, which is why he was captured by the Nine ProFOUND Venerables."
'Cang Yu Long' sounded helpless as he explained.
Although Cang Yu Long was currently safe, he would still be traced and captured by the Nine ProFOUND Venerable through causality if he left Lin Yuan's protection.
Even though Cang Yu Long had handed over the mysterious space, there was little else of value on him.
But if the Nine ProFOUND Venerable was merely venting his anger...
"A causal robe?" Lin Yuan's expression remained unchanged as he countered, "Since it's a deal, what can you offer me?"
"That mysterious space was indeed left by my true self, and it contains inheritances at the Saint level," 'Cang Yu Long' explained. "However, none of the inheritances are complete; the crucial parts are not within that space."
This was a standard precaution to prevent the inheritances from falling into the wrong hands in case the mysterious space was forcefully breached.
Without the critical nodes of the inheritances, their value was significantly diminished.
The inheritances Lin Yuan had obtained from the Xuan Huang lineage and the Demon Jade Space both had similar safeguards in place, with guardians who held the key to accessing the crucial nodes of the inheritances.
Unless one acquired the inheritances through the proper means, they wouldn't gain access to these critical nodes.
"Additionally, I'm willing to share some of my true self's cultivation memories," 'Cang Yu Long' offered, looking at Lin Yuan.
This was the greatest price he could offer as a fragment of his true self; the most precious thing he possessed was his memories.
"Oh?" Lin Yuan's expression stirred slightly.
He wasn't particularly interested in the critical nodes of the inheritances.
With his heaven-defying comprehension, he could easily deduce the entirety of the inheritances as long as he had a portion of them.
But the cultivation memories of a Saint?
Lin Yuan was indeed curious about that.
The two Saints he had encountered before, the Xuan Huang Emperor and the Master of the Demon Jade Space, hadn't left behind anything similar.
Even if there were images or recordings, they wouldn't be as valuable as the true memories, which included the Saint's own experiences, perspectives, and insights, making them invaluable compared to ordinary recordings.
"Deal," Lin Yuan agreed with a nod.
Since 'Cang Yu Long' was a fragment of his true self, Lin Yuan couldn't forcibly extract his memories, so he could only rely on him to voluntarily offer them.
"Good." A smile appeared on 'Cang Yu Long''s face. "Here is the method for forging the causal robe. The materials have already been gathered."
Before being captured by the Nine ProFOUND Venerable, the childish voice had intended to ask a Venerable to forge the causal robe, but it hadn't had the chance.
"Take a look at these," 'Cang Yu Long' said, handing over some information.
Lin Yuan glanced through it and nodded slightly.
Forging the causal robe wasn't difficult. The key was to have an understanding of causal rules and to continuously imprint the power of causality onto the robe using one's internal universe.
It only took Lin Yuan half a day to forge the robe.
'Cang Yu Long' inspected it carefully and nodded in satisfaction.
According to the initial plan, he would have had to ask a Venerable to forge the robe, which would have undoubtedly carried a certain amount of risk.
"Here are all the critical nodes of the inheritances, along with some of my true self's cultivation memories," 'Cang Yu Long' said without hesitation, handing over a translucent stone.
Lin Yuan took the stone, examined it briefly to confirm that there were no issues, and then put it away.
In return, Lin Yuan gave 'Cang Yu Long' the miniature world containing the stone people, just as he had promised.
However, before doing so, Lin Yuan had selected one of the stone people and transferred them into his internal universe, intending to take them on as a disciple to fulfill his promise to 'Cang Wei Yang'.
With the deal concluded, Lin Yuan casually asked, "What are your plans from now on?"
"Before my true self was trapped, he secretly established a power with a Venerable overseeing it. I plan to bring him there and have him join that power," 'Cang Yu Long' replied honestly.
"That's wonderful then."
Lin Yuan nodded, not bothering to probe further.
In the vast emptiness of the chaotic void...
Cang Yu Long's eyes flickered, and a certain aura began to retract within him.
"What's happening to me?" Cang Yu Long suddenly awoke, looking around with a puzzled expression.
"Don't bother looking," the childish voice said in his mind. "Your senior has already left, and all your clansmen are now within your internal universe."
"My senior left?" Cang Yu Long asked cautiously.
"Did your senior give you any trouble?" the voice asked.
"No, he didn't," Cang Yu Long replied.
"That's good," the voice sighed in relief. "The Venerable with a connection to your Stone Clan is actually very kind-hearted. Otherwise, we would have been in deep trouble."
The fact that the voice remained unmoved even after realizing it was a fragment of a Grand Sage's soul was truly remarkable.
While a Grand Sage's fragment soul didn't possess much strength, it carried most of the Grand Sage's memories, which was a temptation that no Venerable could easily resist.
