David_Lord
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Chapter 397
🕑 Added 2024-12-30 05:00:02 +0000 UTCVirtual World.
Xia Qin, seated high on his throne with a solemn expression, asked, "Are you saying that 'white paper' already has an owner?"
Throughout the long history of the main universe, various entities from beyond the universe have occasionally squeezed through permanent space rifts. Most of these entities were "inanimate."
For example, the extraterrestrial aurora that appeared not long ago.
But a small number were "living entities."
During the dormant years of human civilization, a strange lifeform entered the large battlefield that the Insect Race and the Tianyu Race had created through a permanent space rift.
This strange lifeform almost brought irreversible disaster to the universe.
It took over ten of the strongest beings joining forces to barely banish the strange lifeform back outside the universe.
Compared to "inanimate entities," "living entities" had far greater unpredictability, enough to make even the ultimate beings wary.
If what Lin Yuan said was correct, and the "white paper" already had an owner, residing within the "white paper," the ultimate beings would have to reassess how they handled the situation.
"It can't be said that it has an owner, but it has at least given birth to a 'spirit' and possesses independent will."
Lin Yuan shared his speculation.
According to the half-meter-tall old man, the two-dimensional world within the white paper was created by a great being who was near perfect in the mastery of time.
The half-meter-tall old man himself didn't seem to be this near-perfect time being; at most, he was similar to a "spirit" or perhaps a "caretaker" that this great being casually created.
"As long as it has independent will, it counts as a 'living entity.'"
Xia Qin frowned, "No wonder we've tried refining it multiple times over the past hundred years without any effect."
With the methods available to ultimate beings, if it were truly an ownerless object, even if they couldn't completely refine it, they should have seen some signs of progress.
But in reality, all their attempts to refine the "white paper" had yielded absolutely no results.
"There's one more thing," Lin Yuan hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Our human civilization's evolvers inside the two-dimensional world likely won't be able to come out."
Lin Yuan then repeated what the half-meter-tall old man had said.
"All the myriad race beings who fell into the two-dimensional world—only one can ultimately emerge."
Lin Yuan stated plainly.
"I see."
Xia Qin fell silent for a while before quickly accepting this.
Without Lin Yuan, the human civilization's evolvers, even with their natural progression, wouldn't have been able to leave either.
If Lin Yuan hadn't fallen into the two-dimensional world, it would have been the stage for special lifeforms, and the final victor would likely have been a legendary special lifeform like the Divine King.
Lin Yuan becoming the final victor in the two-dimensional world was already a great relief to Xia Qin, as it meant avoiding fundamental losses.
Moreover, Lin Yuan had mentioned that the final victor would receive corresponding rewards.
Xia Qin didn't ask further about the details of the reward, as it was part of Lin Yuan's personal fortune.
"That's good enough."
"Don't feel burdened. The fact that they can't come out isn't your fault."
Xia Qin offered some comforting words to Lin Yuan.
And it was true—Lin Yuan's actions had actually mitigated some of the losses.
After all, he had brought out numerous valuable treasures. Even if Lin Yuan took half, the remaining half, once distributed among human civilization, would still be incredibly precious.
Even if they couldn't fully recover the fundamental losses of their evolvers, they could at least make up for a large part in other ways.
"Does anyone else know about this?" Xia Qin suddenly asked.
"I don't think so," Lin Yuan replied after thinking it over.
Even he had only vaguely inferred these things after noticing the difference in the difficulty of pushing open the Heavenly Gate on two separate occasions. It wasn't until he entered the gate and met the half-meter-tall old man that he was completely certain.
As for the other beings of the myriad races? They never had a chance to interact with the Heavenly Gate and wouldn't even consider such a possibility, let alone know about it.
Two-Dimensional World.
Lin Yuan obediently sat in a corner, quietly observing his surroundings.
"Are you wondering where the beings who previously entered the Heavenly Gate have gone?" The half-meter-tall old man glanced at Lin Yuan and casually asked.
"I'm just curious," Lin Yuan admitted. He had indeed been thinking about it.
How long had the two-dimensional world existed? Likely measured in cosmic eras.
Given that the Heavenly Gate opened once every ten thousand years, there should have been a large number of beings who had left the two-dimensional world.
"The creator of this lower-dimensional space, that great being who was near-perfect in time, was benevolent. He believed that even the smallest lower-dimensional lifeforms should have the freedom to break free from everything."
"Thus, the Heavenly Gate was set to open once every ten thousand years."
The half-meter-tall old man explained.
"Any being who steps through the Heavenly Gate can shed their nature as a lower-dimensional lifeform. I usually toss them into nearby universes."
"Oh, I've thrown quite a few into your universe too, though most of them are dead by now."
The old man said this casually.
The initial purpose of creating this lower-dimensional space was to explore lower-dimensional worlds. Later, it was discovered that by sending in a portion of one's will and essence, one could engage in a contest of comprehension from the same starting point.
This gradually became the main use of the lower-dimensional space, and over countless years, it nurtured a complete lower-dimensional world, teeming with low-dimensional life.
After a great upheaval, this lower-dimensional space lay dormant in the Taiyuan Ruins. As cosmic eras passed, it was eventually ejected by the various forces within the ruins, automatically absorbing nearby lifeforms and pulling them into the two-dimensional world.
Once enough lifeforms had fallen into the two-dimensional world, the lower-dimensional space would slow down and begin a new round of the "game."
These functions, like fixed "programs," were deeply embedded within the "white paper," and even the half-meter-tall old man had to follow them.
Lin Yuan fell into brief silence after hearing this.
In truth, escaping the lower-dimensional space wasn't necessarily a good thing for those beings within the two-dimensional world.
The powerful beings who had once dominated in the two-dimensional world, such as the Witch Emperors and Witch Ancestors, would likely find themselves incredibly weak in the main universe. Although their potential would be higher, how many of them would be able to reach that potential?
As the old man had said, the majority of the beings he tossed into nearby universes would die within a short period, and even the few who managed to survive for a while would eventually perish.
"Hmm?"
Lin Yuan gazed at the giant painting in the distance and sensed a change.
"The flow of time?"
Lin Yuan's expression grew serious as he noticed the time flow fluctuations within the painting becoming turbulent.
"To take all of the game participants' 'insights into the rules,' they naturally need to die," the old man explained.
"The current time ratio of 100 to 1 is too slow. Let me speed it up."
As soon as the old man finished speaking, Lin Yuan saw the time ratio within the painting skyrocket to one million to one, then ten million to one.
Inside the Two-Dimensional World.
The myriad race powerhouses, including the Divine King, saw Lin Yuan enter the Heavenly Gate, and then watched as the gate quickly dissipated.
They each left Heavenly Mountain, preparing to wait for the next opening of the gate.
As Rank Eleven lifeforms, their comprehension was naturally at the top tier, and after spending considerable time and effort, they had also discovered some methods of extending their lifespans.
Coupled with the natural longevity granted by reaching the 30th or 40th stage of the Witch Ancestor realm, surviving tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of years was not difficult.
"The next time the Heavenly Gate opens, I will be the one to enter."
The Divine King were filled with confidence.
But then.
Their expressions changed slightly.
Thanks to their connection with their true bodies in the main universe, they could clearly feel the sudden change in the time flow ratio within the two-dimensional world.
What had been 100 to 1 began to soar exponentially.
In just over ten minutes in the main universe, ten thousand years passed in the two-dimensional world.
The third opening of the Heavenly Gate arrived.
This time, the Divine King swept across the world, standing before the gate.
But all they found was a gate they couldn't move.
Ten thousand years.
Twenty thousand years.
Fifty thousand years.
One hundred thousand years.