But the voice didn't know that Lin Yuan simply couldn't be bothered to engage in such a futile struggle.
If he had forcefully kept the voice here, it would have never submitted, and soul-searching wouldn't have worked on Lin Yuan anyway.
Other Venerables might have been willing to persist, given their slow progress, but with Lin Yuan's cultivation speed, there were hardly any bottlenecks from the Initiation Realm to the Chaotic Realm.
"Stop spacing out. Now, let's get going to the void I mentioned."
Cang Yu Long immediately heard the voice urging him on, but he still couldn't help but ask, "Will I ever see my senior again?"
"See your senior?" The voice fell into thought. "Meeting such a powerful being too many times will result in them seeing through everything. Do you still want to meet again?"
The voice continued, "If you really want to meet, you should at least reach the Chaotic Realm and become a Venerable. Only then will you have the qualifications."
"With the strength of the Chaotic Realm, coupled with the inheritances I've given you, even if you meet him again, you'll have the power to protect yourself, and I'll be at ease."
"The Chaotic Realm?" Cang Yu Long's expression twitched. Who knew when he would be able to step into the Chaotic Realm.
The ancient name for the Chaotic Continent.
A fragment of the Star Tears world.
After Lin Yuan had properly settled the Stone Clan member, he began to ponder the translucent stone.
Within the stone lay the partial cultivation memories of a Grand Sage, and it was the thing that Lin Yuan valued the most.
He examined the stone for a while, then extended a wisp of his consciousness into it.
In an instant...
Lin Yuan's consciousness entered a vast world.
This place was also in the chaotic void, with infinite chaos energy drifting in the distance.
And at the center of Lin Yuan's vision was a massive figure seated with its legs crossed.
This massive figure exuded an incredibly thick aura; a mere wisp of it was enough to crush a universe.
No, it wasn't just a wisp; a casual emission of its aura was enough to cause a universe nurtured by the chaotic void to undergo premature destruction.
"So, this is the strength of a Grand Sage?"
Lin Yuan was deeply shaken. It was the first time he had truly experienced the might of a Grand Sage.
Whether it was Emperor Xuan Huang or the Master of the Demon Jade Space, Lin Yuan had only witnessed their imprints, which didn't truly reflect the strength of these two peerless Grand Sages.
As for the Shadow Demon Grand Sage and the Nine Phoenix Grand Sage, Lin Yuan had only sensed the aftermath of their battle from afar, and nothing more.
After that...
In the scenes that Lin Yuan witnessed, the massive figure began to cultivate.
If these were mere images, they would have been dull and boring, but what Lin Yuan was seeing now were true memory fragments.
He was experiencing the sensations the Grand Sage felt during cultivation, and it was completely synchronized.
"So, this is how the chaotic void looks to a Grand Sage?"
Lin Yuan was entranced, and his mind was filled with countless insights.
【Your comprehension ability defies the heavens. Experiencing the cultivation process of an unknown life form has enhanced your own cultivation insights.】
Lin Yuan was completely immersed in observing the Grand Sage's cultivation.
After an unknown amount of time...
Lin Yuan finally paused.
"These cultivation memories are of immense help to me."
A smile appeared on Lin Yuan's face. Not every Grand Sage would be willing to share their cultivation memories.
Because once these memory fragments fell into the hands of an enemy, they might expose one's weaknesses and flaws.
Only a Grand Sage about to attempt the breakthrough to the thirteenth tier would dare to do so.
If they failed, what did it matter if others knew their weaknesses?
And if they succeeded, they would become thirteenth-tier temporal life forms, and it wouldn't matter if their weaknesses were known throughout the chaotic void.
"Hmm?"
"Has that inheritance space been refined?"
Lin Yuan's expression stirred slightly.
While he was comprehending the Grand Sage's cultivation memories, he had also been refining the inheritance space.
With the active cooperation of the Grand Sage's fragment soul within Cang Yu Long, refining the inheritance space was effortless for Lin Yuan, and he soon became its master.
Realizing this, Lin Yuan immediately sent a wisp of his consciousness into the inheritance space.
"Chaos Tree."
Lin Yuan looked at the Chaos Tree deep within the inheritance space. It was the most precious treasure within, a twelfth-grade rare wonder.
Even Lin Yuan yearned for it.
"I'll plant it in my internal universe now."
Lin Yuan began the 'transplantation' of the Chaos Tree.
Whoosh!
The Chaos Tree was vast and towering, but Lin Yuan's internal universe was even more expansive and stable.
Soon...
The Chaos Tree took root in Lin Yuan's internal universe.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
As the Chaos Tree fully took root, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering transformation began to unfold within Lin Yuan's internal universe.
(End of Chapter)
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