Each time they stood before the gate, they found they couldn't push it open. In the end, their avatars died of old age within the two-dimensional world, filled with unwillingness.
"What is happening?"
"Why has the 'white paper' undergone such changes?"
"Why has the time flow changed so drastically?"
Outside, the ultimate beings were furious, especially the strongest of the Starry Sky Alliance and the Prison Race. They had paid a great price to ensure that their valued clansmen would survive under the protection of the human Bloodrain.
And now they had all died inside anyway?
What was the point of their earlier sacrifices?
"Xia Qin, what's going on?" The strongest of the Starry Sky Alliance immediately turned to Xia Qin, noticing that the time flow in the two-dimensional world had changed after Bloodrain entered.
There was no way the two events were unrelated, and none of the ultimate beings believed otherwise.
"How should I know?" Xia Qin shook his head. "After my human evolver 'Blood Rain' entered the gate, we lost contact with his avatar, and there was a fundamental loss."
Xia Qin responded immediately.
After all, this couldn't be proven, so he could say whatever he wanted.
"Surely you don't think a mere Rank Eleven lifeform could control the 'white paper,' do you?" Xia Qin retorted.
Any ultimate being could see that the energy contained within the "white paper" was vast, far beyond the power of an individual strongest being.
Otherwise, how could dozens of ultimate beings have struggled with it for over a hundred years with no results?
"I suspect that this 'white paper' is actually a 'living entity' with independent will, and the fate of all who fall into it was decided long ago."
Xia Qin shared the reasoning he had prepared after hearing the information Lin Yuan had provided.
"A living entity?"
The ultimate beings exchanged glances.
This speculation wasn't entirely far-fetched, especially now that the time flow within the "white paper" had changed on its own, clearly driven by some will.
Was that will the human Blood Rain? He had only entered the gate recently, and for a Rank Eleven lifeform to refine the "white paper" was nothing short of a fantasy.
Inside the White Paper.
Lin Yuan watched as hundreds of thousands of years passed in the blink of an eye within the massive painting.
Even for ultimate lifeforms who had transcended the River of Time, maintaining such an extreme time ratio required a price.
And yet the half-meter-tall old man was maintaining this time ratio across the entire two-dimensional world.
Swish.
The old man continued to fiddle with the enormous painting, causing countless shimmering lights to rise from it and gather in his hands.
Time flowed on.
In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed.
By this time, the old man had gathered a fist-sized ball of crystalline light in his hand.
Even from a distance, Lin Yuan could feel the vast essence of time and space flowing within it.
"Is that the combined insights into the time-space fusion rule from all the myriad race powerhouses within the painting?"
Lin Yuan's heart raced.
Extracting insights into a particular rule, especially by force, seemed impossible.
In the Black Planet, the twelve guiding spaces for the fusion rules were voluntarily left behind by ultimate lifeforms.
But now, over a billion powerful beings' insights into the time-space fusion rule had been condensed into this crystalline ball of light. Lin Yuan speculated that this was achieved through dimensional reduction, lowering their essence to extract it.
This method could only work on beings below Rank Twelve. For Rank Twelve ultimate beings, who could resist the forces of dimensional reduction, such extraction would be impossible.
"Alright."
The old man looked at the crystalline ball of light in his hand, then turned to Lin Yuan.
"Senior," Lin Yuan immediately stood up.
"This is yours."
The old man lightly tossed the ball, and it floated to Lin Yuan.
"This?"
Even before touching it, Lin Yuan felt himself drawn into the ball's insights.
Countless insights into the time-space fusion rule surged into his mind, seemingly endless.
[Your unrivaled insight allows you to comprehend the fusion of time and space rules at an accelerated rate.]
For the past hundred years, Lin Yuan had been gaining insights into the twelve pillar-level fusion rules of the Black Planet, with particular focus on the time-space fusion rule.
After all, this rule was closely related to achieving the ultimate level, and comprehending it at Rank Ten would make his internal world even more perfect.
When Lin Yuan attempted to reach Rank Eleven, he would endure the infusion of the source from the Chaos Void, gaining even greater benefits.
Whether it was the infusion of the universe's source or the Chaos Void's source, it was all about filling a vessel with water.
Whether the vessel was small or as large as a lake, it would be filled to the brim within 333 seconds of the source's outpouring.
So, the larger the vessel, the more it could hold, and the greater the transformation would be.
In this case, the "vessel" referred to one's internal world.
Comprehending the time-space fusion rule would make Lin Yuan's internal world more complete, allowing it to contain more of the source.
Originally, Lin Yuan's progress in understanding the time-space fusion rule had been slow, with little hope of comprehending it at Rank Ten.
This was no surprise. It was almost impossible for Rank Ten lifeforms to comprehend the time rule, let alone the fusion of time and space. No such occurrence had been recorded in the past ten cosmic eras.
But now.
As he gazed at the crystalline ball of light, Lin Yuan could feel his understanding of the time-space fusion rule growing by leaps and bounds with each passing moment.
[Your unrivaled insight allows you to comprehend the fusion of time and space rules at an accelerated rate.]
Lin Yuan focused all his attention on the crystalline ball before him. In that moment, all of his consciousness—his true body, his Yin Primordial Spirit, and his many avatars—abandoned their current tasks and began comprehending the ball.
Before the enormous painting, the old man watched as Lin Yuan became completely absorbed.
"He's already entered a state of enlightenment?"
The old man raised an eyebrow, though he wasn't particularly surprised.
For any strong being, entering a state of enlightenment was a rare opportunity, during which their comprehension would increase significantly. Even Rank Twelve lifeforms found it extremely difficult to achieve such a state of enlightenment.
But Lin Yuan?
The old man knew all too well that despite not yet being a Rank Twelve lifeform, Lin Yuan's comprehension far exceeded that of most Rank Twelves, and by a large margin—it was entirely unreasonable.
That Lin Yuan had entered enlightenment didn't surprise the old man in the least.
"I wonder how much this enlightenment will improve him? He'll likely advance further in his understanding of the time-space fusion rule."
The old man speculated with interest.
Even with the direct insights provided by the crystalline ball, absorbing them wouldn't happen instantly.
It was like a starving person faced with a cartload of food.
Even if they could eat as much as they wanted, from the moment they put food in their mouth to swallowing and digesting it, time was still needed.
Of course, compared to normal comprehension…
It was like the difference between growing wheat from seed, harvesting it, grinding it into flour, and finally baking bread—an incredibly complex process—versus simply eating a loaf of bread.
While much simpler, it still required time.
[Your unrivaled insight allows you to comprehend the fusion of time and space rules at an accelerated rate.]
On the Milky Way Main Star, Lin Yuan sat cross-legged as countless flashes of inspiration regarding the time-space fusion rule filled his mind, reaching a point of qualitative change.
At this moment, time and space lost all distinction before him. The two could be effortlessly fused together.
"I see."
A look of realization crossed Lin Yuan's face as the power of time and space rules fused seamlessly before his eyes, forming a new kind of power that encompassed both time and space, but was more than just that.
This was the power of the time-space fusion rule.
Among the many fusion rules, the time-space fusion rule was undoubtedly one of the most powerful.
"I understand now."
Within the "white paper," Lin Yuan wore a similar expression of realization as he raised his right hand. The power of time and space interwove and fused like a plaything between his fingers.
"Hmm?"
"Did he already comprehend the time-space fusion rule?"
Not far away, the half-meter-tall old man, who had been observing Lin Yuan, couldn't help but reveal a look of shock.
Comments
_Neith_
Thanks again 😊
Jetos
Thanks for the chapter!
Xx
I understand it now
NoName23
I live for the moments of shock and awe in this novel
Steven Parkinson
Thank you
Mohamed Abdulla
Thanks for the chapter!
